“Get the fuck off of me!” I looked up to see Juno, Lou, and Kev dragging a very conscious Demarion through the doors.
“Shut up! Snitch ass bitch! Kevin sent a fist flying into his face.
“I swear to God, when I get loose, I’m gon’ fuck ya bitch ass up!”
“Let his ass loose, niggas. I’ve been waiting to tag this bitch ass clown,” Kevin commanded, taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves. I chuckled because Kevin loved to fight. It was how I met his ass. He was a part of this illegal fight club that Mill, Mook, and I attended some years back. He was damned good at it, and I knew I needed someone like him on my team. When I approached him after a fight and asked how much he was making to do that shit, he told me he didn’t make enough to live the way he wanted, but he got paid. I offered him a job as my street enforcer, paying him way more, and he gladly accepted.
The nigga had hands of steel and could knock a nigga out with one hit. What he just gave Demarion upon arrival was light work.
“Easy, Kev,” I said to him, smirking. “Put his ass over there in the chair.” They dragged him over to the wooden chair and secured him in it. Juno snatched the sackcloth from his head, and I could see a slight fear in his eyes when they landed on me.
“Emery—”
“Shhh.” I shushed him. “So you do know who I am,” I stated rather than asked.
“Listen, bro! Them motherfuckas set me up! You gotta believe me!”
“No, I don’t.”
“Come on, man. You know I would never rat them out!”
“Yet you were in line to testify against them on Thursday.”
“I wasn’t even going to show up!”
“Too bad, nigga. The fact that you haven’t skipped town yet lets me know you were about to perform and sing your fucking heart out. Since you claim you weren’t going to show up, let me help you with that.” I pulled the .50-caliber from my waist.
“Em, wait?—”
I pulled the trigger, emptying the clip into his face and chest.
“Put his ass in the incinerator. I don’t want a trace of his bitch ass to be found.”
“What about ol’ girl? The other witness?” Kev asked.
“Already handled.” I walked away with Juno following close behind. The more motherfuckas I had to shut down, the more I became anxious about leaving this bullshit behind. None of this was worth the sacrifice when I knew the kind of future I had planned for my life. My brother and Mook may have been on trial, but I felt as if I were the prisoner. This life had chained and bound me since I was a teenager. Shit used to be fun, being able to exude a certain power, make a lot of money, and reign supreme in the streets. But, as I got older, shit started to become less appealing, and thoughts of Yumi began to surface, and I wanted what I had envisioned with her.
It was funny how life worked.
I was manifesting her return to me without even knowing I was doing the shit. When she walked into my house, I just knew the Big Homie had finally answered a nigga’s prayers. Knowing that, at this very moment, she was in our home, I vowed to do everything I could to make sure she remained there.
Since I drove the decoy car, I left it at the warehouse and hopped in with Juno. Without even acknowledging it, this nigga had become my unofficial bodyguard/driver. He used to be security for my pops a long time ago until I transitioned him to driving for me when I didn’t feel like driving myself. But, as time moved on, and motherfuckas’ loyalty started to become faulty, he was the only one I knew who remained solid.
In my line of work, you quickly began to tap into discernment. The more money a nigga made, the more he started to feel himself, and those true colors began to shine bright. I couldn’t count on one hand how many bodies I dropped over the years from people being disloyal. I didn’t kill women unless I really had to, which was why Leyla and Terrica were able to live to see another day. All I had to do was pay Leyla to go away and threaten the bitch Terrica. It would be up to them if they wanted to keep their lives moving forward.
Juno pulled up to my house thirty minutes later, and I stepped out of the car.
“Tomorrow night?”
I nodded. “Affirmative. I won’t need you in the morning, so enjoy your family.”
“You got it, boss. Goodnight.”
I saluted him and went inside. The house was quiet, as expected at this late hour, as I checked that the doors and windows were locked. Even though I had a security system, I still checked to make sure nobody slipped in this big motherfucka.
I headed upstairs to the presidential suite, hearing a girly laugh coming from my bedroom and the TV on low. I pushed the door open, seeing Yumi on her side, hair wrapped, with snacks on the nightstand. My heart smiled when I saw her in my bed, hell, in my presence at all.
She looked up to see me standing there and smiled.
