Chapter 24
“I’m glad you came, son. Can you please tell me what the fuck is going on? You haven’t answered my calls in days, and they’re telling me you went rogue. Tell me this isn’t true, Dmitri.”
“I had to get rid of my phone. Sorry it’s so early, but I couldn’t risk being spotted.”
He’d come downstairs in silk pajamas and a robe. I never knew this nigga slept like an old pimp.
“Good to see you, Unc. This is Maeve, Bishop’s daughter.”
Maeve and I had been hiding in hotels around the city while I planned how I was going to close this case. We both had to get rid of our phones, so I was sure Bishop would be just as pissed.
“Come on in here.”
My uncle Atlas held his hand out for Maeve to walk further into the house. Once she’d walked past, he shot me a sharp ass look. Atlas talked the whole time he led Maeve and I through his home and into the living room.
“Dmitri, explain!”
I let out a light chuckle instead of speaking right away.
My uncle Atlas loved me like one of his own kids, so I could only imagine what the last two days had been like for him.
I went dark after my phone call with Fitz.
I moved out of the apartment they had me in for the assignment, and Maeve and I had been on the run since.
“I had to go dark, Unc. After I talked to you the other day, I realized my pops and Fitz were in on this together.
They set me up from the beginning. They used the information I gave them on the border meet to make it look like Bishop and the Durty Boyz robbed a rival gang, and that rival gang tried to take Bishop out at the courthouse.
“All of this was set up from the beginning to have the two gangs in a war so my father and Fitz could swoop in and take them all down together. I should have listened to you.”
“You damn right you should have. Got me cursing in front of this young lady. I didn’t know where you were or what happened to you.”
He paused long enough to look between Maeve and me. I watched his demeanor soften when he got to her. She had the same damn effect on everybody.
“Have a seat, gorgeous. Can I get you something to drink?”
You would have thought he was a different person, talking to her. He had been cursing me out for about five minutes, but now he’d changed his tune.
“I’ll take a bottle of water if you have it.”
Maeve sat down on the sofa and crossed one leg over the other. She definitely didn’t look like what we had been through over the last couple of days. Not even a hair was out of place, which was a testament to her holding the bathroom hostage every morning. I couldn’t even piss for her.
“Of course.”
“I’ll take some orange juice, Unc.”
“Get your own damn orange juice.”
Maeve and I laughed, but my uncle didn’t. He was mad as hell, but I understood it. I could have at least found a way to call him sooner.
Atlas stormed off, and I trailed him into the kitchen. He was still mumbling under his breath as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. I poured myself some orange juice and leaned on the counter.
“Unc, I’m sorry I didn’t get in touch with you sooner. I just didn’t know where to turn. I mean, he is your brother at the end of the day.”
“Dmitri, I would think you know me better than that. After all these years, how could you think I would ever take that motherfucker’s word over yours?”
“I know I was tripping, but I also didn’t know how you would react to Maeve, and I couldn’t leave her. I fell in love with my mark’s daughter. How was I supposed to explain that?”
“We have all been young before, and you never have to explain anything to me. I’m going to have your back whether you are right or wrong.
That’s what family is, Dmitri. From what we have gathered, Maeve is a good girl.
She’s in school, has her head on straight, and does everything she can to stay away from her father’s business.
And those pictures don’t do her justice. She’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, but she loves him. I want to find a way to close this case, but I don’t want to sacrifice Bishop to do it. She would never forgive me for that.”
“I can see why you’re willing to risk everything for her.
Honestly, you are in the best position right now.
They have burned you, which means you get to decide who and what you fight for.
You can go back in and fight beside the Durty Boyz until this war is over, or you can take the information you have and use it to bring both gangs to their knees. ”
“But which one should I choose, Unc?”
“That’s a decision only you can make. If I tell you one thing, you’re going to do the opposite anyway.”
We both laughed. My track record wasn’t helping me right now.
“Dmitri, I know you will make the right choice, and when you do, go to this address. You will find everything you need there.”
He scribbled the address on the back of an envelope that had been sitting on his kitchen counter and handed it to me. I took it and stuffed it in my back pocket. I already knew what I would do when I left here, but I was happy to know my uncle had my back no matter what.
We walked back into the living room together. Now that the tension had eased, I could finally see his normally happy demeanor taking over.
“Maeve, thank you for keeping this knucklehead safe from himself.”
Atlas handed Maeve her bottle of water and sat down in his recliner. I sat on the sofa next to her. I grabbed her hand before letting them both rest in my lap.
“My pleasure. He is hardheaded, though. I know you had problems over the years.”
“You don’t have enough time for me to tell you about it all.”
“Wait a minute. I’m sitting right here.”
“I’m aware.”
They both laughed at me.
“No, but seriously, Nephew, I already know what you are going to do. All I ask is that you keep yourself and this pretty girl safe. And call me when you need me.”
“I will, Unc, I promise.”
“Alright. I’m going to catch a few hours of sleep before I have to go into the office. You guys make yourself at home or take whatever you need on your way out.”
I stood at the same time my uncle did and hugged him. We both knew this could possibly be our last moment together like this.
Once he went upstairs, Maeve and I left. I drove us straight to the address my uncle had given me because I’d made my decision and was ready to put this shit behind us. I was surprised when I pulled up to a storage facility.
I searched for the storage number that he’d written down and put in the combination. It was full of weapons and everything else I needed to make it to the other side of this war. It was funny how he knew which choice I would make before I even made it.
I packed as much as I could into two duffel bags and carried them back to my truck. Maeve was still waiting inside with her head resting against her window. My baby was so fucking tired of all this.
“Are you sure about this, babe?”
“I’m sure. We can leave when this war is over, but I don’t want to leave them like this. I started this, and it’s my responsibility to end it.”
“But how do you know my father will agree to your terms?”
“I believe Bishop is a good man. He’s known who I was this whole time and didn’t have me killed from the jump. That has to account for something.”
“Let’s hope it does.”
We drove from the storage facility to Bishop’s mansion. I didn’t know what to expect when I got there, but only time would tell.