I stopped myself. Couldn’t think like that. Had to stay positive but prepared. I had to make it home to my wife. I knew if I died on this mission, Malani would kill me again. That couldn’t be my outcome.
I climbed in the driver’s seat and just sat there for a minute. My phone was in my hand before I even realized I grabbed it. I pulled up a picture of Malani holding Tre at the hospital. Both of them sleeping, peaceful, safe.
My family.
The family I might not come home to if this went wrong.
I thought about calling her. Hearing her voice one more time. But what would I even say? “Hey baby, I love you, I might die tonight”? Nah. That wasn’t the move. I was trained for this shit, only difference is, I never went into a mission blind. I alwaysknew what I was walking into, and I always stalked my marks prior to.
Instead of moving prematurely, I just stared at the picture, memorizing every detail. The way Tre’s little hand was curled into a fist. The slight smile on Malani’s face even in sleep. The way the hospital light hit them just right, making them look almost angelic.
I had everything to lose.
But I also had everything to fight for.
And one thing I knew for certain—you don’t leave your people out to drown.
Griz had been there for me through everything lately. Helped me build this empire, protected my family, never asked for nothing in return. If he was in trouble, I was coming. Without a question.
I tucked my phone away and started the engine. Through the rearview I could see the convoy forming behind me. Three trucks deep in total, at least five niggas in each one, all strapped and ready.
I pulled up the location on my phone one more time. The red dot was still in the same spot, two hours out in some abandoned industrial zone. That told me whoever had Griz wasn’t planning to move him anytime soon. They felt safe there. All I could do was pray that my nigga was still in one piece when I got to him.
They were wrong to think they were safe, and nobody would find them. I leaned back in my seat and rested my head on the headrest while I drove cautiously, but still a little above the speed limit. I had a knot in the pit of my stomach. It was the feeling of the unknown tugging at me. I said a silent prayer.
“God, I know I ain’t came to you in a while on no begging shit, but just to thank you lately. But now, I’m asking for a favor. I know I done a lot of things I probably shouldn’t have. But if you listening right now, I need you to get me home to my wife and my son. Let me see my boy grow up. Let me hold my wife one more time. And help me bring my brother home safe.”
I stared straight at the rode ahead.
At the end of the day, this was what it meant to be a man. To be a leader. You protect yours. You show up when shit gets real. You don’t leave your people behind, no matter the cost.
The city lights faded behind us as we headed into darker territory. The GPS said we had an hour and forty minutes until we reached the location. An hour and forty minutes to mentally prepare for whatever was waiting.
I glanced in the rearview again at my soldiers. Every single one of them was ready for whatever. Every single one was willing to die tonight if it came to that.
I couldn’t let them down.
More importantly, I couldn’t let Griz down. The nigga came around and had been nothing but a brother and a right hand to me.
“Hold on bro,” I said out loud, even though he couldn’t hear me. “We coming.”
The convoy sped through the night, headlights cutting through the streets, all of us heading toward the same destination. Toward violence. Toward blood.
Toward family.
Because that’s what this was really about. Not business. Not territory. Not money.
Family.
And I’d burn the whole world down before I let anybody take mine from me. In this game, you learned that when you find someone loyal, you keep them in your corner by any means necessary.
—
The closer we got to the warehouse, the more my hands started sweating. I wiped my palm on my jeans, but that shit didn’t help. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. This wasn’t fear—nah, I’d been in worse situations. This was something different. This was the weight of not knowing what the fuck I was about to walk into. Or who the fuck Griz had gotten mixed up with.
I pulled out my phone one more time, staring at that picture of Malani and Tre. My whole world right there in one frame. I brought the screen to my lips and kissed it, holding it there for a second longer than I needed to.
“Please God,” I whispered. “Just let me make it back to them.”
