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“Calm the fuck down, Jay. It’s just a gun. It’s not going to shoot you by itself. Someone has to be on the other end of it.” I rolled my eyes and grabbed the gun off the coffee table.
“You were probably nervous after I told you about the shooting at the park yesterday, weren’t you?”
“No. I wasn’t. I thought I heard something and I grabbed it,” I told her. I took the gun to my room and put it in my nightstand drawer. When I returned to the living room, Jay was looking around like she’d find another gun hidden somewhere like a fucking easter egg.
“Is everything okay, Ju?”
“Yes, everything is fine. Are you just now getting home?” I looked at the clock on the TV and frowned. It was seven in the morning.
“Yeah,” she huffed, pushing her hands through messy chestnut hair.
“You worked for like eighteen hours, Jay.” I went into the kitchen and warmed up dinner from last night. I shoved the dish toward her on the counter and she sighed with gratitude.
“Thanks. I’m starving for something hot.” She rested her elbows on the counter and looked at me. The smooth skin under her eyes was dark and puffy. “All I’ve had since yesterday was vending machine food and cold cuts someone brought in.”
“Jay, when’s your next day off?” I asked, taking her ponytail out and massaging her scalp.
“I don’t know. I’ll be okay though. I need like four solid hours.” She talked while stuffing a forkful of food in her mouth.
“I washed your sheets and stuff,” I told her while detangling her loose curls with my fingers.
After King left last night, my mind refused to leave him alone. I thought about him growing up alone like me. I wondered if he ever got adopted. I wondered if his boys were system kids like us.
I couldn’t stop myself from thinking, so I cleaned the entire house and washed clothes and linens until I passed out in my bed at five. Irritation fluttered through me that I was awake only two hours after I’d laid down. It settled when I remembered how hard my sister was busting her ass to follow her dreams. I envied her for always knowing she wanted to help people and save lives. I had no idea what I wanted to do other than to belong.
“God, what would I do without you, Juju?” She turned and wrapped her arms around me and we swayed in an embrace. “I’m going to shower and fall face the fuck first in bed. I have like twelve alarms set so don’t worry about waking me up. I know you have to go to work.” She was right. I had to go to work and then I had to go to Darby Park to see if King and his men were either going to give me a shot, laugh in my face, or kill me.
If I got shot and killed at the park it would fuck Jane up. I hated the thought of her grieving over me. It made my mouth sour.
Was it horrible that I cared more about how much pain my sister would be in over losing me than I cared about actually dying? I loved Jay more than I loved myself. I didn’t give a shit if King or one of his boys shot me. I did care about breaking Jay’s heart and leaving her alone.
It meant I had to try to be careful and not reckless like my first thought always told me. King was dangerous and I knew it. I just felt like he wouldn’t hurt me. I couldn’t say the same for his boy Sumo, though. He was unstable as fuck. The cold, dead look in his eyes told me all I needed to know.
After I listened to Jay vent about her long day I hopped in the shower and got ready for work. The entire ride there, I blasted Megan Thee Stallion and hit every fucking word.
I pulled up at the same time as Mrs. Coventry, blasting my bass-heavy music. I ignored her disproving looks and finished my performance before getting out and smiling at her.
“Morning, Mrs. Coventry,” I said, wiggling my fingers in her direction. I grabbed my cardigan from the passenger seat and shrugged it on, covering my tattoos. I adjusted the collar of my blouse and made sure my neck tats were covered then I pressed the button on my key fob and locked the door.
It was time for a new car. I wanted to stunt in something that would piss everyone off. Summertime was rolling around which meant it was Jeep season. I wanted to feel like it was 1998 and the only things on the radio were from Bad Boy, Timbaland and Missy, DMX, and Jay-z. I wanted to wear vintage 90s Versace and let the wind blow my hair while blastingAll About the Benjaminsfrom a dope sound system in a bomb jeep.
Another reason why King needed to stop making the LOKs a boy’s club. It was time to shatter some ceilings. Yes, I was fighting for equality within an illegal organization that stole and killed people but different people have different goals.
I spent the day doing my usual boring work and fake-smiling at my customers. It crawled by until I saw Captain Marsh heading toward the glass double doors. He was tall but not as tall as King. Maybe about six-two. He was in decent shape for a man his age and he wore expensive suits that showed where his value was.
When he walked into the bank, he smiled at me and I rolled my eyes. His almond-shaped brown eyes crinkled at the corners the slightest bit at my reaction and I wondered if it hurt his feelings. Good, if it did. I liked dishing out a little pain where it was warranted.
“Juju, let’s do lunch,” he said, resting an elbow on the counter.
“You could have texted me, Marsh.”
“I could have, but then I wouldn’t get to see your pretty face. So what do you say?” He quizzed, staring at me. I shrugged my shoulders and sighed.
“I guess. As long as you’re paying, and you take me somewhere expensive.” I pointed at him with an outstretched finger, sporting modest nails for work. Usually, I liked claws but since I worked at Express One Financial, I had to keep my length and design in check.
“I know you, so of course we’re going somewhere expensive.”
I muttered under my breath before telling Mrs. Coventry that I was leaving for lunch. When she saw the Captain with his hand on my back, guiding me out, she paused and gawked like I knew she would.
