Page 45 of Taming a Menace
My head snapped to see a huge guy charging across the room. Keywan didn’t respond. It was like he was no longer in the room. Instead he focused on disabling and possibly killing the man who had lost the will to fight him back.
“Keywan, let him go, bro,” the man demanded.
When he reached them, he slapped Keywan on the top of the head, causing me to jump. Key wasn’t fazed. I don’t even think he realized that somebody had hit him. I was terrified. I reconsidered my reasoning for not running out with the crowd. There was still time to get out of there if only I could move.
The other guy slapped Key’s face twice. The impact sounded across the room. Apparently, that did the trick. Keywan let the man go, causing the gun to fall to the floor with a thud right before its owner slumped right next to it. His chest heaved as he finally focused on the man standing in front of him.
“What the fuck, man? My guys had to come pull me off Carrie’s bus to get your ass. You good?”
“I uh . . .” Key’s eyes darted around the room until they landed on me. “Yeah, I’m good. How he get in here with a pistol and they made me leave my shit back here with you?”
“I don’t know, man. I can’t babysit you tonight, bro. Do I need to have somebody to drive you home? Are you drunk?”
“I’m not even drinking, Kannon. I didn’t start that shit either,” Key explained.
“They waiting on me out there. Are you good to drive?” the man checked.
“I-I’m . . . yeah,” Key stammered, still trying to gather himself.
“Call me when you get to the crib, nigga. Go straight fucking home. I can’t believe this shit, Key. You just got home.”
“Kannon, the nigga pulled a gun on me and my girl, bro. I wasn’t on no shit tonight.”
That’s when the other man finally looked back at me. I don’t think he even realized I was in the room until Key mentioned me.
“The girl look like she scared shitless, Key. Take her the fuck home and call me when you get there.”
He was right. I was physically shaking. When Key looked at me again, his shoulders fell in defeat. I had never been so scared in my life. There was no way I could put myself in a situation like this again.
Eight
Keywan
Fuck!
My eyes shot to Iyla as I defended my actions to my brother. My baby was terrified. I had disarmed the man waving a gun like a fool, but she was still scared. I didn’t owe Kannon an explanation, but I knew he was responsible for making sure the place was secure while Carrie was here. He had more explaining to do than me. Someone had pulled a gun on me in a room where his security people had been working to ensure everybody’s safety.
How the hell did that fool even get a gun in here? That was the question. I couldn’t worry about that, though, because the look on Iyla’s face had my feet moving in her direction. She recoiled, taking a step back as I got closer to her. She wasn’t just afraid. She was afraid ofme.
Fuck.
I was messing this up before I even had the chance to prove myself to her. I wasn’t the one trying to shoot people. I defendedher. I diffused the situation, and yet again I was viewed as the bad guy for not backing down.
I didn’t even know what to say to her. The terror in her eyes made me want to comfort her, but that was almost impossible when I was the source of her fear. The last thing I wanted was for Iyla to be afraid of me.
“Let me take you home,” I offered once I was close enough to touch her.
She didn’t respond. That was new for her. Iyla always had something to say even if she was telling me off. Thankfully, she let me touch her. I took her by the bicep and ushered her through the exit.
Iyla didn’t put up a fight, but now I wasn’t sure if it was out of fear. When we made it outside, I stopped and turned her to me.
“Talk to me, Moon,” I urged, looking down into her deep brown eyes.
She was irresistible. I couldn’t stop myself from touching her face. She moved out of my reach, causing my heart to sink. I had to say something. I didn’t want to negate her feelings by trying to justify my actions. She knew exactly what happened. She was standing right there, and yet she was more afraid of me than the man who’d put his hands on her.
“I apologize for what happened, Moon. I planned to diffuse the situation peacefully, but I lost my head when I saw that gun. I didn’t know what he was gonna do. I couldn’t let him hurt you. I’m not trying to defend what I did because I would do it again. I just want you to know that I would never hurt you.”
“How can you say that, Key? You weren’t even in control of your own actions.”
