Page 3 of Widow Mayker

The bullet between his eyes silenced whatever he was about to say. Fuck his thoughts.

Pleased with the outcome, I sighed, sat down in the middle of the floor, and peered at the deceased, disgraced officer. Nothing inside of me felt pity for him. I felt nothing other than loathing and a deep hatred that would never cease.

Solemnly, I thought that I would never trust a nigga. Especially if he came wrapped in a fucking uniform.

MAJA

Present day…

Entering the city limits of Niceville Shores never got old. Coming home was like breathing in a deep refreshing breath that I couldn’t take whenever I was away. Anxious to spend time with my family, I decided to get business out of the way before heading to Bell Estates.

Inside Niceville Shores Credit Union, I ignored the glances of other patrons. I stood out; this I knew. Dressed in an all-black, form-fitting dress that touched my knees and hugged my curves, along with a matching wide brim fedora hat that concealed my eyes, I was quite the spectacle.

Patiently, I waited my turn. Once I got this deposit made, I’d scoot on out of here and head…home. For good, this time. My shoulders relaxed with that thought.

“Next in line,” a young lady called.

I walked up to the counter and smiled at her as I glanced at her name tag, which read Iyana.

“Hi,” I spoke to her, “I’d like to make a deposit.”

“Sure! Do you have an account with us?” she cheerily questioned.

“I do.” I handed her my driver’s license, and she went to work pulling up my account.

“Thank you, Miss Storm. What would you like to deposit?”

Reaching inside of my purse, I produced the envelope containing the cash I had. As she ran it through a money counter, I was glad that she remained discreet. The large number of bills was sure to draw attention otherwise. She wrote the amount down on a piece of paper.

“Is this correct?” she questioned.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Smiling, she finished up my deposit. “You’ve had an account with us for years,” she stated for my ears only. “Which means you’re not new around here. You be careful out there, girl.”

Her nametag read, Iyana. I gave her a half-smile. “Noted.”

The last thing I was worried about was someone in Niceville Shores coming for me. Not only was I a transplant Cooley and Bell, but I was the last person anyone wanted to cross. Had she seen my eyes, she would’ve seen the crazy there. That was the reason for the wide brim. I hated people looking into my eyes. Well…unless I was ending their life.

You’re turning over a new leaf.

Right, I reminded myself. This was the beginning of a new era for me. No more consuming myself with filth. No more creeping around places that stuck to me without the proper cleansing. No more…bodies. That part of my life was officially behind me.

“Here’s your receipt. Is there anything else I can do for you today?” Iyana asked.

“No, thanks. Have a wonderful day.”

“Be careful out there,” she reiterated.

“I will try.” Waving bye to her, I left out of the bank as smoothly as I’d entered… then I collided with something hard as hell. “Oh! My apologies.”

“Nah… My apologies.”

Underneath the brim of my hat, I really wanted to look up into this man’s face and see if his face was just as sexy as his voice sounded, or if his face was as delicious as he smelled. Instead, my eyes focused on his broad chest in front of me covered in a white T-shirt. The subtle richness of his cologne snagged the hell out of me. His thick biceps were covered in tattoos and a few healed wounds. A quick glance at the fingers wrapped around my forearms pointed to him having even more tattoos.

Lightly, I gasped when his fingers touched my chin and lifted my face unexpectedly.

“I really wanna see ya eyes,” he stated just as mine collided with his.