Milan continued to live apart from Devon and at Daya's house for a good two weeks. It was running smoothly.

What wasn't, was her avoiding Ramses.

Their date was perfect... aside from the bullets raining on their parade. However, he'd yet to tell her he'd broken up with his current girlfriend, Tatiana. Street bullshit aside, what came first was the foundation of the relationship and he couldn't even start fresh with her.

Having already had her fair share of men who didn't think enough of her to do right by her, she wouldn't let anyone, not even a man as fine as Ramses Young shrink her into thinking him courting her was simply enough.

He'd been trying to keep up with her. Texting her every other day, trying to see her, and all that until one day Milan just stopped replying altogether. It wasn't good for her to foster a connection that seemed like a dead end.

A "dead mission" as Ramses would say.

It was a Sunday evening, and Milan usually worked nights on Sundays but today she took off. Daya was out with Diamanté, that same no good ex she was afraid to serve the night of Ramses's shooting.

Deciding to be an extraordinary roommate, she was cooking for the two of them. Nothing special, but Milan could eat smothered chicken and rice any time of her life. The chicken was just coming out of the oven when her phone vibrated with a text message from Daya.

Sliding open her phone and going to their text message thread, she saw it was a voice memo. That was even weirder. Milan paused her music and hit play.

"Yeah, I shot that nigga, Dee. He my homie and all, but he ain't been making the right plays and the bros been talking. If he ain't gon' make the right decisions for BL, I will."

It took a minute for Milan to even process who was talking. It had been awhile since she'd heard Diamanté's voice, but when it did click, you can bet the gravy ladle she was holding clattered to the kitchen floor.

All she could reply to Daya was "WTF" and Daya spent no time replying with a long string of crying emojis.

That confession was serious, but she had no idea what to do with it— or should she do anything at all. Last time she interfered in gang violence, a gang leader showed up at her job and her brother tried to kill her. All hell would break loose in the Blood Lords if Ramses and his crew split.

Hell was already loose if he had people staging a coup already.

So, for right now, Milan chose to mind her damn business.

She picked up the gravy spoon from the ground and proceeded to wash it in the sink before going back to just what she was doing before. Cooking dinner for the night, and nobody was gonna ruin it for her.

But then she got another text message.

This time from an unknown number, which was unusual, but nothing was out of play these days.

"Did you block me or sum?"

She texted back with her infamous, "Who is this?"

"Don't play stupid."

The number replied within seconds. In the next two, "Come outside."

With those two words, she already knew who it was.

Looking down at what she was wearing which was practically nothing, Milan went into Daya's room and grabbed the first pair of sweats she saw and an old black True Religion hoodie. For shoes, she slipped into black Nike slides.

If he wanted to see a bad bitch, he should've seen me at work.

Milan justified her hobo-like chic. She grabbed her phone and Daya's spare key before heading outside to a waiting all black Trackhawk. The door unlocked and she spent no time climbing inside since it was already dark out. The doors locked again before she'd even turned to face Ramses.

When she did, she saw he was wearing an all black Nike Tech suit. No hat today, so his deeply waved hair glinted softly under the moonlight. He kept his face forward as she appraised him, giving her full view of his chiseled jaw. In their break of talking, she had somewhat forgotten how fine he was, and the butterflies in her stomach were having a good time remembering.

"Why you block me?" Was the first thing out of his mouth, which caused Milan to roll her eyes.

"Nobody blocked you. You see your messages still deliver every time, dude." She deflected with little sweat. Still not facing her, but her words caused his nostrils to flare. "So you just been ignoring a n*gga? You think that shit cute?"

It was Milan's turn to turn away from him now and keep her face forward. She slouched in the passenger seat and folded her arms.

"You still with Tatiana?" She asked. The silence after was all the answer she needed.

Reaching for the door handle, Ramses put the child lock on the car before she could even engage the handle. "It ain't even like that, Mi. It's way more complicated than that."

Milan wasn't trying to hear any of that honestly. She looked at Ramses out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn't even trust herself not to buckle that way so she kept her face away from him completely. "Okay, then tell me what it is like then. 'Cuz what it sounds like to me is that you're trying to play stuck in a relationship you're not even trying to leave."

Ramses dramatically dragged his hands over his face, glancing at Milan's cold composure. He didn't take too kindly to it.

"I can't do that right now." He revealed, and that pissed Milan off even more.

Didn't he know the stress he was putting her through? And for what?

He couldn't even leave his girlfriend for me.

"So what the fuck are you even talking to me for? Stop stalking me and leave me the hell alone!" Milan snapped at him, losing her temper completely.

The man had came into her life like a hurricane. She didn't regret saving his life, but God did he make it hard to be happy about it. Her name was in rooms she'd never stepped into, her life was still being threatened by even being seen with him yet she was in his car, and she was living in her friend's too small apartment— all because of him.

And Devon still thought she needed a lesson in loyalty.

"I can't do that either, Milan." Ramses breathed out in a tone that was different. It seemed helpless, which caused her to break her resolve towards him.

When they met eyes finally, it felt like they hadn't missed a day in seeing each other. Ramses eyes roamed her face like he was trying to commit every detail to memory, lingering longer on her cheek scar and even longer on her lips.

"I been looking for you for days, g. Since you stopped replying to me, but your car ain't been at you and D's place for a minute. I thought he really set yo' ass up for a second, but I know the mans ain't that crazy."

That caused a ghost of a smile to come across her face, but she shook it off. She didn't want to seem too warm to him.

"You could've come to my job," She offered him and he smacked his lips at that.

"Man, it's too easy for you to brush lil boys off in there. You brush me off in public, I'mma have to blow that bitch down just as get back." He exaggerated, but this time that caused Milan to smile. Ramses looked relieved to see the expression on her face.

"I would like to see it." Milan simply replied. He shook his head in playful disbelief at that.

"For real though, I came to tell you I delivered on my promise to you. The man that marked your face up? Six feet under right now." He told her, the seriousness in his voice made her stomach drop.

The man who marked her face up wasn't a man at all.

Milan closed her eyes, mourning the life that was DeMarco. Even though she didn't know the boy personally, she knew the man who sent him on the mission like the back of her hand and she knew he died for nothing.

For a stupid ass message.

"I ain't expect you to be happy, but shit. You look like you're about to cry." Ramses's voice brought her back from her sorrowful thoughts.

"Did you do it?" Milan asked him suddenly, turning her face to him slightly. She had to know if the boy's blood was truly on his hands. Ramses shook his head. "Naw. I don't do hits like that no more. My boys told me it was some new punk with the VDs, lil shit that they could handle on their own."

Although her brother was an upstanding and high ranking member of the Vice Disciples, she never was well versed in the inner workings of gang life. Hearing Ramses talk about it like it was simply another day at the office made her blood curdle in a way. It was something Milan chose not to think about, the senseless murders of gang violence, but it was hard not to when the lives being lost were now being put down for her.

Now somebody would be put down for DeMarco.

And another endless cycle would begin.

"Ramses, Devon put that hit out on me. Because I was seen with you." Milan shakily revealed.

Ramses stayed silent, probably in disbelief.

"And, apart from your girlfriend drama, I don't want to be the cause of anymore bloodshed. Another reason I stopped talking to you." Milan rattled off, she still couldn't look him in his eyes as she spoke. It was just too painful.

"You can do you, that's what you were gon' do anyway, but please leave me out of it. That's why you can't find me at my house no more. I can't even sleep there without fear in my heart. I told you, you might want parts of me, but you can't have them with who I am. Who I'm related to."

Her words hung in the air of the car. At this point she expected him to just kick her out. She just broke up with him and they weren't even close to being in a relationship.

She wondered why that hurt the most.

"I'mma keep it real with you, Milan," Ramses began and Milan turned her face to him expectantly. She had no clue what was going to come out of his mouth.

"What you just said was true. But it doesn't matter."

Milan's jaw dropped infinitesimally.

"Bodies been dropping like this before we were born. They gon' keep dropping when we dead and gone too. It's how this street shit work. Your brother knows this and he done dealt with it in his own way, that's why he sent that hit out on you I'm assuming. To show you how easy it is for you to be the next one dropped."

Ramses paused here to get confirmation on his theory. All Milan could do was nod.

A wry grimace came onto his face, he worked his jaw for a second at the validation.

"Now that was a dumbass way to show you, but I'm sure you got the point. What I'm tryna tell you is, bodies are gonna drop regardless. Wether you be with me or not. Wether I get out the game right now, somebody gon' drop for a body I put down three years ago. You pulling out is admirable, but it ain't stopping shit."

"That's why I live my life the way I want to. This street shit ain't it for me, I'mma get out. Shit is quick money and I ain't gon pass up no money. And that's also why I can't leave you alone, Mi. I got this feeling that I can't shake in me. I got a feeling you're it for me."

The last part caused her roll her eyes.

His speech made sense to her, but not enough.

She wasn't slow. She knew what's done is done and when your currency is blood, more blood is gonna be paid for it. Milan just didn't want anymore blood being spilled for her, and she didn't appreciate Ramses telling her, her decision was for naught.

She wasn't gonna rain on his parade though. Not that part at least.

"So much of it that you can't leave your current it for me. Plus you can't even explain why. Thanks for the talk, Ramses, but like I said don't come back around here anymore. Ain't nothing here for you." Milan responded like she was closing a business deal. She even jiggled the child locked handle as a signal for him to let her out of the car.

"Goddammit, Mi. You can't just sit here and listen for once?!" Ramses chastised her and it caused Milan to smile in a way that was devoid of emotion. She shook her head no.

"I been sitting in here listening to your ass talk in circles for the last forty five minutes and you ain't tell me shit but that a boy was dead and you still ain't leave your bitch." Milan shot back with ease and that just pissed Ramses off more, he hit the unlock button on the car with his fist.

Instantly taking the chance to pop her door open, Milan slid out of the car.

"Good talk. And since you gave me some information, I'mma give you some. Diamanté's the one who tried to kill you. Now make that body drop."

And with that, she slammed the door of his car even though her whole body was shaking now that the words left her mouth.

When she walked up to the apartment, his car was still sitting there and she had a feeling it was going to be there for a minute now that she'd given him that confession.

Daya was still not home and her gravy was now sludgy because it cooled down.

Glancing at her the oven's clock, she deemed it was now too late to do much of anything else.

I had already done too much already.

***

A couple days passed and Milan was waiting on pins and needles for her to hear something from Ramses, or at least something about him.

She needed confirmation that he hadn't done something stupid. She'd done enough stupid for the both of them by letting him know the information.

She'd also let Daya know that she let something slip. Daya laughed her ass off until tears were streaming down her face.

"Are you fucking serious? You just gave it to him straight like that? Milan you are one messy lil thing. I like it. Kiss me."

Leave it to her to make everything a joke.

Diamanté was her ex man, so Milan expected her to give a little more care to the situation, but actually Daya expected Milan to tell Ramses. After she recovered from laughing so hard she simply said, "It's what's coming to him. He's too hungry for power, just like your brother. Un vientre hambriento no escucha a nadie."

Now at work, business was running as usual. It was a quiet night, as quiet as it could be in a sports bar anyway.

Milan was putting down an order of fried pickles at a table when a hand glided past her back. She stood upright to see who'd touched her. It was her manager Carina again, waiting for her to speak, Carina said nothing to Milan instead she just nodded in the opposite direction before walking away.

Turning her head in that direction, Milan saw Ramses at the entrance of the bar. She made sure her patrons were satisfied before walking as quickly as possible without causing a scene to Ramses. He was in a gray Nike Tech suit, Jordan Retro Top Threes on his feet.

He was leaning against the wall by the entrance scrolling on his phone and Milan cleared her throat as she was walking up to alert him that she was right there. He put his phone in his pocket before looking up at her, his hood was pulled over his head slightly and he also had a red New York Yankees fitted cap on.

She could barely see his face with the dim lighting of the club, but the shadows it cast on his face made him look everything edible. His eyes were low, like he'd just got done smoking weed and they were trained on her lips.

"What's up? You good?" Milan started the conversation, the music of the club now just background music to her.

Ramses licked his bottom lip before speaking, "Hell naw I'm not good. You dropped my homeboy tried to kill my ass and damn near succeeded. Ain't shit good over here. I just came to tell you, you were right."

Well, duh. I had the evidence right in my face.

Milan thought in her head, but she decided to play dumb just because. He should've been telling her he was right about a lot of other things she'd told him the last time they were together.

"Right about what?" She asked, shifting her weight from one leg to the other in impatience.

He rolled his eyes at her demeanor.

"About D. I don't know what I'm finna do about it yet, but it's gotta be done."

Another duh moment.

She was finding that when he was under the influence all his statements were very obvious.

"So what, Ramses? I am not in the position to brainstorm right now with you. As you can see I'm at work." She went on to say, gesturing to the booming business around them with her hand. Ramses didn't look away from her face to check it out, he just cracked a smile.

"You just can't never make time for a n*gga, huh?" He smugly flirted. This caused Milan to roll her eyes next. "This is not the time for you to ask dumb questions either."

This seemed to sober Ramses up and the small smile he had on his face disappeared. Milan instantly regretted her decision to give him flack. He looked way more dangerous when his face was straight, it put her on edge.

"I came to tell you, there's gonna a be war when I take out D and whoever else done sided with him. You ain't gon' be safe nowhere, and especially not in that small ass place your friend call a crib."

Milan's blood cooled slightly. He was right. She was basically homeless right now and she was not crawling back to her brother and staying under a roof with him. Daya's place was a pit stop anyway, and she didn't even have a proper bed to sleep in there. She was out of options.

"Thanks for that. What the hell do you expect me to do? Go back to Devon?" Milan sassed slightly, she was becoming increasingly stressed. Her hands were clamming up as well and she tried to hide it by wiping them on her jeans.

"Naw, I also came by to offer you a place with me."

Her eyes almost rolled out of her head and onto the floor.

"Ramses I don't even know you." Milan simply put between them.

And he was a man.

A man she was overwhelming attracted to. With a girlfriend.

And an increasing bounty on his head from all sides.

It would be trading a couch for a couch with bullet holes in it.

"Here you go, Milan you been knowing me since we were kids, g. You know I ain't a weirdo ass n*gga and I ain't gon' touch you. I'm offering you this to be cool and I care about you. I don't want you in the fray, especially after you're the one who saved my life and let me know who tried to take it."

She couldn't lie, her heart was touched by the sentiment, but she didn't feel comfortable moving in with him. It was too fast. Knowing she liked him and there was nothing she could do about it because he has someone. It was fast and messy and the stress would kill her before a bullet could.

"Does your girl know you tryna put me on y'all's couch?" Milan asked next, putting her warm hands on her hips. She knew that would shut him up.

Instead, another smile came onto his face and this time it was bigger than the last.

"I broke it off with Tatiana. Ain't no y'all. She ain't never stayed with me." Ramses coolly replied, and Milan's heart dropped into her toes.

"And you ain't staying on no fucking couch if you say yes. I got an extra room. Like I said, Mi, this is a deal just for you to be safe. You don't even gotta cross my path if you don't wanna see me."

All she knew is that if she stayed with him, she would want to cross paths with him in every single way.