Chapter 2
OCEAN
I stood in the parking lot outside of Shade’s penthouse, waiting on my phone to ring. I didn’t care who the fuck it was, as long as I was getting answers about Skye.
“Any news on Mecca’s location yet?” Shade asked.
“Nah, not yet. But the niggas I got looking for him know what to do. As soon as they get eyes on him, it’s a wrap.”
“You really think he had something to do with this?”
“Hell yeah, and for his sake, Skye better be in pristine fucking condition. Otherwise, the cops won’t be able to recognize his body either.”
Shade cleared his throat. “Speaking of that, Nyx knows about Eli.”
I didn’t flinch.
My dark eyes locked forward. “Yeah? And how did that happen?”
I was asking, even though I already knew the answer. Nyx had my brother locked in so deep that he would tell her anything.
“We were together when she got the alert. I didn’t give much of a response when she told me about it. But you know the deal. I’m not good at faking shit. I will say, I think you threw Trace for a loop, though.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, scrolling through my phone. “Why you say that? Killing that fool was always part of the plan.”
“Yeah, but you know how Trace is. He just wanted to put a bullet in his brain and call it a day.”
“Nah, that shit wasn’t enough. He needed to know exactly what it was like to be left for dead.”
Granted, I probably went a little overboard. But what could I say? I got a kick out of holding that nigga hostage and pistol-whipping his ass until his mama couldn’t recognize him.
I nodded toward the building. “How did Nyx take the news?”
Shade sighed. “She wasn’t thrilled. But we haven’t had a chance to really talk about it. We got the call about Skye right after she saw the blog.”
“Oh okay.”
Silence filled the air.
I looked up from my phone, quickly noticing the worry lingering on my brother’s face. Although I knew he wasn’t tripping about what we’d done, I also knew he didn’t want to hurt Nyx.
“Yo, don’t let that shit creep into your head. Nyx knows what we went through after that fool hit Jassi. She might need some time to process it, but she’ll understand eventually.”
“You think so?”
“Hell yeah. She’s a smart woman. Granted, she probably didn’t realize she was getting involved with a killer—”
“Hold up, I didn’t kill his ass. That was all you. I left, then came back to the spot and Eli’s face was caved in like it had been crushed against concrete.”
“It’s all good.” I smirked, pleased with the memory. “You didn’t need to witness that shit anyway. It was gruesome.”
Shade tilted his head. “There’s something wrong with you, you know that, right?”
“Ain’t shit wrong with me. Niggas just don’t need to fuck with my blood.”
“Or your girl, huh?”
I waved him off. “Don’t start with that bullshit.”
“Doesn’t sound like bullshit to me. What were you doing at her crib anyway?”
I frowned, wondering why he thought my whereabouts were any of his business. “And why does that matter to you?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Good. I’m glad we got that established. Now, focus on making some phone calls to find out where the hell Mecca is.”
“Why are you dodging the question?”
“I’m not dodging a damn thing.”
Okay, maybe I was.
But my brother didn’t need to know that I’d showed up at Skye’s apartment uninvited just because I’d gotten a bad feeling. Or that I was kicking it with another chick when the shit happened.
I’d never been the type to let feelings stop a woman from riding my dick. Not once.
But I couldn’t shake the shit.
“You’re definitely playing dodgeball. But it’s cool. I’ll get it out of you.”
“There’s nothing to get.” I shook my head. “Trust me, this is not a you and Nyx type of situation. Skye and I are cool. We fuck when we need to fuck, kick it when we need to kick it and go on about our lives.”
“And you think that shit is cool with everything she’s gone through?”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t think she’s a little too vulnerable to be getting caught up with you?”
“She’s not caught up with me. She’s chilling. We’re chilling.”
I knew from the outside looking in, it seemed like Skye and I had a lot more going on than we really did.
Despite what it looked like, we were kicking it way more than we were fucking.
We’d only had sex a few times before she pumped the brakes and made it clear that she didn’t want to get caught up in a sexual situation.
Given her experience with Mecca, I didn’t fight her on it.
But that didn’t mean I had to stop seeing her, at least on some friend type of shit.
Skye was cool, and she was funny as hell.
The vibe I got whenever I was around her was something I’d never experienced before.
I couldn’t explain it. I just knew I couldn’t get enough of it.
“Who you fooling? You don’t chill with females.”
“Bullshit! I got a lot of female friends.”
“Friends with benefits you mean?”
I shrugged. “But they still friends though.”
“Man, whatever.”
My cell phone rang.
“What’s up, Jassi?”
“Nothing. You guys find Skye yet?”
“Nah, not yet.”
“Damn, I hope she’s okay. I’ve called around to see if anyone has seen or heard anything, but—”
My phone beeped with another incoming call, and I hurried to look at the screen.
“Hell yeah. This is what I’ve been waiting on. Jassi, let me call you back.”
“Okay.”
I clicked over. “What’s up? You find him?”
“You know it. We’re behind his ass right now.”
“That’s what I like to hear. Stay on him and send me the location as soon as he stops.”
“Sure thing.”