Page 33 of Only a Gemini Will Do

“It’s almost midnight, which means it’s almost time to open our gifts,” Soleil said.

I smiled. “I already know you won’t be able to top my gift, but I’m happy to receive it anyway,” I teased.

Then suddenly—BANG. BANG. BANG.

The front door shook under the force of whoever was on the other side, trying to get in. Butta jumped upright, barking and growling. I froze. Soleil jumped to her feet.

“Jacksonville PD! Open the door now!” the voice on the other side yelled.

“What the fuck?” Soleil trumpeted, visibly startled.

I twisted my neck toward the hall as Kareem raced toward me, eyes wide. Before he could reach me, the front door burst open. Over a dozen uniformed officers flooded my small apartment in seconds, shouting aggressive commands. One grabbed Kareem and forced him to the ground, placing his hands behind his back.

“Kareem Dorsey, you’re under arrest for escaping federal custody. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

I watched them cuff him, standing frozen with my hand on my belly as my entire world felt like it had been shaken upside down like a snow globe. Soleil protectively stepped in front of me, gripping my hand as we watched the mess unfold in front of our eyes. Before I knew it, we were being led over to the couch and being detained.

“Excuse me.” She spoke to one of the nearby officers. “What is happening? It’s the middle of the night on Christmas. Why are you raiding my sister’s living room in the middle of the night and detaining us?”

“We received a tip that he was recently seen here. He’s a wanted prisoner,” the officer replied firmly.

Kareem and I exchanged silent glances as the officers led him out. He mouthed the wordsit’s okayto me before the door slammed shut behind him. The sound was final, setting off a visceral pain deep in my chest that I couldn’t shake.My heart had been punctured, which made breathing the most agonizingthing to do.

Silence followed. The only sound was the softness of Mariah’s voice as she bellowed out“Oh Holy Night”from the speaker. I sank to the floor, chest heaving as I breathed fast, and tears flowed down my face uncontrollably. Soleil knelt beside me, enveloping me in her arms as the lights twinkled on.

“A long, complicated story, huh?” she inquired, voice wobbly.

I sniffled. “Yeah.”

Chapter 8

Kareem

Merry fuckin’ Christmas to me.

The holding cell was cold. Not freezing, but the kind of familiar chill that had seeped into my bones the very first time I got arrested and never left. There was some drunk mothafucka dressed like Santa snoring on the bench across from me. I couldn’t stop replaying Sawyer’s face in my head—how her hand instinctively went to her belly when they cuffed me like she was trying to shield our daughter from the harsh truth that her daddy was a felon who may never see the light of day again. I just knew the look in her eyes when they dragged me out of there would be tattooed in my head forever.

I didn’t know what would happen next—lawyering up, official charges being filed, possibly prison for the rest of my life. Or worse, missing every milestone my daughter would ever make, and her growing up thinking I didn’t love her enough to be there for her. But I knew without a doubt I loved Sawyer and our baby. And if I ever got out—if I got even one chance to see the light of day again—I’d fight like hell to get back to them.

When I heard the cops say that they’d gotten a tip about me, I already had a sinking feeling that I knew exactly how it happened.

I should’ve never gone out to get that fuckin’ Santa suit.

I knew it the second I stepped out of her front door and ran into her fuckin’ next-door neighbor that my days were numbered. But Sawyer had been going to work and coming home every day, belly getting bigger, and I wanted to make her smile. To laugh. To give her a glimpse of what an everyday life with a normal nigga would be like if things were different and I wasn’t a man with a price on my head. I knew seeing me dressed in a Santa suit would do the trick. But now, looking back on it, I should’ve stayed my black ass in the fuckin’ house.

Sawyer’s neighbor’s eyes narrowed the second he saw me standing at her door, fumbling with the spare key she’d made me. I had a hoodie on, but he’d gotten an up-close look at my face and immediately started to question who I was. It was the holidays, so I told him I was Sawyer’s cousin in town for Christmas. I even threw in a lighthearted laugh to lighten the vibe, but he didn’t crack a smile. He nodded, eyeing me as if he was trying to decide whether or not he was buying my story. I guess he didn’t.

I hated that he saw my face. I hated even more that I’d gone soft for a fuckin’ cheap ass costume. I should’ve waited until dark, just like I did when I walked the dog. I should’ve stayed low like I’d promised myself I would the minute I decided to leave Brazil. But I wanted to be a better version of myself for a second—to get a taste of what life would be like without a target on my back. I wanted to be a nigga that could walk into a store and buy shit without looking over my shoulder or making sure my face was covered. Someone who could do a nice thing for the woman I cared about without compromising every fuckin’ thing else. But all good things must come to an end. At least that’s what they say.

Before I knew it, I was being hauled from the holding cell into an interrogation room. The room was quiet, lit by a singlebulb that flickered every few seconds above the metal table. I sat there, cuffed, with my jaw clamped tight. Across the table were two detectives with the Jacksonville PD who called themselves Detective Jakes and Detective Chang.

Detective Jakes, a middle-aged black man of average height with a stocky build, spoke up first. “You’ve been a ghost for five months, Kareem. No credit card activity. No phone calls. No sightings. We thought you were dead. And then, we get a Christmas fuckin’ miracle—a call to our Crime Stoppers line with a sighting of you at Sawyer Williams’s apartment.”

Chang snickered. “It’s like a goddamn Hallmark movie.”

“We thought you were dead. Now tell us how you got there.”

I shrugged, making sure to keep my voice flat and emotionless. “I walked.”