Bittersweet Chocolate Read Free Page B

pleasant features and dark brown skin. He had hazel eyes with more white exposed than color, which made him seem in a perpetual state of fright, hence, his nickname Boo. Except there was nothing apprehensive about Brad. He was one of the top dogs of Camac and Diamond.
    “Marissa?”
    “Brad.”
    “Damn, you look different.”
    “It’s the makeup,” Darien interjected. “We’ve never seen her wearing makeup.”
    “Yeah...” Brad’s steady gaze remained on Marissa. “It makes you look a lot older. I wasn’t expecting that. Maybe I shouldn’t take you to this party, might not be able to protect you from the older guys.”
    “Whoa, give me a break, like I can’t protect myself.”
    Brad gave her a slow, appraising look. “Yeah, maybe you can, but I’ll have a word or two with the older men, just to be on the safe side.” He turned to Darien. “Okay, let’s do it.”
     
    The party was within walking distance, and the night was clear, not as cold as expected for mid-February. Hunched beneath their winter coats, their necks swathed in mufflers and earmuffs sheltering their ears, they set out, walking in companionable silence.
    In Philadelphia, quite a few people didn’t own cars. The transportation system was more than adequate. Bus stops were within easy walking distance to homes, the routes connected in one way or another, intersecting the subway, elevated trains, and commuter trains. Moreover, public transportation was cheaper than gas and parking fees.
    The threesome walked along Diamond Street to Broad Street without incident. She attributed their calm passage through the Avenue’s domain to winter temperatures.
    Crossing Broad Street put her on Camac and Diamond turf, and for all her outward bravado, she did have a few qualms about traversing that particular boundary. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary if members of C and D took exception to her coming into their territory. Lord knows, she hoped Brad had as much control over his gang as she’d heard.
    She didn’t want a gang war started over her― damn, the girlfriends. She was an unknown; they might see her as a challenge, and what a hell of a time to think about that.
    They turned off Diamond onto Park Avenue. Marissa looked around in surprise. Her mother had grown up on this side of town when the tall imposing three-story row houses were single-family homes. Most were now multi-apartment buildings.
    Climbing the steep front steps of the designated house, Brad opened the outer door, and they stepped into a vestibule with a black-and-white tiled floor. There was a bank of mailboxes built into one wall, and a row of doorbell buttons beneath them. The setting reminded her of the old movies she watched, and she wondered if these buildings had those metal fire escapes at the back like in the films.
    She snapped out of her rumination when she heard the muted, rhythmic sound of music. Pulse throbbing to the beat, she faded into her own world, until Brad’s voice intruded into her space.
    “If anybody gives you trouble, let them know you’re with me.”
    She nodded. Not a clue if she’d heard the entire content of his conversation, but she agreed because she thought Brad expected it.
    He pressed one of the buttons and she heard the faint sound of a buzzer, then the metallic click of the latch on the glass-paneled doors. Pushing against the heavy door, he held it open. She and Darien passed through, Brad released his hold, and she watched, fascinated, as the door closed and locked automatically.
    Smiling, she turned around and the tall imposing figure of Alex Stamford waited to greet them at the door of the first-floor apartment. Nicknamed Pookie, it was Alex’s party. She’d never met him before, but Darien had told her about most of the guys in the gang. He took their coats and directed them down a hallway toward the back of the apartment.
    Marissa moved along the dimly lit corridor, peering into darkened rooms as she went. For an apartment, the