Page 54 of Tangled Hearts

Hov pulled off from Nick’s house after dropping Qua off. The whole city had plans on being out at the park since it was a nice cool spring night and he wasn’t going to miss a hood night out. That and Cash was in town so the city wanted to see him.

He’d already gotten an earful from both Cash and Christian about what went down a few weekends ago in the club. He wasn’t picking a side, but he made it clear to both of them that there would be no bloodshed. He had too much love for them to see it all end like that.

As he drove, his mind wandered where it always seemed to land. On Knycole.

Life felt different without her. Not just missing the little back-and-forth arguments, and the late-night laughs.

The silence she left behind had weight. He hadn’t realized how much she filled his space until she wasn’t in it anymore.

And that shit cut. He was a kid when he first felt what it was like to be empty, when his mama left this world, and he would never forget that hollow sound.

The way life felt being so young in an empty house all alone.

Now, with Knycole pulling back, it echoed again.

He understood and respected it, but she was his rib and he needed her at his side. Wanted to drown in her gentle love.

He tried to shake it off as he pulled up to one of his trap spots but even here, he missed her presence.

When Knycole started college, she pulled back from cooking dope and being around the way. He wanted it that way because he needed her head in those books and not worrying about him. He would bring the money home, pay the bills, make sure she got everything she needed and wanted.

He parked and got out of the car, hiking his jeans up with each step.

A couple of his boys were posted up, nodding when they saw him.

“Yo, Hov, what’s good?” one of them called, sliding a bag across the table.

Hov scanned the room. “Y’all straight?”

Everything seemed to be running smoothly.

Finally, he had some solid niggas running the block so he didn’t have to show his face too much.

Christian was the supplier, but he’d taught Hov that being inaccessible was the goal.

Told him to form a solid team and that way he could show up to PTA meetings with his son without worrying about money being made.

Everything Christian learned from his pops, he taught Hov, and Hov multiplied it.

“Yea, we good. Everything moving,” another one said, slapping hands with Hov. “You sliding to the park later? City gon’ be thick tonight.”

Hov smirked. “Yea, I’ll swing through. Keep shit light, though. Ain’t no room for stupid shit.”

They nodded, and he dapped them up before heading back out.

The evening air hit him differently when he stepped back outside.

He stopped short when he noticed movement across the street.

An older Black woman was planting a realtor sign in the yard of a beat-down, abandoned house.

The siding was peeling, windows boarded up, but she was smiling like she saw something no one else could.

Hov’s curiosity pulled him forward. “How much?” He called from across the street, looking both ways before crossing.

She looked up, a little startled at first, then her lips curved into a knowing smile. “You mean the house?”

He chucked, licking his lips at the curve of her hips. “Yea.”

“Depends,” she said, dusting her hands off. Her voice was smooth, carrying years of experience. “Why? You tryna buy it or you just asking?”

Hov shrugged, but his eyes stayed on the house. “I own a few already. But this one… this in my hood. So how much it cost?”

She studied him for a second, then tilted her head. “You ever think about buying the block instead of supplying it?”

Her words hit him hard. He chuckled, but it wasn’t out of humor. “You bold, ma’am.”

“I’ve been called worse,” she said. “Listen, young man?—”

“Quameek,” Hov gave his name.

“Sassy,” she introduced, smirking while holding her hand out for him to shake. He returned the gesture. “You clearly got money. That’s obvious.” She eyed the diamond grill in his mouth. “But money isn’t the same as power. Power is ownership.”

“How much?” Hov asked again, already tired of the back and forth.

She turned, one brow raised. “That depends. You really trying to buy it or just curious?”

He smirked. “Both.”

She brushed her hands together, then propped them on her hips. “You from around here?”

“Born and raised,” Hov said, tucking his hands in his pockets. “Why? You checking paperwork?”

Sassy laughed. “Baby, I don’t check paperwork. I check intentions. What would you even do with this place?”

“Fix it,” he said, like it was obvious. “Flip it, maybe keep it. I really don’t know.”

“Oh, so you dabble.” Her eyes skimmed him up and down, curious now. “That’s cute.”

“Cute?” His mouth tugged into a grin. “Ain’t nobody called me that in years.”

“I didn’t say you were cute, Quameek,” his name curled off her lips.

He laughed. “I know I’m a handsome ass nigga.”

Sassy couldn’t deny it if she wanted to. Hov was indeed easy on the eyes. Every time he talked, her eyes jumped from his lips to the bold ink across his neck.

“Well, don’t get used to it. I mean, every young man with a little money wanna flip something. Buy low, sell high, quick cash. That ain’t building. That’s babysitting.”

Hov tilted his head. “What’s building then?”

Always a sponge. Hov would pick up anything he felt valuable.

“Buying the block,” Sassy said without hesitation. “Owning enough where people gotta ask you before they change a damn stop sign.” She leaned back against the post, her bangles clinking. “You men love supplying it. Rarely do you own it. And you look like you know the difference.”

Hov glanced at the house again, chewing on her words. He wasn’t new to owning property, but he had only done it because Christian said it was smart and a way to wash his money. This felt like a seed she was planting straight in his chest.

“You talk like this all the time?” Hov asked.

“Only when somebody worth teaching is standing in front of me.” She smiled, but there was nothing soft about it. She carried herself like she’d seen too much, lost too much, and came back sharper every time.

Hov cleared his throat. “If I got more questions, can I call you?”

Sassy raised an eyebrow, amused. “I really don’t do any mentoring.”

He smirked. “That a no?”

“That’s a maybe. ” She dug into her bag and pulled out a card, pressing it into his palm. “I like you but don’t waste my time. Either you serious about more than just hustling, or this conversation doesn’t leave this sidewalk.”

Hov slid the card into his pocket, watching her as she picked up her hammer again. She didn’t know him, didn’t know about Knycole, didn’t know about Qua. And maybe that was the point—she talked to him like a man who could be more than what the city expected, not just another name tied to the block.

He tried to keep his smirk to himself but felt his lips curl little by little.

A brief conversation with Sassy gave him something else to obsess over while his bitch got her mind right.

There wasn’t another option. Knycole would be his and they’d build something so good, their childhood trauma would vanish.

At least, that was his hope—a peaceful life with the people he loved more than breathing.

“Damn, its thick out here,” Noir nodded her head to the music while Knycole found somewhere to park. Once some of the boys from the neighborhood noticed her truck, they flagged her over, putting where the gang was.

“Ugh,” Knycole turned her lip up when she saw both Hov and Rock standing on opposite sides of the one-way road.

Noir applied her lipstick. “What?”

“Hov and Rock here.” Knycole looked between both sides, happy she had extra dark tint so neither of them knew she was looking.

Noir cackled, still in the mirror.

“Don’t laugh too hard because Cash is with Rock and Christian is posted up with Hov mugging the hell out of my car.”

Slamming the visor closed quickly, Noir’s eyes bucked when she saw it for herself.

“Laugh now, hoe,” Knycole snickered. “What we doing?”

Noir gnawed on her lip ruining the gloss she just reapplied.

Grabbing her shades from her bag, she slid them on her face.

“We getting out. Fuck these niggas… we outside!” She screamed turning up the radio to Outside by Cardi B.

With all the dramatics, she pushed the door open to yell.

“Out, where the fine niggas, side, I’m tryna find niggas! ”

Noir bent over making her ass clap. The tennis skirt she wore came with flesh toned shorts attached so her ass wasn’t out.

Knycole cracked up but decided not to let her girl show out by herself. “Outside niggas love an outside bitch,” she rapped snapping her fingers hanging out the car like Noir.

The song ended, and Noir turned the music down. The block’s attention was glued to them, just how Noir wanted it. Knycole didn’t love the spotlight, but she wasn’t shy either.

They climbed down, slamming the doors shut. Instead of walking the park like regulars, they lingered near the hood of the car, letting the eyes stay on them.

Noir had other plans though. She strutted her messy ass straight over to Cash, throwing herself into his arms like she’d always belonged there. His hands caught her waist without hesitation, pulling her closer.

Knycole winced, her stomach flipping when she caught Hov lifting his hand in a sharp stop toward Christian, blocking him before he could move. Christian’s jaw clenched, rage twisting his face.

Noir turned her head, speaking right into Cash’s ear. “You gon’ let them watch, or you gon’ give ‘em something to really talk about?” She draped her arm over his shoulders, nails tracing his chain.

Cash chuckled, eyes cutting across the crowd as if daring anyone to test him. “What type of time you on, pretty girl?” he muttered, squeezing her hip.

Noir pulled away for a few seconds to hug Rock too. He would always be good in her book.