22. Chapter 22
Queen Adanna
I took a slow walk through the grand corridors of my family palace, the marble floors cool beneath my boots. I knew Chief Idris had recently taken a flight herself since I didn’t see her jet on the hangar tarmac. I’d been keeping a subtle eye on her location through our tracking grid.
She was back.
As I approached her quarters, I caught Chief stepping into the hallway. The second she saw me, she looked surprisingly skittish. A faint, almost goofy smirk played on her face before she tried to smooth it out into her usual posture.
My eyes narrowed.
I knew that look.
"Hey, Auntie," I said, stepping into the room.
Chief jumped, clearing her throat aggressively. "Where you been?"
"Business," I replied flatly, my eyes darting straight down to what she was hiding behind her hip.
She tried to slyly pull her hand back, but it was already too late. I recognized that distinct, glossy paper anywhere.
I smirked, folding my arms across my chest. "You went to the casino."
Chief’s posture snapped, and she flashed the bet slips with an annoyed groan. "Shut up!"
"Why’d you go to the casino?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Because I needed to get away," Chief grumbled, letting out a heavy sigh. "One of my old State friends said they were over there, so I took some time."
I tilted my head as the demon worked in my chest. "Oh... so did you tell Nana?"
"Of course not!" Chief said.
"I’ll just tell her when she gets back," I said casually.
Chief’s eyes snapped wide with horror. "What the hell?! Why would you say some shit like that?!"
"If you pay me two hundred out of your earnings... then I won't say nothing," I bargained, keeping my face completely deadpan.
Chief glared at me. A real attitude flared up in her eyes, though I found the whole thing hilarious. "Why the fuck do you need my money?!"
"I don't need your money," I shrugged. "I want your money. It's called blackmail."
Chief eyed me down, looked at her winnings, and then held her hands together in dramatic defeat. "You really about to play in my face like I ain’t raise you?"
I just stared at her, unyielding.
Chief rolled her eyes hard, snapped open her wallet, pulled out two crisp hundred-dollar bills, and slapped them into my palm. I tucked the cash into my pocket as I looked my aunt in her hazel eyes. The quiet weight of our last blowup still hung thick in the air between us.
"I came to tell you... that I was wrong for what I said," I admitted. "And I'm sorry, Auntie."
Chief’s features softened, and the exhaustion melted off her face. She reached out and wrapped her arms around me. "I appreciate you coming over to apologize, Queen."
We held each other for a long second, an unspoken truce settling over the room…until a booming scream echoed from the far end of the hallway.
"OH, YOU WENT TO THE CASINO WITHOUT ME?!"
Chief and I broke the hug in a flash, snapping our heads toward the noise.
Walking down the hall was Nana, dripping in a head-to-toe metallic gold suit with oversized gold designer shades, looking like a pot of gold.
Chief threw her hands up, looking offended. "Who the fuck told you?!"
"I tracked your location, slow poke!" Nana yelled, marching up to us. "You got a lot of motherfucking nerve doing that whack-ass shit!"
Chief crossed her arms, deflecting fast. "Well, where the fuck have you been?!"
"Me and Dame just got back!" Nana announced proudly.
My heart did a flip in my chest. "Wait... where is my man?"
Nana waved her hand dismissively. "Girl, he at your house!"
I turned on my heel and took off down the hallway at a full sprint.
Behind me, Nana’s voice echoed off the high ceilings, fading as I burst out the front doors:
"AND I brOUGHT BACK A DOWN PAYMENT FOR YOU TO BUILD MY DAMN WENDY'S!"
I hit the pavement in a run as I sprinted to my car.