“Okay,” she whispered.
Gideon moved his hand and held it out to her. She reluctantly accepted it, and he helped her off the bed. As they made their way out of the room, Gideon sent a text to the Vicious Kings. He would let Glimmer think they were going to see her mother alone, but every fiber of his being told him he needed to have backup. After getting the address from Glimmer, he sent it to the group chat.
Nobody spoke to them as they left the compound. Gideon wasn’t worried. He knew they would follow right behind him within a minute. They never played about each other’s safety, and they wouldn’t start today.
Instead of taking his bike, Gideon opted to take the same car Glimmer tried to sneak away in. It would make for an easier getaway if it came down to that. Deep down, he hoped he was wrong, but he also felt it in his spirit that he wasn’t.
The drive to one of the rundown neighborhoods in The Bay was silent. Gideon knew Glimmer was wrestling with the idea of seeing her mom again after so much had gone down. Gideon wrestled with how to deal with whatever was about to come his way.
When they pulled up, Gideon scoped the scene and then went around the block a couple of times before he parked right in front of the rundown apartment building. He looked at Glimmer. “You ready?”
She simply nodded. He quickly got out and opened the door for her. They walked up the dirty path toward the building, dodging used needles and pee puddles before they took the stairs up to the second floor. When they got to the apartment Camille had sent Glimmer, she raised her fist and knocked lightly.
It didn’t take but two seconds for the door to open. It had been a long time since Gideon had seen Camille. She hadn’t aged one bit, though he noticed she wasn’t rocking designer from head to toe now. Her hair was in two braids along the side of her head. Her face held a scowl, void of makeup, and she wore a baby blue tracksuit with a black line along the side.
“I thought I told you to come alone.”
“Ma, this is Gideon, my husband,” Glimmer said, nervously glancing between the two of them.
Camille waved him off. “I know who he is. Like I said, I thought I told you to come alone?”
“It just wasn’t possible?—”
“She don’t go nowhere alone,” Gideon barked, already sick of her shit.
Camille took her time looking him up and down before a smirk formed on her face. She looked so much like Glimmer, . . . just so much meaner.
She hummed. “Oh, you one of them.” She looked at Glimmer. “Got you a damn guard dog, huh?”
“Can we come in, Mama? You said you wanted to talk,” Glimmer reminded her.
Once again, Camille smirked, which caused warning bells to sound off within Gideon. He pulled out his phone and let his men know to be ready at the door in thirty seconds and on standby. He wasn’t about to take no damn chances.
“Of course. Come on in.” Camille stood out of the way as the two of them entered. The place was rundown and small as hell. Just inside the door, he could see the small kitchen, thebedroom, the living room, and the bathroom. The white carpet was gray and dirty, and it smelled like mildew. He swore he saw a damn rat disappear into a dark corner. Gideon’s face frowned up, but it turned into a scowl at Camille’s next words.
“You really should have come alone, Glimmer. Might have saved you some heartache.”
“What—”
Glimmer’s words were cut off when a deep voice sounded from behind the bedroom door, which had been mostly closed, save for a crack.
“It’s all good, Camille. A two-for-one special ain’t ever hurt nobody.” Trick stepped out of the room with a shit-eating smirk on his face.
Gideon registered gunshots sounding off just outside the door, which filled him with rage. It meant Trick’s crew was on standby, too, and was now currently at war with the Vicious Kings. He wasn’t too worried. The weapons they possessed could take out the US Army, but it pissed him off that niggas were bold enough to even try them.
He forced himself to focus on getting him and Glimmer out of there safely. He had a gun on him, but he knew Trick would watch for him to pull it out. Luckily, he had enough sense to place his favorite weapon inside his hoodie pocket. He just had to get close enough to Trick to use it.
“Mama?” Glimmer asked.
Gideon hated the emotion in her voice. He tried to warn her. Hell, he wanted to save her from this, but he knew Glimmer had to come to terms with the kind of woman her mother was on her own.
“Don’t look at me with those puppy dog eyes. That shit only works on your father.”
“Why would you do this? You know he has a hit out on my head, right?”
Camille waved her off. “He ain’t tryna kill you, girl. He just wants to marry you.”
“She’s already married.” Gideon’s temper flared. The thought of another nigga tryna give Glimmer their last name was about to send him into that black place he tried so desperately to avoid.
