Nadine rubbed her eyes, clearly drowsy from the events of the night before. Braxton had come home pretty late, and she had been up completing work for the classes she was taking. She still hadn't told him that she was in school, and by the time he walked in and figured out what she was doing she thought it best to just come clean.

"Nadine?"

"Mhm?"

"What's all this?"

Nadine nervously scratched behind her ear and twisted her mouth to the side. His eyebrows were raised in anticipation of her answer.

Nadine got a good look at him during her silence, fully absorbing his 6'2 stature. He had recently gotten his haircut and his beard was groomed to perfection. He was dressed in a hoodie and grey shorts, with chains hanging from his neck and diamond studs glistening in his ears.

He had on his Cartier ring that was similar to hers, though his was much bigger. After their night at the carnival, Nadine and Braxton always greeted each other by bumping rings. Walking in tonight, he hadn't yet reached out his fist for them to do so, letting her know that something was off.

She noticed that his eyes were red and low, and he faintly smelled of weed. Braxton always made it a point to never come back to her drunk or high on any substances. He knew how hard it was to fight addiction, and he wasn't about to make it any harder on her by partaking in the behaviors she couldn't partake in. Sure, they drank a little to celebrate her birthday. Other than that, both of them generally stayed away from everything. He didn't mind giving that up for her.

Tonight was different, though. He came back acting as nonchalant and standoffish as he used to when they weren't as close, plus he was high. She felt by his vibe that he had been smoking and called Darius.

He answered just as she was gonna end the call. "Dina what's wrong?"

"Why you assume some wrong?"

"Cause it's damn near two in the morning which is evil nigga hours. So some gotta be up. That nigga over there?" He asked, referring to Braxton.

"Nigga I gotta name. Stop fuckin' wit' me," Braxton said lowly.

Darius kissed his teeth and Nadine spoke up before the two of them started arguing on FaceTime. Though Darius and Braxton were thick as thieves, they bickered like brothers do, oftentimes over silly things. "Yeah, he over here. Y'all went to go smoke?"

Darius grimaced but remained silent on his end. "Why you quiet? I thought I asked you some," Nadine added.

After another minute, Darius cracked. "Uh yeah we went-"

"Nigga..." Braxton ran a hand down his face, exasperated.

"I can't lie to my best like that bro and you know it. Plus you need to just talk to her," Darius sighed. Braxton simply walked over to Nadine's phone and ended the call.

"You don't smoke unless something's wrong. And you came up in here not wanting to say hi." She pointed out, in case he tried to make it seem like she was making something out of nothing.

"Mm." Was all he said, taking a seat in the couch and leaving her at the dining table.

"So talk to me." Nadine got up and followed him to the living room. She could tell he didn't want her in his space so she respected that and sat at the other end of the couch.

"I thought I asked you some," he said, throwing her own line back at her.

"What?"

"What you up working on late at night?"

"This ain't about that."

"So why you keeping secrets, huh? You asking me shit, I'm asking you shit," he shrugged.

Nadine toyed with her ring, unsure of why he was acting that way. Lately their communication had been top tier: they talked about everything on their mind, what was bothering them, how they felt about each other. Anytime there was an issue or disagreement, which there rarely was, they talked through it.

But now he was being reserved and closed off, completely different than the man that started opening up to her.

Although this wasn't how she wanted to break the news, she had to anyway. She didn't want him thinking she was keeping secrets or trying to hold this over her.

"I been taking classes Southwest so I can get my Associates. I want a job and a life outside of this."

"Outside of what?"

"Outside of the life I had before you." At times Nadine thought about how far she had come. It only made her happy to think about how much further she wanted to go. Getting her education was a milestone she didn't want to miss out on, so she wasn't going to.

"And you felt the need to hide that shit from me?" She was stunned by the way he blew the situation up because it wasn't that serious to her. She was simply taking classes, nothing major enough for him to be this upset. However, he had a right to feel how he felt and she didn't want to invalidate that.

"I was gon tell you, it's not even like that."

"Yeah, ight."

Nadine couldn't help but chuckle at his behavior. Reagan told her his reaction would be like this because of how much he hated school growing up. He much rather be on the streets and getting into trouble because he never saw the importance of an education. He had taken himself quite far without one.

She did wish that he was happy for her, though, because it finally felt like she was getting her shit together and bossing up.

"Fuck is you laughing at?"

"Oh you cussing at me now? Pipe down lil' bro," she said, laughing at him some more. He wasn't about to make her feel bad for wanting to better herself. Especially when she knew there was clearly something else bothering him. "I thought weed was posed to make you calm. Why you getting buck like that?"

Nadine was pushing his buttons on purpose. Instantly he was standing in front of her, his eyes bent down to hers.

"Nadine you really know how to test a nigga. Look at my fucking face, do I look like like I'm joking witchu' right now?"

"No, but you do look like a goofy ass nigga." Nadine decided she would let him have his space until he was ready to speak on it. He just looked at her, jaw clenched, grabbed his keys, and walked back out the door.

Way to ruin my night, she thought.

Looking around the classroom, she noticed that most of her classmates were gone, except for the few students who stayed behind to chat with the professor or ask questions about the lecture. She must have daydreamed through the entire class because she didn't realize how quickly it went by.

"Ms. Carter?"

"Yes, Professor Jean? And 'member I told you call me Nadine. Ms. Carter make me feel old." The professor was in their mid 60s and still a very old school person. They referred to everyone as Mr. or Ms. or Student according to their preference. Nadine had never met someone that old that was non-binary, nor did she ever experience that level of inclusivity in a classroom.

Professor Jean chuckled and shook their head. "But it's like Beyoncé, 'Heyyyy Ms. Carter'. You don't like Beyoncé?"

"Do I look like Beyoncé to you?"

Nadine began gathering her things in her book bag when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She thought it rude to check her device while someone was talking to her so she made a mental note to go back and check it once their conversation was finished.

"Okay, Ms. Carter. Is everything okay? You didn't engage in class discussion as much as you normally do. And you didn't turn in your theme paper last night, even after I gave you that extension."

Nadine loved her sociology class and was one of the main people who spoke during discussion. She thought it was interesting to hear other people's interpretation of the readings and the lecture, then give her own opinions and justifications for what she believed. Professor Jean recognized her as one of the brightest students in the class as she never missed a beat. So this new behavior of hers concerned them deeply.

"Oh the theme paper! It's done, I just got caught up last night." She remembered how annoyed she was with Braxton and the conversation they had. She must have forgotten to click submit on her assignment before she went to bed. She pulled out her iPad and clicked the button, showing the confirmation page to Jean who nodded.

"And I'm just a little tired. I'm okay though, thanks for checking in." Nadine thought it sweet that they were concerned about her, but she didn't want to give too much detail; it was just a matter of privacy.

"Alright. I'll see you on Thursday. And you better bring those good ideas you always have to discussion! Get some rest."

"Mhm, I'm going to get in that bed right as I get home."

They said their goodbyes and Nadine headed toward the parking lot, where she knew Raegan would be waiting. Since Southwest was closer to her apartment, she loved picking up Nadine from class sometimes so they could chill, grab lunch, maybe shop. Just as long as they were in each other's company. Both of them needed a sister to lean on and it helped to have each other.

Nadine remembered the texts that she missed and pulled her phone out. Both of them were from Braxton, making her roll her eyes slightly.

iMessage

braxton 🐆
Wya

braxton 🐆
I need to talk to you

Nadine frowned at the message; it was ominous and unclear. She assumed it was about something from last night. Still feeling petty, she made sure her read receipts were on and opened the texts, closing the app and turning off her phone shortly after.

The warm sun hit her skin as she walked out of the frigid building. In the corner of her eye, she spotted Raegan's car and turned in that direction.

"Ms. Carter?"

Nadine spun around, expecting to find Professor Jean calling her name. Maybe she forgot something and they were trying to return it. "Professor Jean, what I say--"

To her surprise it wasn't her teacher. It was white man she didn't recognize, with closely cropped blonde hair. He was wearing a button down with a blue tie and some slacks, though he looked like he pulled an all-nighter based off how undone his clothes were and the bags under his eyes. She didn't need to see the badge and gun hanging off his hip to know he was a cop.

He chuckled at the abrupt stop of her sentence and used the pause to introduce himself. "Sorry, I'm no professor. Detective Brenner. Nadine Carter, right?"

Nadine side eyed him, not believing his friendly attitude for a second. How did the police find her here, at school? And what the hell did they want?"

"Who's asking?"

"Ah, no worries. I just have a few questions for you, why don't we go down to the station?"

"I ain't going nowhere wit' you," she turned on her heels and prepared to speed walk to the car. She wanted to get away from this man as fast as humanly possible.

"Maybe you want to reconsider that, before I have to take you away in handcuffs. Prostitution isn't legal in California. And neither is murder."

Braxton's leg started to tap in anxiety. His chest felt tight from all the nervous energy he was holding inside.

He genuinely did feel bad for the way he treated Nadine the night before. He wished he had just been completely honest from the start instead of not communicating properly.

Braxton realized he didn't have the best reaction to her starting back school again, but it was her choice. He was truly proud of her for taking such a big step, despite his own negative feelings about education. He never had teachers that told him he wasn't going to amount to anything; it was just that once he stopped showing up, no one had taken the time to look for him or even ask why. Life on the streets wasn't any easier as far as struggle and violence, but growing up as he did made him extremely street smart.

He wanted to talk to Nadine, tell her all these things, express his support and willingness to stand by her. But she wasn't answering his calls. Even when they did have disagreements, which was rare, she always answered his calls.

Braxton called Raegan to ask if she had seen Nadine today at all. He was worried but tried not to show it in his voice.

"Rae."

"Mm? I don't get no 'hey sis' or nothin'?"

"You knew Nadine was keeping secrets?"

Reagan kissed her teeth and you could hear her rolling her eyes over the phone. "It wasn't my place to tell you that. Plus, I think it's good for her."

"Better be. We got into it last night and she not answerin' me."

"...okay. What that gotta do wit' me?"

"Mcht, Rae stop playing. She with you right now, ain't she?"

"No actually, I was just fixing to call you and see if y'all were together. Cause I came to get her from Southwest but it's been an hour and she haven't shown up. And her phone not even ringing."

This was why he needed to talk to her. This was why he was so frustrated and tense that even smoking didn't help him relax or calm down. As much as he didn't want to assume the worst, that's exactly where his mind went.

He had failed her. And he failed her miserably.

Or she betrayed him. And she hadn't changed at all.

"Hello?"

"Get Zy and go home, don't stop nowhere. Don't come out neither until I find Nadine, ight?"

"Braxton what's going on—"

He clicked off the phone and damn near threw it down on the table in front of him. Fear and worry were clouding his mind, stopping him from thinking straight. He remembered how he used to calm Nadine down during her withdrawal episodes, and tried to practice similar breathing techniques. However, it was pissing him off even more that she wasn't with him.

Yesterday he had received intel from Darius' source in the police department. Recalling the news he heard warranted a bad reaction from him, making him rub his temples in remembrance.

Detective Landry rolled her window down, keeping her eyes locked the phone in her lap. Darius and Braxton were in the car that had just pulled into the spot next to her.

"Whatchu' got for us, kinfolk?" Darius spoke.

"Few nights ago I went undercover to find someone by the name of..." Landry fished out the piece of paper she wrote the name on. "Nadine Carter. Showed up at her apartment, but wasn't nothing there. I did talk to another prostitute by the name of 'Cinnamon'. Says she knew the girl."

"Why you lookin' into her?" Braxton asked immediately. He didn't like that Nadine was now also on the police's radar too. There was already someone else who seemed to have it out for her. Adding another enemy as resourceful as the police just wasn't going to end well.

"Brenner's contact gave him the name. I was able to get some of his confidential informant reports. Reading through 'em tells me that his contact and his CI are two different people."

"What makes you think that?"

"His CI knew about y'all's warehouse drop because they got into a device... a work phone, I think. This CI knows things about you, specifically. They know how you move and when you do it. The contact, however, is a heavier hitter. They the ones giving Brenner enough intel to bring down smaller, yet powerful, operations. The CI doesn't have as many connections as the contact, and I could tell that by reading the files."

"So what are you saying?" Darius asked.

"Looks like you need to find this Nadine chick and see how much she knows. Cause if I didn't know no better, I'd say she's your snitch. A low level hoe couldn't possibly be the contact, so she gotta be the CI."

"Watch your mouth," Braxton spat. Despite the confusion and angst circling his mind, he didn't want anyone to talk about Nadine like that. He wished in everything in him that it wasn't true, that she wasn't the mole. But all signs were pointing to her: she had access to his phone, she could hear him discussing things with Darius. How easy would it be to record his conversations or sneak into his phone when he wasn't close enough to see?

After Detective Landry finished relaying the information, Darius and Braxton pulled out of the lot and drove back to one of their larger distribution buildings where they normally discussed business. Though Braxton was silent, Darius spoke up about the situation.

"Before you jump to conclusions, talk to her. Dina wouldn't do this shit and you know it."

Immediately they entered the office that sat in the far back of the building, Braxton couldn't contain himself.

Liquor bottles came tumbling down as he dragged his arm across each shelf of neatly lined bottles. The crunching sound of glass breaking could be heard throughout the entire building, and even some workers stopped to watch through the windows as Braxton lashed out in a fit of anger. A lone stool that stood in the corner of the room crashed into the desk and splintered as Braxton hurled it as hard as he could. Pacing, with his chest heaving up and down, he slammed his hand down onto the desk, the slapping noise ringing through both his and Darius' ears.

"I swear to God... I swear," Braxton mumbled, walking around the room. The broken bottles crackled under his feet as he moved, fists balled next to him.

His business was in danger. His life was in danger. His family. Nadine. But either she was in trouble, or she was the trouble. Not knowing made him furious.

Darius had never seen Braxton react in this way, and it honestly scared him. The sheer energy that radiated off of his friend was alarming, but he didn't know what to do.

He had felt so angry in that moment, knowing that there was possibility that she changed up on him. Partially, he was mad at himself for even thinking she would do that. But he was a businessman before anything, and there was no way he could deny that there might have been truth to Detective Landry's speculations.

After destroying his office, nothing was calming Braxton down at all. It seemed as if he was bound to start shooting people left and right just to let off some steam. That was when Darius put a blunt in his hand and told him to smoke the whole thing. Only then did Braxton sit still.

Between now and the next time he spoke with Nadine, he had to find out who was pulling the