Page 69

"We been looking for a nurse named Evanie. Try Everly. Check southern states for her. I'll pay you triple to do it now."
I hung up, grabbed my lighter and a blunt, and headed for the roof, knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep. All this shit could be for nothing. Taleah could've just made a mistake, mixed up Ev's name with someone she knew with a similar name. But I didn't believe that. And three hours later, I found out I was right. Everly Love Miller, RN, BSN, from Louisiana. I stared at the picture Warren had sent me. Why the hell was a nurse from small-town Louisiana playing with me?
It turned out Everly was the sister-in-law of a nigga named Optimus Fontenot, known as Prime for obvious reasons. Prime came from a very old New Orleans family that was into a lot of... questionable activities. But their territories didn't include anything of interest to us and vice versa. Cairo knew him distantly. Everything he'd ever seen or heard indicated Prime was solid. My older brother reached out to set up a meet on neutral ground in Houston. That's how I came to be here with Targen and Ghazi, waiting and losing my patience by the second.
"This nigga," I growled.
"Chill. We were early, early," Ghazi said.
I didn't want to hear logic. "Shut up."
My brother chuckled. "You better be glad I know this girl got yo' head messed up. Keep tryna handle me like a bitch, you gon' be searching for her from the afterlife."
Wanting an excuse to lash out, I started to stand. Targen grabbed my arm as the door opened. I dropped back into my seat. Prime strolled into the room with two other dudes, nodded at two of the four guards posted in here to keep things neutral, and took a seat on the opposite side of the table. Leaning back in his chair, he steepled his fingers and smiled.
"So, you the man that got my li’l sister-in-law shook.”
“Shook?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“Shook,” Prime repeated. “Shorty came home before she was expected. We could tell she was feeling pressure, and I guess you still applying it. Noticed you around when I checked on her a few times, but I never—anyway, enough about that. How did you find her? I need to figure out the mistake, so we don’t make it again.”
I sat up higher, his words making me tight as fuck. “So, you did create that identity?”
He shrugged. “With the help of some friends in high places. It’s good to know people.”
“Did you send her to me on purpose?”
Forget all the small talk and bullshit. My mama taught me a long time ago that the best way to find out what you wanted to know was to ask. Prime’s smile disappeared as he leaned forward, placing his hands palm down on the tabletop.
“Is that what you think? You accusing me of some shit, Hamilton?” he asked, voice tense.
I smirked at him. “You up to some shit, Fontenot?”
A tense silence reigned in the room for a minute. I sat unmoving; my eyes as focused on Prime as his were on me. Finally, the corner of his mouth lifted again.
“On the strength of Cairo and the cats who’ve been vouching for you, I’ma pretend that wasn’t an insult. Your family’s… holdings don’t move me. They’re nowhere near my lane. So, no, I didn’t send Ev. I created that background for her for a few reasons. For one, it was a test run, to see if we could pull it off in case we need to do something like that in the future. Then, I’m a man with many pursuits. I have enemies who’d love to get at me through my people. It’s no secret that my wife is my soft spot. I wasn’t leaving her little sister five hundred miles away like a sitting duck. That identity let her travel and have the space she wanted and be relatively safe. She’d be safer if she’d stay out of these situations like I’m sure she had with you. The last fool got a little carried away. Acted like he had dreams of being a stalker before I made it clear it’d be safer for him to find another target for his attention. I figured if she didn’t use her real name, she’d be more secure,” he explained. “But here you are.”
“Here I am. And there’s nothing wrong with the groundwork you laid. A human slip-up led me to her. Even if I believe you had nothing to do with anything she may have planned, you can’t really know what else she may have been up to,” I challenged.
“That’s true. But who would she be working for? And why?” Prime shot back.
“I don’t know all that yet. But anything is possible. I have enemies, too. I’d be crazy to let her fool me twice. I wanna see her.”
He scoffed. “I highly doubt that girl coming to see you, if she running from you. She ain’t gon’ give a damn what I say.”
Apparently, I was going about this the wrong way. Prime thought this part was optional.
“She ain’t gotta come see me. I reached out to you as a courtesy, because I didn’t want to show up where your people are without giving notice. But one way or another, I’m going to see her.”
I was calm and willing to stay that way as long as he didn’t get out-of-pocket. He could protect Everly from everyone else, but he wasn’t keeping her from me. I didn’t care if I had to steal her ass. Prime laughed softly as he relaxed into the chair.
“Let’s be honest. You gave me notice because you knew a pop-up would mean trouble," he said.
There was truth to his words but no fear in my heart.
“You’re a powerful man, Prime, but so am I. A smart man avoids trouble unless it’s absolutely necessary. And I find it necessary in this situation.Absolutely.”
He studied me again. I had said all that I needed to say, though, so there was nothing else for him to learn. Finally, he spoke.