“Except it does,” he countered, turning in my direction. “I didn’t want you stressing over it while you were away, but they raised hell over Mario while you were gone. We fought constantly, and when one of those fights led to a shootout, we lost two members. It took us sitting down with the mayor for us to reach a place of peace. Now that peace was ruptured because of some shit that has nothing to do with you, but you and her . . . we went to war for y’all. I’d do it again if I had to, but I don’t have to, as long as you stay away.”
My head shook as I processed what he was saying. “Why didn’t you tell me this? And what does she have to do with them now? I understand them feeling some type of way over Mario, but what would that have to do with us staying away from each other?”
“Word on the street is the new police captain is in their back pocket. He’s her godfather, and he don’t fuck with us. I canguarantee you he’s going to tell her to stay away from you, and if that’s the case, I need you to listen.”
The new police captain.
Captain Chris Peterson.
He was Jelai’s godfather and Dylan’s best friend.
It didn’t surprise me to hear that he’d taken Dylan’s place as captain. Dylan had gone up in the ranks while I was away. For a while, he looked out for me too. It was crazy how he went from not wanting me to have anything to do with his daughter to thanking me for saving her. He came to visit me and made sure the warden and guards knew we were locked in so they wouldn’t fuck with me. While he didn’t allow Jelai to visit me, he did give me a thank you letter on her behalf, which I kept and treasured.
I didn’t ever reach out to Jelai over the years except when I found out her father was murdered on the job two years ago. I had my suspicions that something was wrong when his visits stopped, but I figured maybe he was just sick. It was news to me that Chris had taken over, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. I also shouldn’t have been surprised to hear there were suspicions that he was connected to The Outlaws.
“I can’t lie to you and say I’m staying away from her, but if she doesn’t want me, I’ll stand down,” was all I could say.
“I guess that will have to do,” he said with a smile. “What do you have planned for tomorrow? I got a surprise for you.”
“I don’t have too much planned. I wanna go to the shop at some point and see my business for myself. Maybe do a little shopping. That’s about it.”
I didn’t tell him going to see Jelai was at the top of my list.
“You know that money you had Sonny give me and ya mama over the years?” I nodded. When I was selling, I didn’t hesitate to send them money as thanks for them holding me down the way they did. They insisted I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. Mama made me promise to stop as soon as the auto shop andmy investments started bringing in money, and I kept my word. “Well, I saved it so you could get a new bike since the one I had that you were riding was impounded and sold at that auction when you were arrested.” He grunted, anger returning from over a decade ago. “Fucking bastards wouldn’t let me get it for nothing in the world.”
“It’s cool, Pops. I probably would’ve wanted to upgrade it anyway. That sounds good though. We can go and grab something tomorrow.”
His grin returned before we shook hands, which turned into a hug. He told me he was happy I was home again before leaving, and thankfully, nobody else bothered me for the rest of the night. As happy as I was to be home, I needed time to get used to my freedom. I spent the night in my old room, and though the space felt ten times too small now, it felt good to be home.
Yet again, I slept through my alarm, which was ridiculous, seeing as I didn’t have to get up for my shift until ten in the morning. Most of my nights were spent watching Chinese women on TikTok sell and pack beads while I made bracelets myself. I’m not quite sure how the addiction started. Well, yes, I do.
One day, I was randomly scrolling and saw a lady packing bead orders. The ASMR of her voice and the sound of the scooped beads put me to sleep. Then, curiosity had me buying so I could see my own order packed. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had a whole room dedicated to making beaded bracelets, beaded plants, and suncatchers.
The good thing about my job was my boss wouldn’t care too much about me being late, seeing as though she was my mother. I didn’t like to take advantage of that fact, though, because when I was late, my team was shorthanded, and Ma’s restaurant was always super busy. Since I was late, that meant I had to scramble around the house while I rushed to get ready. We opened the restaurant at eleven, and I was pretty sure there would be a line waiting at the door.
Ma’s restaurant was a staple in The Hills. She’d retired from teaching to do the second thing she loved most—cooking. The great thing about Southern Delightz was it was soul food that our customers could eat every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and not have to worry about the typical health problems that plagued our community like diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. Our menu was a healthy take on the classics without everything being high in fat, sugar, or deep fried. Now we did still have the staples like fried chicken and fish, but we also offered baked and vegetarian options.
I was a waitress for now, but eventually, I’d take over when Ma retired. My plan was to expand and open more restaurants, including buffets. I put my nutrition degree to use to help Ma come up with the menu, and I also offered meal planning and nutritional coaching on the side. Not only did Southern Delightz operate as a sit-down restaurant, but we also outsourced private and personal chefs and catered events.
While I was the team lead for the waitresses, Sidney was over the private chefs, bringing in crazy business just by having Caden alone as her client, and my girl Yana was over the catering department. She and Ashley were my best friends, and Ashley and I had been friends since high school.
When I went to college, I didn’t think I’d continue to work at the restaurant after I graduated, but honestly, I had no reason to leave. I made very good money in tips because the restaurantwas always packed, and even if I didn’t, Daddy set me and Ma up financially with his insurance policies. Truthfully, I would have preferred to have him here instead, but with the money he left behind, I was able to buy my first home and my dream car, which was a blue BMW M4.
Just thinking about him made my heart squeeze. He’d warned us over the years and tried to prepare us in case he died on the job, but no amount of preparation made losing my father easy. Hearing that he was gunned down on the streets, blood spilling on concrete, still haunted me. What made it worse was they still hadn’t found the man who’d killed him. Daddy wasn’t even supposed to be working a case. He was the captain and should have been behind a fucking desk. Instead, he was following up on some lead an informant had given him, and in the process, he’d paid the ultimate price for his devotion to his badge.
With a sigh, I rounded my bed and went to my closet to grab my uniform for the day. I decided on a pair of jeans and my short sleeved Southern Delightz shirt. After unbuttoning the first three buttons, I tied a thin red scarf around my neck for a pop of color that would match my lipstick. Before I could unroll my hair, there was a knock on my door.
At first, I didn’t bother answering. I figured it was a delivery, because most people in my life knew I’d be at work or on my way there. When the knocking started up again, I grabbed my phone to look at my security camera. My eyes rolled at the sight of Chris. Not because I didn’t like my godfather, but because I didn’t have the time to talk.
Rushing down the stairs, I hoped he didn’t want to sit and talk. I didn’t know why Chris hated using the phone. A lot of what he popped up to talk about could be texted. It always tickled me because he was only in his late forties but acted like he hated using cell phones.
I opened the door, not even bothering to invite him in as I leaned against it and said, “Hey, Chris. What’s up?”
“Can I come in, GD? We need to talk.”
There was no way I could deny him when he called me GD. It was the cutest reminder that I was his goddaughter.
“Yes, but I don’t have much time. I’m already late for work.”
