Tiara giggled a little bit.
“Her husband is my lawyer. You should see how much work I’ve been moving. Vincent fucked up the operation something crucial. He didn’t know much more than I do, but even I know you don’t sell the type of product we have for half just to make a quick sale. The difference between him and you, Dad, is that you worked to feed a village. He, on the other hand? Worked to feed himself. I am about to close one of the biggest heroin and Ecstasy deals this state has ever seen.
“I met another girl. Her name is Keys, and she’s mad cool. She actually plays for the same team. Before you say anything, we are just friends! She’s a fighter. You would like her. Her loyalty speaks volumes, and I know that if I were to go against the world at this very minute, she would be right by my side. I won’t tell you exactly what bonded us; just know that we are literally bonded by blood. I love them both like my sisters, and I’m blessed to have them in my life. Stephanie is still around the house fussing at me. She disagrees with me taking over parts of your business, but I’m a Rogers. It’s only right. I’ll be having to take a few months off, though, to help Elaya with the babies.”
Tiara smiled sadly and pictured the surprised look that she knew would have spread across her father’s face.
“Yes, Daddy,” she said. “I met somebody. He’s a good man, and now, just like what happened with you, something has happened to him because of me. I think about him so much, and I think I love him; very much, actually. I don’t know if he loves me, but I do know that he doesn’t care about any of what happened in the past. He’s the one that helped me take back the throne. He gave me a fresh start. You would like him. He’s smart, and he is a street pharmacist like you. Not scared to brandish a gun and gets it popping in the streets. I just pray that he’s OK.”
Tiara reached into the pocket of her Alexander McQueen coat and grabbed a wad of cash that totaled $1,000.
“OK, Dad,” she said. “That’s enough for now. I would have brought you flowers, but I thought you’d like this more. I’ll come back next week. I love you. Oh, and I’m sorry for killing your wife. She wasn’t shit, though.”
She kissed his tombstone and stood to her feet. There was one other person that she had come to visit. She left her father’s grave and took a few minutes to find the one she was looking for. When she found it, she felt her heart skip a beat. The gravestone there was an angel as well, but it was small. She did just like she’d done with her father’s tombstone and wiped the snow away.
Here lies Brandy, beloved daughter, sister, and friend. When all hope seems lost, hope some more. Forgive and always put love out into the world, because you only get what you give out.
Tiara choked on a sob because she could hear her best friend saying those exact words. She didn’t care about the snow. She dropped to her knees and hugged the tombstone.
“Hi, sister,” she whispered and let her tears fall freely. “I miss you. I would tell you everything that’s happened to me until now, but I have a feeling you already know. I was raped, beaten, and almost murdered, but I made it through it all. I guess that means that I’m meant to be where I am today, huh? You were always stuck on your philosophical shit. I feel horrible standing here alive while you’re here buried. But knowing you, I know you’re at peace. You were always the stronger one.”
Tiara shut her eyes and remembered Brandy’s radiant smile, the hugs and kind words that she gave Tiara during tough times. Tiara thought of Brandy every day, and every time she thought of her, she still couldn’t believe that she was gone.
“I kept your promise.” Tiara pulled away from the tombstone. “It may have taken me awhile to get the guts to come up here, but I never forgot about you. Not even once. I mean, who could? You were the best friend a person could hope to have. Elaya would have loved you. You would fit in perfectly just because we all love to laugh. I have some more news for you, though.”
Tiara smiled and heard Brandy’s voice in her head saying, “Okayyyyy . . . I’m waiting!”
“There is a lot that I have to do to make peace with myself and with the world. The man that I think I love was snatched away from me . . . I don’t even know if he’s alive. I have already spent a quarter of a million dollars looking high and low for him; just can’t find it in me to believe that he’s dead. Why would Vincent take him to just kill him? It doesn’t sit right with me.”
Feeling a queasiness in her belly, Tiara cradled her stomach and stopped talking for a second. That often happened when she thought too hard about Stevelle. The fact that somebody could be harming him because he’d chosen to stand firm by her side ate her up. Keys and Monty did their best to keep her on the bright side. They often told her that if he was alive, he would turn up, and if no dead body turned up, then they would assume he was alive and keep looking. She blinked back the tears and decided to change the subject.
“So my friend Elaya . . . She’s having twins. She’s going to
