Chapter 18 Relic #5
As if that were Relic’s subtle permission for her to fall apart, she spit out a heavy sob, hunching over as she held her stomach and violently shook from the emotional relief.
She didn’t have to avoid her nephew or breakdown at the mere sight of him, and she didn’t have to stress if it’d ever come to light and ruin their relationship.
Her leaking eyes drifted to Relic, and she saw the injustice in his gaze that he blinked away.
The words he didn’t say were written in the air between them.
She got lucky, but he didn’t.
“You good, Kenn Dog?” Shabu quizzed, rubbing her shoulder as she dabbed her face and stood tall, getting her emotions in check. “You don’t want to knock my brother’s head off, do you?”
“That’s still up for debate,” she uttered. Her attention went to Ezekiel before she pressed, “Why didn’t you go to Koda’s party? He told me to stay home, thinking you were coming.”
“I was, but I changed my mind ‘cause you know how your brother gets when he’s drunk. I figured it was better to just wait until the next day to holler at him but...”
Ezekiel rolled his tongue across his teeth and heaved a breath. He’d run from Koda’s death for years out of guilt because he should’ve been there to have his back.
“I don’t talk about Koda because I wasn’t there when he needed me.
I failed him. I didn’t deserve to shed a tear at his funeral or treat his family like mine,” he expressed before pressing his thumb and index finger to his eyes to contain his tears.
“I deserved the bullet you gave me, and that’s why I never tripped about it.
I wish you came to me about this instead of thinking the worst all this time. ”
“I didn’t think it until Tek told me Koda knew about us. I didn’t get why you’d keep that a secret, Zeke. Then, you lied about my brother having a girl when he has a whole child out there somewhere.”
“Wait, what? Koda didn’t have a girl. That wasn’t a lie, Kennedy.”
“Sarge.” She turned to where he had been silent in a corner the entire time. He didn’t move or blink when she reminded him, “You said he was messing with a stripper, right? And she got pregnant for him.”
“That hoe!”
Ezekiel balled his face because he couldn’t even recall her name, and Koda was hitting her on the low, so he was unsure how Sarge had heard about the pregnancy incident since Koda rarely told the nigga his business. The more he thought about it, his breathing picked up before he glared at Sarge.
“How do you know she was pregnant, Sarge?”
“Oh, shit. I think you accidentally started something, Relic,” Los hissed before moving by his side while Shabu did the same. Kennedy stepped forward.
“Wait, what do you mean, how does he know? Y’all didn’t tell him?”
“He might’ve known they were fucking, but not ‘bout the possible baby. Koda nipped it in the bud immediately. So, who told you, Sarge? Her?”
Sarge threw his hands in the air and confessed, “Yea, she did. So, fucking what? It doesn’t change that you lied to Kenn about it. I was just telling her that she might have a niece out there.”
Relic chuckled before pointing out, “I notice you said a niece. How do you know it wasn’t a nephew?”
The floor began to spin under Kennedy’s feet as she stared at Sarge’s dumb expression before he got it in check a second too late. After taking a subtle step backward, he chuckled before addressing Relic.
“I said niece because Koda has a son. It was a random sex. It’s only one or the other.”
“You sure? Or were you fucking the same bitch, and she pinned a baby you wanted on Koda because she was choosing like hoes do.”
“She wasn’t a hoe. She was innocent until Koda used her and dumped her like fucking trash.
Koda changed her. Made her like him,” Sarge sneered, thinking of her.
“I was there for her the whole pregnancy while he left her to rot. The minute he said he’d be active once they took a blood test, she tried to push me aside like he’d done her.
She was ungrateful, and Koda thought he was fucking untouchable and could treat people like shit. ”
“You set up Koda behind a bitch!” Kennedy screamed and lunged for him, but Relic caught her before she could attack. She wriggled in his hold while shouting, “You had a fucking girl and kid already, Sarge! You took my brother behind a hoe that didn’t want you!”
“I set him up because he thought he was the end all, be all! Because he cut me off when Zeke sat his ass down! I didn’t want to stop, but he didn’t feel I was good enough for second in command.
Koda sat in my fucking face and laughed when I asked for Zeke’s spot.
Finding out that he knocked up the girl I was feeling was just the icing on the cake.
Now, look who got the last fucking laugh.
She was left with no nigga to take care of her, and he’s dead.
The only thing I regret is not finding his stash before I sent his opps the location.
I would have robbed his ass like you thought. ”
“Oh, shit!” Los shouted as Ezekiel charged Sarge and pinned him against the wall.
Relic didn’t think anything of it but released Kennedy the instant he spotted the metal glinting in Ezekiel’s hand. It tucked under Sarge’s chin, and Relic glared at Los.
“You let him snatch your fucking gun!”
“I was invested in the story like y’all. I didn’t see the nigga coming!”
Relic pushed out a breath before taking cautious steps toward Ezekiel, who glanced back for a split second before placing his attention on his supposed friend.
The goading look on Sarge’s face as he laughed almost convinced Relic to let Ezekiel pull the trigger, but they were in the wrong place. It’d end badly for everyone involved.
“Don’t do it. Not here with all these eyes around. It’s too messy,” he warned Ezekiel. “We can find another way. Hell, I got a thousand places to do it and get rid of him.”
“Well, you got one minute to let me know how to get him out of here without it causing a scene, or your concert is headlining the news for a homicide. I had a snake sitting in my face for damn near a decade, so I don’t give a fuck about prison at this point.”
“Pills.”
Kennedy summoned every set of eyes with that single word. She went to the dressing table and squatted, fishing through one of the bags that had fallen over to retrieve an orange bottle that she held in the air.
“I don’t know what these are, but this is what Saucy took, and she hasn’t budged. I’m sure a good dose will get Sarge woozy enough to walk out of here quietly.”
Relic stared for a beat before instructing, “Put his ass in the chair and force him to swallow them. We can move him once it kicks in. If anyone comes in, they’ll just think the nigga is on something or drunk.”
Sarge shoved Ezekiel and tried to beeline for the door after hearing that instruction, but Shabu tripped him and then rammed him in the stomach with his gun while Los put him in a headlock from behind.
They dragged him to the couch like Sarge wore a hundred pounds soak and wet instead of his hefty weight.
Ezekiel sauntered to Kennedy and took the pill bottle from her while dissecting her because she was a different girl than the one he recalled.
He was convinced the young girl he knew was encapsulated in the moment she’d shot him in his kitchen after having a mental breakdown from his bullshit. She had never come back from that day.
“Zeke, meet Big Dog Kennedy.” Relic interrupted the nigga staring too hard for his liking. He held out his hand, and Kennedy didn’t hesitate to take it while moving by his side. “Like I said before, you’ve never had Kennedy like I have her. Help my folks with your issue while I walk her out.”
“I’m leaving?”
Kennedy peered at him with exhaustion written over her beautiful face, and Relic nodded before leading her to the door and out into the hallway. She glimpsed past him when Sarge released a muffled yell, but he pulled the door shut behind them.
“What did I tell you? I’m not doing anymore shit like that around you if I can help it. Head to the restroom, fix your makeup, then go back to the section with the ladies.”
“So, you want me to walk away without knowing or seeing what happens? Sarge killed my brother, Relic.”
“And your old ass ex is handling it like he should’ve years ago, but that’s not my business. You are.” He slicked his hand down her hair and asked, “How do you feel?”
“I’m still processing it being Sarge, but I feel relieved. Confused about whether I should tell my family. Sad that this will hurt Sonny.”
“Damn, you are about to kill your ex-bestie's brother, huh?”
“I’m not about to do anything. I’m not in there, and I don’t know shit. I don’t think I’m telling my family either. Maybe just my dad because he’ll keep his cool. My mom is sensitive, and so is Tekken. I don’t want to tear open their old wounds just to watch them heal differently.”
“I agree. Some things are better left unsaid. So, what about your wounds?”
“They’ll heal eventually because of you.” She reached up to cup his face in her hands and pulled him down for a soft kiss. He laid his forehead against hers. “Thank you for that because you didn’t have to do it. You could have been selfish.”
His eyes locked on hers. “What do you mean?”
“I mean what I said. You could have chosen yourself. You didn’t have to reach out to Zeke or bring him here to clear my conscience. You could have left me drowning in my guilt, but you didn’t. Maybe one day I’ll get to return the favor if you let me.”
Relic pushed out a stream of air at that, absorbing her words and touch before she planted a final kiss on his lips and let him go. The urge to pull her back into his embrace was strong, but the juddering in his pocket thwarted him from doing so as he frowned while fishing out his phone.
“What is Jah doing up?” Kennedy quizzed, screening his call faster than him.
Relic shook his head as he answered, placing the call on speaker phone so she could hear. If not, she’d have him relaying shit back and forth.
“Yea, Jah?”
“Someone is watching us.”
That rare emotion Relic endured crept up on him like a thief in the night, strangling him into silence as he froze before his hand cinched around his phone.
Fear was an emotion only Jahleel produced, and Relic had yet to learn to stomach it.
“What do you mean, Jah? Where are you?” Kennedy pressed, moving closer to the phone.
“I’m home, but this car keeps following us. I see it at practice and when I get off the bus. It’s by the house, too, but it don’t get close. I memorized the license plate when my granny just made me take out the trash.”
Relic finally inhaled a breath, scrubbing his forehead as Kennedy giggled. They both realized who Jahleel was referring to.
“What color is the car?” Relic asked to make sure.
“It’s like blue and gray mixed.”
“Wolf gray, and I know who that is. His name is Lue, and he’s one of my security guards. I have him watch you from time to time. Tell your grandma don’t send you out this late again. He could’ve been anyone coming to snatch your ass up. Go to bed.”
Jaheel laughed before saying, “Goodnight. Can Ms. Kennedy pick me—”
His sentence cut off when Relic hung up the phone on him. Kennedy smacked his arm.
“Why would you do that?!”
“Because we had a long fucking few weeks. After we deal with that nigga in the room, that’s it. Me and you are detaching for a few days. They’ll see us when they see us. Go enjoy your night, Larenn. I got shit to do, as always.”
“Fine.”
Kennedy retreated backwards down the hall with her eyes on him before finally pivoting on her heels to sashay away, and Relic caught a gut-coiling, chest deflating ache deep in his damn soul. In days, his world would crumble, and he was still uncertain about where she stood.
Kennedy made it damn near impossible for Relic to decipher whether she was for them or choosing herself as her final move.