Motown Showdown (19 page)

Looking me dead in the eyes, without blinking or addressing them she whispers, “He deserved peace.”

Speechless I just stand there while Kandace asks Rome if he’s okay. “It’s over,” he says and it was clear he was numb.

“Karma caught up with her, baby,” she says comforting him, but she continues to watch Camo too. Then she turns to look at Camo who’s watching me and asks, “Was the coffee good?”

Camo smiles and says, “It was explosive.”

Breaking away from Kandace, Rome goes toe to toe with Camo, which had me prepared to come between them if necessary. It wasn’t necessary. “It’s not who I am,” he says looking down at her.

“No,” she says looking up. “It’s who
I
am.”

“Karma comes in all shapes and sizes,” he says and then he grabs her and pulls her into the fiercest hug I have ever witnessed. No one moved or spoke, just let Rome have his moment. Once it was done, he grabbed Kandace taking her next door where we both heard him crying.

In blessed relief.

“Pep,” he says shutting off the TV. “You gotta talk this out.”

“Why?” I ask genuinely confused.

“Look,” he says sitting next to me. “I ain’t your parents, but I raised a son. Your dad didn’t make his first kill until he was twenty-three. You’re still a kid, Pep. Yeah, you were raised in a hitters world but you’ve gotta share your head space with me. I wanted you to have closure but you’re acting like this was no big. Talk to me, please.”

“Bobo,” I sigh disappointed that I was missing this episode of Friends. Seriously, I love Phoebe, and she was about to sing smelly cat. “Why did those men come after mom and dad?”

“Shit,” he mumbles. “Your dad had a rep; he was that good. When too many people know what you do it sets you up to be the target. Problem was, your dad…liked the attention.”

“And it got him dead,” I whisper. “Got mom dead too.”

“Yeah,” he says scrubbing his face with his hand.

“No one will see me coming, Bobo. I won’t be like my dad, I’ll stay hidden.”

“Christ,” he groans. Looking over at me he was quiet for a minute. Then nodding he stands up, pats my head and says, “You’re the game changer, Pep.”

“Camo,” I correct.

“Camo,” he smiles.

“I miss them,” I admit. “Every second, I miss them. But the bad guys are dead, and I don’t feel anything about that. I’m not glad or relieved because there will be more bad guys.”

“Always will be bad guys,” he says sadly.

“Like dad said, job security.”

“Fuck me,” he laughs.

He left just in time for Phoebe to break out her guitar. Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you? Classic.

I could hear Rome crying next door.

He was crying in joy, and he deserved to do so without me listening in. Heading into the kitchen, I pass Gage but could feel him staring at me. It was obvious he didn’t know what to think because I, queen of the wire, code follower extraordinaire, went rogue this morning with an Uber driver as my getaway car.

I’d go rogue and call Uber again too, and we both knew it. In fact, I still planned to. The game’s been altered, rules we used to follow no longer applied. I did something good today. Maybe I’d so some more good tomorrow too.

You kill for those you love

Vengeance is mine

Killing for sport is one thing, killing for revenge quite another. Call it a rogue act or not, I didn’t really give a shit because, it felt right. No one deserves to suffer like that while the evil responsible roams free. Honestly, I was just shocked (and a little disappointed) that he didn’t do it himself. It was obvious his relationship with Roman was fresh so if anything, he should have done it for Kandace. She suffered too. Now he's broody, and I didn’t like it much. I was stuck here until I got my car; I wasn’t sore, but I was going stir crazy. The only reason I’m lying low is to spend time with him, but that’s not really panning out either. Hitting Michelle Porter has been the highlight of my week. Minus the sex, naturally. But once again, I was back to antsy.

“Did she suffer?” he finally asks handing me a new coffee.

“Of course,” I say taking it. “Played with her for a minute before putting her out of her misery.”

“You cleaned up?” he asks and my response was the
duh
look. Then my phone rang, I swiped it and with a frustrated sigh said, “Hey Bobo.”

“Out in the open,” he says.

“Yes.”

“A fucking parking garage?”

“Yes.”

“
Your
face?”

“Yes.”

“Taught you better than that.” He grunts acting pissed while not actually pissed because he knows me.

“I’m the best because of you.”

“Also the best part of me,” he says softly. “Needed to be done then?”

“Yes,” I say just as softly.

“Gadget is secure?”

“Yes.”

“That job you’ve been waiting on is coming in, I’ll send it over.”

Then he disconnects. Any residual adrenaline left me in a whoosh causing me to sag where I stood. Coming to my side, he takes the coffee and sets it on the counter then in one swoop picks me up, and I let him. Spreading me out on the couch, he tosses the cushions behind us to the floor and takes residence behind me. Tickling my back I start to relax even further but Gage had other ideas.

“Thought you left me,” he says kissing my shoulder. “Didn’t know what to do. I didn’t like how it felt.”

“I’ve spent my entire adult life being your shadow. I would never leave you,” I tell him over my shoulder. “Not when I’m finally where I never thought I’d be.”

“I wish I’d have known this sooner,” he mumbles into my skin.

“What, that I love you?”

Going perfectly still, his arms turn into steel bands, and he pulls me tight. “You love me?”

Wiggling free to face him, I kiss him once and smile. “I’ve always loved you, Gadget. I will always love you no matter what the future holds. What? Did you think I spent six years following you for giggles?”

“That fucks with my head,” he says. “Thought maybe you did, but hearing you say it…I missed out on so much time with you. We could have saved a lot of bullshit had you told me sooner.”

“I’m here now,” I remind him snuggling in deeper. “We’re a team.”

“Michelle what she was dying for?”

“She did.”

“Good.”

He didn’t cop to loving me back, but I told myself not to be disappointed. I reminded myself that he cared, that he’d come around and that he’d never let me go. But I was disappointed because first, I was a girl and second, he planned to let me go, I could feel it. I just didn’t know how to stop it.

“You fell for the wrong guy,” I try explaining to my sister crying in my arms.

“I can’t help who I fall in love with!”

The cops pulled in, minutes later accompanied a drunk and handcuffed Roman Peterson to the back of the squad car. Stuffing him inside, my sister who was already pale went gray. Turning her toward the chaos I whisper in her ear, “That’s the guy you fell for.”

Even with the odds against him, Kandace never believed him guilty. For ten fucking years, she maintained his innocence. Kandace knew a Roman no one else bothered to see. Kandace loved him for who he was faults and all.

She slept a full fourteen hours. I lasted three. Guilt wouldn’t let me sleep. Kandace was my sister, Rome had her heart therefore he was family and
I
should have taken Michelle out. The problem was I hadn’t even considered it, but Camo had. She gave them the peace owed them, not me. She took the time to talk to Rome, ask him how he was dealing. Turns out he wasn’t and that hadn’t set well with her. All these years I came and went, did the lone wolf thing but when I could have helped my sister, I didn’t. It was a mistake I wouldn’t make twice.

Rome came by to check on us which I knew meant Camo and to let her sleep, we went to the kitchen. Sitting at his grandma’s old table he starts to confess shit I was pretty sure he never thought he’d say. “I’m glad she’s dead,” he says quietly. “She asked if I wanted her dead and I said yes. Camo did that for me.”

“For both of you,” I correct.

“She killed an evil bitch for me but seventeen for you,” he smiles. “She loves you a fucking lot.” When I stayed silent, he nudges me. “What?” he asks. “You love her too right? I’ve seen you with her, I know you want her.”

What Rome didn’t know was that I wanted her more than anything but adding love would ruin it. I would never tell her how I really felt, if I did, she’d kill herself saving me. If I ever committed to her, she was as good as dead, and I didn’t want that for her. I needed her to walk away from me, to live without me. Not yet, but soon. “Of course I
want
her, but I can never love her.”

“What the fuck?” he asks shocked.

“You heard me,” I say pushing my chair out to stand up. “I don’t love her, won’t ever love her. I’ll never let it get that far.”
Liar
, my mind screamed at me, but this was for her own good. When this was over she needed to walk away and stop putting her life on the line for mine. “Look, I may be in the business but that doesn’t mean I want to settle down with someone
in
the business. I never gave her or you the impression I wanted to settle down at all. Fact is, she’s not a normal woman. If I do settle, it’ll be with a gentle female that will be domesticated not one who spills blood for a living. My kids won’t ever wonder if their mother will get her head blown off at work. Better yet, my kids won’t ever fear some pissed off asshole showing up to blow
their
head off.”

“You’re a fucking dick,” he growls getting up. “She is not a notch, asshole. If you weren’t my woman’s brother, I’d kick your ass out of this fucking house. The woman sleeping in there deserves the truth. Your sister thinks you hang the fucking moon when she sees you don’t, that’s on you. Never pegged you for a hypocrite considering you kill people too. And you know what? Call me crazy but I’d want the mother of my kids to kill for them, protect them. I’d sleep good knowing that if I was at work and some shit went down my woman could handle it. The one in there sleeping can handle almost anything, asshole. Except hoping you can love her back only to find out you don’t. No one deserves that.” And in this I did not disagree. However,
I did love her
. I loved her enough to let her be free.

After Rome had left slamming the door, it jolted her awake, and she ignored my existence in favor of coffee. Before I could kiss her, they came back over with breakfast which meant, I was shit out of luck. While we ate, the two of them asked her a million questions. She answered them all (mostly) never once looking at me. They left and now instead of Camo the prankster, she was Camo the plotter, this was new.

Between Kandace and Rome looking at her with hero worship, her pacing like a caged animal and neither of us having a target to kill it was a matter of time until one of us lost it. Watching her dress and throw her hair up, when she grabs her bag and heads for the back door, I was there to stop her.

I wanted her close until this was over, I
needed
her close.

Last night she told me she loved me, I wanted her to say it again. But right now she didn’t look like she loved me. She looked like she didn’t even like me.

“Hold up,” I say taking her by the arm. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

“Outside.”

“With your shit?”

“I need to be outside,” she says staring not at me but, at the trees. “I need air.”

Pushing away from me, she hikes her bag up higher breaking into a run the second her feet hit the grass. With my jaw open, I watch her hop one fence, two fences in a single leap. Then she crawled up into a tree where I lose sight of her. Standing there Rome comes in and drives the jagged blade I was feeling in deeper. “She needs space I take it.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure why,” I lie. I do know why. It’s because I didn’t say it back, didn’t even hint to it. She’s smart, probably figured it out on her own. Although she hopes I will, thinks she can coax it out of me but, it won’t happen. Camo knows I like having control because she’s the same. Never will I lose that power by admitting how I feel.

“I thought you didn’t like liars?” he counters trying to locate her in the trees.