“Fuck off.”
Though I was reluctant, I sent a text message to one of my father’s workers. The favor would add to the list of things my daddy would go off on me about, but at least the Sinner would be back where he belonged. After the drop-off was set up, I wandered to the front of the house and waited for Smash and his crew to arrive. I sat around for forty minutes, twiddling my thumbs, before I heard a truck pull up. Smash said very little when I greeted him at the door, and I could see a hint of amusement dance in his eyes when I directed him to the guest room. When he returned, he pushed thebig dawgoutin a wheelchair.
“What did you do to him?” I asked, noticing the man leaned forward in the chair.
“Nothing worse than what you did. Unlikeyou, I know who thisniggais.”
I sucked my teeth. “Uglyniggasalways have to be funny.”
“Yeah, and spoiled brats can’t do shit alone. The next time you hit a mission, be sure not to pick up the son of your father’s enemy. Neptune Sinner is the last person you should have snatched up.”
Once I was alone, I sat in the house for all of ten minutes before the calls started rolling in. Junior called to say our daddy was on his way to me. Then my sister, Kasey, called to be nosy. Without a doubt, I knew the old man filled his princess in on the mess I made. I may have been the youngest, but Junior and Kasey’s momwasmarried to our father. Ever since she died,Kasey and the old man had been attachedatthe hip. He claimed their closeness resulted from grief, but I believed it was favoritism.
Since I needed a clear head to speak to my father, I stretched out on the couch until I dozed off. My catnap lasted so long that I opened my eyes and saw my daddy had texted me two hours ago. Other missed calls were from Nola, Yari, and a blocked number. Whoever it was called three times, but they didn’t leave a message. The longer I looked at the red letters, an overwhelming sense of dread drove me to my feet. I groaned when I realized Nola and Yari drove my truck back home. It would piss my brother off when he found out I drove his F-150 to the city, but I refused to ask anyone else for help. I grabbed Junior’s keys from his stash spot before I made sure I shut the house down, then I got on the road. Visions of Neptune being wheeled out of the house filled my mind when I merged onto the highway. I recalled how he didn’t beg for his life when we interacted. He didn’t offer his dignity for freedom, and I questioned whether that was because he was noble or a nutcase.
I made it thirty minutes into my drive before my phone vibrated in the passenger seat. My first thought was to ignore the call, but I didn’t want to worry the old man to the point that he showed up at myhouse.
“Hi, Daddy.”
“Little girl, sometimes I think your birth was my karma.”
“Well, that isn’t nice to say. Things aren’t as bad as Junior probably made them seem.”
“Kannon, you went through his office, then pulled a move that could start a war.”
His comment prompted me to sit up in the driver’s seat. “Wait. What do you mean?”
“I used to be tight with one of theniggasthat runs shit over there. I won’t go into detail, but just know, we don’t fuck with them. When we split ways, we agreed to stay out of each other’s way. Your fuck up could start a damn war!”
A barbed laugh fell from my lips. “Then maybe we should’ve killed him.”
“Ain’t shit about this funny, Kannon!”
“Okay! I get it. What do you expect me to do to make this right?”
“Apologize.”
The word echoed, even after the silence fell.
“Daddy, I’m not doing that.”
“Yes, you are. I don’t have time for a fucking war. Fix this shit!”
Three HoursLater
“What the fuck?” I sat still in my bed, hoping it would help me hear better. A second crash followed, leading me to grab my phone and the gun under my pillow. I opened the Ring camera app, expecting to see a raccoon on my porch, but a phone call interrupted my inspection.
Blocked.
Typically, I didn’t answer blocked calls, but considering the person had been blowing me up since earlier, I picked up.
“Who is this?”
“So I have to call you blocked in order for you to answer the phone?”
Relieved and bothered, I discharged a tense breath. “Trent, what can I do for you?”
“You can tell me where you’ve been for the last two days. I’ve been calling you.”
