Page 20 of Read the Room

He didn’t respond to me immediately.

“Alexi and I are not in a relationship any longer. She is a non-issue.” He paused for that to sink in. “Reya, I know you didn’t do anything, but the fact is that you did see something. To them, that means you have information.”

“Wh-what about GeGi? Is she safe? She was the one that was supposed to dance for them. Wouldn’t he have told about her too?”

He nodded in understanding. “She and her babies are safe and far away. You don’t have to worry about her. Right now, it’s about keeping you safe until the threat is neutralized.”

“Okay. Well, I guess I really don’t have a choice,” I said dejectedly. “When are we going to your house? I want to make sure I pack up my stuff. Will Ethan bring my car there too? It has all my other stuff.”

He let me know that we would go to his house in two days. That gave me enough time to pack and him enough time to get some things together at his house. I wasn’t sure what he needed to get together, but alright. Shortly after our conversation concluded, Joey and Lucas came back into the room. By the orders of Lucas, we would all stay in the room to watchMufasatogether. He ran out and got Ethan because he had to be included too.

This was my life for now. I had so many mixed emotions. I went from being kidnapped to protected by a man that the streets called Armageddon. The streets feared him, but my son loved him.

A Very Little Time Later…

“Man,I have to go see Mama Bee today before she comes to my house and beat my ass. I haven’t seen her since before we went to Paris,” I said to Sully. Mama Bee had been blowing my phone up, and I continued to tell her that I was busy.

Sully and I were at our motorcycle dealership. We’d just gotten a few bikes in that were requested by the Basil brothers who led the Mount Olympus Riders Motorcycle Club. Our dealership was one of the most popular in the area because we could get anything. That was our assurance.

Sully’s eyes bucked. “The hell do you mean you haven’t seen her since before we went to Paris? Yeah, you better get your assover there. It’s better to get your ass beat in her house instead of yours.” He laughed at his own joke.

“Shut the hell up, man. What’s the word on Jeremy’s bitch ass?”

Jeremy was the boss of our rival. Actually, I couldn’t call them our rivals because we didn’t give a damn about them. They called themselves running up in one of our traps and got laid out earlier this week. That was why I had been so busy.

On top of that, I tried daily to be a good host to Reya and Jedi. The day before we moved them to my house, I changed one of my bedrooms into a kid’s room for Jedi and had this company put a playground in the backyard. Sully thought that I did too much, but I didn’t think so. We couldn’t be sure how long they would be with me, and I wanted them to be comfortable, especially my lil homie Jedi.

Sully tittered. “You know that bitch nigga is in hiding now. I don’t know what possessed his ass to think his piss ant crew would be successful running up in our shit.”

He drank a sip of his coffee. Sully was the hoodest dude that I knew, but he had a customized, daily, standing order at Starbucks. If they got that shit wrong, there would be hell to pay.

“I think we should put extra security on Glitter Girls,” I suggested. I didn’t want shit to happen to the girls or, more importantly, Simone. Our security guards were straight ass killers. In my mind, you couldn’t ever have too many killers.

Sully sucked his teeth. “You know that’s already done. I’m not playing with anything that has to do with my wife. I’ll slaughter niggas then kill myself just to go slaughter their asses in hell behind my wife.”

I believed his ass too because Sullivan Carson did not play about Simone and SJ, Sullivan Junior. That was the kind of love I hoped to get from Alexi. I needed a woman to be my peace when I walked in my house after a long day. Shit, half the timeI got home, her ass was still in the streets. Sully’s next question ushered me out of my thoughts.

“How’s shit going with Reya at the crib? I’m sure she likes that you customized your place just for them.”

I side eyed the hell out of him. “No one customized shit. I just want to make sure my lil homie is comfortable. Shit, at this point, I’m trying to understand why Jeremy is even concerned with her. It’s clear that he knows we murked his cousin and bitch boy.”

“Shit, I think he put that price on her head out of aggravation because he can’t get at GeGi,” Sully pointed out. “He might think she means something to you since you feel the need to make sure she straight.”

He put a potato chip in his mouth. Once he finished chewing it, he asked, “How’s Reya, though? How is it with her at the crib?”

Tsireya.Her ass was fine as hell in a hood, dorky way. She wore those circle glasses that I felt like only she could pull off.

“Man, it’s been cool. She a real chill female. Jedi makes us all watch a movie together every night until he falls asleep.”

Sully’s hand stopped mid-motion as he prepared to put a potato chip into his mouth. He gawked at me for a beat.

“Jedi, the two-year-old, makes you watch a movie with his mama? Is that the story you’re going to stick with, with your Charmin soft ass?” He chortled. “Is that why your ass be watching the clock in the evening? Let me find out you got a curfew, man!”

“Fuck you, first.” He always had damn jokes. “We need to find a way to smoke that nigga out. Find out who his people are. I would say look to see if he has any kids, but he doesn’t look like the type to take care of his kids.”

Sully’s face scrunched. “How does that look? The hell!”

“It looks like that bitch Jeremy. He has a mama, daddy, sister, or someone he loves. Find them,” I instructed.

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