“Angry-ass nigga.” He simpered, sliding the folder across the desk to me. “I looked into the cameras of the surrounding homes from the night you were at John’s. Her name is Blossom.”
Wiping my hands and mouth, I zoned in on the folder as I viewed its contents. There wasn’t much in it besides papers showing a basic profile on her. Blossom Reid was a cute little thing. It said her age was twenty-six, and that she owned Grove’s Luxury Realty. Flipping the photo and looking over the information one would have on their driver’s license, I unclipped the photo of her and closed the manila folder. As I stared at the picture, she was easily the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her eyes shone as she smiled and showcased the dimple in her right cheek. Her skin, the color of toasted almonds, appeared blemish-free. Her body, nice and petite, was perfect. The girl was nice-looking, but I didn’t give a damn.
She would be dead soon.
“She’s a beauty, huh?” Marshall snapped me from my thoughts as I continued to scan the papers. “How do you want to handle this?”
“You know me…” I glanced at the photo a second more before finishing off my food. I was full as hell, but I was for sure fixing myself a plate to go. “I’m going to find her and introduce her to Kimbo. You know I don’t leave witnesses behind.”
When I told Marshall about my lone audience after leaving Johns’, I didn’t expect for him to track down who the womanwas because I didn’t ask him. I had already reached out to my baby brother, Jamir, knowing he would secure the information the fastest. He was the man to see for all things tech and finding classified information. Within six hours of sending him a text, I had a name and face to go with the woman in my memory. Jamari, Jamir’s twin, had been following Blossom around for a few weeks now. Nothing too crazy, just to her job and the little coffee shop she liked to visit. From what he told me, her life was pretty bland. I was working on getting her main locations bugged so I could hear and see who she dealt with daily.
“I’m already knowing.” He nodded as he stood from his seat. “Check it. I might?—”
Knock! Knock!
“Excuse me, I hate to interrupt you.” Sue peeked her head inside the room hesitantly. “There’s a young lady at the gate who is causing quite the disturbance. She’s demanding to speak with you immediately.”
“I got it, Sue.” Marshall sighed. “Thank you.”
“Say, Sue…” I stood from my seat with the empty plate in hand. “You put your entire ass in this food.” She blushed at my comment, giving me a small smile. “You think I could get a plate to go?”
Giving me a quick nod, she took the empty plate and hurried off to the kitchen. Sue was an older lady, probably late fifties, and she had been working for Marshall’s family for years. I told him the broad had the googly eyes for him, but he always brushed that shit off as her being family. She had seen many women come and go during Marshall’s love life, so I wasn’t too shocked to hear someone was acting a fool outside.
“Every day’s a fuckin’ adventure over here,” he mumbled to himself as we walked the long hallway that led to his foyer. Along the way, he picked up his AK-47 that was propped against thewall. “I’m going to blow this bitch’s head off her shoulders. Let me catch a ride to the gate.”
While I waited for my food, I checked my phone to see who was blowing me up while I was here. Bypassing Sheena’s calls and messages, I went to my brother’s text thread.
Flash:
Sew up them bodies and come to the cigar lounge for a drink later. Your crazy ass father is meeting us there.
Groaning, I snapped my eyes shut and eased my phone back into my pocket. Jaseon McKnight was the best father in the world, but he was a pain in my ass. The man didn’t use the sense that God gave him at times, and that said a lot coming from his junior.
“Here you go, baby.” Sue smiled and handed me the bag of food. It faltered once she saw Marshall with his gun. “I hope you have a good evening.”
Thanking her, I couldn’t help but laugh at the angry expression on my boy’s face as we headed toward my truck. Marshall was a ruthless man with zero tolerance for bullshit. I hoped the lady who was acting a fool at the gate had her affairs in order because her family was about to have one sad ass week.
“Aight, my boy.” He slapped hands with me as we approached his gate. There was a pretty thick bitch acting a damn fool with the same man who almost lost his life fucking with me. “Hit me later and tell me what you want to do about the Blossom broad.” Eyes squinting, I simpered at his comment as he peered out of my windshield. “Shit, if you stick around, you might get to clock some overtime.”
Jumping out of my ride, he immediately walked up to the woman with his assault rifle in hand. All the rowdiness in her dissipated when she locked eyes with it. In my rearview mirror,I could see him coolly going off on her and his security guard before bullets began to riddle both of their bodies. I watched him walk away, phone to his ear, leaving the lifeless bodies on the ground. Turning my radio up, I exited his property, headed to my own. Hopefully, I could get a quick nap in before I linked with my people. Lord knows if my Pops was going to be in the mix, I was going to need it.
“If you don’t get your long, musty-ass titties off my shoulder, I’m going to tie them in a knot around your neck and hang you with them.”
Palming my forehead, I watched the unknown lady trip over herself as she tried her hardest to get away from my dad. Sitting in the back corner of the lounge, we had just enough distance between us and the main seating area. My brother was set to start preseason soon and wanted to link up at Urban Oasis Cigar and Hookah Lounge for some conversation and time with our dad and me. I hadn’t spoken to my other siblings in a few days, so there was no telling if they were invited or not. With the way my damn dad was acting, I would have taken my chances of kicking it in public with Jamari’s fool ass.
“Pops, you’ve got to chill, man.” Jax chuckled as he inhaled his cigar. He and I were alike in a lot of ways, but when it came to those funky shits, he was on his own. “All she did was come over and ask if we needed anything.”
“Well, why in the hell didn’t she ask you?” My dad frowned, mugging him. “You’re the famous football player, and you…” He dragged his eyes over to me. “You’re the damn doctor.” He slumped back in his seat as his frown deepened. “I’m a married man, happily married at that.” He proudly held up his ringfinger. “My ole lady doesn’t play that shit. Do you know what your mama will do to me if I come home with titty juice on my neck?”
Laughing at his ignorance, I took a sip of my cognac and took in the crowd around us. It was a Wednesday night, so the place wasn’t packed. The soft tunes of old-school Hip-Hop and R&B filled the air while the patrons enjoyed the vibe. Every now and then, they would look our way and whisper. It was to be expected, being that one of the top receivers in the NFL was in the building. Jax had decided he didn’t want to come out with security tonight, but it was fine. As long as he had his big brother on the scene, he was good.
“Anyway.” My brother chuckled, picking up his own drink. “How is everything going? I talked to Mama earlier, and she was telling me about a family day she’s planning.”
“I’ve been trying my hardest to fuck some sense into that woman so she can change her mind.” I couldn’t help but frown in disgust at my father’s words. “I don’t want you and all your siblings in my house. It’s bad enough we moved from Willow Springs to get away from y’all asses, and we still ended up in the same city.”
“Nigga, you followed us!” I chimed in, throwing a french fry at him. “I wasn’t going to be too far away from my brother once he got drafted, so I took a job here. You could have stayed in the city and ran the casino, but check it…” I mugged him as I leaned forward on the table. “Watch your mouth about my mama.”
Eyeing me, he grinned as he took a sip of his Hennessy. Once he dragged his eyes over to my brother, his smile fell in an instant when he saw his look mirrored mine. Scoffing under my breath, I chuckled as he mumbled to himself and looked anywhere but at us.
