Page 96 of Kissed By the Trillest Thug 2

I deleted the message and took another bite. By the time I swallowed, the phone buzzed for a third time. Something about that one made me stop chewing. I picked the phone up and brought it close to my face.

Ryan: I know you stop at this Checkers every Thursday.

Every muscle in my body locked up. I slowly lifted my head and scanned the parking lot. A man in a reflective construction vest climbed into his truck. The older woman in the silver SUV was talking on her phone. Two teenagers walked inside laughing about something. Nobody looked suspicious, but that didn’t mean anything.

Ryan had already proven he knew more about me than he should. I looked back down at the message before locking my phone and tossing it onto the passenger seat. My appetite disappeared. The burger I’d been looking forward to suddenly didn’t matter anymore. I shifted gears and pulled out of the parking lot. I was checking my mirrors every few seconds. About a mile down the road, I noticed that same silver SUV a few cars behind me.

My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. I made a right turn. The SUV made the same turn.

“Come on…”

I muttered under my breath. I took another right and so did the SUV. My heart started pounding harder against my chest. By the time I made my third turn, sweat had gathered in my palms. I was reaching down into my side door for my gun. Whoever the fuck this was that was following me was about to get their truck lit the fuck up. Then, just as quickly as my panic had started, the SUV drove straight through the next intersection.

I watched it disappear until I couldn’t see it anymore before finally letting out the breath I’d been holding. I leaned back against the seat and laughed to myself. It wasn’t Ryan. It was justanother person trying to get home. The problem was Ryan didn’t have to be sitting in the car behind me anymore. He’d already found a way to ride with me everywhere I went. I was paranoid, and now I could admit that shit.

I didn’t realize how tight my shoulders were until I finally pulled into my apartment complex. The second I parked, I scanned the lot out of habit before killing the engine. Nobody looked out of place. That didn’t mean I relaxed. I grabbed my food, headed upstairs, and unlocked the apartment door. The smell of garlic and onions hit me the second I stepped inside.

Mama was home. She looked up from the stove when she heard the door close behind me. She turned around to face me and was wiping her hands on the kitchen towel.

“There you are,” she said with a smile.

“What’s up, pretty lady?”

She hesitated for a second, and she was staring at me. I knew what my mother looked like when she was trying to read my ass, and this look was it.

“You talked to Tahari lately?” she finally let out.

I frowned.

“No.”

“He hasn’t spoken to you?” she asked again.

“I just said no.”

My mother knew more than anybody that I hated repeating myself. She nodded slowly, almost like she was disappointed by the answer. I waited. When she didn’t say anything else, I raised an eyebrow.

“Is that all?”

She forced a small smile.

“Yeah, I was just wondering.”

I stood there another second, trying to figure out why she’d suddenly become so interested in whether Trigga and I hadtalked. Something felt off, but I was too mentally drained to press her about it.

“Aight.”

I carried my food down the hallway and shut my bedroom door behind me. I tossed my keys onto the dresser before dropping onto the edge of my bed. Mama wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. Over the last couple of months, I’d heard less from Trigga. If I didn’t call him, sometimes a whole week would go by before I heard his voice. I told myself that he was busy with work or school, but I knew better. He was building a life that didn’t have room for me anymore. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.

Every road I took somehow led back to the same place. Maliah’s father. If we never would’ve hit MBs Auto, Ryan would’ve never come looking for me because we would never have gotten our hands on some bricks that belonged to a cartel. Tahari would’ve never gotten that job. Shit, maybe the real problem was Maliah. If Trigga never dated the bitch none of this would be happening. And he damn sure wouldn’t be choosing that family over the one he’d been riding with his whole life.

I laughed to myself, but there wasn’t anything funny about it. What was humorous was how two little robberies could change everything. It changed everything for me but changed nothing for that nigga. Maliah’s dad still had his business. Still had his wife. Still had his kids. Still had his money. Meanwhile, I was looking over my shoulder every time I left the house, wondering if the next car behind me belonged to the FBI.

Against my better judgment, I picked it up anyway. I stared at Tahari’s name for a long moment before locking the screen again.

“Nah…”

I muttered, shaking my head.