Page 13

T he sight in my grandmother’s backyard was something out of a nightmare, and as I sat next to her on the couch, I could tell by the trembling in her hands as she clutched her rosary beads that she was feeling the same horror. Her vacation from Hawaii had ended in a way none of us had prepared for, and I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes. The scene I’d witnessed was too gruesome, too unimaginable.

Three of Troy’s closest friends were strung up, blindfolded, their bodies still. The grass beneath them was stained red. But that wasn’t what held my gaze. It was the symbol spray-painted on the wall of her house. Bold, dark, and unmistakable.

I’d seen it before, etched permanently into both Damier and Damian’s skin. I felt a cold wave of realization, the memory flooding back. It was their family’s mark. A signature they left when they wanted to make it clear that crossing them had consequences. And Damier hadn’t left it just anywhere—he’d marked my grandmother’s house, our family’s sanctuary.

I left my grandmother inside and went to find Troy. He was pacing the backyard, and the police hadn’t even come yet. His face twisted in rage, fear simmering underneath. It had been an hour, and we couldn’t believe nobody had seen or heard anything while my grandmother had been gone for two days.

He turned to me, and I pulled him aside, my voice barely a whisper. “Troy… that symbol,” I said, pointing at the wall. “It’s the Knight family’s mark. Damier and Damian both have it tattooed on their face. This… this is a message.”

He scowled, looking from me to the symbol. “What are you talking about?”

“Damier did this, and you know it,” I whispered, feeling a chill run down my spine. “This is what he does. That mark—it’s his way of telling you that you’re next, and if he finds out I was involved, I am too. You and Damian were supposed to handle him. What happened?”

Troy’s face contorted with anger and a hint of fear, but he tried to mask it. “Nothing happened, and I am going to handle him. I don’t need Damian’s bitch ass. He is running anyway.”

“Troy, listen to me,” I pleaded, grabbing his arm. “This isn’t just some empty threat. Damier doesn’t play. He’ll come for you for real. This was only the beginning.”

For a moment, he seemed to take in my words, but then his face hardened again. “No. He doesn’t get to do this to us, to G-ma. I’m not going to just sit back and do nothing.”

Fear tightened in my chest. I could feel the danger surrounding us closing in, and Troy’s stubbornness was going to make things worse. “You can’t go up against him now that he knows it’s you behind some of this. You don’t know him like I do, Troy. He’ll destroy everything, and he won’t think twice about it.”

Troy didn’t answer me. Instead, he stared at the bodies of his friends that he had to cut down with his friend North, rage smoldering in his eyes. “He’s going to regret this.”

That was the last thing I wanted to hear. Damier wasn’t just anyone. He was a man who lived for power, a man who didn’t leave loose ends. And if Troy tried to retaliate, he’d only end up making things worse.

The fear I’d been trying to keep buried began to bubble up. I couldn’t shake the memory of Damier finding me at Damian’s apartment after he fled, the cold look in his eyes as he demanded to know where Damian had gone. He’d grabbed me, rough and unyielding, and for the first time, I realized just how ruthless he could be. I’d been scared then, and now, seeing what he’d done here, I was terrified. I was angry at first, and I wanted my revenge, but we were exposed, so things had to change.

As I left Troy at Grandma’s house, I felt panic beginning to claw at my insides. He was going to get himself killed if he didn’t stop. And Damier… he’d find out soon enough that Troy was my brother. He already knew I’d been involved with Damian, but if he pieced everything together. If he knew just how deep I was in this, I didn’t know what he’d do to me.

I got into my car, my hands shaking as I gripped the steering wheel.

The sickening feeling in my stomach wouldn’t go away as I drove away from my grandmother’s house. My body was tense as I fought to hold it together. I tried to shove the images out of my head, but they kept coming back. The horror, the cold realization that I was wrapped up in this. My fingers trembled as I sat at a red light. I held my phone, my mind still reeling from the scene and the fact that Troy had pushed us this far. We were already too deep. I couldn’t escape it now.

The vibrating of my phone broke me from my spiral, and I almost jumped out of my skin. I glanced at the screen—an unknown number. My heart skipped a beat. I didn’t need to check the number to know who it was. It was Damian. Thank God.

I swallowed hard, anxiety swirling in my chest. My breath quickened as I pressed the phone to my ear, trying to steady myself.

“Hello?” I said, my voice shaky despite my best effort to sound calm.

Damian’s voice came through the phone, calm and collected like nothing had happened. “Kita.”

I could barely breathe. “Damian…” I started, but my voice cracked. “I-I’m scared. You need to know what happened, and you need to come get me. What Damier did… it was worse than we thought. Your brother killed all my brother’s friends—he left your family's mark on my grandmother’s wall…. It’s a message, Damian. He knows I have been with you... I think he knows that I’m involved with you and Troy. He is going to kill Troy and probably me too.”

There was silence on the other end, too long, too heavy. The air felt thick, and my chest tightened. I waited, but nothing came. No words, no threats. Just silence.

“Hello?” I screamed into the phone, panic setting in.

Finally, he spoke, his voice still calm, as though everything was under control. “Don’t trip, Kita. I got you. I got you a first-class ticket to Toronto. It leaves in a few hours.”

I blinked in shock, my mind not registering the words at first.

“What? Canada? That’s where you at?”

“You’re going. Pack for a few months. And when you get on that plane, you won’t have to worry about shit,” Damian said, his voice unwavering.

The panic inside me froze for a second. “But… what about Damier? What about the bullshit he’s caused?”

Damian’s tone remained unchanged as if he didn’t care for the details. “You won’t have to deal with that nigga. Just pack. You’re leaving, and he can’t find you.”

I felt a wave of relief wash over me. As much as I didn’t want to leave everything behind— everyone —Damian’s words were a lifeline. I didn’t have a choice. I realized that leaving would give me some time to figure things out. To breathe.

“Okay,” I whispered, barely able to believe what was happening.

“Good,” Damian responded. “Pack your shit, and don’t look back.”

I rushed home as quickly as I could, my hands shaking as I packed what I could. I threw a few clothes into a suitcase, moving in a daze. Part of me wanted to leave it all behind—the drama, the people, the broken promises—but the other part was terrified of what would happen if I just left . Damier was dangerous, and I knew if I stayed, I’d end up getting pulled deeper into it. This was my only escape.

I threw a few toiletries into my bag, zipped it up quickly, and looked around. This was it. I wasn’t coming back.