The detective continued. “I got hard evidence.”
“I need names. No bullshit.” His grip tightened around the steering wheel.
“Pull up on me. You gon flip when you see this shit.”
Now he wasn’t breathing at all.
Jio looked over at the flowers sitting in the passenger seat. “I have obligations….” His word meant everything to him, especially when it came to his baby.
“Hey, I’m not about to beg you to stay out of jail.”
The line went dead.
Jio stared at the phone before dropping it into the cupholder.
“Fuck man FUCK!” He punched the steering wheel over until blood dripped from his knuckles.
He leaned back against the headrest and closed his eyes.
Jio hated the timing of it all and more than that, he hated whatever decisions he would have to make once he found out who was betraying him. Jio hated disloyal niggas.
If the detective was telling the truth, tonight’s meeting could identify people operating close enough to eventually reach everyone Jio cared about. His brothers, sisters, cousins, shit, his auntie and mama too. Most importantly, Nina.
He looked over his shoulder at the garment bag and the flowers.
Everything he’d planned for tonight slowly unraveled inside his mind.
For the first time ever, street shit wasn’t a priority for him. He wanted to spend the night doing some cultural shit that his shorty and his unofficial best friend were excited about. This was a normal Friday night to them, but for Jio, he would be stepping into her world. Jio was looking forward to hearing Ephrem critique every actor that stepped on stage. He wanted to see his baby light up when they performed her favorite songs and shit. He anticipated how impressed she was gonna be after she saw the special menu that he and the Chef put together.
Jio had to get out of the truck eventually. He knew Nina well enough to know that she was already getting dressed.
He climbed out of the truck with his suit and her flowers, that suddenly felt a lot heavier than they did twenty minutes ago. The closer he made it to the elevators that led to the penthouse, his steps slowed. He knew disappointment was going to be waiting for him on the other side of the door.
When he crossed over the threshold, soft jazz floated through the crib. Nina was on her grown woman shit tonight. He loved it when she was on this wave.
“Baby?”
“I'm upstairs!”
He loosened his tie as he climbed the staircase.
The bedroom was empty and the closet light glowed beneath the partially opened door.
He found his baby in the bathroom sitting at the oversized marble vanity that he’d copped for her. She had one leg crossed over the other, carefully fastening a diamond earring. She was humming a different tune than what was playing downstairs.
The emerald green dress hugged her body perfectly.
Her makeup wasn’t finished yet.
One heel rested on the floor beside the vanity, the other still sat inside its box.
She caught his reflection in the mirror and blew him a kiss.
“There you are.”
His chest tightened at her beauty. He could stare at her forever.
She reached for her lipstick before meeting his eyes again through the mirror.
