Page 53 of Honey Sugar
“Were you out there, Shadow? Your name has been thrown around more than a little bit.”
“Who’s doing the throwing?” I quizzed.
“Shadow, we can’t have a one-sided discussion. You know how shit like this works.” He stopped talking for a moment to look at Ivy. “You trust her?”
“Completely,” I said without hesitation. “She can hear whatever we have to say and it won’t leave this room.”
“Understood,” he nodded. “I can’t tell you what I know unless you help me fill out some missing puzzle pieces.”
“You know that means I’m putting my life on the fucking line, Don.”
“I know. When have I ever done anything to fuck you over though?”
“Never, but this is deeper than all that other shit.” I countered with a scowl.
“Shadow, I’ve been holding you down since you were thirteen getting your feet wet in the game. I was the one who taught you how to do business as clean as possible because I’ve been on the dirty side and the shit ain’t fun. So if you can’t trust me even a little bit then you’re out here lawless and rogue on these streets and that’s deadly.”
He was right.
My brain buzzed with all the different ways my situation could play out. Some of them were deadly with or without trusting anyone. So I decided to roll the dice. They clicked together in my mind like a gavel sentencing me to life.
“I was out there selling bumpers,” I admitted quietly. Don sighed and dragged his hand down his face.
“Shadow, you know better than doing that stupid shit, man. I told you if you’re going to sell you gotta sell legit or nothing at all. Shit like that will get you killed. That’s not your style.”
“I know.”
“Mario talked you into that shit, didn’t he?” His sparse eyebrows furled together in the middle of his forehead. I nodded in response. “Why did you agree to anything he suggested? You know he’s a fucking snake.”
“I needed extra money quick and I’d already sent in a harvest delivery. I had to get my mother a new car. She was missing days at work and…” I hated the sting that met my eyes. This wasn’t the time to cry over Mama. Not now. Not in this place.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and pushed out a breath, hoping to steady my nerves and calm my emotions. Ivy rested her hand on my back and I reached over my shoulder to kiss her knuckles. I realized how lucky I was to be able to do something so simple outside of Honey Sugar or the plantation house on Bayou Drive. I could kiss her hand openly and not have anyone bat an eye.
It was the pinch of sugar I needed to sweeten my sour disposition.
“You were doing it to help your mom. I get it. I wish you’d talked to me first,” Don said. “You were out there selling with him and he’s done nothing but speak your name to everyone.”
“Everyone including Bear,” I scoffed knowingly. My mind already put together the entire puzzle last night while I was in the kitchen baking batch after batch of potent chocolate chip cookies.
Don nodded his head and looked down at his hands. “You killed Bear’s man, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I did. I didn’t have a choice. He ran up on me and pulled a gun. I wasn’t going to leave that alley alive.”
“You’re right. You did what you had to do…again. That makes sense. That fits. If I’ve learned anything about you in all these years, it’s that you only do what you have to do when it comes to shit like that. Unfortunately, you have a problem now.” Don’s jaw flexed and he slid to the edge of his seat.
“I already know. I have to handle it.”
“Let me know what you need from me, Shadow. I got you.” He held out his hand and we shook on it. That made it concrete.
“I need time. I have to plan,” I said.
Dealing with Mario wasn’t going to be something quick that I could handle in a matter of days. I wanted it to be unexpected. I wanted him to think I was running. I wanted to draw him to me.
I knew he was the person who told Bear I was the only one selling bumpers at Mardi Gras. He was the one who told everyone I killed Bear’s man. He wanted to get into Bear’s circle and the only way for him to do it was to provide valuable information. You didn’t get into a tight-knit circle like that without intel and a murder on your hands.
It was plain as day to see Mario set me up once he realized I was the one who shot the motherfucker in the alley. He killed my mother to solidify his spot amongst the ranks of Bear’s soldiers. I was going to see to it that he regretted ever making that decision.
…
