Page 24

CHAPTER 23

Jourdan

I t was approaching midnight, and a storm had just passed. Water was beaded up, covering all the windows. It had left a light sheen of water covering the streets, which the dimly lit lights reflected. I focused my attention on the steam that rose from the streets after the rain. I was directing my attention to everything except what I was supposed to because I was bored. Then, I began counting all the unattended cars that lined the streets. We blended in and parked a few cars from where Miller had entered the building. We’d followed him to one of his warehouses.

After we picked up our weapons at Stephon’s property, he input Miller’s face into a tracking software that I had never seen before. It was called Bio Scan. Devin and his brothers created it some years ago but never released it publicly. I assume Demi used it the night I called him to help with Burks. It was solely for their usage. The software allowed you to input a facial image, and it would pinpoint the person’s exact location. It also allowed us to erase our image from our hotel and any city camera or location we’d followed Miller inside. Essentially, it would be like we were never here. We’d even checked into the hotel using fake IDs and credit cards that we'd used for all our purchases.

With the software, we’ve been able to follow him for the last two days. I knew I said this trip would be fun, but I wasn’t having any fun right now. And this, for damn sure, wasn’t the work I had in mind when he asked if I were ready. Reflecting on it, I never enjoyed reconnaissance at any point. My father had scolded me on many occasions for my impatience. I wanted to get in, take care of my business, and be on my way. Anything longer than that was an inconvenience to me. And we were currently in a scenario where I was being inconvenienced.

Stephon, however, was in his element, sitting, waiting, and observing in the shadows. There wasn’t a detail that he missed. I couldn’t understand why we hadn’t snuck into the building for a better look. All week, we’d been close range. However, tonight, all we’d done was sit in this car. Rock had told me that this was the night Pierre had set up for him to meet with Miller at this location. I also believed that he wasn’t doing the things that he usually did to gather intel because he was with me.

He has to want to go inside that warehouse. Right?

As I sat in the backseat with my legs balanced on each seat, I thought about all the information I could be gathering if I wasn’t being held captive in this damn car. I started to fan my legs repeatedly in my state of anxiety. I’d grown so upset at the whole ordeal that my body temperature had risen. So, I pulled the loose fabric of my cargo pants up to my knees. I was ready to pounce. I would surely lose it if I didn’t get any action soon.

This version of Stephon or Rock, because I was sure that’s who I’d been with the past few days, wasn’t in the business of entertaining. He rarely talked, and when I did try to speak, I was quickly answered or cut short by him holding his finger to his mouth and signaling me to be quiet. The only thing that was keeping me from trying to maul him was the fact that he was rubbing the backs of his fingers up and down my calf.

JoJo, you ain’t gone do shit.

My inner dialogue was right because I would follow this man’s word no matter how much I didn’t like it. Suddenly, his hand had stopped its mindless motion. I sat up to see why. Miller had exited and was standing amongst a group of men.

What in the hell are they talking about? I can’t see or hear shit from here. Fuck This!

Before Rock’s commands could effectively stop me, I opened the back door quietly and began to creep over to where they were. I knew if I heard him, I would stop, so I quickly maneuvered out of earshot. Rock’s quiet yells faded behind me as I snuck across the street.

Stephon

“Jourdan! Jourdan, wait, there’s …” Before I could call out to tell her that Miller’s men were on the roofs looking out for danger, a bu llet had flown towards where she was alerting the group of men. They all heard the gunshots, stopping their conversations to take cover behind the vehicles. She stopped and ducked behind a car, drawing one of her weapons.

“FUCK!” I yelled as I dropped my mask and jumped out of the car. I crossed my arms across my chest to draw my guns and aimed at the rooftops. I needed to drop some of the men targeting her from above. One of the men had ducked down, and when his head popped up, I shot, hitting my target between the eyes, with his body falling back behind his barrier. I did the same with one more. Miller, who had been kneeling on the side of one of the cars, shooting intermittently, stood up to run.

Please don’t chase him. Please don’t chase him. Shit!

Jourdan took off in the direction that he’d gone, dropping bodies as she went. For an older man, Miller was fast. I quickly took off behind them, moving at the same speed. My heart beat out of my chest the entire time she ran before me. She was exposed and still had not seen the men standing guard on the rooftops. They were aiming right at her. She ran so fast that they couldn’t get a good shot off. They hadn’t seen me yet, but she was too far ahead, and my knee wasn’t built for this rigor.

I was pushing myself and it to the limit. With each stride, I felt the pain radiate from my knee and throughout my entire leg. Then it seized, and I was forced to stop. I tried and failed to pick up my knee to continue my pursuit, but it didn't happen.

Fuck! Not right now. Not right now .

I quickly focused on pushing all the pain I was feeling to the back of my mind. Once I had control of it, I aimed my gun, hoping that the bullet would travel the distance it needed to hit the men. I fired two quick shots, watching the men fall from sight. Then I took off; my steps faltered at first. There was a noticeable difference in my stride because I was in so much pain; however, it was enough to give me a second wind.

As Miller reached the end of the street from the alley we’d run, he turned and let off several shots in Jourdan’s direction. A car barreled down the street, screeching to a stop, then Miller jumped in. Jourdan had drawn the twin to her Smith around New York, they were a dime a dozen. I also couldn’t show my face because he’d been watching me over whatever shit he had going on with my mother.

I messed up tonight because he’d seen me, Rock as One. What really fucked me up was the fact that he’d also seen Jourdan and that she’d almost been shot. The only silver lining was that I don’t think he knew who she was in the underworld or that she was the daughter of Brian Washington. At least, I hoped. What he knew for sure was that she was with me, and that was a problem.

“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” I yelled, slapping my hand against the steering wheel as I drove. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

“Why haven’t you been telling me everything, Rock?”

“Telling you everything?” I questioned and scoffed.

“That’s what I asked!”

“Because I made a mistake,” I said .

“Oh, so bringing me along was a fucking mistake. This is what I do!” She yelled.

“No, the mistake was believing that you would use the skill set that I know you possess to do the job correctly!” I yelled back.

“The mistake was that I trusted you not to let your damn emotions cloud your judgment.” My chest was rising and falling as I took in deep breaths to control my anger. I didn’t get the shit. She claimed to want to avenge her father’s death, but she was acting like she wanted to join him.

“You almost got shot, Jourdan! Please explain to me why didn’t you see those motherfuckers on the roof? Huh? You’re my damn wife now, Jourdan. It’s my job to protect you.”

“I don’t need you to protect me,” she yelled.

“Did I ask you what you needed? I don’t expect you to ask; you’ll never have to. And that goes for anything.” I said as I glanced over to the passenger seat to see her with a pissed look on her face. I waited for her to answer, but she had none because she knew I was right.

“See, your problem is that you think it’s you against the fucking world. I’m not standing behind you, Jourdan; I’m standing beside you because it’s ‘us’ against the world. A few months ago, I was content with the way things were. But then you came along and flipped my world upside down in a good way. I fucking need you, Jourdan. I can’t have something happen to you. I just can’t. So, Baby, if you want to burn it all down today, I’ll pour the gasoline while you throw the match. We have to be smart about the shit, Baby. You have to fucking trust me. ”

The rest of the ride back to our hotel was spent in silence. I thought again about how I had believed Brice had been a little officious when talking about Jourdan’s behavior regarding her father. I’d seen how she reacted once she thought she would get answers. I didn’t like it. She was now my world, and I loved her, regardless of whether she felt the same about me. I had to end this before she got herself killed. Which meant I was about to be on one.