Deuce raised an eyebrow. “And then?”
“Tomorrow, before that seventy two hours is up, I’m handling Cherish and Grim at the same time. Two birds.” I looked at him.“One stone. I’m gonna save my brother, but the nigga will have consequences to the shit he’s pulled.”
Deuce nodded slow. Looked at me for a moment then looked around the warehouse — at the broken door, the dead guards, the shattered D’ussé bottle still on the concrete. Then he looked back at me and his mouth pulled to the side.
“You know,” he started, falling into step beside me as we moved toward the exit, “I rode two hours, shot niggas, kicked a whole door off its frame—” he paused, “—for a nigga that put himself in this situation fuckin around with a bitch. Nigga, I thought you was stiff on a hoe. This Cherish bitch must had yo head gone.” Deuce laughed and hit my back.
“Man.” I shook my head.
“Nah for real, if you ever in trouble.. just know that I’m coming. I didn’t know if I would make it back to my wife and my baby, but I knew I needed to save my brudda. We family Griz. No matter how skeptical I was in the beginning. You’ve proved yourself to me and mine. I appreciate you. That necklace was on point too. Ole smart ass nigga.”
“I appreciate you riding out, bro. On everything. We are family, and I’m glad you can see that I’ve always been for you, never against you.”
He shook his head. “Talking about two birds one stone. Nigga couldn’t even keep himself out of a chair. You better do this shit right! Then you can handle the nigga Savage last. He’ll be put up for you. I hate to get in family business, but I know how wicked that shit can be. Just make sure whatever decision you make with your brothers, you’ll be able to live with.
I said nothing. Just grabbed my phone off the crates where Savage had placed it, then walked out into the night air, wrists still sore. What I needed more than anything was a fuckin drink. My own damn brother. All I could think about was the shit Savage had pulled.
I was alive. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.
I rode in the car with Deuce, sitting in silence, and the driver was getting closer to my crib. Deuce had been quiet for most of the ride, which wasn’t unusual for him. Deuce wasn’t the type to talk just to speak without nothing to say. When he spoke, he always said some real shit.
“Real talk,” he said, eyes forward. “You might wanna sit at the safe house for a couple days. You don’t know who else Savage put onto your location. Niggas know where you rest now. I don’t like that shit. We finna have to beef up security. You wanna live like a regular nigga, and you ain’t. I know you don’t like having drivers and shit like that, but when it comes to your kingdom, you gotta protect that muthafucka heavily. You teach me so much, but at the same time want to be hard headed when it comes to your own shit.” Deuce said, more concerned than anything.
I almost laughed. Almost.
“I hear you,” I said. “But I’m not about to let a nigga run me out my own house. That’s not how I move. Yeah, more security is cool. I’ll agree to that one. My brothers are a lot of things, but them niggas ain’t crazy enough to cross me like that and send people where I lay my head. This shit that Sav pulled only happened because Grim’s life is on the line. I know them. Savage wanted to scare me, not kill me.
Deuce glanced over at me but didn’t push it.
“Besides,” I added, “if that’s where Savage is about to be held, I might fuck around and kill that nigga prematurely. I’ll save everybody the trouble of dragging the shit out.”
Deuce let out a short laugh and shook his head. “Say less. I respect it. I’m not gone get in your business cause I don’t know the full dynamics, but I don’t want you to kill yo brother unless that shit absolutely necessary. And in that case, do what the fuck you have to do.”
Once the driver pulled up to my crib, I was zoned out, replaying this whole situation. We sat there for a second, the kind of quiet that made you think. Then he looked over at me with something that was almost a smirk. This nigga hated my ass at first when he thought I was trying to replace Dank, now he was willing to go to war and play down his life behind me. I knew what that smirk meant, and I appreciated my boy.
“I gotta get back before Malani kills me. Nigga, I been gone since we barely made it through the front door from being the baby home. She gone have my whole head.”
I laughed, for real this time. The first real laugh I’d had in two days. Deuce played hard but this nigga was really scared of Malani. “Go home to your wife, man. And tell her my apologies.”
“On everything.” He dapped me up, held it for a second. “We get up tomorrow. Handle this.”
“Without question.” I responded. And by handle this, he meant Cherish and Gremlin.
I got out and the driver pulled off quickly. Deuce didn’t want to be in any more trouble with Malani, and I completely understood that.The shit actually made me feel bad for dragging him away from his family on the first day home.
Inside, the house was exactly how I’d left it. Everything neat, undisturbed. Savage’s people had grabbed me before I even made it inside, so at least they hadn’t been in here to ransack my shit. Small mercy. I was also thankful that they snatched Savage ass before he could get inside of here and get to my damn safe. On the ride back to Dallas, we got the call that Deuce people had my brother in their possession.
I didn’t turn on many lights. Just moved through the dark like I always did, room to room, checking corners out of habit before I let myself breathe all the way. When I was satisfied, I went upstairs, stripped everything off and stepped into the shower.
I stood under the water longer than I needed to. Let it run hot until the tension in my shoulders started to loosen up. My wrists were still raw where the rope had been. I looked down at them under the water, the skin irritated and red, and I felt the anger move through me slow and quiet. Not the explosive kind. The cold kind. The kind that settles in and stays.
My own brothers.
I turned the water off and stood there for a minute in the silence before I grabbed a towel. My life was crazy as hell and always had been. Even as a child, I had never gotten any peace.
I got out the bathroom and dressed slow. Dark jeans, a clean black shirt, fresh pair of 4’s and my jean jacket just in case the bar was cool. Kept it simple. I hit my neck with cologne, grabbed my piece off the nightstand, tucked it, and checked myself in the mirror for half a second before I headed back downstairs.
I needed a drink. A real one. In a real glass, somewhere with music and enough noise to drown out my own thoughts for a few hours. Tomorrow was going to be heavy. Tonight I just needed to exist without having to think about Grim, Savage, Cherish, ransom money, or any of it. The hate that was brewing was too heavy, I needed something to take the edge off. I needed a few strong drinks.If I didn’t do something to calm myself, I was scared of what the fuck I might do.
