While he was on his way out, another familiar face was strolling in.
“Crew, what’s up?” Heavy took a bite of the sausage, egg, and cheese croissant as Viggo and Crew dapped each other up.
His cousin moved along into the shop, leaving them alone.
“Nothing much,” Crew said, venturing inside. “Heard you had to work on Maisie’s car. Thought I’d stop by and see what the tab is.” Crew shoved his hands into the pocket of his gray Balenciaga hoodie.
“Don’t worry about it,” Heavy told him.
“You sure?” Crew checked with him. “I know I owe you for putting up with G all night then.” Crew chuckled.
Shaking his head, Heavy swallowed his food and leaned forward with that pretty ass face on his mind. She damn sure left an impression. Her smell, the way she tasted, how her walls felt wrapped around his dick.
“Nah. It was cool. Princess is alright with me.”
“Princess?” Crew hiked a brow.
Heavy tittered a bit and took another bite of his sandwich.
“Just some shit I was fucking with her about.”
Crew looked at him like he’d lost his mind. Rarely did Heavy seem amused by anything. He wasn’t completely void of a sense of humor; it was just dry if anything.
“Oh, okay. I mean, if you say no charge, I ain’t gon’ argue.”
“She staying at Remi’s spot?”
“For now.” Crew sighed, removing his hands from his pockets and dropping into one of the chairs across from Heavy’s desk.
“What you mean?” Heavy grabbed a napkin and wiped his hands then leaned back in his chair.
“Her father’s estate is tied up in some legal shit right now, so she’s in limbo. All the lawyers and red tape on top of everything else is just a lot. Remi’s younger brother, Gregory, and his wife got hit in a home invasion a few weeks ago. Giselle was there when it happened, witnessed the whole thing, but they didn’t know she was there.”
Damn. No wonder she didn’t want to talk about it.
“She didn’t mention that.”
“She wouldn’t.” Crew crossed one leg over the other. “Giselle knows how to compartmentalize like nobody else. Hell, the only reason she was on the road yesterday was because she found out about a sister she never knew. I didn’t want to be there this morning when she got back. Remi’s got her hands full with that situation. On the outside, Giselle seems fine, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she crashes out at any given moment.”
FOUR
YOU DON’T KNOW ME
“Well, well. So nice of you to return.” Maisie burst outside through the back door of her mama’s house with her Prada backpack slung over her shoulder.
She had just finished her coffee and polished off one of Remi’s turnovers when she heard the car pull up. Being a jack of all trades, Maisie got her money in multiple streams. She was an esthetician, she had a small weed farm, and currently, she was working on opening her own dispensary. Lately, she’d even been toying with skincare and thinking about starting her own line. Between she and Crew, they were pushing heavily for Kansas to finally legalize weed, which meant they were figuring out how to rub elbows with people in high places. Until then, she kept her business very low profile, but it was already proving to be profitable.
Denim jeans hugged her hips and a red graphic t-shirt stopped above her washboard abs as she slipped into her signature leather jacket. Giselle strutted toward her withattitude, holding up the keyfob for her to take when they bypassed each other in the driveway.
“Do me a favor. Try to listen and not judge,” Maisie advised. “I know you’re already dealing with a lot, but the only person you should be mad at is now six feet under, and there is nothing you can do about it.”
“I don’t need a pep talk, Mais.”
“Well, you seem a little more relaxed now than when you left last night,” her cousin observed, picking up on something new in her stance. “How did it go with Heavy?”
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Giselle reminded her, nose curling up as she yanked Remi’s back door open.
She didn’t want to think about that, although it had invaded her mind the entire drive back there.
