She mumbled her shit, but she stayed still. I turned my attention back to Steel.
“Why you leave her?”
“I fucked up. Someone hit my shit. She said she just needed to run in, and I let her. Shit just happened so fast, but it’s my fault.”
“I know she a handful. If you think you can’t handle her?—”
“Hello! I’m sitting right here,” Farrah snapped.
I ignored her. “If she too much?—”
“Nah, I got this. It won’t happen again,” Steel promised.
Nodding, I dapped him up. “If it does, you gon’ be unemployed and un-alive. I need you to get with Texas and y’all start looking for who this Trell is. Tell him I said work his computer magic. Check in tomorrow.”
“You got that,” he said, before turning and walking toward the front door.
I followed and locked up behind him. Now, to deal with her irritating ass. I walked over to where she was sitting and stood in front of her.
“Why you ask me to look out for you if you not gon’ listen?”
She rolled her eyes. “I do listen. I just needed to run in the store?—”
“And look what happened. Describe this nigga to me again.”
“He was tall, brown-skinned, with dark brown eyes. His hair was cut low, and he had a little scar on his chin. He had a big ass birthmark on his eyelid and cheek. He had tattoos on his arm and neck, but I didn’t take the time to see what any of them were. And he sounded like he was from somewhere else, like he had a little accent like New York or somewhere.”
I had no idea who the fuck this Trell could be. Her description didn’t make me think of anyone. I was gon’ have to call in some favors and get the convenience store’s video–if they had any. I watched as she stood up and tried to slide past me.
“If you don’t need anything else from me?—”
“Where you think you going, Farrah?”
She looked up at me defiantly. “Home.”
“Home,” I repeated. “What kind of alarm system do y’all have?”
“I don’t know, but we have something. I know how to arm it and everything.”
“Nah, shorty. I want more details than that. Call your pops and ask. And I need to know if he’s carrying.”
She looked confused. “Carrying what?”
I sighed. Who raised this girl, man? “If somebody does break in, does he have the means to protect y’all?”
“You mean… like a gun?” Her eyes widened at just speaking the word.
“Just ask him.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“My parents are in Bali.”
“So, you at home alone? Hell, nah.”
I vetoed that shit real quick. No way was I letting her go home by herself. Not with this Trell nigga out there assuming he could use her to get to me. I had been pretty easy about having Steel detail her so far—he mostly kept up with her when she was out in public. But I might have to get real and cover her 24/7. And I needed to check on my sister and mother in Paris. Farrah crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at me.
