Chapter Two Forced Partners, Open Wounds #4
A confirmation box appeared.
Are you sure?
No.
She was sure about nothing tonight.
But she clicked yes.
The post disappeared.
For a moment, the dashboard looked too empty.
Makayla then created a new post.
Her fingers moved slowly, each word heavier than the last.
MORROW BAY:Earlier tonight, I posted evidence connected to Jarvis Draven and The Black Meridian.
After reviewing the material again, key details in the evidence do not match the location named by the source.
The post has been removed while I verify what was sent, who sent it, and why.Dirty Little Proof is built on receipts.
If the receipts are dirty, I will say that too.More soon.
She stared at it.
Jarvis read over her shoulder from a distance this time.
“Post it,” he said.
Makayla looked back. “No complaint?”
“It’s clean.”
“Don’t sound so shocked.”
“I’m learning.”
She posted the correction.
The comments exploded within seconds.
Oh she got scared.Jarvis paid her.DLP folded!Nah, this sounds responsible.What location was wrong??Who sent the fake evidence?Girl you better explain fast.
Makayla closed the laptop before she could read more.
Her head hurt.
Her chest hurt worse.
Jarvis’s phone buzzed. He looked at it. “Vasha called Renzo.”
Makayla sat up. “Already?”
“She texted Trevon. Renzo wants to meet her at noon tomorrow at a day party setup at Obsidian Hall.”
Makayla frowned. “Why would there be a day party at an event hall tied to the fake pictures?”
“Because arrogant people love familiar rooms.”
“Or because it’s a trap.”
Jarvis slid his phone into his pocket. “Every meeting is.”
Makayla stood. “I’m going.”
“No.”
She pointed at him. “That word again.”
“You’re too emotional.”
“And you’re too used to being obeyed.”
“Renzo knows your face now.”
“Then I’ll change how I look.”
Jarvis stared at her.
Makayla lifted her chin. “I ran an anonymous page for two years in a city full of nosy people. I know how to become somebody else for an hour.”
He looked unimpressed. “This isn’t dress-up.”
“No, it’s my life.”
“That’s why I’m saying no.”
Makayla stepped closer, close enough to feel that same pull from outside. The one she did not trust.
“You don’t protect me by locking me out,” she said. “You want my help? Then stop treating me like a weak spot.”
Jarvis looked down at her.
His voice dropped. “You are a weak spot.”
The words hit harder than expected.
Makayla’s face went still.
Jarvis seemed to realize how it sounded a second after saying it, but he did not take it back.
She nodded slowly. “Good to know.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“That is exactly what you meant.”
“No. I meant whoever planned this sees you as one.”
“And you?”
He held her stare.
For once, he had no quick answer.
Makayla smiled without warmth. “That’s what I thought.”
She grabbed her laptop bag.
Jarvis blocked her path with one step. “Where are you going?”
“To check on my aunt.”
“She’s safe.”
“I said I’m checking.”
“Makayla—”
“Move, Jarvis.”
The sound of his name in her mouth seemed to land somewhere in him. His eyes darkened, but he moved aside.
She walked out of the office with her heart beating too fast.
The hall was quiet. Two guards stood near the east lounge door. One opened it for her without being asked.
Auntie Zella sat on a plush sofa watching an old sitcom with a plate of cake in her lap. She muted the TV when Makayla entered.
“That man get stupid?”
Makayla dropped onto the sofa beside her. “In his own special way.”
Zella studied her. “Your face doing that thing.”
“What thing?”
“That thing where you mad but hurt underneath.”
Makayla rested her head back. “Vasha took money for tips.”
Zella’s face fell. “Oh, baby.”
Makayla closed her eyes. “Don’t say it like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m sad.”
“You are sad.”
“I’m angry.”
“You can be both. You grown.”
Makayla laughed weakly, but it almost turned into something else.
Zella set the plate down and touched Makayla’s hand. “What else?”
Makayla opened her eyes. “Amira’s old lawyer might be tied to this.”
Zella’s whole body changed.
The softness left her face.
“Selene Rusk?”
Makayla looked at her aunt. “You remembered?”
“I remember every person who helped break that child.”
Makayla’s throat tightened again.
Zella looked toward the closed door. “That why they pulled Amira in?”
“I think so.”
“Does Amira know?”
“No.”
“Then we tell her before somebody else does.”
Makayla nodded. “I’ll call her in the morning.”
“No. You’ll call her when your voice can hold steady. Don’t put panic in that girl’s bed.”
Makayla wiped at her cheek even though no tear had fallen. “I ruined everything tonight.”
Zella took her chin gently and turned her face. “You made a mistake.”
“A big one.”
“Yes. A grown mistake. Fix it grown.”
Makayla breathed out.
“I thought I was helping somebody,” she whispered.
“I know.”
“I thought if I waited, I’d be doing what everybody did to Amira.”
Zella’s eyes softened. “Pain will make a fire look like a flashlight.”
Makayla looked down at her hands.
That was exactly it.
She had followed pain and called it proof.
The lounge door opened after a soft knock. Jarvis stood in the doorway.
Makayla straightened, pulling her face back into place.
Zella looked between them. “Y’all need to stop looking at each other like that.”
Makayla frowned. “Like what?”
“Like a fight that might kiss by accident.”
“Auntie!”
Jarvis looked away, but his jaw moved like he was holding back a smile.
Makayla stood. “I came to check on you, and now I’m leaving.”
Zella picked her cake back up. “Good. Take him with you. He blocking my show.”
Jarvis stepped aside as Makayla walked into the hall.
He followed her back toward the office. Neither spoke until they reached the glass wall overlooking the empty lounge.
Then Jarvis said, “I said it wrong.”
Makayla kept walking. “You said it honest.”
“You are a target. That’s what I meant.”
She stopped and turned. “I’m always a target. Every woman who opens her mouth is. Every woman who says a name is. Every woman who carries proof people don’t want seen. That’s the part men like you miss.”
His eyes stayed on hers.
She stepped closer, voice low and tight.
“You think danger started tonight because it knocked on my door wearing your face. It didn’t. I been living with danger since my sister came home with her dress torn and everybody told her to be quiet.”
Jarvis said nothing.
Makayla’s voice shook now, but she kept going.
“So when you call me reckless, maybe you right. But I built that page because silence made me sick. And tonight, somebody used that against me. That’s on them. The mistake is on me. I’ll own mine. But don’t you ever make me feel small for fighting with the only weapon I had.”
The hall was quiet.
Jarvis looked at her for a long moment.
Then he nodded once.