The smile dropped completely.
“Nah, Griz. We way past that ‘handle this like men’ shit. You made your choice when you decided to save that girl and lie to us about it. Now you gon’ deal with the consequences.”
He walked over to the duffel bag, unzipped it. I heard that sound—money. Stacks of it.
“You know what I been doing for the last twenty-four hours while you been sitting here?” He still wasn’t looking at me.
“Running around this bitch like I lost my goddamn mind trying to scrape together ten million dollars. Ten. Million. Dollars. You understand how much fucking money that is?”
“I know exactly how much it is.” I smugly said.
“Do you though?” Now he turned, and I saw something I ain’t expect—he looked exhausted. Defeated almost. “I don’t think you understand what you put in motion when you decided to play Captain Save-A-Hoe with this bitch. She was supposed to be dead. Her whole bloodline was supposed to be erased. That’s what Grim wanted, and when Grim want something done, it’s for a reason. He don’t move off emotions. He calculated. Strategic. Every move he make got purpose. He knew some shit like this could eventually happen if she was left alive. Yo tender ass didn’t care about that though. You must was just thinking with the wrong head.”
Savage started pacing, that bottle still gripped tight.
“But you?” He pointed at me. “You moved off your dick. Saw a pretty face, heard a sad story about her dead family, and decided to grow a fucking conscience. Now look where we at. Grim missing. Probably getting done dirty by a bitch who watched him kill everybody she loved. A bitch who been planning this shit for who knows how long. A bitch who smart enough, connected enough, and ruthless enough to actually pull off snatching the most dangerous nigga any of us know.”
He stopped pacing, looked dead at me.
“You know what that tells me, Griz? That tells me she ain’t working alone. She got real muscle. The type of muscle that can move on Grim and actually succeed. The type of security that can snatch a nigga like him without leaving a trace. So as much as I wanna just pull up on this bitch with every shooter I got to my name and light that whole shit up, I can’t. ‘Cause I don’t know what I’m walking into. Don’t know how many people she got. Don’t know what type of setup she running. And most importantly—” his voice cracked just a little, “—I don’t know if my brother even still breathing or where the hoe holding him at.”
That last part hit different. I could hear it—the fear hiding under all that anger. Savage ain’t care about much in this world, but he cared about Grim. Always had.
“He alive,” I said. “And I’m sorry to tell you this, but you sound pussy! Nigga, is you Grim brother or his bitch? Pick yo nuts up cause this shit is out of hand now. Be your own man Savage! You don’t have to dick pull that nigga to have your own identity. What the fuck happened to you?” I asked with a raised brow, knowing that I hit a nerve, but damn I was tired of hearing about muthafuckin Grim.
“Oh, now you got jokes?” Savage snapped, stepping closer. “You know I’ve been my own man, and standing on all ten! But I’m still my brother keeper! You know, the brother that never left? Don’t play with me right now, you ain’t in no position to be playing with me. Now, how do you know for sure he’s alive?”
“Yeah, alright nigga!” I said through clinched teeth as I stared a whole into Savage. This nigga really must have forgotten who I was. “Think about it. If Cherish wanted Grim dead, she would’ve killed him already and sent pictures of the nigga dead body. She had the drop. Had the perfect opportunity to blow his brains out and run off into the night. But she didn’t take it. She snatched him instead. That means she want more than just his death. She want him to suffer. Want him to feel every bit of pain she felt watching her family die while also receiving compensation for it.”
Savage stared at me hard, then nodded slow. “You right. Which make this shit even more fucked up. A person looking for revenge don’t think straight. They are emotional. They are reckless. They are unpredictable. If she got him tied up somewhere, ain’t no telling what shape he in. No telling what her people doing to my fucking brother right now.”
He rubbed his face with both hands, and for the first time since he walked in, my little brother looked like he was about to break. Savage had daddy issues and since Mayhem hated us, he looked to Grim to be his father figure. Now, I’m seeing things for exactly what they are. And I almost feel bad for his ass. Savage can’t survive without Grim because he looks to Grim to guide him. This shit was sad as fuck.
“I got about seven mil so far,” he said quietly, almost like he was talking to himself. “Hit every stash house I could think of. Called in every favor I had on the streets. Made deals with niggasI swore I’d never fuck with. Sold shit I ain’t have no business selling. But it still ain’t enough. I need three more million, and I need it fast ‘cause that bitch gave me seventy-two hours and I’m already down almost two days.”
“Where you planning to get the rest?” I asked, even though part of me already knew. I had the money. Hell, I had the full amount but I wasn’t about to buy a nigga freedom who’d turned on me and blackmailed me. That shit was dead.
Savage looked at me, and something dark passed across his face. Something that looked like shame mixed with desperation.
—
Savage crouched down in front of me and looked me dead in my eyes for a long moment without saying anything. Just studying me. Then he stood back up and started moving around the warehouse slow, like he was working through something in his head.
“You know what I think?” he finally said, stopping behind me. “I think you got the rest of that money. I think you been had it and been sitting on it this whole time while I’m out here running around like a fucking fool. You know I’ve done my research on you and the life you been living. You are partners with a wealthy family, and I don’t want to believe that you just a house nigga. That would disappoint the fuck outta me. Cause ain’t no way you’d leave us to go be the next nigga slave Griz.
I didn’t say anything.
“Three million, Griz.” He came back around where I could see him. “That’s what’s standing between my brother living and dying. And you sitting here with it.” He tilted his head. “Now Ialready told you what happens if Grim dies. You know I can’t let you breathe after that. So what’s it gonna be?”
“I got it,” I said dryly. I had to make this nigga believe that he was about to get it.
He went still.
“I got the three million,” I said again. “It’s at my house. In my safe. We can leave now to go and get it.”
Savage stared at me for a long second, then laughed. Low and slow. “You think I’m stupid. You think I’m really about to cut you loose so you can go home and try to play me.”
“I ain’t trying to play nobody. I said I got the money and I got it. Take me to my house and I’ll open my safe myself. You wasting valuable time. You really don’t wanna save your brother. If you do, then come on!”
