Page 23

She looked up at me with guilt in her eyes, which let me know she was about to tell me something she knew I wouldn’t approve of.

“I-I went to my apartment to try and grab my laptop and a few other things I needed. I know you told me not to go there without you, but you’ve been so busy, and I figured I could just pop in, grab my things, and pop right back out. I’ve already missed class for the last week, and I didn’t want to fall even further behind because I wasn’t turning in any of my assignments or discussions,” Honesty rambled.

She told me she needed to grab some things from her apartment, but I told her to wait until Sunday, when I was free, because I wasn’t comfortable with her going alone. Things were still hot since ol’ boy offed himself, and I was worried about her safety. She promised she would wait, so I didn’t understand why she deviated from the plan.

“Why didn’t you wait for me?”

“I-I’m sorry. I was tired of being sad and depressed in the house, so I thought if I at least did some homework, things would feel somewhat normal.” Her voice cracked, breaking my resolve.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you. I know this is hard on you, but you have got to keep a low profile right now, Honey Bee.”

“It’s not fair, Solly. He terrorized me, cheated on me, beat me, and everyone is acting like I’m the villain. You would think I’m the one who pulled the trigger. What did I do wrong?”

Honesty’s cries turned into sobs as I wrapped my arms around her.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, love. None of this is on you.” I reassured her.

I tried my best to calm her down while, internally, I was ready to burn the world up behind my Honey. These mothafuckas were messing with the wrong one.

Honesty continued to cry into my arms until she finally cried herself to sleep. I kissed the top of her head, taking note of the new bruises on her neck. I was still hot about the marks Rondell’s fuck ass left on her, and here we were with more bullshit.

“Aye, I need to holler at you for a minute,” Messiah called out from the front door. I nodded, taking one last glance at Honesty. She looked so broken and fragile, and it was tearing me up to see her suffering. Someone needed to answer for this, and I wasn’t gonna stop until I found out who did it.

“Do you know who did this?” I asked as soon as I stepped into the hallway.

“We’re on it. We should have the security footage in a few hours. That’s not what I need to talk to you about, though.”

When I looked up at the other men around me, they all wore angry, worried looks.

“This shit is more serious than we originally thought. At first, I thought it was just some internet shit that would eventually blow over. We started getting death threats, but it’s not something Rule and I are strangers to, so I brushed it off in the beginning, but these folks have lost their minds.”

His tone scared me as I waited for him to elaborate.

“One of my mom’s neighbors called me after they heard gunshots outside the house. The police came, and they found shell casings all over the front yard, along with bullet holes in the living room window and garage. We pulled the security tapes, and they show a car pulling up and two people dumping on the house before speeding off.”

“Luckily, my momma had decided to take the kids to the park, but anything could have happened.” Messiah ran his hand down his face. Stress was evident.

“This shit is crazy,” I whispered.

“That’s not even all of it. People have been calling the community center with bomb threats; someone threatened Honesty’s roommate and beat her badly when they couldn’t get an answer from her. My coaches called to check on me today because they’ve been getting threats. Rule’s been getting threats too, and now his team is considering pausing the tour until they can ensure attendees' safety. These people aren’t letting up, and it’s only been a week.” Messiah explained.

“I understand people are upset about ol’ boy’s death, but this is insane. Where is all this coming from?”

“Apparently, his father was a former NBA player whose season ended after a bad injury. He went on to become a high-profile attorney who’s known for defending some major celebrities and helping them get off. His mother was a beauty pageant contestant and movie star who died in a bad accident.”

“I remember Honesty telling me his family had money, but it still doesn’t make sense to me. I understand people being upset because of his death, but why are they blaming her? We watched him take his own life, so why is she the one being targeted?”

“People are mentally unstable, and social media hasn’t helped things at all. They refuse to hold him accountable for his actions, so Honesty is the next best thing. They need someone to blame for him not being here anymore. I already know things are going to get worse the week of his funeral, which is why I’m trying my best to get ahead of things. Jett is trying to help put some safeguards in place, but all of our addresses have been doxxed.”

“We’ve had to move most of the family to our safe house, and Moe has assigned some of his most trusted men to trail the ladies to make sure they are safe while they work. Yaya wasn’t okay with the idea of closing the shop down, and neither were Ciyani and Janae.”

Moe was Mama Elantra's husband, but he also owned a security company that helped provide security for celebrities. He was originally Rule’s bodyguard before he fell in love with their mother and got married.

“What about Honesty?” I questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“Where is she gonna be staying?”