Chapter 3
The way Iskyiah’s mind was so gone should have been studied. She stared out the tinted window of the black truck as they sped down the highway toward an unknown destination.
During the rest of the plane ride, Moolah took turns staring straight into her damn soul and saying off-the-wall shit. He’d always been intense, even when they were kids, but time had definitely made it worse.
The problem was, Iskyiah didn’t know how to respond to him anymore. His intensity never bothered her when they were younger. She was never intimidated by him and would stand toe-to-toe with him, even on his worst days. Now, all she wanted to do was run.
Guilt plagued her as she watched Jake run the flight by himself. When Moolah wasn’t looking, Jake kept cutting his eyes at her. She knew as soon as they landed, he would contact the company, and her job was as good as gone.
The ten thousand dollars in her account was a small consolation.
She glanced over at Moolah, who tapped away on his phone.
His beard, although short, looked full—real grown-man like.
Those pink lips she used to love looking at looked juicier than ever.
Her eyes traveled down to his arms. He wore a simple navy T-shirt that somehow looked more expensive than her entire outfit alone.
His muscles stretched the fabric, and tattoos ran all up and down his arms.
Iskyiah swallowed as she took him in. He was grown-man fine now, and more demanding than ever.
He’d insisted that she come with him instead of the hotel the company she worked for blocked off for her.
One thing that hadn’t changed and would never change about Moolah was that when he wanted something, he got it. No questions asked.
Truthfully, a huge part of Iskyiah wanted to go with him anyway.
Her eyes traveled down his long, muscular legs and then back up again. She jumped slightly when she noticed Moolah looking at her. Heat warmed her cheeks as she quickly looked away from him and out the window.
“Why you stopped talkin’ to me, Sky?”
Her brows pulled in angrily as she cut her eyes at him. “I stopped talking to you?”
“Yeah.” He stared at her as if he waited for her to explain herself.
Iskyiah scoffed. “Are you delusional?”
Moolah blinked. “Depends on who you’re askin’.”
“You aren’t funny, Moolah. You left Desmore and fell off the face of the earth. I didn’t stop talking to you. You stopped talking to me.”
She watched as Moolah ran a hand down his face and took a deep breath before he spoke. Her face was still screwed up as she listened to him. It was the audacity for her.
“I got caught up pretty much as soon as I got there. Spent two years in prison. I hit you up soon as I got out.”
“How the hell you get caught up on a damn farm, Moolah?” She glared at him. Iskyiah knew Moolah wasn’t a liar, but what he said didn’t make sense to her.
“I had some weed left over from when me and Tey was hittin’ the streets out here. Just a little. I wasn’t gonna sell it, just smoke it. My dumb ass thought it was okay to travel with. They let me leave the bay, but they had the cops waiting on me as soon as I touched down in Montana.”
Iskyiah stared at him, completely dumbfounded. Finally, she spoke. “I know you ain’t that dumb.”
“I was. I ain’t ever been on a plane before, so I ain’t really know. I thought I could hide it in a cleaned out deodorant bottle and be good. That’s what the internet said anyway.”
Iskyiah couldn’t believe what she heard. It didn’t make sense to her. “Why didn’t you tell me? You literally just ghosted me.”
“I ain’t ghost you. I just went away for a bit. I asked my uncle and Tey not to tell you anything because I knew you would drop everything and hop ya ass on a bus or some shit, all the way to Montana to see about me, even if Ms. Wanda ain’t want you to.”
She had to give that to him. He was right.
If she had heard he was arrested, she would have done everything she could to see him through that.
It wouldn’t have mattered what her grandmother said, what her brother said, or even what Charles said.
Moolah had always trumped them all, but he had also broken her heart when she didn’t hear from him for two years.
By the time he hit her up, she had been close to graduation and had moved on with her life, at least that was what she told herself.
Holding a grudge was something she was good at, so ignoring him had been easy.
Kind of. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t cried over him for a long time and missed him like crazy, but she was hurt.
“You could have told me, even when you got out. I would have heard you out.”
“That ain’t somethin’ I could say over a message or the phone, Sky.”
“Then you could have pulled up on me,” she argued.
“You think I ain’t try? As much as Ms. Wanda loved me, she wasn’t tryna betray you by tellin’ me where you lived.
All she said was you was still wit’ Charles and happy.
Once I heard that, I let the shit go. I was hurt, man, but it was clear you ain’t wanna talk to me.
I knew how yo’ ass could be when you got hurt.
You shut down on me, and I ate that because I kept you in the dark for two years.
That was my bad, baby, but it was never my intention to ghost you. You should know better than that.”
Iskyiah looked down at her lap. She had been so mad at him.
Through the years, he even reached out on social media, but she refused to engage with him.
The longer it went without speaking to him, the easier it got, but she never got over her best friend.
She never forgot that beautiful last night together.
Whether she wanted to fully admit it to herself or not, Moolah Brooks had a huge part of her heart, and she wanted to honor that by naming her daughter after him.
Feeling a bit silly for holding that grudge for so long, she finally looked at him and muttered, “I wish you would have told me.”
“I tried to catch yo’ ass at your grandmother’s funeral, but you acted like you ain’t see me.”
Shame flooded her. Seeing Moolah after so long had shocked her.
She definitely did exactly what he just said.
She acted like she didn’t see him at the repass and left immediately.
The emotions were too much for her to handle at the time, and instead of confronting him after all those years, she ran.
Moolah didn’t say anything else, and she decided not to respond to his last statement. Instead, she looked out the window at the palm trees and bright skies and got lost in thought.
After another thirty minutes of silence in the car, they pulled up to a house that looked small on the outside, but Iskyiah had the feeling that it was much bigger than it looked.
It was surrounded by palm trees, and the ocean sat just behind it.
With curious eyes, she looked at Moolah and asked, “Where are we?”
“Paradise.” He opened his door and stepped out.
Iskyiah followed suit and stretched after she closed her door. She jumped when Moolah’s deep voice barked, “Fuck you doin’?”
“Huh?” she asked, startled.
She watched as his jaw clenched, and he took a breath before he nodded his head toward the car. “Iskyiah, get yo’ ass back in the car.”
“But I thought—”
“Car.” His tone was so final, Iskyiah knew she had no choice but to do what she was told.
He opened the door for her, and after she got in, he closed it.
After a few seconds of confusion, he opened the door again and offered her his hand.
“You don’t touch door handles when you with me. You hear me?”
It came flooding back to her, and she fought a smile. Moolah had always had a thing about doors. His uncle taught him how to be a gentleman when in a woman’s presence, and Moolah took those lessons to heart.
“I hear you.”
He grunted his response before he turned and led her toward the front door.
Iskyiah looked back and noticed the driver had busied himself with getting their luggage.
Briefly, she wondered how much money Moolah really had.
A private jet, a driver, his clothes and jewels .
. . it was clear to her he lived really well.
After he punched in a code, he opened the door and ushered her inside.
Iskyiah’s instincts were spot on. The space was gorgeous and much bigger than the outside let on.
It was an open floor plan with glass walls at the back of the house that opened up to the ocean.
There were tropical plants throughout the home, giving it a vacation vibe.
The kitchen was a decent size, and there was a huge sofa with a projector against the wall, perfect for watching movies.
A winding staircase was off to the side, so she knew there was another level.
While she took it all in, the driver placed their luggage inside. Moolah tipped him, and then they were finally alone.
His eyes bore into her. There went that intensity again. She squirmed under his gaze. She really didn’t know how to feel after his revelation in the car about going to prison. A part of her still felt abandoned, but the other part was relieved that there was a good explanation for his absence.
“You like it?” he asked.
Iskyiah was so lost in her thoughts, his question threw her off guard. “Like what?”
“The house.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s beautiful. Is it yours?” she asked.
He shook his head. “It’s an Airbnb. I’ll get in touch with the owner before we leave and see about buying it for you.”
Iskyiah frowned. “I don’t think that’s how it works—”
“Money talks, baby.” He took a step closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. “If you like the place, it’s yours. You have a few days to decide. We ain’t leavin’ until Tuesday.”
Her mind spun, but it finally settled on the last thing he said. “Tuesday? I’m only supposed to be here overnight.”
“Change of plans.”
“I can’t just change plans like that, Moolah. I have a daughter.”
He seemed to consider this. “Who she wit’ right now?”
“Hassan.”
That reminded her. She needed to text everyone and let her know she landed. Her mind had been so wrapped up in Moolah she had completely forgotten.
Moolah grinned. “How that nigga doin’?”
An involuntary smile graced Iskyiah’s face. “He’s good. Still a pain in my ass but the best brother and uncle.”
Moolah nodded. “That sounds about right. Call him and ask him if he can keep her a few days. If he can’t, then we’ll send for baby girl—”
“Whoa. This is a lot,” Iskyiah said, placing her hands on his solid chest and pushing, but he didn’t go anywhere. In fact, he held her tighter.
“You found me again, Sky. I ain’t lettin’ up. I always told myself that if I got the chance to talk to you, I wouldn’t let you go again. I wasn’t gonna force the shit, but if it happened . . . And look at Big Homie pullin’ through for us.”
“Moolah—”
“Call your brother, Sky, and quit playin’ wit’ fate.”
She stared up at him, trying to figure out what the hell she was about to do.
But who was she kidding? There was only a small, rational part of her that told her to slow things down and take control.
The larger part of her was turned on by Moolah’s presence.
He took charge and told her what to do and made her feel safe. Wasn’t that everything she wanted?
All along, the man she had dreamed of was Moolah Brooks. Of course it was.
She expelled a breath. “Fine, I’ll call him.”
“Good girl.”
Those words sent a chill down her spine. Her pussy ached, and her cheeks warmed. She tucked her lips into her mouth for a second before she said, “I don’t have enough clothes.”
“Just tell me your sizes, and I got you. And anything else you need. You don’t gotta want for nothin’, baby.”
She didn’t understand that concept. She did alright for herself and Brooke, but there was always something she wanted.
“Are you sure?” she asked with concern etched on her face. The last thing she wanted was to be a burden to him. She had already ignored him for twenty years.
In response, Moolah placed his large hand around her neck and dipped his head. Their kiss was more mind-blowing than that night all those years ago. This kiss was grown-up and sexy. This kiss caused her soul to stir, her toes to tingle, and the hairs on her body to stand on end.
When he pulled away, he looked at her with his brown eyes framed by dark lashes and said, “I ain’t been sure about a lot of things in my life, Sky, but when it comes to you, I’m always sure. Make that call and text me that list. I gotta make a call, but I’ll check on you in a few.”
He pecked her on her lips once more before he walked toward the stairs. She watched as he made his way up them, wondering if the butterflies in her stomach would ever settle down.