Page 23 of Keyoni & Sage
“Checking on my partner.”
I went to the back where Kaiser was laid out, unfazed by what was going on. His head didn’t move, but his eyes found me before drifting back to whatever he was looking at. I watched him for a few more seconds, then closed the door, noting he didn’t appear to be in need of anything at the moment.
Shifting my attention, I went to the back passenger door and opened it, demanding Domani to get out. He looked back up at me with a confused glare.
“Why?” One of his feet hit the asphalt. “What you doing?”
“Looking out for Ms. Pat,” I told him. He got out of the car and turned around at my command, while I pulled out the handcuff key. “Make it look believable,” I suggested. “As soon as the cuffs are off, put those feet to use.”
“What that mean?”
I thought about putting his ass right back in the car. Instead I broke it down in the simplest way possible.
“Nigga, run.”
Chapter 6
Sage
I pulledup to a ranch in Brunswick Meadows, checking my phone to make sure the address was correct. After confirming, I pulled into the empty driveway and got out. The cozy brick structure didn’t have too much going on as far as landscaping, but it was nice and well manicured with an abundance of green grass.
Bag in hand, I made it up two stairs onto the porch when the front door opened. Keturah greeted me with her phone to her ear.
“Hi, Ms. Sage,” she said with a smile.
“Hey, Ket?—”
“Come on in.” She made room for me to enter. “My dad’s in the kitchen.”
“Doing what?” slipped out before the aroma hit me.
“Cooking,” she replied, walking off. She left me standing there, and was almost out of sight when she added, “You can go back there.”
Although I appreciated the hospitality, I would have preferred more direction. I’d never been to Keyoni’s house before.
Tossing my bag on the couch, I started a solo tour to the kitchen, peeking in two cracked doors on the way. One was a bathroom, the other was a bedroom Keyoni caught me looking in.
“You can see better with the light on,” he said, making me jump. Leaning past me, he turned on the light. “Now you can see the whole room.”
“I wasn’t trying to—” He twisted his mouth at my assertion, so I gave up. “Keturah told me you were in the kitchen. I didn’t know where it was.”
“This ain’t the kitchen,” he told me, taking my hand. “It’s this way.”
The aromatic smell increased with each step we took, causing my mouth to salivate in anticipation. Whatever he was cooking smelled good. Real good. And I hoped the taste didn’t disappoint.
The kitchen was located in the back of the house. As soon as we entered, I saw steam rising from the stove. I walked over and observed the pots for myself.
“What did you fix?” I lifted one of the glass tops to find pork chops smothered in gravy, onions, and mushrooms. Nodding in approval, I checked out the sides—mashed potatoes and green beans decorated with meat. “Did Keturah cook this?”
“You funny.” He nudged me over, picking up a large spoon to stir the green beans. “I can cook.” He met my gaze. “A lil bit.”
“You cooked for me?”
“No. I cooked for me…and my daughter. There’s enough for you too though.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not here to eat anyway. I’m here to work.” Best believe I was still going to eat. “Where’s Kaiser?”
I followed Keyoni to the mudroom by the garage. Before reaching the door, I found Kaiser, resting comfortably on a dog bed with his paws hanging over onto a shaggy rug. Underthe rug, Keyoni had dark, hardwood floors that extended throughout the rest of the house.
