Page 17 of Deuce

By the time I enter the REM cycle of my nap, my phone was going off back-to-back. With a frustrated groan, I pulled the covers from over my head and snatched my phone from the dresser. Of course, it was my best friend, Shar, blowing me up about last night. She was one of the few people who knew I was starting at Aura.

“Biiiiitch!”

“Are you okay?”

“What the fuck is going on down there?”

“Salima Navarro! Answer me!”

“Bitch, I know you see me calling you. Pick up the phone.”

“Oh, see now I’m finna pull up. I’m five minutes away.”

That last text was exactly five minutes ago. Shar was never one to say she was pulling up and not pull up. Tossing back the covers, I rolled out of bed. I didn’t bother to put on real clothes. Dressed in nothing but boy shorts and a sports bra, I dragged myself to the front door. As soon as I opened it, she came barging in with the dramatics.

“I know your black ass saw me calling you, bitch! Got me out here worried that somebody done got you! I was ready to paint this fucking city red, Salima.”

“Hello, Sharina.”

She frowned. “I’m still mad enough to smack you.”

She pulled me into her arms for a hug. Her heart was racing, and she held a slight tremble. Maybe she really had been scared. When she pulled away, her beautiful face softened.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, girl. I spent all night at the police station and I’m just tired.”

“We’ll come sit down and tell me what happened.”

I really didn’t feel like hashing this story out again, but she would not leave without answers. Reluctantly, I followed her to the couch and sat down to give her the story. She went through a range of reactions, just like I knew she would.

“Bitch… that’s some crazy ass shit.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Wait a minute… did you say Deuce?”

“Yeah. He told my mama his name was Stanley.”

She jumped up from the couch. “Oooo biiiiitch!”

“What?”

“Do you know who that is?”

“Now you sound like him. Should I know this nigga?”

“Uh yes! Please tell me you know who the Dillingers are?”

“Dillinger…” I pondered the name.

“Salima, not only do they run most of the city, they own most of it, too. I’m talking hotels, restaurants, clubs and lounges, jewelry stores. That’s just the legal shit. They run deep in the underground world. That paper is long. Deuce probably wipes his fine ass with the ten grand he gave you.”

“Shar, he knows where I live. What if he comes back? What if he decides I’m expendable and they need to get rid of me.”

“I doubt that. If he wanted to kill you, he would have done it last night. I honestly think he was trying to protect you from getting caught it the crossfire by putting you in the room with those kids. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he spared you.”

I shook my head. “This is some TV shit, Shar.”

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