Page 5 of Memphis

“What would you call it, then?”

“Something that won’t happen again.”

“It better not. It’s not just your life on the line. It’s mine and Montana’s too.”

Through a mirthless chuckle, I reminded him, “Ipayyou. It’s not the other way around. Therefore, I’ll be the one doling out orders and warnings, Jerryn McReynolds. You just do your damn job and stop worrying about me.”

He nodded slowly. “You’re right, and my job is logistics. I plan this shit down to the second. So, when you let the clock runwhile you have a perfect opportunity to take the shot, it’s going to concern me.”

Leaning forward in my chair, I repeated, “Like I already said, it won’t happen again.”

He stared at me for a moment before standing from the sofa. “Good. I’ll look forward to hearing from you when another job comes up.”

“Uh-huh…tell your wife I said hi.”

He left without uttering another word. I’d hit a nerve…on purpose. He deserved it after tap dancing on all of mine.

Minutes had passed and I was still sitting in that chair when Jerryn texted me:By the way, nice outfit.

I glanced down at the leather pants and matching leather tank top that hugged every curve I possessed and rolled my eyes yet again. He was fucking with me. He knew I wasn’t a fan of leather, which told him I didn’t purchase this outfit for myself.

Bo Pierce was truly an asshole, so instead of replying to Jerryn, I sent saidasshole a text:Fuck you for buying this outfit.

Bo:The sooner the better, baby.

As I did every day,I got on the Tor browser and logged into The Agency’sonline portal to see if there was anything in my inbox. There was one message regarding a new assignment. I frowned slightly. This was a faster than usual turnaround, considering the judge’s expiration date was just a couple weeks earlier, but fuck it. I never missed an opportunity to do my public service.

According to the attached dossier file, the target was a United States senator. Since this was a rank-and-file member and not the Speaker of the House or someone with a comparable position, there would be no government issued security detail.Granted, they may have hired their own security, but a private firm didn’t have shit on the Secret Service. So, this was doable. Add in the generous seven-million-dollar payout and it wasdamndoable. After reading over the particulars and doing a little light internet research regarding the character—or lack thereof—of the target, I quickly accepted the job and contacted both Jerryn and Montana.

3

Afew days later, I arrived at my father’s house with a bucket of fried chicken in tow, still wondering about the purpose of this little shindig. My answer came in the form of the lovely lady who answered the door.

“Candy?” I breathed, quickly mirroring her smile.

“Yes! It’s me!” she gushed. “Come in!”

My stepmother’s sister-wife had returned.

Wow.

Following her to the kitchen—the usual location for these gatherings—I saw that my sister, Lilith, wore an identical expression to mine. Surprised wasn’t the word.

“Chicken?” Lilith asked.

I nodded. “Yup.”

“Thank God. You know Denita only cooks healthy shit. She done made some turkey cutlets and asparagus,” Lilith said, scrunching up her nose.

Just as I was wondering where my nieces were, my stepmom, Denita, sauntered into the kitchen with the youngest—Katana—on her hip.

“Don’t y’all start. You know I’m tryna keep my Frankie alive and well,” Denita reminded us.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Lilith said, then to Katana she directed, “Look, Katana, it’s Auntie Memphis!”

As per usual, the sweet little girl gave me a shy wave and hid her face in Denita’s neck.

“Girl, you still acting shy with me?” I cooed.

---