They just had to make sure they didn’t get caught. They also had to hope that Cam came home alone because they didn’t want to have to kill innocent bystanders. Anyone that walked through that door with Cam was getting their ass blown off. The house didn’t have an alarm system and had been checked thoroughly for cameras. Tech didn’t expect to be in any shit and especially not so soon, but he’d do anything for his kids and that included going to jail or hell.
The men heard the door being unlocked from the other side, and they all sat up straight while clutching their pistols. The door closed behind him, and Cam clicked on the light. “What the fuck?” he asked with a frown upon seeing the men in his home.
“No funny business, homeboy,” Tech warned as he stood with his gun aimed at Cam.
“I don’t have shit in here. On God, I was robbed for $50,000 not too long ago.” While he was pleading, Cam took his eyes off Tech for one second and when he noticed Lethal, rage filled him.
“That bitch got my money. Keyonna and Khrome teamed up and took $50,000 from me. She robbed you, and she robbed me. She’s all about herself. I know you’re not killing me because of that bitch. She wanted to rob you. She’s grimy as hell.”
“Shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down,” Tech stated between clenched teeth.
Cam slowly moved towards the chair that Tech had been seated in. His heart was racing a mile a minute. He knew there was no way they were letting him live. Despite all the dirt he’d done in his life, Cam wasn’t ready to die.
“Please let me go, man. We can let all this shit go. No beef. I swear.”
Lethal and Belvin remained quiet. With his gloved hand, Tech pulled a pack of walnuts out of his pocket. “Shut the fuck up. The only reason I want to see your mouth moving is to eat these fucking nuts. Take them,” he growled.
“I’m allergic to walnuts,” Cam panicked. He wasn’t sure which was worse. Being shot or his throat closing up. He ate some butter pecan ice cream once as a child, and he damn near died. Had he gotten to the hospital a minute later, it would have been over for him.
Tech didn’t want to hit him with the gun because he didn’t want any kind of foul play to be suspected in Cam’s death, but his patience was wearing thin. He jerked his head in Cam’sdirection, signaling for Belvin and Lethal to train their guns on him. Tech then opened the walnuts and removed a few from the package. Placing the nuts on Cam’s lips, he pushed, hoping some of the nuts entered Cam’s mouth. The man had his lips sealed, and it was pissing Tech off.
“Eat the got damn nut! You’re going to die either way. And if it’s not from eating the nuts, I can promise after I’m done torturing you, I’m going to drop you off in the woods half dead so coyotes and God knows what else can rip you to shreds. By the time your remains are found, there will only be bones left,” Tech promised.
Cam was on the verge of tears as he allowed Tech to place the walnuts in his mouth. The moment they hit his tongue, the inside of his cheeks, lips, and tongue began to itch. His fate was sealed.
“You choked a pregnant woman and made her go into premature labor, but you’re sitting there about to cry. Bitch-ass nigga,” Lethal spat with disdain. Every time he thought about Lyric inside that incubator fighting for her life, he wanted to do Cam dirty. He eyed the man with contempt as Tech forced another walnut inside of Cam’s mouth.
Cam’s body violently jerked forward, and he threw up. Tech jumped out of the way as the contents of Cam’s stomach hit the floor. Tech didn’t care if he threw the nuts up. He was going to keep eating them until they killed him. Unfortunately for him, throwing up did nothing to stop Cam’s body from reacting to the walnuts. His skin was clammy, and hives had appeared on his arms. He didn’t have an EpiPen because he was old enough to know to stay away from nuts.
If possible, he needed Benadryl, and that would only hold him over until he could get to the ER, but neither of those things were happening. His breathing became shallow as sweat blanketed his forehead. Cam couldn’t speak. He could barelyswallow. His heart raced as his lips swelled. Shit, maybe a head shot would have been quicker than suffocating. Placing his hand around his neck, Cam opened his mouth and attempted to suck in air. He couldn’t breathe, and his lips were double their normal size. He wheezed and struggled to breathe while Lethal and his goons just watched him. More than likely, begging would have been useless, but if he could have formed words, he would have asked the men to spare his life. Cam’s tongue felt thick, and his eyes watered.
Lethal, Tech, and Belvin watched as the man’s lips turned blue. Like a fish out of water, he was kicking and trying his best to get air into his lungs, but it was to no avail. The experience seemed as if it was taking forever, but in actuality, it only took about six minutes for him to completely stop breathing. His entire face had turned blue, and he died with his eyes open. The men were sure he was dead but in case he wasn’t, he would be by the time he was found. And just that simple, his life was over. The men slipped quietly out of the house like thieves in the night.
Hopefully, it would appear that Cam died from an allergic reaction to walnuts, and his death wouldn’t be investigated further. If by chance Lethal was questioned, he had an alibi. There were cameras at the front of the gym that he trained at. He walked in the front and slipped out of the back to accompany Tech and Belvin. He was going to sneak back inside and let the camera capture him leaving. Stopping a man from choking the mother of his child days ago, shouldn’t automatically make Lethal a suspect. Especially if Cam’s death wasn’t classified as a homicide.
“You good?” Tech looked over at his son as Belvin drove off. Technically, he was the one that took Cam’s life, but Tech would be willing to bet that his son had never seen a person die.
“I’m straight.” Lethal’s voice was void of emotion. “Every time I think about the fact that we have to wait to see what kind of complications Lyric might have to live with due to being born so early, I get pissed. Fuck that nigga. He’s exactly where he needs to be.”
Tech gave a curt nod while Belvin remained quiet.
In his opinion, if Khrome did take $50,000 from Cam, he deserved it. But was she lying to him and pretending not to have much? Was she still finessing? With a sigh, he slouched down in the car seat. Having to raise a child with a person he didn’t trust wasn’t going to be easy or fun, but there was nothing he could do about it. Lyric was there. They couldn’t take that night back. Lethal refused to have to side eye her every time she was in his presence. No fucks were given that she was Lyric’s mother. If she stole from him again or did some shiesty shit, he’d be raising Lyric alone and explaining to her that her mother died when she was a baby. Lethal wasn’t a gangster, but he wasn’t built to let people keep playing with him either. He would hate for Khrome to have to learn that the hard way.
When Giavanna came to, it felt as if a weighted blanket had been placed on top of her. Her body felt insanely heavy, and it was hard for her to force her eyes open. When she finally, did confusion clouded her as she realized she was in a hospital bed. What was even more insane was that Brazil was sitting beside her bed.
“Where’s Unique? What happened?” she panicked as she sat up.
“Hold on, she’s good,” Brazil replied in a soothing tone. “My people came and got her while I was waiting on the ambulanceto come get you. By the time I talked to the EMTs and told them what it was, he was pulling up. I just followed the ambulance here.”
Giavanna attempted to steady her breathing as she sat back and tried to remember what happened. “I left the store,” she recalled with furrowed brows. “I went home, and I didn’t feel good.” She remembered walking out to the car and then falling.
“I came up and saw you on the ground. Your door was open, and I could hear Unique crying. I was scared as shit. I didn’t know what happened or how long you’d been out there. My baby’s whole face was red. She had to have been crying for a minute.”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” Giavanna was on the verge of tears.
“She’s good, Giavanna. It’s not your fault you passed out. The fact that I didn’t know what happened had me stressed. Your phone has been ringing, but I only answered it when I saw that your mom was calling. She’s on her way up here.”
Giavanna looked down at her hand and saw that she’d been hooked up to an IV. “How long have I been here?”
