14. Alisha “Kitty” Quinn #2
“Just possessive. It’s your fault.”
He chuckled.
“But, seriously. Do you want to see me?” He asked. “Would it get you off seeing your man on the cover of a top magazine?”
“Who’s my man?” I muttered, shyly picking at my fingernails. “I never agreed to that.”
Exodus laughed just as he pulled off the highway.
“I don’t see why you would turn it down.” I cleared my throat. “You’re not training yet—if they are going to do it and it won’t cut into your training., I say do it.”
“Mm.”
“I’d say go for it.”
We made it to Toronto and while I went to check on my account for work, Exodus ordered us food then it was work mode. He worked on calling Aria back and after she sent him the information he needed for the hospital thing, he sat in Sam’s living room, reading through it all.
I accepted the food delivery then set everything out on the island before making up a plate for him and brought it over.
“Kitty, I could have come to the island.” He closed the laptop and accepted the plate.
“I know. But I figured you were tired after last night and the driving.” I sat beside him, curling a leg under my body.
“Where’s yours?”
“Um…” Holding up a finger, I poured some juice for us both before heading back for my plate. “Here.”
We ate together.
While we talked, it wasn’t about things that went bump in the dark before wanting to take me out. We talked about our love making, my fears and previous partners that I was beginning to realize were toxic as fuck.
After lunch, I was going through more paperwork for school when he stuck his head into the room and whistled at me.
“You ready to meet with Tha’lab?” He wanted to know.
I wasn’t ready.
I had yet to talk to her about that whole thing where I lashed out at her for no reason and while I’d already apologized to Squirrel, I felt as if talking to Tha’lab would be harder.
It would be harder because I was jealous with how close she was to Yin. It was my fear talking and she didn’t deserve the bitch she’d gotten from me.
Nodding, I helped him with cleaning up then hurried with him to the truck.
The drive through the streets took us further into the downtown core. Traffic wasn’t as bad as it could be. I leaned back in the passenger seat, staring out the window, a million thoughts swirling through my head.
We met with Tha’lab at her station.
She’d just gotten on a call when we arrived and we had to wait in the lobby until she came to get us. She was waring a brown hijab over her black outfit. Her eyes lit up when she saw Yin but her reaction to me was barely much of anything.
It was as if she could take or leave me—didn’t matter to her.
She led us up an elevator that required her to scan a keycard before it would work, down a corridor, across an indoor bridge and to a conference room that had plush leather chairs. She offered us some water before sitting at the large desk with us and setting a folder in front of herself.
“So, working with Bambam we found out some things.” Tha’lab began.
I crossed my legs under the table.
Tha’lab opened the file and set a picture on the desk then used a finger with a short manicure nail in pink polish to slide the image to me.
“We found Moses Halston.” She explained.
While she talked, I picked up the picture to stare at it.
I’d never seen my father in person—not that I could remember. He’d left when I was so young, I couldn’t remember even meeting the man.
In the photograph the mop of rich black hair he’d always had was gone. In all the pictures from before, he either had an afro, or the hair was cornrowed backwards. Now, the years had slowly eaten away at that crown, leaving him bald.
His eyebrows held traces of gray and the beard he’d worn so proudly back then was now a moustache that swallowed his top lip, making the bottom one seem severely thin.
His beer gut hung over the waist of his pants, and I was sure in a few more years there wouldn’t be t-shirts long enough to cover it.
That wasn’t the worry right then.
“We went into this thinking he owed the Maroons.” Tha’lab’s voice cut through my daze. “But we’ve been watching him come and go for the last day or so and it doesn’t seem that way.”
“How can you tell.” I laid the picture back on the desk.
“He’s a worker bee. He’s not hiding from the gang.”
“Well, shit.” I muttered.
“That jives with what the other guy says.” Tha’lab nodded. “We haven’t found where he’s staying but we find out where he hangs—we think. We have to do a little more recon, but I have a friend in the ERU—he’s on their radar but they know him as Angus Reid.”
“So, is that his real name or an alias?” I asked.
“Bam found him listed under Angus Reid at birth. But he hasn’t used that name in quite a few years.” Tha’lab leaned back while using a nail to scratch a bit of flesh under her hijab. “Right now, to get him, it’ll be under Moses.”
“Where is he?” Exodus asked.
“Yin—I don’t want you interfering with the ERU—this is their job—they’ve been working on this for a while.”
“I won’t interfere.” Exodus’ voice was hard. “I want to watch him.”
“And you?”
Tha’lab tipped her chin in my direction.
“I want him dead.”
“Kitty.” Tha’lab’s voice held the patience of a saint.
“I won’t interfere.” I promised looking at Exodus. “We’ll have our time. What I don’t understand is, if he’s working with them, why are they after me?”
“That’s the question.” Exodus leaned his elbows on the desk. “It doesn’t make sense that he’s one of their higher ups and they would go after his family.”
“And they must know that he hasn’t been a father to you in years.” Tha’lab added. “I’ve asked my friend on the ERU to add Alisha to the mix and see if they can find anything out. But you’re right—maybe the two of you watching him with different eyes would help.”
The address we received from Tha’lab was a house. Sam guessed it was a drug house and all the others agreed. Both he and Yang didn’t like the idea of us going anywhere near it, but this had to be done.
“It is a den.” Bambam shoved a half of a pork bun into her mouth and chewed off the top.
She then pointed a finger at her laptop’s screen.
“See these red dots?” She wanted to know. “Cameras. A regular house has one, maybe facing the gate and one in the back. This one has?—”
“I count five on the front alone.” I leant in and squinted.
“Seven.” Yang spoke up. “Plus, the one on that column on the side of the gate.”
“Big Daddy, you’re so observant.” Bambam wiggled her brows at Yang. “And those are the only ones broadcasting. They may have old fashioned ones as backup. The best place to set up any surveillance that won’t get in the way of the ERU is here?—”
“Isn’t that a bit far?” I wanted to know. “We won’t be able to see a thing.”
“That’s why—” Tha’lab dropped her backpack into her lap and pulled out a pair of binoculars. “We have these.”
“Where—” I stopped myself and shook my head.
I wasn’t going to ask.
With this friendship group, I was learning that sometimes it was better to just look the other way with things.