Page 35 of Keyoni & Sage
“Leave it alone. It doesn’t concern you.”
DP watched over Jami and Keturah. Even when I wasn’t around I knew my family was good because when DP scratched my back, I scratched theirs. The building was safe and secure because they ran shit, and although they did their dirt, they didn’t do it where they laid their heads. Because of that, I overlooked the petty shit…like the drugs Tre ran out of his apartment and the various businesses the DPs ran. Everybody had a hustle and I was okay with it as long as Jami and Keturah always remained safe.
In return, they always stayed a step ahead of Diamond Falls PD.
I made another call to Captain and learned the sneak operation was right on track, giving Tre enough time to move his stash to another DP apartment.
Chapter 8
Keyoni
I was volun-toldthat I would be helping one of the rural jurisdictions for the week. Diamond Falls had mutual aid agreements that allowed some of the smaller police forces to use our resources and personnel.
Iturned out to be the chosen one, along with Kaiser who returned to work midweek.
For five days, I was away from Diamond Falls, in the damn boondocks, which doubled as the perfect place to establish a drug operation.
There was nothing out there, except people manufacturing drugs. Kaiser had a time sniffing them out.
By Friday, I was ready to go home and sleep in my own bed. Being away was cool, but not when the person I wanted to spend time with was more than an hour away. I wanted to see Sage in person. FaceTime just wasn’t cutting it anymore.
She was still at work when I made it back to Diamond Falls. Everyone at the clinic was working long hours to account for the staff voting to attend Saturday’s block party. Sage didn’t know what it was but voted with the collective. She asked about it when she called me later that night. I was vague withmy description, telling her the experience would be better than anything I told her about. We agreed to go together.
Jami picked Keturah up from school for me. It was my week again, but since I was late getting back into town, she agreed to do it for me, and had the nerve to send me a CashApp request for gas money.
I sent her enough to cover a gallon, three whole dollars.
“You should be ashamed of your damn self,” Jami said when I stepped in.
“So should you,” I scoffed. “Gas money? Really? To pick up your own daughter?”
Kaiser trailed in behind me, going to his normal spot next to a reclining chair.
“Times is hard.” She plopped down on the couch. “You could’ve at least rounded it up to five.”
“Where’s my daughter?”
“Upstairs.” She lifted her legs onto the cushion, pointing the remote toward the TV. “She went to get Erin so she could see the puppies.”
It was gonna be a minute.
I walked to the back to see the new additions. Big Girl seemed more interested in me than tending to her own puppies.
“Hey, girl.” I rubbed her head. “Feed your babies.” One was scooting around, whimpering, on the hunt for a nipple. Big Girl glanced up with sad eyes. “Don’t look at me. I can’t do it.”
Jami was tuned into a TV show when I returned. Keturah still wasn’t back, so I sat down on the loveseat, allowing my phone to distract me until she came back down. I got comfortable, lifting my leg as I lay back against the armrest. Not long after, I was distracted by a knock at the door. Jami didn’t move, so I did.
It was Sage.
She looked surprised to see me, greeting me with an awkward smile. “Hey.” She tried to glance around me, but my frame blocked her view. “Is Jami here?”
“I’m here,” Jami declared behind me. “You’d see me if Keyoni would move his big ass head out of the way.”
Sage’s girlish giggle softened the mood, but something still seemed off. I moved to the side, allowing Sage to enter and she brushed past me without further acknowledgement.
“I came to check on Big Girl,” Sage advised. “How’s she doing?”
“The same. She still don’t wanna take care of her puppies.” Jami tossed her head back. “She’s back there. You can go see her.”
