Page 126 of 4 Corinthians

“Cross talked to Deuce; they are safe. Still in the locker room; apparently somebody was talking shit to Mercy and Givens Robbins,” Nine said.

I sighed in relief and dropped my head.

“Alright,” Uri said, then hung up. He didn’t slow down, though.

When we got to the gym, we parked and got out of the car. The rest of my cousins, along with Uri’s cousins, got there at the same time. The boys may have said they were safe, but that didn’t matter until we laid eyes on them ourselves. Uri took my hand, and we walked into the gym. It was empty except for a few security guards; two people knocked out next to the bleachers, Givens Robbins, and Mercy.

“I need you to breathe,” Uri said into my ear.

I would as soon as I laid eyes on my son, but before I did that, someone had to explain to me why the hell my child was ever put in danger in the first place. Mercy knew how to handle herself, and despite Judah and Deuce being young, they knew the basics. I only put Judah in karate to help burn off some of his energy. He knew not to put himself in danger and to call me if something wasn’t right. Cross approached Mercy and Givens.

I knew who Givens was, not personally but professionally. Judah loved watching him play, and we’d gone to a few games.

“Did she just threaten me?” Givens laughed, looking down at Cross. People always assumed that because of her short stature she wasn’t a threat. They were wrong.

“Yes,” my cousins answered.

Givens looked surprised, and Cross shrugged. She said something to him, then turned and pointed at me before walking away. I knew she was going to find Judah and Deuce. I followed behind her, not giving a fuck about what Givens had to say.

“I’ll see what’s going on,” Uri said, and I nodded. I went with Cross to the back where the locker rooms were to find Judah.

“Please tell me y’all are the parents of the main two,” one of the security guards said as we approached.

“We are,” Cross said, nodding. They moved out of the way and opened the door. Judah and Deuce sat on the bench, still in their uniforms, watching something on Deuce’s iPad. When they noticed us walking into the room, they set it down and ran to us.

I couldn’t even fuss at Judah about not calling me as I taught him. Instead, I wrapped my arms around him, picked him up, and walked out of the gym. When we got back to the court, I looked at Uri, who looked like he was waiting for us. He approached us, took Judah from me, put him on his shoulders, took my hand, and we walked out of the gym.

“Wait, Four,” Judah said before he could close his door. “My stuff is in the locker room. I forgot it.”

“I’ll be right back,” Uri said, then closed the door. He waited until I locked them, then walked back into the gym.

I turned in my seat to look at Judah. “Why didn’t you call me when everything happened?”

“My iPad wouldn’t connect,” he replied. “I kept trying, but no matter what I did, it wouldn’t call you. Deuce was having a hard time at first too. Then his started working, but mine still won't.”

“Shit, okay, I’m going to get you a new one tomorrow.” Over the last week or so, he’d been having problems with his connection. Sometimes it would let him call or answer calls, and other times it wouldn’t. It randomly came on and played YouTube videos, or, while he was in the middle of a call, would hang up.

I turned around when Uri came back to the car. After I unlocked the doors, he got in, gave him the bag, and drove off.

***

The past few days had gone by in a blur, and my head hadn’t stopped spinning. Ever since the incident at the gym with Mercy and Givens, Uri hadn’t left my side. He took Judah to school, then went to the shop with me. He sat in the corner and worked from his computer. Today, after we picked up Judah from school, he took us out to eat, and then we came to the hotel. That was the only time he’d been away from us. Uri said he needed to handle something at the office. When he came back, he showered, helped Judah with his workout, and now he was sitting on the floor watching me get ready for the night.

I picked up my clippers and looked at him through the mirror. “Come here, Uri,” I said. He looked up at me and lifted his brow. “Come here.” He got up from the floor, walked into the bathroom, and I stepped to the side. “Sit.” There was a small stool under the sink. Because he was so tall, he would be at the perfect height for me to cut his hair. Uri sat, and I grabbed a towel from the rack to drape over his shoulders. Once everything was in place, I turned on the clippers and started cutting his hair. I loved his short curly afro, so I was barely taking any off and was mainly lining him up on his sides. I stepped around him, standing between his legs, and Four’s hands went to my hips.

“What are you doing?” I asked him without taking my eyes off what I was doing. There was no way I was going to mess up his line.

“Nothing,” he answered. He moved his hands from my waist to the legs of my boy shorts. “Just waiting for you to finish.”

“I’m almost done,” I told him. I didn’t mind him touching me. It always felt right. Like my body completely relaxed under his touch. I glanced down at him to see his eyes closed. His hair was easy and quick, so I moved to his face. I trimmed his face, wishing that I had brought all of my supplies with me so that I could properly do what I wanted. “You tired?”

“Nah, just thinking,” he answered with his eyes still closed.

“About?” I moved back to check my work. Satisfied, I turned off the clippers, then cleaned the hairs from his face and shoulders.

He pulled me to him, wrapped his arms around my waist, and rested his face against my stomach. He held me tight, not tight enough to hurt me, but his hold was strong. I ran my hand along his back and waited.

“Cori, you happy?” he asked.