Chapter 26
NAIROBI CRAWFORD
“Bear,” I murmured against Fontaine’s sweaty shoulder.
“Hmm?”
“We gotta get going,” I said as I kissed the top of his head.
He groaned like a spoiled child and rolled himself off me. “Shower with me?”
“Nuh uh. We’ll be late if we do all that,” I smirked, even though the ache between my thighs almost made me reconsider.
When Money said we were heading to New York, Fontaine didn’t even ask.
“I already got us a junior suite,” he said on the ride to the airport. “You gon’ be sneaking in my shit anyway.”
We still hadn’t defined our situation. Did he care? Of course. But this thing between us was too strong. No matter how many times I told myself I’d fall back, I kept ending up in his bed, with him buried deep inside me.
I hit the shower, letting the hot water clear my head, and threw on jeans and a hoodie.
When I came out of the shower, Fontaine was in his boxers, hunched over his laptop, glasses low on his nose.
I picked up my purse and slid on my sunnies. “Go wash up. I’ll meet you upstairs.”
He glanced up over the rim of his glasses. “Arriving at different times ain’t gonna make it less obvious.”
“Maybe not,” I shrugged. “But it doesn’t make it super obvious.”
“Yeah, aight,” he said, rolling his eyes before going back to work.
Before going to Cash’s room, I stopped at one of them overpriced delis for a breakfast sandwich. I almost got one for Fontaine, but caught myself.
It still tripped me out that I’d been riding with them for five months. Most contracts didn’t last this long, and if I weren’t so close with Cash, I probably would’ve been gone already. Rescue missions weren’t my usual gig either, but a job was a job. Niggas would die, and I’d still get my money.
“Look who decided to finally show up,” Jelani teased when he opened the door.
I brushed past him. “Here you go,” I said. “My bad for wanting to get some food before we got started.”
“Is that all?” he replied, closing the door behind him. I wasn’t even going to think about what he meant by that.
He leaned in. “Heads-up—Money’s been in a mood all morning.”
Sunlight spilled through the oversized windows of their suite.
It was unnaturally quiet—normally, the guys would be talking shit before we got started.
Jelani would be getting on Money’s nerves, but the vibe in here had me second-guessing if I should even open my mouth. And I don’t get rattled easily.
Cash stood by a window in the living room, hands in his pockets, staring down at the street as if he could will Jasmine to appear among the thousands of people below.
Slim was lounging in an armchair, eyes closed, looking completely unbothered.
“Slim,” I called to him, wanting to break the silence. “You end up linking with ol’ girl in Brooklyn?”
Slim cracked an eye open as a slow grin spread across his face. “Sure did,” he said.
I unwrapped my sandwich and glanced over to Cash, who still hadn’t acknowledged my presence.
“Where’s Fontaine?” Money said finally as he turned from the window.
Right on cue, there was a hard knock at the door. Jelani hopped up to answer it.
Fontaine strolled in, his book bag slung over one shoulder, with a man I didn’t recognize trailing behind him.
“My bad, y’all,” Fontaine said, dropping his bag on the floor. “Needed coffee.”
Cash turned his attention to the stranger. “CJ,” he said with a nod.
“What up, Money?” CJ stepped forward to dap up him and Slim.
“Damn, Money, it’s like that?” I teased, mid-chew. “Can a lady get a little respect?”
“My fault, Nai,” Cash exhaled, running a hand down his face. “Slept like shit last night.”
CJ dropped on the couch next to me, forcing me to scoot over.
That Brooklyn arrogance oozed off him as he ignored the side eye I gave him.
The man knew he was fine as hell, though—smooth nutmeg skin, full lips, and a fresh Caesar fade that I knew he got lined up every week.
His biker vest proudly displayed the Gotham Reapers symbol, and hung open to show off his solid build under a fitted long-sleeved shirt.
He turned, flashing me a dimpled smile and a playful wink like he knew I was grilling him. I rolled my eyes and popped the last of my sandwich into my mouth.
Jelani dragged another chair into the room, sighing heavily as he sat. “We saw Jasmine and Marcus last night.”
“What?” Slim sat up straight.
“We went to get dinner, and apparently so were they,” Jelani said grimly.
My pulse kicked up. “They see y’all?” I asked.
“Jas did,” Cash said, finally stepping away from the window. “Marcus didn’t. I swear on Sydney—I’m ready to put a hole in that nigga’s head.”
Fontaine was already pulling out his laptop. “About that… I found some shit this morning you need to see.”
Cash made his way over, hovering over Fontaine’s shoulder as he typed. I couldn’t see the screen, but I watched Cash tense up, eyes narrowing.
“The fuck am I looking at ?”
“A marriage certificate,” Fontaine said slowly.
“Fuck,” Slim muttered.
Cash straightened and let out a hollow, humorless laugh. He looked like he was two seconds from crashing out. “She ain’t marry that nigga.”
“He forged her signature,” Fontaine confirmed. “But it’s filed, it’s official on paper.”
A chair went flying across the suite, crashing against the wall as Cash exploded. “This why he called her his wife?” he shouted.
I dragged my teeth across my bottom lip. This whole thing made my skin crawl. I knew Marcus wasn’t someone to take lightly. I’d still thought about how he blacked out on Poppi over some sneakers. He’d come out of prison broken in more ways than one.
CJ whistled as he stretched his arms along the back of the couch. “That nigga came home on one. Can’t say I’m shocked.”
Cash paced the length of the suite, both hands locked behind his head. “When can I kill this nigga, yo?”
“He’s taking her to a gala in two days. We can move then,” Fontaine said.
Cash ran a hand over his waves. “Fuck he doing taking her to a gala?”
“Apparently, Marcus is one of the councilman’s biggest donors,” Fontaine explained.
Slim snorted. “A dirty ass politician in bed with a dirty ass nigga. Sounds about right.”
“Oh, he’s showing her off,” I said. “Especially if they’re married—this is some weirdo power play.”
Men like Marcus pissed me off the most—corny niggas who believed their money and power made them untouchable.
Fontaine looked up from his screen. “It’s gonna be tight. The whole event will be crawling with private security and law enforcement.
“And we don’t have BC manpower here,” I added. “So there’s no room for fuck ups.
CJ shifted beside me, his knee brushing mine as he leaned in. “Guess that’s where my people come in. Stir up a little chaos an’ shit.”
There was no mistaking the flirtiness in his voice as his eyes slid over me. “That just happens to be my specialty.”
A soft laugh slipped out before I could stop it. This man was bold.
I crossed my legs and lifted my chin. “Is that so?”
“Yeah,” he murmured, leaning in until his lips almost brushed my ear. “I’m very interested in learning what your specialty is, mama.”
“Ay, yo!”
Fontaine’s voice cut through the room. He was on his feet, chest all puffed up, looking about to put CJ through a wall.
CJ raised his hands with a grin. “My fault, my fault. This you, bruh?”
I cocked my head and arched a brow at Fontaine. He stared back like I’d crossed some invisible line. Between Cash crashing out and whatever this little pissing contest was turning into, I was about to barf from all the testosterone in the room.
“I’m sending y’all the bill if you niggas fuck the room up,” Jelani grumbled.
Cash stepped in and murmured something in his ear. It clearly worked because Fontaine sat back down, but continued glaring at CJ and me.
“CJ, chill on Nairobi,” Cash deadpanned. “She’s really handy with a knife and a gun.”
CJ chuckled, licking his lips as his eyes darted back to me. “Oh, word?”
I rolled my eyes, turning back to the others. Across the room, Slim frowned as his gaze bounced between me and Fontaine, probably connecting all the dots.
I cleared my throat. “So, the Reapers will provide a distraction…” I wasn’t about to be the center of attention.
“Right,” Fontaine said, voice clipped. “Slim will be with the Reapers for the diversion. I’ll send out the hotel layout tonight and work on scrambling their cameras.”
“Why not just cut the lights?” Jelani suggested.
“Too much confusion,” Fontaine replied without looking up. “Security would lock that place down. A blackout at a gala full of city officials? That’s a recipe for disaster.”
“You don’t think we can handle it?” I pressed.
He looked up. His face was calm, but I could see the fire in his eyes. “Did I say that? I’m just saying too many unknowns.”
“Fine,” I conceded. “If I can get the burner to Jasmine, we’ll still be able to find her if things go left.”
Cash shrugged. “Works for me.”
“Thanks, boss man,” I smiled, throwing Fontaine a pointed look.
“Whatever,” Fontaine scowled.
For the next few hours, we worked out the plan. I’d roll into the gala with Cash and Jelani as arm candy, keeping an eye on Jasmine until she slipped off to the bathroom, where I’d hand off the burner. If anyone got in our way, we’d drop them.
I hung back once Slim and CJ left. Fontaine stormed out as soon as we finished. I already knew he was going to be on some bullshit whenever I got back to the room.
“Is she worth all this?” I asked Cash after Jelani dipped off to his side of the suite.
Cash was by the wet bar, pouring himself a drink. “Why you ask?”
“‘Cause I’m about to drop a stack in Saks on a dress that’s going to end up trashed before the night’s over.”
He chuckled and sank into the armchair across from me with a distant look.
“She’s worth it,” he said before taking a sip. “But I’m tapping out after this.”
I damn near slid off the couch. “You serious?”
He nodded. “Deadass. I knew Jas was my wife the second I laid eyes on her at Palladium. I was drunk as fuck, but I knew.”
“You know you sound crazy, right?”
“I’m almost forty, Nai. The hell I look like doing this forever? I’m tryna have the life my parents never had. I can handle myself, but I can’t be worried about somebody sliding on her every time I turn around. I’ll clean the money. Jelani can hold down the rest.”
I whistled and shook my head. “Damn. Never thought I’d see the day Big Money Banks was ready to hang up his jersey.”
He gave a lazy shrug. “Fontaine would do the same for you.”
I blinked, forcing out a laugh. “The hell are you talking about?”
Cash drained the rest of his drink and set the glass down.
“Come the fuck on, Nairobi. Y’all thought nobody noticed?
That shit at Stilettos? The way y’all sat together on the plane?
His little outburst with CJ just confirmed it.
” He leaned back in the chair. “You really thought y’all were being low? ”
Well shit. “It’s not—” I started, my voice catching in my throat.
He cut me off. “Shorty, I know you, and I know him. I know y’all are sharing a suite.”
My mouth went dry. “How?”
Cash rolled his eyes. “Fontaine’s not the only person who can hack into a hotel’s database. Stop playing.”
I shot to my feet. “I’m leaving when we get back to Atlanta.”
“And he’ll just come after you.”
He might.
But if he did, I’d just have to show him how good I was at disappearing.