Page 50

“Look, I learned a long time ago that it’s better to have three bodies than two witnesses at a scene. Shit with you, I had three, but I’m not going to hurt you. I trust you not going to say shit, right?”

Her eyes seemed stuck, fixated on her thoughts so much that she was just staring through a nigga more than looking at me. A scared witness is the most dangerous kind, and while I knew she was dangerous, I didn’t have it in my heart to kill her. Maybe it was me remembering the sight of my daughter with a gunshot wound to her head that made me not want to put a bullet in a female. That or just seeing Pops drop Diamond like she was nothing when she didn't deserve it.

“Look at me, Toya.” I grabbed her chin and pulled her face toward me as I drove.

“What happened tonight doesn’t need to be repeated, and if it ever is, make sure you tell the story right. We were chased, I was attacked, and I shot out of self defense to get away. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes Duke.”

She nodded, and I wasn’t sure if she really understood or if she was only agreeing because she was scared.

I let her chin go, then drove so fast the city lights streamed by the windows like we were in a jet.

Once I was close to her side of town, I stopped at the small body of water near her apartments, killed the engine, and hopped out of the truck.

I walked over to the rails, threw the shell casings along with the gun into the water, watching it sink, never to be seen again.

I had plenty of guns at the bottom of this water and plenty others, some from over ten years ago.

When I jumped back in the truck, I didn’t take off immediately, because I wanted to check shawty's temperature before I dropped her off. She was still sitting close to the door, putting as much space as she could in between us in the cab of the truck.

I looked over at her.

“If it means anything, I had a good night tonight until that bull shit happened. I hope you don’t judge me on that completely.”

She started shaking her head, sniffling, so I knew she had been crying.

“I, I, I don’t know how to feel. I mean, I’m not going to say anything. So, you don’t have to hurt me. I promise, Duke!” She lifted her hands in defense.

“I’m not, baby girl, that’s a promise. Just keep your mouth closed and this night will go away. Trust me, you’ll stop thinking about it eventually.”

I noticed the tears streaming down her face, so I lifted my hand, and she jump at first, until the back of my index finger gently touched her face.

Seeing her like this made me feel bad as shit for her, and I’ve never felt sorry for a bitch in my life. Not even my baby mama. The only sympathy or empathy I ever thought about showing her was killing her to take her out of her misery once and for all.

“Talk to me, mama, let me know what you thinking.”

“I’m just stunned, Duke, but again, I won’t say anything. I swear, just please don’t kill me.”

I dropped my head to my chest, rubbing up and down my pants, trying to think of what to say to her. Shit, to be honest, I didn't know exactly what to say because there wasn't really anything I could say that would make what she just saw leave her mind tonight.

I remember the night after I saw my first body drop, I tossed and turned all night. Rethinking the shit over and over again, so much until my mind finally went numb.

It was Pops who pulled the trigger on a junkie trying to rob the first Essex Chicken location. The man came into the joint and pulled a gun on the cashier, not knowing me, Pops, Easy, and Caine were back in the office.

When Pops saw the man on camera at the register, he walked out of the office, told us to stay there, but we watched everything on camera. The robber held his hands up in mercy once he realized Pops was behind him with a gun to his head, and the cashier ran off to the back.

The robber got down on his knees in retreat, but Pops still put a bullet to the back of his head. That was my first lesson in showing no mercy to niggas who were trying to fuck you and I been living by that code ever since. Shit, me and my brothers.

I reached over and grabbed Toya by the arm, feeling how tense she was from my touch, but instead of letting go, I leaned over and placed my lips on her forehead, shooing her to calm down.

“After a while, you will not think about this night ever again, at least not the bad parts.”

She nodded, but I could tell she was still scared, and honestly, I couldn't blame her for being that way after what I'd made her see.

All I knew was that if she kept her mouth shut after tonight, she would have earned a kind of respect I rarely gave anybody, because loyalty wasn't something I handed out just because somebody asked for it.

I placed a kiss on her forehead, holding her there for a second before lowering my mouth to her ear, my hand still wrapped tightly around her arm.