She slid her fingers between mine. “I do.”
The only thought that crossed my mind was that she truly loved a beast like me.
CHEVY
Beep! Beep! Beep!
My eyes open slowly to Z’s face, looking at me. I knew she was probably mad, but she should know by now that the nigga she married wasn’t a bitch.
“Baby, how do you feel?” she asked sweetly.
Zaria, the mother of my children, the light to my darkness, and the woman who has been by my side since day one, stood there with worry in her eyes. I shifted my body in the bed, “I’m straight, Z, where are my sons?”
“They’re out there with Harvey and the guys. I’m happy you’re ok, though.”
“Make sure Foe ain’t out there teaching my little niggas how to shoot.”
She laughed. “June, they can’t even sit up on their own yet.”
“Yeah, but you don’t know Foe as I do. That nigga be having shit up his sleeve. Anyway, where is Bishop? How is he?”
Z pulled her eyes away from me, and that made me feel uneasy. “Z, what the fuck!” I said as I swung the cover back to get out of bed.
My arm ached where I had been hit. Zaria ran around in front of me. “You can’t get out of this bed, June. Bishop is not doing well. They’ve been trying to stop the bleeding. I called your sister, and she’s on her way here.”
My head flew back because what the fuck was she saying to me? Bishop and I weren’t best friends, but we had finally gotten to a place of understanding. We looked out for each other, and here it was, my nigga was still laid up, and I was able to walk out of here Scott free. “I need to see him,” I mumbled.
“June, don’t do this to yourself.”
“Z, baby, you wanted me to build this relationship with him, and I did. Now I’m supposed to leave him hanging?”
She nodded. “Let me grab a wheelchair.”
I waved her off as I stood. “Nah, once you sit in one of those and don’t need it, you end up in one permanently. I can walk, just lead me to the room.”
The nurse came in front of the door to stop me. “Sir, you lost a lot of blood. We need you to—”
“Ma’am, get out of the way. If he says he’s fine, he’s fine. How are you going to tell somebody what to do if they’re paying you, now get the fuck out of the way.”
The nurse slowly moved as Z and I made our way down the hall. We passed the waiting area where the guys stood, watching me scoot my feet past. “This nigga! Of course you won’t lay your ass down for a minute,” Foe spat.
“Harvey, don’t let that nigga near my sons.”
Diamond came closer toward me. “Damn, Chev, you got hit in your arm, not your ass. Why are you walking like that?”
I grumbled as Z, and I continued to the elevator. We went up two floors, and when the door opened to the ICU, my knees buckled. I don’t know if Bishop saw, but I did. Naheem’s days were numbered. We had finally reached the room, and the version of Bishop I was looking at reminded me of my moment in a similar bed, fighting for my fucking life. I didn’t know too much about Bishop’s past, but to know he was at war with his pops was enough for me. I planted a soft kiss on Z’s lips as I opened the door and went inside the room without her.
I walked over toward Bishop’s bedside while he looked like he was sleeping peacefully. “Damn, this shit can’t be happening,” I mumbled. “It was only yesterday we were trying to rip each other's heads off, to us getting into a fucking shoot out, to you somehow lying in this bed in a place that’s probably better than here.”
I honestly didn’t know what to say because a part of me felt broken. I knew Bishop’s mother was gone, and the nigga’s father wanted him dead and to know you could be on the verge of death and have no family that loves you had to hurt. I touched his shoulder. “Don’t worry, my nigga, I’m your family. I need you to pull through. Only you can fight for your life and Bishop, if you can hear me, I need you to fight. Who’s going to run the Cove? Only the Prince can do that,” I told him.
The sounds of screaming sobs seeped through the door. When it swung open, it was Indigo.“Bishop!”she screamed as her eyes were bloodshot red. “Baby, wake up! I’m here. Bishop, please,” she cried as she lay her head on top of him.
I wanted to tell her it was going to be ok and that he was going to pull through, but I didn’t know. I had never been a nigga to give false hope, so I allowed her to cry. Her shoulders bounced up and down as she cried. You could hear the love in her voice,the pain, and the tiny piece of faith she was holding on to, just as Zaria did for me when I had my time.
Indigo blew out a sharp breath as her lips trembled, kissing him softly. “I’m ready now, baby. I’m clean, I’m stronger, Bishop, I’m ready, and you can’t leave me. We can get married and have kids, just come back to me, please.”
I took a deep breath as I crept toward her and wrapped my arms around her. The moment I embraced her, Indigo melted into my arms. For the first time, I said it. “I love you, sis, and he’s strong, he’s going to pull through.”
