Chapter 15 Kay’Lo Mensah #2
“I love you too, baby,” I said back, my words draggin’ against her skin while I kissed her again. I stayed there for another few seconds, kissin’ all up her neck, then forced myself to pull away. “Lemme go open this door before these niggas start bangin’ like the police.”
She giggled, rollin’ to her side as I slid out the bed and grabbed my black sweatpants off the floor. She watched me the whole time, her eyes followin’ every move I made. I turned and caught her starin’. “What?” I asked with a smirk.
She smiled sleepy as hell. “Nothin’. You just fine as fuck, that’s all.”
I chuckled, pullin’ the drawstring tight and walkin’ out the room shirtless.
When I opened the door, Renza and Blaqson were standin’ there, each holdin’ a duffel bag that I already knew wasn’t filled with no damn clothes.
“‘Bout time, nigga,” Renza said, steppin’ in first. “We flew all the way out here and you movin’ slow as hell.”
I smirked. “Y’all was supposed to text when y’all landed.”
Blaqson brushed past me, laughin’. “Nigga, you act like we fly commercial. We hopped right on the jet. Pressure said move, so we moved. Ain’t no time to be textin’.”
They dropped their bags by the couch, and I could already smell the faint mix of weed and gun oil comin’ from ‘em, and that alone made me feel better.
“Aight, so what’s up though? You said what happened at that park, but what’s the move now?” Renza asked.
“Ain’t no move right now. I handled what I needed to, but somethin’ don’t feel right.“ I muttered, grabbin’ the bottle off the counter.
Renza nodded, his tone changin’ quick. “So what you thinkin’?”
“I’on know,” I said honestly. “It just don’t feel right. Nigga pulled his shirt up showin’ a gun, and all I could think about was airin’ his shit out. Toni wanted me to chill, so I did. Now it’s too damn quiet, and I ain’t from here. I don’t like not knowin’ who’s who.”
Blaqson set his bag on the table and unzipped it, pullin’ out a few clips and boxes of rounds. “Ain’t nothin’ gon’ happen, but if it do, we got it.”
“Facts,” Renza said, pullin’ out two Dracos wrapped in black towels. “Pressure said if a nigga act like he want it, give it to ‘em. So whatever this is, we locked in, ‘Lo. You ain’t alone out here.”
I nodded, pourin’ three glasses of Rémy. “Real talk.”
Renza took his glass, holdin’ it up before he sipped. “Boy, you know it’s up with us. When you family, you don’t need no invite.”
Blaqson laughed, reachin’ for the weed from his bag. “Nigga, you talkin’ like we don’t already know that. Let’s roll somethin’ up before we end up shootin’ somebody just from paranoia.”
I smirked. “You stupid, but go ‘head.”
He broke the weed down right there on the counter while Renza set up the cards and dominoes on the table.
The night started feelin’ better after that. The smoke, the liquor, the laughter—it reminded me what home felt like.
We talked about Pressure, and his ass gettin’ shot, and about how crazy life had gotten for all of us. Blaqson kept runnin’ his mouth about how he needed to find him a Trill-Land woman, and Renza clowned him the whole time.
By the time the bottle was half gone, my shoulders had finally relaxed. I leaned back on the couch, my head tipped against the cushion while the music played low in the background. “There’s two bedrooms down the hall,” I said. “Y’all can crash wherever.”
Renza nodded. “Bet. We gon’ make sure you and shorty straight. Then tomorrow, we’ll slide around the block and see what the vibe is.”
I dapped both of them up, then headed back to the room. The second I walked in, Toni was layin’ on her stomach, sleep butt naked as the day she was born. I couldn’t help but smile. Her hair was sprawled all over the pillow, her ass pokin’ up just enough to make me forget about today’s drama.
I slipped my sweats off again and climbed back into bed, pullin’ her close until her body was flush with mine. She mumbled somethin’, and I kissed her shoulder before whisperin’, “Go back to sleep, baby.”
She sighed softly and sank into me, her body moldin’ right against mine like it was made for me. My arm wrapped around her, and my hand slid down to rest on her hip.
No matter what was goin’ on outside, as long as I had her right here in my arms, I was good.
It was ’bout three in the mornin’ and I couldn’t sleep for shit.
I kept tossin’ and turnin’, layin’ there with my arm around Toni, feelin’ like somethin’ was off.
She was knocked out beside me, breathin’ soft with her hair all over her face, but my mind wouldn’t stop movin’.
That gut feelin’ I had earlier at the park wouldn’t let me rest, and I had been knowin’ all night that it wasn’t just nerves.
I had that pull in my chest where a nigga knows when somethin’ ain’t right, and I was glad as hell I listened to it.
I was starin’ up at the ceilin’ when the porch light flicked on outta nowhere.
That motion sensor wasn’t supposed to go off unless somebody walked by.
My eyes snapped straight to the light reflectin’ through the thin blinds, and my body tensed up before I even sat up.
I ain’t move for a good few seconds, just listenin’, but somethin’ in my gut told me it wasn’t nothin’ good.
I eased out the bed slow so I wouldn’t wake Toni, slid my legs in my sweats, and moved quiet as hell to the door.
The light had gone back off, but I still didn’t feel right.
My gun was sittin’ on the table in the livin’ room, so I walked that way barefoot, lettin’ my eyes adjust to the dark.
When I grabbed it I cocked it back just enough to make sure it was loaded. That click alone had my nerves hummin’.
Blaqson was crashed out in the guest room closest to the kitchen so I went there first. I pushed the door open and whispered, “Aye, wake up.”
He shifted, half asleep. “Wussup?”
“I think somebody outside,” I said, my voice low. “The fuckin’ porch light came on twice.”
That woke him quick. He sat up, rubbin’ his face. “You for real?”
“Yeah. Get your shit. I’m finna get Renza.”
He reached on the nightstand and grabbed his piece while I walked down the hall and banged lightly on Renza’s door. “Yo, get up.”
The door cracked open and Renza was already pullin’ on his pants, lookin’ half mad, half alert. “What’s goin’ on?”
“Somethin’ off,” I told him. “That sensor light keep poppin’ on.”
He frowned, grabbed his gun from the chair, and followed me out to the livin’ room where Blaqson was standin’ by the window. The porch light flicked back on right then, bright as hell. All three of us froze.
“You see that?” I asked, my eyes cut toward the door.
“Yeah,” Renza said. “That ain’t no animal, ‘Lo. Somebody out there.”
That knot in my stomach twisted tighter. I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about Toni tellin’ Sha’Nelle earlier where we was stayin’. That shit was innocent and careless, but I ain’t put shit past nobody. I had this feelin’ all night and I was glad I acted on it.
“Stay ready,” I told them, walkin’ back to the bedroom. Toni was still sleepin’ hard when I came in. I touched her shoulder. “Baby, wake up.”
She rolled over slow. “Mmm, what’s wrong?”
“Get up and get dressed,” I said.
She frowned, rubbin’ her eyes. “For what?”
“Just do it, Toni. And stay in the room. Don’t come out ‘til I say.”
She sat up now, lookin’ worried, but she could tell by my face I wasn’t playin’. I threw a shirt on, grabbed an extra clip off the dresser and walked out.
The second I made it back to the livin’ room there was a loud bang at the front door like somebody was tryna kick that bitch in.
Before the sound even finished, Renza, Blaqson, and me was lettin’ off shots.
The whole front wall lit up with muzzle flashes and the air filled with gunfire so loud it shook the house.
Pieces of the door splintered off, but whoever it was kept pushin’.
Then glass shattered from the back patio like somebody tryin’ to come through.
“Somebody in the back!” I yelled, runnin’ that way.
I spun around the corner with my piece up and saw a figure comin’ through the broken glass.
Without thinkin’ I fired. The body dropped hard at the threshold.
I kept shootin’ until the clip clicked empty and my hands shook.
Blaqson covered the other side and Renza held down the front.
The room smelled like burnt rubber and gunpowder and my ears rang so loud I couldn’t hear nothin’ else.
Toni screamed from the room, “Kay’Lo! What’s happenin’?”
“Stay back, baby!” I yelled, reloadin’ as fast as I could.
She came runnin’ anyway, barefoot, tears on her face, and I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind me. “I said stay in the fuckin’ room!”
She shook her head, cryin’ harder, but I shoved her back inside and shut the door. My heart was hittin’ my ribs hard. Renza came rushin’ back in. “One down at the back door,” I said, tryin’ to steady my breath.
“Yeah, and they ain’t comin’ through this one neither,” he replied, peekin’ out the front. “I don’t see nobody now.”
The silence after that felt heavy. The smell of gunpowder mixed with the dust from the shattered patio door and I looked down at the body layin’ half in and half out on the tile.
Blood was spreadin’ across the floor and for a second my stomach flipped when I recognized the sneakers.
That wasn’t just some random nigga out here.
Then sirens started wailin’ in the distance. Blue and red lights blinked through the blinds like a bad movie. Who called them, I didn’t know. We sure as hell didn’t. Renza cursed under his breath. “Shit, somebody called it in.”
“Probably the neighbors,” Blaqson said. “They heard all that shootin’.”
The loudspeaker outside boomed, “This is the police. Put your weapons down and come out with your hands up.”
We looked at each other. None of us wanted to move, but there was no wiggle room. I nodded to Renza and Blaq. Shid. We ain’t got no choice.”
We laid the pieces down and raised our hands as the front door flew open and cops came rushin’ in shoutin’ orders.
Rifles and flashlights everywhere, they pushed us down and slapped cuffs on us while they started goin’ through the house.
The muthafuckas didn’t even ask us if we was the damn victims. One of the officers called out from the back, “We got one down!”
Toni came runnin’ out the bedroom, screamin’. “Kay’Lo!” she cried, her voice shakin’. She froze when she saw the body, her hand coverin’ her mouth. “Oh my God, that’s Deuce!”
Before I could say anything, one of the cops swung his gun her way. “Ma’am, on the ground! Get on the ground now!”
My whole body snapped. “Man, what the fuck you pointin’ at her for? She ain’t got shit to do with this, bitch!” I shouted, fightin’ against the cuffs.
“Stay down!” the officer barked, shovin’ me.
“She ain’t do shit!” I yelled. “Y’all just bustin’ in here like we the ones that fuckin’ broke in!”
“Get her down and secure her!” another cop ordered, and two of them moved toward Toni. She was cryin’, her hands up, beggin’ them not to shoot. That sight made my blood boil.
“She’s scared, bro!” I yelled again. “She ain’t touch no gun, she ain’t do shit! I keep tellin’ yo’ dumb ass she ain’t do shit! She was in the room sleepin’!”
The sergeant stepped up, yellin’ over everybody, “Holster your weapons! Nobody shoot. Secure the woman and check the back!”
One cop guided Toni down gentle once he realized she wasn’t resistin’, but I was already tight. They had me on my knees, my hands behind my back, and my mind was runnin’ hot.
They started questionin’ everybody, lookin’ around like we was some fuckin’ cartel. One of ‘em said, “You’re under arrest for unlawful possession of a firearm.”
Renza and Blaqson was cussin’ tryna tell these stupid ass cops about how somebody broke in and we defended ourselves, but the cops ain’t give a fuck. They had a body and three illegal guns on the floor, and that was all they needed to see.
After a while they finally let Toni up, so I called out, “Baby! Go in the room and get my phone!”
One of the officers snapped, “Sir, you don’t give orders here.”
“Man, shut the fuck up. I can do what the fuck I wanna do. My girl can get my phone,” I snapped through my teeth.
Toni was already standin’ up, her face wet and scared, and she reached for me like she was tryna calm me. “Baby, please, just please,” she begged.
Then she turned to the cop, apologized and asked if she could grab my phone.
He hesitated for a second, then looked at Toni and nodded. “All right, ma’am. Go get the phone. Just the phone, understood?”
She nodded fast and hurried to the room, still cryin’. She knew exactly what I meant without me explainin’.
When she came back, she was holdin’ it tight, her hands shakin’ but her eyes focused on me. “What’s the code?” she whispered.
“The code’s 2609. Call Pressure. Tell him what happened. Tell him to get Renza and Blaqson on this too. I’ll be out before the sun come up.”
Her lip was quiverin’, tears streamin’ as she nodded. “Kay’Lo…”
“I love you, baby,” I told her, my voice low but solid. “You hear me? I love you.”
The cops started leadin’ me toward the door while she stood there barefoot, cryin’ and clutchin’ my phone. I could see her shakin’ as they pushed me out to the squad car.
They ain’t even give a nigga a chance to breathe. Lights was still flashin’, radios cracklin’, and I could see neighbors peekin’ through curtains. The cold metal cuffs bit into my wrists, but my mind wasn’t on me. It was on Toni, still standin’ in the doorway lookin’ lost.
They opened the back of the car and I stepped in without fightin’.
My jaw was tight, my heart heavy, but my conscience was clear.
I knew in my gut I wasn’t wrong. Like I said, I had been feelin’ that shit all night, and I was glad I acted on it.
If Renza and Blaqson hadn’t come when they did, I would be the one lyin’ on that tile right now.
As the squad car pulled off, I looked out the window one last time at Toni. Her face was blurry through the tears and lights, but I mouthed it again so she knew it wasn’t the end. I love you.
And deep down, I meant every word.
Then they drove me away to a cell in a city that wasn’t mine, but I told myself this wasn’t the end.
Pressure was gon’ make sure of that.