Last night was a car show that Hell wasn’t going to miss. It was the only night The Society kids could do what the fuck they wanted without their parents breathing down their necks, so Kelechi would have to be dead to miss that. Of course, he wasn’t going without me, even though I didn’t care of crowds.
When I saw Shakur, he didn’t look like he was a nigga who had been hiding. He looked like a nigga who’d returned for what was his, and trust me, there was a fucking difference! If you know, you know.
Anyone who wanted to remain lowkey or in hiding wasn’t going to show up at a fucking car show where everybody was going to be!
A move like that screamed—surprise bitches, I’m back!
I smirked at Sony, knowing I was about to be messy as fuck until I found out the truth.
The doors opened, pulling my attention away from Sony, and Sincere walked in, instantly silencing the room. I noticed how people dropped their heads just so they wouldn’t have to look him in the eyes.
I simpered, knowing this old nigga was up to something. Nobody had seen his ass in about two years, and now all of a sudden, he wanted to call some impromptu meeting.
Everyone stood to their feet to watch him walk to his seat. I frowned when I noticed his walk was a little slower than usual. He looked off balance. Weak.
I looked around to see if anyone else noticed, but they were all too busy being star struck to see what I was seeing.
Once Sincere took a seat, so did everyone else. I looked at his leg again, my brows knitting further because I knew something wasn’t right.
In his face, he still looked the same, but something in his eyes was different, adding to the weird feeling brewing inside of me.
Sincere suddenly looked at me, and I saw it—he was sick!
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” Sincere began. His eyes moved around the room again before they landed on me. A smirk tugged at his lips, and I had to laugh because he knew I read him.
“I’m not going to draw this out. I called you all here because I have an announcement to make,” Sincere declared, and the room fell silent.
“He’s stepping down,” I whispered to myself, but Hell heard me.
“What,” he questioned, but I didn’t answer him because I was waiting for Sincere to say what I already knew was coming.
“As many of you know, I’ve been doing this since I was seventeen years old. I’m sixty-seven now. That’s fifty fucking years, and I’m tired as fuck now,” Sincere chuckled, and so did everyone else. It was like if he breathed, they did, if he laughed, they did. I wasn’t hating, just had to respect the pull he really had.
“I never had any children, my wife wasn’t able to give me any, and I was okay with that,” Sincere continued, and then he looked at me again.
“Because of that, I’ve decided that I’m going to step down,” he said what I already knew.
Murmurs broke out in the room, but I kept my composure because I was expecting that. Sincere looked tired, and he was doing what any other tired nigga would do—retire.
“With that being said, one of you will be my replacement.”
God forbid. I couldn’t imagine a heavy burden like that being placed on my shoulders. Thank God it could never be me! I would hate to be surrounded by wolves waiting for my neck to be exposed so they could strike. I knew the hard life Sincere must have lived, and that was my worst nightmare!
Again, our eyes locked as everyone mumbled what that statement could mean for them, glad that it had nothing to do with me. I noticed out of the corner of my eyes that Orlando grabbed Hell by his shoulder.
“It has to be you, Hell. Make sure it’s you,” he harshly whispered to my brother loud enough for me to hear.
My head snapped back in their direction, wondering why my brother would want a burden like that to carry.
“No, Hell, don’t,” I whispered to him, and he just looked at me. I shook my head to reiterate to leave it alone.
Sincere stood to his feet. A little wobble indicated the lion had lost some of his strength, but it didn’t take anything away from his roar.
“I will choose one of you to replace me. It will be my choice and a final choice—no matter the rank you have now.”
“What?” someone yelled, mirroring the thoughts of everyone inside this room.
Now I was confused because what did he mean by that? Surely, only a first-born son could take his place. I assumedthat would have been Sincere’s choice too, but he just stated otherwise.
