by B. Love
In those moments, he thought Estella was just gassing him up… but now that he was in that position… he understood how Trevor felt perfectly, and he respected Estella and Remington even more. So although he didn’t have an appetite, Chief opened his mouth and allowed her to feed him.
Because what she’d said was true; a lot of people did depend on him.
And if his father was about to go on a warpath, it would be up to him and Cassius to stop him.
Besides, he hadn’t been inside of Remington in about four days… and he was going to need all of his strength for that. There was something about the way she cared about him that turned him on effortlessly. Something about it that made Chief want to do whatever it took to make her just as happy as she’d made him – even if that meant embracing his fear of the most uncharted territory he’d probably ever embark upon… love.
Chapter 13
“So what are you going to do, Eira?”
Eira’s eyes rolled. He exhaled a hard breath as he ran his hand down his face. Unfortunately for him, they’d tied the gun in his car to several murders all around Memphis. It was no secret that if you had an issue with the family they had a team to handle you so they wouldn’t get their hands dirty… but… sometimes… things were personal, and they wanted to handle an enemy on their own. Because of that, Eira was not only facing drug charges with the intent to sell, but he was also looking at seven counts of murder.
He had a video arraignment earlier with the judge to discuss his new charges. No bond was set, and she pushed Eira’s court date back a year. So at minimum, he had an entire year behind bars before his trial would even start. And there was no telling how long that would take unless he plead guilty during the preliminary hearing.
“Fuck you mean what I’m gon’ do?”
“I’m saying… didn’t your lawyer mention reduced time depending on what information you can offer…”
“You can silence that shit right now, Sienna. I ain’t no snitch.”
“I’m not saying snitch, Eira. You can’t hold the weight of this for your family on your own. None of them motherfuckers have a kid like you do. It’s not fair that you’re the one locked up when Chief…”
“Sienna.”
Her breath was shaky, and Eira had to tell himself not to be too hard on her. Though she knew this was a possibility when she got with a street nigga, it wasn’t really the life she signed up for – especially after they had their son five years ago.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
Eira didn’t know what to say besides, “I’m sorry.”
She laughed, and Eira’s grip on the phone tightened as he hung his head. “What does that do for me, Eira? You ain’t even supposed to be in the streets. You handle the damn money! But they get set up and you’re the one who takes the blame? That don’t seem suspect to you? And of course they got that nigga Kameron to replace you already. I don’t trust that shit, baby. Like at all.”
“So what you tryna say, Sienna? You think my own family set me up?”
She laughed again, and this time, it started to irritate him.
“Your family is Estella, Trevor, and Eiryx. The rest of them mutts are not your family.”
“What the hell you just say about my family?” Eira leaped from his seat, slamming his fist into the concrete wall in front of him. Sienna had been acting real brand new since he’d been locked up, and Eiryx told him she’d been smiling all in a nigga’s face at the club the other night. It was probably a good thing that he was locked up right now, because had she said something like that to his face, he would have choked the shit out of her.
“I’m sorry but I’m not sorry. You and Chief don’t have the same mama or daddy, and even though you, Cassius, and Diem have the same mama… the fact that they have James’ blood in them makes them suspect to me. Same goes for Ai’s weird, emotional ass. I know y’all got the same daddy but still. She’s weird as hell.”
“Say some more slick shit out your mouth and I’ma have all three of my sisters to come see you, Sienna. Say one more thing, shawty.”
Sienna released a huff into the phone, and before she could reply, Eira slammed the phone onto the receiver as he sat back down. He had enough on his plate, and when he needed her to give him peace the most, she was causing an even bigger headache.
“Last thing I need is to be going back and forth with her stupid ass,” Eira grumbled, picking the phone back up and entering his inmate number.
“Aye, I need to use the phone,” came from behind him, but Eira was so sure the man was talking to someone else that he didn’t even bother to look back. He waited for the line to clear then proceeded to dial Trisha’s number. It was times like this where he regretted choosing to get serious with Sienna instead of Trisha, but that was a decision he couldn’t take back now. All he could do was be grateful for his son and the fact that he still maintained a friendship with Trisha.
“You don’t hear me talking to you, bruh?”
Eira looked to the right, and when he saw the man hovering over him, he chuckled.
“You better step back and ask about me,” was all Eira offered as he continued to wait patiently for Trisha to accept his call.
“I ain’t gotta ask nobody shit. I said I need to use the phone.”
“Hello?”
Just the sound of her voice soothed him, but the nagging coming from the right side of him was about to have Eira on edge if he didn’t handle it soon.
“Trish, can you hold on one second for me, sweetheart?”
“I’ve waited for you for years, what’s another second, Eira?”
Biting his lip to hide his blush, Eira allowed the phone to dangle as he stood. Walking past the man, he went over to the guard and asked, “You mind if I strip down?” as he pulled a hundred-dollar bill from the pocket of his shirt. Casually the guard nodded as he accepted the bill. “Cool.”
Eira walked over to his open cell and removed his shirt, shoes, and socks. As soon as he stepped back out, everyone in his pod knew what was up. Unless you were going out to the yard, you never took off your shirt and socks unless you were about to knock a nigga out – and that’s exactly what Eira did. It only took one hit, and the man was flying back and into the phone.
“Daaaammmmnnn,” reverberated off the walls at the loud thud of his body hitting the ground.
Eira casually walked back into his cell and put his shirt, socks, and shoes back on, then stepped over the mans body to sit back down and grab the phone. There was no doubt in Eira’s mind that he was going to have to do whatever it took to get out of this place. Period.
As he put his ear back to the phone, he used his foot to kick the man’s arm away from his chair as he said, “Sorry about that, Trish. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
Chapter 14
Up until now, Chief was the only person who knew about Eiryx’s encounter with Gray and Xi, and she only told him because Gray and Chief were cool to her knowledge. After Chief explained what happened with Gray and Remington the last time he saw him, it all made sense. While Chief was appreciative of what Xi did for her, he still made it clear that it was best if she stayed away from him.
Savior or not, Xi was competition, and in Chief’s mind, that made him an enemy as well.
Well… that had been a lot easier said than done. He was on her mind every day. And today while she was at lunch with her sisters she was lurking on his Instagram and accidently liked one of his pictures. That led to Xi telling her she could call instead of lurking on his social media. She knew in her mind that she shouldn’t call… but there was a part of her heart that wanted her to.
“Have y’all ever dealt with someone that the family didn’t want you to?” she asked as she closed the Instagram app.
Diem shook her head as she mumbled, “Nah, but you know I don’t give a fuck about that shit.”
Ai chuckled as she nodded. “Your brothers and Rock don’t want me with anyone in the streets because they want me
to be legit when I graduate, but I’ve been talking to Duke since I left his office that day. He found my number somehow and he’s been putting me to sleep every night.”
“Putting you to sleep?” Diem repeated, rearing back in her seat making both of her sisters laugh.
“Not sexually with your nasty ass. I mean on the phone. We literally talk for hours until I fall asleep.”
“Mhm,” Eiryx hummed with a smile before sipping her lemonade. “Sholl wish this was some tea for what I’m about to tell y’all.”
“Spill it,” Ai urged while Diem rolled her eyes, already knowing whatever her sister said was about to irritate her.
“Well… I ran into a little trouble the night me and Sienna went to the club. Someone there helped me and really looked out for me tough, but he’s technically our competition.”
“Who is it?” Diem asked, dipping her mozzarella stick in the marinara sauce.
Eiryx released a sigh as she sat up in her seat and pushed her plate towards the middle of the table. Her intuition told her that she wouldn’t have much of an appetite when this conversation was over.
“Xi.”
Both of her sisters remained silent as they stared at her. Diem’s head moved from side to side like Eiryx’s favorite monkey gif, and that was the only reason she laughed.
“Xi? Like Z last letter in the alphabet Z?” Diem clarified to which Eiryx nodded. “Oh hell no, Ree. Do not even go there with him.”
“Why noooot,” she whined, stomping her foot under the table.
“Because he is not to be trusted.”
“But why not though? He has never given us any trouble, and neither has anyone in his camp.”
“Yet. You don’t know that man’s motives or when that could change. Stay away from him before I tell Cash and he beat that mane ass for even trying you in that manner.”
Sitting back in her seat, Eiryx crossed her arms over her chest with a pout. She should have known not to mention Xi to either of them.
“I think he’s cool,” Ai mumbled. “Or at least he was as far as business is concerned. I can always talk to him again and see what kind of vibe I get from him if you want.”
“Would you? Please?”
“Oh Lord,” Diem added, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “I can see now you about to be on some bullshit.”
“Don’t tell Cash! Or Chief! I promise if Ai says she doesn’t get a good vibe from him concerning me I won’t talk to him.”
That seemed to appease Diem because she slowly put her phone back in her purse. Even with that off her chest, Eiryx decided not to reply to Xi’s message or call him just yet. She’d already made it clear that she was thinking about him and lurking by accidently liking his post… she absolutely refused to call him on the same day.
Chapter 15
When her doorbell rang, Ai was in the process of putting on her highlighter. It was the second to last step in her makeup application for the evening. The only other thing she had to do was apply her lipliner and lipstick, then set her face. Instead of doing both and then answering the door, Ai stood and made sure her robe was secure before heading to let Duke in.
As the youngest of her siblings at twenty-two, Ai was the most covered and the most spoiled. It was her last year in college, and she’d hadn’t worked a real job a day in her life. Up until his death, her father paid for college, her rent, all of her expenses, and gave her a monthly allowance to make sure she was straight. Now that Trevor was gone, James offered to pick up where he left off, even though he left her with more than enough money to take care of herself.
Since that was the first thing James had ever offered to do for her, she agreed, but a part of her wondered if he was doing it because he genuinely wanted to or if he had some other motives.
With her hand on the doorknob, Ai inhaled a deep breath before slowly opening it. At the sight of Duke, her smile lifted immediately. She didn’t realize she was stepping back and into her apartment until his arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her into his chest.
“Hi,” she spoke softly, smiling as his lips lowered towards hers.
“Hey,” he replied quickly, mirroring her smile before kissing her lips softly.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
No tongue – just a sweet, soft kiss that elicited chills on her arms and the back of her neck.
“I missed you, woman.”
Blushing, Ai ran her hands up and down his arms. “You’ve been talking to me every night since we met.”
“But I haven’t seen you since then. You look breathtaking.”
Her smile widened as she squeezed his arms. “I’m not even dressed yet, Duke.”
“I know. I’m wondering if I’m going to want to go out tonight when you are. Might not want to share you.” His head tilted as he released her and looked her over. “Yea. I want to show you off.”
Ai chuckled as she turned and headed down the hall. “Make yourself comfortable. All I have to do is put on some lipstick and set my face and slip on my dress and unwrap my hair. It may sound like a lot, but it’ll take less than ten minutes I promise.”
“Take your time, beautiful. I’m in no rush.”
After applying a nude lipstick and lip gloss, Ai set her face then unwrapped her hair. As she smoothened it with her hand, her attention briefly landed on the large scripted tattoo that stretched across her forearm. Before Trevor’s death, it simply read ‘My success is only by God’ but after he died, she went back and had angel wings added along with ‘My steps are guided by Trevor’ underneath.
Shaking her head and refusing to put a damper on her mood, Ai looked her face over for any imperfections. Satisfied with how the soft glam looked against her toffee brown skin, she headed for her bed to grab the cream bodycon dress that Duke had delivered earlier for her to wear for the night. It was accompanied by clear Christian Louboutin pumps with silver rhinestones along with a silver clutch to match.
She took her time sliding into the dress, loving the way the smooth fabric felt against her skin. Ai gave herself one last glance, then sprayed her Gucci Flora perfume and headed out. Upon her entrance in the living room, Duke stood and released a quiet whistle.
“I didn’t think perfection could get any better.”
Ai had grown used to his charm and compliments over the phone but hearing him say things like that in person would take some getting used to. He wasn’t the first man to compliment her, and Ai knew she was beautiful… but it was something about the way his compliments made her feel. They hit a place within her that no other man had been able to reach.
“Thank you, Duke. You look very handsome yourself. I’m just trying to match your fly.”
“Nah, you exceeded that.”
The way he couldn’t take his eyes off her… made her feel as if he had access to those inner parts of her that were hidden from everyone else. Looking away, Ai inhaled a deep breath and swallowed as her nipples hardened. Damn what her brothers or anyone else had to say about it – there was no way she was leaving this man alone.
Chapter 16
The last time Cassius was released from prison he vowed to never come back. Hell, he didn’t even want to visit anyone that was locked up, but that was thrown out of the window when it came to Eira. By now, he’d been able to go down to the lower level for his visits, so they shook hands before taking their seats.
“What’s up, bro? How you maintaining?” Cassius checked, stretching his legs out under the table for comfort.
“Shit, talking to Trisha and my son as much as possible. And Ma. On God.”
“Word?” Cassius’ ears perked up. While he accepted Eria’s relationship with Sienna, he always felt like Trisha was a better match for his brother. When Sienna had his son, Cassius figured any chance Eira had of making things work with Trisha was over. And to a certain extent it was. Trisha came around with Eiryx every once in a while, and they would exchange flirty looks and comments here and there, but she�
�d made it clear that she was no man’s second choice, and Eira couldn’t help but respect her for that.
“Hell yea. Sienna only adding to my stress, so I’ve been cutting contact with her down to a minimum. I call to talk to my son, ask her how she doing, and that’s about it. What’s up, though? I’m surprised to see you here.”
Cassius smiled, though he felt this conversation was about to go left real quick.
“What that mean?”
Eira chuckled as his head reared back. “Come on, bruh. You know you don’t fuck with the family like that. We barely kicked it when I was out, so I wasn’t expecting you to show up when I got locked down.”
Cassius face twisted up as he sat up in his seat. “You my brother; why wouldn’t I come to see you?” Eira shrugged and remained silent. As upset as Cassius wanted to be, he couldn’t blame Eira. Truth – he had been neglecting his relationships with his family and friends. Business was always coming first. Add that to the fact that he was naturally to himself, and that was a recipe for social disaster. “I’ma always come for you, bruh. No matter what. Even if we don’t talk every day… you my brother, and I love you.”
Eira relaxed in his seat more as he nodded. “I love you too, and I do appreciate you coming for real. Means a lot.”
With the heaviest weight now removed, their conversation flowed freely. In no time, their visit was up, and Cassius hated to leave. After promising to be back in three days, he unwillingly left his youngest brother and followed his heart. It led him to Treasure. His treasure. The treasure he hadn’t cherished like he should have.