“Hey,” I greeted my brother. We hugged, and then I stepped aside to let Yale hug him. Yale excused herself to go to the bathroom, and I stood next to my brother as he helplessly watched Fable. “You got any sleep over the last couple of days?”
“About ten minutes,” he chuckled and shook his head. “I keep telling her that she gotta rest and shit though.”
“Pyrite,” I sighed and shook my head. “You gotta rest too.”
“Let me tell Itty Bitty I’m about to go,” he quietly said. Fable was asleep in the chair next to Yamari’s bed. He squatted next to her and rubbed his face along her jaw. Fable opened her eyes and looked at him. “I gotta do this meeting thing with the fam again.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. She looked over his head at me and smiled softly. “Hi.”
“Hey, sis,” I greeted her with a nod. “You need anything?”
Fable looked over at Yamari, and her smile dropped. “For her to wake up is all,” she said, shaking her head.
Yale came out of the bathroom and immediately went to Fable. She pulled her into a hug, whispered something into her ear, kissed her forehead, and then we left.
“How was your meeting with Gentle and Kenbral?” Pyrite asked as we made our way to the conference room.
“Smart ass mouths are a common genetic trait of the Strongs huh?” I grunted as we walked. Pyrite chuckled and nodded. “I don’t know who I dislike more.”
“Kenbral,” Pyrite answered. “He talks the most and swears everybody loves him.”
“I can’t stand his ass,” I said.
We got to the conference room, and I opened the door. Again, the Strongs sat on one side of the table; this time, Kenbral and Gentle were present. The DeCortes were to their right, all standing, with Hood and Givens. Citrine sat across from the Strongs, looking like he didn’t give a fuck about being outnumbered. On the opposite side of the room stood Xoey and Mirror. I don’t know when he showed up, but he was here. Gift stood in the corner between Xoey and the Strongs with his arms crossed.
“Let’s make this quick,” Citrine said without looking at us. I pulled out a chair for Yale to sit in, then sat next to my brother. Pyrite was on his other side. “Amethyst.” He looked down at me and nodded. “You were right. Quincy is using Yale’s accounts and one of the rental properties to lay low. Kenbral was able to use some of his contacts to get the information we needed.”
“According to--”
“Nobody needs a fucking story,” Gift said, cutting him off and shaking his head. “Keep that shit short. As a matter of fact, the only thing I need is a location. The rest of what the fuck you have to say isn’t needed.”
“Lil nigga,” Kenbral laughed as he stood. “This tough guy act you’re trying to pull is about to have you being admitted to this fucking hospital.”
Gift pushed off the wall, stood to his full height, and dropped his arms. I knew he was on edge because Purpose was hurt, but there was something else brewing between them. It would’ve been low-key entertaining if we weren’t in the middle of some shit. “By who, bitch?” Gift questioned him and took a step forward.
“We can’t do this shit right now,” Citrine said, shaking his head. He looked at Gift and sighed. “I know you wanna rock that nigga shit, trust me, I do, but right now ain’t the time.” He turned to Nine. “Can you control your cousin, please?”
“Gentle, get your family under control,” Nine said without looking up from his computer.
Gentle shook his head, then stood, said something to Kenbral that only he could hear, then sat down. Kenbral mugged Gift one final time, then returned to his seat.
“Thank you,” I said, nodding.
“Next time I’m going to let Gift throw his ass out that window,” Nine replied.
“I thought we moved past our differences,” Kenbral chuckled and smirked.
“Thinking ain’t ever been your strong suit,” Nine said, shaking his head. “Now you’ve got two options. Stay the fuck in your seat with your mouth shut or get handled.” He stopped typing, reached behind his back, and pulled a gun out. He set the gun next to his keyboard and went back to typing. “The choice is yours.” He turned and looked at Kenbral, his expression serious. “I’m hoping you choose the latter so I can end your ass now, though.”
Kenbral stood, and Nine mimicked his actions. “My nigga,” he chuckled and shook his head. “These niggas might fear you, but I don’t. Remember who you’re dealing with.”
“I’ve never forgotten,” Nine replied. “Now you remember who the fuck you are talking to.”
“Mecca, not right now.” Cross grabbed her husband’s arm before he could move. Calmly, Cross stood, took her husband’s face between her hands, and turned his face to look at her. “You cannot do this right now. I know you want to and trust when I say I understand your reasoning, but right now is not the time nor place.”
Nine stared down at Cross with his nostrils flared and aggressively licked his lips before he nodded. He retook his seat, and Cross picked up his gun and tucked it behind her back.
“I definitely thought Nine was going to beat that nigga’s ass until he was tired and musty,” Krude said, shaking his head. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, took out some money, and handed it to Mercy, who was standing next to him.
