All I could think about was the hell I was living in every single day. “I don’t care! I can’t take this anymore. I just want out of here.”
MYTHIC GREY
I was geeked as I pulled up to Enchant. I was ready to get this night over with so I could pack for my vacation with Aviana. It felt wild, thinking about it—me, a street nigga, heading out of the country. I’d always been stuck in the grind, taking business trips here and there in the states, but this was going to be different. This was about making memories, about breaking free from the chaos of our lives for a minute.
Before climbing out of the car, my phone lit up again with Lelani’s name flashing across the screen. For the past month, she’d been blowing me up nonstop, calling back-to-back until I had no choice but to block her number. That hadn’t stopped her, though. Soon after, she started calling me through Instagram. Sitting there, I thought about blocking her there too, but with me and Avi about to go on vacation, I figured I’d better settle this once and for all. I didn’t need Lelani interrupting our peace on our trip.
With a heavy sigh, I picked up the call. “What, Lelani?”
She breathed as if she were relieved I finally answered. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have lied to you.”
I scoffed with a chuckle. “You didn’t just lie. You made up a whole damn disease.”
“I know,” she said softly as if she were ashamed, “but admit it, Mythic, you’ve been in love with Aviana the whole time, haven’t you?”
Now that I finally had Aviana, I was never going to deny my feelings for her again. “Yeah, I have, but Avi and I didn’t cross any lines until recently. I only just told her how I felt about her right before your fake diagnosis.”
“I knew it,” she gritted. “I was right all along.”
“The day you said you had cancer, I was planning to leave you because I felt like a good woman like you deserved a man who actually loved you.” Then I laughed at my own naïveté.
She scoffed bitterly. “Iama good woman, Mythic. You don’t get to judge me for doing what I had to do to hold on to the man I love. I was desperate.”
“Look, what’s this call even for?”
She sighed again. “Closure, I guess.”
“Well, you got it now, so don’t ever call me again. If you do, I swear to God I’ll break every finger you use to dial my number.”
I hung up before she could say another word and climbed out of my SUV.
Since the whole situation with Lelani blew up, I hadn’t even gone back to the place we used to share. Instead, I’d been focusing on Aviana, while taking things slow. She had been through so much heartbreak, and I didn’t want to rush her into anything. But spending every day with her felt like we were practically living together already. She lit up my world, and I wanted to show her how much she meant to me with this vacation.
As I stepped out of the truck, a car pulled in behind me. I turned to see Fury, the leader of the Urban Enforcers, sliding out of a Honda Civic. He was clearly trying to keep it low-key, probably because his crew was still losing that war with the Crimson Order. Most of their lieutenants had been gunned down. Many of them had lost family members and friends to the violence, and Fury had a bounty on his head.
My security team was on point, emerging from their spots like shadows.
As Fury closed the distance between us, I cut him off right away. “If you’re here to convince me to distribute to the Urban Enforcers, you might as well turn the fuck around and walk away.”
His face contorted with rage. “I can’t just walk away. My crew, my family, my friends are dying out here. We need those weapons.”
I stood my ground, unfazed. “Nois a complete sentence, motherfucka. You shouldn’t have started a war you couldn’t win. Your stupidity and desperation are why I won’t work with you.”
As Fury stepped closer, his voice dropped to a menacing growl. “Then you’re just as much to blame for their deaths as the Crimson Order. You’re playing a dangerous game, Mythic.”
I could see the fire in his eyes, the wild desperation of a man backed into a corner. “You’re threatening me?” I challenged with an icy tone. “You know I could take your life right here, right now.”
My security team began to close in, surrounding me with a wall of muscle.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a police car cruising down the street. The officers stared at the scene as they slowed their speed.
Fury glanced over his shoulder, noticing the police presence too. “This isn’t over, Mythic,” he warned as he turned to walk away. “You’ll see me again.”
I watched him go, knowing that this wouldn’t be the last I heard from him.
CHAPTER 19
AVIANA SCOTT
