I chuckled as I replaced my clip, then shot off the locks of the church. Normally, I would never disrespect a church like this, but I wanted to make a statement, and this was the way to do it. After I poured gas through the sanctuary and pulpit, I lit a match, dropped it, and walked out. When I got back outside, Pyrite and Citrine were leaning against my truck, talking.
“Alright, I’m ready,” I announced as I stepped over Nathan’s body. I opened my truck’s tailgate and sat on it.
“What are you doing?” Pyrite asked.
“Getting ready for the show,” I answered as I watched the flames start to spread. “Ain’t no hiding from this shit. I want them to know I’m coming.”
Chapter twenty
Yale
“He said you can’t go home?” Consonance asked, and I nodded. “And you just accepted it?” After we got back into town, Amethyst brought me back to his house, showered with me, and told me he needed to make some moves with his brother. I knew he needed to blow off some steam and get his head right, so I didn’t argue with him. Even though we’d been friends for years and knew how to move around each other in that lane, now we were learning to navigate a new space. It was tricky, but I had to trust the process.
“What was I going to say?” I laughed as I continued to work. I’d gotten comfortable in Amethyst’s office and couldn’t see myself working from anywhere else any time soon. “No? and have him show out?” I shook my head, then placed the red diamond in its setting. “I don’t think so.”
“Look at you doing what your man wants you to do,” she laughed, and I rolled my eyes. “All he had to do was give you a little dick, and you fell right in line.”
“First off, there is nothing little about his dick,” I said, knowing Consonance was going to fall out. She looked at Amethyst as a brother, so my mentioning his dick was going to drive her crazy.
“Oh, no ma’am,” she groaned, and I smiled. “We cannot ever discuss your sex life.”
“That’s not fair,” I laughed and looked up at the screen to see her shrug. “Consonance, who am I going to tell about all the nasty things he does and says?”
“Nope!” she yelled, covering her ears. “I cannot and will not be a part of any sexual conversation from now until we are long gone and dead.”
“But-”
“Yale Forrester, if you don’t agree, I will hang up and not answer until you do,” she threatened, narrowing her eyes at me. If it were anyone else, I would call their bluff, but this was Consonance, and my friend was serious as hell.
“Fine,” I sighed. “I won’t tell you about all the things we do, plan, or talk about.”
“Thank you.” she nodded. “Now, have you contacted Morning about your divorce?”
“No,” I answered.
“Why not?”
“He’s not a divorce lawyer,” I said. “But I’m pretty sure he knows someone who is. I just haven’t gotten around to calling him.”
“Call him,” she insisted, and I nodded. “I’m serious, Yale. Call him and get the ball rolling, because I doubt Amethyst will allow you to be married to Grant and still be with him. I’m waiting for you to say that he’s shown out.”
“He’s going to behave.”
“Now we are lying to each other,” she laughed. “Wow.”
“Consonance-”
“Amethyst Stone is not going to behave, we both know it,” she said, shaking her head. “He’s going to show the fuck out if he already hasn’t.” She pointed to the screen. “Why are you in denial about that fact?”
My text notification popped up on my screen, and I swiped it to see a message from Grant. He’s been calling me nonstop for the last hour, but I didn’t answer the phone.
Grant: Where are you? I’ve been calling. It’s important!
Me: …
Grant: The church is on fire!
“Oh shit,” I mumbled. I picked up the TV remote and turned it on. The first thing I saw was the breaking news of Grant’s father’s church on the screen, engulfed in flames.
