“Umm, I’m sure you’ve already observed this about your wife but you’re not dealing with a weak woman. She might cut your shit off playing with her.” He laughed too damn long and too damn hard for my liking.
“This shit funny to you?”
“Yeah watching you battle how you’re feeling is funny as hell. It’s only matched because she’s fighting her feelings even harder than you are. Why you think I told your ass to take her out? Y’all are too busy fighting nature and that’s the reason why the two of you can’t get your shit together with this case. Y’all too happy ignoring the shit that could be the driving force that helps everything in your life fall into place.”
“You back to speaking on fate and signs and everything.”
“Yeah, I am. My people might have been raised catholic but they didn’t forget our real roots. If you would stop running you would hear your ancestors screaming at you that they’re trying to send you the woman that completes your stubborn ass.”
I knew I was being stubborn and I needed to be honest about Asha potentially having something to do with the Rawlins murder but now wasn’t the time. “My ancestors should’ve known better than to do that.”
“Swear you need therapy, bruh.”
“Imagine you telling me that I need therapy. Not the OC Cartel’s top hitter.”
He grinned harder unafraid of the life he led. “So people gotta die but that doesn’t mean I am not emotionally regulated in my day-to-day life. The women who know me are well satisfied. And I’m not just talking about my dick either.”
“I’d hope you wouldn’t be talking about that shit at all. Nobody is interested in that.”
“You don’t want to make a go of this? I’m saying O, I know you've been alone but I see the way the two of y’all are. Y’all fit. Your hurt matches hers. I never thought I would see you in female form but she’s damn near it. Y’all are both smart as fuck and have a near-identical disdain for people. And even though I haven’t seen it I can tell she’s just as unbalanced as you are. She barely flinched at the crime scene photos so we know she ain’t wrapped too tight.”
“Stop talking about my wife.”
He laughed the surprise on his face because of my vehemence. “Oh, good so you're claiming her now? Good, cause you need to.”
“I’m saying—”
“Shut up. You’re saying it because you mean it. You feel something but go ahead and try to deny it. You can only lie to yourself for so long. The way you’ve been overly protective of her, ensuring that you’re getting in her way. The way you tossed Anderson like he was nothing because he talked to her—”
I needed to heal up because that fucker was going to see me again. “He was attempting to proposition her like his attention was something that would have her working with him.”
“Oh, so jealousy.”
I sat up making my head spin cause he was playing in my face. “Nig-”
“What? You know it was so, please stop lying to yourself. It’s annoying watching somebody I respect be so gotdamn delusional. Makes me wonder if I should even consider you a friend with the way you’re walking around with blinders on.”
“Shut the fuck up and let’s go handle this business, Vega.” I opened the door, pissed at the effort it was taking and wishing I wasn’t having these issues. One thing was for sure. The second I found out who the fuck had put me in this situation they were gonna die slow. Not only for what they did to me, they weregoing to pay for Asha having to worry about me. And that meant I was going to beat their asses to death before it was all said and done.
It took everything in me to stay upright as we walked up to the house that was further out from the city. Vega knocked on the door as if he could recognize that I wasn’t in any condition to do it.
“Keep your head—”
“Nah. If he did this shit he’s about to lose his.”
The house was in an affluent area but one that was further out from the city center. It was quiet enough out here that people weren’t going to be out yet.
He scoffed and turned to face the door, waiting for it to open. “The fact that you’re waiting to ring the bell and not kicking this bitch in tells me you know it wasn’t him; you’re just checking the boxes.”
“I’m hurt.”
“Your head but not your legs. And you’d suffer through it if you thought he was guilty.”
He was right but I wasn’t about to tell his ass that. Instead, I turned back to the door as it opened.
“What’s good, Ori?” My cousin Hakeem opened the door with surprised confusion on his face. Surprised because I’d never been to his house and confusion at his wondering what the fuck I was doing here. He looked rumpled like we’d woken him up from a dead sleep.
“Can we come in?”
