Page 66 of 4 Corinthians

“Oh yeah?” Granddaddy asked.

“Yes sir,” he answered.

“Well, come on then,” Granddaddy replied. He pointed to the empty chair in the waiting area. “She will be with you in a moment.”

“A friend of mine is coming too,” Isaac said.

Granddaddy looked over his glasses at Isaac. “He got an appointment? Because we ain’t with that hanging out shit here.”

“Yes sir,” Isaac chuckled. “His name is Tyrell; he should be on the list.”

Granddaddy nodded, then looked at the computer. His mouth twisted to the side, and he shook his head. “His name is on here; when he gets here, I’ll send him over.”

“Thank you, Pastor DeCorte,” Isaac said, nodding.

Isaac turned his attention to me, and I watched him through the mirror as I cut my client's hair. He was smug to the point that it took everything in me not to yell. The fact that he sat here, in my business, as if nothing happened, like he hadn’t taken something from me, made my stomach twist. I hated him, hated everything about him, as well as his brothers, father, and Robert. This was a power play, one to show me that nothing that I did would ever be enough to get away from Robert.

The chimes on the door sounded again, and I looked up to see another man walk in. This man was tall; his dark brown skin was stunning, but his eyes were empty as he looked at me. He turned his attention to Granddaddy, checked in, and Granddaddy pointed to Isaac. This was Tyrell. He looked familiar, like I’d seen him somewhere before, but I couldn’t place his face or voice.

“This is the owner?” Tyrell asked Isaac as he sat down next to him with a sly smile. He looked around until his eyes landed on me again, then turned back to Granddaddy. “Your granddaughter is beautiful, sir.” He looked back at me and licked his lips. “Are you single?”

“No,” Isaac answered before anyone else could. He lazily took me in as he sat back in his seat. “She isn’t.”

“Since damn when?” Granddaddy asked.

“We didn’t know how to tell you all, but Corinthians and I are dating,” Isaac answered him.

“You’re what?” Psalms said, coming around the corner from the back. “My sister ain’t said shit about dating nobody.”

“She was worried about how people would feel, you know us coming from two prominent families and all.”

“Corinthians?” Psalms said, turning to face me.

I removed the cape from my client, then escorted him to the desk for Granddaddy to check him out. I wasn’t doing this, not now, not ever. Robert would have to kill me first. After my client was taken care of, I went to the back. I needed a minute, some time to get myself together, to think. I needed to tell my family everything, but I knew doing that would put them in danger. Yes, they were more than capable of taking care of themselves, but Robert had already shown how far his reach went. He already killed my parents; popping up in my life randomly was nothing. The other night was different. Isaac and Tyrell being out there was different.

Someone knocked on the door, but I didn’t answer. Again, another knock came, but I refused to move. Finally, the door opened; I expected Bug or one of my cousins to come in. But it was Isaac. He smiled and casually closed the door behind him as if this was a normal occurrence between us.

“It’s empty,” he said, watching my hand as I slowly moved it to the drawer of my desk. He sat, chuckling as he shook in the chair in front of me. He crossed his legs at the ankle. “You think I’m joking, right? Check.” I opened my drawer and found it empty. I looked up to see Isaac holding it. “I told you.” He set it in his lap and shrugged. “Now let’s hold a friendly conversation.”

I didn’t say anything, just licked my lips and watched Isaac. His nostrils flared at the simple gesture, then he smiled at me. “Robert sent me to remind you that he isn’t done with his pet. He still holds the leash and can and will pull at it from time to time to remind you of your place.” He sat forward. “I’m here to remind you of that hold. Robert gave me free rein.” He licked his lips and smirked. “This relationship is going to be a reminder of that.” He stood and set the knife on my desk.

“What if I don’t agree?” I asked as I stared at him.

“Then Robert will give me the go-ahead to finish what he started with your family.” He shrugged. “I’ll kill every last one of them. Starting with your grandmother, and while you watch me torture her, I’ll make sure that Jonathan gets his pet back.” He put his hands in his pockets. “Bug has grown up to be a very beautiful woman.”

Two hours after I cut my last client's hair, I shut off the lights to the shop, took my keys out of my pocket, and locked the doors. My family wanted to celebrate the successful opening and to ask questions about my relationship with Isaac, but I declined, saying I was tired and just wanted to rest. They didn’t like it, but they respected it.

I walked to my car, unlocked it, and opened the door.

“Corinthians?”

I turned around to see Tyrell standing behind me. He smiled, then pulled up his shirt to show me the butt of his gun. “Don’t even try and move them fast ass hands you got,” he said. His smile dropped, then he licked his lips. He pulled his gun from his waist, then grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me towards him. “Don’t make me kill you because I will.” He rubbed his nose against the side of my face. “Then I’ll look at that pretty ass pussy again.” I tried pulling away from him, but his grip was too tight. “Chill.”

“I swear-“

“I don’t give a fuck,” he interrupted me. He let go of my shirt, pushed me against my car, then grabbed my purse, dug into it, and took out my ringing phone. “Here.” I looked at the phone but didn’t reach for it. “Answer the damn phone.” He pushed his gun under my chin. “Now.”

I took the phone from him and answered it. “Hello?”