Page 54 of Brown Sugar
I get up and head inside the small café to order our coffees. A couple minutes later, I return to Amari texting on her phone. Setting her coffee down in front of her, I take my seat and think about the approach I’ll use.
“You’ve probably heard,” I say. “About what happened.”
“You mean London? Yeah, I heard. That’s what I get for not going with K. Old habits.”
“What old habits?”
Amari sighs and curls her fingers around the cup of her caramel macchiato. “I love my twin. I really do. But K has a habit of seeking out the closest guy around whenever she and Shawn break up. She does it thinking it’ll help her move on. You know, get under someone new to get over someone old.”
Jealousy knots inside my chest. I make a grunt sound as I reach for my black coffee in distraction.
Ahabitof Kiana’s to seek out flings after breaking up with Shawn?
She hadn’t mentioned a word of that to me. Our time together had been the opposite—sure, it was short and fun like a fling, but there was depth there.
Sincerity.
Had I read the situation wrong?
A split second later, I come to my senses.
It doesn’t matter if I have. Because her safety and well-being are still at stake.
Two things I’ll never compromise, even if what we had really was just a fling. I redirect the conversation to these key points.
“So you know I’ve been fired,” I say. “Which is also why you know you’re not supposed to talk to me.”
Amari holds up both hands. Her sunglasses have slipped low down her nose. “No judgment here. It’s not like I haven’t messedwith a coworker or two. One of K’s old makeup artists was so fine, I just had to get her number…”
I clear my throat. “What I mean is, since I’ve been fired, it’s been no contact. Kiana’s number has changed and she hasn’t been home.”
“Tommy and the label tend to do that. They’re protecting her brand… or so they claim.”
“The threat hasn’t been eliminated,” I say. “In fact, I have reason to believe the person after her is biding his time. It won’t be long before another attempt is made.”
Amari frowns. “Yeah, I’ve been worried about that. I asked K when she told me what happened, and she said they were hiring Arnold again. Nice guy, but security’s not his thing.”
“She’s in danger.”
“I’ll be going with her on the rest of her promo and her tour. I’ll… I’ll make sure to keep a close eye on her.”
“I mean this with the utmost amount of respect. But you’re not enough,” I say. “As her twin, you might even be in danger too. You’d be the perfect person to harm to get to Kiana.”
“I’ve… never… uh, thought about it that way before.”
“You see why it’s a bad idea for me to have no contact. I was just over at her penthouse and I caught Shawn?—”
“Shawn? In her penthouse? Why?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. He had her tablet.”
Amari looks on the verge of acting even before she’s heard the rest of the story. She half rises out of her chair and mutters something about Shawn being garbage. I hold out a hand to stop her.
“I don’t know if this means he’s linked to the threats against Kiana,” I say. “But there’s a chance.”
“Wait. What wereyoudoing at her penthouse?”
I sigh, realizing I should’ve expected the obvious question. “I still have access to the surveillance system in her apartment. I’vebeen checking it ’cuz it’s damn near the only way I have to look out for her. The system sent me a notification that someone had entered.”