8. Chapter 8
Princess Adanna
Nyah was taking her sweet time inspecting the back of Brooklyn’s head. Brooklyn sat stiff as a board, bound to the dining chair. Kandi didn't look nearly as patient. She leaned against the wall with a gleaming blade balanced between her fingers. The sharp tip pointed straight at Brooklyn’s throat.
"Everyone just needs to take a damn breath and calm down," Jade said, hovering in the middle of the room with her hands raised.
I didn't waste my breath responding. I leaned back against the doorframe as my eyes locked onto the pathetic creature in the chair. Brooklyn stared at the floor, doing everything in her power to avoid eye contact with me.
Smart move.
"How was she even allowed back on this side of the island?"
Brooklyn let out a roll of her eyes while her head tilted up toward the ceiling. "My father spoke with Idris about me coming back since the year passed. My forgiveness trial is active."
On Okye Island, an act of betrayal carried a mandatory one-year exile before a soldier could even attempt to petition for redemption, and that was assuming they hadn't committed flat-out treason or made the fatal mistake of sleeping with the enemy.
Nana let out a boisterous laugh from her armchair, adjusting herself. "And why the hell should we let you back in our crew?"
A faint, tentative smile touched Brooklyn’s face as she looked toward the old woman. "Oh, how I missed you, Nana."
Nana waved her withered hand through the air, scoffing. "You ain't gotta kiss my ass."
Brooklyn rolled her eyes again, taking a deep breath. "Look, I'm sor—"
I closed the distance and drove my knuckles straight into her mouth, making her eat my fist.
Brooklyn yelled as her head snapped back. Crimson blood split across her bottom lip.
Before I could follow up, Jade slammed both hands into my chest to shove me back. "Adanna, stop!"
I glared down at Jade, stepping right up into her face until our noses were touching. "You let her back in? How fucking dumb can you be?"
Jade squared her shoulders and clapped back hard. "You taught me that everyone deserves another chance." She gave me a pointed look. The words hit their mark, forcing me to take a step back before I ended up hitting her ass, too.
I didn't think Brooklyn deserved a single grain of forgiveness from me, not after what she did.
Taking my damn chopper without asking permission just so she could run her own drug deals was the ultimate line crossed. Her reckless greed brought rival heat straight to my doorstep, putting a target on my back. No one was bringing up the fact that I had two bullets in my shoulder because of her.
I should put a bullet in her skull, but island law strictly forbade killing a member of our own society, and with the heat already breathing down my neck, I’d had to swallow my pride, play it cool, and hold back.
Brooklyn wiped the blood from her chin with her shoulder, breathing heavily. "I messed up by letting my own jealous thoughts get in the way of what we had. I will never have a best friend like you," she admitted. "And I will forever apologize for it. I can admit when I messed up."
I looked deep into her eyes, searching for the game, but all I saw was the truth. Before Jade ever stepped into the position as my right hand, it was me and Brooklyn. We were unstoppable, until her jealousy burnt the bridge down.
"She’s back in the crew by orders of Chief," Jade stated firmly, standing her ground.
I squinted, thinking over my next move. I had so much shit on my plate, and I wasn’t about to add on another person.
"If they choose to let you in, that’s on them. But if you ever cross me again, I’ll cut off your lips and glue them to your ass."
Nana blinked from her armchair, looking over at me. "Well, damn. You gone do all that? You're so creative for no reason."
Nyah rolled her eyes, finishing up her quick check. She added,"Nana, please don't entertain her antics."
"I do what I damn well please as the leader of this here crew," Nana snapped back.
I grabbed my bowl of popcorn and turned my attention back toward the TV screen.
"Kandi, you can let her go," I muttered. "She’s not dumb enough to try all of us in the same room."
Kandi sliced through the zip-ties binding Brooklyn's wrists and slid right back into her seat.
"Now, my granddaughter has spoken," Nana leaned in her chair, "but you finna hear me. I gifted her that damn helicopter when I was going through a rough time of making a million a month! You listen here, ‘cus I ain’t with that jolly shit. Don’t come up in here being faker than a two-dollar hoe on Wednesday night looking for a 4-for-4 at Wendy’s... with the nuggets and a fry."
Nana crossed her arms. "You know they got a seven-for-seven now? Ridiculous, but sounds like a good time to me."
Jade sat back down in her seat, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Nana, you want some Wendy’s?"
"Yeah," Nana grunted, "but the Princess wanted to show her ass and tell me no."
I kept chewing my popcorn, not taking my eyes off the movie. "Nana, I got some fresh food for you the other day."
"Don’t nobody want that shit," she huffed. "Give me that GREASE."
Brooklyn rubbed her chafed wrists. "It's great to see you haven't lost your sense of humor, Nana."
Nana squinted at her. "Girl, where you from again?"
"My mama," Brooklyn replied with sarcasm.
Nana replied without missing a beat. "Oh, I’ve been there too. All up and through there."
The room went dead still and my lip twitched in, but I leaned over and tapped my ear toward her.
Nana caught my gesture and looked up at the ceiling as she muttered, "Oh, my bad." She reached up and clicked the volume knob on her hearing aid all the way up before looking around at us. "What'd I do?"
"Nana, she said my mama," I explained and shook my head.
"Your mama!" Nana snapped right back.
"No, her mama," I corrected and pointed a finger at Brooklyn. "She said my mama."
Nana stared back at me completely unbothered and just blinked. "Chile, I thought she said Miami."
The moment those words left her mouth Jade burst out laughing and threw her head back against the couch while Nyah let out a snort. Kandi just smirked and shook her head quietly while reaching right past me to dip her hand into my popcorn bowl. I didn’t look at Brooklyn the rest of the night.