Karma II.

Chapter 2

Houston, Texas:

"Mommy!" Journee jolted awake as her daughter's excited voice pierced her ear. Her hand instinctively gripped the pistol under her pillow, but she quickly relaxed when her eyes landed on her daughter, Crys, standing beside their loyal Pitbull, Peanut Butter, who shadowed her like a protective, overgrown puppy.

"Dammit, Crys, you scared the hell out of me," Journee exhaled, her heartbeat slowing.

"Well, you sleep so hard, Mommy! Peanut Butter even licked your face, and you still didn't wake up!" Crys replied, her little face scrunched in disapproval.

Journee rubbed her eyes, glancing at the clock. "Mommy just got home four hours ago, baby. I'm a little tired, sorry."

Crys's face softened. "It's okay, Mommy. But can we go to Starbucks now? Peanut Butter wants a pup cup!"

Journee chuckled, slipping out of bed. "Peanut Butter must have pup cup money, then." The dog's head tilted at her, as if he were genuinely considering it.

"He's just a pup, Mommy. He doesn't have no money—right, Peanut?" Crys said, giggling as the dog barked twice in agreement.

Journee smiled, her heart full as she looked at her daughter, who was a spitting image of her father. "You remember when I told you I named you after your daddy?"

"Yes," Crys nodded, her eyes wide with interest. "You said Daddy is the best man in the world, with the biggest heart, and he loves me a lot even though he doesn't know me yet."

Journee reached out to smooth down Crys's bedhead. "Well, last night, while I was working... he found me. And I was thinking about inviting him over so he can meet you. Would that be okay?"

Crys's eyes lit up with excitement, her smile spreading ear to ear. "Really? I get to meet Daddy?"

"Yeah, baby, I'll talk to him this morning during our routine, because I can smell both of y'all's breath from over here," Journee teased, grinning. "I'll tell him to come over."

Crys wrinkled her nose, hands on her hips. "Mommy, you just smellin' your upper lip."

"Oh, you better—"

"Run, Peanut!" Crys shouted with a laugh, dashing out of the room with Peanut close behind. Journee chuckled, tossing the blanket off as she stood up and grabbed her phone from the charger. She picked up the small slip of paper under it with Chris's number—she'd gotten it just before leaving the office four hours ago.

Dialing his number, she held the phone to her ear as it rang. After a few rings, his voice came through. "Hello?"

She couldn't help but smile. "Hey..."

There was a bit of shuffling on his end. "Journee, I've been waiting for hours—I was about to come sit at the FBI headquarters!" he joked.