“Yeah, I’m good. I’m just glad we all made it out.”
I nodded, taking a seat on the couch, while Crue ran down everything that happened from the beginning. When he was done, I was in full agreement that this shit was a set up. When the bedroom door opened and Saniyah walked out in one of my t-shirts that damn near swallowed her and a pair of shorts with the string tied extra tight so that they would stay up on her waist, I smiled. I stood to my feet and walked over to her.
“Are you okay, Saniyah? I swear if I would have known any of this would happen, I would have never asked Crue to take you. I promise you this shit ain’t gon’ end well for them muthafuckas.”
She nodded her head, and I reached up and touched her shoulders. “You know you can’t tell anyone about this, right?”
This time when she nodded her head, she made eye contact with me. I could see the fear in her eyes, and it made me want to kill everyone involved. This shit had gotten out of hand, and I was going to make it my business to find out why.
“I think you should stay here tonight, just in case. I will take you back to your apartment in the morning.”
“Just in case what?”
“Just in case,” I reiterated.
She nodded her head slowly, not saying anything else, before turning around and walking back into the bedroom. I turned my attention back to Crue and Destiny, while they continued to tell me their thoughts on tonight’s events. Crue was just as mad as I was, so I knew that client was as good as dead once we got our hands on him. Destiny left about an hour later, letting us know that she would see us Monday morning. Crue went into the second bedroom to get some sleep, but I was wide awake. These muthafuckas had fucked up, and all that was on my mind was showing them how bad it got when you fucked with Blackline.
The next morning,just as promised, I took Saniyah back to her apartment. I pulled in front of her building and cut my engine before getting out and walking around to open her door. Like the gentleman I was, I walked her to the door, and she invited me inside. Her apartment was small, very small, yet clean and well decorated. I looked around, and she must have noticed the look on my face.
“I know it’s not much, but it’s mine.”
I looked up at her then nodded. “I get it. I haven’t always had money. I come from humble ass beginnings, so I understand.”
Saniyah took a seat on the small white sofa that sat in the middle of the living room. I walked over and took a seat next to her, turning so that I could look her directly in the eyes.
“I want you to know that Crue and I are not going to just sweep what happened last night under the rug. This shit will be handled – our way. We don’t play about Blackline as a whole, and that includes our employees. If you need time off, I understand, just say the word. And you will still be paid. I know last night was a lot to take in, but I want you to be comfortable at work and know that we got you – because we do.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate that, Kadeem. I might just take you up on that for a couple of days. I’ll probably just take Monday and Tuesday off.”
“Are you sure that will be enough time?”
“Yeah, I’ll be good after that. I’ll be back in the office Wednesday morning for sure.”
I nodded my head and stood to my feet. I let Saniyah know that she could call me if she needed anything. I got into my car and just sat there for a moment. All I could think about was how scared she had to be. On top of that, I was the one that put her in that fucking situation. I exhaled slowly, rubbing my jaw, as I pulled away from the curb, and my phone rang. Pulling it from the cup holder, I glanced at it, saw it was Crue, and answered immediately.
“What up doe?”
“You drop her off yet?”
“Yeah, I’m actually just pulling away from her building. She’s going to take off a couple of days to get her head right. I offered her more time, but she insists on coming back to work Wednesday.”
“We gotta handle this shit, Kadeem. Muthafuckas can’t be thinking they can just make moves on us like that. We need to make an example outta this muthafucka, so anybody coming after him will know not to.”
“I’m wit’ you when you right. I’m already on that same type of time.”
“Ain’t nobody follow you, did they? I don’t need nobody coming to her apartment, and neither of us are there. I’m not sure what this nigga on, so I’m not putting shit past him.”
“Nobody followed me. I made sure of that,” I replied. “But I still don’t like the fact that she has now been exposed.”
“Exactly. But it’s all good because I’m heading to him now. You coming?”
“Send me the location.”
The call disconnected, and seconds later, a text came through with the address. I made a sharp turn at the next light, pressing harder on the gas. About twenty minutes later, I pulled into the underground garage of a high-rise downtown. I spotted Crue’s truck already parked, and I pulled next to it. Crue got out, gun already in hand, before I could even cut the engine.
“We not gon’ need no guns,” I informed.
Crue chuckled and nodded his head. “Oh, you really with the shit, huh?”
