“Because… because I owe you,” he said hurriedly.
I nodded. “And?”
Another long pause. This nigga didn’t want to admit his guilt out loud. This time, I hit him in the back of the head. He cried out like a little bitch. I squatted down, bringing us almost eye to eye.
“I asked a question. When I ask a question, I expect an answer. Understand?”
He nodded quickly. “And I missed my last two payments.”
“So, instead of manning up and talking to me, ya bitch ass ran?” Standing, I shook my head. “That was stupid as fuck.”
“I know I owe you. If you give me a week, I can double it. I swear to God?—”
I looked down at him, bored by his whining and ready to get this shit over with. Blood trickled down his face from where I had busted him across the head with my gun. He sniffed and I realized the little bitch had tears in his eyes. Frowning, I hit him again.
“Get up,” I demanded.
He shook his head. “No. I’m not gon’—”
Luca grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him up. I smiled.
“You want him to carry you, or you want to have some dignity and walk on your own?” I asked as I zip-tied his hands together.
He went limp. Luca looked at me.
“Carry him, it is.”
I walked out of the room first, making sure there was no one outside, not that this was the kind of spot where people would run and tell the police anything. Luca loaded Kevin into the front passenger seat of the truck quickly, then walked around to the driver’s door. I slid in the back seat to keep an eye on Kevin, ready to pop one in the back of his head if anything went wrong.I was glad that we’d caught up with this nigga, but I couldn’t relax until we drove the seven hours back to Louisiana.
I should’ve gagged him. He begged for the first hour of the trip, until my gun crashed into his temple again and he passed out. I didn’t have any more problems out that nigga when he woke up. Luca drove straight to the location—an abandoned factory building. It was four a.m., but I wanted my niggas to get their hands on Kevin ASAP.
Jarell and Will stood outside the building. They opened the doors for us, and Will said, “We set up in the back.”
I had to fight back a cough as I entered, the stale air full of dust. We walked past rusty old machines that probably hadn’t been used in thirty or forty years. Finally, Seth and Cardo came into view. There was one empty chair in the middle of the room. I watched as Luca slammed Kevin into it. Seth looked at him and cracked up.
“So, you caught this mothafucka,” he said.
I shrugged. “Nigga, I told you I would.”
He walked over to dap me up. “You did. Want me to handle this part?”
Nodding, I turned toward the door.
“You don’t want to know what’s gon’ happen to him?” he called after me.
I didn’t even turn around. “Just make it hurt,” I said.
I planned to go home, clean up, and catch up on my sleep. But when I climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist, I had one more thing to check. Grabbing my personal phone, I turned it on. I waited as the voicemail and text notifications appeared before opening my text app. I didn’twant to admit it to myself, but I knew I was looking for one in particular. I scrolled until I found the name “Little Thug.” Her message was short: “I’m home safe.” I had been checking in on her since that day at the ballpark, but I hadn’t been able to last night. Steel was watching her, but, for some reason, I felt the need to touch base myself. I couldn’t explain the shit, just like I couldn’t explain why I agreed to look out for her worrisome ass in the first place.
Satisfied that she had reached out, I walked over to my dresser. I pulled out a pair of basketball shorts and slipped them on. Usually, I was a neat freak, but I was so tired that I let the towel just fall on the polished floor. I slid into bed, and I swear I was sleep before my head hit the pillow.
I sighed,rubbing my eyes with my fists. I was so damned tired from my internship that all I wanted was to shower, climb in my bed, and read until I knocked out. Tonight, though, I had class. Looking in the mirror, I picked at my straightened hair and glossed my lips, hoping to make myself look more alive. I grabbed a light sweater, my reading glasses, my backpack, and purse and headed out the door.
Parking on campus wasn’t as terrible as it was during the day. I quickly found a spot in the garage and headed toward my classroom building. I usually loved this class, even though it was almost three hours long. But from the moment I sat down until we were dismissed, I couldn’t focus. My thoughts were all over the place, but mostly, if I were honest, I was thinking aboutMekhi Venzant. I hadn’t seen him in the week-and-a-half since Kera’s game. He kept his promise to watch my back, though, usually by having Steel trail me. And he checked in with a cold little text every night. I couldn’t figure him out, no matter how hard I tried, and it bothered me. When 8:30 finally came, I closed my notebook and dropped my pen in my purse. I stood and trudged toward the back door of the classroom.
“Ms. Gray?” my professor, Dr. Williams, called.
I closed my eyes and blew out a quiet breath. What was it now? I just wanted to get to my car, stop for gas because I had an early morning tomorrow, grab some wine, and go cuddle up in my bed. Dr. Williams was cool, but the way he looked at me sometimes made me wonder…
