Page 81 of More Than a Hero
Jimmy continued to stare. The uneasy feeling grew.
Darius, Rasheem, and Jalen had gone quiet beside him, their conversation tapering off as Tamarcus’s gaze flicked their way. It was brief but heavy, and enough to send a cold prickle along the back of Jimmy’s neck.
As quickly as it came, Tamarcus turned his head like they were nothing more than background noise. Then he strode away from the two men and climbed into his car.
The Virginia plates gleamed as the engine roared to life. Then, with a sharp jerk of the wheel, Tamarcus peeled off down the street, tires screeching loud enough to send a couple of startled birds flapping from a rooftop.
Jimmy exhaled through his nose. “Idiot.”
Darius stretched his legs out, his expression contemplative. “He sure don’t act like Mr. Marty’s nephew. Mr. Marty is nice. That guy is… I don’t know… looks like a gang member. Red and black. Like one of the Bloods.”
Before Jimmy could dwell on it, Robert reappeared, his hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his jeans as he walked toward them. He stopped at the base of the steps, glancing between Jimmy and the others. “Y’all still out here?”
Jalen shrugged. “Where else we gonna be?”
Robert let out a chuckle but didn’t argue. Instead, he rocked back on his heels, his gaze drifting down the breezeway that ran the full length of the apartment building. “Feels weird, ya know?” he said after a moment. His voice was lower now, more thoughtful. “Not hanging with the high school crowd right now.”
“You okay… you know… after what happened?” Jalen asked, his tone careful.
Robert huffed out a breath, his jaw tightening before he nodded. “Yeah. Some of the older kids tried to act like I was either a badass or a dumbass. Sure wasn’t the first, but I was the second.” He heaved a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. “I gotta make better choices. Can’t keep doing dumb shit and expect things to change.”
Jimmy pushed up from the steps. “Tomorrow, I’ll go back to check on Mr. Marty.”
“We can go with you,” Darius offered.
Robert shifted, hesitating.
“You can come with us,” Jimmy said, his invitation quiet but confident.
Robert studied him for a beat, then narrowed his eyes slightly. “You all are part of that group the detective has going, right?”
“Yeah,” Jimmy said, “but it’s more than that.”
Robert tilted his head, about to ask for clarification, when the sudden sound of running feet had them all turning.
Mike, Kyron, and Curly came barreling up the breezeway, their energy a sharp contrast to the weight of the conversation.
“Hey, guys,” Mike called out, skidding to a stop. “Whatcha doing?”
“We’re talking about going to check on Mr. Marty and the other adopted grandparents tomorrow,” Darius said. “Robert’s coming, too.”
Robert frowned slightly. “I’m not part of the group.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Jalen said. “Mr. Pete… um, Detective Pete, tells us to know who we can trust and hang out with those people. We’ve got some of the older people in those senior apartments who are kinda like adopted grandparents. They help us, and we help them.”
Robert nodded slowly. “That’s cool. My real grandpa lives with us, so I have that built in.”
“Yeah,” Jimmy said, “but you can never have too many people on your side.” He jerked his chin toward the breezeway. “We’ll meet here after the school bus drops us all off.”
Darius looked at the boys who had just joined them. “Jimmy said Mr. Marty had a nephew visiting who looks like a jerk.”
Jimmy shot him a look and rolled his eyes. “Yes, but we’re not gonna say anything to him. After all, it’s his relative.”
“I know,” Darius grumbled. “I was just letting them know that we’re kind of like the undercover eyes for our grandparents.”
Robert finally smiled, shaking his head, but there was something lighter in his expression now—like maybe for the first time in a while, he wasn’t standing on the outside looking in.
As the group gathered and started down the breezeway together, Jimmy’s focus remained elsewhere. Because if Marty’s grand-nephew kept coming around to talk to some men who weren’t trustworthy in their complex, Jimmy needed to know why. And whether they should be worried.
