"What's this?"

  "This is the phone that I want you to communicate with me with."

  "Text?"

  "Not text."

  "Why not?"

  "It's written proof."

  J-Will flashed his flip phone. "These lines are safe and I will keep you updated on the moves I make. I will let you know when the job is done."

  "How will I find you?"

  "I just gave you a phone and I gave you my number."

  "But what if you don't do the job?"

  "You don't have that to worry about. I'm six for six."

  Chapter 20

  "Dat ass tho, shawty."

  Brooke turned and looked and just as she thought, it was DeMontre standing there smiling and examining her ass, His gold teeth blinging, and he wore a fresh pair of Jordan's. He was the exact kind of guy her Mom had warned her about, but she had to admit that he was intriguing.

  "So what kind of stuff you like to get into, shawty? What y'all be doing over there at that rich school?"

  "All I do is work and play sports."

  "You run track?" He laughed and said, "Let me guess. You look like you play lacrosse or some ole corny shit like that. Maybe cross country. I can't see you running track."

  "What's wrong with that?"

  "That ain't no black-person sport, shawty."

  "Actually, I play tennis."

  "Ok, that's better."

  She chuckled. He was a typical hood dude, making fun of the way she talked.

  "So when you gonna take me out?" DeMontre asked.

  "Excuse me?"

  "You heard me. When you gonna take me out?"

  "You're the man. You're supposed to take me out."

  "Yeah, but your folks caked up."

  "I will not be taking no man out."

  "Okay, when you gonna let me take you out?"

  "That's more like it."

  "So when are you gonna make it happen? I don't need my auntie all up in my business either, feel me?"

  Oh my god, she thought. Shawty was bad but you feel me? She'd vowed that she'd never date anybody like that, but he was cute and she liked his sense of humor.

  "You don't want your auntie in your business? I didn't say I was going out with you."

  "What you waiting on?"

  Those gold teeth were blinding her. "You don't even know if I have a boyfriend," she said.

  "You already told me that you did. Now give me your phone."

  "For what?"

  "I'm going to put my number in it."

  She hesitated and he snatched it out of her hand before she could deny him. He put his number in and typed Twin in the name column.

  "Twin?"

  "Yeah, I got a twin brother."

  "Two of y'all?"

  "You got a partna?"

  "Maybe."

  Starr appeared and said, "Stop harassing my employee, DeMontre."

  "No. I was just paying her a couple of compliments. You know, for her proper etiquette."

  "You might learn something from her. She's a smart girl. Not like them ratchet hood rats that you like."

  "Auntie got jokes."

  "So why are you here?"

  "I'm 'pose to be meeting Q over here."

  "Supposed to be, you mean?" Brooke corrected him.

  "That's what I said."

  Starr laughed and said, "This ain't no damn meeting spot."

  "Look, auntie. Don't blame me. Q told me to meet him here."

  Starr huffed, then seconds later Q walked through the door.

  Starr and Q's eyes met and held. Seconds later, Starr said, "I want to speak to you before you leave."

  DeMontre followed Q outside and before he left, he looked back when Starr's back was turned. He made eye contact with Brook and winked. He pretended that he held a phone to his ear and signaled to Brooke, "Call me."

  Q returned then followed Starr back into the office. When the door was shut, she said, "So why are you and DeMontre meeting over here every week?"

  He laughed and said, "If you don't want me to meet here, I won't meet him here. I just thought this was a good meeting point, nothing more. Nothing less."

  "Look, Q, we are not seeing each other."

  "We're on break."

  "So why are you trying to stay in touch with my family?"

  "The young boy wanted to make some extra money and I thought I would help him."

  Starr huffed and said, "I know you have the best intentions, but the fact of the matter is, you're a drug dealer. Not just a drug dealer but a drug boss, and this is doing more harm than good. He sees you riding around town in your cars and shit and not working and he's going to think this is what life is about."

  "I don't discuss business with him. Are you crazy? He's a kid."

  "You don't have to discuss business with him. He's not slow. He knows what you do."

  Q frowned then said, "I understand, but it's not like he's an honor roll student. Just the other day he asked me if I wanted some loud. Said he had the best loud in the A."

  "I know he ain't innocent, but I don't want you to corrupt him further."

  "So I'm corrupt?"

  "I didn't mean it like that."

  "You have a good day, Starr."

  Chapter 21

  TeTe was surprised when she saw that Eli was calling her repeatedly. She didn't want to answer the phone, but he was so persistent that she finally answered. She'd been watching Power on DVR so she stood and paused the DVR.

  "Eli," she said into the phone.

  "Hey, babe."

  "Cut the 'hey, babe' shit."

  "I need to see you."

  "About what?"

  "I can't say over the phone."

  "You know where I live."

  "Give me twenty minutes."

  TeTe opened the door for Eli. Eli wore a white, V-neck T-shirt and jeans. He was looking very buffed and his skin glowed. She could tell he had been working out and that he was taking very good care of himself. She looked down at the phantom finger and for a brief moment, she felt very sorry for him. But then she thought about all the bullshit he had taken her through with all the different women.

  "Thanks for letting me come over," he said.

  "What the fuck do you want?"

  "Can I sit down?"

  She led him into the kitchen. They sat at the bar beside each other. There was an awkward silence then finally she said, "You've been working out."

  "I have but I had to get used to working out with a missing finger. It was hard." He laughed but she ignored it.

  She didn't want to think about what she had done to his finger and as far as she was concerned, he deserved that.

  "Did you miss me?"

  "Butterfly does."

  "I miss her, too."

  TeTe folded her arms and looked away.

  "Goddamn, you're looking good and smelling good."

  She thought the same about him. His sexy ass was looking good too, especially, with the new physique.

  "You have something you want to tell me?"

  "It's about Todd."

  "What about him?"

  "He came to see me at my mama's house a few weeks ago. Him and some niggas from out of Detroit."

  TeTe's eyebrows raised. "What did he want?"

  "He said you murdered his cousin and he wanted revenge. The Detroit dudes said something about you killing their brother and they were asking all kinds of questions about how security worked over here. They were wanting to know all kinds of shit like if I knew the code to the alarm. Wanting to know if your mom lived in Atlanta? You know weird shit like they were going to try to do something crazy."

  She folded her arms. "So it's true. This is the second time, I heard this story."

  "I wouldn't lie to you."

  "Of course not." She looked down at his missing finger.

  A pitcher of lemonade sat on the counter across from the bar. Eli stood and retrieved a glass out of the cabinet. TeTe was in deep thought, and when Eli realized that he hadn't asked if he could have the lemonade he said. "Do you mind?" He pointed toward the pitcher of lemonade.

  "When have you known me to care about some petty-ass lemonade?"

  He laughed. Same old TeTe. She'll never change. Always hardcore.

  "Do you know how to get in touch with these clowns?" she asked.

  "No." He filled the glass up with lemonade and crushed ice then sat back at the bar. "I thought you might want to know this. That's the only reason I was blowing up your phone."

  "How long had you known this?"

  "For a few weeks."

  "And you just now tell me this bullshit?"

  "I'm sorry. I tried to call you a couple of times and you kept sending me to voicemail."

  She knew what he was saying was true. "You should have just texted."

  "You're right."

  Their eyes met and held for a long time before he downed the lemonade, stood and said, "I gotta go."

  "Stay." She put her arms around his waist and said, "I missed you."

  "I missed you too." It was hell staying at his mama's house. Being a grown-ass man with no job skills and no money. He spent most of his days at the gym working out.

  "Too bad you ain't at your other mama's house."

  "Huh?"

  "Me." She leaned into him and kissed him. Her breath refreshing. She smelled like vanilla and it was turning him the fuck on. They stood up from the barstools and peeled off their clothes. She hopped up on the kitchen table and he stood back and admired her body.

  She thought about Black briefly before deciding that she knew his ass was being unfaithful. Her clit was now throbbing and needed attention. She knew Eli would know exactly how to give it to her. He made his way toward her; his dick looked so succulent to her. Her legs gaped open, waiting on his arrival. Seconds later, he climbed on a chair that was in front of the table. He began nibbling and licking her thighs.

  His tongue was making a trail to her VJ and when he was inches away, she grabbed his head and said, "Come on. Dive in. Mama missed you."

  He wanted to do exactly that but he wanted to take his time and relish the moment. Enjoy what he didn't appreciate when he had it.

  * * * *

  Brooke was leaning against the counter and checking her Snapchat when Starr walked up behind her and startled her. Brooke turned and faced her.

  Starr said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

  "It's okay."

  Starr gave Brooke a once over. She was dressed very nicely in a navy-blue romper and she was carrying a Chanel bag that cost three thousand dollars. Starr knew this because she'd priced the bag herself and she was going to buy it, but at the last minute, she decided not to. But here was her seventeen-year-old employee with the bag that she had wanted.

  "I love the romper."

  "Thank you. Forever 21."

  "And the bag?"

  "It was a gift from my father."

  Starr knew Brooke's father was an anesthesiologist. He made a great salary but, even for him, this bag was very expensive to buy a kid. His wife maybe, but who was she to tell someone how to spend their money?

  "I have a question to ask you."

  "Is it about your nephew?"

  "Yes. Did you go out with him the other night?"

  Brook avoided eye contact, but finally she said, "I did."

  Starr huffed and said, "Look, Brooke. I love you and I love my nephew. He's a good kid, but I don't think that he's a good boyfriend for you. I thought you had a boyfriend?"

  Brooke was too embarrassed so she turned away.

  Starr wrapped her arms around her and said, "Look, I know my nephew is funny and exciting, but right now, he's doing things that he shouldn't be doing. And the last thing I want you to do is get into trouble hanging out with his ass."

  Brooke turned and met Starr's gaze and said, "How did you find out?"

  "Did you think I wasn't going to find out?"

  "Was it Mr. Q?"

  "Wait a minute. Did he know about you and him seeing each other?"

  "I don't know. But DeMontre came to my house in Mr. Q's Range Rover."

  "Oh, really?"

  "Yes."

  "Where did y'all go?"

  "To Atlantic Station. We went to the movies then we went the South DeKalb Mall."

  "South DeKalb Mall? Why did y'all go there?"

  "Because I had never been. He said he wanted to show me what the 'Hood Mall' looked like." She laughed.

  "What did you think?"

  "Too ghetto for me, but the people were nice."

  "Look, my nephew is a drug dealer. Did you know that?"

  "No."

  "Yes, him and his twin brother push bags of weed out of his mama's house. I don't want you seeing him again. If you go out with him again, I'm telling your parents. And if that don't work, I'm firing you."

  "He just needs a good girl."

  "You can't change him. He's the way he is."

  "Like you couldn't change Mr. Trey? Like you can't change Mr. Q?"

  Starr became angry. "What the hell did you say?"

  "I'm sorry."

  Starr wanted to slap the fuck out of this little girl. Who was she to tell her what she couldn't do? But the more she thought about it, Brooke was right.

  "Look, Brooke, I don't want you to make the same mistakes I made."

  "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

  "No, it's true. I did try to change those men and I couldn't. But you see, there are a few differences. Like I grew up in the hood and I was an adult when I started dating hustlers."

  "I know. I'm sorry and I'll tell him that I can't see him no more. I hated hiding that from you, but he told me not to tell you that I was seeing him."

  "Cuz he knew that I wouldn't go for that shit. I would not sit there and let him ruin your life."

  "He's that bad, huh?"

  "Not bad, just a victim of his circumstances. His mother is trifling as hell."

  "Your sister, right?"

  "What is that supposed to mean?"

  "Did you break up with Mr. Q because he hustles?"

  There was a long silence. This little girl was just too goddamned nosey for her own good.

  "I don't know why I broke up with Q."

  "Was there another woman?"

  "No. Why do you ask?"

  "Oh, nothing."

  "Do you know something?"

  "Well, the other day when DeMontre picked me up, I saw a scrunchie in the car."

  "Oh, really?"

  "Yeah."

  "Thanks for telling me that."

  Starr tried to stay strong, but Brooke saw the hurt in her eyes.

  "I didn't want to tell you that."

  "It's not your fault, honey."

  "One more thing. I lied to you."

  "About what?"

  "This bag."

  "You did. Why?"

  "Your nephew bought it for me."

  "What? That's a three thousand dollar bag. Where in the fuck did he get money to buy this kind of bag? Peddling bags of weed didn't do it, that's for damn sure."

  Brooke shrugged her shoulders.

  "I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

  * * * *

  Q was taken aback when Starr showed up unannounced. She strolled right in without even saying hello.

  "What brings you here?"

  "You know what brings me here. First of all, you letting my nephew drive all around town in a hundred thousand dollar car."

  "What the hell are you talking about? You already know I let him wash my car."

  "And you let him pick up dates in the car."

  "What?"

  "Brooke said that he picked her and her friend up and took them to Atlantic Station and to the mall in your vehicle."

  Q studied Starr's face. He knew she was feisty but he had never seen her this angry. "Look, I didn't know nothing about that." Q thought. "Ok, when was this? Was it Saturday?"

  "I think so."

  "Ok, it did take him a while to finish the car but he told me that his friend at the detail spot couldn't let him use the equipment because he was busy." Q laughed and said, "So what? He was trying to impress some girls with a car. Everybody has done that. That's part of growing up."

  "You think it's funny?"

  Q sighed and said, "Relax, baby. The kid is just being a kid."

  "Him and his brother are some petty-ass hustlers and the last thing that they need to do is be around somebody that they look up to."

  "Yeah, I told you that he asked me if I needed some loud."

  "Did you know that he bought Brooke a Chanel bag?"

  "No idea and what the hell does that got to do with me?"

  "The bag cost three thousand dollars."

  "Might have been a knockoff?"

  "It's the real thing. I was about to get the bag myself but the price made me put it back."

  "Hey, I didn't give him the money. I gave him a couple of hundred dollars."

  Q sounded convincing. Starr knew that her nephews were unruly as hell, and she knew that they were headed down a destructive path with or without Q. She turned and walked toward the door.

  Q said, "Was there anything else that you wanted?"

  She turned and faced him again, her eyes on his chest. She missed him and she wished that she could rest her head on his chest. She wanted him to pull her close and tell her that he missed her too.

  "Is there anything else?"

  "Not really?"

  "So you didn't miss me?"

  "You know I did but—"

  "But what?"

  "But you have someone and she's pretty and she'd educated. She's the total package."

  "I don't have anyone."

  "So you haven't been out with anyone?"

  "I didn't say that." He paused then pulled her near him and gave her forehead a kiss just like she had wanted. She wanted to melt. She wanted to pull him close and rip that shirt off him. She wanted to make love to him, but instead, she pulled away from him.

  He made a sad face when she pulled away.

  "What's wrong, baby?"

  "Well Brooke spotted a scrunchie and a thong in your Range Rover." Starr lied about the thong but he didn't need to know that.

  "If there was a thong there, it had to be her thong." Q laughed. "A scrunchie, maybe, but a thong? No way."

  "So you haven't slept with her?"

  He was silent. He knew there was no easy way to answer this. He knew that the right thing to do was to tell her the truth, but he knew that if he was honest, it would crush her.