Chapter 4 Drek
Chapter Four
Drek
“Hello?” I grumbled into the phone with my eyes still shut.
“Boss lady.”
Winter’s voice came through eerily calm, like something was wrong but she didn’t want to scare me. That caused me to sit straight up in bed.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. S-someone broke into the shop and vandalized it,” she almost whispered. “You haven’t seen the security alerts on your phone?”
My heart dropped to my stomach. “N-n-no. I was sleep. Vandalized it?”
“Yeah. They busted out windows, threw paint everywhere, cut up the furniture in the lobby…it’s…it’s bad, Dreka. I called the police already.”
“Fuck,” I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. “I’ll be there in a minute,” I ended the call without waiting for her to say another word.
“What’s wrong?” Xy rolled over, his voice raspier than usual, thanks to the sleep he’d just been waken up from.
Snatching my bra and panties from the floor, I quickly got back into them. “The shop got vandalized.”
“What fuckin’ shop? I know not yours,” his voice went from sleepy to demon time in a split second as he sat up.
“What other shop, Xy?” I snapped, trying not to be irritated with him but frustrated from the situation. “Yes, mine!”
He hopped out of the bed just as quickly as I had and started getting dressed.
“Xy, what are you doing?” I questioned as I headed towards his bedroom door.
“Angel, you just told me somebody vandalized yo shit, and you think…what? Ima stay here? No, let’s go.”
“But—”
“Let’s fuckin’ go,” he demanded in that authoritative tone that got shit done.
Gazing at him with his diamond studded X pendant dangling from his neck and his gun at his waist, I already knew what type of time he was on.
The look on his face said it all. His alter ego, Sleep, was on duty.
He earned that nickname when he was a teenager because he put people to sleep, temporarily with his fists and permanently with bullets.
Sleep was who the streets feared, but Xy was the nigga I feared.
With Sleep, I knew what it was, and with Xy, there was never any telling what was happening inside his head.
There was no reasoning with Sleep, so I walked out of the room without any more protest.
Luckily, his crib wasn’t too far from my shop, but the entire car ride, my nerves were rattled.
Mainly because I didn’t know who would want to do some bullshit like that to my shop.
I didn’t bother nobody, and I conducted good, clean business, so there was no need for anyone to target me.
On the way there, I checked the security alerts I had on my phone from the shop.
I watched as two figures dressed in all black with their faces completely covered crept into view.
One went around back while the other one used a gun to shoot out the cameras. Smart muthafuckas.
When we pulled up, the flashing blue and red lights lit up the interior of Xy’s car as we parked next to Winter’s truck.
From where I was sitting, I could see all of the glass glittering against the pavement along with the gaping holes in the windows.
Someone had really gone all out to destroy it, and I hadn’t even seen the inside yet.
“Stay in the car.”
“I’m not staying in the fuckin’ car, Xyleek! This is my business, not yours!” I released myself from the seatbelt.
“Just let me talk to the police first.”
“Then you do that! I’m going to see what the fuck is happening with my business!” I yelled at him, getting out of the car and slamming the door.
Rushing towards Winter, who was already addressing the police, I felt Xy right behind me.
“Here’s the owner, Officer Ferguson,” Win pointed at me, a few tears falling from her eyes. “Dreka, I’m so fuckin’ sorry. I know I locked up before I left.”
I dismissed her with the wave of my hand, giving her a quick hug. “I know, Win. This isn’t your fault, so please don’t think it is.”
“Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing,” Officer Ferguson started addressing me next. “They killed the security cameras first, cut the power, and went in.”
“Did they take anything?” I asked with my hands shaking, surveying the damage from the outside of the building.
“That’s the thing, Miss Lombardo. Your manager here says everything of value is still inside.
Cars, car parts, tools, even the cash box, everything is still in its place.
They broke into the cabinet where the car keys are, so they could’ve stolen a car if they wanted to.
Looks like all they did was damage the place. ”
“What the fuck?” I whispered, resting my hands on my head. “Can I go inside?”
“Not yet. We’re still processing the scene, dusting for prints that’ll give us any leads and taking photos.”
“Y’all need to be pulling street cameras, too,” Xy said in that tone that made niggas listen up.
Ferguson’s eyes cut in his direction and then there was instant recognition. Whatever smart ass comment that was about to come out of his mouth, he swallowed it down quick.
“Yeah, we’re working on getting as much as we can, Mr. Chambers.”
“We expect a report first thing in the morning. Drek, let’s wait in the car while the officers quickly finish their job.”
Grabbing Winter’s hand, I took her with us because I didn’t want her to feel guilty for some shit that was beyond her control. Piling into his cocaine white Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge, Xy started it up so that the air would keep us cool as we waited.
“I’m so fuckin’ glad you weren’t here,” I said, turning slightly to look at her. “I know you like to work late some nights but there’s no more of that until we get this shit resolved.”
“You finna have around the clock security,” Xyleek finally said something, furiously pecking away at his phone.
I already knew he was reaching out to his people. The ones who handled shit without a badge and did so quickly, quietly, and efficiently.
“Xy, don’t start that,” I spoke calmly even though my pulse was still jumping. “Let the police handle it first.”
“What the police handle is paperwork. What I handle is everything else. Angel, don’t piss me off ‘cause you already know I don’t fuck around when it come to you, so yeah, it’s gon’ be eyes on this shop twenty-five eight until I know something more,” he slowly turned his head in my direction.
“If they was bold enough to do this tonight, who’s to say they not coming back?
I’m not taking no fuckin’ chances with you. ”
“Uhhmmm….I can wait outside if y’all need me to,” Winter’s wide eyes shifted between us like she was hearing something she had no business hearing.
“No, you’re good,” I rubbed my temples because I knew if it wasn’t Xy then my father damn sure was gon’ get his people on it once he got wind of the break-in. “Xy, I—”
“I got niggas finna pull street camera footage right now. Them fuckin’ cops will take days to do what I can get done in ten minutes,” he leaned over and comfortingly kissed my cheek. “Chill out and let me take care of you.”
I wanted to be annoyed, but this was how Xyleek’s ‘love’ showed up.
He was a protector and didn’t take kindly to disrespect in any form.
Vandalizing my shop was disrespectful as hell, so I just prayed that whoever did it was planning to get ghost. The moment Sleep caught up with them? Oh baby, an example was gon’ be made.
Nearly forty-five minutes later, Officer Ferguson gave me the all clear after handing me his card and promising a report in the morning.
Once I was inside the shop, I felt like all the air in my lungs had been sucked right out.
Nothing could’ve prepared me for the extent of the damage the intruders created.
Every inch of the shop looked like it had been consumed by chaos.
A burnt smell lingered in the air as if a fire had been started but fizzled out.
My heart was doing jumping jacks the deeper I walked inside.
STAY IN YO LANE BITCH was spray painted across the counter where the cash register was.
All of the windows on the cars had been busted out and all the tires had been slashed, even the ones I kept in stock.
How the fuck was I supposed to explain this shit to customers?
“Anybody complained to you about some work yo shop did?” Xy probed, steady typing on his phone.
I blinked back tears. “No.”
Even though I had more than enough money to get everything replaced, that wasn’t the point.
The point was that someone had violated me in the worst way for reasons I didn’t even know.
Heading towards the back where my office was, I noticed another message spray painted along the wall.
HE’S NOT YOURS! That made me stop dead in my tracks.
“Xyleek!” I screamed his name; my hurt quickly being replaced by anger.
He was there in a matter of seconds, but his face was still buried in his phone. “What? What happened?”
“Somebody did this shit because of you!” I raged, punching him dead in his chest.
His frame didn’t even move as his eyes trailed the red spray paint.
“Go get in the car,” he urged with a certain ice in his tone.
“No! I’m not done looking around! And I know one of your bitches did this shit!” I punched him again out of anger, frustration, and disappointment. “This is why I don’t wanna fuck with you! It’s always some bullshit!”
“Nobody I fuck with would do something as stupid as this shit,” he spat.
My eyebrows almost ran off my face. “Oh, so now you’re admitting that you’re still fuckin’ other people after just promising me last night that there wasn’t anyone else? You know the fuck what…” I laughed with no amusement. “Get out.”
“No. Angel,” his tone softened once he saw I was about to lose my shit for real.
“I’m saying that the women I did fuck with wouldn’t be stupid enough to do this just because they’re jealous of you.
They know they’d have to deal with me, and none of them want those kinds of problems. That’s what I’m saying to you. ”
“I don’t care. I don’t fuckin’ care. I’m not doing this again, Xyleek. I’m super good on you, bro,” I tried brushing by him, but he grabbed me up bear hug style.
“Will you stop, Angel? Stop. I let you go through my shit to show you I wasn’t fuckin’ with nobody,” he said against my ear.
“Let me go, Xy.”
“Not until you’re calm.”
“I am calm,” I twisted and squirmed in his tight grip. “Just let me go.”
His grip loosened slightly but not much. His forearm was still pressed against my waist while he removed his phone from his pocket.
“What’s the word, Blow?...Mmmhmm…” he kissed my neck as I tried wriggling out of his stronghold. “You know my money good for any and all information…nah, they gon’ have to look me and my wife in the eye and explain why so Ima handle that…aight.”
He rained more kisses down my neck, pushing his phone back in his pocket. “Angel, I’m sorry about your shop. Just know it’ll be handled, aight? Ain’t nobody gon’ disrespect you like this and sleep peacefully at night. I got you. I love you.”
I really hated how the way he said I love you in that deep, raspy voice, making my panties wet. Even when I was mad at him, this nigga had me in an unbelievable chokehold, and I prayed that nothing else transpired because of us rebuilding.