Page 23

Sun. Beaches. Drinks with tiny umbrellas. Yeah, that’s not our reality right now. In fact, it’s just the opposite of that.

They’re sitting on Riley’s bed, and it’s raining outside. I have a bottle of water in my hand, Trina’s sipping a Diet Coke, and Alicia has tea.

Oh, and Riley? She’s curled up in bed. Crying.

That’s right. We’re here in Miami for a weekend getaway, and my baby sister is crying. What the fuck?

“Z, what’s going on?”

“What are you talking about?”

I push the balcony door open and step out onto the balcony, thankful that the tiny roof is covering me from the deluge as much as possible. Closing the door behind me, I glance over my shoulder to make sure that no one is planning to follow me.

“Riley just got a phone call from Kenny. I thought you’d taken care of him.”

“The fuck you mean she got a call from Kenny? That’s impossible.”

“Apparently, it’s not. I answered the phone and heard his threats myself. He was talking about hunting her down and fucking her up as soon as he’s better. I thought you took care of that problem, baby.”

“Hey, let me hit you back a little later,” he mutters.

“What are we supposed to do in the meantime? You don’t think that he’s sent anyone to follow her, do you?”

“No. I doubt that. Y’all stay in the hotel, and I’ll get to the bottom of this. I’ll send some men down there to watch over you.”

“Zaire, this was supposed to be a vacation. A getaway from all of that, not a reminder of how bad things are. Sending men will only reinforce the reminder that she’s in a world of trouble.”

“And not sending them will only reinforce the opportunity of something happening to her. I’m not taking the risk, Bay.”

Sighing loudly, I roll my eyes and shake my head. “Okay, baby. It’s whatever you say.”

“Fine. I’ll get on that right away.”

“Z, I love you.”

“I love you more, babe.”

We end the call, and I close my eyes and groan. We spent the first night down on the beach partying with some other ladies that we’d met. We spent all day yesterday shopping, sunning, eating at a five-star restaurant, and then clubbing all night.

Waking up this morning to a storm of epic proportions was not in our plan, but we made the most of it by having brunch served to us in Riley’s room from the downstairs restaurant.

We had just finished when her phone rang. The moment that her eyes grew wide and my sister’s face grew pale, I knew something was wrong. She looked as if she’d seen a ghost.

I took the phone from her trembling fingers and punched the answer button myself, ready to get to the bottom of who had Kenny’s phone and why they were calling Riley.

Before I could say hello, I heard Kenny’s voice on the line.

He was going off on her telling her that her punk ass brother-in-law would get what was coming to him and that so would that bitch sister of hers.

He had said that he would take care of her first because she deserved nothing but death.

That was ten minutes ago, and we haven’t been able to console her since. I just knew that Zaire had killed that motherfucker. To know that he’s still walking around makes me sick to my stomach.

I’m not worried about what he plans to do to Zaire or me because that shit ain’t happening. I am worried about my sister, though. I’m worried that she might go back to him despite the threats that he issued.

In Riley’s tortured mind, she might actually convince herself that going back to him would be best for everyone. That maybe if she returned, he wouldn’t hurt Zaire or me and possibly might take it easy on her. None of that could be further from the truth.

I push the door open again and step back inside. Trina looks up first, widening her eyes at me as if to ask what Zaire said. I shake my head, letting her know that we won’t discuss it now.

Sitting back on the bed beside my sister, I pull her into my embrace, and she buries her face in my chest and cries harder. I look at Alicia and Trina over her head and say, “Z is sending men down here to look after us until we return home.”

“Thank God for men,” Alicia declares excitedly.

Trina and I both look pointedly at my best friend.

“What? I’m just saying. Since we’ve got to spend the rest of this day pinned up in this hotel might as well have some fine men around. I’ve seen the crew that works for Zaire and ba-bay! Let me tell you. Them grown men look like they can crack the back of a thick chick!”

Trina stares at Alicia in horror and shakes her head while I get ready to say something. But it’s Riley’s response that catches all three of us off guard.

The tears stop, and Riley looks up at Alicia. “My God, you will never stop being a hoe, will you?” she asks and then laughs uncontrollably.

We all start laughing with her. Partially because what she said is true. Alicia is the biggest hoe we know, and she claims it proudly. And partially because we’re just glad that Riley’s found a reason to laugh.

When we stop, Riley scoots to the top of the bed, grabs some tissues from the nightstand, and wipes her face.

“What did Zaire say?” she asks.

“He’s looking into things. I won’t lie. I thought that Kenny ceased to exist, but that’s apparently not what happened. Zaire’s on top of it, and he’s sending men to protect us until we return, like I said before.”

Riley nods and breathes slowly. She reaches out and grabs mine and Trina’s hands. “Thanks for being here with me, ladies. All three of you. I couldn’t ask for a better group of ladies to spend the weekend with.”

“That’s fine. But I want to spend my day getting my body touched.”

At Alicia’s words, Trina and I look at Riley and then back to Alicia before we throw our hands in the air and exclaim excitedly together, “Spa day!”

We fall back on the bed, giggling as we make plans for the rest of our indoor day.

An hour later, after I’ve finished showering and am preparing to meet the girls again, my phone rings.

“Hey, baby,” I greet Zaire.

“Hey. So, the men are already there. They’ll be posted up close to your rooms. There are five of them, and they’ve been asked to stay as low-key as possible.”

“That’s not what Alicia’s going to want.”

He laughs derisively and then confesses, “They’ve been warned not to fuck with Alicia.”

“And if she finds out that you gave that warning, you’ll be on her shit list.”

Laughing full-on this time, he asks, “When am I not?”

“Either way. So, what’s going on with the other situation?”

“I’ve got a mole in my operations.”

“Zaire!”

“Yeah. Someone has been by there. Someone who knew where we kept the place and who knew that he must have been there, as well. When we returned, he was gone, and my shit was burned to the ground.”

“Oh, my God! Who do you think it was?”

“I have no idea. I don’t trust shit at this point.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Figure out who’s behind it and make them pay. Before that, though, I have to find Kenny.”

“Why did you spare him?” I groan.

“I didn’t. I planned to make him suffer the way that he’s made her suffer before calling it.”

I know by “calling it,” he means killing Kenny.

“Please be safe, baby. I’m worried about you.”

“I’m good. Don’t worry about me. Worry about the fucker who would dare cross me.”

“Yeah, I know,” I reply softly.

“Listen, you go and enjoy your time with the ladies. Don’t worry about me or the operations. Just have fun, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Okay,” I say.

“Love you, Bay.”

“Love you more, Z.”

“Impossible,” he replies, chuckling before he ends the call.