44. Love
LOVE
“So, your mom apologized for how she treated you?” Baby and I were chilling in her living room talking about my childhood.
After I hung up with Messiah, I met him at the marina to meet the Mexican connect. He was apprehensive about working with us, but everything turned out alright. We both split the profit for our first shipment next Friday. I’m confident we’ll do it right this time, but I needed time to tell Baby.
“Yeah, couldn’t believe it either. I don’t know if it’s because Valentine locked up and I’m all she has, or if she genuinely sorry for treating me like shit.” She nodded in understanding. “Either way, I’m just glad she realized how fucked up she was.”
I was sitting down with her curled up beside me, her arms around my waist.
“Do you think y’all can build a relationship now? Fresh start?” she inquired.
“Nah, but the apology was good enough for me, beautiful.” I couldn’t help myself when I bent down to kiss her nose. You could still see the trail of tears on her cheeks, although she’d just got out of the shower.
“This is amazing, being in your arms. I’ve pictured this many times,” she confessed, staring at me with longing. I had the same thoughts. “It was all I could think about.”
“Me too,” I agreed.
She closed her eyes, meeting me halfway to press her lips against mine.
Without breaking contact, she crawled into my lap, each of her legs on each side of me.
Her hands went to my cheeks as she deepened the kiss, sticking her tongue in my mouth.
I rocked her hips against my dick, tryna get her as close as possible.
I loved sex as much as the next nigga, but I wanted this to be different. Definitely not on her auntie’s couch.
I pulled back. “Hold on, hold on.”
“What’s wrong?” She took a deep breath. I gripped her waist, pushing her further on my dick so she could feel what she was doing to me.
“Oh!” she exclaimed with a smile. “So, what’s the problem?”
Laughing, I gave her one more kiss.
We both heard vibrating at the same time. Looking around, I tried to find my phone while she looked for hers. I located mine on the sofa’s cushion.
“Not me,” I announced, staring at my blank screen.
“It’s mine,” she countered, picking it up from off the floor. How the hell her shit got down there?
While she answered, I scrolled through my text messages.
“Wait. Slow down, Jay. What you saying?” I snapped my head up in curiosity. She was pacing back and forth in front of me, her hand on her hip.
Looking around, she snatched the remote from off the coffee table and pressed a button. The TV powered on and, after a few channel changes, I saw a news clip.
Tank was on the screen getting walked out in handcuffs, three FBI agents behind him. Shit!
“The FBI has taken into custody after days of searching, thirty-two-year-old Tamir Brunt. He was found right here at the 300 block of German and Colton Blvd, inside of this house behind me.”
Squinting, I went closer to the screen as Baby continued to talk.
Seeing familiar curtains, I cursed out loud.
The nigga lied to my face about not knowing where his cousin was.
I was looking at Tank being walked out of an abandoned house only a few of us knew about. They grew up right down the street.
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up the phone, walking over to me. “Hey, you got a crazy look, you know that house?”
I nodded. “That’s a trap we used to work out of a long time ago. T.K hid his ass there.”
“You sure?”
“I’m positive.” I picked up my phone, putting on my shoes.
“Wait, where are you going?” Baby asked from behind me.
“Find T.K. Nigga lied to my fucking face about his cousin. He knows more than he telling.” Now that I’m seeing clearer, the way Tank was bragging weeks ago about what he was gone do, ain’t no way he ain’t tell that muthafucka the truth.
“Wait.” She grabbed her shoes to follow me.
I stopped her.
“Where you going? You staying here,” I demanded.
“I’m coming,” she objected. I walked her to the couch, sitting her down, kneeling in front of her.
“Baby, you gone stay yo’ ass right here. I don’t need you being associated with anything regarding that nigga. If he says anything to you outta line, I’mma beat the brakes off his ass, alright.”
She nodded, pouting her lips.
“I’ll be back.” I took ahold of her chin, pecking her lips one more time before I left.
Storming off, I called the old number I had for him, just to see if he’d answer the phone. He didn’t.
The next person I called was Messiah because I knew he still had connections around the neighborhood.
“Yo?” he answered.
“Sup, nigga. You got T. K.’s number?” I closed my car door, putting the keys in the ignition.
“T.K.? Fuck you want his number for?”
My hands gripped the steering wheel as I backed out of Baby’s driveway. “It’s personal muthafucka, you got it or not?!” I didn’t have time to be playing on the damn phone with him.
“No, but whatever you thinkin about doing, don’t.”
I sucked my teeth. Any other time, his ass would jump on the bandwagon. Now, he wanted to be calm, cool, and collected.
“I just wanna talk to him,” I lied, thinking about places he could be. We hadn’t run in the same circles in a long time but, now that I thought about it, it’s a few places I knew of.
“Bullshit,” he spat. “At least let me come with you.”
I didn’t need nobody else dragged in on this. It’s between me and T.K.
“Nah, this is a one-man mission. I’ll find him.” I hung up, turning onto a familiar street.
The last time I was down here, I almost got arrested for the first time by a police officer who raided the trap spot we were at.
They missed me by a few seconds, and I ran out the back door before they could spot me in there.
I swerved in the driveway, not bothering to greet the niggas at the front.
I was familiar with most of them, but that ain’t what I was here for.
“Yoo, Love. Long time no see nigga!” one of them spoke, but I ain’t have time for formalities.
“Y’all seen T.K. around here?” They discreetly glanced at each other.
“Where is he, Keyshawn?” I asked the one who spoke to me.
“Love, man. I don’t want no problems.” He held his hand up in surrender.
“And it won’t be none...” I promised, flicking my nose. “If you tell me where the fuck he is.”
He sucked his teeth. “4th Ave.”
I knew exactly where he was talking about. “Good looking out.”
I walked off. Where I was going was another location we used to hang out at.
It wasn’t too far from this one. Jumping in, I reversed from the curb, burning rubber as I pulled off.
Baby was probably going crazy right now with worry.
But I was glad I kept her at her house. I needed to protect her at all costs.
When I turned a corner, I spotted his black Charger immediately. Smiling with satisfaction, I parked my car right beside him, grabbed the keys, and jumped out.
“T.K.!” I yelled out for him. It was a bunch of niggas standing around outside, but they parted like the red sea to let T.K. walk through.
“Let me talk to you.” I licked my lips, folding my arms across my chest.
“Come on, Love. I don’t want no problems with you, man.”
As soon as he was close enough, I fired off on his ass. My hat flew off my head when I cocked back, punching him in his shit.
I didn’t give a fuck about them people standing around, and if they jumped in, they could get it too. Booming him on his back, I repeatedly sent blows to his face.
I admit, this was about Valentine’s freedom. It was for Baby too, who got sent to jail behind a lie, and Leah, who was homeless because her baby daddy put her out on her ass. This nigga was weak, and he’d always been weak.
“You lied to my face when I asked about your pussy ass cousin.” He got a few good hits to my face but, I was so on edge, I didn’t feel that shit.
“Fuck you talking about?” he yelled, covering his face.
“I saw the house he came out of, nigga.” He was getting his ass handed to him and still lying.
“Alright man, hold up,” he coughed, slipping from underneath me. “He my family. You’ll do the same shit for V.” He held his cheek, backing away from me. “I told him to turn himself in. He ain’t wanna listen,” he added.
“Did he set up my brother?”
“Love, I ain’t tryna get in that man,” he panted.
“DID HE?!” I yelled, spit flying everywhere.
“Y-yeah. He said the shit was easy,” he gave in, surrendering.
“He said Val was so desperate for money. He told him he knew the dude, did business with him before.” He winced in pain, holding his ribs.
“He hid from the cameras. He was certain it only picked up your brother,” he croaked out, wiping his bloody lip.
“Tank told him to grab the money. When the owner pulled out a gun, he panicked and shot him. I tried to tell Valentine not to go anywhere with Tank ass.”
I stood up and paced the floor.
“So, my brother ain’t know shit about this?” I needed confirmation.
“No.”
“Fuck!” I shouted, hitting his car, putting a dent in the side. When I passed him, I paused, then turned around and knocked his ass on the ground one last time.
“Fuck you did that for?” He held his cheek, staring up at me wide eyed.
“For my wife and her sister, punk ass nigga!” I spat, picking up my hat from off the floor before walking to my car.
I was not worried about him coming for me. He was not that stupid. Now that I knew what I knew, I had to get my brother out of there.