“You remember he said if Van come up dead that it was him,” Wilde harshly whispered.
“Man, shut that shit up,” Nuke added in a low voice. “That nigga Noble ain't sloppy like that. He wouldn’t put his girl in harm’s way.”
While they continued their side conversation, Noble kissed the top of Irish’s head as she whimpered. Cali had never been a witness to their love affair. She’d only heard tidbits from Irish here and there. Now that she was able to see them in their form, she knew their love was authentic. Noble was a hardbody, who never showed emotion. Nobody got anything out of him yethere he was, consoling Irish with a love that seemed so pure. Despite the circumstances, it was endearing to observe.
Noble pulled Irish’s head back so she could look him in the eye. “I have to go make some moves. I want you to go to my condo. I’ll have somebody guarding the building for you.”
Irish nodded and closed her eyes.
“Aye, Cali, you think you can sit with her for me?”
“Of course. I’m here.”
He nodded. “A’ight, I gotta go.” Noble swiped a few sheets of tissue from the box and cleaned Irish’s face. Afterward, he kissed her softly on the lips before giving her cheeks a quick smooch. “I’ll see you at the condo.”
“Okay,” she mumbled, and he kissed her again.
Noble stalked out the room with his family right behind him. The nurse came back inside with discharge papers and instructions on how to care for Irish’s cut.
“Bria, we’ll just ride home with you so I can get in my car and go to Noble’s condo with Irish.”
“Okay.”
Cali helped Irish out of the bed and held her uninjured hand. “I swear we’re going to get through this together, Irish. You're not in this alone.”
Irish sniffled as her gaze cast down to the white tile. “I don't think I’ll ever get through this, Cali. This will forever change me.”
The pain in her voice was enough to take Cali’s breath away. Deep down, Cali was aware that the Irish she once knew was gone and never coming back.
Rio’s leg bounced while every TLM member filled the room. News had traveled fast about Jovanis’ murder, leaving everyone stunned. Noble had called a meeting, which he rarely did. There was a chain of command in the organization. Noble was undoubtedly untouchable to members other than the lieutenants. If he needed to get a message to the lower tier members, he’d send one of the lieutenants.
Rio couldn’t help but be conflicted, though. Ever since he got the call that Jovanis had been gunned down at the beach, he couldn’t help but think Noble was the culprit. He and Jovanis clearly had beef that stemmed from Noble’s affair with Irish. Not only was their beef tensed but Noble’s last words from that day couldn’t be ignored.
If this nigga come up dead, I want y’all to know it was me…
Rio attempted to shake the feeling off but he couldn’t. Had Noble killed Jovanis so he could be with Irish? Was their love affair that serious that he needed to eliminate the man in his way? Rio was stumped, wishing he knew all the answers.
His phone rang, diverting his attention. He looked at the screen and sighed when he saw Rozalin’s name. He had temporarily forgotten about the beat down Cali had put on her. The shit was brutal. Rozalin didn’t stand a chance against his ex-wife.
“Hello?”
“DuRio, what the fuck?” she ranted, immediately. “How could you just leave me like that?”
Guilt visited him but he didn’t invite it inside his psyche. His dawg had been murdered so he didn’t have room for Rozalinat the moment. She had every right to be angered but Rio had more pressing matters to tend to.
“Look, my bad. I just found out that my pot’na was killed. I ain't mean to leave you but I had to go.”
“Why would you let that bitch Cali attack me like that?”
Rio’s brows pinched. “I didn’t. I’m the one that got her off you.”
She smacked her lips. “I’m pressing charges against her ass, too.”
“Nah, don't do that.”
“What do you mean?” she screeched. “You should see my face. I’m not gonna be able to go back to work for weeks. I look like shit.”
“I get that but involving the police is going to make shit worse. Don't do it.”
