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“So, does your offer still stand?” Her words were a flirty purr. I didn’t say anything, I just opened my arms and smiled at her. When I patted my lap, she looked around as if to see where her co-workers were before sitting down.
“So what’s your name, sweetheart?” I asked in her ear.
“Sasha.”
“Sasha? I like that. Here…” I pulled out my phone and handed it to her. “Put your number in there and I’ll hit you up this evening.”
“You must be off today or something. I know you work at Bellmore General.” Her slender fingers flew over the screen as she put her information in my phone.
“I do. I have a rare day off today. I’m hoping I can spend my night off with you.” I squeezed her waist and she giggled.
“Okay, I guess.” She handed me the phone back and stood, smoothing her shirt over her flat stomach. “If you don’t call or text tonight, the next time I see you in here, I’m spitting in your drink.” She winked at me before walking away with Hakim’s empty plates.
“See, you’re going to fuck around and get a crazy girl just like that. Keep playing,” Maasai warned, pointing at me.
“If anything, I’m fucking tonight. It’s nothing serious.” In the middle of my laughter, I caught sight of a blacked-out sedan rolling by the front window of the restaurant. It was too slow to be someone just riding down the street. Red flags sprang to life in my mind.
Were those Junior’s boys?
Did they know we were having lunch here?
Who was relaying our moves?
I didn’t mention it to my brothers because what if I was just being paranoid? What if I let Sanai of all fucking people get in my head and skew my thinking?
I finished up lunch with Hakim and Maasai then we all went our separate ways. Instead of going home, I went to the east side of Bellmore where I knew Junior stayed most of the time. If he wasn’t on the east side, then he was the next town over in Chicago. Since he just had an attempt on his life in Bellmore, I knew he’d want to show he wasn’t afraid and that he probably had retaliation on his mind. That meant he’d be right the fuck at home.
Junior Baptiste’s house sat at the bottom of a steep hill in a gated neighborhood with a security guard posted up in the small booth at all times. When I pulled up, I was instructed to roll my window down since I didn’t have a sticker for entry.
“Who are you here to see?” A stocky gruff guard asked. His glare was supposed to be intimidating but it wasn’t. I just wanted to get through the damn gates. There weren’t any places in Bellmore that I couldn’t go. The entire city knew my family. The only other family with as much pull as the Godwins were the Sinclairs.
“Junior Baptiste,” I said with a sigh. I didn’t like for my time to be wasted, especially when I rarely got a day away from Bellmore General. As much as I loved my side hustle at the Temple, my main job was general surgeon at Bellmore General. Maasai and Hakim worked there as well. Sai was head neurosurgeon while Hakim specialized in pediatric plastic surgery. We all had hectic work schedules when the workload for the Temple was thrown in there. We treasured our time off. That was why lunch together was a staple. Even if we hadn’t been meeting about Baptiste, we would have still had lunch. Either at one of our homes or at a restaurant. Either way, Hakim would eat everything down to the fucking silverware.
“You have an appointment?” the guard asked, his scowl deepening. I had no doubt that he was probably on Baptiste’s payroll.
“No. I don’t need one,” I told him. “Tell him Breeze is here.” I placed my ID in the guard’s open hand and watched his expression turn from sour to apologetic. He lifted his eyebrows and then tucked his lips between his teeth.
“I apologize, Mr. Godwin. Mr. Baptiste is having a meeting.” He stumbled over his words before handing my ID back to me.
“I don’t care. I need to talk to him.” I tapped my finger against the steering wheel and looked at the man standing by my car.
“Okay, let me tell him you’re coming.” He stepped inside the booth, closed the door behind him, and picked up a phone. A few seconds later, he exited the both with a wide smile that split his weathered face in half. “Go on through, Mr. Godwin.”
“Doctor,” I corrected before rolling the window up. I didn’t bust my ass in med school for eight years coupled with five years of residency at Bellmore General just to have motherfuckers call me Mr. Godwin.
I pulled into Baptiste’s driveway behind a cobalt blue Mustang which was parked beside a smoke-gray Porsche SUV. I hopped out and the front doors swung open slowly. I expected to be greeted by one of Baptiste’s workers, but the man himself stood there instead.
“Dr. Breeze! What’s good, man?” He slapped my hand, pulling me in for a hug. “Why you popping up on me? You know I’m a busy man. I was in the middle of a meeting.”
“I heard,” I said, standing back and sliding my hands into my coat pockets. We stood in silence for a moment, the crisp cold air slicing through my pea coat. “We just standing here bullshitting or you letting me in?” My patience was waning. Even though I was opposed to violence and drama, there was a streak running through me that turned hard and cold far too quickly for my liking. I was a work in progress but until then, I didn’t like to be pushed.
“Come on in, man.” Junior stood to the side and I walked in past huge men, staring straight ahead with guns strapped to their chests. “I’m meeting with a few pastors, giving out donations. Gotta wash this money, bro.” His thick Haitian accent flared to life when he spoke.
“Right. I don’t want too much of your time. Just wanted to talk about the night you were at the Temple.” He led me into his sitting room and I froze when I saw Pastor Walter Sinclair, his wife Pastor Vanessa Sinclair, and their youngest daughter…Sanai Sinclair.
“Whatever you need to ask me about that night at the Temple, you can ask in front of my pastors. We have an…open relationship.” He flashed them a toothy grin. Walter and Vanessa returned the expression. Sanai didn’t. She was deathly quiet. Her poker face was impressive, though. Not even a flutter of her long, thick eyelashes. “They know I push product but they’re understanding. They know a blessing is a blessing, right?” Baptiste slapped Walter on the shoulder, and they shared an uncomfortable laugh.
“Right.” I nodded my head and spread a tight-lipped smile around the room.
