“I-”
“They set up Yale to take the fall for Quincy,” Psalms cut me off to say. “Grant offered up Yale.”
“Why?”
“That’s what you have to ask him,” she answered with a shrug. “I’m going after the Franklins.”
“By yourself?” I asked even though I knew she would probably say yes.
“No, silly,” she laughed and shook her head. “I’m calling Script.” She shrugged, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Psalms calling Script meant a lot more than just him coming to her aid. He was going to bring his brothers, and neither of them gave a shit about anything but killing. Having Psalms back with the Lidell brothers meant people were going to die, no matter how involved they were. “I owe him one from back in the day, and I know he’ll love this.” She turned her attention to Uri, and her eyes went cold. “The Franklins hurt me, but the Kilmores tried to destroy my sister.”
“I know,” Uri nodded.
“No, I don’t think you do,” she said, shaking her head. “Either you handle them, or she and I will, and I doubt you want that to happen because if we do it, then we’ll come after you next.”
“I think she threatened your life,” I chuckled after Psalms left the room. I walked around Shelly again and shook my head. “She left you alive for a reason,” I said, looking at Shelly. Her eyes followed me as much as possible, but I knew she was losing the fight for her life. Psalms was good at what she did because she turned her conscious off and did what she had to do.
“Please,” Shelly gasped.
I lowered her to the ground, and she started to cry in relief. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you,” I said, shaking my head. “Nor is Psalms going to come back.” Shelly cried louder, and I smiled. “I have other plans for you, though.”
**
“I thought we had an agreement,” I said to Consonance as soon as she answered the phone. I walked through my bedroom looking for any signs of Yale, only to come up empty.
“We did,” she replied.
“Yale isn’t here,” I said as I sat on the edge of the bed. “I came back to an empty house.”
“She’s there,” Consonance yawned. “I talked to her before you called. Have you looked through the entire house?”
“I’m in my bedroom,” I answered.
“Your ideal place and hers are two different things,” she laughed. “That’s where you want to end up, not where she is.”
“She told you, huh?” I asked, knowing that there were very few secrets between Yale and Consonance.
“Yep,” she laughed. “And I’m just going to say this now so it’s not ever said that I didn’t say it. But y’all took too damn long for my liking.”
“I hear you,” I chuckled and shook my head.
“You better, because damn, this shit is annoying,” Consonance kissed her teeth in annoyance. “Now get the hell off my phone because my company just pulled up.
“Who sliding through yo spot?” I asked as I stood. Consonance was like my little sister, so hearing her say she had company this late at night had me ready to ride.
“Not your business,” she laughed. “Go find my friend and worry about her.”
Consonance hung up before I could reply, and I tossed my phone on my dresser. I left my room to look for Yale. The first place I went and looked was my office, but it was empty. Deciding not to play the cat-and-mouse game, I went back to my room, grabbed my phone, and checked my security camera. It took me a second, but I finally found her outside, lying in the middle of the yard. I put my phone in my pocket and left the room. When I got outside, I turned on some music using my phone and set it on the table before walking into the yard.
Yale looked up at me without lifting her head from the ground and smiled, and I returned the gesture.
“You look pretty as hell, you know that?” I bent down and gently brushed a raindrop from her lashes. “It’s raining, and you’re out here like it’s no big deal,” I said after I watched her. “Why?”
“Because it’s raining,” she answered. “Lay down with me.”
Even though I didn’t want to, I got my big ass down on the ground next to her. Yale immediately wrapped her body around mine and laid her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her shoulder and pulled her close.
“Did you enjoy your birthday?” she asked, and I nodded. “What was the best part?”
