Jamir clicked to a grainy photo of the homeless man we’d paid off. “Handled. He’s a regular on her block. He told police he saw her leaving through the back entrance with two suitcases the morning she disappeared, trying to be inconspicuous, moving fast toward a waiting Uber. He ID’d her to the uniforms asking questions and stuck to the story.”
Big A leaned back in his chair. “Cops buying it?”
“Yeah. They’re treating it like she skipped town on her own, but we’re layering it to make it even more believable.”
Legend set his phone down. “What we got to confirm that she’s a runner?”
Jamir pulled up another still, from what looked like airport security. “This does. I coordinated a leak through a contact at theinternational terminal. It popped up on a low-level forum last night. It looks like Sienna in an airport corridor with a boarding pass in her hand, headed for a flight to Mexico City.”
Icon narrowed his eyes at the screen. “That’s believable.”
I shifted in my chair, watching the lines move across the map on one of his screens. “And if somebody digs?”
Jamir barely looked up. “Then they find more of the same. Little signs that make it look like she kept moving after she disappeared. Enough to keep them chasing the wrong story instead of looking back at us.”
Icon cracked his knuckles. “Keep the leaks staggered. I don’t want everything hitting at once.”
“Already on it. By Friday, it should look like she left on her own and covered her tracks well enough that nothing points back here. That gives us breathing room.”
I stayed quiet, thankful the plan was tight, but I felt guilty for even putting this type of pressure on the crew. We dealt with issues all the time that were stressful as fuck to fix, but those issues were supposed to come from outsiders, not us. Still, I had no regrets. Sienna needed to be dealt with, and this made sure I never took the fall for it.
When we left Jamir’s office, the cold felt like it had teeth that was biting at our faces. All of us were outside with our collars up, hiding behind thick leather coats with fur hoods while the wind came cutting down the block. My breath smoked in front of me every time I exhaled.
We stood there for a few minutes shooting the shit, discussing business moves and how the site was supposed to progress through the end of the week.
Then Big A glanced at me and asked, “What you got after this?”
I pulled my hood back a little and rubbed my hands together. “I’m sliding to Ava’s place.”
Big A’s brows went up. Icon cut his eyes at me like he wanted to make sure he heard right. Legend didn’t look surprised at all. In fact, he was looking at me like he was proud of his work or some shit.
“I’m going over there to put the rest of the nursery furniture together.”
Big A let out a little laugh through his nose. “Well damn.”
Icon smiled a little. “It’s good to see you coming around.”
I shrugged. “I told y’all I was always gonna be a stand-up nigga. I just had to process it.”
Smirking, Legend gave me a knowing look. I held his gaze for half a second, then looked away first. He and I both knew it had been what he said at the kitchen table that helped me process all of this.
That little kick had done something to me I couldn’t undo as well. The second I felt my baby push back against my palms, all I could think about was how I never wanted that child to feel how I felt growing up. I never wanted my child learning too early that love was conditional or absent.
Then Legend spit that game to me and made everything sink in for me. He made me see that I wasn’t starting from a losing position with this child. My child wasn’t me, and I didn’t have to parent from that little boy still standing in old hurt. I just had to make sure I never became the kind of parent who gave my child those same wounds.
Big A looked between me and Legend like he knew there was more being said without words than with them. “A’ight then. Look at Reek—”
I cut my eyes at him. “Don’t start.”
He laughed. “I’m just saying. It’s a beautiful sight.”
Icon smirked and pulled his hood tighter around his ears. “Just make sure you don’t put the shit together wrong.”
“That’s why I’m going over there. She was in there building furniture by herself like she knows what the fuck she’s doing.”
Legend finally spoke. “It’s a good move.”
I looked at him, and he gave me a slight nod. “Keep making them.”
