Unbounded | Book 3

U| Connecting Dots - 05

"Who are we meeting again?" Justice asked as he took large steps to keep up with Noir's fast paced walking, her heels clicking against the concrete paving the sidewalk. His hands were deep in his pockets as he watched their surroundings, being that they were so far from the car now. He watched as her long, pitch black curls bounced off her shoulders and against the curve of her back where her hips swayed, maneuvering her ass just the right way. He could barely keep up though it looked like she effortlessly just walked at a quick speed.

She threw at glance over her shoulder at him before she nodded in the direction of a parking lot that seemed a bit abandoned considering it was in front of a motel called Baxby's. She made a slight right into the parking lot and led Justice straight up to the only car there; a black Impala. In the driver's seat was a woman and next to him was a man, already rolling the window down and eying them as they approached.

What are we getting into? Justice wondered, keeping his poker face on once they stopped directly in front of the passenger's window.

"Noir," He greeted, his eyes raking up and down her body before his lips curved into a smile. "I see you still lookin' good."

"Giovani." She greeted back, rolling her eyes before leaning down and giving a wave to the driver. "Ivy."

The woman with a bright orange hair that was cut boldly, down straight to her shoulders gave a nod. Her face was gorgeous but her hair color and long neon green nails told more about her personality than the grill at the bottom row of her teeth would let off. "Girl, make this quick. We got dues."

"I have a proposition. It has to do with Cardi." She brought her voice down lower than before.

Giovani nodded towards the backseat. "Get in."

Noir stood up straight and gave Justice a look before opening the door. Justice went around to the other side and got in too, finally catching Ivy and Giovani's attention. "Who is he?" Ivy asked, squinting at Justice as he sat back comfortably.

"Someone you're gonna want to be connected to, trust me." Noir started. "I'm working on something and I need all the help I can get. Both of y'all are like family so I was hoping y'all could make something happen."

Ivy and Giovani looked at each other, hesitantly. "Considering how you and your family rock, I wouldn't throw that word around so loosely." Giovani said before gesturing to Justice. "But, as long as your plan has something to do with killing Cardi, I'm in."

"Same. You know that bitch's neck is on the money list, right? That makes whatever little project you got going on safer to run undercover. That's what I want a part of. Promise me a cut, and I can get whatever you need." Ivy told her, her smile showing how malicious her intent was.

Noir nodded, expecting both of their responses. "Great. Pay your dues, you know where to find me when y'all ready."

"Okay. First, what's your name?" Ivy asked, turning her head to Justice. He sat there, staring at her for a while before finally opening his mouth.

"Corrupt."

"Nice to meet you, Corrupt. I hope our business can be well extended. Now, get out my car. We'll be in touch." Ivy replied before turning back straight in her seat and sliding some shades on.

Noir grabbed the knob and got out, Justice not too far behind, before they started making their way back where they came. Once they were far enough, Noir started to laugh a little. "Corrupt? That's cute. What? You been up all night thinkin' about that?"

Justice rolled his eyes, looking out onto the street. It seemed like he never really had too much to say unless the situation absolutely called for it. Jewelle was on his mind ninety percent of the time but after putting her life at risk like he had, he just wanted to give her some space.

"What's on your mind?" Noir asked as they passed through a group of men. She hit his arm, trying to get a little more attention out of him. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

Justice rolled his head back. "No. I'm just thinkin' about my girl." He spat out bitterly. "Haven't been in contact with her for the past three days we been back in town. Her family is pissed at me and your sisters played you so now... I just hope she's safe. I already know she's gonna be pissed when she finds out where the hell I've been."

Noir rolled her eyes at his teen-romance issues. "I forgot our age gap, mostly because your height and the fact that you really don't just look like some college kid. But, your way of thinking shows your age perfectly." She said aloud, waving her hand dismissively. "Call her or something."

Justice sighed, continuing the rest of the walk in silence. Jewelle hated Noir and didn't trust her with a stray cat's life. With the secrets he already had, plus, crashing on her couch, Jewelle would be pissed. He couldn't face her right now. He knew he couldn't stand to see the disappointment in her face when she found out he was going behind her back and lying to her, again.

* * *

Jewelle sighed as she looked over the directions on the back of the box of the rice, unsure of how exactly to cook it. Rosè was in the living room, folded up on couch with Rozai on her lap, typing away on her new blog site as Jewelle slaved over the stove to make some sides to go with the grilled chicken her sister prepared. She had never done much cooking because it was always either Amora, Rosè, or Connie who took care of it. But now, as she sat with the unopened box in her hand, her heart felt sad.

Her family felt torn and even though she was "back", she didn't even feel back. Still, no one had talked to Amora yet everyone was trying to act normal by hosting a small dinner party. Rosè had invited Connie and just recently rehabilitated Noelle to come by.

Jewelle was feeling so many emotions at once but it all stemmed to the same thing; Justice.

"Do you need help? You've been staring at the box for... I don't even know how long." Rosè asked as she adjusted herself on the couch to get ready to get up. Jewelle looked over her shoulder at her and hurriedly shook her head.

"No, no. I got this. I was just reading the directions. I'm about to boil the water now."

Rosè gave her the eye of suspicion before standing up and walking towards the island, leaning against it once she reached it. "What's really going on?"

"Nothing. Are you and Kai okay? Things seemed a little weird between y'all this morning." Jewelle asked, switching the subject quickly, as she recalled their small spat this morning.

They were both going on about accusations, deaths, and coincidences. Jewelle couldn't make it all out and even if she had, they were talking so fast and so much over each other that she couldn't even catch the major details. Once Kai left, Rosè instantly shut her emotions out and plastered a smile on her face like she always had before continuing on with her day and calling up the family to prepare a dinner.

"We're good, he just... is going through it right now." Rosè replied before typing on her phone in her message thread.

Jewelle could tell she was lying but let it go, not wanting to press an answer out of her. "Okay... who's all coming tonight?" She asked instead.

"Uh, mom... Kai's family, Zaida, and Noelle." Rosè told her before placing her phone down on the island beside her arm. "Can you just make that rice, please?"

Jewelle laughed before turning back around towards the pot. "Okay! Okay!"

_________
unedited. fill-in chapter