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“Yeah. It ain’t that serious. I been in a program before.”

My eyes almost popped out of my head at his revelation. “Oh, wow. I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, I had a little problem with pills. Looks like I just traded out one thing for another.”

“Damn,” I muttered.

Sherrod’s head snapped to something behind me, and before I could react, there was a hand on my shoulder.

“Let’s go, Divine,” Liam ordered.

“Oh, I just got here. You can wait for me outside. Did you want me to grab you something?” I asked, looking at him over my shoulder.

Stooping so that he was speaking directly in my ear, he whispered. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you’re talking to, but unless you want this nigga to go missing tonight, you need to come with me.”

“What?” I frowned, stunned by Liam’s words.

“Don’t get this man killed, Divine. I already owe him one.”

Something about the tone of his voice told me that I shouldn’t test him. Instead, I turned to Sherrod. Liam stood back to give me space.

“I’m sorry, Sherrod. I have to go. Good luck, though. Let me know when you complete your program.”

“What the fuck?” Sherrod yelled.

I didn’t have time to answer before Liam put his hand on the small of my back and ushered me out of the restaurant. EitherI was imagining things or heat was radiating off Liam. He was furious, so I didn’t bother saying a word until we stepped out into the night air.

“Liam, I was going to tell you where I was.”

“How many niggas I gotta kill behind you, Divine? Hm? I don’t care how many bodies gotta drop. I don’t have a limit. Keep it up, and you about to be a serial killer. The more you play games and entertain these fools, the more holes I gotta dig.”

“It was just dinner. You knew about Sherrod.”

“Yeah, I knew about him in the past tense. I thought that shit was dead. Why the fuck are you out with him again, Divine?” Liam quizzed.

“It was just dinner. He’s leaving town,” I explained as he escorted me to my car.

“Don’t worry about why the fuck she out with me. You must want the pussy yourself, huh, fuck boy?” Sherrod questioned.

When we heard Sherrod’s voice, Liam’s eyes shot in his direction.

“I’m not talking to you, son, but I can be,” Liam stated.

“I got your son. You think you’re Robocop or some shit, but I can have somebody to touch you, my nigga.”

“I don’t take threats lightly,” Liam warned him, turning to walk toward him.

“Good. ’Cause I don’t bump my gums for free. I make big money to do that shit, fuck boy. Let me hit my people up,” Sherrod said, nodding as he pulled his phone from his front pocket. “I’ma get you and this sneaky bitch touched.”

Once he was close enough to Sherrod, Liam grabbed the back of his head and hit him in the face twice before letting him go. Without Liam holding him up, Sherrod’s body crumpled to the ground. I was pretty sure he was unconscious, but that didn’t scare Liam. Calmly, he turned back to me.

He snarled. “Now, get the fuck in the car.”

I was terrified as I scurried to the car like a little mouse. As bad as I wanted that salmon, I knew better than to argue with him at this point. I got in the car and sped out of the parking lot before the cops or whoever came. That was the last time I saw Sherrod.

Two

Liam