Chapter 2: What You Don’t Know

Malik

I shouldn’t have come over there.

Soon as I saw her walk out that building, head down, moving fast like she always do when she got too much on her mind, I knew I should’ve just stayed in the truck and pulled off.

But I didn’t.

I sat there, watching.

Same way I used to wait on her after late shifts, engine running, music low. Back when things was simple. Or at least felt like it.

She still walked the same. Like she had somewhere to be even when she didn’t.

Then she looked up and everything got real.

“Keisha.”

I ain’t even mean to say her name like that. It just came out.

The way she stopped… yeah, she still felt me. I could tell.

But when she turned around, it wasn’t the same girl I left.

She was colder now. Not weak. Just… done with certain things.

Mostly me.

I let her talk. Let her get it off. I deserved that.

Truth is, she ain’t even say half of what she could’ve said.

When she walked off, I almost let her go.

Almost.

“If you knew the truth…”

I don’t even know why I said that. Maybe because I been holding it in too long. Maybe because seeing her again messed me up more than I expected.

Either way, I said it.

And now it’s out there.

I gripped the steering wheel, watching her in the mirror as she stood there for a second before finally turning away.

“Damn,” I muttered under my breath.

My phone buzzed in the cup holder.

I already knew who it was before I looked.

Dre.

I let it ring once, twice, then picked up.

“Yeah.”

“Where you at?” his voice came through, low but tense. “You was supposed to be over here twenty minutes ago.”

“I had something to handle.”

“Ain’t nothing more important than this right now.”

I looked back down the street, but she was already gone.

“Yeah. I’m on my way.”

I hung up before he could say anything else.

That’s the problem with trying to revisit the past. Life don’t pause for it.

I pulled off, turning down Georgia Ave, sliding through traffic like muscle memory. The city looked regular on the surface. Corner stores lit up. Carryouts still open. People outside like it wasn’t late.

But I knew what sat underneath all that.

Always did.

By the time I hit the block, Dre was already outside, pacing.

He walked up before I even cut the engine.

“Took you long enough,” he said, looking around before leaning into the window. “You good?”

“I’m straight.”

He studied me for a second. “You don’t look straight.”

“I said I’m good.”

He let it go, stepping back so I could get out.

The building behind him looked like it been through too much and never recovered. Half the lights out, door barely hanging on. But it was quiet, and quiet was what we needed right now.

“What’s the word?” I asked.

Dre shook his head, jaw tight. “It’s not good.”

That’s all he had to say.

We went upstairs, steps creaking under our weight. The hallway smelled like old smoke and something worse. Same spot we been using for months when things needed to stay off the radar.

Inside, Tone was already there, sitting on the edge of the table, tapping his fingers like he was trying not to lose it.

“They hit the stash,” he said as soon as I walked in.

I stopped. “Who?”

“That’s what we trying to figure out.”

Dre shut the door behind us. “And it ain’t just that.”

Tone looked at me. “They ain’t just take it. They went through everything.”

My stomach tightened.

“How much?”

“Enough,” Dre said. “Too much.”

Silence filled the room for a second.

I ran a hand over my face, thinking.

“Who knew about this spot?” I asked.

“Just us,” Tone said.

“Exactly.”

That meant one thing.

Somebody was talking.

Or somebody been watching longer than we thought.

“You sure nothing was left out?” I asked.

Tone shook his head. “Nah. And that’s what don’t feel right. It was too clean.”

Dre leaned against the wall. “Like they knew exactly what they was coming for.”

I exhaled slowly.

Yeah. I didn’t like that.

Not at all.

My phone buzzed again.

Same number Keisha ignored earlier.

I stared at it this time.

Dre noticed. “Who that?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

But I was worried.

Because timing like this? It don’t just happen.

Everything started connecting in a way I didn’t like.

Keisha popping back up.

This situation blowing up.

Pressure building from all sides.

I slipped my phone back in my pocket.

“We need to move smart,” I said. “Nobody say nothing. Nobody do nothing yet.”

Tone shook his head. “We can’t just sit on this.”

“We’re not sitting,” I said. “We’re thinking.”

Because moving too fast gets you caught.

Or worse.

Dre looked at me, serious now. “If this gets back to them…”

He didn’t finish.

He didn’t have to.

I already knew.

I looked toward the window, city lights flickering through the glass.

Five years ago, I made a decision that was supposed to protect Keisha from all of this.

From me.

From this life.

And now she standing right back in it without even knowing.

Or maybe…

I frowned slightly.

“You said they went through everything,” I said, turning back to them.

“Yeah,” Tone answered.

“Everything everything?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

I didn’t answer right away.

Because there was only one reason somebody would dig that deep.

They weren’t just looking for money.

They were looking for something specific.

Something tied to the past.

Something I made sure stayed buried.

My jaw tightened.

“Malik,” Dre said, catching the shift in my face. “What you not saying?”

I looked at both of them.

Then back at the door.

Then at my phone.

And for the first time in a long time…

I felt that same pressure from back then creeping back in.

The kind that don’t go away.

The kind that forces your hand.

“I need to find her,” I said.

Dre frowned. “Find who?”

But I was already heading for the door.

Because if they were digging like that—

If they were really looking—

Then Keisha wasn’t just part of my past anymore.

She was part of the problem now.

And she didn’t even know it.