“Real y,” he said quietly.
“I thought you thought I was a little crazy.”
“Crazy. Yeah. Stupid. No.”
Hmm.
That was mostly good.
What was I thinking? I didn’t care if Vance thought I was crazy or stupid.
Before I could purposeful y kil the mood, Luke did it for me.
“Fuck. You guys havin’ a sit down with Darius or an orgy in reception?”
I went up on my toes and looked over Vance’s shoulder.
Luke was standing in the doorway, arms crossed on his chest. He looked like he didn’t know whether to grin or vomit. A glance at Dawn showed she definitely wished she could vomit and her eyes were on Vance and me.
I smiled brightly at her just because. I felt Vance’s body move with laughter even though he didn’t make a sound.
I turned my head and frowned at him. “What?” I snapped.
His mouth came to ear. “Wouldn’t know, don’t want to know, but I bet she doesn’t taste like cherries.” That got a bel y flutter.
I sicced the Rottweiler on my bel y flutter and glared at Vance when his head came away from my neck. “Stop talking to me. I’m trying to channel my head-crackin’
mamma jamma.”
At my words, a hint of surprise passed his face then he got that “you’re adorable” look again and even though I knew he heard me, he asked, “Your what?”
Time to stop speaking.
He watched me a beat and then looked at Lee. “We movin’?” he asked Lee.
“Yeah,” Lee said to Vance and his eyes cut to Dawn.
“Yeah,” Lee said to Vance and his eyes cut to Dawn.
“Dawn, thanks for stayin’ late. We’re done for the day.” Then he looked down at Indy and I watched as his face went soft. “Luke’s takin’ you home.”
“Lee, if you want, I can take Indy home,” Dawn said sweetly, the queen of kindness.
Blech.
It was my turn to consider vomiting.
“I got her,” Luke walked forward without sparing Dawn a glance.
Vance let me go and I turned to Indy just as she arrived at me and gave me a big, surprise, hug. I stood in her arms, uncertain what to do for a second then I hugged her back.
“Good luck,” she said when she let me go and then she got close and whispered, “remember, deep down, he’s a great guy.”
I took a breath and nodded.
Before Indy and Luke left, Luke stopped at the door and sliced his eyes to me. “Tomorrow, five thirty, here, you and me. Don’t be late.”
Then he was gone.
I stared at the door. “What did that mean?” I asked Vance.
“You’re training with Luke tomorrow,” Vance told me.
I total y lost any hold on my head-crackin’ mamma jamma and my mouth dropped open. “No I’m not.”
“I were you,” Lee said, coming up to us, “I wouldn’t be late.”
I stared at the both of them.
Fuck.
* * * * *
Vance fol owed me to my house on his Harley. We parked Hazel in the garage, I jumped on his bike and we met Lee at a bar on Colfax, the same bar I’d seen Darius in a few days before. We got drinks, Vance a soda, me a diet soda (even though I wanted tequila, I was stil going for a clear head) and Lee a beer.
We stood at the bar, me and the badasses, surveying the room and not speaking.
Vance didn’t get touchy and sexy. This was a different Vance. This was badass Vance. He was relaxed but alert and very serious. We weren’t lovers here, we were partners. How he communicated this, I could not tel you, but he did. I knew it, felt it. Anyone in that bar fucked with me, they fucked with Vance.
And it was pretty clear no one wanted to fuck with Vance.
Or Lee.
Me, now that was probably another story.
Stil , we were given a wide berth.
After about ten minutes, Lee murmured, “Let’s go.” I had no idea why he said this, if he got some sign but they moved and I fol owed. We walked to the back of the bar, down a hal and into a room.
In the room were three people. Darius sitting at a round table, a supplier I’d heard of and seen once or twice but didn’t know his name on Darius’s left and on his right a pretty, middle-aged black woman with tawny brown eyes and a huge Afro.
“Lee Boy! Lookin’ good,” the woman shouted when we walked in, sounding happy and welcoming, like we’d come to her dinner party.
“Shirleen,” Lee said, walking into the room. I fol owed.
Vance fol owed me.
Lee put his beer bottle down and sat. I put my glass down and sat next to him thinking this was the right thing to do. I rethought it when Vance positioned himself standing behind me and to my right. Instead of looking indecisive and getting up to stand with Vance, I kept my seat.
The supplier’s eyes went to Vance and they got hard and scary and I held my breath.
Vance hadn’t al owed me to bring my gun (even though I was pretty certain he and Lee were carrying, though Vance didn’t share). He said it would send the wrong message for me to walk in armed and since I’d never had a sit down with a drug dealer, and expected he knew what he was talking about, I gave in.
At that moment though, I wished I had it just in case.
Lee felt me tense, his eyes cut to me and, quickly, to my shock, I kid you not, he winked at me.
Lee “Badass Mother” Nightingale winked… at… me.
I guessed this meant everything was al right. I let out my breath and tried to relax.
The seating scenario had us facing off against Darius, Shirleen and the other guy.
“So you’re The Law,” Shirleen said, looking at me.
“You’re a tiny little thing. How you flip Jermaine on his back?” she asked.
“Um…” I started, thinking I wasn’t exactly tiny but then again she really wasn’t tiny so it was al relative.
“Not that I think that’s bad, mind,” she went on as if I hadn’t uttered a sound. “Jermaine is one evil brother. I do not like him at all. Got my friend’s daughter, Shaneequa, pregnant then left her high and dry. No child support, nothin’. We was thrilled when we heard you kicked him in the bal s. He deserved it.”
“Shirleen,” Darius said quietly.
“Wel , he did,” Shirleen said. “Got his ass kicked by a white girl. I tiny white girl. I cannot wait to tel Shaneequa,” Shirleen said to me. “Hey, no!” she exclaimed. “Why don’t you come with me to see Shaneequa? She’d love to meet you. She’l give you a big, fat kiss.”
“Shirleen,” Darius said again, sounding more impatient now.
I stared.
I couldn’t help it; this was definitely not how I expected this sit down to be.
Shirleen ignored Darius’s impatience. “I hear you work with them kids at that Shelter. Wel , I got me another friend, last year, her boy, he went to the street. So young, that boy.
Do not know why, but he did. His parents are good people, no reason why he’d take to the street. One of you social workers found him and talked to him, got him to the Shelter then got him back home. Lord knows what was goin’ on in that boy’s head. Stil , they was glad to have him home, I can tel you that,” Shirleen went on.
Darius was now sitting back, his eyes were on Lee. He was looking harassed.
“What was the boy’s name?” I asked Shirleen.
“His name was Tye. Who names their child Tye, with an
“e”? What is up with that?” Shirleen answered but I leaned forward.
“Tye?” I asked. “I know Tye.”
And I did. He was young, eleven and luckily I got to him early before he’d been chewed up and spit out. He’d only been on the streets a few weeks when I talked him into the Shelter. By that time, he’d been scared out of his mind. The reunion had been quick, maybe only a few weeks more.
“You do?” Shirleen was leaning forward too.
“Yeah. I got him off the street. He wasn’t one of my cases but
we used to talk al the time in the rec room. How is he?
Is he doing okay?” I went on.
“Got on the A and B Honor Rol last year,” Shirleen bragged, as if he was her own son.
“Oh, that’s great. Tel him I said hi.”
“Wil do, girl,” Shirleen said to me. “Maybe I’l get him to come over when we visit Shaneequa.”
“I’d like that,” I replied, smiling at her.
Then al of a sudden Shirleen’s eyes changed, they didn’t go scary, like the supplier’s had, they went kind. The change was so swift, it took me off guard and I had no chance to respond to it.
“Your time’s better spent in that Shelter than on the street,” she said.
My smile faded and I felt my head crackin’ mamma jamma coming over me. Luckily, before it got a ful hold and I fucked everything up, Shirleen continued.
“Darius and me been talkin’. We’re passin’ the business on slow like. Too much headache, now with dealers gettin’
smoke bombed and plastic wrapped. They’re unhappy, want us to whack a social worker. I draw the line at whackin’ social workers, un-unh. Not me. So, we’re makin’
deals.” She indicated the supplier with a nod of her head.
“Boys wanna move up, we’l let ‘em. We’l start with passin’
off the dealers who deal to the kids. No more. We move on from there. The games are goin’ good. We’l stick with that.” I felt my heart racing. I could not believe she was tel ing me this. I could not believe they were getting out of the drug business.
The room had gone wired. Lee had tensed beside me, waves of something, emotion, disbelief, whatever, were coming off him and bouncing off me. I felt it at my back from Vance too.
I understood what it meant. It meant this was huge.
“You al right with that?” Shirleen asked me (as if I’d say no).
I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I just nodded.
“It’l take time. You should know we don’t speak for the others. You take on the street, you don’t have no protection from us. We’re Switzerland when it comes to you. And this deal does not leave this room. Word hits the street before we pul out, it’s war. Got me?” Shirleen went on, her eyes were no longer kind, they were hard and they were sharp.
I just nodded again. She stared at me a beat then it turned into two.
Then the sharpness went out of her eyes and she said quietly, “Thank you for takin’ care of Tye.” Oh my God.
She’d known al along it was me who got Tye off the street. I felt something hit my chest, a weight I hadn’t felt in a long time, not since Auntie Reba died.
I knew what it was. It was tears.
I swal owed and quickly pul ed myself together. “Tye’s a good kid,” I said softly.
“They al are,” she replied just as softly.
Then abruptly she put her hand on Darius’s shoulder and stood. “I need a drink. Who needs a drink?” No one said anything. “Suit yourselves. Shirleen’s gettin’ a drink.” Then she was gone.
We al stayed where we were and were silent.
Final y Lee, his eyes on Darius, asked from beside me,
“She speak for you?”
Darius shook his head, not in the negative, instead, partial y amused, partial y beleaguered.
“You know Aunt Shirleen,” was al he said.
“You told Eddie?” Lee asked.
“We’ve set up a meet after this one,” Darius replied.
“This gonna go wel for you?” Lee went on and Darius’s eyes changed, went hard, scary.
“I had to guess? No,” Darius answered.
More waves of something I didn’t get started pounding around the room.
“You know –?” Lee started but Darius interrupted him.
“I know.”
Lee nodded then his eyes cut to me. “Let’s go.” I got up and fol owed Vance in order to leave the room, Lee fol owed me.
Before we got to the door, Darius addressed me for the first time and cal ed, “Law.”
I turned and looked at him. He stared at me, his face blank. I stared at him the same way.
Then he said, “Tye’s my nephew.”
This news hit me like a physical blow. It was a miracle I didn’t stagger back but somehow I found the internal strength and kept myself under control.
Again, I just nodded but didn’t say a word.
Lee’s hand went to my back and with a gentle push, he moved me forward.
Without a word, we left the bar. Vance and I got on his bike and Lee got in his Crossfire.
Vance flicked two fingers at Lee, I put my arms around Vance’s middle and we shot off.
* * * * *
Vance parked close to the backdoor of my house and we got off the bike. He grabbed my hand and started toward the house but I stopped him with a jerk on his hand. When he turned his eyes to me, I realized I was trembling.
“What just happened?” I whispered.
“We’l talk inside.”
“It was important, wasn’t it?”
“Jules,” Vance said softly, “let’s get inside.” Then he tensed and his head swung to the side of the house, his eyes narrowing. Lee materialized out of the darkness. I stared at him as he walked to us, straight to us, straight to me.
My body went solid, my hand tightened in Vance’s but Lee stopped, close, leaned in, wrapped a hand around the back of my head and pul ed me to him. He kissed my forehead, let me go and then just as fast as he got there, he was gone.
I didn’t realize I was holding my breath and I let it out in a rush.
“It was important,” I whispered to the darkness.
Chapter Thirteen
My List
I let us in. Vance locked the door behind us and unarmed the beeping alarm then rearmed it for windows and doors.
Throughout this he never let go of my hand.
Boo pranced into the kitchen, took one look at us and let loose with news of his day and his dissatisfaction at the wait to get his treats.
Vance murmured, “Quiet, cat.”
Boo, surprisingly, ceased meowing (though, he did it with a kitty pouty face).
Vance curled me into his body and his arms went around me tight.
I didn’t resist this. I told my Rottweiler to hush because I needed this just this once, just this time.
I put my arms around him, pressed my face into his neck and held him back. Slowly, I felt his strong, warm body absorb my trembles until they were gone.
Vance’s phone rang. He ignored it and kept hold of me.
His phone quit ringing and he said quietly, “You did wel .” I nodded against his neck. Vance saying that meant a lot, more than I wanted it to mean, but I sure as hel wasn’t going to let it show.
He kept hold of me as the minutes ticked by and Boo started swirling his kitty body around our ankles.
Then Vance’s phone rang again. I pul ed back but Vance’s arms stayed around me.
I looked at him and whispered, “I’m okay. Get your phone.”
He watched me a few beats and read on my face that I wasn’t fibbing so he let me go.
While I got Boo his treats, Vance pul ed out his phone, flipped it open and said, “Yeah?”
Boo came with me into the bathroom and watched while I brushed my teeth, washed my face, slathered on my night cream that smel ed of oranges and changed into my blue nightgown. I wrapped my fleecy, dove gray robe around me, walked into the living room, lit some candles and a soft lamp and lay on my side on my lilac couch, Boo tucked into the crook of my lap.
I stroked him, he purred and I thought about what a funny world it was.
I may not have saved Park but I saved Tye and with him I may have helped to save Darius and maybe even Shirleen.
I listened vaguely to Vance talking on the phone in the kitchen and then listened when he stopped talking. Without him making a sound al of a sudden he was there, his thighs in my line of vision. I fol owed them up and just when my eyes hit his face he lea
ned over, gently gathered up Boo, dropped him in the armchair and turned back around.
Then he gathered me.
Picking me up, Vance turned, sat, twisted then settled back, lying ful -length on the couch with me on top of him. I put my elbow into the seat cushion between him and the back of the couch, lifted up my torso and looked down at him.
“Anything important on the phone?” I asked.
“It’l wait,” he said, eyes on my face, the fingers of one hand spreading open my robe then sliding from my hip and up my side.
“I like Shirleen. She’s funny,” I told Vance, ignoring his movements even as his hand went from my side to move forward across my ribcage.
“Everyone likes Shirleen,” he replied.
“Are they going to be able to get out of the business without getting hurt?” I asked and his fingers curled, his knuckles stroked feather light against the underside of my breast and my bel y fluttered in what I was classifying as a Grade Three flutter (yes, I could classify them now, Grade Ten was an orgasm).
“Don’t know,” he answered.
I swal owed. “We need to talk,” I informed him, deciding it was time. Definitely time. Way passed time. My emotional Rottweiler was growling warningly tel ing me if I didn’t do something soon, it would be too late.
“Al right,” Vance agreed, his hand moving away from my body but it came up then pul ed my robe down my shoulder.
“Crowe, seriously,” I shrugged my shoulder to try to keep the robe in place but he already had it down my arm and then it was off on one side.
His hand slid around my waist to my back and he pul ed me to him, his mouth going to my neck. “Talk,” he said there and I admitted to myself that I liked it when he spoke against my neck, it felt good.
“You have to listen,” I said to him, feeling Grade Three rise to Grade Four and being unable to do anything about it when his lips hit my ear and he traced the outer edges with his tongue.
“I’m listening,” he murmured in my ear when he was done.
A shiver went through me.
Okay, whatever. I had to move on before I lost the wil to move on.
He wanted it this way, fine.
“We have to stop seeing each other,” I announced.
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