2. Josiah Brooks #6
“I ain’t starting. I’m greeting the law with brotherly foolishness,” Juice said, opening the door as the sound of the bay rushed in.
“That’s starting.”
“That’s ministry,” Juice said.
I shook my head and followed him out, leaving the bag swaying behind me, slower now, its chain whispering against the beam.
In front of me, Onyx cut the engine on his bike, pulled off his helmet, and looked toward the shop with purpose in his eyes.
Whatever favor he needed, it had weight on it.
Once Onyx climbed off the bike with the same alertness he carried on duty, the badge wasn’t on his chest anymore, but the responsibility still was.
Juice leaned against the workbench and wiped his hands on a towel like he’d been waiting all morning for foolishness with a fresh audience. “Well, well, well. Officer Friendly done pulled up on us.”
Onyx hooked his helmet on the handlebar and slid off the bike. “Justice.”
“Don’t Justice me, Five-O. You come with a warrant or a work order?”
Onyx stepped into the shade of the bay, glanced at the foil plate sitting near the mitts, then looked back at Juice. “I came to see if Siah was busy, but I see you’re still employed in catering.”
Juice pressed a hand to his chest. “That’s hate.”
Onyx said, “That’s observation.”
Onyx clasped my hand, and I pulled him into a quick shoulder bump.
Onyx asked, “You good?”
“I’m good,” I said.
I led him toward the office. “You want water?”
“Yeah.”
Juice followed us. “He wants water because he trying to look disciplined in front of civilians. Let him get home; he gon’ drink all Jaya and Jamilah’s juice boxes.”
Onyx didn’t turn around. “I have daughters. Juice boxes are community property.”
Juice stopped in the doorway. “That’s theft with a badge.”
Onyx leaned against the edge of my desk, and his phone lit up when it shifted in his pocket.
The lock screen flashed before he tucked it away.
Leilani sat on their couch in the picture, one hand resting on the soft rise of her pregnant belly while Jaya stood behind her with both little arms wrapped around her mother’s neck.
Jamilah sat pressed against Leilani’s side, wide smile bright enough to make the screen look warmer, her hands lifted mid-motion like joy had caught her body before the camera did.
I’d only seen the photo for a second, but family had a way of speaking fast.
“How’s Leilani feeling?” I asked.
Onyx said, “Tired. Beautiful. Hungry every forty-five minutes. Mad at me for eating crackers she forgot that she ate.” He chuckled lightly.
Juice snapped his fingers. “Pregnancy law. You guilty.”
I sat behind the desk and pulled a blank service form from the stack. “The girls good?”
Onyx’s mouth softened before he could stop it. “They’re good. Jaya’s in her supervisor era.”
Juice asked, “Jay-uh?”
Onyx corrected him carefully, pride resting in the sound. “Jy-yah. Don’t let the spelling fool you. She’ll correct you herself if you say it wrong.”
Juice grinned. “I already respect her.”
Onyx said, “She told me this morning I parked crooked in my own driveway.”
Juice asked, “Was you crooked?”
“A little.”
Juice replied, “There it is.”
Onyx shook his head, smiling into the water bottle. “She’s sweet with it though. Bossy but sweet. She’ll fuss at you and then bring you a blanket because she decided you looked cold. That girl came here with instructions already written in her spirit.”
Juice said, “That’s oldest-daughter behavior.”
Onyx nodded. “It is. And Jamilah asked about you.”
My pen paused above the paper.
“She did?” I asked.
Onyx nodded. “Leilani said she saw a truck that looked like yours and started smiling. Kept reaching toward the window.”
The room pulled at me in a place I didn’t keep guarded enough.
I still remembered Jamilah.
The first time I worked in their house, Leilani informed me of her Angelman Syndrome with pride only a mother could carry.
She hadn’t exaggerated. After I finished the panel, Jamilah walked straight over and wrapped arms around my leg.
No words. No hesitation. Just trust. I rested a hand on her head.
“She’s strong.”
Leilani smiled.
“She is.”
Jamila squeezed tighter. She’d heard the compliment and decided to prove me right.
“She gives strong hugs,” I said.
Onyx’s eyes warmed. “Best hugs in the house.”
“And Jaya still running inspections?” I asked.
Onyx said, “That baby asked me why your labels looked like they made honor roll.”
Juice slapped his knee. “I know you were sick.”
“I was humbled.”
“You should’ve been,” I said.
Onyx pointed the water bottle at me. “Don’t start. Leilani already used that moment for marriage enrichment.”
Juice asked, “That mean she fussed?”
Onyx said, “That means she said, ‘See what happens when a man takes his time?’ while looking directly at me.”
Juice wheezed. “Leilani don’t miss.”
“No. She does not.”
“She still making that banana pudding?” I asked.
Onyx’s eyes narrowed. “Respectfully, . . . mind yo’ business.”
Juice leaned toward me. “That pudding sacred, Cuzzo. He got boundaries.”
“I respect boundaries,” I said.
The laugh that moved through the office loosened something.
I wrote the date on the service form. “So, what’s the favor?”
Onyx didn’t answer right away.
He looked toward the bay, where Darnell and Marcus were pretending not to listen, then back at me. The joking left his face piece by piece. Not fear. Not panic. Concern with its sleeves rolled up.
Onyx said, “It’s for my sister.”
Juice leaned back in the chair. “You got another sister we don’t know about?”
Onyx said, “Not blood, but blood ain’t the only thing that makes family.”
That made me look up.
Onyx rubbed his thumb along the side of the water bottle. “Me, Leilani, and Celeste came up together. Self Ridge High. Same hallways. Same pep rallies. Same teachers acting like they ain’t see half the mess we were doing.”
Juice sat up so fast the chair complained beneath him. “Hold up. Celeste? Celeste Black Coleman? She one of the C-Blacks?”
Onyx laughed like he’d been waiting on that exact reaction. “Yeah. Craig and Cordelia’s crew. Number five.”
Juice snapped his fingers and pointed at me. “Siah, you remember them?”
I looked up from the service form. “You gon’ have to narrow that down.”
Juice asked, “Narrow it down? That’s exactly my point. Them folks was everywhere.”
Onyx leaned back against the desk, smiling now. “Man, I swear Self Ridge High had one in every class. If not every year, every other year at least.”
Juice pointed at him. “Thank you. I knew I wasn’t trippin’.”
Despite myself, I looked down at the service form to hide the smile tugging at my mouth.
Onyx took another drink of water, then shrugged. “There’s Camden, Corinne, Calloway, Corbin, Celeste, Celine, Cassian, Cruz, Calista, and Cassia.”
Juice and I stared at him.
Onyx frowned. “What?”
Juice blinked twice. “Alright, DMX. We believe you.”
For half a second, nobody moved.
Then Darnell stuck his head in from the bay. “About three Kims.”
Marcus pointed from beside the filing cabinet. “LaToya and Tina.”
Juice slapped the arm of the chair and leaned forward. “See! That’s exactly what I’m talking about!”
Onyx dropped his head, laughing before he could fight it.
Onyx lifted his water bottle toward Juice. “You stupid.”
Juice said, “I’m accurate.”
Darnell tried to slide back into the bay, still laughing.
Juice called after him, “Go count something.”
Darnell’s voice floated back. “Yes, sir.”
The laughter lingered a little longer, warm and necessary. The smile on Onyx’s face eased first.
That was how I knew we’d reached the real reason he came.
Onyx said, “She got five kids herself.”
Juice lifted his brows. “Of course she do. That family don’t believe in small gatherings.”
A small smile touched Onyx’s face, but it didn’t stay. “JJ, Kayden, Maya, Zuri, and Skye.”
Juice went still for half a beat, then narrowed his eyes. “There you go again.”
Onyx frowned. “What now?”
Juice said, “You just did it with the kids too. Sir, are you making a list or starting a roll call?”
This time, Onyx laughed softer, but the sound didn’t travel as far. “I know their names because I’m their godfather.”
The room quieted. Not awkwardly. Respectfully.
Onyx looked down at the water bottle in his hand, his thumb moving along the plastic ridge.
“Big J was my brother. Not blood but every way that counted. We played ball together. Doubled up on dates before me and Leilani got serious. Changed tires in the rain. Argued over music. Stood in each other’s kitchens like we paid bills there.
When he married Celeste, we didn’t lose him to her. We all became family.”
His throat moved once.
“After he passed, that didn’t change. Those kids are mine too. If something’s wrong where they spend time, where their mama works, where they might be sitting after school doing homework or eating snacks in the back, I’m not sending just anybody over there.”
I set the pen down.
A widow with five children was already heavy. A widow whose children had a godfather sitting in my office with fear disguised as control was something else entirely. That wasn’t a favor. That was a man carrying the promise he’d made to someone who couldn’t stand beside him anymore.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Onyx said, “She owns Celestial Crowns Hair Haven over on DePriest.”
Onyx set the water bottle down. “Lights flickering near her styling stations. Breakers tripping when she runs more than two dryers. An outlet sparked yesterday near the shampoo area, and this morning, she smelled something hot by the back wall.”
My pen stopped moving.
Juice stopped rocking in the chair.
A salon wasn’t a place to gamble with bad wiring. Between the dryers, water, and crowded stations, one mistake could cost lives.
“She shut that station down?” I asked.
“Leilani told her to. I told her too. Whether she listened is between her and God.”