Page 18 of Kairo

“You good?”

She nodded. “Yeah, just thinking.”

I wasn’t going to ask, because if she wanted me to know, she would tell me. Instead, I stood behind her, checking our surroundings to make sure we were still the only two people out there.

The ride was peaceful. I wouldn’t lie. There wasn’t a time I felt that my life was in danger while I rode on the bike with Junie. I could tell she was in a trance. It was as if she was in another world. My curiosity got the best of me, and no matter how hard I tried to keep it down, it kept coming to the surface.

“We ain’t on private property, are we?” I asked.

She nodded. “Sure are.”

“Junie.” I swiped my hand down my face. “You keep putting yourself in crazy ass situations. Do you know that allows people to come out shooting at us and there is nothing we can do because we’re trespassing?”

She had pissed me off. This was the second time she had put herself in a situation that could cause her to be killed. Nepotismwas real. There was no way Prez felt Junie could carry the title of VP of a motorcycle club.

“Man, get your ass up and let’s go. I’ll drive so we can get out of here.”

“Huh?”

I inhaled to control my tone. “Junie, what part you not understanding? Again, get your ass up before we be out here having a recap of last night.”

She finally looked back at me. “Relax, Kairo. Have a seat beside me. This property belongs to my family. My father bought this for my mama for her birthday one year.”

“Oh, damn my fault.”

She waved her hand. “No need to apologize. You wouldn’t have known.”

We said nothing to each other. Nature filled the silence. I kind of felt like a dick for jumping to conclusions. I sat down beside her, going against everything I stood for by letting my guard down. I placed my gun to the left of me. Even if she said this property belonged to her family, ain’t no telling who was around. From the side, I could tell she was lost in thought. Junie must have given off a pheromone to make people do strange shit because I found myself wanting to know more.

“Y’all rent the house to people?”

She shook her head. “Nah, this was my mama’s escape from reality. When shit in her world got to be too much, her and I would ride out here. We never brought my dad or my brother. It was just us. Our quiet escape from hell.”

While I listened to Junie, I couldn’t help but think about how my father, my mother, and I would never go to family reunions or family cookouts. During those times, my father would fly us halfway across the world, just to avoid those people. When I was younger, I’d be pissed at my father for not letting me get to know his side of the family. I missed the opportunity of growingup with my cousins. At first, I didn’t understand, but now I did. I should’ve listened and kept my distance, but I went against everything he preached.

My phone rang and it was Prez calling. I wanted to ignore but I answered instead.

“Yo?”

“Where are you? Where is Junie?”

I looked over at her. She was still looking out at the water. I didn’t think she realized I was on the phone.

“Out getting groceries and shit for the house.”

“Wrap all that shit up. We need y’all at headquarters. The VP of the Iron Knights wants to meet now. I don’t know what the fuck this is about, so I need you alert and paying attention to their every move.”

“Aight.”

We hung up the phone, and I immediately went to my text messages. Unc had sent me five messages, letting me know they were going to be meeting tonight instead of next week. He didn’t give me an explanation. This didn’t sit right with me. The plan was to let me know if there was anything I needed to be aware of. I wasn’t surprised though. Unc did shit like this. I glanced over at Junie. I hated to interrupt this moment. I could tell she needed this, especially after everything that happened. She needed a moment of escape, but I had a duty to fulfill.

“Junie—” I called.

“You know I haven’t been to the house since my mother died. I want to go over so bad. I know it’s filled with her energy. We would call it the girls’ clubhouse, no boys allowed.” She chuckled. “We would paint our nails, watch movies, eat junk food, and do facials.”

Whenever Junie spoke, she pulled me in. It bothered me knowing she hadn’t stepped foot into the house since the death of her mom. She was avoiding it, and I could tell it was takingits toll. I felt like a jackass as I thought about having to pull her away from this moment.

“Junie, we have to head back. The Iron Knights want to meet tonight.”

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