Zadia couldn't stop the sleepy moan that escaped past her lips when she rolled over to her back. Slowly she began gaining consciousness, her face frowning when she realized that the comfortable bed she was sleeping on, didn't belong to her. "What in the world?" She let out, watching a cat the color of midnight staring at her with a blank expression. "Oh fuck!" She shouted, realizing that the cat was black. "Why God, why?!"

In Haitian culture, a black cat is a sign of bad luck, which was why Zadia was currently having a breakdown in the comfortable queen-size mattress she laid on. She tried moving off the bed, but her right hand was tied around the bed's wooden headboard in silver handcuffs. "No, no, no." She cried, trying to pull her hand from the handcuffs. "Help! Somebody, help me!"

The black cat hissed at her, it's glowing yellow-greenish eyes burning into her soul. Zadia squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to think about the fact that it only had one ear.

"Binx, that's enough." Zadia heard a honeyed voice say, as they entered the room. The cats hissing stopped on command."Get out of here and go mess with someone else." The sound of footsteps, walking in Zadia's direction caused her to open her eyes.

"You!" She shouted, trying to yank her hands out of the handcuffs again. She looked a Roman as though he was an annoying fly that needed to be squashed. "You son of a bitch! You fucking hit me and that shit hurt!" She exasperated. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Zadia gasped, coming to realization. "What the fuck did you do to Abel and Tino."

Roman looked at her, trying his best not to laugh. She looked ridiculous, squirming around in the bed like that. "I think I liked it best when you were sleeping." He told her. "The kids are fine. Abel as you call him is eating downstairs. Tino on the other hand has been driving me insane. I've never met a baby that wouldn't stop crying."

"He doesn't know you, of course, he's gonna keep crying. Where is he? He's probably freaking out right now. Bring me to both of them."

"I'll let you see Tino since he's driving my ears wild. You'll see Abel once you answer all my questions. Deal?"

Zadia sighed heavily. Seeing that she didn't have a choice, in the matter. She nodded, hesitantly. "...Deal."

"I'll be back then." He said walking out the room, his hands behind his back.

Zadia looked around the unfamiliar bedroom while he was out. It was spacious compared to her room back at her apartment. The lower walls were painted soft black, while the walls of the top were ivory white. A window was posted at the center wall, large with thick white curtains to go with it. Below the window sat a cream-colored Brookside Dresser and a small flat-screen television pushed to the side. There was a plush carpet in the middle of the Porcelain Wood tile floor.

On the nightstand, there was a red digital clock on display, next to it, a matching standing lamp that lit up the entire room.

Roman carried a crying Tino up the stairs, patting his back like he used to do his sister when she was around the same age. His sister was the one and the only baby he'd ever taken care of, so his experience with babies was a little outdated. Tino was very different... he had his father's attitude which didn't sit right with Roman.

Walking back into the room, Roman switched Tino to his left arm so he could take the keys that belong to the handcuffs outta his pocket.

Zadia rubbed her wrist once the cuffs fell off. She stretched her arms out to take the fussy baby from Roman. With one final glance, Roman handed Tino over, ignoring the way the baby's crying stopped once she wrapped her arms around him. Walking to the corner of the room, Roman picked up the ivory round chair and set it down beside Zadia before taking a seat. He crossed his arms watching Zadia plant kisses all over Tino's face. "Would you stop that, he's fine. I wouldn't hurt a baby, let alone my nephew."

"I wouldn't put it past you."

"You don't even know me," Roman replied, snidely.

"You killed a man, that's all I need to know."

"And if I hadn't, you'd all be dead." He clasped his hands together. "In my book, I did you a favor."

Zadia's eyes twitched, her mouth ready to give him a piece of her mind, but she ate her words. She looked down at Tino, tickling his side, making him giggle. "You missed me, didn't you." She cooed as he babbled. "Yeah, you missed me." Picking him up, she laid him down gently on the bed. "How long was I out?" She asked, her question aimed at Roman.

"Four hours." He stated. "You're lucky I got you here when I did." He shifts in his seat. "That makes it twice I've saved your life."

"...Thanks." She mumbled, her eyes never daring to look at him. She took a peek inside Tino's diaper and saw that it was clean.

"Can you repeat that?" Roman teased. "I couldn't hear you the first time."

Sitting Tino up, Zadia let him play with a strand of her loc. "I never personally knew your sister." She started, deciding not to repeat herself. "She lived across from me for a couple of months and that's it. When we'd see each other in the halls, we'd say hello, but it never went past that. That guy Martin came by our apartment looking around for a woman that matched her description, so I wrote her a note and told her that, before slipping it under her door." Zadia tugged on Tino's cheek playfully. "Next thing you know, there's a knock at my door and Tino is laying in his car seat with a note."

"What'd the note say?" Roman asked his mind in thought.

"It said that she needed someone to watch over Santino because it was too much of a risk being on the run with him. She mentioned being chased by Los Ánarquistas and every other criminal organization in the city." She paused, trying to remember what else the note had said. "She also said not to call the cops, that they were all bad and that Tino has a soy allergy."

Roman watched her bite the bottom of her plumped lip. He could tell she was leaving something out, because of the lack of eye contact. "That's it?"

Zadia kept her eyes trained on Tino. "Yeah." She let out, trying her best to sound firm.

"You know, you can tell a lot about a person when it comes down to eye contact." He said a humorless chuckle followed afterward. "When a person fails to give eye contact, it's because of two things. One, they're lying or anxious, and two, they lack self-esteem. You don't look like the kind of person to have a lack of self-esteem, so I'm just gonna go with one on this."

Zadia cursed herself and her stupid need for eye contact.
She bit down on her bottom lip harder when her eyes betrayed her, finally looking into the depths of Roman's black pupils. He had light brown eyes, the exact shade of the Bronzite gemstone her father gifted her for her eighth birthday.

Looking into his eyes she was pulled into a daze trying to get a read off of him. His eyes were filled with such mystery and that's about the only thing she could comprehend. "You have nice eyes."  She blurted out stupidly. Blood rose to her cheeks in realization. "I... That's not what I meant to say."

Roman's brows furrowed as his mouth turned grim. He leaned forward in his chair and Zadia could instantly smell the peppermint gum he was chewing on. "Are you... okay in the head?" He asked, somewhat interested in knowing. She acted way too... weird to be considered normal.

Zadia's jaw clenched. Her lips pulled inwards, frustration evident in her expression. She hated questions that made it seem like she was crazy. She wasn't crazy. "Hand me a knife and ask me that question again." She threatened. "You'll see for yourself."

"I'm scared.." Said Roman, unfazed by her threat. He couldn't deny that the little vixen could hold her own, but when it came down to actual combat she wasn't a competition. "Have we met before?" He questioned, snapping his finger. "You look familiar."

"No." She answered, covering Tino's ears with her hands. "I'm sure I'd remember meeting a dickhead like you."

Roman laughed lightly and it took Zadia by surprise. She removed her hands from Tino's ears. "You insult like a second-grader." He replied. "Now, what aren't you telling me? I'd hate to have to lock you up again..."

Zadia was having enough of him and his stupid mouth, so she told him the truth, so her nerves would stop irking. "Money. She left me money." She told him. "Eliśa said she'd send more and to not worry about how." She concluded. "That's it, that's the truth."

Roman stared at her face intently, looking for any signs of deceit. When he saw nothing, he leaned back into his chair, slightly taking her word for it.

An awkward silence filled the room, their eyes inspecting the other. Roman was confused about how parts of her body held a different shade. Zadia's face was dark but when it came down to her arms and hands it was light, her fingers were long and slender, and her fingernails perfectly cut but bitten at the edges. She had long legs, ones that went with her heavy athletic thighs and perfectly shaped calves. Roman didn't get a look at her ass earlier because he wasn't the type to stare at a woman's ass, but yet again he found his curiosity peaked.

Zadia hated the fact that he had tattoos that covered his entire left arm and his right arm was bare as a field in the winter. He had a tawny complexion, and a warm undertone, with a brawny body. He looked like a dangerous man, with big rough hands to prove it. His dark hair was seemingly a low fade and buzz cut mix and as she looked further down, he had a French beard that he most likely grew to cover his long chin.

"Are you suicidal or something?" Asked Roman.

Zadia cocked a brow in surprise. "Of course not, why would you even ask me that?"

He shrugged, his muscles tensing. "You haven't taken your insulin since yesterday... seems like a suicidal thing to do." He responded. "I was able to get you some. There's more, but it'll last you to the end of the week. After that, you're on your own." Zadia's mouth opened but shut midway watching an unknown woman poke her head into the room. She knocked, getting Roman's attention. "What is it?" Roman asked, his voice smooth.

Lynn scratched the back of her head, walking into the room. She had been eavesdropping on their conversation, curious to know who the woman Roman brought here, was. "Adam says you should come downstairs, that there's something on tv you should see."

Roman's face scrunched up, looking at her. "His dumbass couldn't just tell you what it was." He said standing up. The black t-shirt he had on cling to his body.

Lynn kept her eyes on him at all times. "Ahh, nope." She cleared her throat, nodding towards Zadia. "But he said you should bring her."

Roman turned to Zadia, his hands on his hips as he glanced down at her. "You're good right? Not gonna try and run away like an idiot or anything?" Zadia rolled her eyes but eventually nodded. "Alright, come along." He motioned with his finger. "By the way, we're even right?"

Zadia stood up from the bed, stretching her arms and legs before turning to him. Her fist balled up and before she had a chance to grasp what she was doing, it cocked back and with speed, landed on the left side of Roman's jaw with a thud. Both of them groaned on impact, pain blazing through both parts of their body. "Now we're even," Zadia said, massaging her fist.

Lynn, who watched the whole thing unfold, quickly dashed to where Zadia stood to beat some sense into her, only to be stopped by a firm tug on her wrist. "Let it go," Roman commanded, his tongue licking the blood on his lip.

Lynn looked at him like he was insane. "She just fucking hit you and you want me to let it go?!" She shrieked. "Fuck no, let me get at her!"

Zadia stared at her daringly. "Come at me, I dare you!" She threatened. Zadia had never been in a physical fight with a woman before, but not for a second did she doubt that she couldn't whoop someone's ass if need be.

Lynn glared at her, edging closer but Roman pulled her wrist again. "You're being emotional!" He snapped at her. "I said let it go, do just that." When he realized he was getting heated, he dropped her wrist and stepped back like physical contact was a sin. "Go downstairs, I'll be right down."

Zadia picked up Tino from the bed and carried him on her left hip. Her eyes went back and forth watching Roman and his... friend staring at each other heatedly. She could tell that they had something going on... romantic wise most likely.

Lynn wanted nothing more than to be able to touch the place where the bruise was settling on his face, but she knew she couldn't because Roman was complicated... a complicated mess to be exact. She couldn't fathom why he'd be so calm about getting socked in the face by some random woman. "Fine." Lynn voiced, storming out of the room.

Roman lightly touched where Zadia had punched him. The pain was tolerable, he'd been punched by stronger men before and this was nothing. "Follow me." He grunted, walking out of the room.

Zadia followed behind him, watching her surroundings. It seemed like the entire top floor of the house was painted the same color as the room she was in. There were portraits hung around the foyer staircase, every last one of them a different angle of a blue day sailor boat stranded at sea. Something about the strokes of the water caught her attention and she stopped to inspect it. "Keep moving." Roman rushed.

As they made it down the stairs, they took a right turn, walking into the voluminous living room. Two black sofas laid near two of the four walls, with grey pillows scattered around. An Ashwood Coffee Table was placed in the center of the room, while two black leather director stools were aligned behind it. A solid shag rug was underneath everything and a Tarte Tiered Chandelier hung above them.

"What is it?" Roman asked, a guy dressed in comfortable clothing. He had on a blue jersey henley shirt and some grey drawstring shorts that stopped above his knees. His hair was pulled into a sloppy man bun and he had on ankle socks that matched his shirt color.

Zadia guessed this guy had to be Adam.

"Seems like your little... trip from earlier has caused quite the disturbance," Adam spoke, pointing his finger at the flatscreen television that hung on the wall.

Zadia averted her gaze to the television, her eyes widening seeing an old picture of her in her private high school uniform on the news. "This is unreal." She whispered, listening closely to what the male news anchor was saying.

"Breaking news, the body of a thirty-six-year-old man has been discovered at the Arisio apartments on tenth avenue. Police responded to a nine-one-one call earlier about a noise disturbance, which led to them finding the body of the unidentified male. The man died of a gunshot wound to the head. Police are saying that person who committed this crime, is the woman you now see on your screens." They enlarged the photo. "Zadia Hamilton is the prime suspect in this murder and she is considered armed and dangerous. Witnesses say that they saw her fleeing the scene with a teenage boy and a baby. If you or anyone you know comes in contact with her, the best thing to do is call nine-one-one right away."

"What in the hell?!" Zadia said in disbelief as the news anchor continued.

"We are told that Zadia Hamilton is the daughter of Keith and Angie Hamilton, who are the owners of the well known Northside Winery & Vineyards estate."

Roman hums from beside her. "I knew you looked familiar."

"Her parents own over two-hundred acres of land and you say you found her on the poor side of town? What is going on in the world today?" Adam quips, even laughing a bit.

Zadia glared at him, not seeing anything funny with this situation. She tuned him out and focused back on the news. "We asked the Hamilton's if they had any comments, and they released a statement soon after. Here it is." A typed up message appeared on the screen, Zadia's school picture disappeared for a moment. "We are well aware of the accusations being brought against our daughter. It is in our best interest to inform everyone, that we are not in contact with Zadia, nor will we ever be from here on out. She is not a member of this family and we'd like to keep it that way. Please refrain from asking us any questions about the matter, this is our first and last time ever addressing it. Thank you."

Zadia felt like she got hit by a truck... well in this case a truck filled with devastation. She knew she wasn't on her parent's good side, but still... she kinda thought that they'd defend her or at least showed that they cared.

"Now that's cold," Adam said, shaking his head. "What'd you do to piss them off?"

Roman looked over at Zadia, feeling a little bad.

Only a little.

The poor girl looked like she was going to burst into tears at any given moment. He sighed, looking at Adam. "Stop with the questions, see if you can get me information about the cops who were there at that apartment. This situation has Cortez written all over it." Picking up the remote, he muted the television.

Zadia took a seat on the sofa, her legs feeling weak. She stroked Tino's hand as he tugged on her locs. "Why would he try and pin this on me, you're the one that pulled the trigger. Hell, those cops saw you leave with us. I don't even know Cortez, let alone what he looks like."

Roman stayed where he stood, his arms crossed. "Cortez doesn't give a shit about you knowing him or not, if given the chance to ruin a life, he'll do it no question asked. I'm guessing since they didn't mention two dead bodies, Martin is alive and reported back to him. He told the cops to pin this on you because he knows you have the baby and now that your face is all over the news you have nowhere to hide... literally. Everyone will be looking for you."

Pressing her hand to her face, she felt tears blurring her vision. "That doesn't explain why you weren't on the news either."

"On the news or not, it's still the same outcome. He's looking for me too if that makes you happy."

"If that makes me happy?!" Zadia repeated angrily. "How the hell could that possibly make me happy?!" Roman shrugged. "What the hell did you and your sister get me into?"

He eyed his boots. "I didn't get you into anything, if we're being honest, my sister did. She's not the best at decision making and since you took her baby in, I can say the same for you too. Corrupted decisions." He muttered the last part. "Until I figure out what I'm gonna do with you and the kid, I think you guys should stay put here. But if you'd rather take your chances elsewhere, that's fine, I don't give a shit. Either way, Santino stays here."

"Zadia!" Abel called in relief. He ran to her and Santino's position on the couch and hugged them both. "You were asleep for a while, I was so worried."

She smiled at him sadly. "I'm fine, Abe. Are you alright?"

He sat beside her on the couch. "Surprisingly, fine. They ain't all that bad here."

"I let you eat my Yorkshire pudding, little shit," Adam said poking his head into the living room. "Damn straight we're not all that bad." He joked. He sounded like he was from the United Kingdom but Zadia wasn't all too sure because accents weren't her thing.

"Adam," Roman said in a warning tone.

"Right, back to work I'm on it." He said, walking back into the kitchen.

Roman glanced at Abel and Zadia. "I know your family isn't worried about you." He said to Zadia. "But what about you?" He asked Abel.

"My Tía. I was been supposed to be home. She's probably livid right now."

Roman nodded, figuring out how Cortez would use this to his best interest. "Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to give you a phone and you're going to text her and tell her that you're fine." He said. "Since you guys are locals, it's only a matter of time before Cortez finds out where you stay. Therefore, also explain that she'll most likely have guys coming to her home looking for you."

"Why would they go through all that trouble, if they know he's with me?" Zadia asked.

"It'll help spread the narrative that you're dangerous. When they go to his aunt's house and see that he's not there, they'll spin the story and say that you abducted him. They'll be amber alerts and stuff like that to increase the search for you guys. Your Tía should go along with it all. They won't hesitate to kill her."

Abel's chest raised and fell, thinking about his aunt getting hurt. He didn't want that. She was innocent in all this, just as he and Zadia were. "Where's the phone?"

Roman reached into his jeans and pulled out a flip phone. "Give it back when you're done." He told him, passing him the phone. "Even though it's obvious and you all should know, I'll say it just in case you guys are stupid." He started. "After you get done texting her, you both talk to no one outside of here. It's a stupid move if you do and you'll just be putting everyone here, including the baby in danger. Hopefully, it won't take long to find my sister and we can get all this cleared up soon."

Abel grasped the small phone in his hand and typed in his aunt's phone number. It took him a minute to type what Roman had said and when he was finished, he pressed send. "Done." He passed Roman back the phone and took Tino from Zadia to hold him.

Everything felt like it was moving so fast.

Clearing his throat, Roman glanced at his watch. He had drugs to get rid of. As promised, every hour his sister was missing, he'd been stealing Cortez's drugs and sending him videos of them going up in flames. Was it petty? Yes, but it proved he was serious. "If I'd known I was having more people around, I would've chosen a bigger safe house. You guys don't mind sleeping in the same room until we relocate?"

Zadia turned to Abel and he nodded. "It's fine."

"Great. I'll send someone to get a crib for the baby." He gestured around the house. "Make the most out of it or whatever, just be sure to clean after yourselves. Most importantly, stay out of my way." When neither Zadia nor Abel said anything else, he walked away.

"At least we don't gotta worry about rent anymore," Abel said, attempting to crack a joke, but Zadia didn't laugh. She stared straight ahead, tears gliding from her eyes to her cheeks.

"You're aunts gonna kill me." She cried. "I was supposed to watch over you and I'm failing at that, just like how I'm failing at everything else in life. You're young, you're not supposed to be involved in shit like this and now look at you... look at us."

Abel placed a hand on her shoulder. It was weird seeing her cry, she'd always do anything but that. "She's not gonna kill you." Zadia gave him a look and he sighed. "Okay, maybe she is but look on the bright side. You've got time to live before she does." Zadia found herself snorting at what he just said. "I'm serious. The least we can do while we're here is... make the most out of it and  hope not to get caught."

"Do you think I made the right decision that night... taking this little guy in?" She asked, pinching Tino's cheeks.

"Of course I do. I'd do the same if I were in your position."

Zadia sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I think it's time I've told you about my parents."

Abel smiled at her sheepishly. "I may have already googled you, which led to me finding out about them."

Zadia laughed. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." He laughed. "My fault, it was just so tempting. No offense, but never in my life did I expect them to be loaded."

"They're loaded assholes if you ask me. Family sucks."

Abel leaned over, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. Tino smiled at them. "Good thing you've got us. We can be annoying at times, but I promise we'll look out for you. Always." He tickled Tino's stomach. "Well I speak for myself, all Tino does is eat and poop."

"Don't do him like that. He'll eventually grow and do more." She ruffled his hair.

Abel nudged her. "Anyways, we've got your back Yaya. Like it or not."

Zadia's face scrunched up. "Yaya? Seriously? I'll take a pass on that. It's either Zadia or Zee, nothing more and nothing less."

"Just you wait. You'll love it, watch." They both burst into a fit of laughter, their minds pushing away the hectic problems of today. Sure, sooner or later they'd have to deal with the brewing setbacks that were yet to come, but right now laughing together was all that mattered.

Not edited. Excuse any errors and point them out.

Happy New Year 💕