Page 96 of Unlucky You

“If you talk to him again, can you tell him to call me?”

“I can tell him but he won’t do it.”

I frowned and Tali exhaled a sigh. “He’s not going to talk to you while he’s in there, Saniya. When all that shit went down years ago, he cut everybody off. He did five years and I didn’t see or talk to him once. He only talked to his mom because she refused to let him stay disconnected from what was going on with his son but even that was limited. I was pissed because we’re not just cousins. He’s my best friend but I accepted that he needed the distance to deal with being locked down. It’s the same now…”

“He’s not getting out?” I panicked.

Tali’s eyes landed on me intensely. “I don’t know. The system isn’t fair. In their eyes, he fucked up. The hows and whys don’t matter. He violated parole.”

I didn’t want to accept that this was it. I refused to accept he wasn’t coming home. “What…what did he say?”

“That he fucked up. Should have been able to keep his cool and for that he apologizes.”

Grand was apologizing to me when this wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t wrong.

“I opened my mouth to argue that point but Tali added, “He also wants you to leave this shit alone.”

The glare I delivered brought a smirk to Tali’s handsome face. “That look right there is why he wants you to leave it alone. You can’t fight his battles, Saniya. If you try and fuck up your own life in the process it’s only going to make things harder for him to deal with knowing he can’t do a damn thing about it. Let this shit be what it’s gonna be.”

“Which means what? Letting him sit there while nobody does anything.”

“He has a plan. The lawyer that handled his first case is going to see what he can do. What happened was bullshit, and if he can prove the situation was planned and Grand was provoked, he might be able to get him out of there. That’s going to take time.”

“I know people who will be willing to…”

“To what, Saniya? Intervene on behalf of a felon who on paper violated parole by assaulting the man of the daughter who was drugged and died on his watch. Nobody fucking cares. They’re not going to risk their necks for him. He’s asking you to fall back and let him handle it.”

Once again an argument was on the tip of my tongue but he gently shook his head. “If you get involved, you’re going to make it worse. Grand doesn’t need that shit on his shoulders. He’scarrying enough already without the added pressure of worrying about whether or not you’re good out here while he’s in there.”

He hopped off the counter. “I let my aunt know what was going on and she wanted you to bring Raiden home. I told her he was cool with you for the night and that he can stay here. I think that’s best. I’ll swing by in the morning and get him to school…”

“I can do it.”

He stared at me for a minute then nodded stiffly. “She sent what he needs. It’s in my car.”

“Okay.”

Tali stepped out of the kitchen, then paused, turning back to me. “It hasn’t been a day and you’re falling apart, Saniya. I don’t know how this shit is gonna play out but you might want to think about what that means to you.”

“Are you telling me I can’t handle this?”

“Nah, not telling you that you can’t. Only asking you to be sure you understand what handling this looks like. What happened today might cost him another five inside. Away from you and his son. You need to decide if you’re willing to stand by him. You’re either in or out and if you’re out, nobody will judge. I won’t, and he damn sure won’t considering the circumstances, but bottom line is that’s my people. Don’t give him false hope for some shit that you’re going to eventually bail on. It will fucking destroy him.”

He didn’t give me a chance to respond. Tali left the apartment and returned shortly after with a duffle bag holding clothes for Raiden and his backpack for school. He promised to be there in the morning just in case, then he was gone.

After he left, I stripped out of my clothes, dressed in sweat bottoms and one of Grand’s T-shirts and climbed in bed with Raiden. No matter how I felt about things, the devastation of Grand not being here would be ten times worse for his son. The thought broke my heart so I pushed it to the back of my mindand did my best to get some sleep, praying things would work out for all of us.

TWENTY-THREE

Grand.

I was exhausted but too fucking angry to sleep. Not to mention my body ached from sitting on the small metal bench for the past twelve hours. No matter how many times I replayed what happened at my apartment in my head, the one detail I couldn’t let go of was how a split second decision was costing me yet again.

The potential to miss time with my son and lose the second woman I gave my heart to washed over me thick and heavy.

“Sinclair.” I lifted my head and made eye contact with the officer that called my name. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

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