My chest caved in as I gasped, trying to breathe but failing. “Oh my God. Oh my God. What the fuck did I just do?” I pressed a shaking hand to my chest, but my breath came shallow and quick.
I reached for the door handle and then froze. My fingerprints. His blood. The gun. Everything screamed evidence as I looked down at my clothes, smeared with red, and panic ripped through me like fire. What if he scratched me? What if my DNA was under his nails?
I was trapped between staying here and getting caught or running and making it worse. My mind was spinning too fast to catch a thought, but one name cut through the chaos.
Hov.
Hov barely knew me, and with the case being over, I didn’t even know if he’d answer. But I had no one else I could think of to help with this kind of issue.
My hands were shaking so bad that I almost dropped the phone as I dialed his number. The phone rang only five times before the call picked up.
“Hello, what's up, Bria?”
Hov’s voice came through calm, but I could hear the concern underneath.
For a moment, my mouth wouldn’t move. Hov just sat on the phone, waiting for me to speak.
“Bria, you good?” His tone sharpened with worry.
“Hov, I don’t know if you can help me, and I, I don’t even know why I’m calling you about this after the case that you just beat.”
“Talk to me, Bria. What’s going on?”
I looked over at Jinx’s lifeless body beside me, slumped against the seat, and broke down even harder.
“Bria, you gotta stop crying so that I can understand you. What’s going on?”
“I, I, I just killed the man who killed my sister,” I choked up. “And I don’t know what to do, Jehovah. I’m sorry for even calling you. It’s okay if you hang up on me right now, but I don’t know what to do!”
“Where are you?” he asked, voice steady as ever.
“Down the street from the club Raw. I saw him, and I just lost control. I killed him. I killed a man. I, I’m going to prison for life.”
“Exactly where are you at by Raw?”
“We’re in his car. A black Bentley with tinted windows. He’s in the driver's seat. I’m in the passenger.” My voice cracked.
“Alright. Try to stay low-key. Let his seat back all the way, and you are going to have to drive the car somewhere discreet.”
“You want me to, like, sit on him to drive?”
I was disgusted.
“You to. Look, there’s an old building down the street from there that is a closed-down motel with a back alley. Pull behind there, and I’ll get you some help, but you need to move off that front street now and I'm on my way.”
“O, okay.” My heartbeat felt like it was in my throat when I hung up with Hov.
I did what he said and pushed Jinx’s seat back, climbed over his body, and started the car. The smell of blood was already thick in the air, mixing with the burnt metal scent of the gun. My hands trembled on the wheel as I drove toward the alley, hoping that Hov showed up to help me escape Bedford Hills as I helped him escape Ruckers Island for his case.
Chapter 6
Hov
“Baby, what’s going on?”
Ciara had been scrolling through her laptop in bed, legs stretched under the satin sheets, hair tied up, looking naturally fuckin beautiful until I started putting on my clothes. Her and I hadn’t really left this bed since we got home from court. She had run a tub full of warm water for us when we got home, I made love to her ass for a couple of hours, and then we ordered takeout just so we wouldn’t have to leave our bedroom.
“I’m going to help the lawyer, Bria, she just got into some trouble.”
