Snatching my bra and panties from the floor, I quickly got back into them. “The shop got vandalized.”
“What fuckin’ shop? I know not yours,” his voice went from sleepy to demon time in a split second as he sat up.
“What other shop, Xy?” I snapped, trying not to be irritated with him but frustrated from the situation. “Yes, mine!”
He hopped out of the bed just as quickly as I had and started getting dressed.
“Xy, what are you doing?” I questioned as I headed towards his bedroom door.
“Angel, you just told me somebody vandalized yo shit, and you think…what? Ima stay here? No, let’s go.”
“But—”
“Let’s fuckin’ go,” he demanded in that authoritative tone that got shit done.
Gazing at him with his diamond studded X pendant dangling from his neck and his gun at his waist, I already knew what type of time he was on. The look on his face said it all. His alter ego, Sleep, was on duty. He earned that nickname when he was a teenager because he put people to sleep, temporarily with his fists and permanently with bullets. Sleep was who the streets feared, but Xy was the nigga I feared. With Sleep, I knew what it was, and with Xy, there was never any telling what was happening inside his head. There was no reasoning with Sleep, so I walked out of the room without any more protest.
Luckily, his crib wasn’t too far from my shop, but the entire car ride, my nerves were rattled. Mainly because I didn’t know who would want to do some bullshit like that tomyshop. I didn’t bother nobody, and I conducted good, clean business, so there was no need for anyone to target me. On the way there, I checked the security alerts I had on my phone from the shop. I watched as two figures dressed in all black with their faces completelycovered crept into view. One went around back while the other one used a gun to shoot out the cameras. Smart muthafuckas.
When we pulled up, the flashing blue and red lights lit up the interior of Xy’s car as we parked next to Winter’s truck. From where I was sitting, I could see all of the glass glittering against the pavement along with the gaping holes in the windows. Someone had really gone all out to destroy it, and I hadn’t even seen the inside yet.
“Stay in the car.”
“I’m not staying in the fuckin’ car, Xyleek! This ismybusiness, not yours!” I released myself from the seatbelt.
“Just let me talk to the police first.”
“Then you do that! I’m going to see what the fuck is happening withmybusiness!” I yelled at him, getting out of the car and slamming the door.
Rushing towards Winter, who was already addressing the police, I felt Xy right behind me.
“Here’s the owner, Officer Ferguson,” Win pointed at me, a few tears falling from her eyes. “Dreka, I’m so fuckin’ sorry. I know I locked up before I left.”
I dismissed her with the wave of my hand, giving her a quick hug. “I know, Win. This isn’t your fault, so please don’t think it is.”
“Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing,” Officer Ferguson started addressing me next. “They killed the security cameras first, cut the power, and went in.”
“Did they take anything?” I asked with my hands shaking, surveying the damage from the outside of the building.
“That’s the thing, Miss Lombardo. Your manager here says everything of value is still inside. Cars, car parts, tools, even the cash box, everything is still in its place. They broke into the cabinet where the car keys are, so they could’ve stolen a car if they wanted to. Looks like all they did was damage the place.”
“What the fuck?” I whispered, resting my hands on my head. “Can I go inside?”
“Not yet. We’re still processing the scene, dusting for prints that’ll give us any leads and taking photos.”
“Y’all need to be pulling street cameras, too,” Xy said in that tone that made niggas listen up.
Ferguson’s eyes cut in his direction and then there was instant recognition. Whatever smart ass comment that was about to come out of his mouth, he swallowed it down quick.
“Yeah, we’re working on getting as much as we can, Mr. Chambers.”
“We expect a report first thing in the morning. Drek, let’s wait in the car while the officersquicklyfinish their job.”
Grabbing Winter’s hand, I took her with us because I didn’t want her to feel guilty for some shit that was beyond her control. Piling into his cocaine white Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge, Xy started it up so that the air would keep us cool as we waited.
“I’m so fuckin’ glad you weren’t here,” I said, turning slightly to look at her. “I know you like to work late some nights but there’s no more of that until we get this shit resolved.”
“You finna have around the clock security,” Xyleek finally said something, furiously pecking away at his phone.
