Chapter 34
Drahma Town
Call me petty or whatever but a bitch had me fucked up if she thought I wasn’t gon’ call her bluff.
I had been letting Toni run her mouth for weeks now, and the more she posted that happy wife shit, the more it felt like she was speakin’ directly to me like she wanted me to react.
Every time I opened Instagram she had some new slick caption up, some new meme of some new jab about how bitches think they won but don’t know what to do with a nigga so they always gotta give him back.
Then she started posting videos of her and Kay’Lo hugged up in that big ass bed like they was never apart, and he was holding her close with his eyes wide open looking straight at the camera like he wanted me to see it too.
The one that really got me was that last video she posted earlier tonight.
She was sitting right next to Kay’Lo at the club I recognized, talkin’ loud enough for anybody she thought was hatin’ to hear her, tellin’ the camera, “I’m the only bitch in this section with him.
If you got a problem with it, pull up and get yo’ ass beat. ”
She said it slow, too, like she meant that shit for me.
Dream was driving. Mia was in the back seat hyping whatever violence I was about to get into because Mia was messy and I loved every bit of it. They both had their lashes on, their gloss popping, and that “we down for whatever Echo wanna do” look on their faces.
Dream glanced at me while she took another turn. “You sure you wanna do this? ‘Cause once we walk in there, bitch, we walkin’ in there.”
I rolled my eyes and looked back at my phone, scrolling through Toni’s story again like I hadn’t replayed that video at least twenty times. “Nah, she the one that told me to pull up. I’m just giving her what she asked for.”
Mia laughed as she leaned forward between the seats. “And you know she posted that shit for you. She knew you’d see it. She been askin’ for this.”
I didn’t say anything because they were right. Toni had been asking for this. And after everything she said, everything she posted, everything she threw in my face, she wanted to see if I was gon’ match that energy. The bitch was lowkey mad because I fucked Kay’Lo.
We pulled into the lot of the same club I met Kay’Lo at on his birthday.
It felt crazy even being back here, knowing he was inside because when we first crossed paths, the vibe was fun and easy, and he didn’t have no damn attitude.
Now it was like we hated each other while still wanting to see who could hurt who the most.
We walked up to the door, paid, and stepped inside. The club wasn’t even packed like usual. It was just enough people to make the space feel warm but not crowded. The music was loud enough to shake my chest, and the lights kept flashing over bodies moving on the dance floor.
We walked slow through the sections because I wasn’t about to look pressed. I wanted her to see me calm. I wanted her to see me arrive like I was supposed to be there.
And then I saw Kay’Lo. He was leanin’ back in the section with his shades low on his face, and a drink sitting in one hand like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Toni was curled up against him like she lived there, and he had his arm loosely around her waist while he talked to the girl sitting beside her.
The moment Toni’s eyes moved across the club she froze like she had seen a ghost. Her face changed instantly.
I smirked because she looked nervous as hell. She wasn’t expecting me, but she damn sure asked for me.
I stepped forward, and her whole body lifted like she was waiting on the bell to ring. Dream and Mia stood close because they knew once I started, it wasn’t gon’ stop.
Toni stood up slow, sliding out of Kay’Lo’s hold. The girl stood too, foldin’ her arms like she was security.
I tilted my head and said, “You told me to pull up if I wanted my ass beat. I pulled up. Now what?”
Toni’s eyebrows jumped, and for a second, I thought she was gon’ laugh, but she didn’t. She stared at me.
Kay’Lo still hadn’t moved. He was sitting there cool as hell, just lifting his shades so he could see everything better. He didn’t jump up or didn’t try to break shit up. He just watched Toni.
That pissed me off even more.
I stepped closer, loud enough for them to hear me. People started turnin’ around and inching toward the section because drama was moving over here like smoke.
“You been talkin’ all that shit online,” I said, “so now I’m here. Show me what you gon’ do to me.”
Toni looked me up and down like she was disappointed. “Nah, bitch, you came in here loud ‘cause you want attention.”
The girl chimed in, “She want a new ass whoopin’.”
I got louder. “You not gon’ keep talkin’ crazy like you really like that. So, what’s up?”
Toni laughed once.
“Girl,” she said, “shut the fuck up.”
Before I could even open my mouth back, before I could swing or push or even lean in—
This bitch hauled off and slapped me.
It wasn’t a regular slap. It was a loud, disrespectful, open-handed slap right across my mouth.
It sounded like the whole club gasped.
My lip stung instantly, and I tasted blood. I tried to launch myself at her, but Kay’Lo’s hands were already on me.
He shoved me hard enough that my back hit the floor.
My head spun, and the shock damn near swallowed me whole. Kay’Lo had actually put his hands on me.
Dream and Mia lunged forward at the same time, cussin’ Kay’Lo out, but security was already pushing through the crowd. Two guards grabbed Dream and Mia, pulling them back while two more reached for Toni and the girl who was trying to swing.
People were shouting, phones were out, and the club owner was yelling for the DJ to cut the music.
Kay’Lo wasn’t even looking at me. He had pulled Toni behind him like I was some danger he needed to keep her away from.
My lip was still bleeding, and all I could do was sit there while security grabbed my arm and forced me up. My whole face burned with embarrassment, rage, and disbelief.
Dream got loose long enough to yell, “Bitch, we’ll see y’all outside!”
Security pushed us toward the exit, almost dragging us because the fight was growing behind us. People were still yelling, and I could hear Kay’Lo cussin’ out somebody, probably the club staff.
We were finally shoved out the door, and the cold air slapped me harder than Toni did.
My lip was swollen and bleeding, and Dream grabbed my chin, looking at me like she wanted to go back inside and burn the club down.
“Echo, say the word.”
I shook my head because I couldn’t even think straight. My whole body was vibrating.
“Kay’Lo pushed me,” I whispered. “He really pushed me.”
Mia touched my shoulder gently. “You good?”
“No,” I said, feeling the numbness break open into pure fire. “I’m not good. I’m calling my brothers.”
Kay’Lo thought this shit was over, but I had something for his ass.
DAYS LATER…
I didn’t give a fuck how long it took, my brothers was gon’ find Kay’Lo and get on his ass for puttin’ his hands on me.
We had been riding past his shop for two days, circling the block like sharks, and every time we slid up, his car wasn’t there.
On the third day though, right when I was starting to think he done found a new hideout, his ass walked out the shop with a blunt lit, pulling his shirt down like he just clocked out of a nine-to-five he hated.
Rioh parked so hard the car jerked.
Him and Jaqwon hopped out before I even unbuckled my seatbelt.
I stayed a few steps behind them with my arms folded, waiting for Kay’Lo to get humbled.
Rioh approached first. “Aye nigga, my sister said you put yo’ hands on her. What’s up with that?”
Kay’Lo didn’t even look surprised or thrown off, and he didn’t bother stopping his walk.
He just blew smoke out, cut his eyes at me for a second, then looked right back at my brothers like they were some shit he was tired of stepping over, and he told them to get the fuck away from his shop.
That was it, no explanation, no denying anything, no attempt to clear the air, just pure dismissal like none of us mattered enough for him to give even one extra word.
Jaqwon moved closer like he wanted him to say something else. “We asked you a question, nigga.”
Kay’Lo let out this low, irritated laugh. “I’on give a fuck what y’all askin’. Y’all got five seconds to get the fuck on.”
Rioh stepped up like he didn’t hear a damn thing. “Five seconds for what? You think we—”
Kay’Lo pulled a gun out mid-sentence so fast and quiet it didn’t even register at first, and the casual way he did it made my whole stomach drop because it was clear from the look in his eyes, he wasn’t pulling it to scare nobody. He was pulling it because he was done talking.
He pointed it right at both of them and said, “Three seconds.”
I felt my whole body lock up. “Rioh—Jaq—let’s just go, please—”
They ignored me like their pride mattered more.
Rioh took another step. “Man, that shit don’t scare—”
“Two,” Kay’Lo said.
My legs started shaking so bad I thought I was about to collapse. Sweat slid down my back instantly. Everything in me told me to run but I couldn’t move. I felt frozen in hot fear.
Jaqwon shook his head. “Nigga, you not gon’ shoot—”
“Three.”
Kay’Lo didn’t blink or flinch or even take a real breath before he fired, like the decision was already made the second they walked up on him.
The sound cracked through the air so violent my ears rang. Rioh’s head snapped back and his whole body dropped to the concrete like God cut the strings holding him up.
I screamed so loud my throat burned raw, but before I could even reach for him Kay’Lo had already lifted the gun again and fired, the shot clean and merciless as it tore into Jaqwon’s back twice while he turned to run, sending him crashing face-first into the concrete without so much as a twitch.
I choked on my own breath as the world spun around me. The smell of gunpowder mixed with the hot pavement had me gagging. I tried to scream again and nothing came out but this broken sound full of terror.
“RUN, ECHO!” I heard Jaqwon wheeze, but he couldn’t even lift his head.
My legs finally kicked in and I took off, stumbling and screaming, shaking so bad I could barely keep my balance. Sweat soaked my shirt. I wiped my face and my hands came back wet with tears and spit because I was screaming so hard I couldn’t breathe.
I didn’t dare look back because I didn’t wanna see blood or bodies or Kay’Lo standing over either one of them or even coming for me.
Yet, even with my feet stumbling and my vision blurry from tears I could still hear him behind me, the echo of his footsteps and the weight of what he had done chasing me harder than I could run.
His footsteps were calm as hell, going right back toward the shop.
I screamed again as I hit the corner, gripping a stop sign to keep from falling. My chest hurt. My hands shook so hard I almost dropped my phone as I called the police.
My brothers, my fucking brothers, were somewhere behind me bleeding out on the concrete because of some shit I started, and the reality of it hit so hard that my whole body felt like it was collapsing from the inside.
Every inch of me trembled. My vision blurred. Sweat dripped into my mouth, and I kept running because fear pushed me forward harder than my legs ever could.
Kay’Lo wasn’t the man I thought he was, and every step I took as I ran made that truth sink deeper. He wasn’t some fine, mysterious nigga I had hooked up with a few times. He was a monster, he was death walking with a pulse, and he had just showed me exactly who the fuck he really was.