Chapter 2
There had never been a time when Haze inhaled so much weed smoke at one time in his life. Like a rookie, he coughed, which only pissed him off even more. With watery eyes from coughing so hard, he reared his leg back and kicked the tire of the new luxury car he’d purchased the previous week.
“Piece of shit ass car,” he mumbled before he took another pull of his blunt.
He needed to calm his nerves quickly because fucking someone up behind this bullshit ass car was heavy on his mind.
He didn’t want to go to the dealership and cause a scene.
The Vicious Kings were already under a lot of heat with the police department because of this long-lasting beef between them and the fuck ass Blue Boyz Motorcycle Club.
Everything had been cool in his city since he started his motorcycle club years ago.
They got along with other riders and clubs, hosted fundraisers for their city, and did a ton of community service.
Sure, they also did their dirt. Haze and Gideon were the heads of all illegal weapons moving in Desmore Bay, but they had an understanding with the police department.
That understanding wavered slowly but surely when the Blue Boyz showed up.
Those niggas loved picking with the Vicious Kings.
After the first time the Blue Boyz shot up their block party, Haze declared war.
Vicious Kings took out every Blue Boy they could find, but it was like them niggas was endless.
More kept popping up, and their president stayed hidden.
They knew who he was, but because their faction seemed to come from many different states, it was hard to drop a dime on him.
He was known as Azul, and Haze wasn’t even sure if the nigga had ever even stepped foot into Desmore Bay.
From what Haze understood, the Blue Boyz simply wanted power.
They wanted to be the head motorcycle club in Desmore Bay, and they also wanted to infiltrate their weapon operation.
Nothing like this had ever happened in Haze’s career, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t down for the ride.
In fact, he found it fun taking out the Blue Boyz newest members every week.
It was like they had a never-ending recruiting process and accepted any and everyone into their fuck ass club.
Haze flicked the roach of his blunt to the ground as he watched cars pass him by.
He couldn’t believe he was stuck on the side of the road like a sitting duck.
He always had some sort of weapon on him, so he wasn’t too worried if he got caught in a situation, but he’d rather be mobile than stuck standing there like an idiot.
Luckily for him, it didn’t take long for Gideon’s big ass truck to pull up beside him. Haze felt a sudden wave of relief as he locked his broken-down car and walked toward Gideon’s. Glimmer was in the front seat, so Haze hopped in the back.
“What’s good, y’all?”
Gideon snickered. “Told ya ass not to get that damn car.”
“Boy, shut yo’ ass up,” Haze snapped before he turned to Glimmer. “How you, sis?”
He lovingly touched the back of her silky hair.
Haze had known Glimmer since they were kids, and she was just as much family to him as Kiyomi and Deja.
He would always stand ten toes down behind her and make sure she was good.
Their fathers were best friends, and he knew Big Henry looked down and smiled at Haze for making sure his best friend’s daughter lived a good life.
“I’m good, Haze. What happened to your car?” Glimmer asked.
Gideon chuckled again. “Ain’t shit happened to it. That thing is for looks, and Haze thinks he can actually rely on it to get him around the city.”
Haze leaned over and popped Gideon on the back of his head. “Ain’t I told you to shut up?”
Gideon swatted him away playfully as they pulled away from Haze’s car. “What that mean?”
“It means shut up,” Haze grumbled. He wished he could spark another blunt, but he knew Gideon didn’t allow smoking in his truck, and Haze would always respect that man, even though he got on his nerves sometimes.
Gideon shook his head with a grin on his face. “Where we goin’, man?”
“Bring me to the dealership. I need to see someone about this car,” Haze replied.
“You know that sale was final,” Gideon reminded with a tone Haze didn’t really appreciate. Gideon had told Haze repeatedly not to get that brand of car, but Haze had been hardheaded since the day he was born.
“And what that mean?” Haze asked. They both knew he would get what he wanted before he left that dealership—one way or another.
“Aight, look, are you gonna keep your cool in there, or do I need to drop you off, bring wifey home, and be ready to get active?”
“I can’t promise I’ll keep my cool, G. They got me fucked up.
I dropped over half a mil’ on that damn car.
They gonna feel me today, one way or another.
” Haze’s foot bounced as he fought to control the chaotic energy within him.
He’d been dealing with his rage since he was young.
It was never misplaced. He was just an emotional being, so when he felt shit, he felt it deeply.
There was no middle ground. He was either on zero or one hundred, whether he was happy, mad, or sad.
“Aight. I’ll drop you off and then be right back. Try to keep ya cool ’til I get back,” Gideon responded.
They both knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Haze was about to turn up as soon as they stepped foot in the dealership.
Gideon knew him well enough to know that, which was why Haze was sure his best friend offered to drop him off first. Haze needed to get that shit out at the right people before he could be calmed down.
If Gideon went in there with him right away and tried to stop him from popping off, it would only make things worse.
They understood each other as well as blood brothers would, and Haze appreciated that Gideon knew exactly what he needed at that moment.
It didn’t take them long to pull up to the luxury dealership.
Frost Dynasty Luxury Automotive was the best in Desmore Bay.
Every baller, politician, and celebrity out of the Bay bought from them.
Haze himself was a long-standing customer of the dealership.
In the back of his mind, the more logical part, he knew it wasn’t the dealership’s fault.
The car he’d bought was notorious for being unreliable and breaking often.
The irrational part of his brain was ready to flip over every table inside that damn dealership.
When Gideon pulled up to the front door, he turned toward Haze and looked him dead in the eye. “I’ll be right back. Contain that shit best you can, bro. I’ll call up to the police department just in case.”
Haze waved him off. He knew Gideon meant well, but Haze wasn’t trying to hear none of that at the moment.
“Bye, sis.” Haze opened his door.
“Be good, Haze,” Glimmer called out before he slammed the door shut.
With a devious glint in his eye, he walked right into the dealership and stopped in the middle of the showroom floor.
“One of you funky mothafuckas need to get me a manager, right the fuck now!” His voice bounced off the sleek floors and high ceilings. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him, which made his frown deepen. “Y’all deaf or somethin’? Manager, now!”
Several people jumped and then scurried away. He hoped like hell they were going to do what he told them to do.
He stood like a statue in the middle of the floor, next to millions of dollars’ worth of cars, with a scowl on his face. The people left in the vicinity stole looks at him and tried to pretend like they were busy. Haze scoffed. They needed to get lost if they knew what was good for them.
Finally, a short Black man with a bald spot at the top of his head rushed toward him. Haze’s lip turned up at the sight of the unidentifiable stain on the man’s blue button-up.
“Sir, I’m a manager here—”
“Let me ask you somethin’, lil nigga,” Haze said, cutting the man off and immediately putting him in a headlock. “You’re a luxury dealership, right?” The man yelped in response, and Haze kissed his teeth. “That ain’t answer my question, dipshit. Is this a luxury dealership or not?”
“Y-yes,” the man said, barely able to breathe.
Haze chose that moment to pace the length of the showroom, with the manager still tucked under his arm. He stumbled along next to Haze, audibly choking. People gasped and moved out of Haze’s way.
Haze peeped one woman picking up a phone, to call the police, no doubt.
He used his free hand to point a finger at her.
“Don’t even think about it, lady. I have another arm that’ll be happy to meet your neck.
I love a good two for one.” He winked at her and resumed pacing.
“Let me ask you something, dipshit. What does luxury mean to you?”
“T-the best.” The manager gasped for air as tears streamed down his face.
Haze snapped his fingers with his free hand. “See, that’s what I thought, too, but if that’s the case, why the fuck is my brand-new car that I bought from your lot last week sitting on the side of the road like a piece of shit that can’t start?”
“I-I—”
Haze let go of the man and pushed him toward the floor. He grabbed the blunt that was tucked behind his ear and lit it. After taking a pull, he said, “Y’all either need to give me my money back or trade that shit in for something new.”
“Sir, y-you can’t smoke in here,” the manager said with fear in his voice.
Haze ashed his blunt right on the floor as he stared at the man cowering on the floor in front of him. “I’m really about to beat yo’ ass. You know that?”
The manager scooted back on his ass across the floor as Haze took slow, lazy steps toward him with a maniacal grin on his face.
“Haze?”
The breathless voice halted his steps. He didn’t know anyone that knew him here, so his radar was on high alert. Slowly, he turned, and his eyes widened. It was her.
The woman who invaded his dreams often.
The woman who’d disappeared on him like a damn ghost.
The woman whose name he never got.
Slowly, his grin stretched across his face and turned into one of charm. His eyes traveled down her petite but curvy body, and his dick twitched. When he met her eyes again, he said, “Thicka, we meet again.”