Chapter 35
35
“ S o, your sister lunch was a hit, huh?” Bo asked.
We were in my favorite position—naked, skin to skin with my face in his chest inhaling a scent I’d memorized decades ago, the fragrance of him .
“Yep. We decided to take turns hosting lunch every couple of weeks. Umber volunteered for the next one, but I’ma have to make an excuse to miss it. I ain’t tryna eat some damn fried squirrel legs out in the middle of nowhere,” I replied.
He chuckled. “Why you acting like she lives in a lean-to or a pop-up tent or something?”
“Close enough. It’s a damn decommissioned fire lookout tower thing, or at least the cabin attached to it. She has a pre-law degree but decided not to go to law school, came home from college, worked a corporate job, saved her money, and bought her place. I don’t know. I think between our mom’s death and her first love ghosting her, she just said fuck it and decided to commune with nature, hunting and foraging for food.”
“Damn. She still working the corporate job?”
“No, she owns her own hiking coordination company or something like that. It’s called Trill Trailblazers. It keeps her bills paid.”
“She leads the hikes or just plans them?”
“Both. She’s hiked all over the country.”
“Damn, she must be in top tier shape.”
“Right.”
“My mom is jealous of you,” he said randomly.
“Huh? She told you that?”
“Yep. She says she always knew I’d give you the world, which was something my father never gave her.”
“The world?”
“The Agency. It’s always about The Agency with her.”
“Didn’t she help him create and run it?”
“Yeah, but once the money started rolling in, he kind of shut her out of the business, giving her limited access.”
“I see. Why didn’t she just take over when he was killed, then?”
“Why would she when she could let me do the work while she reaped the benefits?”
“Damn, you got a point there, Mr. Pierce.”
My eyes popped open to darkness and the harshness of Bo’s whisper.
“You hear that?” he asked.
“Not sure, but something woke me up,” I softly returned, reaching for my gun on the nightstand.
“I tried to check the cameras. They’re all down. Security ain’t answering my calls and them niggas right across the street, all three of them.”
“Across the street? I knew it! The house with the gray door, right?”
“Yeah, but baby, focus. I’m tryna figure out what the fuck is going on.”
The hair on my arms stood at attention as a realization hit me. “It’s an ambush.”
“Yeah.”
In the darkness, I felt him leave the bed, and I hissed, “The fuck are you going? Ain’t no telling who’s outside this room. Close and lock the door.”
“Damn, that’s what the fuck I was about to do.”
“You got your gun?”
“Memphis, you gotta chill. When do I not have a gun? The hell?”
“There you go with that Memphis shit again.”
“You wanna address that right now? Really?”
“My bad,” I whispered. “Wait!” I stood, navigating my way to him, my gun ready. “Okay, go,” I said, my hand on his back.
“You literally got my back, huh?” he cooed.
“Nigga, close the door.”
He chuckled, moving toward the door with me damn near clipping his heels. Then there was a flash, a bang, and a grunt.
My ears rang as I screamed, running through the open bedroom doorway and down the stairs in pursuit of the intruder while letting off shots. I was so damn discombobulated; I kept missing the motherfucker in the dark clothes. Me! I never missed. Never!
I stopped short of following him as he sprinted out the back door because I had more important business to attend to.
As I raced back up the stairs, I realized I was still nude. So was Bo as he lay on the floor with blood oozing from the hole in his chest.