“I have to go. I can’t be here. This is out there. I’m out there. People here have seen it.Hehas probably seen this and I can’t…” Samari began shaking her head. “I can’t…”
“Mari, you don’t need to leave.”
“I do need to leave, Sheree,please. I don’t want to see him. Not right now. Not if he’s seen this. He’s not going to understand and I can’t...” Her eyes filled with tears as she shook her head. “I can’t, Ree.”
Sheree loved Samari. She wouldn’t dare judge her friend. If she needed to leave, they would be leaving. The reasons didn’t matter. They could talk about it later. Her girl needed her and Sheree was going to step the fuck up and do whatever was necessary. Right now that was getting Samari off the tour bus and away from this damn festival.
Niles stooda few feet from where Asao was doing his interview with Beauty, smiling at the way she went in on him. The two had an easy banter going but what was supposed to be a ten-minute highlight had turned into a twenty-minute interview.
Beauty gave Asao shit about dodging her show for years before she navigated to talking about Track Killaz, how successful the festival has been so far, and now Beauty was trying to be the first to get confirmation about what everyone had already assumed based on his performance with Samari. They were a couple…
Niles’s phone began going off just as Asao danced around the topic of him and Samari. He chuckled when Asao blatantly told Beauty if she was willing to share details about the last man who’d shared her bed, he would hand over who shared his.
She gracefully bowed out.
When Niles realized Dom was calling and he'd missed multiple calls prior to that one, he answered with a frown.
“Why the fuck are you blowing me up?”
“’Cause we got a problem. Where’s he at?”
“Sao?” Niles asked, automatically assuming he would be the only person Dom was tracking.
“Yeah, he’s about to spazz the fuck out. So watch the link I just sent you and get him somewhere there aren’t any microphones or cameras.”
“Shit, what happened?” Niles mumbled, lowering the phone he’d put on speaker after glancing at Asao heading his way.
“Look at what I sent you now, Niles. Shit is about to get crazy.”
“Aight, let me hit you back.”
“You owe me for that,” Asao said as soon as he reached his boy.
The interview with Beauty hadn’t been all that bad but the way she stayed on his ass trying to get him to cosign a relationship with Samari he wasn’t ready to put in words to the public yet worked his nerves. He had done his little thing about a king needing a queen and their energy was flirtatious as hell while performing.
Their lyrics were damn near confessions but he wouldn’t put a label on them just yet because Samari had asked him not to. He was already pushing it with how he’d pretty much told the world she belonged to him with the verse he spit, claiming a woman while performing “Fuck Love, Get Money” had not been the plan, it just happened.
“We need to head back to the tour bus.”
“The fuck is wrong with you?” Asao frowned hard at his boy, sensing something was off, but Niles didn’t let up.
“Not out here. Let’s go,” Niles muttered.
Their years of friendship granted Niles grace others wouldn’t get. Asao turned and walked off, needing to get to the tour bus for multiple reasons. The first being the person who was waiting there for him. He wanted to congratulate Samari on her performance, because although he missed the last two songs, there was no doubt she’d represented.
He climbed the stairs and his senses kicked in, alerting him to the fact that the bus was quiet. No sounds, no Samari, but he wasn’t able to focus on that because a phone was shoved in his direction. Regardless, the question left his mouth…
“Where she at?”
“Don’t know and it’s probably better that she isn’t here. Look at this.” Niles’s mood had Asao accepting the phone. His brows immediately slammed in when the video began to play onscreen. The post was from Baller Alert. One they shared after Tattle Tales broke the story. Tattle Tales didn’t give a damn about exposing secrets. It was how they made their money and remained relevant, but as he watched what they’d shared today, his body flooded with rage.
He was mentally going through a list of ways to handle the situation. The reason behind what he was watching currently didn’t matter. The past was the fucking past and whether or not he understood how she’d ended up there, he would bet every dime he owned that it wasn’t her choice. His protective nature pulsed in a dangerous manner.
“What the fuck is this?” The question left his mouth while he was well aware that Niles didn’t have the answers.
The video played for a third time while he studied every visible detail, as if it would provide the answers to the questions circulating in his head.
Who the fuck put her in this position?
