Chapter 24
“Thank you for meeting with me,” I said as I sat on Aliza’s couch.
“Anytime. You sounded really cryptic on the phone, so I knew it was important.” She twisted a braid around her finger as she sat beside me.
I rubbed my hands together. “Look, I don’t want to take up too much of your time, so I’m just gon’ get straight to the point. We can’t fuck no more.”
“Why? I thought we were building something.”
“Not at all, baby girl. I was using you for a quick nut before I found out my first love was back in town. I should have ended shit then, but I wasn’t sure how shit would turn out for us. We have a kid together, and I want to be a family with her and my son.” I licked my lips.
“What’s her name?”
“None of that matters.” I rubbed the back of my neck.
Aliza chuckled, but wasn’t shit funny. “It does. How long have you been trying to get your family back together? Was it before or after you started calling me honey during sex? Is that her name? Were you fucking me but thinking about her?”
“Yes. When I slipped up with you the first time, it was after I’d talked to her for the first time in like six years. You were the placeholder while we slowly started rebuilding our relationship.” It didn’t make sense to lie to the girl when she’d already figured out what was going on.
“Ouch.”
“I ain’t mean to hurt your feelings,” I stated softly.
“You hurt my ego, fa sho. Here I was thinking my shit was so good it had you making up nicknames. Whole time, I’m the placeholder bitch.” She shook her head.
“I hope this doesn’t make shit between us awkward. I still have a couple months left to work there before I can do something else.”
“I’ve fucked damn near every nigga who has worked at the store. It ain’t going to be awkward.”
We both laughed. “Cool. You’ll find love one day.”
“I’ll enjoy the ride in the meantime.”
I dapped her up before I left. That shit went smoother than I thought. These young bitches ran game better than niggas these days. I wasn’t mad at her either.
I had to tell my boys about that. I put my phone on the stand and started a group on FaceTime. It took a few moments for TK and Mouse to join the call.
“What’s up?” Mouse spoke first.
“I ended shit with my coworker.”
“Smart man.” TK chuckled.
“It went smooth as hell. I dapped her up on my way out the door too.”
Mouse laughed. “Of course you did. Everything with you is jokes.”
“Fa sho. I’m just excited to be working towards getting my family back together with Honey. I love her.”
“The right woman will change everything,” Mouse stated.
“You ain’t lying,” TK added.
I merged onto the highway. We caught up on each other’s lives for a few minutes. As I exited, I wanted to see what they were on for the day. “What y’all up to?” I asked.
“Me and the kids gon’ hit up the park later for a birthday party,” Mouse answered.
“We really parents and shit. That’s insane.” I shook my head.
TK was quiet for a long moment before he spoke. “Yo, Marq?”
“Yeah?”
“You see that video Quintin posted on social media?” TK asked.
“Nah. I ain’t following none of them niggas. Why?”
TK sighed. “He’s bragging about being the reason you sat them years.”
My grip on the steering wheel tightened. “Man, you swear?”
“I’ll send you the video now.”
“Let me pull over and watch this shit.”
I pulled into a nearby gas station. My leg twitched as I opened up the message with the link to the video. Quintin looked older, but he was still a nappy head ass kid like I remembered him to be.
“Y’all favorite street nigga is stocking shelves. See what happens when you go against family?” Quintin took a pull from his blunt and showed off his gun. “A nigga like me makes sure no witnesses are left behind. He should have spent more time learning the game than following behind that bitch. Now he a bum ass nigga while I’m fucking models every night. His own daddy ain’t even wanna be in his life. How does it feel to know this young nigga took everything you love. I might circle back and fuck yo’ bitch too.”
The video ended.
“Marq? You there?” Mouse asked.
“I ain’t gon’ ask y’all if y’all down to ride, but I need a favor. Find me the nigga location so I can handle that shit.”
“Marq, you sure you want to?—”
“I don’t need no fuckin’ warning. Niggas think they can disrespect me and I’m gon’ let that shit slide?” I shook my head.
“Nigga, you fresh out, and you’re only free because of overpopulation in the system. Your name slipped through the cracks. You get caught up in some more shit and that’s your ass for life.” Mouse sounded stressed, but I didn’t give a fuck.
“Cool. TK, you down to ride?”
“I ain’t gon’ ride, but I know where him and his homies stay. I’ll send you the lo when I find it.”
“Cool. You mind if I swing by really quick?” I asked TK.
“Nah. Pull up. The door unlocked.”
“You’re seeing red, but you gon’ be really pissed when Honey leave your ass for good.” Mouse was always the one to have some sense. Unfortunately, I wasn’t on the type of time to receive the help he was offering.
“Y’all be safe. I got some shit to handle.”
I put TK’s address into my GPS and headed toward his spot. He was only forty-five minutes from the gas station I parked at.
Blood was on my mind. I wanted to make an example out of him, especially since he admitted to being the one who snitched on me. Did mothafuckas get clout from being certified snitches these days? Weird flex, but okay. People died for less back in the day.
* * *
“Thank you for helping me out,” I began as I inhaled from the blunt. Once the smoke had filled my lungs, I exhaled. “I’ll be glad when I beat Quintin ass and finally put that animosity I have for that sperm donor of mine behind me.”
“You think Quintin knows something about your pops?” TK asked as he took a pull from his own blunt.
“I’m not gon’ hold you. Hell yeah. Why’d he mention him if he didn’t know anything? I was gon’ let good ol’ Chandler become a distant memory, but what’s better than killing two bitches with one bullet?”
TK shook his head. “You are a crazy ass mothafucka.”
“Been that way my whole life.”
Before TK could respond, my phone rang.
“Let me get this.”
I stood up and answered the phone. My mood instantly got better at the sight of my son.
“Hi!” Quis screamed into the phone.
“Hey, Quis. What’s up, big man?”
“Can you come over today? I made a new friend today, and we made slime. I want to show you how we did it so we can make even more slime.” Quis spoke so animatedly about his new activity.
“Wow. That’s really cool,” I replied in a tone that matched his.
“Can you come over right now?”
“I can’t come over right now, but I’ll make sure I come over as soon as I finish what I had planned today.”
“Okay.” Quis was content with the response I’d given him. He said goodbye before he passed the phone to Honey.
“What are you doing? Where are you at?” she asked.
“Yo, Marq. The connect sent the lo. It’s a green light on the mission.” TK stated as he held his phone up to show me the pin on Quintin’s location.
I nodded. “I got to go?—”
“Are you with TK from back in the day? What the hell are the two of you doing?”
I licked my lips. I was never the type of man to lie to her about what I did in the streets, so I stated the truth. “I have some unfinished business to take care of.”
The light in her eyes dimmed as she pursed her lips together. She censored her words from her original reaction. “I don’t want to know what you’re doing, but I will say this. If you’re back in that street shit, you can kiss your relationship with Quis goodbye. I do not want him to know a father in and out of prison. I do not want him to know some thug ass nigga who can’t stay out of trouble.”
“Honey—”
Click.
The line went dead. I was in too deep. There were principles to uphold, and I’d be damned if I let a young nigga get away with that disrespectful shit.
* * *
“Three… Two… One.”
BOOM!
On my countdown, we busted into Quintin’s home. We wore gloves and masks to keep from being identified. We stormed in two deep and held Quintin at gunpoint. He was alone, so we thought.
“Man, what the fuck?” Quintin cursed.
“Surprise, mothafucka.” I pistol-whipped his ass, and his lip busted open from the force of the attack.
“M-Marq?”
“Don’ sound so surprised, bitch. You were the big bad wolf on social media. Keep that same mothafuckin energy. You the snitching ass bitch who got me caught up in the system?”
He shook his head. “N-no?—”
“Don’t lie. Stand on the shit you were talking in that video. You said, and I quote, y’all favorite street nigga is stocking shelves. See what happens when you go against family? Ain’t that what he said?”
“Yup.” TK agreed.
“You spoke on my lady, me, and my pops. Are you stupid or dumb?”
Quintin put his hands up. “I was just talking?—”
I slapped him. His head would have turned like a swivel chair if this were a cartoon. I wanted him to feel my anger in every attack I had for him. Bitch ass nigga would think twice about running his mouth. I continued to pistol-whip him—each blow had direct contact with his face.
“You had a lot of shit to say, but you pissing your pants like a pussy.” I pried his mouth open and stuck the tip of my gun in his mouth. He cried.
“Aye, you can wait in the car. I don’t want you tied to whatever happens next. Just in case.” I spoke to TK.
“Real nigga.” TK dapped me up and left the house. I needed someone on lookout anyway.
“I hope in your next life, you learn to keep your mouth shut.” I pulled the trigger, and Quintin’s brains sprayed across the room. The sight was repulsive despite the satisfied smirk on my lips.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
The fine hair on my skin stood at attention as a familiar presence entered the room. Where the hell did he come from? I asked myself as I straightened up. The sight of Chandler sent a wave of nausea through my body. I wanted to throw up and crash out at the same time.
“You’ve got some nerve,” I stated once I’d regained my composure.
“It felt like the right time to return. You’re welcome, by the way. I’m the one who orchestrated all of this. Quintin snitching and you getting out on good behavior,” Chandler explained with a smirk.
“Nigga, this ain’t no fuckin’ movie. I don’t need you to reveal your master plan. You killed my mama, and you gon’ die. Simple as that.” I lifted the gun that still had Quintin’s brain matter all over it and pointed it at Chandler.
Chandler’s cool demeanor shifted into one of panic. “Wait?—”
“Nah. See you in hell, bitch.”
BANG! BANG! BANG!
I pulled the trigger until the clip was empty. I’d continued to stare at Chandler’s bullet hole covered body. This was what I’d dreamed of doing for decades. Chandler didn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. Chandler didn’t deserve to give an explanation. Chandler deserved to die without a second thought.
I wiped the gun on Quintin’s shirt and walked out of the house. I pulled out my phone and called Merlot.
“What’s up, nephew?” he answered in a happy tone.
“We need to talk,” I stated coolly.
“You know where I be.”
“Cool. I’ll pull up tomorrow. In the meantime, send somebody to yo’ boy Q’s spot.”
I hung up without another word before I climbed into the passenger seat and waited only seconds for TK to pull off.
“You good?” TK asked when we’d gotten far enough from the crime scene.
“Superb.” I sat back and exhaled. All my troubles had been taken care of in a matter of hours. Aliza, Quintin, and Chandler were no longer an issue. Now, my main focus could be becoming the man Honey needed me to be. Growth wasn’t linear. Relapses were normal. It was about what I did in the days to follow that would make the difference, right?