I climbed out of bed with my wife still knocked out beside me and headed straight to Bria’s condo after getting dressed. On the way, I stopped by the coffee shop to get my usual dark, black coffee, no cream, with a vanilla latte for her. Little shit like that always made Bria’s day. Even when she was mad at me, which she damn sure was right now. She always softened up over a warm drink and some lovemaking on her couch, or her bed, or wherever she wanted, because she loved it when I gave it to her.
Bria wasn’t like my wife, who needed the house, the car, the kids, the dog, and everything else that painted us to be a perfect family. With Bria, all I had to do was tell her I loved her, and she loved me right back. But even the calmest women get fed up, and Bria hit her limit with me neglecting her on her birthday. A play for my daughter’s school made me lose the one breath of fresh air that I had while handling piles of caseloads and a family at home with two kids, one autistic.
Once I got to Bria’s block, I parked on the side of the road and took a few gulps of my coffee to warm my body up before stepping into the cold. I planned on spending the whole day with her, but to my wife, I was knee-deep in paperwork on a case that didn’t even exist.
When I walked into the lobby, I nodded at the girl behind the desk.
“Hey, Regina. Going up to Bria’s.”
“Hi, Marcus.”
She looked at me as if she was bracing herself to tell me something.
“What’s going on? Is everything good?” I asked, and she pressed her lips together tightly.
“I’m sorry, but you’ve been removed from Bria’s guest list, Marcus. The locks have been changed as well.”
“Removed?” My voice stayed calm, even though she ignited a fire inside of me. Ever since she’s lived here, I’ve never had to get permission to go upstairs. Without being able to spend the night here every night, I had the comfort of knowing that she would never bring a man here. Why? Because usually I pop up at all times of the day and night, so she never knew when I was coming.
“Did she say why I was removed?”
She shook her head. “No, sir. If I were you, I would try giving her a call for that information.”
“Understood. Thank you, Regina. Have a great day.”
I walked away, feeling a pinch in my chest I didn’t expect. Yeah, she was mad, but this mad? Angry enough to cut me off at the door? What the hell was getting into her?
I climbed back into my car and grabbed my phone to call her, but someone in my peripheral vision caught my eye, which got my immediate attention. Crewshon Banks was walking out of her condo building like he belonged, and I instantly knew why.
He was there for her.
I froze, and for a few seconds, my mind didn’t go into immediate rage; it calculated.
She removed me from her list, and he walks out of this building? I put clues together for a living, and this wasn't a hard code to crack.
My jaw tightened.
Bria is mad at me and sleeping with a known criminal. This is the type of bullshit man who she wants?
I muttered to myself, my New York accent ripping through because the anger was instant and raw.
I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles whitened. I wasn’t even hurt, just pissed.
I closed the car door and then opened it again, knowing that if I went up there, I’d end up being prosecuted instead of doing the prosecuting.
Nah, I can’t spaz like that, I have to think smart. I have to end this shit in the best way I know how. In court.
If she wanted to make me feel stupid, look stupid, and have me outside freezing in the cold with a now-cold cup of coffee, that’s fine. But she isn’t going to win this payback game she started. I can be just as petty as her, and I’ll teach her a very harsh lesson about fuckin with criminals.
I lifted my phone and snapped a picture of Crew right before he crossed the street toward the parking garage.
I dialed Cortez Freeman’s number, the detective who I worked closely with on every case I've prosecuted for the past almost decade.
Cortez picked the phone up on the second ring.
“Cortez.”
“Yeah. Talk to me.”
