“I have a hard time getting comfortable,” I replied, and he nodded.
“I ordered you a body pillow; it should be here around noon,” he said, then picked up the plate next to the stove. “I’m going back to the hospital to check on everybody, but I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“I planned to go up there,” I replied.
“You can ride with me,” he offered as he plated the eggs. He set the plate in front of me and stepped back. “I mean, if you want to.”
“Amethyst--”
“Sunshine, I’m not trying to impose on your space or anything like that,” he said, cutting me off. “I just know you didn’t sleep well, and I’m trying to offer you a moment of reprieve.” He took a deep breath and then shook his head. “Nah, I’m lying, and I said I wouldn’t do that shit no more. I’m not going to keep you in the dark because I think I’m protecting you. Yesterday, while at the hospital, Yeti was attacked; he’s in critical condition.”
“Yeti was attacked?” I asked him, and he nodded. “As in big ass, scary Yeti? Who the hell got the upper hand on Yeti?”
“We don’t know,” he said, crossing his arms. “There are a couple of ideas being thrown around, but until we see thesecurity tapes, we don’t know. Which is what I plan to do while I’m there.” He rubbed the back of his neck and briefly looked away. “I have a feeling it’s going to be someone connected to Quincy and who we think is his boss. But we won’t know--”
“Until you see the tapes,” I finished for him, and he nodded. “Alright, let me get dressed, and then we can head to the hospital.”
“Sunshine--”
“Amethyst, I’m going to get my shoes, then we are going to the hospital. You can either drive me, or I can drive myself. The choice is yours, but understand that the result will be the same; we will be at the hospital.” I picked up my plate and fork and left the kitchen.
Chapter forty-three
Amethyst
“What the fuck is Tank doing?” I watched the security video on my phone while sitting in my office. After checking on Yeti, who was in the ICU, and seeing Diara and Destyn, I brought Yale home. She went straight to her room, locking the door as soon as it closed behind her. Shit was kind of comical to me because she knew, just like I did, if I wanted in that room, that fucking lock wasn’t going to stop me. Instead of kicking that bitch in, I was giving her some time to herself. We had plans later, though.
I paused the video, then picked up my phone to make a call. I needed more eyes on this video to make sure I wasn’t trippen. Neither of my brothers was answering, so I called the next nigga on my list, Morning.
“Make this shit quick,” he answered. “I gotta walk into a meeting.” If I didn’t know Morning and how he really was, I would’ve been taken aback by the way he sounded. Our liveswere in turmoil, and he was working? But I did know him, and I knew he wasn’t.
“You heard about Yeti?” I asked him. I turned to the computer and started inputting his information to send him the encrypted email.
“Yeah, Citrine called.” The sound of a door opening, then his steps, echoed through the phone. “Why?”
“I sent you the video, tell me I’m not trippen.” I pressed send, then sat back and waited.
Morning kissed his teeth. “Tank?” he questioned. “The fuck is he doing there?”
“Keep watching,” I said, knowing when he saw what I did that he’d lose his shit. I set the phone on my desk and tapped the speaker button. I counted down from ten in my head, and just as I got to three, Morning started softly singing, and I knew he’d put the connection together. He only hummed when he was pissed and didn’t trust himself to speak, and when he was really pissed, he sang. It was a family trait; his two brothers did it as well. The crazy part was that all of them niggas could sing. Nah, not sing, theysang---like made the hairs on your neck and arms raise, goose bumps on your skin, and your eyes water kind of voices, and everyone knew that when they did, someone was going to die.
The phone beeped, flashed twice, and then went black, indicating that he’d hung up. I tapped the play button and watched again as Tank walked into the hospital and went straight to Yamari’s room. The few people allowed on her floor were all affiliated with Stone ENT in some capacity. Tank being there wouldn’t have been abnormal except that no one knew she was here. To keep reporters away and because it was an active investigation at this time, everyone was told that the victims of the shooting were at a different hospital. I hated the word victim but that’s what they were; they were hurt right now because ofsome shit that didn’t have anything to do with them. I watched as Tank rode the elevator up to Yamari’s floor, spoke to the security on the floor, and even flashed his Stone ENT badge before heading in the direction of her room. Tank was second in command, right up there with Yeti, but wasn’t on the list of niggas who needed to know because he was out of town for some family shit. I sat forward when he approached Yeti. Everything looked normal, like he was checking in with his boy and boss, but it wasn’t. Yeti stood up with a confused expression on his face. They exchanged words, and even though I could tell that Yeti was trying to figure out what was going on, Tank looked relaxed. They chopped it up for a few more minutes, then they dapped each other up. I thought it was going to end there, but then the elevator doors opened again, and this time Lavender stepped out. She approached Yeti and Tank, gave them a quick hug, then walked into Yamari’s room.
Yeti’s phone must’ve rung because he took it from his pocket, looked at the screen, then held up his hand, basically telling Tank to give him a second, then turned his back to answer the phone. That’s when Tank took his chance and pulled the knife from his back pocket. Moving quickly, he wrapped his arm around Yeti’s neck from behind and stabbed him repeatedly. Yeti was a big nigga, but so was Tank, which is how he got his name. He used to fight in Citrine’s underground boxing ring and had been with us for years. When Yeti finally went down, Tank knocked twice on Yamari’s door, and a few seconds later, Lavender walked out of the room. She looked down at Yeti, then got on her tiptoes and kissed Tank before they left.
I picked up my phone to call Pyrite again.
“I saw you called. I was about to call you back,” he answered with an attitude. “I had to drag the charge nurse over some shit she said to Itty Bitty. The bitch had the nerve to try to tell hershe wasn’t Yamari’s family.” He chuckled, then kissed his teeth. “Yamari is Fable’s fucking sister. Blood doesn’t mean shit.”
“Have you looked at the video Cross sent?” I asked, not trying to get him started, because I needed him to calm me down. They kept saying I was moving without thinking, and I was trying to change that shit.
“Nah,” he answered. “Give me a minute, I’ll call you back.” He hung up, and I dropped back into my seat.
A few minutes later, I was up and headed to check on Yale. Her sisters were in the kitchen talking, and when I walked by, I gave them a nod in acknowledgement but didn’t stop. I took the steps two at a time, then, when I got to the primary bedroom door, I knocked and waited. The longer she took to answer the door, the more annoyed I got. I lifted my hand to knock again, and she pulled the door open, wrapped in a towel. Her skin was damp, and instantly, my dick got hard.
“Amethyst--”
I pushed into the room, being mindful not to shove her but making sure I was in the room before she realized what the fuck I was doing. I closed the door behind me, locking it in case her nosy ass sisters came looking for her and pulled her to me by the top of the towel.
