Page 7 of Ms. Mosley

“Bet.” I lifted the weights.

“P, one more thing.”

“Sup?”

“I need you to handle thattonight. I’ll throw an extra for the inconvenience. I know it’s last minute.”

“Say less,”

An hour later, I pulled up to my crib. I knew the sound of the garage door rising would have my dog on high alert. Sure enough, as I entered through the door, there he was, wagging his tail. My foot barely touched the floor inside before he jumped up, eager for attention.

After deactivating the alarm, I bent down to give him the affection he was so eagerly begging for. Had I been anyoneelse, shit would’ve gone a lot differently. Black was good until he wasn’t. He was trained to kill and protect just as much as he was trained to love. I always said, if a nigga rolled up in here, he’d better come prepared for war. Black would slaughter his ass before my bullets could.

“Down, boy,” I instructed, and his legs immediately dropped back to the ground. “Sup?” I lowered myself to the floor and extended my hand.

With a loud bark, Black tapped one of his paws on my fist, giving me a dap. This was our usual greeting. My lil nigga was smart. I’d had him since he was a puppy and trained him well.

“That’s my boy.” I rubbed the top of his head before standing up. “You been straight?”

Again, he barked.

“Aight, let’s roll so you can handle ya business, mane. I got shit to go handle.”

He made a noise in response; a certain sound that let me know he wasn’t happy about me just getting home and leaving again.

“I know, I know. Pops been real busy lately. But as soon as I’m done getting this degree andmy wife, we gon' be back to regular programming. Might even fuck around and give you a sister or brother to play wit’, ya feel me?”

He barked once more as if he understood, and I chuckled.

I removed his chain from the hook on the wall and clipped it to his collar. With Ms. Mosley on my mind, I headed outside for a walk with Black. Together, we strolled the area for about twenty minutes before I took him to a nearby park. With barely anyone around, I let him roam wild with a toy, giving me some time to sit down and stalk Ms. Mosley’s Facebook page.

I’d been keeping tabs on her ever since I got her full name off my schedule. That’s how I initially discovered she had a man. Their photos had long since vanished, though. Good forhim, considering I’d been contemplating taking his bitch ass out just to clear the path. I scrolled through her profile for about ten minutes, studying every photo as if I’d never seen them before.

Once I felt satisfied, I exited the app and rushed back home. I filled Black's bowls with food and fresh water before heading upstairs to get dressed. With a gloved hand, I retrieved my gun from the safe, ensuring the silencer was securely attached. Then I rolled out just as quickly as I’d come in.

∞∞∞

The next day, I awoke to my phone vibrating relentlessly on the nightstand. Since it was Saturday and I didn’t have any classes, I opted to sleep in. After the long days I’d had during the week, I needed the rest.

“Yeah,” I answered, eyes still closed and agitated as hell.

“Sup, bro? Been callin’ yo’ ass all mornin’.” My best friend, Peanut, said.

“For what? I’m tired than a muthafucka.”

“I’m tryna make sho you straight. Yo’ T lady been blowing me up looking for you. Thought something happened to yo’ ass last night. I know you had that job.”

“Fuck,” I opened one eye and scrolled through my screen. Sure enough, I had multiple missed calls and voicemails. “Ah, shit.”

“Told you,” Peanut chuckled. “That’s yo’ ass, nigga. She been on my line talkin’ shit.”

“I’m already knowin’. Ain’t no point in calling her back. Gotta get my ass around there.” I quickly stood up, sliding my feet into my Nike slippers.

“Hell yeah. Well, now that I know you straight, I’ma ‘bout to bust this U. Need to hit up this club and make sho shit straight for Josh tonight. You still coming through, right?”

“Fuck, that’s tonight?”

“Figured yo’ ass forgot.”

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