Page 8 of The Prodigy

“I—it happened really fast. I was only looking at you.”

Because you’re fine as hell, you psychopath.

Jakari sighed and looked at his friend again. “What you think?”

The man shrugged. “It’s up to you, Knight. But if you decide to do that thing, I can’t know about it.”

“Wait!” I shouted desperately. “I won’t tell anybody, I swear. Please.Pleasedon’t hurt me.”

Jakari—Knight?—crossed his arms and peered down at me, his brow furrowed as if he was deep in thought. The air was thick with indecision. And my fear.

“You could keep her with you,” the other man said. “Just till this shit blows over.”

“Ifit blows over,” Jakari snapped. “You know as well as I do that it’s only a matter of time. Besides, I’m not trying to babysit no grown ass female. You know what all I gotta do while I’m home.”

“Yeah.” The other man shrugged. “Well, if you don’t wanna do that first thing, there’s always the other thing.”

Yes, yes, do the other thing,I thought.All the other things. Just don’t kill me.

“You said it’s not a guarantee.”

“It’s not,” the man said. “But it would improve your odds significantly.”

Jakari blew out a sigh and stared down at me. “I don’t know…”

“I got a girl at the courthouse. She’ll put whatever date we want.”

Confused, I looked back and forth between them.

“Man, that’s…I don’t know.”

“Is it really worse than the first thing?” the man said. “Just look at it like an insurance policy. You might not need it, but it’s good to have.”

Jakari’s shoulders dropped, and I stared at him, wondering what was happening. And then I realized it didn’t matter.

I wanted to live. That was my only objective at this point. I had a sister, and a nephew, and a father who would miss me. I couldn’t go out like this.

“Please do it,” I said. “Whatever it is, I’ll cooperate. Just don’t hurt me.”

The other man approached me and knelt down next to me, right at eye-level. He was just as attractive as Jakari, just a little older. He looked exotic, like a male model.

“Do you have your ID on you?” His voice was soft and kind, the opposite of Jakari’s rough, gravelly tone.

“No. I left my purse at the bar.”

“Shit.” He stared off to the side. Thinking. Deciding my fate. “Do you have anybody at your job you really trust? Somebody who could bring your stuff?”

“Not really.”

“See?” Jakari said. “Shit is more trouble than it’s worth. Neither one of us can roll up in there and get her shit without being seen. We send her, she’ll run or ask for help. It’s too risky.”

The man rubbed his beard. “Is Jaz around?”

“Yeah, she’s at the house.”

“Alright, have Jaz walk her in to get her shit. If she needs to go by her place to grab some clothes, Jaz can do that, too.”

Jaz?

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