Midchew, I paused and looked across the table at her.
“Had one. It was a while ago though. We aren’t together, and I haven’t seen him since.” That was true.
I didn’t want to involve Ivy in whatever was between me and Frequency. She was a kid, and I wasn’t so heartless to use her as a way to get to her father. She didn’t deserve it, and I believed in karma way too much to have that shit spin around on me. My life was already taking a different route, one that I didn’t expect.Somehow, I was going to have to embrace what was happening. I weighed the pros and cons of the situation, and with me coming out with so much money, who was I to say otherwise? Sure, I was adding all kinds of embezzlement and fraud to my record if I ever got caught, but old white men had been milking the system since the beginning of time. Seemed like it was the perfect era for change.
“We aren’t friends, Harbor.” Ivy broke into my thoughts with her spicy ass.
“No, we aren’t,” I agreed. “My friends are a lot more chill than you. You need to relax. That mean girls shit isn’t cute. Neither is being a bully. Do you even have any friends?” I questioned, and she rolled her eyes before abruptly standing.
I hit a nerve with the little wench. For a second there, I thought we were getting along, but clearly, she had some kind of fucking personality defect. I knew girls like that in high school. They were all snooty, snobby, and bougie as fuck. Ivy was well on her way. Her father definitely had his hands full. By the time her little ass turned sixteen, she was going to be giving him gray hairs and the blues to go along with ’em.
“I’m ready to get my nails done,” she quipped and folded her arms while standing behind her chair. “And since my daddy is paying for it, I want to go now.” She didn’t look at me when she said that last part.
I snickered and shook my head. She was trying to flex her little power like I gave a damn about getting on her bad side. She didn’t know what the hell was going on around her and was still so young and naïve. I was already done with my food, so I gradually pulled myself to my feet, hawking her the entire time. She still wouldn’t look at me.
“Okay, let’s go…princess.” I flashed her a fake smile, and she furrowed both brows while looking at me through the tiny slits in her eyes.
The guard, Deviance, held the door open for us. Ivy took off first, and I was right behind her. I wasn’t about to let her fuck up my first day out. A bitch was feeling like she had been free from prison, and I was going to soak in everything. I brought a pair of shades to my face as the sun beamed down on me, and felt Ivy mugging out of the corner of her eye. A faint smile fell on my lips, and that kept her in a funky ass mood the rest of the day. I talked to her on purpose so that she could get tired of the sound of my voice. Eventually, she put her earbuds in and tuned me out. I talked to the nail tech instead.
Frequency
Ledge had been hittingme all day, telling me that he needed to see me and that we had a few things to talk about. My day with Ivy and Harbor was draining. My daughter was one firecracker ass little girl. Spending time with her, I was starting to realize that she was actually turning into a young lady. I didn’t like it, but it was pretty much inevitable for her to grow up, unfortunately. It was hard to watch because I always pictured Ivana with us when she was doing the milestone shit. Seeing her with Harbor and laughing at that, it wasn’t anything I was prepared for. My heart was conflicted. On one side, I was glad to know that my daughter was enjoying her life and growing up. Shit just didn’t feel right that she wasn’t experiencing it with her mother.
Even with Ledge blowing me up every other second, I managed to soak in a few moments of the day that took me by surprise. I had to keep a close eye on Ivy, of course, but Harbor was also holding a mothafucka’s attention. There were a few times where I fell back and watched or listened to her with Ivy. My daughter was vibrant, and she spoke her mind. She was rude,like me, and very blunt. Harbor didn’t seem shaken or thrown off from it. She was more equipped to respond and interact with my child than I was. Ivy was a handful, and I had too much going on to give her my undivided attention right now.
“Bruh, the fuck is going on?” Ledge demanded.
I parked in the trees beyond our hidden headquarters. Most of those big hills off the side of the highway were in fact occupied. Many of those facilities are actually caves. A lot of private agencies within the government often operated out of those spaces. That location was ours. Ledge tugged on a blunt and shook his head as I ducked through the doorway to allow myself inside.
“I told you we had a job to do.”
“And I told you I was busy. This ain’t the only shit I got going on right now,” I spat at him.
“Well, this shit needs to be priority.” Ledge made sure the door closed behind me. “We still have a fucking job, Free. You remember that, right?” He knitted both brows together, agitated. “Hired guns, the best in the fucking business. Top tier, high priced. This shit is our bread and butter.”
“I don’t need a fucking reminder.” I grit my teeth and locked my jaw. “This shit ain’t my life no more, Ledge. You got it. You live for this shit. You the one that said you could do this shit forever. That ain’t the goal for me. I got a daughter. I need more… for her.”
“So what you saying, Free? You about to give all this shit up?” Ledge demanded, patience running thin.
I was his ace, the only fucking friend he knew that he could trust around this mothafucka. I didn’t want to leave him hanging, but he had a hard time dealing with change.
“We’ve been doing this shit for twenty years, bro! You want to quit now when we at the top of our game?”
“Maybe you can’t fathom this shit because you ain’t got a reason to quit,” I sneered at him.
Ledge didn’t answer, but he shot me a couple of daggers that probably would’ve killed a nigga had they been actual knives.
“You saying I ain’t got shit to live for?” he countered, indignant.
“I’m saying you don’t think that far ahead. You get tunnel vision. I never wanted to do this shit forever. We are in a position now where we don’t have to. As much money we’ve made over the last twenty years, we can do whatever the fuck we want. So what is it that you want, Ledge? Or is this some forever type shit for you?” I interrogated him.
“We had a new job come in.” Ledge spun and led me toward the table in the room.
He opened a folder, and I took a glance at the target. The blood in my veins ran cold. Nostrils flaring, my brows dipped above my rage-filled eyes.
“The fuck this come from?” I demanded, practically growling.
Ledge plopped down into a chair and let out a deep breath.
