Chapter 2
Bria
“Kera, you ready to walk to the car now?”
“Yeah, right after you, Boss lady. I'm sure as heck not walking down this sidewalk this late alone.”
My assistant walked on my trail closely, still cautious as hell after what happened hours ago at the courthouse. She was practically glued to my back, like I was some kind of shield against the chaos, but I felt just as rattled as she did.
I can admit, the shootout outside the courtroom had my whole damn life flashing before my eyes. Whoever came through raining bullets didn’t care who they hit, yet somehow, they struck exactly the right person.
Being a defense attorney is never easy, but a murder happening yards away from the courthouse on the day of opening arguments?
That’s a new level of crazy. I can admit I do feel guilty for what happened because I, along with my colleagues, was secretly celebrating what I knew was now an easy win in court.
My client Hov will walk away free, and just like everyone else, I knew this shooting was a direct correlation of that.
Representing one of the most notorious gangsters in New York was intimidating as hell, especially when I was thrown onto his case at the last minute. One moment, I was preparing for a routine contract dispute, and the next, I was responsible for a man whose reputation in New York was well known.
When my partner Norman had a stroke last month, his entire caseload hit my desk.
That’s how I ended up sitting beside a defendant who was practically New York street royalty.
I’d heard about Hov and his crew most of my life, but we never crossed paths because we had two different lifestyles.
But when I met him, I quickly saw why he had the title of king of New York.
He had an aura that demanded respect without a single word spoken.
Even with his life on the line, he had a calm, straightforward demeanor that I wish a lot of my clients had.
On top of his demeanor, Hov was one of the finest men I’d ever saw in person.
Anyone with eyesight could recognize Hov's crazy-good looks when they saw him, and trust me, I wasn’t blind.
But admiration was where it ended with me because Hov has a wife, a criminal empire, and a trail of bodies behind his name. I defend criminals. I don’t date them. No matter how much I was secretly intrigued by what it would be like to take a walk on the wild side for once in my life.
Once we made it to the garage, I climbed into my car and took my shoes off. It had been a long day, and all I wanted was my couch and a bottle of wine. I don’t even think I need a glass for it.
I started my engine, and the music playing through my speakers was immediately interrupted by a call.
Call from Ryan, I grunted.
I’m sure this call from my baby sister was just her being nosey about Hov and the crazy ass day we had. She had never been this infatuated with my job until I got a case with a man everyone in New York City knew of. It also made her even more intrigued because Hov is fine.
Ryan was my baby sister on my mother’s side, who was always calling me when she was in some shit and never with any good news. Her having a kid gave me the responsibility of caring for both of them and the man she let impregnate her, who didn’t have shit but sperm to give at times.
“Yes, Ryan.” I answered the phone.
“A’Bria, can you hear me?”
Her whispered panic tone made me sit up straight from my recline in my seat.
“Ry, are you good?”
“No, I’m not Bria. My boss thinks I stole some money from him, and he put his hands on me. Now I’m scared to come out of the restroom, so please come and get me.”
“Call the police on him, Ryan! Why call me first? What am I supposed to do?”
“Bria, you are a lawyer, so they won’t do anything stupid around you.”
“A lawyer is not the police.”
“I know, but I don't want to look like a snitch by calling the police so please just come.”
“Which Dollar Tree do you work at so I can call them?”
“I, um, I.” She stuttered, so I knew a lie was coming out of her mouth next.
“I am not at the Dollar Tree. I work at a club.”
Her confession, even at the low volume she told me, still blew my fucking head back.
“What did you just say, Ryan?”
She sighed because her next words, I could tell, she didn’t want to say.
“I work at a strip club, Bria. I’m sorry for lying to you.”
“What fucking club do you work at, Ryan?”
“Raw.” She whispered, and I punched my steering wheel, wishing it were her mouth.
“Why would you lie about where you work and since when did you become a fuckin stripper? Why didn’t you call Nathan to pick you up? That’s your man, right? I’m sure he’s the one who convinced you to work there anyway.”
“No, he didn’t know. He thinks I work at the Dollar Tree too. Plus, he is busy working on a building in Brooklyn, so that’s why I didn’t call him. He just started that construction job.”
I tried exhaling to calm myself down because this girl had my blood pressure high once again. It's always something with her ass.
“I’m on my way, Ryan. Don’t leave that fucking restroom until I get there.”
“Okay, I won’t. Thank you, Bria.” She answered softly and then hung up the phone.
When it rang again, I thought it was my sister, but it was instead Marcus, and I was preparing myself for the lies before I could even accept the call.
The only reason I wanted to answer was because we had made a secret bet that I would beat him in our first head to head.
I was positive even before the star witness was murdered that I would beat him.
His age and accolades doesn’t make him a better lawyer than me.
I met Marcus on the train after leaving class on a cold January day.
I remember hugging my books to my chest like they were the only thing holding me together on my way to my mama’s house, needing comfort only she could give.
I was going through a lot that week. My older brother Orlando had just gotten locked up for stupidly running drugs for the Hernandez Mafia, like that group of men wasn't known for getting caught and locked up.
Orlando was just hungry for fast money, as many men are these days.
We knew something illegal was going on with him when he started giving mama money on the bills and bringing home new boxes of sneakers every other day.
The day the police picked him up from our house, I got the call minutes before a midterm exam, and my hands shook the entire time.
I couldn't focus because Orlando and I had been close, so when I turned in the paper, I just knew I had bombed it.
That same day Marcus sat down across from me in the cluttered, crowded chaos of the train and got my attention at the first chance he got.
“Are you okay, Ms. lady?”
His voice melted into the chaos of the train before it fully registered. He leaned over the aisle, deep brown eyes full of concern, as if he knew me for years.
I lied, said I was fine, but eventually, small talk softened into real conversation, and being the man of many words, he pulled the truth out of me, slow and gentle, like he was unwrapping a secret I’d been holding too tight.
By the time the train screeched to a stop, he knew everything that was running through my mind, and my number.
I mean, how could I ignore a man so fine? Tall, broad shoulders under a perfectly tailored coat, skin rich and smooth like dark chocolate. His jawline could’ve cut glass, and his smile carried heat. He looked like a nineties Morris Chestnut with a smile to match.
And maybe that’s exactly why I should’ve walked away. Any man who is that fine and that emotionally intact was a red flag. No man has it all and looks good while having it, without shady ways, and that was indeed Marcus.
When I hit accept on the call, he started talking right away.
“Are you okay? I wanted to check on you outside the courthouse all day, but you know how that is.”
“I’m fine, Marcus. Trust me, I am good.”
I cut off his words because I still wasn’t over him standing me up on my birthday when he promised we would link up.
Him standing me up didn’t help the fact that I hadn’t seen him much at all over the past month, because we'd both agreed we needed space so we could prepare for the upcoming trial. I don’t get much time with him as it is, so, of course, I wanted my birthday to be special as he promised.
I however spent that night dressed in a nice gown for hours until I took it off and put on my robe to go to sleep.
“I’m glad you are okay, baby. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Oh, you know what you would do, Marcus. Had I got shot today and died, I would have died a side piece and you would've went home to your wife. Why are you still trying to play this game?”
“Don’t say what we have is a game, Bria. You know I want to marry you, and I will marry you one day. Why do you think you have that ring? The one that I didn’t see on your finger at the courthouse today.”
I rolled my eyes because the audacity of him thinking I would wear a ring every day for a marriage that may or may not ever happen. He gave me this ring months ago, and we hadn’t talked about marriage since. These days, I feel that ring was just another way to string me along.
“The ring is put away safely, Marcus. But what is this conversation about anyway? It has been a long day.”
“Well, to be honest, I wanted to lighten your mood, and I thought you would want to gloat because you will now be getting Jehovah a not guilty verdict. First big win against the best prosecutor in the county. How does it feel?”
“Under the circumstances, underwhelming, but I’ll take it. I hate that someone had to die to make it so easy. Though I’m sure it would’ve been the same outcome with there being no solid evidence on your end.”
He laughed.
“Well, I don’t think you knew that, per se, Abria. That’s why your client had to send that hit out.”
“Hearsay Marcus.”