“How the hell would I know, Amethyst?” she whispered back.
“You went to them girls’ nights before, didn’t y’all go get y’all feet done a time or two?” I asked, and she shook her head. “The fuck were y’all doing then?”
“At the court,” she answered with a straight face. “Or on the game busting niggas asses in COD or 2K.”
“You and your friends got real nigga tendencies,” I said, shaking my head.
“Thank you,” she smiled sweetly at me. “We try.”
“Alright,” Krude said, turning back to the group. “So Funky Flower is an opp. Who is snatching her up?” He looked around the room. “And what about Tank? Anybody got eyes on him?”
“He’s being watched,” Kenbral said, nodding.
“Reject Nigga with Gray eyes, I don’t need no damn FBI involvement. I need some real niggas on the move.” He mugged Kenbral, then kissed his teeth and turned to Givens. “Light skin thug, bring your ass on. I need you to earn your stripes. I’m sick of hearing Naee’s ass say you wouldn’t hurt a damn fly or bust a damn grape.”
“Who the fuck is Naee?” Givens and Mercy asked at the same time.
“One of the homies from my reading group,” Krude answered. “She ain’t too big of a fan of Givens’ ass. I don’t even know why. Well, I do, she said he’s soft and ain’t shit but a nigga Albert Eistein, and I regret finding out what the fuck that means.” He pointed at Mercy and twisted his face like he smelled something he didn’t like. “You’re nasty just like Harlot, sister-cousin.” He pushed off the wall, shaking his head. “Y’all have no idea how stressful this shit is. Finding niggas that will work in this friend group. All y’all fucking crazy and like to kill people. Do you know how hard it is being the only sane person in this fucking group?” He threw his hands in the air and shook his head. “I’m fucking tired, somebody’s gonna have to pick up my slack for a little while.” He looked over at Givens and mugged him. “Now bring your ass on. I gotta vet your ass again because of that funky bitch.” Krude walked away. “Nine, drop Tank’s location. I will handle this shit.”
“So, we are letting him go after Tank?” Kenbral asked, laughing, after Krude was gone. “He won’t find him.”
“You are doing the same thing that every nigga does before they realize the kind of nigga he really is,” I said to Kenbral.
“He’s a fucking clown,” Kenbral replied.
“Krude is probably the smartest nigga in the room,” Exodus said, finally speaking up. He sat forward and mugged Kenbral. The DeCortes didn’t take too kindly to disrespect, and it showed on all their faces. “He just likes to laugh, and for the people around him to be happy, but keep thinking those jokes he tells are for your benefit if you want to.”
“Because they’re not,” Cross said, shaking her head. “It’s his way of staying calm.”
“A calm Krude is a safe Krude,” Mercy interjected. “A calm Krude doesn’t kill anybody who looks at him wrong.”
“A calm Krude doesn’t spend time in an asylum,” Exodus said with a chuckle. “Which is probably the safest place to be if he isn’t calm.”
**
“What are you working on?” I looked over Yale’s shoulder to see her sketching on her iPad. It was an oval-shaped diamond with green gems around it. “Who’s that for?”
“McCoy,” she answered as she continued to work. “Earth ordered it a few days before the party. I have to find a new jeweler, though, so until I do that, I’m at a standstill.”
“It’s pretty.” I stepped back from the chair, pulled it from the desk, and took her hand. Yale didn’t realize it, or if she did, she hadn’t mentioned it yet, but we were falling back into our old ways. Without her paying me any attention, I guided her from the chair, sat down, then pulled her into my lap. She continued to work while I rested my forehead in the middle of her back and palmed her stomach. “Why did you stop working with your old jeweler? You’ve known him for years.”
“Something he said,” she answered as she worked.
“What did he say, Sunshine?” I lifted my head and stared at the back of hers.
“He mentioned working with Grant,” she replied, and my eyebrows damn near touched my hairline.
“Mentioned?”
“Yeah,” she sighed and shook her head. “I met with Hershel when I was out of town with my sisters. I’d requested an in-person inspection because I needed a couple of pieces done ASAP. Anyway, Hershel was his normal creepy self, so I didn’t think twice about it. He offered his condolences on Grant’s passing, then mentioned me taking over his business. I didn’t know what he did or didn’t know, so I kept my part of the conversation simple.” She looked over her shoulder at me, and her eyes watered. “I’m pretty sure he ran girls. Hershel said that Quincy wasn’t taking care of their upkeep like Grant did. And the doctor on their team wasn’t up to par.” She turned around, and I knew what she was about to ask me before she sniffed. “Amethyst, please tell me you didn’t have anything to do with that.”
“Sunshine, turn around and look at me,” I said, watching her. I sat back so she could move, but she shook her head instead. “Sunshine.”
“I can’t look at you because I’m scared of what I’ll see if I do,” she said softly. “Just answer my question, please.”
“I didn’t know shit about what he was into until my brothers told me that part,” I answered her, and her shoulder dropped in relief. I repositioned her so that she was sitting sideways, then took her chin to make her look at me. Just like I thought, she was crying, but the moment her eyes locked with mine, the dam broke. I pulled her to me and let her get her tears out. I knew she was crying for everything that happened, and finally being able to get it out. “Let me know when you’re ready.”
Yale nodded, then wiped her face with a tissue that I’d handed to her. “I have no idea who I married,” she sniffed. “Grant wasn’t the man I thought he was. I swore that Quincy was the worst, but I’m not sure anymore. Quincy lives in his truth. He’s an asshole to everyone and doesn’t hide it.”
