“Have you seen him since he—”

  “No.” Amira shook her head.

  “Mmm. Girl, I still think you’re crazy for not putting him in jail after he put his hands on you. Hell, that’s something you should have told your daddy.”

  “I just wanted it to end after he did that to me. I didn’t want to drag it out,” Amira said.

  She shook the quick flashback of Jerron’s hands around her neck out of her head. They’d been outside Meka’s house when she told him she wanted to break up. He went berserk.

  “You’re never gon’ leave me, you hear me, bitch?” he’d said.

  She could still feel the heat from his breath on her face as he choked the life out of her. She still smelled the stench of alcohol on his breath. He might have killed her if Meka hadn’t run out to stop him. She cleared her throat and put her phone away, hoping Jerron would eventually get the point. It was over between them.

  Moments later, Tevin and Pete came back to the table. Amira saw that their eyes were way lower than they had been before. She didn’t smell any marijuana, but the vape pen sticking out of Tevin’s pocket clearly indicated they were high. She didn’t see anything wrong with it. Lots of people she knew got high. She was more of an occasional drinker but didn’t really fool with drugs.

  When the food came, they all dug in. The rest of the morning was filled with laughter and them all getting to know one another better. When it was time to go, Amira was feeling bubbly and cheesy. The two mimosas she drank had her feeling herself. Meka rode there with them but was leaving with her. The guys walked them to the Range Rover, and Tevin raised a brow, impressed.

  “Nice whip,” he complimented.

  “Thanks. It was a gift from my dad.”

  “He must be rolling in cash, huh?”

  “I guess you can say that.” Amira shrugged. “He’s a lawyer.”

  “Word? Is that what you’ll be studying in Florida? Law?”

  “Hell no.” Amira turned her nose up. “I want to be a journalist. Maybe start my own magazine.”

  “Dope,” Tevin said, staring at her in wonder. “I guess it’s time for me to get out of here. You have my number now. Make sure you use it.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m for real, Amira. I’m trying to keep this vibe rolling.”

  “Okay,” she giggled and hugged him.

  Damn, he smells good, she thought as she stepped on her tiptoes to bury her nose in his neck.

  It felt so good being in his arms that she didn’t want to let go, and he felt the same by the reluctant way Tevin stepped back. He slowly backed away and gave an awkward wave before turning away and walking to where he parked his car. Meka was tonguing Pete down in farewell on the other side of the vehicle. When he finally came up for breath, he squeezed her butt before walking away.

  “Get your fast ass in the car,” Amira joked, pointing to the SUV. “Just fast.”

  They were laughing as they got into the car. When Tevin drove by, he gave a honk, and Amira waved. She was getting comfortable in her seat when her phone rang again. It was Jerron. Quickly ignoring it, she turned the car on and prepared to reverse out of the parking spot. Right when her foot touched the gas, a black Camaro with darkly tinted windows stopped behind her. She quickly hit the brakes and looked wide-eyed at the car.

  “What the fuck is their problem?” she said angrily and hopped out of the car. “Hey, what the hell is wrong with you? You need to move.”

  She started to walk toward the vehicle, but when the front door opened, and she saw who was driving it, she stopped. It was Jerron. His deep brown face turned up in anger, and she saw the fire in his eyes. She tried to rush and get back into her car, but he was too fast. He caught her before she was able to shut the door.

  “Amira!” Meka screamed when she saw Jerron choking her.

  “So, this is what the fuck we’re doing now? Huh?” Jerron asked through clenched teeth. “You can’t answer the phone because you’re out with these lame-ass dudes? Bitch, answer me.”

  Amira couldn’t do what he asked because she was too busy gasping for air. The terror coursing through her body was unheard of. He was forcing her to look into his eyes, and all she saw was darkness. Meka had reached over and slapped him, trying to get him to release her, but Amira didn’t think he felt the hits. Summoning all her strength, she brought up her knee to hit him between the legs. He cried out and loosened his grip on her enough that she could push him off her. He quickly regained his composure, and when she turned to clamber into the car, he turned her to face him.

  “Get off of m—”

  Jerron punched her in the eye before she could finish her scream. He pulled his arm back to hit her again, but by then, Meka had found the pepper spray Amira kept in the glove compartment and was spraying him in the face.

  “Fuck,” he screamed, stumbling back and rubbing his eyes. “Bitch, I’ma kill you!”

  “Get in, Amira, get in,” Meka urged.

  Amira’s senses returned to her, and she got in the car. Instead of reversing, she hopped the curb in front of her and sped away from the restaurant. Her hands were shaking as she thought about what had just happened. His words played back in her head. He said he was going to kill her. She didn’t understand why he would want to, but she believed him. All she had done was break up with him, but he showed signs of obsession.

  “Amira, you have to go to the police.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “If I do that, then my dad will know what happened. I can’t do that.”

  “Amira—”

  “Just drop it, okay? Let’s go to your house so you can put some makeup on my face before I go home.”

  Chapter 3

  “Good morning, Mr. James. How are you today?”

  Aramous had just stepped into his corner office holding a cup of coffee at the firm where he worked. His assistant, Mallory, had come bounding in, wearing her usual skintight dress. That day, she’d opted for green, which looked terrific on her dark skin. She wore her hair extensions. She placed a folder of paperwork in her hands on his desk as he sat.

  “Same old, same old,” he said with a sigh.

  “Another fight with Amira?” she asked knowingly.

  “How’d you guess?”

  “That,” she said, pointing at the coffee in his hand. “The girl drives you straight to the caffeine.”

  “I guess I have a tell then,” he said with a chuckle.

  “You have many I’ve discovered these last five years working for you.”

  “And what are they?”

  “Ha. You think I’d tell you so you can catch yourself? No, sir,” Mallory said with a wink. She pointed at the files she’d placed on his desk. “Those are the new developments with the Hinton case.”

  “New developments?” Aramous asked, picking up the folder. “Please don’t say it’s bad news. We have everything needed to knock this case out of the park.”

  “I think the word you’re looking for is had. You didn’t watch the news last night?”

  “No, what happened on the news?”

  “Your client has been very busy, that’s what. They busted another dope house, and now the prosecution has someone willing to testify against your client. You remember Cheryl Pond?”

  “Of course I do. That case was all over the news. She was smuggling drugs in from overseas and got caught.”

  “Yeah, well, in exchange for a lighter sentence, she’s ready to testify against her business partner.”

  “Yeah? And who might that be?”

  “Kaleef Hinton,” Mallory said, tapping a finger on the folder, “a.k.a. your client.”

  “No fucking way.” Aramous’s eyes widened as he sifted through the contents of the folder. “Pictures of them together. Money from his account going into hers. Shit. How the hell does he expect us to fight this?”

  “I don’t know. I’m just happy that the detective you have on the inside was able to give you a heads-up.”

  “Me too.” Aramous sighed and dropped the folder on the desk. “And what did I tell you about reading through my case files?”

  “You knew I was nosy when you hired me,” she said with a wink and reached the door.

  “Mallory.”

  “Yes, Mr. James?” She stopped in the doorway to look over her shoulder.

  “Why don’t you let me take you out for dinner sometime? My treat.”

  She smirked at the advance. “Mr. James, how often do I have to tell you I don’t shit where I lie? We make a good team. I don’t want to be one of your play things.”

  With that, she shut the door to his office, leaving him alone. It wasn’t the first time she’d shot him down, but something about her made him not give up. It could have been that she was so attractive to him, or it could have been that even though she wouldn’t date him, she treated him well. He would have his day someday, but that day wasn’t it, which was fine due to the new challenge he had at hand.

  Aramous was a defense attorney who was very good at his job. Most wondered how he could do a job like his since he represented people who most felt were criminals. However, to him, everybody was guilty of something. Having tainted men judge tainted men never sat right with him. Court was nothing but a chessboard. Whoever had the best moves won. It was that simple to him, and he was very good at playing the game.

  His latest client was Kaleef Hinton. His kingpin status was no secret in the community. However, it was something that could never be proven. He’d recently gotten caught up in a murder case, but the star witness was found dead in his bathtub, an apparent suicide. The trial would be a walk in the park—or it should have been. With this new information coming to light, Aramous would have to get down to the bottom of it. He needed to figure out exactly what kind of dealings Cheryl had with his client and why she was so eager to rat him out. As with any dangerous client, Aramous knew the risks he ran if he didn’t help Kaleef beat the case. They were risks he wasn’t willing to take.

  Chapter 4

  Amira sat in front of her vanity, staring into the mirror in disbelief. When she got home, she managed to sneak past Winnie to get to her bedroom. She was glad because there was a dark bruise on her cheek. Her lip was swollen, and her face had a few scratches. Seeing the damage Jerron had done made her think that maybe she should have taken Meka’s advice and called the police. He was crazy and clearly not taking the hint that she was done with him.

  Hours spent sitting in front of the vanity passed, and she didn’t know how many calls she ignored. Tears rolled continuously down her face until she finally wiped them away to attempt to cover the damage. The concealer and foundation could only do so much, but soon, she could look at her face without wanting to cry. She sighed, grabbed her phone, and saw that one of the missed calls was from her dad. There was no way that she could tell him what had happened. All he would do was blame Meka. She checked the clock and saw more time than she thought had passed. Her dad would be home any minute. Not wanting to face him, she grabbed her phone and purse to leave.

  After she left her room, the goal was to make it to the front door without being detected. However, luck wasn’t on her side that time, and she couldn’t slip under Winnie’s nose. The older woman entered the foyer and stood between Amira and the door.

  “And where are you off to so fast?” Winnie asked.

  “Just out,” Amira answered, not looking her in the eyes.

  “You were just ‘out.’ Where are you going again so soon?”

  “Just to hang out with Meka.”

  It wasn’t entirely a lie. Amira didn’t know where she was going. But seeing Meka again that day might have been in the cards. She tried to step past, but Winnie grabbed her chin. Amira could tell the older woman was trying to get a closer look at her face. The makeup covered the damage pretty well, but not if someone was as close to her as Winnie was, so she pulled away.

  “Tell my dad don’t wait up. I’ll be home late.”

  She rushed out the door before she could be stopped again and made a beeline for her vehicle. Once inside, she started it and pulled away from the house. With no destination, she pulled out her phone and sent a message to Tevin, asking where he was. As she drove, she waited for his response and was happy when he called her.

  “Hello?” she answered.

  “Yo, I didn’t think I would be hearing from you this soon. I ain’t complaining, though. You good?”

  “Actually . . . no,” she breathed.

  She didn’t know why, but something told her to tell him what had happened, even though she was sure he wouldn’t want anything to do with her afterward. Who wanted a girl with a diabolical ex?

  “What’s wrong, shawty? Talk to me. Where you at right now? Pull up to the crib.”

  “Okay. Send the addy.”

  “Say less.”

  She disconnected the call, and seconds later, Tevin texted her with his location. After putting the address in her GPS, she saw that Tevin was in an apartment near her. Usually, she wasn’t so quick to pull up on a guy, but she was in a vulnerable state and just needed some comforting energy. It didn’t take her long to get to the gated complex. She was just about to call him to come to the gate, but when she looked at their thread, she saw that he’d already sent her the gate code.

  She said out loud, “Two-seven-eight-five,” as she reached out her window and pressed in the numbers.

  The gates opened instantly, and she drove through them toward building E. She parked, and when she got out of the car, she saw Tevin bounding down a set of stairs to greet her.

  “Damn, did you speed over here?” He grinned.

  “No, I was in the area. I wasn’t that thirsty to see you,” she teased.

  He opened his arms to hug her once he reached her, but he stopped her when she leaned in to give him one. He placed his hands on her shoulders to hold her steady while he looked at her face.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, looking away.

  “Yeah, right. That makeup can’t hide that your face is clearly swollen, and it looks like you have a bruise. You ain’t look like this at brunch, so what happened?”

  Amira shrugged, still not looking him in the eyes. Although she had come over there to talk, she didn’t realize how hard it would be to spit out the words. Tevin gripped her chin and forced her to look at him. After a moment, he took her hand and led her to his apartment.

  Inside, he had the AC blasting, so it was cool there, and the sweet aroma of vanilla hit Amira’s nostrils. His place was set up nicely. There was a large U-shaped gray sectional in the living room with a matching ottoman for them to sit on. She looked around at the abstract paintings he had on his wall. They complemented the blue rug in front of the sectional and the silver wall décor. She also noticed that he didn’t have a television in the living room, but what was interesting was that he had beautiful plants all over. Everything was neat and put in the right place, and the carpet even had the vacuum lines she loved so much. Tevin went to the kitchen and grabbed her a water bottle. When he returned and handed it to her, she raised a brow.

  “Where is she?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?” Tevin looked genuinely confused.

  “You obviously have a girlfriend. Where is she? I’m sure she won’t be too happy that you have me all in your crib.”

  “You’re funny as fuck,” he told her with a laugh. “There is no she. This is my shit. I live alone.”

  “Mmmm,” Amira said, not believing him. “This place is too nice and neat. There has to be a bitch somewhere.”

  “Nah, shawty. My grandma taught me early on that a nasty man was worthless,” he said, still laughing. “She also told me that if I want a woman to add to me, I need to be able to add to her on her worst days. Plus, I’m just a clean-ass nigga, and I like nice shit.”

  “I hear you,” Amira said, still not entirely sold.

  “But enough about me. Tell me what happened to your face. You got into a scuffle or something?”

  “I guess you can say that.”

  “Damn, that fast?”

  “It wasn’t any girls. It was . . . It was my ex-boyfriend. He must have followed me to brunch and saw us. It pissed him off, and he did this.” She pointed to her face. “I thought I had done a good job of covering it, but I guess not.”

  “That nigga is a bitch,” Tevin said, sitting up straighter. Amira could tell that he was genuinely bothered by the new information. “I can’t stand a motherfucka that puts his hands on a female.”

  “I broke up with him, but he’s just not getting the picture. I never thought Jerron would do anything like this to me.”

  “Wait.” Tevin made a face like he was trying to ensure he’d heard her correctly. “Did you just say Jerron, as in black-ass Jerron? He push a Camaro?”

  “Yeah.” Amira furrowed her brow. “You know him?”

  Tevin sighed and leaned back on the couch. He brought his hands to his face and wiped down in a stressed motion. When he looked back at her, she saw regret in his expression.

  “Yeah, I know that nigga. He works for my older cousin Kaleef. This is all my fault.”

  “How could this be your fault, Tevin? You didn’t know he would put his hands on me.”

  “Nah. I didn’t even know he was involved with anybody the way he keeps bitches on rotation. But it is my fault. I’m the one who invited him to brunch earlier.”

  “You what?” Amira’s eyes grew big like saucers.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. My cousin put me in touch with him awhile back. I didn’t know y’all had anything going on. But trust, he will get dealt with for this shit. You’re too beautiful for anybody to fuck with your face like that.”

  He reached out and cupped her cheek tenderly. Although it was a soft touch, her face was so sore that she still winced. The intensity of his gaze made her look down in an embarrassed fashion.