AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I wasn’t looking at her,” he lied. “I was just thinking about something.”
Rob’s mother leaned over to me and said, “Are you okay, Bakari? You’ve been quiet this entire time and that’s not like you. Normally, I’d have to pay you to shut up.” The smile she offered didn’t reach her kind eyes.
“I’m okay. I guess doing all the final arrangements is making things hit home for me. That’s all.” An undeniable tightness gripped my throat. It just didn’t seem right that I was sitting in Marcus’ restaurant with my brothers planning Rob’s repast. I didn’t want his mother to comfort me because she was already dealing with her own immeasurable grief. It felt selfish to have a moment like that in front of her.
“Me, too.” She rubbed my hand and drew in a deep breath. “Come walk with me, Bakari.” I followed Mrs. Pierre outside where the deceptive sunlight washed over us. The bite in the air made us both wrap our coats tighter around our bodies.
“You know, at first, I didn’t want to have the repast here. I thought it would be too much pain to sit in the same place where my son got murdered.” Her tone hardened and I felt a punch to my gut.
“I should have done something to protect him,” I said, shaking my head.
“I didn’t ask you to walk with me so you could try to change the past. We both know that’s not possible. I just want you to know that we share the same grief, sweetheart. You loved Robert and treated him like your own blood and he did the same to you. I know if there were something you could have done to save his life, then you would have. That’s always been how you operate, Bakari. You’re a lifesaver. Literally.” She chuckled then grabbed my hand in hers while we walked through the parking lot and came to a stop at the exact spot where Rob dropped after being shot.
The air seemed thicker there.
I couldn’t help looking down to see if there were any remnants of my fallen friend. There was a single dark spot at the tip of my shoe. I knew what it was the moment I saw it. The spot wasn’t red anymore but it was there. Rob’s spilled blood was still there. It was a part of the pavement now.
“I still feel like I dropped the ball somewhere. I keep replaying that night in my head over and over and…”
“And it’s a form of torture, Bakari. Stop it. You don’t think the phone call I got from you doesn’t replay in my head? I have to put a stop to it because otherwise, I would be in shambles.” She looked up at me and offered a soft but sad smile. “Now, listen to me. We can both break down tomorrow but once we lay Robert to rest, we will pick up and move on. However slowly we have to move…but we will move. It’s what he would have wanted.”
She was right.
It was hard. Harder than anything I’d ever done.
I didn’t tell Mrs. Pierre right then, but I knew I’d make sure the person responsible for Rob’s death would meet the same fate. I would go searching for the justice he deserved.
…
When I left Marcus’, I went to the hospital to put in more leave and to show my face. I would return to work after the funeral but right then, I needed time. Before I could make it to my office, a familiar-looking nurse greeted me with a smile stretching from ear to ear.
“Dr. Breeze. Good to see you back.” She nodded at me and stood directly in my way, blocking me from the hall that led to my office. That was when her face rang a bell in my mind.
Nurse Takia.
She was the one who was suspiciously concerned with Sanai when she came to the ER looking for me.
“Takia, right?” I asked, aiming a finger at her.
“Yeah. I can’t believe you remembered.” Her smile grew bigger. “I heard what happened to Rob. Guess he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, huh?” Something about her smile unnerved me. Anger bunched under my skin but I refused to let her see it.
“I think any place you end up getting shot dead is the wrong place at the wrong time. Excuse me.” I tried to move past her but she inched over.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just saying, it’s crazy how someone sweet like Rob got killed like that. The shot probably wasn’t even meant for him. They probably meant to hit someone else.” Her eyes locked onto mine. Something sinister swirled in her irises.
She moved to the side and I didn’t even bother looking back at her. I wanted to put in my leave and get the fuck out of the hospital before I said or did something I regretted.
While I sat at my desk finishing up my paperwork, the way Takia stared at me replayed in my head. It pissed me off more and more. Something was off about her and I wasn’t being paranoid. She knew something about Sanai’s mother and the entire plan.
I called Sanai immediately.
“Yeah, I remember that bitch,” she seethed into the phone when I asked of Takia. “Don’t say anything else, Bakari. Get out of the hospital and into your car. If she stopped you on your way to your office then she could have planted bugs.”
“My office is—”
“Get the fuck out of there and call me back when you’re in your car.” Sanai ended the call and I pushed out a heavy sigh before standing to my feet. Even though she was right, her bossy attitude still grated on my nerves.
Once I was in my car, I called her back and she sounded much less agitated. “Now, I know you were probably going to go on about how your office is locked or whatever the fuck but listen to me, Bakari, anyone working for Mother can bypass a little lock.”
