Page 19 of And It’s Still You

Ocean and Shea walked out the house as the words left my mouth. I bawled, thanking God for keeping us covered. Onyx gave the woman one nod. The doors closed, and I was being taken away. She let me know I was in good hands before starting an IV and putting me to sleep.

Pain woke me up.

I slowly fluttered my eyes open to see I was at Shea’s house in his spare room. He sat in the corner, watching me with his leg bouncing as he tugged at his chin hair. When he realized I was up, he grabbed a bottle of water and came over to me. He opened it, put a straw in the bottle, and helped me drink from it.

“Thank you,” I mumbled.

“No worries. How are you feeling?”

“Where’s Ocean?”

“In his room, asleep. Do you want me to take you to him?”

I nodded and tried pulling the covers off me, but Shea stopped me. He gave me a look that had me sitting back and allowing him to do so. With my free hand in his, Shea helped me stand up.

“Don’t move yet,” he instructed. “Give yourself time to get yo’ equilibrium together. I don’t need you passing out on me.”

He was right. The second my feet hit the ground, the room started spinning. It took a good fifteen seconds for it to stop.

“I’m good now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Shea.”

Carefully, he held onto my arm and guided me out the room and down the hall, straight to Ocean’s room. The door was open, so I was able to breathe easier seeing our son sleeping peacefully in his bed. I went over to him and kissed his chubby cheek. The thought of things going left crossed my mind, bringing tears to my eyes. I shook it off and basked in the fact that we were okay.

We were safe, but for how long?

“Do you need anything?” Shea asked once we exited Ocean’s room.

“To know what the hell happened, and why they came after us.”

“Hell, me too. I’ve been scrambling my brain all day trying to put everything together.”

Dark circles decorated his eyes. It was crazy how fast stress showed on Shea because they weren’t there hours prior. He couldn’t stop tugging at his chin hair either. That was another indicator. Whatever it was, they needed to figure it out because I refused to be put in a situation as such again.

“So, you don’t know anything either?” I asked for clarification.

“Nah. Onyx doesn’t either, but I know it has everything to do with JMG. It can’t be shit else. I’ve been legit for over two years, and I’ve never had a problem. For all this shit to go down on the same day raises a red flag.”

“Damn . . . Who else did they go after?”

“Anyone connected to us, which is why you and Ocean will be staying with me until we get this figured out.”

I craned my neck back and kissed my teeth. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me perfectly clear, Moya. Y’all aren’t going anywhere.”

“Yes, the hell we are, Shea. I don’t know what you think this is, but if you can’t tell, I’m perfectly capable of handling my own.”

He stepped closer to me, and I could smell the weed in his beard. It used to be one of my favorite smells until he started cutting back. Smelling it was a reminder of how stressed he was, but still, it didn’t justify him trying to dictate how I would move forward with the situation.

“I know you’re capable. I’m the one who taught you everything you know, but this isn’t up for discussion.” He cupped my face and gazed into my eyes. “I’m proud of you, Love. I truly am. What you did, staying calm and remembering the plan is the reason you and Ocean are alive. Now, let me do what I need to do to keep y’all alive.”

With that, Shea kissed my forehead. I hadn’t felt that man’s lips on me in years, and it did something to my soul. It almost felt as if the part of me . . . the part of me that missed him healed some just from that. He ran the pad of his thumb over my cheek and walked away.

I, being the prideful woman that I was, continued to argue. Deep down, I knew I could trust Shea. Since I was a teenager, he had protected me. If I was being honest with myself, I felt the safest when I was with him. Still, the stubborn, hurt part of me wouldn’t allow myself to fall so easily. That part of me wanted to continue having control over my life.