Chapter 5
Bria
Sitting in court today, I felt like my body was there, but my mind was somewhere else.
I was zoned out because living in my head right now was way easier than living in the reality of what I was going through.
This was supposed to be one of the most important moments of my career, but all I could think about was how my sister had been murdered just weeks ago.
It had been two weeks and fourteen hours exactly since I found my sister's body in that God forsaken strip club, Raw, and there were still no answers.
The coroner ruled that her cause of death was blunt force trauma, with the detectives claiming that drugs made her fall and caused the injury.
I knew that was bullshit. My sister didn't take drugs, and I was personally on the phone with her less than an hour before she died.
Her voice was clear, and her mind seemed to be the same.
If anything was in her system when she died, it wasn't by choice.
I just didn't have a way to prove that yet, but eventually I will.
“Bria, you alright?”
Hov leaned in close to me, his voice low and thick, breath laced with peppermint. That man stayed with mints in his mouth, twirling them around, to keep himself busy, I guess.
"Yeah, I'm okay." I cleared my throat, straightened up, and tried to mask the way my leg was bouncing under the table.
"You sure?" He tilted his head and squinted his eyes.
"Yes, just preparing myself mentally for these exit interviews. Everything is good, I promise. We got this.” I gave him a reassuring smile.
What I didn't tell him was that every time I blinked, I saw Ryan's face.
The picture of my sister lying still with the light gone from her eyes was an image I prayed I would stop seeing soon.
I'd gotten good at faking composure, because after all, being a lawyer, we had to have a poker face no matter how things may seem to be crumbling in the courtroom.
But deep down, I was mentally hanging on by a thread, and that was because of my personal life. It had nothing to do with this case.
When the bailiff walked near the bench, his voice cut through the court's silence.
"All rise! The honorable Judge Joe Lorenzo, preceding."
Everyone stood once he finished announcing him, and the judge walked into the courtroom with the same cold scowl he had for most of the trial.
He started doing his usual spiel, which I tuned out until he turned toward the jury and asked,
"Has the jury reached a verdict?"
A woman in the front row nodded and then stood, holding her chin high as she held a paper up with both hands.
"We, the jury in case number 93988402, the state versus Jehovah Matthews, find the defendant not guilty of attempted murder in the first degree."
The room erupted with half praise from Hov’s side, while the other was filled with cursing, crying, and disappointment in the verdict.
Kairo's family grew more and more upset after the initial shock and was in the back row, calling Hov a murderer, swearing that justice isn’t real, so the chaos was an even mix of joy, pain, and disbelief.
When the court was dismissed, Hov was greeted by his family, who were as ecstatic as they should be. After hugging and kissing Hov for some time, Ciara turned to me.
"Thank you so much, Bria, and congrats on your first big win."
She pulled me into a hug, and that hug was much needed, so I embraced her longer than I probably should have. Once I let her go, I felt a wave of embarrassment.
"I'm sorry," I murmured after my chin left her shoulder.
"It's okay. There is nothing to be sorry about, love." She hushed me because that unspoken sisterhood was speaking for itself.
Ciara didn't mention Ryan, and neither did Hov.
But I could see it in their eyes every time they looked at me that they had that quiet compassion people gave when they didn't have the right words to say.
I mean, everyone knew about Ryan's death because the news had run my breakdown outside the crime scene on loop for days, spinning stories about a "grieving lawyer turned emotional wreck.
" So, I was not only grieving, but I was embarrassed about the way I acted that day.
Though I still had those same feelings, I just wish I could've handled that shit in private and not with all those cameras pointed in my face.
"You know I don't know if you're up for it, but I am throwing Hov a birthday party soon. I'd love for you to come celebrate with us. Only if you’re up for it, of course.”
"Thank you, and I'll definitely consider it. I haven’t gotten out of the house in forever, and it’s definitely been needed here lately."
"Of course, I'll send you the official invite once I get it made," she smiled softly before turning back toward her husband.
I watched as Hov hugged one of his tiny aunts, practically smothering the woman in his arms. It was a celebration for them, but for me, it was a matter of surviving my first case.
When I walked out of the courtroom, Kera was waiting for me by the courthouse front doors.
“Congrats on the big win boss.”
“Thank you for everything. Now let's get home and relax for the first time in a while.” I put on a poker face.
The minute we stepped outside, the cold air slapped against my skin, and reporters rushed me.
“How is it having your first big win after such a tragedy?”
Cameras were flashing from every direction, but I kept my head down, pushed past the noise, and walked straight toward the garage where my car was parked.
The sound of cameras clicking and reporters calling out for statements echoed in my ear, but I had no intention of giving any response today.
My heels clicked against the concrete as I scattered from outside the courthouse.
The last time I was standing out here for too long, I was ducking for cover.
That attack had me traumatized to say the least.
I was only a few yards away from the garage entrance when I heard someone yell,
"Aye!"
I ignored it, the same way I'd ignored everyone else out here, until I heard my name being called again, louder this time.
"Hey, you, Bria, right?"
I turned over my shoulder, and that’s when I noticed it was Crew standing against a black-on-black Dodge Charger, leaning back like he had all the time in the world to be waiting out here.
A haze of smoke streamed from his lips, but the cold air threw it back in his face, fogging him in for a second.
Once the smoke cleared, the sun bounced off his chain, gleaming like it had its own spotlight.
I’ve noticed that drug dealers always have the most expensive jewelry.
My salary from the firm doesn't amount to shit compared to that untaxed money.
The only downside that I see to street life is the consequences of going to jail. That or being murdered.
Crew was tall and slender, but he still had a built frame, and the way he stands, good Lord, bowlegged and tall, made him have the stature of a Clydesdale horse.
"I feel that you already know that I am Bria, but how can I help you?"
"Let me start off by asking, how did it go in there, beautiful?" His voice was smooth but heavy, that kind that carried confidence even when he didn't try.
"You should check Google, sir. I’m sure the articles are being uploaded as we speak," I shot back.
“I’m not really with that internet shit. That’s why I came up here to get the facts straight from the source. Hold up, don’t tell me that you fucked it up and got my boy sent away.”
I rolled my eyes and shrugged my shoulders.
“See, I knew that beauty like that couldn’t have brains, too. That shit would be too good to be true if so.”
"Look, shouldn't you be in that fucking hellhole Club Raw getting your rocks off?" I rolled my eyes, but the smirk that stretched across his face only made my irritation boil higher.
"You know, it's men like you who are the reason why so many younger women are lost in clubs and losing their lives to bullshit."
Crew chuckled low, eyes dragging over me like he was more amused than offended.
"And women like you are why so many people who murder innocent women are walking around free. So, it looks like we both were put on this earth to fuck it up, I guess."
I was so gagged, I actually stuttered.
"I, I, I don't."
He held his hands up like he meant no harm.
"Listen, shorty, I give you my deepest condolences about your family. For real. But just know, I don't hurt females like that nor do I force anyone to fuck with me that doesn't want to."
"Oh, so you think females at these clubs actually want to do lewd acts for you, and it's not because of the convenience of getting paid for it?"
He licked his bottom lip and took a step toward me.
"I wouldn't call it paying, I call it tipping. Any female that I've had once, I can have again and again and again, free of charge because I am the payment.”
The way he said that made my chest tighten.
I hoped he didn't see on my face that I halfway believed him.
Truth is, no matter how fine Crew was, and Lord knows he is fine, he was still a gangster, and I am a lawyer.
What could a man like him possibly do for me besides give me a job on his next felony case?
"Look, I've had a long day, and I'm going to get to my car now." I turned away, but before I could take two steps, his hand closed around my wrist.
"Wait a minute," he said, eyes narrowing.
"You didn’t tell me what happened in there today. Is my boy free?"
"Of course he is. Wasn't I on the case?"
He smiled like my cockiness turned him on.
"Yeah, you are a part of the reason, but not the whole reason entirely.”
“Excuse me, what does that mean?”
“It means you got a little help getting that verdict, but hey, you're welcome, beautiful.”
He winked his eye, and I crossed my arms.
“And what does that mean, Crew? Are you saying that you are the reason that someone is now dead? Are you really implying that to me?”