"Get to know somebody
And you really learn a lot about 'em
Won't be long before you, start to doubt 'em
Tell yourself you better off without 'em
Then in time you will find can't walk without 'em
Can't talk without 'em, can't breath without 'em
Came here together, you can't leave without 'em
So you walk back in, make a scene about 'em
On your Amerie it's just 1 thing about 'em
It's called love"
J. Cole – "G.O.M.D. (Get Off My Dick)"
"I told you not to go there!"
Granny May's cheeks puffed out and her lips pouted while she glared at Kris as she worked in her kitchen. Separating garden-grown herbs into drying tubs took up the kitchen table and Kris did her best to avoid meeting her grandmother's piercing eyes.
"I needed to see for myself what Erik was up against."
"We told you… I told you… why do young people think they know more? Children need to stay in their place when grown folks are talking."
Granny May reached out and helped pull together peppermint, lavender, and other bundles from another grouping of plants that Kris bought fresh from the Farmer's Market.
"If I didn't go there, then I wouldn't have found out what she was planning. Miss Rae can be on the lookout for trouble and I can protect myself."
"I will do all the protecting, and you need to clean this house again."
Granny May's right hand wiggled in the air. Kris knew she wasn't talking about the actual dust and dirt that collected in her house. A harsh exasperated sigh released from Kris as she gripped the side of her kitchen sink where she washed an abundance of oregano that flourished in her backyard.
"You hear me?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Kris's home had charged air with static electricity and chaotic energy roaming throughout. She'd done another top to bottom spiritual cleanse and couldn't chase away the traces of Erik that lingered. Specks of him swirled near windows and she ignored it most days, and she assumed it was her own anxiety about Nedi that weighed the house down in a dark funk. She spent an entire Saturday checking every inch of the house outside and she sprinkled salt all around the foundation and buried some grains of rice under the dirt in front of the steps that led to the front door. Granny May gave her some anointing oil since she didn't trust Kris to heed any warnings when she was out of her sight. If someone snuck Witch's burr into her hair, then Granny wanted Kris to keep her tresses protected.
After collecting, separating, cleaning, and placing herbs in proper containers to dry, Kris spent the rest of the afternoon working with her bones under Granny's watchful eye. The older woman sat with her arms folded across her waist, eyes squinted, and her throat humming whenever a bone-tossing in the front side room revealed something she felt Kris had missed. Two hours passed and Kris fixed them an early dinner of oxtails that she simmered on the stove for three hours in a savory gravy that tasted like heaven over a bed of fluffy white rice and a side of butter beans.
They sucked tender meat off the bone and licked salty fingers and discussed her online store. A few of her customers wanted her to make spell-casting oils and Granny May frowned at the idea. The Montana family had a philosophy of keeping away from the manipulative aspects of Hoodoo. They may have used it against slavers and racists in the past to keep families together, but using it for nefarious purposes to force people to do things against their will was discouraged. It was a vulgar act and Granny clucked her tongue at the mere thought. Granny drilled that into Kris's head for years. The most they could do was create optimum situations that could allow love to bloom by keeping hearts open to all kinds of love. Granny called it making oneself loveable to the world. Kris knew Granny's customers used her oils to force people to do things, but they had no control over that. Her prayers and intentions put into the work started with self-agency. Attracting the things that people wanted. Never forcing it from individuals.
That's where Granny and Nedi were different. Nedi profited off of willful people. Grimy folks who got down in the muck and mud to play dirty with spiteful malevolent forces. It prompted Granny May to visit Kris more often in the little white house. Her spirit was strong and attuned to planes of existence that Kris would have to grow into one day. But because she had disobeyed her grandmother and stepped into the enemy's home, unannounced visits became a regular thing. Sometimes Granny just traipsed around the perimeter of the house. Sometimes she sat on the porch and chatted with older neighbors who remembered her from back in the day. Most times she'd walk throughout the house touching her stomach and just feeling it out with her intuition. Kris knew her grandmother could sense Erik's energy lying about, but she didn't talk about it. There'd be an occasional grunt, a "Humph", or a chuckle in the corner of a room when she inspected things.
Wrapping leftover oxtails and rice into a plastic Tupperware bowl, Kris walked her grandmother out to her aging wintergreen Lincoln Town car.
"Your house is filled with confusion."
"I know," Kris said.
"Pray on it. Do some fasting. Spiritual baths. It's cloudy in there."
"I'll take care of it."
"Talk to Erik?"
"I see him from time to time. With her. He see Miss Rae yet?"
"No. He doesn't stay around there so much anymore. The boys tried to have an intervention, but he's wrapped up like a burrito. Blinded by that girl."
Kris leaned onto the car door and stuck her face in the open window.
"You met her that night at Erik's party. How she feel to you?" Kris asked.
Granny May's eyes dropped away from her face.
"Granny…"
"It's real. From what I could read from them. If I didn't trust the fact that she was Nedi's girl, I would say that they are really in love despite that connection."
Kris swallowed thickly and darted her eyes toward the porch.
"She didn't need no help to want him for herself. He probably didn't need no real push either. It's the keeping them together that worries me. Now that we know what it's really all about, it's not in our hands," Granny May said.
"Could you make something? To break it?"
"I wouldn't do anything like that. Curses I could work with, but messing with genuine love will only make Nedi vicious. We don't need her ways coming for us."
"It's up to him?"
"Yes."
"But he's stupid. He only went after her to get back at me. She's a rebound. Nedi took advantage and weaseled that girl in—"
"He wants to be there. Ain't nothing you or Rae can do about that. The best thing is to leave him be. Let nature do what it do."
"She'll get pregnant and make him marry her. Then she'll get him to take control of The Roux and mess up the family—"
"Rae is in control of that land. Erik can't do anything with it without her say."
"Then Nedi will make her sick, or worse yet, make her die so that they can swindle the family—"
"Now why would you put that energy out into the universe?"
"She can do that."
"Not while I'm working on it. Look out for yourself. God is in control of the unseen and the yet-to-be. We work on faith 'round here. Understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Keep up your prayer work. Use the bones to guide you. And stay away from Nedi and Dionne."
Kris stepped away as her grandmother backed out of her driveway. She cradled her elbows and dug her bare toe in the dirt of her tiny lawn.
It was real.
Erik and Dionne.
If Granny May saw it, then it was true.
Kris stepped onto her porch and tapped her feet on her doormat. Shambling back into her house she could sense Erik in the front corner window. If he was in love with a woman who loved him back, why was his essence lingering in her place?
###
Erik hung out at TLS on his off night. Dionne was out of town for work until late and one of Erik's favorite Louisiana-based bands was playing two hot shows and he didn't want to miss them. A visit to his barber and his favorite clothing store had him looking slick, and he entered the saloon with all eyes on him. Sporting a vintage Versace print linen shirt and sable-colored Givenchy painted crackled jeans with zippers, Erik smelled good, felt good, and looked fly as fuck. His drip had him in a fun, flirty mood. The best dancers came out and when the first chords of "Get Yo' Money Up" blanketed the entire building, Erik snagged the first fine woman he saw and hit the dance floor.
Shuffling his feet and swinging out the honey with the succulent peach ass had him in his bag. Life was good. A group of women stopped him to take some selfies that they posted on their social media and he reminded them to use the TLS hashtag for publicity. He snatched up another beauty to dance with and he caught sight of Monroe and Caddo leaned up against the bar talking to… Kris.
She slicked her hair up into a high bun and long silver dangly earrings hung down from her ears. A soft clingy yellow dress accentuated her figure, and the cleavage she showed off made a dull ache flare in his chest.
Erik gave a polite exit from the dance floor and worked past a throng of patrons to reach the bar. Monroe and Caddo gave him cool looks. It had been weeks since he saw them both together. Only Kris made him feel welcome in his own establishment.
"Hey," he said with a weak tone.
His cousins nodded and walked away from him toward the dance floor.
Being with a tall woman made it so obvious how much smaller Kris was to him more vividly over the months he'd been with Dionne. The scent of her skin was heavenly, and the bright yellow of her dress made her a tiny sun that lit up the entire bar area. She even had on yellow suede ankle boots. The dress came to her knees, and he observed the darker skin tone from the summer sun. The bronze of her coloring and the make-up she used were alluring. Everything about her had him leaning closer to her. He tried hard at discretion as he inhaled the enticing aroma coming from her hair.
Bright sensual eyes took him in, and she finally turned her entire body toward him. That cleavage did something forbidden to him so he waved for a bartender to give him a drink so he could focus on something else.
Kris held a drink in her hand and set it on the bar next to his.
"Whatchu doin' here shawty-lo?" he teased.
"Came to see Lil Nathan like everybody else," she said.
"You here by yourself looking like that?"
"No. I have some people with me."
"Like who?"
"Nosey."
"Gotta be a man if you comin' out the house like that."
"I can't dress cute for myself?"
She thrust her chest out giving him more of her ample bosom to see. Erik licked his lips and watched her eyes follow the movement of his tongue. His skin warmed up, and he liked the tone she was taking with him. Playful. Equally flirty. His left hand dropped discreetly to push down on his crotch.
"That's more than cute. It's sexy. Who you tryna catch out here?"
"Maybe I already caught somebody."
She lifted her drink to her lips and sipped the last drop. Her eyes didn't waver from his when she shook her hips to the music. It was a scorching set, and that woman provoked him to be reckless.
"Let's go," he said grabbing her hand.
He weaved them through the crowd and took her deep in the center of the dance floor. She didn't bring two-left feet with her, and he felt pleased with the ease in which her hand slipped into his. He swung her out and when he pulled her back, Kris threw that body on him tight like a second skin. Thigh resting on thigh, hip grinding into hip, the groove became illicit, the Creole rhythms leaving the Cajun swamps behind. Kris matched the seductive snaking of his hips, and when he wiggled them down to the ground and back up, she was right there with him.
"Okay, girl. I see ya," he whispered in her ear.
The smirk on her face made him test her further by throwing in some steps that brought her tighter into his body. She allowed him to rub up against her and he swallowed hard when her softness started working on him. He couldn't hold back the arousal that percolated as she pressed into his muscles. The sharp shouts and whoops around them spurred them to give their own call and responses to couples who twirled about. Erik couldn't help but continually compliment Kris. She danced her ass off with him and when Lil Nathan shouted out backwoods Creole to them both, the surrounding bodies parted giving him and Kris space to show off. He worked his little Tinker Bell as sweat flew from their faces and arms while shouts of excitement buoyed them on faster and faster until he lifted her up by her waist and carried her back to the bar amidst pats on the back and a round of applause.
Monroe and Caddo grew wide grins on their faces seeing him with Kris when they cruised back to the bar for more liquor.
"Y'all cutting up," Caddo said nudging Kris's arm.
Monroe gave Erik an awkward look with a few furtive glances at Kris.
"Nana misses your ass," Monroe grumbled as he tossed back a shot.
"I miss her too. I apologized to her about how I was talking."
"Apologies need to be done in person, not on a voice message. You know how she is. She wanna see your ugly face, boy," Caddo said.
Erik kept quiet and watched the band jook up the dancers. Kris bounced on her heels right next to him. Her body heat warmed up his arm.
"Come home, man. Work this out with Nana. Put it all to rest with that woman," Monroe said softly.
"If she can't respect or at least accept that I'm with Dionne, then it's best I stay away. I got a good woman. Y'all should be happy for me."
"Not when it's breaking the peace in the family. You are stressing her out. She's losing weight over this. Even your Mama wants you to make amends and deal with this. If you want to keep your lady, I get that. But you don't have to cut family off."
Erik curled his lip. Kris ducked her head away from his gaze. He knew she hung onto his every word.
"You won't stop moving," Monroe said observing Kris's hip wiggling.
She tilted her chin, and that dimple made her look cocky.
The music jumped up a notch and Monroe dipped his hand forward and stole Kris from the bar. Erik's jaw twitched, but he watched his cousin swagger onto the dance floor guiding Kris. Caddo slinked over closer at the bar.
"You a whole fool, cuz," Caddo murmured into his glass of bourbon.
"Hmmmph."
"Let that girl get away—"
"You don't know nothin' 'bout me and her."
"Nigga everybody know about you and her. Your Mama's pissed. Nana's pissed…"
Erik cut his eyes at Caddo and followed the movement of Monroe and Kris tipping on the floor. He ran his tongue over his teeth and gripped his whiskey glass tight.
"I don't understand… Dionne is fine, rich, and looks good on paper, but that girl out there—"
"Leave it, Caddo. I'm not in the mood."
"Wait until some hungry nigga come 'round and snatch her up… shit gon' hit different then, bruh."
Caddo jammed a hand in his pocket and leaned back against the bar.
"You were out of pocket with Nana. I kept my mouth shut while Miss May was there but you know better than to talk to our grandmother like that. I should've whooped your ass right then and there—"
"I said I was wrong. I said I was sorry. I don't need you and Monroe breathing down my fucking neck. Time to dead that shit."
It was better to keep quiet than start another argument with him. A tall, slinky woman with cocoa brown skin and a jean skirt that rode high on her thighs sashayed past him.
"How you doin' beautiful?" Erik called out.
The woman glanced back mid-stride and when she saw who was talking to her. She blessed him with a mouth full of top pearly teeth and bottom diamond-crusted fronts.
"I'm doin' betta now," she said with a silky drawl in her tone.
Erik gulped down the last of his drink and in one long stride he bent his elbow and the woman linked her arm around it. They hot-stepped to the dancing crowd and Erik showed off a bit. His footwork was nasty and the woman, Shay, matched his style. He released her hand, and she danced around him swiveling her hips. Every now and then she would tap her hand on her stomach, then drop low with strong knees kicking out her heels before she hopped back up clasping his hand once more on beat. He laughed out loud at how good she was, and when she dropped low again, she rubbed her thigh against his on her way back up. He grabbed her hand and dipped her low, and she squealed when he pulled her back up. He took a moment to do his famous James Brown foot-slide camel walk combo, and he heard Monroe hoot at him as he slid back to his partner on one foot.
Feeling competitive, Monroe slid his leg between Kris's thighs. She kicked her leg up and hooked it around the upper part of his thigh, shaking her cowboy boots. Erik watched Kris's dress ride up and he glimpsed lacy saffron yellow panties before Monroe lifted her and they spun together in a fast set of dizzying circles.
Shay tried to catch Erik's eye, but Kris mesmerized him by throwing down. Her dress flared out showing more leg and thigh, and he caught the slick eyeballing several men on the dance floor were doing watching her move. She looked like she gained some weight in that little booty. Those cheeks jiggled in the thin material covering it.
Some Louisiana Blues from the DJ slowed down the fast pace as the band took a break and Kris followed Monroe toward the two steps that led up to the bar pit. Erik trailed behind her and laced his fingers with hers. Surprise danced in her eyes as he pulled her back to the floor.
"When you get so good at dancing like that?"
"I don't work here anymore, so I took a couple of Selena's Friday dance lessons."
"Impressive."
Her hands gripped his arms as he pulled her in close. Other couples surrounded them, and it hid them from view. She rocked into him and he enjoyed the feel of her in his arms. It took him back to the times they danced in her house or his, undressing one another with their eyes before peeling off their clothes and making love all night long.
Kris tilted her head back so she could see his face better, and there was wantonness there that had his heart thumping. Why did she have to be so fucking sexy? Why did she have to be there at all?
Her dainty hands reached around his waist and held him tight and her breasts rubbed up against him creating non-negotiable tension in his jeans. The song ended. He ushered her back to the bar before he placed himself in a compromising position. They spent a long time shooting the shit, and when her toes tapped to the music of the band as they returned for their second set, he forced himself not to take her back out there. The temptation to hold her again was there, but he fought it, reminding himself that he had a woman he loved. Kris was a sweet memory of good times and wasted potential. He started drinking water to keep himself sober and respectful.
Monroe and Caddo joined them and they all talked and argued about sports, music, politics, and who made the best lemon pepper wings in East Texas besides TLS. Kris smoothed over all traces of tension between himself and his cousins. Erik missed them. Missed being at The Roux. He missed being with Big Man.
"I'll be back," he mumbled and left the bar.
Erik drew in a deep breath of fresh air outside and strolled around the building to his truck. He checked his cell and saw a few missed texts from Dionne. She was back in town early and heading to her place from the airport. He typed in a quick text that he was out with his cousins at TLS and would be home soon after the band went into a second set. Kris had him feeling amorous, and he needed to channel that desire to the proper woman. Being outside gave him the re-set button he needed to break away from the hold she had on him at that moment. All that bumping and grinding, hand-holding, and talking all night had him thinking more inappropriate thoughts about her.
Speak of the devil.
Kris sauntered over in her clingy dress carrying a takeout carton of TLS food.
"I figure you came out here to smoke like you usually do."
"Like old times," he said taking the box from her.
He opened the container. Chicken tacos and buffalo hot wings. She handed him wet wipes.
"Thank you."
He opened his truck and climbed in, not even surprised that she climbed into the passenger seat next to him. Eating the food and watching people head toward the entrance of TLS, Erik couldn't deny the attraction they still had for each other.
"How's the book coming along?" he asked smacking his lips on a fallen piece of chicken meat that he caught as it fell from the bone. He cleaned his hands with wipes.
"I'm four chapters in."
"How long will it be?"
"Fifteen. I'll do about three re-writes before I send it in for line edits."
"Everyone misses you working here."
"I miss it sometimes."
"I miss working with you."
Her eyes peered at him with cautious energy.
"You should come back part-time. Maybe just once a week. Rekia would love it."
"Why would you want to work with me? You know our history would make Dionne uncomfortable. We can't really be friends like that anymore. Not with her Godmother and my Granny—"
"Don't... I'm not tryna hear old lady beef."
"It's more than that and you know it. If you weren't so stubborn—"
His cell phone chirped.
"Hey… I saw your texts…"
He turned his head away and chatted quickly with Dionne. Kris shifted her body away from him and he opened his driver's side door and stepped out.
"I'll be back soon… yeah it's a great night. Packed as usual. We can talk about that when I get back…"
Wrapping up his chat, he caught a movement in the truck. Kris jerked her body back and turned her head toward the windshield. Erik slipped his cell in his pocket and climbed back into the truck. Kris glanced at him and he sat his hand on the middle console armrest. Her body leaned away from him further and he lifted the armrest up. Sticking his hand inside, he rummaged around. Nothing. He pulled open the ashtray slot in front of the console. Still nothing. Erik saw her mess with the inside of his truck. He glanced around the dashboard until he saw the cigarette lighter compartment. He opened it and pulled out a small dark bag made from old blue jean material.
"What's this?" he asked.
She wouldn't look at him.
Erik untied the red string on the bag. A strong odor wafted up to his nose. He brought the bag closer and sniffed. It smelled peppery. There had to be cinnamon in it too and something else pungent that he couldn't name.
"Kris?"
He never used the cigarette lighter compartment in his truck, so if he hadn't caught her movement when he did, he would never have found the bundle.
"Is this supposed to do something to me or Dionne?"
She reached for the bag, and he pulled it back from her nimble fingers.
"It's for you."
"Tryna break up my relationship using the tricks you accuse Dionne of doing."
"There are no tricks, Erik. I know she loves you."
Erik leaned back in his seat.
"My Granny said her love is real. I have to accept that."
"Why use this if you accept it?"
"To protect you."
"I don't need protection from love, girl."
"I won't argue with you about why you need it. You won't listen—"
"What else did you stick in here when I wasn't looking?" he said turning on the overhead light.
"I can't get you out of my house!"
The shout from her mouth startled him. Her body shook. She held her hands in front of her chest.
"I clean and scrub and use every spiritual mixture I can think of, but you just… you stink up my house and I can't read the bones and I can't… I can't live with wack-ass energy around me. You're just there and I thought maybe if I put this where you couldn't find it, maybe it would chase you away… make you stay with her and not haunt me!"
"For someone trying to get rid of me, you sure weren't acting like it while we were dancing."
"That's what's so frustrating. I want you to go away because looking at you hurts. Seeing you happy with someone else hurts. I came here to have fun with friends and I should've ignored you… but I saw Monroe and Caddo and they treat me like family and then you came over and I tried to be all cool like I could just go back to how we used to be…"
She touched her temple with her fingers.
"I know you believe in Hoodoo. I know it scared you once. I think we're both mixed up with our feelings… still mad at each other for not being at the same place emotionally. Erik, you gave me your best, and I loved it. Used it up. I was selfish with it. Jordan was just something to prove to myself out of spite for him. I wanted him to know that he wouldn't have anyone else as good as me again. The sex was dreadful. God, it was so bad that I felt stupid afterward. I wanted to come back to you and forget that sad encounter ever happened. Then you just left and… you said horrible things to Dionne about me. You could be mad, but you shouldn't have given her power over you by trashing me."
"I was drunk and vented—"
"Erik, you never listen. Words have so much power. You gave Nedi all that she needed to—"
"Stop acting like that woman has control over what I feel or what I do. Dionne got me through a rough time getting over you and we clicked after that."
"You're over me?"
"I still feel deeply for you, Kris. I don't trust where your head is at in terms of a serious relationship. You're committed to working on yourself and writing. I've dealt with that and moved on. That's all I did. It might seem fast, but Dionne and I work. It's good for me."
"Just good?"
"You want me to break up with her and do what? Play with you until you figure out what you want next? Kris, I'm thirty. I used to think I was going to be a bachelor until I was forty. Now… I'm thinking about buying a new house in Austin—"
"You're moving?"
"Thinking about it. Austin is hot. TLS is making a killing there. They've got the music festival and the film festival happening that brings in people globally. It's growing. Investing in a house now and crushing it with TLS would be smart. Being with Dionne opened my eyes up to what I could have. My own family."
"You'd leave Mariscal?"
"Biandro left, and he's happy."
"Is she going with you?"
"I haven't asked her yet. She has family there. I'm feeling out the logistics. I still have responsibilities here."
"What if she says no?"
"I don't think she will. We have a lot in common and great prospects with building up our businesses together. We could be our own dynasty. When the time is right, I'll ask her."
Kris opened the passenger door and hopped out. Slamming the door shut he watched her scurry back toward the entrance. He wanted to comfort her, but the way she acted, it would probably make her miserable. Erik tossed the small bag into his glove compartment. He thought it would be rude to throw it out of the window. It would be easier to dispose of it later.
Leaving the parking lot in his truck, Erik made the haul to the other side of Mariscal to be with Dionne. Inside her split-level home, she had the TV up loud and he could smell something cooking in the kitchen. She wasn't in there, but he saw something simmering in the crockpot she used all the time. It smelled good. She was the queen of throw-it-together dishes that required minimal work or prep time with her busy schedule.
He wandered further into the house and found her in the laundry room.
"Hey baby," he said.
She jumped and nearly dropped an open plastic water bottle in her hand that she poured into the washing machine. Glancing at the bottle, he noticed it wasn't filled with water but a dark orange liquid.
"I could've started that when I got back. You should relax. You just got home," he said.
Her wide eyes looked strange. Guilty. Erik's dirty jeans, boxers, and several shirts sat in the washer. His eyes slid back to the bottle. Taking it from her hand, he sniffed it, and his nose crinkled. It smelled like urine, rancid meat, and raw roots.
"The fuck? You washing my clothes with piss?"
Dionne shrank back from him.
"What is this shit?"
"I-I… my Godmother said this helps keep the man you want close to you—"
"Dammit, D! What's in it? And don't lie."
Her lips became a thin line. She couldn't meet his gaze.
"D… tell me."
"Plants she grows, some of my pee…"
"What else?"
"Some of my menstrual blood…"
He threw the bottle into the nearby laundry room sink. The liquid ran down the drain and the stench rose and made him gag.
"You and Kris need to both stop with this shit—"
"Kris? What does she have to do with anything?"
"I saw her tonight, and she tried to give me a mojo bag—"
"Are you seeing her behind my back?"
"No. She was at TLS and slipped a bag on me to protect me."
"I leave town and you go to TLS to see her, and you wonder why I have to get help!"
"You don't need any help! I'm here! I sleep in your bed! I'm here every day! Why can't you get it in your head that I want to be with you? Fuck! It's like the more I show you I love you, the more you want to… I hate this shit! All of it!"
He slammed his fist on the sink. Dionne sniffed and tried to keep her tears from falling.
"You use this bullshit as a crutch. I can't… I can't deal with this. This is too far D."
Erik brushed past her. She scrambled behind grabbing at his arm.
"Don't leave! Erik, please! Don't leave. I'm scared… I'm scared of losing you… baby, wait… please…"
Grabbing his wallet and keys he turned to face her. Dionne's tear-streaked face hurt his heart.
"Just throw all those clothes away. I don't want them."
Disgust rose in his body.
"Please," she whispered as tears tracked down to her lips.
"Seeing this… it makes me think that what they say about your Godmother is true."
"Who's they?"
"My family. My friends. I was told you only want me because of your Nedi."
"Nedi? Nedi likes you. She wants to see me happy—"
"Did you know your Godmother used to be friends with my Nana?"
Dionne wiped her face. Water squeezed from her lids even harder.
"No. Nedi is very private."
"You didn't know they grew up together? That she blames my grandmother for stealing my grandfather from her?"
"What are you talking about? What does this have to do with us?"
Her eyes were wild with fear. The deep creases on her forehead made her face pinched and worn out with desperate heart-palpitating fear.
The night wore him out. He wanted to sleep in his own bed and forget he caught his woman pouring piss and blood on his clothes. Madness.
"I'm going home tonight. I'll call you when I figure out where my head is at with all this. It's getting weird and I'm tired."
"Sleep in the guest room—"
"No, I need to be in my own bed—"
"You won't go to her…?"
"Her?"
"Kris."
"Kris ain't got nothing to do with us."
"You were with her all night."
"I was with my cousins and about three hundred other people besides her."
"I don't want you to go."
"Then you gotta leave that shit alone. Baby, you don't trust me. You don't trust us—"
"I do!"
Erik walked over and kissed her cheek.
"I'ma go home. I'll call you."
Erik left before she could beg or grovel or try to convince him that what she did was a minor hiccup. It was fucking creepy. Gross. It was the type of mess that made him stay clear of Miss May. Did Kris do nasty shit like that? He wondered what she put in that mojo bag sitting in his truck.
The first thing he did when he jumped into his Chevy and made a break for the highway was to throw Kris's juju out of the window. That girl had spruced up in a blinding yellow temptress dress and seduced him so she could get close enough to plant deceit in his life. Cut off his power like Samson being felled by Delilah. How the hell did he get mixed up with two women using Hoodoo to trap him?
Erik cut off the lights of his truck when he drove through the gate of Caddo Ranch. The Roux looked quiet, but he saw the lights of the main house in the distance. He drove away from his grandparent's home to hide his presence on the property. He parked on the far side of his house so they wouldn't see it in the morning right away.
That night, he dreamed of Kris. Nothing lascivious tortured him, just disjointed images of being in her house. Watching her sleep on her bed with her patchwork quilt blanket tucked under her chin. He wandered the rooms and stood near windows until the vision faded and morphed into Dionne. His woman was gorgeous and beckoned him to her bed, tossing her hair and holding out her hands to him palms up. There were shimmering tears in her eyes and she begged for his forgiveness. He reached for her and fell into a deeper sleep.
The possibility was ripe for his future to grow with Dionne. She might be his wife one day. The mother of his children. Peace had to prevail. The Hoodoo had to be removed from their lives. Soon. Erik pretended that the power of conjuring wasn't real. He lied to himself and Kris. He believed in it and feared that they tangled him in something beyond his control and it paralyzed his soul. Lying was easier. Lying and avoiding the truth.
He didn't know what was real anymore.
###
Erik avoided his grandparents when they went to church on Sunday morning. They would go to brunch afterward with Miss May at The Willow, so that gave him four uninterrupted hours to ride Big Man, clean himself up and think about what he would do with Dionne. The dreams he had the night before turned into nightmares about blood and being trapped in a house that he didn't recognize. It messed him up so bad that he woke up before his body did and he had the awful sensation of not being able to move his body as he tried to scream. Within ten minutes, he woke up fully and dragged himself off of his bed, and sat in his kitchen cradling a mug of coffee with all the lights on in the house.
By noon, he groomed Big Man and begged his horse's forgiveness for being a neglectful friend. He dressed in casual clothing and took himself out to a meal in town until he grew bored and opted to hang out at TLS again. Lil Nathan was playing once more, and dancing made Erik feel good the night before. When he walked into the saloon, he had a sudden worry about running into Kris again, but she wasn't there. Rekia ran the late-night shift, and there was no sign from her that Kris was dropping in so he relaxed. Drank a little. Shook his ass with some hot girls with tight pants and quick feet.
A fresh glass of vintage whiskey rested on his tongue when he caught sight of Peanut rushing through the front door.
"Aye, partna, what it do?" he greeted.
Erik held out his hand for some dap, but Peanut was not with the salutation. His eyes flashed with an eagerness that made Erik tighten up.
"Yo man, that nigga you wanted me to check out—"
"Savion?"
"Man-n-n-n, that dude is wanted."
"By who?"
Erik took a swig of his bourbon and tipped a finger to his bartender for more.
"King Hardin—"
The whiskey shot down the wrong pipe and Erik broke into a spastic coughing fit that made a few patrons glance his way to make sure he was alright.
Erik shoved the whiskey away and tapped Peanut's shoulder signaling for the man to follow him to the office. Once Erik locked the door, Peanut dropped into the chair in front of Blue's desk.
"That nigga been on the run from Beaumont for over a year. People thought he got smoked or ended up in prison out of state. He has shit that King wants back and bodies been droppin' from Beaumont to Plainview. Anybody tied to that nigga is a dead man, Erik. If your homegirl is mixed up with that mark, she in trouble too. They takin' whole families out over this bitch ass."
Erik grabbed his cell from his pocket.
"I'll call her and warn her—"
"Naw nigga, you gotta get her gone. I ain't know how bad this shit was when you asked me to look into it. Word got back to King and he's here in Mariscal. The streets is hot my dude. I'm leaving tonight cuz this nigga might think I'm in on some shit. He wasn't fucking with me until I mentioned your name. My bad—"
"Nah, me and King have history. I ain't proud of it, but we been cool—"
"I'm telling you right now, no one is safe. Not even you. Whatever Savion stole from that man has a death warrant on his head."
Peanut jumped up and Erik reached into his wallet and pulled out some cash. Eighty dollars. He folded it into Peanut's hand.
"Gas money to get you out," Erik said.
Peanut nodded. They slapped hands, and the man hustled out of the office.
Kris didn't answer her cell. He called several times. Left urgent text messages in a code that wouldn't alert Savion in case he went berserk and did something crazy to her.
Rushing out of the office he ran up to Rekia who stood near the kitchen pickup.
"Have you heard from Kris today?" Erik asked.
He tried to hold the stress from his voice, but Rekia knew his normal tone and demeanor. She read the fear on his face.
"No, she's been working on her book at home. She has to turn in a few chapters to her publisher next week, so she'll be on lockdown for the next few days.
"Thanks."
He tapped the kitchen counter, and Rekia seized his arm.
"What is it?" she asked. There was a squeak in her voice.
"Nothing. I just need to see her. If she calls you, tell her to call me right away."
Erik couldn't move his legs fast enough.
###
"When you gon' be done in there?"
Savion called to her from the living room.
Kris rolled her neck and stretched her back in front of her laptop. The streetlights outside bathed her in an unnatural glow and she heard Savion shifting on her couch. He watched a movie as she worked on her book in the front side room.
The man had been annoying all day. Showing up uninvited. Begging her to fix him food while he watched a football game. He wanted sex, but she was busy writing. There was a moment when his words were terse with her as she handed him a plate of leftover baked spaghetti. Kris didn't have any grated cheese or dried parmesan in the house and he bitched about not having any for his meal. Savion's eyes darted around at every sound he heard inside and out, and his body jumped a few times when she hustled past him to go use the restroom.
After taking a short thirty-minute break from typing, she tried giving him a shoulder massage. The hard muscles in his arms and back were tense. He smoked some weed to loosen up, but it only made him horny. She had gone dickless for a long time and the space between her thighs ached to be filled. Kris unhooked her bra and lifted her top for him to fondle her breasts while he watched the halftime show. He plucked at her taut nipples and forced her on her knees pushing his hot dick between her breasts. Thrusting a juicy erection in her tits, she held her soft mounds together for him until thick milky ropes jettisoned from his slit and splashed her in the eye. She ran to the bathroom to clean her face and chest. His semen smelled bad. Sour. It could've been the cheap beer he drank or his poor diet the last few days. Kris couldn't put her finger on what was bugging him. He stayed with her for three days straight and showed no signs of leaving for a few more. They had sex once the night before, and it was satisfactory. Her only complaint was that it reeked of desperation on his end. Savion didn't take his time. He chased his nut, and she had to catch up to him on her own.
Kris was happy to have him. He was a welcome distraction from Erik. She spent two days making and destroying, then making and destroying yet again several spells with physical properties to cast over Erik. It went against her values, but she didn't want Erik to leave Mariscal.
The horrified look on his face when he saw her mojo jammed into his truck made her shiver. His aura was fuzzy around him blocking her from true insight. Her ears and eyes burned with his talk of Dionne and their future. Kris knew Erik was stubborn and would be contrarian just to be combative if he felt pushed to do the will of others. Telling him all the reasons leaving his hometown for a tainted woman was a mistake would make him run off with her faster.
She walked around TLS with a hole in her chest the rest of that night. Hanging with Caddo and Monroe couldn't cheer her up or keep her mind off of Erik and that woman. Although she swore she would let him have his messy bed and sleep in it, it burned her up knowing Dionne and Nedi would triumph. Evil couldn't win over good. Not on her watch. Erik could leave her if he chose to, but Kris refused to believe that he wanted to escape Mariscal for a new life of his own free will. A puppet master was at work and Kris had to cut the strings. With or without Granny May's help.
Kris returned to her living room and faced the vision of Savion fisting his dick on her couch. His jeans rested around his ankles. She licked her lips watching that lush dark chocolate man with the sultry hooded lids poke out his fleshy lips. He opened a gold-foiled condom and rolled it down nice and slow on his fat erection. Her pussy jumped and the thumping from her clit made her run and hop on that dick. She pounded her ass down on his lap.
"Oh, you big-titty bitch… ride that dick… ride that dick… just like that!" he huffed.
Savion slapped her ass, and she nuzzled her face against his thick beard. The skin of her vulva stayed sensitive from shaving it earlier that morning for him. The friction of her folds sliding around his meaty length forced intense lip-biting and clawing his shoulders to anchor herself. His round belly pressed against her like a comfortable pillow.
The tendrils of a quick orgasm tickled her clit as it rubbed against his hairy groin.
"You 'bout to cum?" he choked out.
"Yeah!"
Savion stood up and held her in a vice grip as he pumped a cement pole in her quivering walls. The slapping of her ass on his body echoed in the house.
"Getcho nut, baby!" he growled in her ear.
Her whimpers and shouts drowned out Savion's vocal encouragement.
"I'm cumming! I'm cumming!" she cried out.
Sharp clenches from her snug walls tugged on his length as Kris continued shouting and cursing his prowess. A few more quick pumps had Savion ejaculating and praising her pussy. She thanked the Lord for the release of tension between them until a hard knock at her front door broke her from their reverie.
Savion peeled her from his dick and dropped her on the couch. She pulled down her top and skirt as he scrambled to fasten his jeans. He dropped the soggy condom on the coffee table.
"You expecting company?" he whispered in a sharp tone.
"No."
Savion's eyes were savage and the tension in his body returned full force.
"Kris! Open the fucking door!"
Erik's voice forced her to move.
"Wait!" Savion shouted.
Kris ignored the warning and unlatched the chain on the door and flung it open. She wasn't expecting Erik to burst in with a burner in his hand. He slammed the door shut behind him and locked it back up. His eyes looked wilder than Savion's.
"What the fuck is going on?" she demanded.
Erik trained the gun on Savion.
"Back up nigga, keep them hands where I can see them. You packin'?"
Savion held his hands up and took a few steps toward her wall near the kitchen.
"Erik?!"
"Shut up, Kris. Go stand over there," Erik ordered.
The gun made him the leader and his heated words prompted her to scoot her ass toward the hallway away from Savion. Erik moved between them.
"King Hardin is lookin' for you. Get the fuck on."
Erik's words were icy. Brutal. Savion flinched.
Erik's broad back moved closer to her as he waved the gun at Savion. The protective stance made her blood run cold. She peeked around Erik to see Savion's face.
"Savion?" she whispered.
Erik cocked the gun and Savion moved his hands forward to appease the man.
"I'll leave," Savion said.
Kris clutched onto Erik's back when she heard the thunderous splintering of wood and the ripping away of the chain lock from her front door. It swung open wide and slammed against the wall. Three hulking men stormed the house, guns waving as they swept through the living room. Erik's arms went up with his weapon pointed toward the ceiling.
A man with chiseled angular features and skin blessed with dark silky melanin flitted his eyes around the room. He moved with the confidence of a jaguar stalking prey.
"Lookie here, lookie here. The Wild Mustang of Mariscal. Long time, Erik," the man slid out with a sneer.
His voice was just as silky as his skin but Kris heard a brutal rage underneath it. Dressed in a crisp linen summer suit that was obviously made for him, the man strutted around like he owned the house himself. Kris hid her face behind Erik but the man caught her movement.
"Come here sweetheart," the man said.
"Aye King, she ain't got nothin' to do with this nigga's bullshit," Erik said.
Kris sensed pleading in his voice. She had never seen Erik Stevens back down from a fight or a verbal beat down, but in that second, Kris knew he was afraid. That frightened her even more. If Erik was afraid, then that man was a true menace.
"Come here, darlin'. Don't make me bite you."
The teeth she saw up close were sharp and one of his canine teeth was gold-rimmed.
Kris stepped away from Erik on near tip-toes.
"Mmm, who you belong to Lil Mama?"
The oily words made her skin prick with goosebumps. His eyes darted between the two men held at gunpoint. The goons working for him moved closer to Erik and Savion.
"This you, Mustang?"
King licked his gold tooth, and a chill festered on Kris's neck.
"That's my cousin," Erik lied.
The cords on his neck strained. His lips pursed with emotion. There was anger there. Erik didn't like the way King spoke to her. They kept his natural impulse to beat down men in check because he was afraid for her. He came all the way to her house to save her from a beast.
Kris knew King was a monster. Dark energy radiated off of his aura. There wasn't even a color for it, she could see shimmering above his crown like heat distortion coming off of a hot street. Death clung to his flesh. She could smell the rot.
"Nah, partner, this yo bitch right here. She got yo face hot, nigga."
The goons laughed. Savion's eyes dropped away from her.
King glared at Kris's lover.
"Where my shit, boy?"
"I aint got it-!"
BANG!
Kris shrieked as a bullet ripped through Savion's left foot. He fell against the wall and his wails of pain made her stomach queasy. Bile rose in her throat.
"King, take this nigga and let her go."
Erik's words were careful and slow. Like he was trying to appease a rabid dog.
King gripped the back of Kris's neck. The strength she felt in his blistering fingers made her knees watery. It wouldn't take much for him to snap it like a chicken bone.
"I know you have it. You hid it here. I got eyes everywhere, nigga. Even God can't hide shit from me."
King kissed Kris on the cheek. His breath reeked of weed and rancor.
"Tell her where it is."
King shoved her toward the middle of the room. Savion finally looked at her. She saw guilt and pain on his face. His blood stained her new carpet.
"The shed in the back. I put it there in a black duffle. Behind some busted junk."
Kris's mouth fell open.
"Take shorty to go get it. If he's lying, leave her there," King ordered.
Leave her there? Dead?
"I'll go get it," Erik hissed.
"Nigga stop tryna be a fuckin' hero," King snarled twisting his lip in an annoyed scowl.
The henchman that shot Savion yoked up Kris's arm and dragged her toward the back door. She limped along in bare feet worried the men could see that she had no underwear on. Why her mind went to fretting about her pussy being all out and not being shot was mind-boggling.
"It's over there," she told the brooding shooter.
His hulking frame continued dragging her as pebbles jabbed her feet. The faded and peeling tan shed sat on a nearly dilapidated foundation. Kris only stuck plant food, potting soil, a shovel, and some small spades in there. The rest of the junk belonged to previous tenants. She never cleaned it out. Savion could've put anything in there and she wouldn't know it.
Shooter man pushed her in front of him. It was dark inside. She reached above her head with her arm and he snatched it back hard.
"There's a light," she hissed rubbing her arm from the pain he caused her.
The man fumbled his hand above her until he latched onto a hanging piece of old shoelace that connected to a broken chain. Pulling it, a dull yellow bulb illuminated them.
"Go look for it," Shooter said waving his gun.
Kris scouted around and moved dusty lawn furniture and rotted wooden chairs aside. She bent over a pile of tattered green tarps.
"Damn, bitch," the man uttered.
He saw what she didn't have on under her skirt. She gripped the back of it and shoved it between her thighs to hide her privates. She found the duffle jammed against a busted wheelbarrow. Gripping the straps, she tried to lift it, but it was too heavy to budge.
"Move!"
Shooter pushed her aside and lifted the bag with ease. Something shifted from under it. The man bent down and picked up a compact bundle. Kris's eyes narrowed. The little dark bag had a red tie as dark as a blood clot with a dangling charm sewn into it. The pressure of rage made her eyes bulge. She snatched the mojo bag from the Shooter's hand and stomped her way back to the house.
"You fucker!" she screamed slamming the bundle into Savion's face.
Erik, King, and the other goon jumped with surprise.
Shooter gave the duffle to King. He opened it and seemed pleased with the contents. Whatever unsavory goods Savion planted in her home was nothing compared to the traitorous bundle of evil planted by him.
Savion's face broke.
"I'm sorry… Kris… I'm sorry. She made me do it!"
Kris wind-milled his chest until the bag flew from her hand and landed at Erik's feet. He bent down and picked it up. Thumbing the charm, recognition spread across his face.
King's men flanked Savion and gripped his arms lifting him away from the wall. Their attention diverted, Erik reached out for her and pulled her behind him. He had no gun to protect them anymore and became her shield instead.
King took his burner and struck it against Savion's temple.
"Baby, close your eyes… don't look," Erik whispered to her. He stepped back into her until she nested against him. His warm body cocooned her in safety as the terrible bruising blows and screams of Savion surrounded them. Erik shifted his body, his arms spreading wide in front of him.
"You got what you came for, King," Erik said.
"I'm taking that bitch, too."
"Gotta come through me for that, and you don't want none of this. I'll fucking end you right where you stand… gun or no gun."
Erik's back muscles flexed and Kris pressed her arms against him hiding her face in the middle of his spine.
"Big balls jaw-jacking… gotta flex for the pussy. I hear ya, nigga. This bitch nigga right here been posted up with her ass a long time… he real comfortable. She in this mix… she gotta go—"
"King, I swear to God and on my Nana, I'll fucking kill—"
Kris screamed.
A bullet went through the wall above Erik's head. Nana Rae's prodigal grandson didn't even flinch from the sound. He stood there like a stone-cold soldier. Kris's heartbeat thumped so hard she could see it move her chest through her shirt. Her breath warmed up his back when she pressed her lips into his shirt trying to keep her teeth from chattering. Dread bloomed in her throat. She waited with bated breath and a prayer on her tongue.
Kris heard grumbling and movement. Heavy sounds made her porch creak, and she soon felt the planes of Erik's lower trap muscles relax against her cheek. Car doors slammed shut outside and the screech of hot tires burned rubber into the dark night air that wafted into the busted front door. The breath trapped inside Kris's body came out in a ragged rush.
Erik turned around and held her shoulders. He didn't speak for a long time as his eyes looked her over carefully. He stroked the growing bruise on her arm where the shooter hurt her. Rubbing circles around it with tentative fingers, water welled up in her eyes as he touched her tenderly.
"He tricked me," she wailed.
Her body shook, and the shame crashed over her. Once more she had made a stupid choice in men. Found herself used and manipulated. Erik held up the bundle.
"This ain't you," he said.
She shook her head vigorously. He stuffed the bag in his pocket.
"Pack up some clothes, you're coming with me."
"I can't leave my door like that. I'll get robbed."
He pulled out his cell phone and swiped a number. She took a moment to look around the living room. A trail of dark blood led out of the house from where Savion once stood.
"They're going to kill him?" she muttered.
Erik didn't deny or confirm her words. He walked into her kitchen for a moment and she heard him lock the back door. He returned with a trace of rigid posturing in his body.
"I can't get anyone out this late for the door. I can get it fixed in the morning."
Kris saw a few brave neighbors snooping out on the street and peering inside her wrecked doorway. Erik lifted the broken door and did his best to lean it against the frame. He dragged a half-full bookshelf behind it. She helped him lift the solid oak coffee table and brace it against the shelf.
His eyes darted around and he spotted his gun tossed in the corner. He slid the safety on it and shoved it in front of his jeans.
"Go pack some things. Take what you absolutely need."
"You think they'll come back for me tonight?"
"I know King. He'll watch you for a few days if you stay here. Once this shit gets out, it's better if you stay hidden away until they find Savion's body or time goes by long enough."
She closed her eyes when she thought of Savion being murdered. Erik didn't sugar-coat anything.
Hurrying into her bedroom, she tossed underwear and clothes into her small travel case. She moved into her side room and packed up her laptop and journal notes into her computer bag. Purse, toiletries, and a few personal oils collected, she ran back into her bedroom and stared at her altar. She parceled away her bone bag in a side slot of her carry-on. Grabbing her quilt, she moved back into the living room. Erik stayed posted up near the front window, peeking out of the curtains with his gun held close.
"We can't stay here, Kris. If something gets stolen, I'll replace it. We gotta bounce."
She ran back to her bedroom and grabbed the pink duvet on her bed and covered her altar with it.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to it.
Rolling out her bag and slinging her computer case on her back, she followed Erik out of the back door. She locked it with her keys and they slinked past Savion's car in the driveway.
Shit.
Savion's car.
"Where are his keys?" Erik whispered.
"On the kitchen table. Next to his wallet."
"Give me your keys."
She tossed them to him. He threw his back to her.
"Drive my truck to The Roux. Keep the lights off once you get through the gate with the code. Go the back way to my house. I'll ditch Savion's car and wallet."
"What if you get caught with it? Or someone sees you?" she pleaded with a hushed voice.
Something shifted behind Erik's eyes that thrilled and frightened her simultaneously. It was the way his shoulders swayed back and his eyes burned like bullets. Reality struck hard. This man had done shit like this before. With King. Or for him.
Kris clamped her mouth shut and carried her belongings to his truck.
###
The mojo bag sat in the passenger seat of Savion's gray Nissan.
Erik leaned into the wheel as he pulled into Dionne's upscale neighborhood. Pristine houses falling under the rules of a pricey home owner's association looked bland and homogenous to his eyes as he raced through wide tree-lined streets.
Pulling into a three-car driveway, Erik palmed the bundle and ambled along the cultivated walkway to the front door. He rang the doorbell. Seconds later, Dionne stood before him and he barged into the foyer. She chased behind him and he halted the moment he reached her living room.
"Just the bitch I needed to see," he spat.
Nedi Charles stood from the couch, and Erik threw the mojo bag at her chest. It bounced once and fell to the floor. Dionne moved in carefully next to her Godmother. She lifted the bag from the floor.
"What's this, Erik?" Dionne asked.
"Ask her."
Dionne's wide eyes wrenched away from his. Nedi curled her lips and inched forward toward him.
"You look just like that thief more each day."
She moved closer…
"I wonder if you would've looked like me if things had gone the right way."
Closer still…
"It took very little to fix you right up on a platter for Dionne."
She stood a hair's breadth from his face.
"Nedi, what are you saying?" Dionne pressed.
Erik ripped the gold chain from his neck. The charm Dionne gave him glinted like the evil in Nedi's eyes.
"She used you to get to me, D. She made a man named Savion—"
"Savion?" Dionne squeaked, "you saw my uncle?"
Dionne clutched onto his arm and shook him.
"Where is he?"
The alarm in her voice surprised Erik. She had no clue what her Godmother did.
"Nedi! What is he talking about? Where is Savion?"
Erik took hold of Dionne's hand and placed the necklace and charm in it.
"I'm sorry, D."
He turned on his heel and made haste to dump Savion's car before it got traced back to him.
"This ain't over, Erik! Tell your Nana that! Tell May that! Run tell that little witch that," Nedi spat.
Erik heard Dionne crying and begging for an explanation and the loud curses of Nedi thrown at his back. A tightness in his chest made him gasp for air once he broke free from their presence.
He swiped his cell.
"Caddo… I need you to come get me. I'll let you know where when I get done. Make sure your gas tank is filled up. Nigga, don't ask no questions… I know it's late… just wait for my call."
His cell vibrated a second later.
I'm at The Roux. No one saw me.
Erik gave a deep sigh of relief. She was safe.
That's all that mattered.