Minutes later, I screeched my tires in front of Titty Palace. A terrified Kevin jumped in with his book bag and laptop.
As soon as he shut the door, I sped off. “I’m sorry.”
“What?” Kevin glanced over his shoulder, making sure no one followed. “You saved me. Why are you apologizing?”
“Because, if you hadn’t tracked him, they never would’ve came.” I rounded the corner. “I put you in danger.”
“Man, fuck that. You’ve been saving me all my life. If you hadn’t grabbed me in Chicago, I would’ve been dead. And I don’t know how many times you’ve beat up guys for me at school and even in the club. I owed you the tracking. I knew it would be dangerous, but I also knew you would have my back.”
I wiped the sweat off my head, rounded the corner, and calmed my speed to normal.
Kevin glanced my way. “Yo-yo?”
I checked the rear view mirror and didn’t see any sign of anyone following. “What?”
“So, are you going to tell me what’s up with this Wyatt guy?”
“There won’t be no need to tell you.” I rubbed my face. “You’ll see the four reasons soon.”
“Four.”
“You’ll meet Ebony, Kia, Jalen, and Poppy.”
“Holy shit. I remember those names.” Kevin’s mouth opened in shock. “That’s Wyatt’s family.”
“They’re not his anymore. He fucked that up.”
Quiet entered the car. Kevin must’ve been processing what I told him. He knew enough about Wyatt and Ebony to put the details together.
I almost had you, Wyatt. But you won’t have a grenade all the time. And if you do, I’m going to stick it up your ass and blow you to bits.
I glanced Kevin’s way. “You can’t go to work tonight.”
“I figured.”
“You’ll stay at my house until we know you’re safe.”
“No problem. You’ve got the room.”
“Speaking of rooms. Do you mind bunking in my art studio for now?” I’d finally gotten Ebony relaxed enough to come inside my bedroom and let me kiss her. A new man in the house would put her on guard. If Kevin slept upstairs, she might get nervous.
Kevin smiled. “You still have my good ole sofa bed in there?”
“Yeah.”
“Then, that’s fine.”
“And, I need your burner. Do you have one with you?”
“Of course.”
“Good. My phone was in the explosion.”
“Got you.”
Chapter 19
True Sacrifice
Ebony
Christmas would be in a week in a half. As I made the kids plates and set lasagna on them, I wondered what I would cook to the holiday. Yoshiro would probably want to do the meal. Hopefully, he would be warm to us doing it together.
The thought of that kiss hit my head.
“What do you think, mommy?” Jalen looked at me.
I blinked. “Huh?”
“I know we may not have money to buy presents, but we could all make them.”
“Oh.” I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Homemade gifts are the best. And of course, once I’m paid we’ll celebrate then. My budge will be better. The rent Yoshiro wants is low.”
In these past three years, Christmas on another day had become our tradition. Payday always hit afterwards. No matter how I saved in November, emergencies and escape money came up. New Year’s Eve tended to be our Christmas Day.
Kia took a bite of her food. “Do you think Yoshiro will let me borrow some of his paint?”
“Maybe.” I took the tray of lasagna back and set it on the stove.
“Should we get him something?” Jalen asked.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “He’s helped out a lot.”
“I can’t wait to move into our new place.” Kia giggled. “I’ve got the front bedroom on the right.”
“No. I called dibs.” Jalen frowned.
They fell into their usual competitive banter and I stood next to the stove thinking about Yoshiro’s lips.
Last night, it had been hard to go to sleep. I didn’t know how long I twisted that bullet in my fingers and wondered if I should’ve left his room at all. An hour later, I placed the bullet under my pillow and somehow passed out.
When I woke up, he remained in my head. I took the bullet from under the pillow and kept it with me the rest of the day.
Still, his face and that kiss played out in my mind. I couldn’t focus enough to write the novel or teach homeschool to the kids. Therefore, I decided cleaning up the house in the back would keep my head and hands busy.
In some way, I was relived he wasn’t in the house when we returned. The first minutes around him would be awkward for me. I was hoping to avoid it as much as possible today.
Will he bring it up? No. That’s not his style. The bigger question is can I keep myself from blushing and giggling like a silly teenaged girl with a crush.
The kids and I spent most of the day tidying up and checking out the place. We also took our time going over possible emergency plans and escape routes, if Wyatt showed up. The place was well guarded—more protected than any of the houses we’d stayed at.