out how to tell him about my part in the betrayal between brothers, in a way that would make sense to him. Somewhere deep inside me lived an ironic chuckle. Not long ago I could’ve killed him. Now I couldn’t tell the man something as simple as I’d been fucking his wife.
I asked, “Things better with you and the wife?”
“When she came back last night, she was all over me. She wants to take off for a couple of days. I might fly her up the coast for the next three days and get some quiet time together.”
That was the same thing she had done when I was supposed to take care of Wolf, gone on vacation, taken herself out of the equation, created herself an alibi on the cruise ship Elation.
Sounded like she was doing the same thing now. Creating her alibi.
Damocles’s sword had moved from Wolf, now it hung over my head.
9
Freeman’s fiancée was standing curbside, alone and demure, transparent to the crowd.
Her man was still inside, fans taking his picture like he was Muhammad Ali.
I opened the back door. His woman eased inside like a lady. Did it with class. She sat down first, then brought her legs in at the same time, kept her knees together. Femininity was an art she had mastered. She looked up at me, those two blue oceans made contact with my eyes.
I said, “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Sade.”
“Like the singer.”
“Yes.”
I told her about the broken zipper and spilled bobbleheads. She didn’t give a damn.
I got in. Seconds passed like minutes. Wetness trickled down my neck. I freaked, touched my skin, and it came back wet and clear. Not blood. Sweat was dampening my collar.
Hadn’t noticed what was going on inside the terminal. A tall sister was hugged up with Freeman while her shorter, flirty friend took picture after picture. Then they switched up.
My breathing had evened out, but my heart hadn’t moved from my throat.
My passenger hissed. “This is brilliant. Just brilliant.”
Then she mumbled something rugged in a nasally language, the kind where I could see the accent marks and dots over each foreign word.
My eyes went to Freeman. The smaller woman was trying to out-flirt her girlfriend, holding Freeman tight, pressing her breasts deep into his chest, her face damn close to his.
“Driver, please, remind the new black aesthetic that he has a phoner.”
“Phoner?”
“Just get him, please.” She flipped from being timid to frustrated, her real personality must’ve been rising to the top. “He has fallen in love with the sound of his own voice and will go on and on as long as someone, as long as anyone listens. This tour has become ridiculous.”
I hit the emergency flashers, waited for airport security to pass by.
The short woman hugged up on Freeman saw me coming, then adjusted her rimless glasses and turned away. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked all of sixteen, but her body said she was older. Her silky white blouse and dark skirt made her curves come to life.
It was Miss Baklava Glue. Arizona. She’d decided she wanted to be seen.
The woman with her was a lot taller and a little older, had a fuller build, all curves. Her hair was in a pixie cut. She was about my age, had dimples too. I’d seen her somewhere before.
Arizona moved away from Freeman and hurried by me. I turned back to call her name and bumped into her friend. I hit her hard. She stumbled away like she’d hit a brick wall, almost twisted her ankle. I reached out and grabbed her to stop her from going down to the ground. She got her balance and moved on like nothing had happened, jogged and caught up with Arizona.
Arizona kept going, purse in one hand, jacket over her other arm.
Freeman held onto his briefcase, asked, “What’s the problem, my brother?”
I told Freeman that his fiancée said he had a phoner.
He adjusted his briefcase and matched my long stride with a quick Napoleonic strut.
His eyes were on Arizona and her friend. He grunted. “She had to tag along.”
The she that he was talking about was his woman. He’d brought sand to the beach and his face told me he regretted it down to his bones. His woman’s blue eyes were watching his every move, lips tight. His African queen was ready to piss a circle around what was hers.
I let him inside the car, my eyes hunting for the lion and the jackal. They were gone.