Page 142 of Vega

“How sure are you?”

“I’m positive. Roman’s people set up new Wi-Fi at the body shop this morning, but whoever did it used a phone I’ve already seen before. That same phone connected to Roman’s car Bluetooth two weeks ago. So the phone at that body shop is tied to one of Roman’s cars. On top of that, street cameras caught his driver’s truck outside twenty minutes ago. This is not a guess, Vega. He’s there.”

I stood up so fast my stool scraped the marble floor. “Send everything.”

I hung up and Facetimed the group chat with Wise, Prodigy, Lux, and Lowe. They all answered within seconds of each other because they knew when we all got a call from one of us, it was time to get active.

“Meet me at the location I’m about to send,” I told them. “Roman is there now. Come ready.”

I ended the call and headed for the bedroom, without even realizing that I hadn’t acknowledged Sonnet. By the time I came back into the kitchen pulling on clothes, Sonnet stood near the stove next to my prepared plate. Her light skin had flushed pink and there were tears in her eyes.

When my shoulders slumped at the sight of her tears, she began to cry. “I don’t like this. I don’t want to lose you.”

I closed the space between us, held her waist, and then brought her body flush against mine. “I have to do this.”

Her lips trembled. “Please be safe.”

“Listen to me. You’re the reason I’m making sure I come back. I’m not going out there recklessly. I got this. I need to do this so you can live freely.”

Tears slipped down her face.

“Don’t do that,” I said, drying her cheeks with my thumbs. “Be strong for me. I can’t leave with you crying.”

She pulled in a shaky breath and nodded.

I kissed her once. Then again with soft little pecks until her breathing slowed.

“I’m coming back to you,” I said against her mouth. “Everything is gonna be okay.”

She nodded again, forcing herself to hold it together.

I kissed her forehead, ensured that my gun was secure in my waist, and walked out before staying became more tempting than killing Roman.

We sat down the street from the location Jamir sent, packed inside an old white van with fake plumbing decals on the side and rust around the wheel wells.

Wise sat in the passenger seat beside me. Prodigy, Lux, and Lowe were in the back.

Jamir had sent all the information we needed before we pulled up. We knew the complete layout of the inside and outside of the building. I had studied the floor plan until I could walk through the building with my eyes closed.

Roman had picked the body shop because it blended into the block. Nothing about it stood out. Since it was a body shop, it made sense to the police that cars came in and out. Men carried boxes and tools. Engines ran. Music played. Nobody would question activity around a local, hood business. Police wouldn’t think twice about men standing outside with dirty clothes and oil on their hands.

It sat on the corner of a busy residential block. Kids played in the summer sun, running between parked cars while their mamas yelled from porches. Men worked under hoods with shirts thrown over their shoulders. Women sat outside talking on the phone. Somebody had a grill smoking in the front yard two houses down, and a group of old heads played cards at a folding table near the curb. That made it easier for us to park there without drawing eyes. But it also made everything riskier.

I peered down the street toward the corner. Two of Roman’s men stood near the garage door looking the part, but I knew they were Granger security. They were wearing dusty work shirts and jeans. One had a rag hanging from his back pocket. The other held a clipboard he hadn’t written on once, since we parked.

Lux leaned forward, telling us all, “Only option is to roll up and air this bitch out. We have to get rid of the soldiers outside first to clear the path for Vega. Then he can go straight in for Roman. We’ll be behind him, catching anybody thumping.”

I kept my attention on the body shop. “He’s right. Outside has to go first. I’m going in for Roman. Y’all are my eyes. Anybody raises a gun toward me, drop them.”

Before I could respond, a UPS truck pulled up beside us. Every gun in the van turned toward that truck as the driver’s window rolled down.

Reek sat behind the wheel in a brown uniform with the hat pulled down and a smirk on his face. Saint leaned across the passenger seat, grinning like he had been waiting all day to see our reaction. Big A sat behind them.

Lux scoffed. “Man, y’all almost got smoked.”

Saint laughed. “By who? You? Please.”

As we all chuckled, Saint told us, “We here for backup. Y’all had our backs when we needed it. Today, we got your front.”