Page 13 of Love’s Decree

“My girl’s cousin works at the precinct, answering phones. She saw him with his vest on. I pulled up a picture of him to confirm who she was talking about. I trust her,” Dame said.

“Aasim, you think that’s why he stole? Maybe he needs to pay someone back for bailing him out,” Jaxx said.

“Can’t say for certain, but the timing lines up. We need to find out what they arrested him for and how he got out. I don’t remember him missing for any significant amount of time. Sounds like the boy may be a rat.”

I racked my brain, trying to figure out what stealing would do with him getting arrested. Did he take the money before or after? Did he need the money to pay back whoever posted his bail? There were too many questions and not enough answers. I didn’t have enough information to accuse Kurt of anything.

I walked from behind the bar and headed outside to where the prospects hung out. Major was out there with them. Before me stood Major, Kurt, and the other prospect, Jalani.

“Prospects, recite the club rules,” I said.

In unison, Kurt and Jalani said, “I am my brother’s keeper. I’d die before I snitch. Death before dishonor. No one person is above the club. Sons of Destruction until the death of me.”

“The rules are simple. What are the consequences of breaking any of these rules?” I asked.

“Death,” Jalani and Kurt replied in unison.

I looked them both in their eyes to see if I could spot any level of emotion. Neither of them flinched. They stood tall together, even the suspected snitch.

“Just a reminder, if either of you is found to have disobeyed these rules, I’ll kill you myself. Y’all are dismissed.” I looked over at Jaxx and Gavin as Major approached me.

“Everything good?” he asked.

“Nah. We may have a snitch among us. Watch those two like a hawk. If you need help keeping an eye on them, tag a brother to help. Don’t let them out of your sight,” I said.

Major nodded and went back to where the prospects were.

I went back inside to the bar to finish my drink. Jaxx and Gavin sat at the bar, each drinking a beer. We all seemed to be lost in thought until Gavin broke the silence. “What were you up to before JoJo called you? You hardly ever drive the truck.”

“I took Rory to Chow. We were supposed to be on a date. She saw one of her coworkers and ended our night. Well, that and JoJo called. I put her in a cab and headed over here.”

“Damn, she ashamed of you or some shit?” Jaxx asked.

“Ashamed? Nah. She’s gotta protect her career, and I respect it. I just didn’t think being in public would be so challenging. We didn’t have time to really talk about it.”

“Are you sure you can trust her? I don’t have to tell you what’s at stake for us,” Gavin said.

“I trust her because I trust my gut. If she wasn’t for me, I would treat her like I do everyone else,” I replied.

Angie walked by, swaying her hips, trying to get my attention. She blew a kiss in my direction, and I ignored her ass.

“I trust your judgement. Just be careful with this one,” Jaxx said. I finished my drink, then headed home. Jaxx and Gavin were only looking out for me, so I couldn’t be upset. If either of them was in my position, I would give them the same speech. I understood their concern, but nothing made me feel Rory wasn’t trustworthy. On top of that, I wouldn’t share anything with her that could put any of us in a predicament. Right now, I needed sleep.

Tomorrow, I would call Rory to talk about what was going on with us. The city was big, but she would be naïve to think she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew while we were together. I didn’t sign up to be a secret, so we would need to find a common ground.

9

RORY

Itossed and turned all night as I thought about how Aasim and I abruptly ended our date. The evening started out perfectly. Somehow, I ended up home, alone and hungry. I wanted to call Aasim to apologize. I felt bad because I didn’t want to cut our dinner short. The idea of Danny seeing me with Aasim and running back to tell everyone at work made me nervous.

After some thought, I could have played it off like Aasim was a potential client. I was glad I didn’t go that route, because he deserved more than to be some secret. All night, I thought about the way our evening transpired. My feelings for Aasim were increasing each day. In our short time together, I felt he could be my person.

I went through the motions of getting ready to head to work. Every movement I made felt slow because I was exhausted. I looked down at my phone more than I cared to admit. Aasim still hadn’t reached out. I didn’t know if he was caught up handling business or if he was upset with me.

I could have reached out to him, but my pride wouldn’t let me. The idea of him not answering left an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was too early in the day to start it off with him blowing me off. Once I was dressed, I grabbed my purse and briefcase to hop in my car. I hoped the traffic wasn’t terrible.

When I got in the car, I turned on the GPS out of habit. I always put my route in, in case there was something going on. The city was unpredictable. Things changed in the blink of an eye. Victoria Monét’s Jaguar II album blasted through the speakers as I drove. As traffic flowed, I finally reached my office and parked my car.