Page 187 of 4 Corinthians

“He wasn’t wrong,” she laughed softly. “I was going through an episode. When I’m good, I’m good. No issues, but when it’s bad?” She shook her head. “I committed myself that time.”

“Why?”

“Because I saw how scared Corinthians was,” she answered. “I saw the fear in her eyes and heard it in her voice. Corinthians is my saving grace on a lot of things. I know what she went through for me. I saw how it affected her, how it still does, and I don’t want to be a burden for her.”

“You aren’t a burden,” I told her.

“I have a mental illness,” she replied. “Even if I don’t mean to be, I am a burden that she didn’t ask for.” She put her hands in her pockets. “I’ve been to therapy enough to know that it’s neither of our faults. That it was just our fucked-up luck. More than likely I always had it; our trauma just made it known faster.”

I nodded because I didn’t have anything else to say about it. I could never tell her how to feel about her life or what she was going through. I didn’t agree with the thought that she was a burden to anyone, let alone her sister. I never heard Cori complain about Psalms, ever, and we talked about a lot of shit. She was supportive and proud of the strides her sister made. There was an acceptance and unconditional love there that I felt honored to witness, let alone experience.

“When will Script be here?” I asked.

Psalms softly laughed, then nodded her head toward the back of the room. Script Liddel stood in the back of the room, hands in his pockets, a mug on his face, and watched us. He was short, only about 5’5, slim, with a freshly cut short beard. He wore khaki shorts, a white T-shirt with a picture of him doing some stunt on his bike midair, his signature across it. A black KC fitted hung from his belt loop, and he wore a pair of white Nikes. Everything was his signature style.

“He got here as soon as I called him,” she answered. “Wednesday isn’t too happy about it.”

“If a nigga looked at my woman the way Script looks at you, I wouldn’t be happy either.”

“I don’t want Script Lidell,” she said, shaking her head. “He’s attractive, yes, but Script thinks submitting is weak. He craves power, dominance, and control.” She looked over at me and smirked. “He doesn’t understand that submitting is just that and so much more.”

“Auntie Bug!” Judah excitedly called out from across the room as he ran to her. When he was close enough, he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. “You came!”

“Didn’t I say I was?” she laughed as he hugged her.

“Yeah, but I didn’t see you when we got here.” He let her go and stepped back. “Is he here? Is Script here?”

She bent so they were eye level. “Can you keep a secret?” she whispered loud enough for me to hear. Judah nodded and smiled. “He’s over there.” Psalms nodded to the same corner as earlier. Judah quickly turned around, then turned back to face her. “Yes, before you ask, you can go speak but be quiet. Remember, Script doesn’t like a lot of people knowing he’s around.”

“Yes ma’am,” he nodded, then ran back to Deuce. He pulled him away from the display case, and they walked towards Script. “He’s here to make sure I don’t do anything crazy.”

“You’ve already started, though,” I chuckled, and she shrugged. “Does he know?”

“Of course,” she answered. “He knows where the bodies are buried, remember?”

“Right,” I laughed. “Do you need anything?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I know what you promised my sister, so that’s enough for me. Go after the Kilmores with Amethyst. Paul and Isaac are next on your list, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then we are good,” she said. I was about to walk away when she grabbed my arm. “Wait.” I looked back at her. “Can I be there when you kill them? I was so focused on you not hurting her that I didn’t realize the person or people responsible for her pain were right in my face. I don’t have to kill them, but I want to be there when they die.”

“Yes.”

***

“Where exactly are we?” Cori asked after I helped her from the car. I closed the door and took her hand. “Uri?”

“You wanna see or ask questions?” I asked her as we walked towards the building.

“Both,” she answered with a laugh, and I smirked.

When she got home from work, I told her to throw on some clothes she didn’t care about and be ready to go in twenty minutes. I’d dropped Judah off at her grandparents' house for the night before she came home. We hadn’t been on a date in a while, and with everything going on, I needed her to get out of her head for a little while.

I put the code into the door, opened it, and stepped back. “You can ask a million questions out here, or you can walk in and enjoy our time together.”

She looked at me, then at the open door. A slow smile spread across her pretty ass face, then she nodded and walked into the open door. The hallway was quiet, but I knew that was because each room was soundproof.