“How much time did y’all get for that?”
“Fifteen years.”
“And how many have you served?”
“This sentence? Five.”
My brows heightened. “There have been others?”
“Me and my twin been hustling since we were playing in the fuckin’ sandbox, shawty. This shit ain’t nothin’ new. It’s just how the game goes.”
“So you’re like career criminals?” I inquired.
“If that’s what you want to call it.”
“Well, what do you call it?”
“Hustlin’, shawty. It’s as simple as that.”
His authenticity inspired me to nod. “Why were you on the bus in the first place?”
“We were being transferred to a facility in Sumterville.”
“Sumterville? That’s over two hours away.”
“There was no doubt in my mind that we’d make it there, too, until that storm hit.”
“I guess things aren’t going to go the way either of us planned,” I concluded.
Kareem sighed. “I didn’t want it to be like this. When I broke into this bitch, it was only a means to an end. I was supposed to get shelter before linking up with my brother and getting the hell out of here. Then you happened. If somebody told me I would’ve been in here sopping you up like a fuckin’ biscuit, I wouldn’t have believed them, but here we are.”
“Yup. Here we are.”
“Look, we both know shit is too hot for me to move right now. But, if you help me find him, I’ll be that much closer to getting out of the city and getting out of your hair for good.”
His statement sent a pang to my chest. I’d gone from never wanting the rain to stop to wanting to call the SWAT team on Kareem’s ass. But now that I knew a little bit more of his truth, I was visibly torn between saving myself and the hero complex I had to save the people around me for the greater good.
“What’s on the other side of the woods?” he inquired, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Um, the interstate and a couple of gas stations. Why?”
“That’s where I’m starting my search.”
“Okay. Let me get dressed. When the rain stops, I’m coming with you.”
Sawyer twistedthe key into the lock on her apartment door as she glanced over her shoulder at me. I stood behind her with one of her baseball caps on my head with the brim pulled low over my eyes. My jaw was taut as my eyes scoured the vacant hallway knowing my ass was living on the edge, but I had to do what I had to do. Just as she stepped away from the door, the one next door opened.
“Sawyer?” came the familiar voice—just as raspy and unmistakably nosy as before.
Her neighbor stepped out with slow precision.Fuck.
“Oh! Hi, Mr. Wilkins,” Sawyer acknowledged, forcing a kind smile as she subtly shifted her body to block me from view. “This weather is something else, huh?”
He squinted past her, his full attention on me. “You heading out? And who’s this with you?”
I turned slightly, pretending to fiddle with something in my pocket, keeping my face angled away. Sawyer laughed lightly. “Just a friend. We’re grabbing some things just in case it gets bad out there again. Do you need me to pick you up anything?”
“Me? No. I’ve got everything I need.”
