Shit.
I had declined Tristan’s offer earlier in the evening to have something delivered with the promise I would take care of myself. Truthfully, I’d gotten too distracted with work, and forgot.
So… no.
I had not had dinner.
“Baby, come on,” he scolded. “You keep getting all wrapped up in those candles, you’re gonna end up passing out. Breathing in all those fumes without eating…”
“Fumes?” I laughed. “That’s a stretch.”
“After you’ve complained about being lightheaded from being in your workroom for hours and hours? I don’t think so.”
“Who asked you anyway?”
“I asked me,” he chuckled. “And I’m gonna ask again, do you need me to send you something?”
“No, I’ve got it – for real this time,” I assured. “I’m gonna take this recycling out back, then I’m done in the workshop for the day, and I can eat the rest of my big ass salad from lunch.”
“You’re definitely gonna do that?”
“I swear,” I giggled, bending to push the pile of disassembled boxes into a stack that would be easier for me to carry out. “I’ll call you back after.”
“Aiight. Talk to you in a few.”
“Bye.”
I slipped the phone into my pocket and gathered the boxes, tucking them under one arm so I could get the door. It was awkward, but I still managed, taking a deep breath of the late spring air as I stepped out.
And immediately regretting it.
The little bit of coolness it used to carry was gone, replaced by the mugginess usually reserved for summer. Because of that, I didn’t linger in the semi-darkness, using the glow of the “safety lighting” that lined the back alley to guide me to the bright blue dumpster.
“One trip down,” I mumbled to myself as I dropped the boxes inside. “Ah!” I screamed when I turned around, startled to find someone blocking my path.
Nya.
“Excuse me…” I muttered, stepping around her, but not thinking much of it… until she moved to get back in my face.
“I’m really sick of you,” she declared, her face pulled into a scowl. “Where the fuck did you even come from, getting in the way?”
I raised an eyebrow. “The feeling is quite mutual, sis. And you’re the only one in somebody’s way here. Move.”
“I’m not scared of you!” To prove her point, she shoved me backward, wearing a satisfied smirk. It was nothing for me to catch my balance, which I did, but I was so caught off guard by this aggression that it was all I did.
Which she thought was funny.
“I see you’re not so big and bold now, without an audience. Without Tristan to protect you. Weird ass bitch,” she screamed, poising herself to shove me again, but that shit wasn’t happening.
I hit her twice – two jabs right to the face, then easily swept her legs from under her, sending her tumbling to the ground.
Where she remained, and started crying. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” she shrieked, making me frown.
“Me? Bitch what is wrong with you? You’re the one sneaking up on people in the dark, attacking. I should shoot your dumb ass!” I told her, pulling the gun I’d started carrying since the break-in from my waistband to prove my point. It was a cutesy little thing, lighter than what I would’ve used on assignment, but I needed something easy to conceal, so it got the job done.
When I pointed it at her, she screamed, holding her hands up in front of her face.
“I didn’t mean to, I swear!” she insisted. “I was cutting through back here to get home, and I saw you, and I … got so mad. You embarrassed me at my job!”
“You embarrassed yourself,” I countered, shaking my head. “Nobody told you to start any shit with me – you did that.”
“So you pull a gun on me?!”
“The gun is because you attacked me, bitch are you really this dense?!” I snapped, annoyed. This girl really had my adrenaline going, for no damn reason. “Get your dumb ass up.”
I watched as she scrambled to her feet, grabbing the purse she’d dropped too. For a moment, I believed I’d be able to let her walk away from here with a stern warning to leave me the fuck alone, but as soon as she slipped her hand inside her purse, I knew.
With my safety on, I smacked her across the face with the gun, sending her and the contents of her bag spilling to the ground again as she wailed into the night.
Ignoring her as she held her hands to her face, I scanned the ground around her, my eyes landing on the stun gun she must’ve been going for.
“That’s really wack, you know?” I called out, kicking it away from her. “I should shoot you for real, so I don’t have to worry about you coming back to be annoying.”
“Let it be, honey.”
I looked up to find Keem with his arms crossed, leaning against the atelier’s back door, watching us with a solemn look in his eyes. As I watched, he pushed himself off and approached us, bending to help Nya gather her stuff.
“Take your ass on,” he told her, pushing her bag into her hands. “Don’t lose more than you have to trying to preserve your pride.”
She opened her mouth to argue, then must’ve thought better of it when her gaze fell on me. She grabbed her purse from Keem and scrambled on down the alley while he stepped in my way, blocking me.
“What the fuck was that?” I asked, tucking the gun back in my waistband where it had been. “Her silly ass keeps starting shit with me, and you interrupted me making sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Keem laughed. “I think she got the message. She’s silly. Not a mark.”
Not a mark?
I already had my gun back in my grip, raised and aimed for a head shot, safety off, finger on the trigger, by the time he lifted his hands in front of him, gesturing that he meant no harm.
“No weapon necessary - you came
