“Will do, and I’ll make sure to keep track of Jess and Maya.”
“What?” Regina declared in a soft cry. “Why do you need to track Jess and Maya?”
“She’s dirty,” Sabrina explained. “And more.”
“That’s enough,” I responded crossly. Frustration and regret grew in my gut because I should have explained to Regina and Krew that Maya was tangled up in this entire mess. I moved over to the side of the road, and parked.
“What haven’t you been telling us, Deck?” Krew questioned; his eyebrows furrowed deep.
“Give me a second and I’ll explain everything I know. Sabrina, what else do you have for me?”
“Your girl isn’t going to like this. But the day before the fight, Maya emptied and closed out all of her accounts around the Chicagoland area.”
“What do you mean all of her accounts?” Regina blurted angrily. “She could barely pay her portion of the rent each month.”
“Your so-called friend was lying to you, sweetie. She has been since she moved into your place. Maya had five accounts, four of them with at least fifty thousand in each. The most recent account she opened held one hundred and fifty grand. It’s hard to say if that was all her money,” Sabrina explained.
“I don’t believe it. Maya and I have been friends since grade school. Besides, she’s always complained that she was broke,” Regina admitted, anger radiating from her eyes. “She’s a hair stylist like me, and there’s no way she banked that much money—even on a good day.”
“Believe it,” Sabrina said sharply, then continued. “I got shots of Jess Duncan too, the morning after Kane’s hit. He had shaved his head and was carrying several bags in hand, walking out of—get this—out of Kane’s condo. The SUV he got into wasn’t his either. The license plates are registered to one Waldo Hemmings Senior. He died the day before from heart failure.”
“Jesus Christ,” Krew pinched the bridge of his nose. “That guy is trying to look like me, isn’t he?”
“You got it.” Sabrina said, as taps echoed through the Bluetooth.
“This whole time, these killers were supposed to be going after Maya and Jess, but they got me and Regina mixed up with them instead? Wait… you said there are four contracts—five including Kane’s. What am I missing here?” Krew asked. The answer to his question was what drove my fierce need to hide them until all this shit got fixed.
“You’re missing the fact that there’s another party out there that really wants you and Regina dead,” Sabrina bluntly explained.
“Do you think Maya knew about these contracts?” Regina asked.
I met her eyes in the rearview mirror, and they reflected back betrayal and hurt.
“She had to have known something because she cut and died her hair short like yours, the day before the fight,” Sabrina clarified.
“She did,” Regina added. “Crap. But I never said anything about why she copied me until the day of the fight—Why? If she was in trouble, she could have told me—I could have helped her.”
“Maya wouldn’t tell you, Regi. Maya always thought of Maya, and nobody else. Even back then,” Krew admitted. “She never cared about you or your feelings.”
Regina flinched at his words, but Krew was telling the truth.
There was no doubt in my mind that Maya had thrown Regina to the wolves. “I agree.”
Even back in the day, when we were kids, Maya wore her mask of friendship when she was with Regina, all her fake smiles hiding her jealousy. I saw it, and so did Krew, but Regina had blinders on when it came to her best friend.
Those times in high school—and there were many, Maya tried to hook up with one or both of us. However, Krew and I swiftly shut that shit down each time with malice. Yet, neither Krew nor I had ever had the heart to tell our girl what her best friend had tried to do. And that was on us.
“There’s more,” Sabrina chimed in, yanking me out of my thoughts.
“What is it?” I glanced at Krew, who had his chin to his chest, and then at Regina, who had fat tears running down her face.
“The two original contracts on Krew and Regina were for fifty K each, but as of this morning, they doubled.”
I was speechless. That was the last thing I had expected her to say. “Are you serious?”
“Maya’s in really bad trouble,” Regina murmured.
“No, Regi. Those two contracts are for us,” Krew declared.
