Page 65 of Tainted

“It doesn’t fuckin’ matter!”

“Only it does matter nigga because you’re thinkin’ with the wrong head, and now we haveanotherproblem that could’ve been avoided.”

“Protect the girls. Isn’t that your motto?”

“It’s more than one way to do something, Kenyon. You’re smart enough to know that.”

“Makori was out of line, and I’d do it again. It’s my problem so I’ll solve it. I’m not about to sit here and argue bullshit with you,” I fussed, climbing in the car because I had more important shit to focus on right now.

“He was out of line,” Nolan added on his way to join me.

“Keep that nigga alive while I try to figure out what happened tonight,” Kross demanded, leaning inside the window.

I didn’t give a fuck what Kross thought or felt about the situation. I would’ve handled it the same way if it was anyone else. But it wasn’t anyone else, and I needed to know Zara was safe. Nolan pulled off, and I dialed her cell.

Each call went unanswered and eventually stopped ringing altogether. When we pulled into the packed parking lot outlined in yellow tape, it went straight to voicemail, and I feared theworst. Miss Margie was crying, speaking to a police officer, jotting down her version of events.

“This nigga lost his fuckin mind,” Nolan said, wowed by the destruction.

“He’ll regret it when I’m done.”

It was an unwritten rule that Miss. Margie was off-limits. She had watched most of us grow up. As much as I hated rules, even I followed them and Makori wasn’t above me. She was finally wrapping up her conversation with the officer, so we walked over, and there was a small glimmer of hope when her eyes landed on us. Thankfully, the only thing that hurt was her heart, watching the diner that had been in her family for years riddled with bullets.

Shaudi had a location on Makori’s baby mama, so I assured her I’d take care of the repairs. We jumped in the car and headed home so I could change because we were in for a long night.

“Did she respond?” Nolan asked.

“Nah. I’ll hit Otto and see if he’s heard from Brandy.”

My knee bounced as I glanced at my phone again. Still nothing from Zara. I ran my hand over my face, trying to push down the worry, but it wasn’t working, so I dialed Otto.

The phone rang a few times before he picked up, sounding like he just woke up from a nap.

“Keyes, what’s up?” Otto asked, surprised. Until now, the only business we had was the DDs, which never required a phone call.

“Have you heard from Brandy?”

“Nah, I haven’t heard from her,” Otto replied.

“She was at the diner earlier, and it got shot up.”

There was a pause on the other end. Too long of a pause considering the news I’d just shared.

I clenched my jaw, heat rising up my neck. “You don’t care that the place got shot up? That your girl might’ve been hurt. You good with that?”

Otto sighed. “I’ll call her.” Then, like a lightbulb, his voice rasped with anger. “Why are you so worried about Brandy?”

“Somebody needs to be because her nigga isn’t.”

I hung up because Otto was worthless, and I still didn’t have a location on Zara. Every second she didn’t pick up made my gut twist tighter.

Nolan glanced over at me, reading the frustration all over my face. He didn’t say anything. He knew what it was. We had business to handle, so I hopped out of the car and tried to focus.

“Oh my God! I was so worried,” Syd sighed as I walked into the house, taking the stairs like hurdles to my bedroom. “Is Miss Margie okay? Asha told me what happened.”

“She’s straight.”

When I walked out of the closet, dressed in black, my locs tucked in my hoodie, she asked, “What is going on, Keyes? "

---