She looked back at Braye who picked the gun up from the ground.
“Hey, drop the weapon!” an older gentleman, commanded, drawing his gun from a holster.
Braye pointed the gun at him and fired two shots! Pandemonium broke out in an instant with people screaming and running for cover. Cali dropped to the ground, covering her head with her hands. More shots rang out but she couldn’t stomach taking a peek.
“Someone call the police!” a woman’s voice screamed.
Soon after, screeching tires rang out in the air, provoking Cali to see who it was. When she spotted Braye’s Camaro speeding out of the parking lot, Cali breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh my God. He was hit.”
She looked to her left and spotted the man, who had drawn his weapon, bleeding from his arm. Quickly, Cali scrambled to her feet and rushed over to him.
“Are you okay?” she asked, genuinely concerned.
His teeth was clenched before he groaned, “Yeah, he got me good.”
“Don't worry, I got his license plate number,” a young, Black girl told him.
Cali sprinted to her car and grabbed some napkins from the middle console. She ran back and attempted to clean up the blood. Sirens rang out in the distance and before she could look, the paramedics were rushing toward them.
“Excuse me!” one said to her, and she stepped back.
Immediately, she felt guilty for her actions. Cali had left a bloody trail due to her infidelity. First, it started with Rio, and now this innocent man had been shot.
“I’m so stupid.” She smacked her forehead, wishing this was all a dream.
While they worked on the man who had been shot, the police interrogated all of them. Cali wrestled with telling themBraye’s name but withheld that information. She wanted justice but street justice. The kind that didn’t involve any police.
After being questioned, she went to her car and noticed her bloody shirt. She usually kept a gym bag in the back seat but realized she had taken it out days ago.
“Fuck,” she muttered, starting her car. She raced home and dialed the person who she knew would take care of Braye.
“Hello?”
“Dad, can you meet me at my house? It’s an emergency.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t tell you over the phone, but I need you to meet me right away. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there. I’m in Emerald Village so give me a minute.”
“Okay.”
Just as she finished the call with Douglas, Cali pulled into her driveway. She was relieved to see that Rio wasn’t there. Right away, Cali dashed into the house and went straight for the bathroom. She discarded her bloody clothes and put them in a garbage bag before throwing them out. Afterward, she took a quick shower before stepping out. Cali didn’t realize how shaken she was until she noticed her trembling hands.
“Shit.” She shook them, hoping to soothe the angst dwelling inside her body.
In a matter of an hour, Cali had been held at gunpoint and caused an innocent man to be shot. Now she was about to reveal to her father the mess she’d made so he could clean it up without Rio knowing.
“Lord, please help me out of this.”
Cali had a lot of nerve to be praying for her relief when she was the main culprit of everything. Granted, Braye played a big part in this ordeal, but she was ultimately to blame for this situation.
“Cali!”
She froze at the sound of Rio’s voice. Could he tell that she had almost lost her life? Could he smell the betrayal on her? Cali’s nerves were so frazzled that her stomach bubbled in fear.
