Gunshots rang out, loud and persistent. It took a split second for Haze to realize what was happening. Niggas knew better than to bring any type of drama to their block, but he quickly realized it wasn’t the partygoers that were shooting. The distinct sound of engines revving caught his attention. People screamed and ran for cover. It was chaos.
Haze tried to make his way through the crowd toward the shots. He was never one to run from confrontation. He caught a glimpse of cheap blue motorcycles turning the corner as the shots stopped ringing out.
“Prez, you good?” Dame asked as he covered his girl on the ground.
Haze nodded and looked around. His heart slowed a bit when he noticed his sister and cousin cowering behind one of the bikes on the lawn. They were good.Check. His eyes scanned the chaotic crowd again, and he found Gideon and Glimmer. Gideon stood tall on his feet, looking around like Haze, while Glimmer was tucked behind his massive frame. Haze locked eyes with his best friend. He saw relief in Gideon, and they nodded at each other. Gideon and Glimmer were good.Check.
“Prez, you want me to go after them?” Pup asked, running up to Haze frantically.
Relief flooded Haze. Pup was good.Check.
Haze shook his head. “Nah, but party’s over. Shut this shit down. If anyone got hit, get them help and call the clean-up crew if need be. I’ll call my connect at the police department. Gather VK up. Church in five, you hear me?”
Pup nodded and ran off. Haze’s blood boiled as he walked over to his sister and cousin. He grabbed their shaking arms and pulled them into the house so he could calm them down. His mind couldn’t really focus, though.
The only thought that plagued him was that he prayed the mystery woman made it home safely and that he would see her again.
3 years later
Exhaustion tugged at Devyn as she trudged up the front stairs of her childhood home. Her parents’ house had always been her safe place, and though she was tired as hell, she was excited to have dinner with them and catch up with them.
Without knocking, she let herself in and took a deep breath. It smelled like home and some good cooking. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since that morning when she left her house.
With a sigh, she slipped her heels off and made her way through the large first floor of the home. The carpeted floors looked like they’d just been vacuumed. Devyn noted the toysscattered through the living room as she passed it. A small smile tugged at her lips as she shook her head.
As soon as she made it to the kitchen, a tiny force clung to her leg. This time, Devyn allowed a full smile to grace her face as she looked down at her two-year-old daughter, Hazel.
“Hey, mama’s baby.” Devyn stroked her silky hair that was wild and all over her head—exactly how shedidn’tdrop her off. “What happened to your hair?”
“Mama,” Hazel said as she reached her arms up.
Devyn’s heart soared every time she heard Hazel call her Mama. Without hesitation, she picked Hazel up and propped her on her hip.
“You know that lil girl knows how to terrorize a damn house. With that comes crazy hair.” Devyn’s mom, Melanie, shrugged as she walked by and kissed Devyn on the cheek before she proceeded to the oven to take a dish out.
“Hey, now. Not too much on my grandbaby. She’s no mini terrorist. She’s just a curious little angel. Isn’t that right, Hazel?”
“I ah angel, Pop Pop,” Hazel said with her face cracked into a big ass smile.
“That’s right.” Robert, Devyn’s father, nodded as he grinned right back at his granddaughter.
“Just spoiled rotten,” Devyn mumbled, but a smile still played on her lips.
Hazel was just like her in that she was spoiled as hell and could get whatever she wanted out of Melanie and Robert Frost. That physical resemblance, though, . . . that was all her father.
Haze.
A pang of guilt hit her chest, just like it always did when she thought about the man who had her acting like she didn’t have any damn sense for that short period of time.
Her mind wandered to that night, and her heart grew heavy. Never in a million years did she think she would go from gettingthe best dick of her life to seeing her best friend with a bullet hole in her stomach.
Emilia was the sweetest out of the trio. Koren loved hard but was spoiled and had a big personality with even bigger opinions. Devyn could be a bitch when she was out of her comfort zone. But Emilia? She was always laid-back and down for her friends . . . period. She never switched up, and that night, Devyn thought she’d lost her.
Koren and Devyn were able to get her to the hospital. Surgery took forever, but Emilia made it out on the other side alive. She just had to live the rest of her life with a colostomy bag.
That night had terrified her, and she realized no matter how much she liked Haze, she couldn’t seek him out. The life he lived was clearly dangerous. She felt danger pouring from his pores when she first laid eyes on him. There was no way she could continue to ignore it after what happened to her friend. Imagine her surprise when a few weeks later, she turned up pregnant.
Devyn wasn’t the type to pop pussy often, so she knew without a doubt it was Haze’s baby. She contemplated for a really long time about getting an abortion, but something in her caused her to panic and have meltdowns when she thought about it too long.
