I leaned over the banister as I watched her engage in a brief exchange with Butch, one of the bouncers stationed near the flight of stairs that led to the second floor. Their conversation seemed tense, punctuated by animated gestures and furrowed brows. And then, Butch pointed in my direction, directing Mia’s gaze toward the second floor where I stood.
My curious eyes locked on Mia as she ascended the stairs with angry strides.
“What’s going on?” I asked with brows knitted together as she marched toward me.
“Your snitch-ass friend!”
Her abrupt anger caused me to take a small step back as she closed the space between us. “What are you talking about?”
“You mean you haven’t talked to her?” she quipped angrily.
Still confused, I inquired, “Aviana? No. Not since she showed me the condo yesterday.” Eyeing her frazzled disposition oddly, I asked, “What happened?”
Her chest dramatically rose up and down as she paced in the small space between where we stood between the railing and a VIP table. “I was arrested at work yesterday. It was the Feds!”
My eyes bucked as my jaw dropped.
“Exactly!” she snapped, arms flailing in the air.
“What were you charged with?”
Thinking of the answer made her cringe. “Wire and bank fraud, money laundering, identity theft—”
“Shit.” I exhaled loudly.
She winced. “My lawyer told me that I’m facing ten years.”
My eyes ballooned wider. “Gawd damn. How much money did you take?”
She peered at me reluctantly. “Almost a hundred thousand.”
“Gawd damn, Mia!” I barked.
“I know,” she whined.
“I told you to stop doing that shit.”
“I would have never gotten caught had your friend not told on me!”
“Why do you think she said anything? She hasn’t even mentioned it to me because you have her thinking that no one else knows.”
Her pursed lips pressed to the side as her hands went to her hips. “Well, I know you would never tell, so it had to be her.”
“Or you just got caught slipping,” I suggested.
“I didn’t slip. The bank accounts aren’t in my name. My paperwork was immaculate. I was careful. It had to be her. She’s been wanting more for herself. She’s so unhappy. She was judging me for what I was doing. I think that me getting that promotion over her just sent her over the edge.”
I shook my head, refusing to agree. “It’s not in Avi’s character to do something like this. She loves you to death.”
Mia scoffed. “Well, she obviously loves me to fucking prison too.”
“You’re trippin’. You need to calm down.”
“I can’t,” she snapped, still pacing with chaotic breaths.
I leaned against the railing, asking her, “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” she whined as she ran her fingers through her frazzled, unkempt mane. “I was able to get a good lawyer, but then they froze my accounts today, so I won’t be able to make the next payment to her. But she’s convinced that the Feds are going to make an example of my black ass and give the maximum time. This is a federal case, Mythic. They aren’t going to let me off easy. And I can’t even negotiate a deal because there are no other or bigger players in this. It was all me.”
