Zaria
I tossed my phone in my hand as I debated whether to call my mother. I had been sitting on the idea for weeks, wondering if calling her was worth it, but knowing I hadn’t talked to Navi, I decided to bite the bullet. I needed peace knowing that she was at least still breathing.
“Uh, hey, ma.”
There was a brief moment of silence, like we were both trying to figure out the words to say.
“Ma, I don’t want to hold you long, but—”
“You’re not. I’m just sitting here. You know I was looking at the picture you and your sisters took the day you—”
“Ma, please, I’d rather not go down memory lane. I was calling to see if you’ve heard from Navanna.”
She didn’t say anything, which let me know she had. “Has she not called you?”
“I mean, if she did, I wouldn’t be calling you,” I snapped. “Shit, I’m sorry. It’s just that neither Yana nor I have heard from her, and I wanted to make sure she was okay.”
She laughed. “Oh, she’s doing very well. You didn’t know she got her job back? Well, just not here.”
My stomach sank. “You’re telling me she’s still here?”
“Yes. She said she didn’t want to come back with me.”
“Okay, I’ve got to go,” I said as I hung up.
If Navi never left, it meant she was around.
That meant she was up to something, especially with her not answering the fucking phone.
Now what Monfua said made sense because it was probably her he had seen.
I sent Lakia a text asking Monfua to call me.
Scorned Navanna running the streets with that badge meant she was coming for blood.
I knew I needed to warn all the guys, especially Preach. Getting up from the couch, I walked to the back where the guys were. June gazed at me and immediately knew something was off.
What is it?
I glanced at Preach.
Eyes on me. What is it?
My eyes landed back on June.
Navi, she… she got her job back, but here.
Fuck!
“What was that?” Diamond asked as he pointed.
June and I both looked at him. “What?”
He rubbed his chin. “Y’all niggas on some spooky shit.”
I waved him off. “Look, whatever y’all are doing or plan on doing, be careful.” I paused as I glanced at Preach. “Navi is back in action. I want to say my sister would never, but I don’t know, so all of you stay out of trouble.”
Foe threw his hands up. “I knew this little pow-wow wasn’t going to last long. You’re doing all that preaching, but you slept with the devil. Goddamn!”
“I’m not scared of Navanna. Besides, if she wanted to do something, she would have,” Preach said.
My loyalty to my sister was one thing, but I knew how she could get when she sat in her darkness. All I could do was pray that she kept all her shit where she was.