CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I didn't like leaving her like that. That shit stayed on my mind the whole ride to the warehouse.
Kaior had tried to turn her head before I saw those tears, but I caught them.
The same woman who would've cussed my ass out without thinking twice a week ago was sitting on my bed worried because I had to leave.
Worried about me. I wasn't used to that shit.
People depended on me. Needed shit from me.
Expected me to fix whatever problem landed in my lap.
But having somebody sitting at home worried about whether I made it back safely was different. Especially when that somebody was her.
For a second, I almost said fuck it and stayed. Almost. But whoever stole from me needed to understand that shit wasn't going unanswered.
Kaior was worried about whether I was coming home. And for the first time in a long time, I had somebody waiting on me that I actually gave a fuck about getting back to. I meant what I told her. I was going home. But first, I had some shit to handle.
I pulled into the warehouse lot twenty minutes later and parked beside Hulk's truck. Two other cars were parked near the loading dock, but the rest of the property was empty.
Hulk was waiting when I walked inside.
"We got him in the back."
"He talking?"
"Claims he ain't take shit."
"Of course."
"He saying he know who did, though."
I looked at Hulk.
"Why the fuck you ain't say that on the phone?"
"Wanted you to hear it yourself."
I started toward the back.
"Where the work?"
"Still missing."
That was the part I cared about.
We reached the back of the warehouse, where a man sat in a chair with two of my people standing nearby.
I knew him. Everybody called him June Bug.
He stayed fucked up more often than he stayed sober and had been floating around Broward long enough for his name to come up whenever some low-level bullshit happened.
June Bug looked up when I walked in. Fear hit his face immediately. "Jokah, man, I ain't take your shit."
I stopped in front of him.
"I ain't ask you shit yet."
"I'm telling you before this shit go left. I ain't do it."
"Then why your name keep coming up?"
"I was there."
"Where?"
"When they moved it."
I stared at him. Hulk stepped closer and June Bug immediately started talking faster.
"I ain't know that shit was yours."
"Who shit you thought it was?"
"I ain't ask."
I nodded slowly.
"You ain't ask."
"Nah."
"But you helped move it."
"I ain't say I helped."
"Then what the fuck did you do?"
He hesitated and that was the wrong move. I punched him across the face. June Bug's head snapped to the side. Before he could straighten up, I hit him again.
"I told you I ain't take that shit!"
"Then start giving me something useful."
"I can't."
I punched him again.
"You can."
June Bug bent forward, breathing hard.
"Jokah—"
"Who took my work?"
"I don't know."
That was another lie. I lifted my leg and kicked him square in the chest with my Timberland boots on. The chair flew backward with him still in it and crashed against the concrete. June Bug hit the floor hard. I walked over and stood above him.
"Who took my shit?"
"I don't know!"
I dropped down and started punching him repeatedly.
"Who."
Another punch.
"Took."
Another.
"My."
Another.
"Shit?"
June Bug covered his face, trying to protect himself, but I kept hitting him until blood covered his mouth and nose.
"I ain't take it!"
"I ain't ask if you took it."
I stood and drove my Tim into his chest. He groaned and curled onto his side.
"Who took my shit?"
"I don't know!"
I kicked him in the ribs.
"Wrong answer."
Another kick sent him rolling onto his back.
"Jokah, please—"
"Who?"
"I don't know!"
I stomped down against his chest before kicking him again. By then, blood was running down his face and onto the concrete. Hulk didn't move. Neither did the two niggas standing behind us.
June Bug knew something. And I wasn't leaving until he told me what the fuck it was. I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him up enough to hit him again.
"Last time."
His eyes struggled to focus on me.
"Who took my shit?"
He didn't answer, so I let him drop. Then I reached beneath my shirt and pulled out my pistol. That got his attention. June Bug froze when I crouched beside him and pressed the barrel against his eye socket.
"You still ain't see shit?"
His breathing turned ragged.
"Jokah—"
"Answer me."
"I got people, man."
"So do I."
"They find out I told you—"
"They should be the least of your worries right now."
His other eye moved toward the gun. I pushed it down further. "You sitting here protecting niggas that left you holding the bag for some shit they did."
June Bug didn't say anything.
"They got my work and you got me standing over you."
Still nothing.
I nodded.
"A’ight."
I started to stand and cocked the hammer back.
"Wait."
I stopped.
"It was Pooh." June Bug was breathing hard and heavy.
"Pooh who?"
"That's all I know him as."
I stared at him for a few seconds.
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Who else?"
"I don't know everybody. I swear. Pooh set that shit up. He the one who knew when it was moving and where it was gonna be."
"How?"
"I don't know."
I stepped closer and June Bug flinched. That told me enough about how he thought this conversation was going to end.
"I'm gonna check everything you just told me."
"I'm telling you the truth."
"You better be."
"I am."
I leaned down until he had no choice but to look at me. "Because if one piece of your story don't check out, the next time I see you, you won't be so lucky."
June Bug nodded quickly.
"I swear on everything. That's who did it."
I looked at Hulk.
"Find Pooh."
"Already on it."
"And check June Bug's story."
"Got you."
I looked at June Bug one last time.
"Get him outta here."
Hulk grabbed him underneath his arm and pulled him from the floor. June Bug could barely get his feet underneath him. He stumbled, forcing Hulk to take most of his weight as blood continued running down his face.
"I told you everything I know."
"For your sake, I hope you did."
Hulk dragged him toward the exit. I watched until they disappeared through the door. Then I looked down at my watch. I made Kaior a promise and I wasn't about to keep her waiting any longer than I had to.
I headed straight home after leaving the warehouse. By the time I made it back, it was later than I told Kaior it would be.
The penthouse was quiet when I walked in. I headed to the bedroom and found her asleep in the middle of the bed naked. The television was still playing low, and her phone was lying beside her.
She had tried to wait up.
I stood there looking at her for a second before heading into the closet. I pulled the Kevlar off and set it down. The sound made Kaior stir behind me.
"Jokah?"
I looked back. She was still on her stomach, eyes barely open.
"Yeah, baby."
"You okay?"
"I'm good."
"You took too long."
"I know."
"I tried to wait up."
"I see."
She closed her eyes again.
"You promised you were gonna put me to sleep."
I smiled.
"I'll make it up to you."
"Mhm."
She was already drifting back off. I stripped out of my clothes and went straight to the shower. When I came back, she hadn't moved. I turned off the television, moved her phone from beside her and climbed into bed.
I lay there staring up at the ceiling while Kaior slept against me.
My mind went from the tears in her eyes before I left, to June Bug bleeding on that warehouse floor.
Two completely different parts of my life, and somehow, I had gone from one to the other on the same night.
Kaior didn't know that side of me yet. She knew enough to know that I wasn't no saint, but knowing and seeing were two different things.
I looked down at her sleeping peacefully against my chest and wondered how long I could keep those two worlds separate.