Page 23 of Beacon Grove Chronicles 1: Hassan & Sylvia

“Damn, I like her. Is she looking for a career change?”

I narrowed my eyes because this man couldn’t be serious right now. “Are you seriously trying to recruit the woman I’m interested in to come work for you?”

“You know that we like having equal opportunity hitters around here, ‘San.”

“Priest, if I didn’t know you personally I would think something was off about you.”

“You know me personally and don’t think that? I might have misjudged how good your perception is after all.” His retort was calm and he had no qualms about speaking his truth.

I had to laugh because only a man with the type of power he held would readily admit to not being wrapped too tight. It was good for him to be that self aware about his shit. I was back in my room and staring out of the window of our hotel toward downtown Beacon Grove. A few days had passed since I’d seen Sylvia and she still hadn’t reached out. Which surprised me.

“I’m calling for advice not for you to recruit the girl.”

That got a laugh out of him. “Multiple things can happen at once. I’m excellent at multi-tasking.”

“Focus, bruh. You’re the one who sent me on this dummy mission.”

“Did I? If I recall my advice was to look for something outside of this shit. You are the one who decided that she was that something.”

He had me there. After that Valentine’s Day I’d spent plenty of time making moves on behalf of The Order but Priest said he could see the shift. Knew my heart was somewhere else but appreciated the fact that I was loyal enough to ignore that and still handle my business. This had changed and the possibility of having more wasn’t a far off dream. It was within my grasp and his ass was going to push me off the cliff to make sure I reached it.

“I think y’all got to me. Shit, even Smoke’s ass has somebody.” I was still confused about that one but him and Jada had been going strong for almost three years now with no signs of slowing down.

“If you think I believe that shit, you’re wrong.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ve always had something to tether you to the normal side of life. Something that wasn’t the darkness and shadows we usually exist under.”

I couldn’t deny it because I had a normal upbringing compared to my counterparts in the Order. “I had my family.”

Priest made a sound that called bullshit on my answer. “Besides that. You being a Beacon doesn’t mean anything in the world we live in. You might be a big fish in a small pond but we’re dealing with the ocean. They’re more the reason why you joined us than why you stayed human.”

“I’m good at my job.”

“You are. You’re deadly without the insanity. Precise, with no need to perform the superfluous acts that feeds a darker side of you. What you do is sanctioned and justified. All of us can’t say that.”

“You still feeling bad because you got on your Jesus shit with the carpentry? If you need absolution I can provide it to you because Cardinal deserved it.” We both laughed despite the morbid subject matter. I’d never seen a man embody the aspects of the son of God so diabolically.

“I plan and revise my actions to fit the offense too thoroughly to ever have regrets. Impulse is what leads to second guessing and remorse. Neither of those I feel.”

“Then what are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that you need to do the normal thing for a while, Hassan. There ain’t shit wrong with you being a regular nigga.”

I know this nigga wasn’t firing me on my day off and shit. “Nobody walks away.”

“No one is asking you to. Everything is calm for now and when it’s not we know we can rely on you. We also know that you got a life that you can live. How would I look with a wife and son and hopefully a daughter on the way telling you that you owe your life to this shit?”

“You’d look like Cardinal.” We both laughed again because I knew that was the one person he would abhor being compared to.

“And I for damn sure ain’t that nigga. So ease up and relax. She needs guarantees, give them to her.”

“But what kind of cover can I give for why my Black ass might come back with a bullet wound when I have to go to work?”

“You plan on getting shot?” He had the nerve to sound annoyed at my even thinking someone would get the drop on me.

“Hell nah.”