“Asia, don’t piss me the fuck off. You and your invisible fetus have already taken away precious time from my day and made my job a little harder than it should’ve been. Start talking.”
“He didn’t tell me I would be on the front paper.”
“How much?”
“He said it would just be a rumor. He needed it to stick, so it had to be someone Ishmael was actually involved with. I was upset. Seeing you and him everywhere… all over social media… all over the news stations. I thought him and I were working toward something. You know?”
“How much?”
“One hundred thousand dollars.”
I wasn’t sure when my hand had rose or when the heel of it crashed into her mouth and nose. The blood that rushed down her face, chin, and chest is what brought me back to reality.
“Cheap piece of shit.”
I stepped around her, snatching open her door. My journey to the elevator was eventless. I waited for the moment to release something from my clip into Asia. However, she never appeared in the hallway and I never raised my weapon.
I unlocked my cell and scrolled through my contacts until I found the number I was in search of. After two rings, the line connected.
Silence.
“I need you. How soon can you get to me?”
“Minutes.”
I stared at the phone, unsure if I’d dialed the correct number.
“Rugs…”
“Minutes, Ro.”
“You’re here?”
“The election is days away. I came just in case.”
“Just in case what?”
“He needed to keep his hands clean when the race got dirty.”
“It’s muddy.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
Click. Click.
Clack. Clack.
Click. Click.
Clack. Clack.
Our bodies were in sync. Every turn. Every step. Every move.
Rather stopped prematurely, glaring at the disheveled mayoral candidate. His appearance was deplorable. A smile curled my lips upward.
He’d been the mouthiest candidate of them all. Boisterous. Haughty. Cocky. Disgusting. Dirty. And, so damn crooked.
