Chapter 8 #2
“My point is, I have people to protect. So do you. This ain’t some amateur we fucking with.
This is the mothafucka that taught us everything we fucking know about this shit.
This needs to be handled with some finesse.
That’s how Arrow works. I need you to be on point and ready.
Go scout the area he wants us to meet him in, check for any security breaches, sniper setups and all that.
We need to think just like him in this scenario. ”
“What if we brought someone else in on this one?” I suggested.
“Someone like who? Arrow got his hand in the pocket of just about every nigga we know.”
“What about Salem?” I referred to another cat that I had crossed paths with over the years.
He was more freelance now, going where the money was without having to commit to an agency, something like what Free and I did.
“He’s skilled, and off Arrow’s radar.”
“Call him up, see if he’s available this week.” He slid his chair away from the table and stationed himself on both feet. “Stay on all ten. We both know how unpredictable this mothafucka is.” He was on his way to the door, and there was something I needed to get off my chest.
“Free.” I stopped him on his way, and he whirled around so that he could look at me.
“It ain’t my place to tell you who to be with.”
“You right, it ain’t.” He agreed, a glare of impatience filling in his facial features.
“I just want you to take a long, hard look at everything that’s going on. You really want to leave the opportunity for her to be able to tear what’s left of your life apart?”
“That’s your issue with her, Ledge, and that’s your fucking problem.
You won’t take the time to get to know her.
You would rather keep making your judgments.
Ya own girl is cool with her, and that should tell you something.
” Frequency pointed out. “And if you remember, not everybody likes yo’ ass when they first meet you either. ”
This wasn’t the first time we had been at odds.
We didn’t do that extra soft ass shit. Any time we had ever gotten into it, we eased in and somehow fell back in sync with each other.
This was different. We had never beefed at this level before so fiercely.
This wasn’t any disagreement either. I knew that.
I knew Frequency better than he knew himself sometimes.
He was deep in with this girl. If she was carrying his seed, there was no turning back.
He was as invested as he was going to fucking get.
There was no way me or anybody else was going to be able to touch her without consequence.
I still wasn’t quite sure that was a risk I was willing to take.
This was my livelihood and freedom we were talking about here.
“I got something else to take care of, but I’ll keep in touch.” I assured him.
Once he was gone I made sure to secure everything before I did a little more recon of my own.
I still had to deal with this bitch Kitana.
Clearly, I had underestimated the looney tunes ass bitch.
She was about to make me find her and stick her fucking head on a swivel.
I let her skate a couple of times and that must have put some kind of battery in the bitch back.
When the time came, mothafuckas weren’t going to know what hit ’em.
It always came down to the seconds for me.
I was impulsive, and quick on my feet, which is why I was so good at what I did.
Neither me nor Free was actually proud of being killers, but the skill set proved to be useful over time in the world we were exposed to.
Arrow wasn’t the only one that knew how to act in the shadows.
My entire career had been about not getting caught, that hadn’t changed thus far.
When it came down to it, I had to look out for me.
Friday Night…
I rolled up at Chevy’s place to pick her up that night.
Parking in the driveway, I went for my phone in the console to hit her with a text and let her know I was outside.
Her Grandma was in the house with the kids, and I wasn’t feeling her or the bullshit tonight, even though it was my fucking house.
I just didn’t want no bad vibes to fuck up the night. Jackie was cool most of the time.
When me and Chevy first got together, she thought I was some drug pushing nigga that was going to fuck up her granddaughter’s life.
She was partly right, we definitely had our heated fucking moments in the last almost seven years.
But when she saw I was a regular dude with money, and I just happened to love the streets, she kind of eased up.
It didn’t hurt that I was having her house and car fixed up for her, making her living situation as comfortable as it could be for her as well.
A couple of minutes later and Chevy stepped out of the house in a dress so tight it accented all of her curves.
Her thighs were thick ass fuck, but she had her chest covered.
I got out to open the door for her and she leaned in.
Our lips brushed each other gently and she ran her hand down the front of my button up Tom Ford shirt.
“Mmm, okay, you looking sharp.” She turned up her high wattage grin.
Usually a nigga couldn’t be talked out of a pair of jeans.
But this wasn’t that. I wanted to be on some other shit with her tonight, and I could show her better than I could tell her.
Once we were done, I had to go handle this shit with Free, so I was hoping shit went smoothly with us and then I could slip back home and spend the night then wake up to my family.
I noticed when she turned to get into the car that she wore her back out.
The tattoo with my name on it was engraved in her smooth mocha skin just below her shoulder.
Shit was sexy as fuck and I took my bottom lip between my teeth.
The way the fucking dress was made showed off her ass, which was sitting up so fucking firm you could sit a cup on that bitch.
“You act like you daring a nigga to put another baby in there, Chevy, what the fuck, yo.” I groaned, closing her door and rounding the back of the car to get into the driver’s seat.
I was extra paranoid these days, so as soon as I got in, I brought my pistol to my lap. Chevy reached for my hand, tugging me in for a kiss. I wanted this night to be perfect for her, but I was already distracted, and the night was now tainted by the events that were set to take place afterward.
“So what’s wrong with you?” She questioned, cutting her eyes at me.
“Nothing, just some work shit.” I assured her. “How was your day?”
“Same ol’. Did you handle that other situation?” She pressed, referring to that bitch Kitana.
“Still working on it.” I glanced at my side mirror. “Shit is taking a little finesse. Seems she has a few connections I wasn’t privy to.”
“So what does that mean?” Chevy’s scowl of discontent clouded her face.
“It means… I’m working on it.” I repeated, glancing her way. “That’s not why I asked you out, and I don’t want to talk about that shit.”
“Surprise, surprise.” She rolled her eyes and forced them out of her window.
Still gripping the wheel, I steered us through traffic and took a peek over at her. She had an attitude, but that shit was always sexy to me. I was trying to normalize not pissing her off all the time, but a nigga couldn’t help it.
“I ain’t been fucking her, or nobody else since about eight months ago, Chev, and that’s my word.
” I declared, and she slowly spun her head my way.
“A nigga been going through a drought and shit, just to prove a fucking point. I was still keeping her on a short leash because she was working with you. All that shit after Free’s party that night, she was on some fuck shit.
She was mad because I wasn’t fucking with her and cut her off. ”
“Well… it’s not like you to explain yourself.” She admitted, her acorn-colored orbs dissecting me and shit.
“If you expecting some drastic change from me, you got that shit wrong. I am who the fuck I am.”
“I know that. Believe it or not, I don’t want to change you, Ledge. I love who you are, you just need some adjustments in a few areas.”
“Like what?” I prodded, continuing to drive toward our destination.
“For one, you could go a little lighter on Harbor.” She suggested, arms folding across her chest.
Sucking my teeth, my eyes wandered outside of my window.
Here she go with the bullshit. Everybody seemed to be campaigning for this broad, and I wasn’t interested in seeing any other side of her.
In my eyes, she was the enemy, no matter what.
It really didn’t take much for me to see the other side of a mothafucka.
I still didn’t trust her, regardless of how Free felt or what Chevy had come across with her.
“What that got to do with us?” I asked, annoyed.
“I work with her. We actually contrast really well together and are making you and Free a lot of money. She’s with him, she’s having his baby.
You act like you can just wipe that shit away.
” Chevy accused, neck jerking, so I knew she was defensive as fuck.
“He’s supposed to be your friend, your brother, right? ”
“Shit changes. People grow apart, priorities shift.”
“Frequency doesn’t change.” Chevy was so sure in her words that I couldn’t help but study her closely before giving my attention back to the road.
“We might not always get along, but he has never switched up on you in the time that he has known you, Ledge. That means something. He’s solid, and he finally has a woman on his team just as hard as he is. You need to give her a chance.”
“A chance to what? To get close to me, find out all the shit I don’t tell nobody so she can use that shit against me—”
“Harbor isn’t like that—”
“You don’t even know her like that to make that call.” I shut her down.
“No, you don’t know her like that. You don’t take the time to get to know people.”