“What you thinking?” Ledge queried, a peculiar look on his face.
He could pretty much see my wheels turning. I tried to let go of the notion, but the shit only tugged harder on my brain cells the more her face flashed in my head.
“I know that look, Free. The fuck you thinking ’bout?” Ledge’s brows bent above his troubled orbs, and he sloped forward a little more.
“I had a brief idea, but… nah. Never mind.” Again, I tried to shake that shit off.
“Nigga, just speak ya fucking mind. Don’t leave me hanging, G.” Ledge prodded me.
I stared off to the side for a second, calling myself all kinds of crazy while thinking how perfect it all sounded. Harbor was exactly what we needed. Too bad she was a hostage.
“I was thinking about using my… houseguest,” I relayed to him.
Clearing my throat, I fell back in my chair and observed Ledge. He stuffed his face with more fries and fried shrimp while chewing slowly and squinting at me. I watched that nigga lick his fingers, then reach for his cup to sip his soda through a straw. Ledge snatched up a napkin and wiped his hands, resting them on the table in front of him.
“You know how crazy that shit sound, bruh?” A frown creased his forehead when he peered back at me.
“About as crazy as it is to have her flipping over a quarter million into ten within a year.” I volunteered, motioning with my hands. “She’s smart.”
“Clearly.” Ledge scoffed and rolled his eyes off to the side. “She’s so fucking smart the minute you give her some room, she’s going to run singing to the fucking cops or FBI.”
“And say what, Ledge? Hmm. She don’t know shit,” I reminded him.
“She knows our fucking faces. The fuck? You acting like this just some random bitch off the street, Free!” Ledge hissed across the table. “We kidnapped this bitch. She can pick us out a fucking line up?—”
“Unless I give her reason not to.” My tone gave him pause.
I was a confident nigga, and I knew how to manipulate just about anybody into doing anything. Ledge adamantly shook his head. I could see from the glare in his eye that he was pissed off.
“You way too confident in this, bruh. This bitch is a major liability,” Ledge conveyed.
“What if I put you in position to keep an eye on her?”
“So now I’m a fucking babysitter?” Ledge muttered, shaking his head. “We got too much riding on this to be trusting her with our operation. Chevy might be a loose cannon, but I can keep her in line.”
“Fall back. Let me take the lead on this. I’ll talk to her.”
His eyes lowered into suspicious slits as they burned into mine like he was trying to read a nigga’s mind or something.
“Talk to her like she a give a fuck what you got to say. The fuck is this really about, bruh? You feeling this bitch or something?” He asked that question like the shit had been on his mind, and I tilted my head in return.
I didn’t like what the fuck he was insinuating for one. I didn’t catch feelings. I shut that part of me off long time ago, and it had never been revived. There wasn’t a bitch walking the earth that could replace what I lost already.
“The fuck you say?” I sneered, mouth tight while I waited for his reaction.
“You done had her locked up for a fucking year now. The fuck am I supposed to think? This shit was supposed to have beenover. But you keep using excuses to keep her around. Why the fuck is that?”
“Because she’s fucking useful,” I answered sternly. “And I don’t appreciate you questioning me on how I get shit done,” I growled.
“And I don’t appreciate being pacified. This bitch can not only ID me, but you too. Why the fuck you ain’t concerned about that?” Ledge demanded.
“Because I got this shit under control. I ain’t never needed another mothafucka to tell me how to control a bitch.”
“You banking on your charm and all that other shit you use to get women to do what you want. This ain’t that, nigga.” Ledge pointed out with a grim smirk. “You kidnapped her. Been holding her up in your house like a porcelain doll or some shit. She ain’t like any of these other bitches that you used to pulling. That’s what the fuck you forgetting.” Ledge aimed a finger at me. “This is a bad fucking idea, Free,” Ledge pointed out.
“I gotta deal with some other shit. I’ll just hit you up later.” I stood and prepared to leave.
“One wrong move can blow our shit apart. Remember that,” Ledge advised, staring up at me from his seat.
