Page 5

CHAPTER 5

MCCOY

“It doesn’t smell like shit cooking in here,” Jamel said, walking into my condo. “What the fuck have you been doing all day?” I hated being here. I hadn’t laid my head in the bed to rest since he’d burned me with water a few months ago, but he didn’t notice because he was never here. He’d occasionally check in but never laid his head here. I wasn’t complaining about it. Whoever the woman was who was entertaining him deserved an award.

“I was at the office,” I answered as I closed the notebook I was writing in. It was notes for my upcoming case, but when Jamel was around, I never left anything around that he could use against me later. He would take something as simple as a work notebook, and when I asked for it back, he’d have stipulations.

I stuffed it in my backpack and stood. “What do you want to eat?”

“Not shit now,” he said, dropping into the chair across from me. He pulled a stack of money from his pocket and dropped it on the table in front of him. “That should cover the rent.”

“It’s already paid,” I said, shaking my head. I never took money from Jamel. Not because I was too prideful but because he never offered anything without wanting something in return. If he offered to pay the rent, whatever he wanted in return wouldn’t be worth it.

“Who paid that shit?” he questioned with a lifted brow. “You had some other nigga in here?” He stood from his seat, and I knew whatever he was about to be on would leave me black and blue.

“No,” I denied, shaking my head. “I paid it.”

“With what money?” he asked as he approached me. I leaned back in my seat when he braced his arms on either side of me. “Huh? What money you got ‘cause the last time I checked, my name is on all your accounts, and you ain’t pulled shit out.”

“My credit union account,” I answered, and Jamel mugged me hard. While in college, I opened the account. It had a decent amount of money I used to pay bills and was the only account Jamel wasn’t on. He’d asked me to put his name on it, but luck was always on my side because the bank was closed every time we went to the bank to add him to the account.

Quicker than I was expecting, Jamel grabbed me by the throat. He pulled me to him. My hands went around his wrist, and he stared me down. “Let me find out you are lying,” he roared in my face. The barrel of his gun was pushed into my temple. Tears formed in my eyes, but I didn’t drop my gaze. This was the crazy part of him people didn’t see, but I’d dealt with all the time. “I’ll break your fuckin’ soul out of your body, then put you on a corner if I find out otherwise. Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Good girl.” He smiled brightly and then kissed my forehead before letting me go. “Now, go make me something to eat.”

I left the living room and went into the kitchen. I had food in there because I enjoyed cooking.

Working quickly, I prepared Jamel’s favorite meal of fish and spaghetti. I did not think the two went together, but I would sit through the dinner if he liked it, and it kept him from going off every two seconds. Once I was done, I returned to the living room to see him going through my notebook.

“The fuck you got information on the DBB for?” he asked without looking up. My heart slammed against my chest, and I licked my suddenly dry lips. “Huh, McCoy? The fuck you got information on them for?”

“My client,” I answered, trying not to panic. I thought I’d taken that notebook out of my bag before coming inside, but my mind was in such a whirlwind from my plan starting, I must’ve forgotten.

“You got the DBB as your client now?” Jamel looked at me with so much hatred in his eyes, I had to take a step back. “Huh? Earth’s bitch ass got you on his payroll?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “My client is stating they set him up.”

“Did they?” he asked with a smirk. “Huh?”

“Not that I can tell right now,” I answered. “It looked like a dead end on my part.”

“You sure?” he asked, walking toward me. “‘cause, I doubt it that you, out of everyone, couldn’t find anything.”

“I’ve searched,” I said, trying to figure out a way to explain myself out of this situation. “It’s a dead end. Whoever they paid off isn’t talking.”

“Make them,” Jamel replied. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialed a number then put the phone to his ear and mugged me. “Ay, Boo, get me some information on the name…” He stopped talking and lifted his brow at me. “What’s their name?”

“Joseph Evan,” I replied.

Jamel nodded, then put the phone back to his ear. “You heard her? Good. Get me the information, and if it ain't shit to find out, bring him to me so I can refresh his mind.” He hung up the phone and headed toward the kitchen. “My food better not be cold.”

Instead of responding, I followed him into the kitchen and fixed his plate as he sat at the table.

“Needs more seasoning,” Jamel said in between bites. I knew he was lying because the only thing that could be heard was his smacking and the fork scraping the plate, but he’d never give me props on cooking a good meal. “Shit kind of bland.”

“Okay.” I nodded, not caring. He was lucky I didn’t put poison in it.

“This weekend, we are stepping out,” he announced suddenly. “Shit ain’t gonna be too much of nothing, but we got shit to celebrate.”

“We?” I questioned, and he nodded. Jamel and I hadn’t been out together in months. He stayed in the clubs, but I was never invited, nor did I want to go.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “The city is lit right now.”

“Why?”

“Earth Carlson is dead,” he answered with a laugh. “I finally got that nigga!” He stood from the table and threw his arms wide. “The city is going to bow down to a nigga for real now! It’s a new fuckin’ king!”

Jamel sat back down and finished eating. Once he was done, he stood, walked to me, and grabbed me by my ponytail so I would look at him.

“You’re hurting me,” I said as I stared into his eyes. I wanted the man I’d once loved to make an appearance. The one who would hold me while I slept and wipe my tears when I cried. The one who made me fall in love with him. “Jamel.” Tears slid out the corner of my eyes as he gripped my hair tighter. “Please.”

“Give me some pussy,” he said, smirking.

“I’m on my period.”

He reached between my legs and grabbed a handful of the pad I was wearing. “Useless ass bitch, no wonder your parents didn’t want your ass and you ended up in the system,” he said in disgust as he let me go and pushed me away from him. “Be ready to go in a few days.”

“Okay.” I nodded as I wiped away the tears.

“I’m going out of town. Got some business to handle.”

“When are you coming back?”

“Two days,” he answered with a grunt. It took everything in me not to smile at his words. Two days was more than enough time for me to convince Earth to help me. “While I’m gone, get your hair done and limit your eating.” He looked me up and down before smacking my ass and walking away. “You gettin’ too damn fat. Shit ain’t attractive, and I refuse to have a fat bitch on my arm.”