Hurrying to the balcony, I leaned over Trooper and touched his shoulder. His eyes never opened, but he smiled and covered my hand with his. “I’m coming to bed, give me a minute,” he mumbled.
“Trooper, wake up, it’s Carlos. Well, not him, but Maddie is calling about him.”
That got his attention because his eyes opened and he sat right up, looking at me with a frown.
“Fuck you mean she’s calling about him? What happened?”
Extending my phone his way, I shook my head. “I don’t know. Here, she wants to talk to you.”
He snatched the phone and I listened while he paced and talked. “What happened? Uniforms, suits, or feds? Ay, calm down, were they in uniforms or street clothes? Okay, bet. Did they search his shit? What kind of gun? Was it on him or in the car? Okay, we’ll be there in a few hours. Don’t worry, he’s smart, and he don’t move with anything on him. Especially if he was with you. I’ll take care of it.”
He ended the call and handed me the phone. “Pack, we have to go,” he said as he moved past me.
“What happened?” I asked, following him.
“He got stopped. It was uniforms, so it’s not a big deal, but I have to go help him figure it out. He has good lawyers, so he’ll be straight.”
“Why would they stop him, though? And you said gun. What does he do?”
Trooper cut his eyes at me while he pulled clothes out of the dresser. “He does what I used to do. He’s still in, I’m not.”
“Wait, so he’s a dealer?”
“Yeah, but not like you think, and his record is clean. Never been to jail and all his guns are registered. Well, the ones they likely found.”
“So, why are we going?”
Trooper stopped and gave me the most hateful stare. “Because that’s my fucking people, Sophie. If he needs me I’m going to be there. Don’t ask no stupid shit like that.”
“That’s not what I meant. I understand and expect you to be there for him, but if it’s not a big deal, why would he call you? Is it worse than you’re saying? That’s all I meant.”
He relaxed a little and ran his hand down his face. “I don’t know, but Los wouldn’t give them a reason to stop him. So that means somebody created one. That’s why I need to be there. We can come back any time you want, but I have to make sure he’s good.”
“I know. I’m okay with that,” I said and went to the closet to get our bags. When I came back out, Trooper had all his things on the bed and was in the process of getting dressed in a pair of sweats. He moved past me and kissed me on the cheek, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. If he needed to be there for Carlos, I wouldn’t get in the way of that.
Five hours later we were back in New York at my apartment. I was disappointed that our trip was cut short, but understood how important it was for Trooper to be there for his friend. I was just grateful that lifestyle was his past because I didn’t know if I could deal with what came with it. But then again, with the way Trooper had me so wrapped up, I had a feeling I would find a way to manage. Maddie and Carlos. on the other hand. were new. I hadn’t talked to her yet, so I wasn’t sure how she felt about the situation.
“I might be out of touch for a minute. I need to make calls for Los, go see him, and try to figure out what happened, but I’ll come by later, okay?”
“That’s fine, do what you need to do.”
He stood in front of me, just searching my face like he was trying to read me. I smiled because it felt weird.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He invaded my personal space and kissed me. “I’ll make it up to you, okay?”
“There’s nothing to make up. I’m fine. I loved being there with you and you already promised to take me back. Now go, and I’ll see you later.”
He smirked and kissed me again. “That’s too easy. I’m just waiting. I know you’ll use this against me one day.”
“Goodbye, Trooper.” I said firmly while pushing him toward the elevator.
He stole one more kiss before he was gone. I made my way to my room to call Maddie.
I placed my phone on speaker and laid it on the counter in the bathroom while I started a bath. The traveling had worn me out. I just wanted to soak and lounge for a bit. I had work to do, but it would have to wait.
“Are you home?” she asked as soon as I picked up.
