Tainted

8. Kenyon

8

Kenyon

I had been caught up in a whirlwind of favors for Javier, leaving little time for anything else. But we managed to clear the shipment, and today, I had a window of free time. Cars were the only thing Pops and I had in common. Stepping into the garage, my grandfather's old Chevy Chevelle greeted me. Kross didn’t understand why I didn’t take it to Digg’s to repair like I did all my other cars but this one was special.

I popped the hood and almost heard my father’s voice guiding me through each step. Something about repairing and restoring old cars gave me a false sense of control, something I hadn’t felt in a while.

Then Kross called, interrupting my peace.

“We have a problem. Come see me.”

“I’m not dealing with problems today.”

“Don’t start that shit.”

I loved my brother but hated the way he communicated in demands. I didn’t expect Kross to go into details on the phone, but barking orders got on my fuckin’ nerves. He knew it, but he was just too stubborn to fix it.

“I’m busy.”

“Busy doing what?” Kross inquired because he didn’t want to discuss the latter part of my statement.

“Working on the Chevelle so I can drive it the fuck away from you.”

“It’s important, so get your ass down here.” Kross hung up, pissing me off further.

Since Kross wanted to be an asshole, I moved on to the carburetor until I was satisfied with my progress on the carburetor. Then, I hopped in the shower and drove to Utopia. When I entered the club, Kross was leaning against the bar with a drink. He looked up when he saw me, giving me a nod.

“Glad you could make it,” he said, sipping his drink slowly.

“You better be lucky I came at all. You need to learn how to talk to me before I fuck you up,” I warned.

“ You don’t know how to talk to people. Consider it reparations.” Kross mocked.

“What’s so important?”

Kross glanced around and took another sip, his expression shifting into something more serious but not urgent.

“Javier moved up the next shipment.”

I let out a breath, shaking my head. “That’s what you called me for? Kross, I thought this was an emergency.”

“It is important. He’s talking about moving the shipment up by two weeks.”

I sighed, leaning back against the bar and crossing my arms. “We’ve handled worse. Two weeks isn’t ideal, but it’s not impossible. We can work with it.”

Kross ran a “hand through his hair, still looking a little too wound up for something that wasn’t as critical as he made it seem. “Yeah, but we’re also still dealing with the heat from the last run. We’re spread thin, Keyes.”

Despite our differences, we were in this together, for better or worse. Only I didn’t know this version of my brother here. Kross was always so smooth and calculated, but today, he was rattled. Almost tortured.

“Wassup with you?” I asked, watching him signal for another drink.

“Long night. I’ll be straight. I need to get up with Megan.”

“You need to take your ass home. Let Megan handle the club. Isn’t that what you pay her for?”

“Wassup with you today?” Kross asked, turning the spotlight back on me because he didn’t like talking about his feelings any more than me.

“I don’t like being summoned for fake emergencies.”

Kross picked up his drink again, downing the rest of it in one go, “If I knew your attitude would be some shit, I would’ve.”

“Next time I say I’m busy, leave me alone,” I replied, finishing my drink. “Anything else, Boss ?”

Kross narrowed his gaze, annoyed that I called him Boss. He was likely about to complain about it, but Rajah, prancing in our direction, put a pin in his rant.

“Hey, Keyes,” Rajah sang, parking beside my chair.

“Wassup.”

“Don’t you have anything to do besides grin in his face?” Kross asked.

“No, I don’t.” Her sarcasm made me laugh.

“Go find something before you have all the free time in the world,” he threatened, forcing Rajah to roll her eyes.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“My cousin put him in the dryer as a kid. He hasn’t been right since. Don’t sweat it.”

“Fuck you, Keyes,” Kross groaned.

Rajah left us to squabble in peace, heading for the back. I heard Zara, and her voice trumped anything Kross said.

“Hey boo,” Rajah sang, then suddenly her voice changed, “What’s wrong, Freshie?”

“Today’s a day. I’m just ready to finish this shift and go home,” Zara complained, and that was the last my bionic ears could make out, considering they were feet away.

“Thirsty ass nigga,” Kross mumbled but purposely said it loud enough for me to hear because that’s what he wanted.

“What?”

“Your head is so far up Nova’s pussy I’m surprised you heard what I said.”

The tension in my jaw betrayed my frustrations.

“My head is on my shoulders bitch nigga.” I was still turned around, watching the back of Zara’s head leaning into Rajah’s one-armed hug.

“Yeah, okay.”

I stood and pushed my hands in my pockets, trying to stop my feet from walking to the back. I knew better, but they were somehow moving. My mind was running laps, wondering what the fuck happened and wanting to strangle whoever created the sadness in her smile.

Fuck it.

I could hear Kross laughing in the distance. I didn’t bother turning around but tossed up my middle finger, unsure what to say to Zara when I reached her. Nervous wasn’t an emotion I was familiar with regarding women. According to Mom, I had the gift of gab and had always been a people person.

That would’ve come in handy as my palm pushed the door to the dressing room open. Some were serious about their privacy, while others just pretended, hoping I liked what I saw enough to do something about it.

“Damn, Keyes! We could’ve been naked.” Phoenix complained, but it was all smoke and mirrors for the audience.

“It ain’t shit I’ve never seen before. Where’s Za- Nova ?” I asked, correcting myself and addressing the room.

Megan heard the commotion my presence created and peered out. Once she saw my face, she barreled at me at full speed.

“You can’t be in here, Keyes!”

I was too busy scouring the room until Zara walked from the bathroom.

“I need to holla at you now!” I emphasized, and she immediately turned to Megan.

My face remained stoic, forcing Megan to nod because there had to be a reason I busted in here looking for Zara. I had never acted in such a way that Megan would believe my request was more personal than business.

I walked out of the dressing room, the heavy door clicking shut behind me while the other women whispered.

She just got here and is about to get fired.

You think they’re fucking?

She pissed off the wrong brother.

I reached Kross’s office and leaned against the frame while he shook his head. It didn’t take her legs long to catch up. Zara was pretty tall for a woman, but I still had the upper hand. She finally walked inside and turned around, waiting for an explanation.

“I don’t want no smoke with you today, Kenyon.” She retreated, shutting down any bantering I had in mind.

“You’re always in the mood for smoke with me.”

“Yeah, well, not today.”

“What’s so special about today?”

“Nothing I’m talking about with you.”

A deep scowl manifested at the disdain wrapped in the word you .

“What’s wrong with me?” I asked, sitting on the edge of Kross’s desk.

There was a brief moment of silence as her perfectly arched brows tried to reach her big ass forehead. But then she did something I didn’t expect. She answered.

“You’re invasive. Stubborn. Rude as hell,” Zara said quietly, then her eyes locked onto mine. “You want to control everything because you think you’re protecting people, but you’re smothering them half the time. Deep down, I think you’re scared that if you don’t hold everything together, it’ll fall apart,” she paused, turning the ring on her finger before she muttered the last part, “Maybe you’re scared that you’ll fall apart.”

“Aye, that was rhetorical,” I complained, tossing a pen at her, but surprisingly, she caught it and threw it back.

“You asked.” Her head dropped, and her shoulders hunched. “Are we done now? I need to get ready for work.”

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”

Zara looked away to hide the slight hike in her cheek before responding, “You can’t.”

“I know you’re new here, but don’t doubt what I’m capable of.”

“I forgot you have the Keys to the city.” Her joke made me grip my neck, to mask the warmth spreading from her remembering our conversation.

“I’m waiting, Zara Nicole.”

She glanced at me, then away, as if deciding whether or not she could trust me with whatever weighed her down.

“Today is my mom’s birthday.” She sighed, crossing her arms, “You don’t let anyone see your cracks. But not everyone has that gift. Mine are showing today, but I’ll be okay. I just need a minute.”

My brows furrowed at her, assuming I couldn’t fix her problem when that was slight work.

“That’s an easy fix. You’re off the schedule tonight.”

“I can’t afford to be off tonight.”

“You can. Sit tight.”

I half-expected her to walk out once the coast was clear, but the door never opened. Kross sat at an empty table with Megan, running down a list of information on her clipboard.

“Nova needs the night off.”

“No,” Kross replied without a second thought.

“I’m not asking,” I replied.

“She’s the closing dancer tonight, Keyes. She has to perform,” Megan chimed in.

“If I wasn’t asking him what the fuck makes you think you’ll make me change my mind?”

Megan had been around long enough to know not to get between Kross and me. Usually, she didn’t. She’d just sit by idly, waiting for a chance to interject and keep the peace, but today was different.

Kross laughed as if he was sincerely amused.

“You’re telling me, my employee-.”

“ Our employee,” I cut him off, correcting his sentence for him.

“Like I said, you’re telling me Nova isn’t working tonight because you want to do what?” His hands maneuvered through a series of gestures trying to figure out what the fuck I was thinking.

The problem was I didn’t even know, but I wasn’t going back on my word.

“Put it on my tab if necessary, but she’s not working tonight.”

Kross ran his hand down his face, knowing how stubborn I could be when I wanted something.

“Tell me something, Keyes. What is really going on?” Kross asked, trying to make sense of my decision.

“I’m not getting into that right now. I’m just giving you a courtesy.”

“Are you really going to let her off? Who’s going to close tonight?” Megan rattled off, shifting toward Kross.

“This mothafucka’ is going to make me kill him,” Kross groaned behind my back because I was on my way to collect the only thing that mattered right now.

Zara’s head lifted at the sound of the door opening. “Get your stuff so we can go.”

“Go where?” she asked, confused.

“Get your stuff now.” My voice was sincere but held a level of authority that made her comply despite wanting to talk shit.

Rajah was the only one bold enough to ask her what was happening while the others whispered, making assumptions. Zara didn’t say much because I was hanging on the doorframe waiting. After a quick goodbye, she marched toward me, and we headed out where Kross now had a drink because he was high-strung like his father.

Her steps slowed the closer she got to Kross. His permanent scowl intimidated most, but she had nothing to worry about.

“I’m not going if it costs me my job. I can’t afford that,” she explained nervously, looking up at Kross for permission. In time, she’d learn my word was law, but I stood behind Zara like her personal bodyguard for now.

Kross felt like I was making a mistake. He wanted to save me from myself because that’s what big brothers do, but I had to see this through, and he knew it, too.

“It won’t,” Kross said against his better judgment. “You owe me nigga.”

“It’s always the neediest counting favors. I’ll hit you later.”

“I’ll have that invoice waiting when you do,” Kross hollered.

“He is pissed off,” she whispered in a panic over her shoulder.

“That’s for me to handle. Let’s go.” My hand guided the small of her back outside to the parking lot.

“Now what? Where are we going?” She asked.

“Whatever your mom wants to do for her birthday.”

Zara let her hair fall forward to shield her face, but I caught how her sultry brown eyes softened.

“That’s sweet, but you don’t have to do this, Kenyon. You barely know me and definitely don’t know her.”

“So, I’m Kenyon again?”

She smiled against her will, staring at the ground. But that’s all I wanted. If that meant celebrating her Mom’s birthday, so be it.

“I need to change first.”

“Why?”

“The wigs, makeup, and outfits are costumes. They bring the fantasy to life. It’s not me.”

“Does Zara Nicole know you’re out here telling her secrets?”

“Stop before I go back inside,” she playfully warned.

“I need to stop by my house. While I’m doing that, you can transform or whatever. Is that acceptable, Your Majesty?”

Shocked that she didn’t continue to fight me, I opened the passenger door before she changed her mind and peeled off.