Chapter 5

5

D ejvi

Spending three or four nights at the firehouse trained me to sleep light when I needed to. At home, hardly nothing could wake me up, but if I wasn't sleeping in my own bed, the slightest noise would disrupt my sleep.

When I heard the triple beep of Enjell's front door alarm, I sat straight up in bed. It probably wouldn't have been a sound I processed had I not heard it when we entered and I watched her input a code to keep it from going off.

My first thought was it was her ex, but she said he'd left and had no plans of coming back until this weekend. I shook her softly and kissed her neck.

"Hmm?"

"Someone's at your door, love. I'm gonna go see who it is, but I wanted to let you know."

"Oh no." She sat up too. I couldn't see her, but I felt her. "What time is it?"

"I'm not sure. I just heard the alarm."

Her breath came out hard as she shifted and cut the lamp on the nightstand on, then grabbed her phone. "It's almost three in the morning. What the hell is he doing here?"

"I'on know, but we gon' find out."

I ignored her calling my name as I hopped out of the bed and threw my boxers on. My clothes were on the dresser, waiting for me to put on in a few more hours. By the time I cut the light on and made it down the hall, her ex was making his way up the stairs.

"This what you doing, Enjell?" With a scowl, he walked past me, not even acknowledging my presence. "You bringing a nigga into my house and it hasn't even been a full day yet?"

Scoffing, she wrapped the cover around herself as she sat on the edge of the bed. "This is no longer your home, and what I do here is no longer your concern."

"Fuck all that! Do you know how I felt going through the camera notifications, seeing you with him?"

"Are you serious right now? You just gon' act like you didn't come home with another woman's cum on your dick, Gino? Get the fuck out!"

"Nah, if anybody is leaving, it's him." He pointed in my direction, and I shook my head. "Aye, I'on know what she told you, but she can't be bringing no men up in my house, bruh. You gots to go."

"You need to keep some space between us," I warned calmly. "And I ain't going nowhere unless she wants me to."

"Aye, who you think you talkin—"

Before he could step in front of me fully, my fist connecting with the side of his eye knocked him out. I was going to be a gentleman about the shit and keep him from hitting the floor, but it was carpeted, so he would be straight.

"Dejvi!" Enjell yelled, rushing over to her unconscious ex. "Did you really have to hit him that hard?"

"He lucky I ain't doing more for hurting you." I leaned forward and tossed him over my shoulder, then carried him out of the house. In my line of work, his weight was nothing for me to lug around. I placed him in the driver's seat of his car and took the only house key that was on his key ring off. I also unsnapped the garage opener from his visor. At the door, I confirmed it was for here, then locked it behind me so he couldn't get back in.

After tossing the key and garage opener onto the dresser, I cut the light back off and passed Enjell to get in the bed. She was standing there with her mouth open and arms crossed over her chest.

"Cut the light off and come get in the bed so I can go back to sleep."

She chuckled and shifted her weight. "Is this really happening?"

I stared at her for a few seconds before turning my back and getting comfortable in bed. "Now, Enjell. I'm tired."

As she muttered under her breath, Enjell did as I said. The second she was within reach, I pulled her into my chest. Already, her closeness allowed me to have a peaceful rest.

"I should've known your ass was going to be crazy," she mumbled, locking her arm around mine.

"Only about those I love and care about, and now, that includes you."

I heard the smile in her voice when she said, "Good night, crazy."

Chuckling, I kissed her head. "Good night, baby."

I didn't want to leave Enjell this morning, but I knew that was for the best. Regardless of how great things were between us yesterday, I felt like she'd force herself to want to push me away, even if that wasn't what she needed. I made it easier for her by waking her up and letting her know I was about to head out. After stopping by the coffee shop she mentioned yesterday, I headed home to freshen up and switch out of my clothes. It was just my luck my annoying ass little brother was at my spot waiting for me.

"How in the hell do you keep getting into my spot?" I asked as he adjusted himself on my sofa.

My loft apartment was small and had a simple, modern design. Because I was only here half of the week to sleep, I didn't put much thought into the décor. And since it was just me, there was no point wasting money on a lot of square footage. It was in a nice apartment complex that had a gym and pool plus a concierge service, so I loved it.

"I wouldn't have to break in if you gave me a key." Chuckling, I walked over to him and shook his hand before pulling him into a brotherly hug. "Why you got on the same clothes as yesterday?" Aspen asked.

"You tellin' me our parents paid all that money to put you through college and you don't even have common sense?"

Aspen sucked his teeth and snatched his phone off the sofa, then followed me into the kitchen.

"Nigga, I know yo' ass ain't come home last night. I want the details as to why. I also want to talk to you about buying that building downtown for the salon suite, which is why I'm here."

"Have you linked up with Coop to see what the owner is asking for?" I asked, grabbing a bottle of water for the both of us.

"Yeah. Good thing is the bank owns it. It was foreclosed on, so it's significantly cheaper than what the last owner paid for it. He thinks this is a prime location for the salon suites and that we need to act now. A building with that many square feet, already broken down into individual rooms, will not last long, big brother."

Though I teased Aspen a lot, I trusted his wisdom. He was great at spotting business investments. Aspen was the reason we had the parking lot and office suites building now. Our first investment was the parking lot a year and a half ago. We flipped the money from that and used it for the down payment on the building for the office suites four months after purchasing. Now, we were pocketing profit without having to put any of our income toward either of the businesses, which I was grateful for. If things went well with the salon suites, we'd be millionaires at least four to six months after they opened.

"Aight, if you think this is the one, I don't even need to see it. Just tell me what to pay and when I need to go to his office to sign."

"Cool, cool. Now… what shorty was you with last night?"

He was grinning like it was his story to tell, and that made me laugh.

"Mane, gone on. You about as bad as a woman with this gossiping you be tryna do."

"I ain't tryna hear all'at. You ain't gave nobody no play since Dreya, so this had to be somebody special. Who was it?"

Since it was clear he wasn't going to let it go, I told him, "I'll tell you about it tonight. You still linking up with me, Supreme, and Antonne?"

"Yeah, but I might be a lil late. Merc wants to meet up. I think he wants me to take on some of his clients."

The protector in me immediately started to rise. Though my brother was well trained and more than capable of handling himself, he was still my little brother. Every time he took on a job to be someone's bodyguard or a part of their security, I became anxious. I wouldn't be able to rest fully until the job was completed. I was grateful he didn't do it full time. Art was his true love, which was how he'd gotten into tattooing.

"Aight, slide through here and you can ride with me. I'll tell you then. I need to get out these clothes and get some actual rest."

"Aight, bet. I'll be at you."

We shook hands and hugged again before he was on his way. I chugged my water down then texted Supreme and Antonne to make sure tonight was still good for them, then I hopped in the shower and got back in bed. I only had one more day off before I had to go back to the station, and I wanted to take full advantage and get me some uninterrupted sleep.