Chapter 4
When I left the flower shop, I went directly to the center and found Russell in his office, which was next door to mine. I didn’t see him the night before and hadn’t had a chance to update him on my exchange with Rue until now.
“Deacon Lewis? From the Westside Riders?” Russell asked.
I nodded. “And get this. RJ’s best friend is his son.”
“You’re telling me you’re about to go out with the woman you had a run in with yesterday, and she happens to be the mother of RJ’s best friend and the ex-girlfriend of one of our biggest rivals?”
“Yeah, and I think Deacon is one of them.”
“One of—Oh shit. What makes you think that?”
“There was a handprint on her neck, and when I asked her about it, her sister told me everything I needed to know.”
“You want to make a move?”
“Nah, not right now, but I already got Semi watching him.”
“You like her?”
“Who?”
“What the fuck? Are you an owl now? Who the hell have we been talking about for the past twenty minutes?”
“Rue?”
“Nigga, get the fuck outta my office. You’re avoiding the question, so I got my answer.”
“I don’t know her enough to like her, but I am…intrigued. I wanna know her story.”
“Then you like her. I don’t know why it’s so hard for you to admit it.”
“I think Cinda is calling me. I gotta go.”
“Yeah, you like her!” my brother shouted as I disappeared into my office.
Yeah, I think I might, but I won’t say it out loud yet.
Once I was seated behind my desk, I went through my emails. We’d received more applications for our summer positions, and after skimming them, I ruled a few out.
Mayhem would host our first annual block party fundraiser soon, and I had a few emails from companies about sponsorship and donations. I responded to those immediately.
Before I knew it, the kids were arriving for the afterschool program. Russell and I met them at the entrance and gave each of them a high five as they entered and headed to the classrooms to do their homework. We stopped RJ to see how his day was before sending him with the other kids.
“So, where are you taking her?” Russell asked, leaning against the front desk.
“Taking who? Rocky has a date? Do tell,” Cinda teased.
“I don’t have a date. I’m taking Briar’s mom to dinner to apologize for yesterday.”
“Hmm…Sounds like a date to me,” she replied.
“He likes her,” Russell said.
“He sure does. I called it as soon as she left. You should’ve seen how they were looking at each other. The sexual tension?—”
“All right, Cinda, chill,” I warned. “You’ve always been a good liar.”
We’d known Cinda since we were teenagers. Her father was the president of Mayhem and took me and my brothers under his wing when he noticed us running with some known gangbangers.
He mentored us for several years, and when he retired, I took his place as president. This ruffled a few feathers at first, but I proved myself, and eventually, the members embraced me as their leader.
“You taught me well, but I’ve told not one lie.”
“I guess that’s my cue.” I held up the deuces and did my rounds to each classroom.
The center accepted children from second to eighth grade. Each grade had two classrooms, two teachers, and an assistant. The children were given a snack before completing one hour of homework. After, they could go to the gym, engage in arts and crafts, or receive extra help in subjects where they were struggling.
It took us a few months to develop a system that worked, but it worked like a charm once we did. Parents typically began picking up their children at 5:00 p.m., and we were open until 7:00 p.m.
On my way back to my office, I passed the gym and saw Russell preparing the stations for the kids to play. I let him do his thing and continued to my destination. As soon as I sat down, my cell phone rang, and Semiyon’s name flashed across the screen.
“What’s up, Semi?” I answered.
“Not too much. I wanted to give you an update on your boy.”
“Whatchu got for me?”
“He spent most of the day on the corner. I can’t believe his old ass is still doing that shit. When he left, he went to the youth center on the Westside for about fifteen minutes. He’s at a small ranch-style house not too far from the center now. I don’t think it’s his house because a woman had to let him in.”
“Text me that address when you get a chance.”
“I got you. He’s been here—oh, shit. Hold on.”
Semiyon was quiet for a minute, but I heard muffled shouting in the background.
“What’s going on?”
“He stormed out, and the woman is on his tail, screaming and hollering.” He paused briefly. “Damn, he turned around and backhanded her. Now, he’s got her by her hair and is dragging her back inside.”
“You incognito?”
“Always.”
“All right. Do what you do and leave when the police arrive.”
“Cool. I’ll keep you posted.”
We ended the call, and I sat back in my chair. When I was notified or suspected a man was guilty of domestic abuse, Semiyon and a few other club members at the club ran surveillance for me. Before I took matters into my own hands, I had to be sure, and they helped me obtain the evidence I needed.
It was difficult to walk away from a domestic abuse situation in progress. After calling the police, our crew would dress up in deliveryman costumes and pretend to make a delivery to create a distraction and halt the ongoing abuse.
Typically, when the police were called, the surveillance ended as soon as they arrived. However, if we decided to take care of it ourselves, we monitored every move the abuser made until we could catch him. That was when the fun began.
“Rue, someone is here to see you,” the young lady who answered the door shouted. “I’m Violet, Rue’s youngest sister. Who are you?”
“You should’ve asked that before opening the door.”
“True, but it’s too late now. If you were gonna kill us, you probably wouldn’t still be standing here.”
“I’m Rocky.”
“Rocky? I need your government name—first and last, please.”
“Rocky Rush.”
“Your birth certificate says?—”
“Violet, why are you opening the door for strangers?” Rue asked on her way down the stairs.
“He’s not a stranger. This is Rocky Rush.”
Rue sighed and rolled her eyes as she folded her arms across her chest and put all her weight on one leg.
“I’ll take it from here. Can you make sure your nephew isn’t making a mess in the bathroom?”
“Sure! It was nice to meet you, Mr. Rush,” Violet said, walking away.
Once she disappeared up the stairs, Rue spoke. “What are you doing here?”
“Did you forget we have a date?”
“How did you get my address?”
“Why does that matter? I’m here, and it doesn’t look like you’re ready to go.”
She had on a pair of baggy athletic shorts and a fitted, cropped T-shirt. Rue had a fit frame, with breasts that were more than a handful, and a juicy ass. Her skin was a dark, beautiful, and so smooth I had to fight the urge to lick it. If I didn’t already know, I wouldn’t believe she’d ever been pregnant, but she did have tiny stretchmarks on her stomach.
“Isn’t it illegal to use student records for personal reasons?”
“Are you gon’ call the police?”
“No, but?—”
“Then shut up and go get dressed.”
“Who do you?—”
I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her against my body. Her skin was soft against my rough hands, and she smelled delicious.
“I’m trying to apologize, and you’re making it hard. Do you know how many women dream of me taking them out?”
“Then why don’t you go find one of them?”
“Because I want to go out with you. Why are you being so difficult?”
“I’m not being difficult. I don’t want to go out with you. Can I just accept your apology, and we can forget it ever happened?”
I contemplated her question and was close to agreeing with her. I’d never had to work this hard to get a woman’s attention, and it annoyed me and made my dick hard at the same time. I could tell Rue was fighting her attraction to me, and because of that, I continued to press her.
“Nah. That won’t work for me. My grandmother means the world to me, and I promised her I’d apologize properly. You don’t want to make me a liar, do you?”
“You don’t have to lie. Tell her I accepted your apology but wasn’t interested in having dinner with you.”
The back and forth started to piss me off, so I took a few deep breaths before responding.
“Either we’re going out to eat, or I’ll make myself comfortable in your family room, and we’ll order in. As a matter of fact, I like that idea better.”
I slipped off my shoes and walked past Rue into the family room and sat on the couch. I pulled out my phone, looked through my restaurant apps, and decided to order pizza.
“What do you like on your pizza?” I shouted over my shoulder.
“You can’t be serious right now.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more serious about anything in my life. Now, what do you like on your pizza?”