Page 46 of Surrogate For My Best Friend’s Man 2

And I wasn’t built to love somebody I couldn’t trust. That’s why I knew giving Shante space wasn’t just about cooling off. I needed to figure out if there was even a version of us left worth fighting for. Because I could forgive a lot but betrayal that shit changed everything.

DEUCE

County was starting to get on my last damn nerve. I had been in this bitch long enough to know every crack in the wall, which deputies liked to run their mouths, and which ones would walk right past you without saying a word. I knew when breakfast came and when they started moving people for court.

I knew when the doors would buzz open and close. Shit had damn near become routine and I hated it. I wasn’t used to a muthafucka telling me what to do. I was my own boss and ain’t shit move unless I said so. All this shit was foreign to me.

The judge had denied bond again, talking about me being a flight risk. A flight risk? Man, where the fuck was I supposed to go? My whole life was in Detroit, my business, my family, everything I had worked for. I wasn’t running nowhere, but the judge wasn’t trying to hear none of that shit.

So here I was still locked up and waiting on somebody to figure out how to get me the hell out. When they brought Rell into visitation, I could tell by his face he wasn’t just coming to check on me, but to let me know what was going on on the outside.

He sat across from me and leaned forward. “Shit getting tight.”

I looked at him.“How tight?”

“The people waiting on that shit ain’t trying to wait no more.”

I already knew who he meant.

“The money and the other shit.”

I nodded. “What they saying?”

“They want what belongs to them.”

I rubbed my jaw. “Tell ‘em it’s being handled.”

“I told ’em that.”

“And?” I asked.

“They ain’t trying to hear it no more.”

I sucked my teeth. “How long?”

“Not long.”

I leaned back. “Keep everybody calm.”

“I’m trying.” Rell glanced around before lowering his voice. “They asked about you too.”

“I’m sitting right here.”

“You know what I mean. They want to know when their shit moving.”

I shook my head. “Tell ‘em I’m working on getting out.”

“They already know you locked up.”

“Then they know why shit ain’t moving.”

Rell nodded. “Yeah.”

I leaned back in the chair. “Anything else?”

He hesitated. “Yeah.”

I looked at him. “What?”