CHAPTER 2
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Quay
The ride to the county felt longer than it probably was.
I sat in the back of that police car with my hands cuffed behind me, my jaw tight, and my mind stuck on Kales. Not the charges. Not the detectives. Not even the fact that they had just kicked in my door and dragged me out my house like I was some random nigga they ain’t know nothing about.
All I could see was her face.
That look in her eyes was what kept replaying in my head. Shock. Hurt. Confusion. Fear.
And the worst part about it all was that I couldn’t even fix it.
I couldn’t calm her down.
Couldn’t walk over to her and hold her.
Couldn’t even look her in her face and tell her everything was gone be alright, because I ain’t even know if it was.
I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes for a second, trying to steady my thoughts, but it was no use. The minute I blinked, I seen her again…standing there shaking, looking at me like I was somebody she ain’t know.
That shit did something to me.
I done been in a lot of situations. I done stared danger in the face more times than I could count. I done had guns pointed at me, had to make moves under pressure, had to survive shit that would’ve broke most men.
But seeing that look on Kales’ face?
That hit different.
Because no matter what I had done in these streets, I never wanted it crashing down on her like that.
The officers up front ain’t say much during the ride. They ain’t have to. The handcuffs biting into my wrists and the murder charge hanging over my head said enough.
Once we got to the station, they walked me through the back like I wasn’t even human. Cold walls. Bright lights. The smell of bleach and old misery sitting heavy in the air. A couple officers looked at me like they already had me convicted.
I kept my face hard, though.
I wasn’t giving nobody the satisfaction of seeing me sweat.
They sat me in a little room with gray walls and a metal table bolted to the floor. I already knew what time it was. Interrogation.
A detective came in first, older white dude, built like he ain’t miss too many meals. Then another one walked in behind him, Black man, calm face, sharp eyes. They played it just how I expected, one rough, one reasonable.
I sat back in my chair and looked between the both of them.
“Y’all got all this evidence, right?” I asked. “So why I’m in here? Go on ‘head and solve it.”
The white detective smirked like I amused him. “You think this is a game, Quay?”
“I think if you had what you needed, you wouldn’t be in my face fishing.”
The Black detective pulled out his chair and sat down. “Markie Bell is dead.”
I stared at him.
He slid a file onto the table like that was gone shake me.
“We know you and Markie had issues.”
“Ain’t no law against having issues with a nigga.”
“We know y’all had business together at one point.”
“Had.”
“We know that business relationship went left.”
I shrugged. “A lot of shit go left.”
The white detective leaned forward. “You always this slick when you’re facing life?”
I looked him dead in his eyes. “You always this loud when you ain’t got no real case?”
That made his jaw tighten, but the other detective held up a hand like he ain’t want him to push too fast.
Then he said a name that made everything in me go still.
“Samir.”
I ain’t move, blink, or let a damn thing cross my face.
But inside, I was paying full attention.
The Black detective watched me carefully. “Yeah. Now we getting somewhere.”
I leaned back like I ain’t care. “I know a lot of people.”
“We’re sure you do,” he said. “And we think you know enough to help yourself.”
There it was, this shit wasn’t just about Markie.
I should’ve known that from jump.
They ain’t haul a man in on a murder charge just to ask obvious questions unless they was trying to get to something bigger. Or somebody bigger.
Samir Watts.
That name alone told me what kind of game they was playing.
The white detective folded his arms. “You give us Samir, maybe we can discuss how much trouble you’re really in.”
I let out a dry laugh. “Man, get the fuck outta here.”
The Black detective stayed calm. “You’re in a bad position, Quay.”
“Nah,” I said quietly. “I’m in a room with two men trying to make me say what y’all need me to say. That’s the position I’m in.”
He tapped the file. “Or maybe you’re in over your head. Maybe Markie got caught in something bigger than both of y’all. Maybe you know exactly who Samir is and exactly what he’s capable of.”
I looked down at the table for a second, then back up.
The truth was, I did know what Samir was capable of.
And that was exactly why I wasn’t saying shit.
Men like Samir ain’t the type you play with. Ain’t the type you throw a name on and think the police can protect you after. If Samir wanted you touched, it was gone happen. If he wanted somebody you loved touched, that could happen too.
That was the part them detectives ain’t understand.
Or maybe they did.
Maybe that was the point.
“You got a girl, don’t you?” the white detective asked.
My eyes snapped to him so fast he smiled.
Yeah. That was the point.
I wanted to lunge across that table and break his fucking jaw.
Instead, I kept my voice even. “Watch how you talking to me.”
He leaned back like he had won something. “Then start being smart.”
The Black detective stepped in before it went too far. “Nobody’s threatening anybody. We’re giving you an opportunity.”
I laughed again, but it wasn’t from humor. “An opportunity? Y’all kicked in my door, put murder on my name, and now you want me to help you build a case on somebody else. That sound like an opportunity to you?”
“It sounds like survival,” he said.
That word hung in the air.
If it was just me, maybe I would’ve played this different.
But it wasn’t just me.
It was Kales.
And all I could think about was her standing in that living room, looking like her whole world had just cracked open. I hated that she had to see that. Hated that she was probably at the house right now crying, confused, trying to figure out what was real and what wasn’t.
I hated even more that if Samir’s name got wrapped up in this the wrong way, she could end up in danger just from being mine.
“I want my lawyer,” I said.
The white detective rolled his eyes like he expected that.
The Black detective nodded once. “That’s your right.”
“Damn right it is.”
They sat there another second like maybe I was gone change my mind and start singing. I ain’t. Eventually they got up and walked out, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
That was worse than the questions.
Because in that silence, all I had was time to think.
About Markie.
About how shit had gone left.
About Samir.
And about Kales.
Mostly Kales.
I kept seeing the tears in her eyes. Kept hearing her asking me to tell her it wasn’t true.
And that was the part eating me alive.
Because I couldn’t even give her what she needed.
Not then.
Maybe not ever.
A few hours later, they moved me to a holding cell until they processed me. By then, my shoulders were tight and my head was pounding, but I was still alert. In my world, being too comfortable was how you got caught slipping.
When they finally walked me to a cell for the night, I stepped in and stopped short.
Sitting on the bottom bunk was a face I knew.
“Damn,” he said, leaning back against the wall. “I was wondering when I was gone see a familiar face in this bitch.”
I looked at him for a second, then shook my head. “Reese?”
He grinned. “Yeah, nigga. Don’t sound too happy to see me.”
I let out a breath and sat down on the bunk across from him. “I ain’t expecting to.”
“Ain’t nobody ever expecting county.”
He was right about that.
Reese had always been one of them dudes who knew more than he said. He wasn’t loud, wasn’t flashy, but somehow always knew what was moving in the city and who was tied to what. Seeing him in here didn’t feel random.
He studied me for a second before speaking again. “They saying you smoked Markie.”
I looked at him, my expression flat. “They saying a lot.”
“Mm.” He rubbed his jaw. “And what you saying?”
I leaned back against the wall. “I’m saying motherfuckers better stop speaking on shit they don’t understand.”
He chuckled a little under his breath. “So it’s like that?”
“It’s exactly like that.”
For a moment, neither one of us said nothing. Noise echoed through the block, somebody yelling, a toilet flushing, metal clanging somewhere down the row. Same jail shit, different day.
Then Reese looked over at me. “You heard they trying to build around Samir?”
I turned my head slowly. “Who said that?”
He smirked. “This place talk. COs talk. Inmates listen.”
I cursed under my breath.
He nodded like he already knew. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
I dragged a hand over my face. “They came at me with it in interrogation.”
“And?”
“And I told them to suck my dick.”
That made him laugh for real.
But then his face turned serious.
“You better be careful, Quay.”
“I know that.”
“Nah,” he said, looking me dead in my eyes. “I don’t think you do. Samir got reach in places people don’t even think about. If they pressing you this hard this fast, then something bigger going on.”
I didn’t answer because I already knew he was right.
That was what had my chest tight.
This wasn’t just a murder case.
This was a setup, a warning, or maybe a war already in motion and I was just now being forced to see the full board.
And somehow, some way, Kales was still the first thing on my mind.
“You got that look,” Reese said.
I frowned. “What look?”
“That girl look.” He smirked. “You in here thinking about a female.”
I shook my head, but I couldn’t even deny it.
He laughed. “That serious, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said after a second. “That serious.”
He was quiet for a moment. “She know anything?”
I thought about Kales asking me what was going on, her voice shaking, her eyes full of hurt.
“No,” I said.
“And you gone keep it that way?”
I looked down at my hands.
I wanted to.
But I ain’t know if I still could.
Because if Samir decided Kales was useful, or vulnerable, or just connected enough to make a point through… then me keeping her in the dark wasn’t protecting her.
It was just delaying the damage.
I leaned my head back against the wall and stared up at the stained ceiling.
For the first time all day, the weight of this shit really sat on me.
Not the charge, or the jail time.
Not even the detectives, but Samir Watts.
Because if they was coming for him through me, then that meant the danger was already too close.
And if Kales got caught in the middle of it?
That would be on me.
I closed my eyes, but sleep wasn’t coming.
Not with her face still in my head.
Not with Samir’s name hanging over everything.
And not with the feeling in my gut telling me this was only the beginning.