“Son of a bitch!” I shouted, looking around at all angles. The sharp smell of fading gas was all around. Shattered glass. Damaged cars and furniture.

  “Hey,” I heard Shanelle behind me. “This wasn’t the Commission, right?”

  “Nah, they’d call and let me know,” I said, kneeling while inspecting the house.

  Uncle walked around then clicked his teeth. “Looks like straight Baghdad.”

  “As if a missile ran through it,” Shanelle muttered.

  Exhaling, I signaled to them. “Let’s go.”

  It was as we were leaving that my cell rang. Picking up, I listened. “Talk to me.”

  “Hello, Javon. It’s me, Jai. I was contacted by the Feds to speak to Jojo and you about the club burning down today. No one is answering at the house and they are coming within the hour. Some kind of way I got them to agree to come to the house as opposed to having to bring Jojo in.”

  Shaking my head, I sat back in my car, then sighed. “We’re on our way. Wait outside for us.” With that, I hung up and drove off, making it home quickly. Disappointment had us riled up.

  “Jojo!” I shouted once we got inside. Shanelle came to my side as Jojo came downstairs. “We’ll be having a meeting with the agents. They want to talk to you,” I explained.

  Uncle took guns and moved to hide them.

  “I don’t have to go back to jail, do I?” The panic in Jojo’s voice was gut wrenching.

  It made me step up and rest a hand on his shoulder. “No. They supposedly want to talk to us about the club burning down and then your case.”

  “Damn,” was all he said before he disappeared upstairs.

  My gaze went to Shanelle; then we both went upstairs to change. By the time we were done and we came back down, Uncle was showing in Jai, and Agents Monroe and Stillwaters. A huge part of me didn’t want to allow them in the house, which was why I stepped up and held a hand up.

  “Step into the sunroom. Our living room is cluttered right now,” I coolly stated.

  Both men followed me then took their seats. I pulled out a wicker chair for Shanelle and Jai; then I took my seat. “How can we be of help today? Jai stated that you wanted to speak to us about the club. Was there a problem?”

  Old, sour hate shone in Stillwaters’s eyes as he addressed me. “I find it kind of ironic that your club burned down, is the problem. Right in the middle of an investigation, too.”

  “I’m curious as to why.” I clasped my hands in front of me once I leaned on my knees. “I’m baffled and dismayed about the club burning down. It was a business that our sister chose to take on as a means to help a family friend and then we lose it? I find nothing ironic about it. Have you checked to make sure he had had nothing to do with it burning down?”

  Stillwaters and my eyes locked on each other. I had enough of being challenged today. I wasn’t about to let this asshole disrespect any of us in this house.

  “Gentlemen,” Jai smartly said as a means to interrupt us. “You both wanted to speak to Jojo about his case. The club is being inspected, and we filed the necessary paperwork with the police. Is there an issue?”

  “Ahem.” Stillwaters cleared his throat as Jojo walked into the sunroom and sat down with an attitude. “The inspectors came back to us and reported there was no foul play. The seemingly random act of violence against the club is still being investigated but won’t hinder your claim.”

  I said nothing at first. I just nodded. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Mr. Jo-nathan Atkins—” Stillwaters said with glee and a rock of his solid body.

  “McPhearson,” Jojo stated sternly.

  Shifting through papers, Stillwaters smirked. “Mr. Atkins. Your little incident in lockup has proven to be a difficult one, hasn’t it?”

  “My last name is McPhearson!” Jojo started.

  “Are you here to interrogate my client? Otherwise, your reasons for wanting to meet with us were misleading, and if that’s the case, my client will remain silent and you need to go now,” Jai jumped in with anger flashing in her eyes.

  I bristled with how Stillwaters was being an asshole toward Jojo and I felt Shanelle rest a hand over mine then stand to grab a jar of water.

  “This is part of our meeting. Mr. Atkins—”

  “McPhearson,” Shanelle, me, Jojo, and Jai said all at once.

  Stillwaters ignored us and kept talking. “Made it a point to act in a disruptive state.”

  “Stillwaters, we already spoke that it was unclear if he provoked,” Monroe interjected. He gave a light chuckle and gave a shrug, taking the glass of water Shanelle poured for them. Monroe was oddly calm around us. He’d always been. “That’s why we’re here right, Stillwaters? We don’t want to spread strife among brothers and sisters, but I personally hate a false witness who utters lies. We need to be clear on what happened, is all, before we go accusing the kid of senseless murder.”

  Shanelle stopped pouring then glanced at me. Like her, my senses were alert. Did he just specifically quote a phrase Mama always would say? I knew that I had to have misheard him. Mama would always say two things that she always hated like God: “a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”

  I always remembered her adding, whenever I got caught in a mishap, “In due time, all truths come to the light and, when they do, this belt will always whoop your little lying behind, boy!” So, I was incredulous that Monroe would state that particular phrase. I glanced at Uncle, who was lighting his pipe. He stopped his flicking of his lighter then studied Monroe.

  Even Jai became quiet, until she softly spoke. “What exactly did you need again?”

  Monroe said, “We wanted to be sure that your family has no specific enemies or people who’ve made threats your way. In our investigation, we’ve come across some glaring issues.”

  “Such as?” I asked, finally finding my voice. “Because your partner seems to believe we are the ones at fault here.”

  I watched Stillwaters glare at me then look at Jojo. “Your brother has a serious issue that has come to the point where we’ve had to be involved. A drug charge is a serious situation to be in, not to mention, he killed two men while locked up.”

  “Yes, and he has no priors. He was also defending himself in lockup, which the video will clearly depict. Furthermore, are you even sure the drugs you found were his?” Jai interjected. “Your boys in blue came into a home of a woman who was known in the community for her social work and activism. Anyone could have had a vendetta against her and chosen to use her children as a means to harm her. Hence, persuading Jojo to unknowingly be a mule.”

  Monroe calmly nodded and took a sip of water. “This is true. There were some discrepancies that have occurred and investigating that was not done correctly, to be sure, to know whether what we found was young Jo-nathan’s. Even to the point that he may have not been read his rights, and may have been violated by being placed with adults at seventeen. Isn’t that what you told the judge this morning?”

  Stillwaters grunted and leaned back. “This is why we were asked to come and speak with you. We might have been overzealous in our actions.”

  The man looked as if he had swallowed a pile of sour shit. I knew it bothered him to know that we had friends in high places; friends of Mama’s who Jai had called on to get JoJo out of lockup even with the serious charges leveled at him.

  Stillwaters added, “I just want it to be known that if it were left up to me, that little piece of shit would be locked up until the hairs in the crack of his ass turned gray.”

  Monroe frowned. “Stillwaters,” he called out to his partner sharply. “This isn’t up to us,” he said then leveled Stillwaters with a gaze that chilled even me.

  Something unspoken had passed between them.

  Monroe stood and handed Jai a form. “These are court-ordered forms to remove Mr. Atkins-McPhearson from house arrest. He still has to relegate his movement to the community, and has a regulated court-ordered curfew until we finish our investigation; but, for now, he does not need the bracelet.”

  Jojo sat up so fast I thought he might have been hit by an invisible hand. “Really?” he said, excitement filling his voice. He smiled for the first time since his arrest.

  “Yes, but if you break your court-ordered curfew and are found with contraband of any kind, we have the right to take you in,” Stillwaters gruffly stated.

  “I’ll do whatever, just take this crap off me, man,” Jojo said, moving toward them.

  Both Shanelle and I glanced at Jai. She looked as confused as we did for a brief second, then she lightly smiled as if something clicked in her head.

  We all waited as Jojo was released. Stillwaters stormed from the house like he was pissed the fuck off that Jojo was getting any semblance of freedom.

  “Just so you know,” Agent Monroe said once his partner was gone, “the tip about Jojo’s little illegal enterprise came from within.”

  There was no need for me to question what or who he meant. By now we all knew Melissa had turned on us. What none of us could figure out was why.

  Both agents eventually left, and I stood, talking to Jai. “This your doing?” I asked with my arms over my chest.

  Jai glanced up at me. “I did put in a favor to clear him of charges, as you so angrily ordered me to do.”

  “But is this you?” Shanelle repeated by my side.

  “It might be. I have to talk to my people and find out specifically. But for now I’m so excited that he’s at least got that darn ankle monitor off. Mama Claudette wouldn’t have wanted this for Jojo and—”

  “Hey! Hey, it’s you. That’s the black lady I told you about, Shanelle,” someone shouted, abruptly cutting off Jai’s words.

  We all turned to see Dani coming from the kitchen. She had a wild look in her eyes, almost as if she was panicking. She stared at Jai and pointed, then jetted for the stairs.

  “Yo, Dani, hold up,” Jojo yelled after her, then rushed to stop her from running up the stairs. “What black lady? What’s going on?”

  “It’s her. She’s the black lady who came to my school that day! Why is she here?”

  Confused, I turned to look a Jai, ready to give her the third degree about what Dani had revealed, but Shanelle beat me to it.

  “Hold the hell up,” she said, pulling out her Glock and aiming it at Jai.

  Jai’s hands shot up in the air like she was being held up. “What the hell? Get that gun off me, Shanelle.”

  When Shanelle hit one hundred on her anger, there was hardly anything anyone could do. So I just stood back to let it play out.

  “Why were you running around the school questioning Dani? You set Jojo up?” Shanelle asked Jai.

  Jai backed up a bit. Her eyes darted around the room as if she was trying to find an escape route, but that wasn’t going to happen. Uncle Snap and I had the doorway blocked. I guessed Jai wasn’t answering quick enough. Shanelle reached out and yanked her by her hair. This caused both women to tumble around, knocking pictures on the wall around, and bumping into a side table. Both grunted like wild animals and snatched at each other. Jai tried to take Shanelle’s Glock but she was at a twisted angle where she couldn’t pull a smooth move to disarm Shanelle.

  Shanelle had pissed me off just that quickly. I didn’t give a damn about her whupping Jai’s ass, but she must have forgotten she had our kid inside of her.

  I marched across the room. I grabbed Shanelle around her waist. “Chill out. What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked her, knowing she knew why I was asking.

  “Get your fucking hands off of me, Shanelle!” Jai snapped.

  “You sneaky bitch,” Shanelle snapped, completely ignoring me. She moved out of my grasp and went back at Jai. “And then you run your manipulative ass in here trying to pretend you have our best interests at heart,” Shanelle shouted, and then swung Jai around by her hair.

  Jai landed with a hard thud on her hip when she hit the floor. Part of me knew Shanelle was probably adding into the fight the fact that she thought Jai was after me or that I liked Jai in some romantic capacity. I finally snatched Shanelle off Jai and pulled her back.

  Jai stood there, looking nothing like the polished attorney she was. Her eyes were red and her shirt had been torn. She was breathing erratically. She huffed before saying, “I went to the school to find the girl Jojo knocked up. Mama knew about his drug dealing and had been protecting him from law enforcement’s eyes around town. She also knew about the baby, but she didn’t leave me any instructions on what to do if she died in regard to the baby and the drugs. So I had to find that girl. In order to keep protecting Jojo, I needed to know who he knew at the school and who he had been dealing to. I’m not a damn threat. I loved Mama and never would be a turncoat to her or her family! How dare you come at me like I’m some random bitch on the streets!”

  “For my family, I’d go at God the same way,” Shanelle spat.

  The two women stared one another down for the longest and I swore Jai wanted to jump at Shanelle again. But my girl still had her gun in her hand. Jai knew Shanelle could shoot quicker than she could run.

  “I don’t have time for this ghetto shit,” Jai snapped then snatched up her briefcase. She hightailed it to the front door with fire in her eyes. Jojo followed her, more than likely so he could question her about what Mama knew.

  Uncle Snap chuckled. “Well, that was interesting,” he said.

  I stared Shanelle down while shaking my head. A few seconds later, Jojo returned with a box in his hand then handed it to Uncle Snap.

  “What’s that?” I asked, walking up to him.

  Jojo shrugged. “Don’t know. One of the Thieves said the mailman dropped it off.”

  I watched as Unc opened the box. Inside was a black cell phone. It rang as soon as the box opened. Uncle and I eyed it skeptically then I hit answer and put it on speaker.

  The accented voice on the other end of the phone said, “Javon McPhearson.”

  I had no idea who the voice belonged to on the other end of the phone, but my gut told me only one man would be so anxious to talk to me that he would have a phone delivered this way.

  “Elias Gallo, I presume.”

  “Ah, you come to my home and set it ablaze, but you speak to me as if you don’t know who I am. Cunning.”

  A scowl spread across my face. I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about but I played along. “Of course I would come for you. What did you expect? You set this game in play; therefore, I aim to end it. For my mother, bitch.”

  Elias gave a guttural chuckle; then came a sharp scream like that of a child in the background. “Good. Killing her was just a taste of what I have in store for you, Javon.”

  Elias had just confirmed my thoughts and stepped into my game. I glanced at my uncle and he fisted his hands.

  “It’s time we do this with no more false pretenses between us. Now it’s my move.” When the line went dead, my eyes narrowed and I threw the phone.

  Anger blazed through me. My fist connected against the wall and I stormed through the house. It was war time and I planned to cleanly take that bastard’s head from his shoulders.

  Chapter 22

  Melissa

  I couldn’t breathe. My body hurt and tears stung my eyes. Everything around me was murky and dark. There was a constant drip, then the sound of something like a washing machine nearby. The scent of mothballs and mildew made me sneeze while I struggled for freedom. I had stupidly let my guard down and I went to Mama’s grave to leave my form of an apology to the family, when I was snatched from behind.

  Now I was in pain, shaking in fear. Piss slid down my thighs, wetting my jeans, and I didn’t know who had taken me or why.

  I had royally fucked up and all I could was scream.

  “Let me go!”

  Chapter 23

  Shanelle

  There was a knock at the front door. It was hours after the phone incident and it was as if we had been sitting on pins and needles, waiting for the sociopath, Elias, to make his next move. At least I felt that way. Javon had left the house with Uncle Snap. His plan was to attack before being attacked. I couldn’t be mad at him for that. Never mind the fact that I kept thinking about how so much had changed for my family in so little time. So much so that I handed over my resignation of my regular job. It would be quite awhile before we would be regular again.

  I opened the door to find an angry Ms. Lily. Her face was red and she was bundled up. It was colder than a polar bear’s twat outside.

  “Now, I asked that boy over and over to come help me take these things out my basement and he never did and now they gone. I can’t find them. Don’t know where they at. I asked you and all your brothers to tell him to help me as well and nobody made a move. Now I don’t know where it’s at,” she fussed.

  Know where what was at? Wasn’t no telling with Ms. Lily. She was a damn hoarder. I already had a headache from previous injuries when I’d thrown my head into the window of a vehicle and then into the vehicle itself. I’d killed three men in a parking garage who had come after me because one of Javon’s other enemies needed him to be sent a message. So in order to make it look like someone else had killed them, I used my own body as a deflection. Those pains were ailing me now. Not to mention, I’d tussled with Jai. I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with an ornery old woman.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Lily, but things have been crazy around here,” I said.

  “Oh, don’t I know it,” she huffed, and she rolled her beady eyes. “Who was you and that Indian child chasing through the streets the other day?”

  “He’s Bangladeshi and his name is Naveen.”

  “I know his name,” she snapped. “Who was you chasing?”

  I took a deep breath, trying to keep my cool. “A stray dog is all.”

  “Humph. I’d say. Stray dogs wear capes and thangs?”

  I tilted my head, about to ask her if she wanted to come in or go back home. I didn’t have time for her fussing. I really didn’t. Ms. Lily was too damn nosey for me and, like Uncle Snap, I didn’t know why Mama was so nice to the woman.