Chapter Twenty-Six
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Standing on Business
G randmama told me one time that hurt people hurt people. Mama told me one time that Black folk are always lookin’ for a messiah. Someone to save us. Swoop down and rescue us from the evils of racism and poverty. That’s why we’re so susceptible to fake preachers, pimp mentality, toxic culture, and so-called leaders of the Black community that don’t do nothin’ but exploit us, peddle pipe dreams, and sell snake oil. Sometimes, I think the situation is more complicated than that. Other times, I think we as a people make it too complicated our damn selves. Things aren’t always so simple but sometimes, they aren’t so tough and hard to understand.
As a kid I used to wonder why it seemed like other races that went through terrible things, like Jews during the Holocaust and Mexicans fleeing gang infested cities, would come over here and fare better than us. Mama said it was because the White man gave them loans and more opportunities. Grandma said it wasn’t that but because they banded together, and held each other accountable. I bet it was all of those reasons, and probably a few more, too.
When I think about me and Lennox, I see the struggle—I see the fight. I see the reasons why we drifted apart, and the reasons why we drifted right back together. Some things, like struggle and survival, are just in our makeup. They make us who we are. They are just meant to be. That man is my other half. We are amazing alone, incredible together. This morning, I thought I was waking up next to my soulmate. He made love to me so good, I slept like a rock.
I woke up this mornin’ happy, but soon, I was just confused. I feel like my man is hurt and wants to hurt someone else. I feel like he took my not speaking to him about the terrible thing that happened as some sort of a challenge. I may have made things worse… by just trying to protect him. Lennox doesn’t want protection from a woman or even another guy, and he isn’t a very patient man. I’ve learned that the hard way. Seems he wants to save me from the world, but I’m not makin’ it easy on bein’ saved. He wants to make my life like heaven, but now I am wondering, ‘Where the hell is Lennox?!’
Sitting on her comfortable cream loveseat in the living room, Nadia kept her phone close to her ear as she waited for her brother to get back on the line. Nelson put her on hold. He always had this spastic energy, never able to keep still. He wasn’t much of a phone talker either, but he’d try.
It was a bit dark in the room, just as she liked it, but she had turned on one floor lamp with a purple light, to keep it somewhat dim. She yawned, digging her toes into the plush cream carpet, then noted the time. Lennox still hadn’t returned. Her troubled spirit beat drums and screamed. In her heart, she knew it would be awhile. They needed to talk, as soon as possible.
“I’m back,” Nelson stated, followed by a cough. “I’m watchin’ on old game from last year and needed to find the remote to turn it down. I could barely hear you.”
“What game?”
“Boston Celtics playin’ the Dallas Mavericks.” She could hear the basketball game playing in the background, but it didn’t seem like he’d turned it down at all.
“They’re always neck ’n neck most games, ain’t they? I haven’t followed in a while.”
“Yeah, pretty much. They both play hard.”
“Hmmm. I haven’t watched sports of any kind in a long while. What are your plans tonight?”
“Cherrie ’sposed to come by soon with some chicken wings.”
“Oh, y’all talking again?” Cherrie was Nelson’ ex-wife, but they seemed to spend more time together after the divorce than before.
“Yeah, we been talkin’. She can’t get enough Nelson the Great!” He cackled, causing her to roll her eyes. “That lil’ piece of paper don’t mean nothin’ to me. I get more pussy from her now than I did when we was in so-called wedded bliss.”
“Where is she getting the wings from? Got my mouth watering now, too.” She glanced at her front door, distressed that she still hadn’t heard the bell ring or a knock.
“Wing Boss.”
“Nice. Uh, Nelson, Mama brought you up this morning. She sent me a text message. Now, I ain’t gonna say what it said, but she basically implied that you are ignoring her calls. I know I have my nerve because I ignore her calls sometimes, too. Regardless of that, when was the last time you spoke to Mama?”
“Oh, I’d say… shit. Let me think. Uh, probably three days ago. Naw… it was five days ago. Yeah, it was five days ago. I’ve been working double shifts so the time has gotten away from me. Duty calls. Ain’t nobody else gonna pay this mortgage but me.” He was an EMT, and still helped financially with his ex-wife’s daughter from a prior relationship. Nelson was all about saving money though—they had that in common. “Mama don’t care about me comin’ there or callin’ her no way.”
“Nelson, now you know that’s not true.”
“I bet if I sat right in front of her face at the kitchen table this very second, she wouldn’t even look up from her newspaper to know I was there. Who the hell still reads a damn newspaper? Mama. That’s who. Maybe when I was a lil’ boy, I shoulda asked God to be reincarnated as a newspaper so she coulda paid attention to me, too.” He laughed even harder, a forced sound this time—to cover the pain. She knew all about that. “You done asked all this shit about me, then about mama. What about you ? What’s been goin’ on with my sister since you left the club and all of that, school girl?”
“Nelson, I told you I’ve been making some changes in my life. I’m a work in progress. Yeah, I stopped dancin’. I’m back in school, and yeah, but I’m determined to finish this time.”
“You okay on money? I can help you if you need it.” She smiled at that.
“I know you would, but I’ve got enough savings to sustain me. I do work a part-time home job doing customer service a few hours a week, too. Just for little extras I might want so that I don’t dip into my savings for frivolous stuff, things like that.”
“Mmm hmm, okay. You know I got you if you come up short. I’m proud of you.” He sounded like Grandma when he said that. “You know I support just about anything you do. You know that, right?”
“I know, Nelson, and I appreciate that. I appreciate you . We don’t talk all the time but when we do, the love is definitely there. With all of this, you know, the changes I’m makin’, I have accepted that I need to get therapy to get over my hatred of my father, and to come to terms with Mama’s attitude sometimes. Hell, I struggle to describe it, but you know what I mean. Sometimes she’s—”
“Cold-hearted, mean as a starvin’ rattlesnake. Everything is black and white… ain’t no such thang as a gray area, suck-it-up-buttercup recommendations, I’ll cook for you so you can forget about me cussin’ you out for havin’ feelings, and your mouth will be too full from eatin’ to keep yappin’ about yo’ problems, don’t nobody betta bring me no bad news havin’ Miss JoAnn. That’s how you describe her damn attitude.” He huffed. “Mama loved us from a distance, even though she was standin’ right there. Guess we shoulda moved next door and gave her some space. She’s an electrician. We know she woulda kept the lights on, and the stove hot at least.”
They laughed together, even though none of this was particularly funny.
“She tried, Nelson. Mama is complicated. I’ve come to realize that when a bowl is broken, it can’t hold a lotta stuff. It can try, but whatever you put in it will just run out. Like water in a shattered glass. It ain’t the bowl’s or glass’s fault that it’s cracked and can’t hold nothin’, and it ain’t the water’s fault that it fell through the cracks.”
He drew quiet. She could hear him turn the television off as silence took over.
“Yeah. Yeah,” was all he offered.
He could use some therapy, too, but he has to want it.
“She loves us, Nelson. It’s—”
“I know that. You ain’t gotta to tell me that.”
“I am aware you know that. You cut me off before I could finish my sentence. She loves us—it’s just that Mama has a problem expressin’ her feelings. I kinda realized that recently. I mean, I always knew, but I finally put it into context.”
“Well, goody goody gum drop for yoooouuuu.”
“Nelson don’t be ugly.” She smirked, fighting between wanting to laugh, and wanting to curse him out. “I’ve been mad at her for a long time. She is who she is, and all we can do is tell her how we feel about it and let it go.”
‘Mama has a problem expressin’ her feelings, huh? JoAnn don’t have no problem expressing anger though, now does she? She do that shit mighty well.” His words cut like hot iron to metal. Before she could respond, her phone rang.
“Nelson, somebody callin’ me.” She glanced at the caller-ID and realized it was Sunshine, her stripper associate from the Sweet Soiree Gentleman’s Club. What she doin’ calling me this early in the day? Matter of fact, Sunshine rarely calls me, period. “Let me click over right quick. It’s one of my old friends from the club. Hold on, okay?”
“Alright.”
She glanced at the ID once more, then clicked over. “Hey, Sunshine. What’s up, baby? Everything okay?”
“Giiiirrrrl! Did you hear what the fuck happened?!”
“Huh? About what? With who?”
“Somebody crushed Dice’s car with one of those big construction cars! What do they call ’em? A backhoe? No! A bulldozer! Yeah! A mothafuckin’ bulldozer, girl! Rolled it flat as a pancake. It looks like a metal rug!”
The blood drained from Nadia’s body. Her skull began to pound. She pressed her body against the edge of her seat, bracing herself for the second shoe to drop.
“…How… how do you know that this is true? Did he just say so?”
“No! Dice ain’t been in here since he got banned for followin’ you home. Shake ’nd dem made sure of that. I’m at the crib right now and saw it. It’s been all over the news this afternoon. You know that car of his was his prized possession. Now it’s just a cookie sheet. He better get to baking!” Sunshine hooted.
“Oh my…” Nadia stood to her full height, feeling a wave of lightheadedness.
“They keep showin’ the footage and it’s funny as hell, girl! Somebody backed up, rolled over it, then did it again. They did it twice. Talk about standin’ on business. More like rollin’ on business!” Sunshine’s shrill laughter echoed over the line. “They see me rollin’! They hatin’! Tryna catch me riiiidin’, diiiirty!” She sang, laughing hard now. “He was an asshole, but my God, that’s extreme! He was cryin’ on the news about it, too, girl. That was the icin’ on the cake.”
“Oh, they interviewed him?”
“Mmm hmm! His voice was crackin’ like my grandmama’s knees! See how karma works? God don’t play about you, Nadia.”
“…Yeah, it, uh, it sure seems that way. Um, Sunshine, I’m on the phone with my brother. Let me call you back, okay?”
“Okay. Oh, and we miss you, girl! Come visit!”
“I miss y’all, too.” Nadia struggled to end the call, trying to sound unmoved and pulled together, but finally managed. She clicked back over to her brother, but he’d already hung up. Reaching for the remote control, she turned on the television, her hand shaking. The first news channel had on the weather report, so she switched to another station. She waited a few minutes, then felt her body go hot.
A black reporter wearing a dark red shirt and black slacks stood in front of a brick ranch home, a slightly distressed look on her face. “…It happened around seven this morning, according to a neighbor who wishes to remain anonymous. They were awakened by a loud noise, like a dump truck running over glass, she said, only to discover that someone on an old excavator had compressed their neighbor’s vehicle. The neighbor added that initially she thought that perhaps the car owner wished to have it demolished, and this was some do-it-on-site service being provided, but moments later when the homeowner came out of the house and screamed, then dropped to his knees, she realized that wasn’t the case.”
The news coverage then showed an earlier clip of the crushed car being loaded onto some sort of long flatbed attached to a tow truck. There Dice stood beside it, in his robe, his eyes watery as he screamed into the microphone and looked angrily into the camera.
“I TOL’ Y’ALL (BLEEEEEP!) I DON’T KNOW WHO DID THIS (BLEEP)! BUT I’MMA FIND OUT AND THAT MOTHAF-(BLEEP) BETTER COUNT HIS DAYS! I’M DYNOMITE DICE, DAMN IT! I’M WIT’ THE (BLEEP!),” Dice went on ranting, screaming at the top of his lungs. His voice cracked repeatedly, and he looked pitiful and wild about the eyes. At the end of a pair of long, skinny legs, his feet were clad in a pair of beat-up fuzzy blue slippers reminding her of Cookie Monster, as his robe swung widely, revealing his small pot belly with jail tattoos scribbled all over it.
Nadia picked up her remote and rewound the footage. She did it again, and again, until tears streamed down her face from laughter—so much she was on the verge of choking. After she’d gotten her fill, she got to her feet and called Lennox. She wasn’t surprised when she got no answer. Instead of sending a text message, she left a simple voicemail: “I know.” She ended the call, then poured herself a glass of water. She actually wanted liquor, and lots of it. Grabbing her phone to make another call, she took several deep breaths as she mustered up the courage.
“We’re sorry. The number you have reached has been disconnected.”
Surprised, she then dialed another number.
“Hi, Marie, it’s Nadia.”
“Nadia! Oh my goodness! I haven’t heard from you in so long, baby! How are you? Your mama and brother?”
“I’m doing fine, honey. Everybody is well.” Marie lived in Atlanta, and was the aunt of her insane ex-boyfriend, LeRon. She was a good, big-hearted woman who’d also warned her while she’d been dating her nephew, who she helped raise, stating that LeRon was a waste of her time—she urged her to cut him loose, for he would only cause misery. Nadia lived to regret not heeding that advice. They’d formed a friendship of sorts, and stayed in touch off and on since she’d moved back home to Houston. “How have you been, Marie?”
“I’ve been good! About to take Kyla to the grocery store to get some school supplies for a project she’s workin’ on.”
“Ohhh, how old is Kyla now?”
“Fifteen! Can you believe I have a fifteen-year-old granddaughter now? Time flies.”
She and Marie caught up for a little bit, and then, she asked the pressing question.
“Marie, have you heard from LeRon?”
“I saw him a couple of days ago at his apartment, but I couldn’t stay long. He was with his physical therapist.”
“Physical therapist?”
“Yeah, he was finally released from the hospital about a week ago.” Nadia’s heart began to race.
“…The hospital? For what?”
“What? You didn’t know? I figured since he keeps your name in his mouth so much he woulda used it as a guilt trip, and told you as soon as he gained consciousness.” She heard the woman suck her teeth.
“I don’t know anything about any of this.”
“Well, that definitely shocks me, ’cause one thing LeRon is gone do is throw a pity party and expect a full house.”
“In fairness, I asked him to stop callin’ me, and he—”
“I know you told him to stop, but he refused, so I figured this would be no different.”
“Well, he hasn’t called me in a while. I… uh, I needed to ask him something today, and when I unblocked his number and tried calling him just now to do so, I found his phone was disconnected.”
“Nadia, the phone is probably just cut off ’cause he ain’t pay the bill. He got another one though, but it ain’t that fancy iPhone. Hell, he ain’t been able to talk properly for weeks. Mouth all messed up.” Her stomach began to clench. “Some guy got LeRon, and got him bad. Probably someone he stole somethin’ from or did wrong! I tol’ that boy to quit fuckin’ wit’ people!”
“Did he get into a fight? What happened?”
“Honey, it was far from a fight. More like an ambush. LeRon said it was a big ol’ burly dude dressed in all black, drivin’ a black big rig truck. Said the guy jumped out of the rig and broke several of his ribs, and both of his knees, with a big ass baseball bat!”
Nadia held onto the kitchen counter for support.
“Oh… oh, my goodness. That’s terrible.” LENNOX!!!! GOT DAMN IT!!!
“Did the police arrest anyone?” She cleared her throat, trying to pull herself together.
“Nope, and I doubt they will because nobody saw it happen.”
“Oh, man… that’s crazy. No cameras or anything to corroborate what he said happened?” Please! Please! Please!
“Well, here’s the crazy thing about that. Some strange way, the two cameras that were pointed in that direction were disabled, accordin’ to the police.”
“Damn. Where did this happen?”
“It was over there in Sugar Hill and you know LeRon has a criminal record, so the police ain’t checkin’ for him with all the mischief he’s been in. They claimed to have tried to retrieve the footage, or so they said. Nobody knows either way. So that means it’s just his version of what happened. He basically described the Grim Reaper wrestler, girl! Oh, I mean the Undertaker. That was before yo’ time. It just sounds crazy. The police probably think it was drug or gang activity, but I actually believe his ass about this. He seemed genuinely shook up.”
“Wow… this is crazy. Does he know the people who did it?”
“It was just one person, he said. He ain’t get a good look at ’em. How it happened was, he said he had left a party, and about ten minutes into the drive, this big truck was blockin’ the road at like two or three in the mornin’ at the end of the street. He kept honking and they wouldn’t move, so he got out of his car. That was mistake number one! His dumb ass got outta that car, and it could have ended up like a scene in a horror movie, Nadia! I done taught that boy betta than that. If it had been me , I would have put my car in reverse and found another way home. But not my nephew. LeRon’s dumb ass approached the truck to tell whoever was in there to move, and this big guy opened the cab door, dressed in all black with his face covered with some Vendetta Guy Fawkes type mask, jumped out with a big ol’ baseball bat, and beat the brakes off my nephew.
“Beat him down until he turned to jam! Blackberry molasses on bread that taste and look like pavement! Stomped him like his name was Kirk Franklin! One doctor said his knee was split so bad, it’s a wonder he’ll ever be able to walk again on it without a knee replacement. He’s gonna be like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz. Squeakin’ and sqawkin’ when he walks. He’s got many months of rehab ahead of him. A long road indeed.”
“As much shit as LeRon put me through, I’d never want this for him. That’s too bad.”
“Yes, it is. And as much as LeRon has made my sister’s life miserable, and been in his share of shit, I cried when I first heard about this attack. I just want him to get his life right, you know? Too many crazy people out here in this world to be just walkin’ up to any ol’ body. I hope this teaches him to appreciate life more ’cause baby, he almost lost his!” Marie went on to discuss other things. Nadia half-listened, but pretended to be completely invested in the conversation. Once they parted ways, she picked up her phone and dialed Lennox once again.
This time, he picked up. The sounds of ‘Not Like Us,’ by Kendrick Lamar, played in the background. Lennox let out a lazy laugh, while another voice, a man’s, was talking in the background. He seems to be having a mighty good time. Especially for someone who was cosplaying as the Incredible Hulk and did a Hulk SMASH earlier in the day! THIS MOTHAFUCKA RIGHT HERE! She grabbed a fistful of her nightgown and squeezed it, trying to control any potential outburst that may roll off of her tongue.
“Baby,” she said in a sing-song voice. “How’s everything?”
“Oh, it’s lovely, honey. Just lovely.”
“Did you get my voicemail?”
“I didn’t check it yet. I’m over my cousin’s house. About to leave from here in a bit, swing by my father’s, then come back to your place.”
“We need to talk. I tell you what, you finish your… errands, as you called them, and go on back home. I will meet you at your house later tonight instead.”
“Oh, so now you’re in the mood to have a chat? Last night you were on mute. Wanna talk to me about shit, huh?”
“I sure do, Mr. Bob the motherfuckin’ Builder, also known as V for mothafuckin’ Vendetta. You like big rigs too, don’t you? Goin’ from state to state like you some big-time performer on tour! I heard the devil was down in Georgia…”
She was met with a pregnant pause. Then a burst of manly, raucous laughter.
“I will go wherever the fuck I have to go, even Jupiter, your Majesty, to make a left thing go right.”
“Well, seems to me you definitely hit it out of the ballpark, and flew into outer space. Seems to me that you were a baseball player in a past life, and that you like big machines best, too.”
“The bigger, the better. Ain’t that right, baby girl? I love construction work. I prefer to work with my hands, If you know what I mean.”
“You do? Well aren’t you handy! Speaking of Bob the Builder and construction, I feel like deconstructing some shit right about now. Like yo’ damn face. What do you think about that?!”
He snickered. “You should be thanking me.”
“Thanking you? No, I should not! I am worried now. What if the authorities find out? That would be it. Call it a wrap! How could you do this?! I love you! Why would you put yourself in jeopardy like this?!”
“I love you, too… that’s why I took care of business.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you! You are playing these dangerous games. You apparently wanna be up under the damn prison, Lennox. You just out here runnin’ amuck!” She waved her arm about, wishing he could understand. “You have to be strategic about this sort of thing! I’ll give you credit for makin’ it harder for things to be pinned on you—you at least put some thought into it—but it still doesn’t mean you covered all of your tracks!”
“Actually, I did. It’s amazing how simple it is to mess up tire marks so that they’re untraceable.”
“…This is insane. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. This ain’t the wild west!”
“Oh, but it is the zoo… I’m a handler. I handle shit.” He chuckled—just as easy as he pleased.
“I bet you do, mothafucka. You’re not The Incredible Hulk!”
“I don’t know what to tell you, baby, and I don’t know what you expected me to do, Nadia.” He yawned, as if getting bored of the whole discussion. “They let that dumb Dice fucker out of jail with a slap on the wrist after he terrorized you, and practically destroyed your car. That LeRon the Con idiot kept callin’ and threatening you nonstop, even after several warnings. You think I was going to wait around to see if he made good on it? Something had to be done! I’m the top dog, baby. Throw me a bone. Every dog has his day! WOOF! WOOF!” He burst out laughing, like he was at a damn comedy club. She heard a man in the background following suit, too. Both of them giggling like school girls.
OH, SO HE HAS SOMEONE CO-SIGNING THIS SHIT. THAT’S ONE OF HIS CRAZY ASS COUSINS. THESE FUCKING WILDE MEN… THEY ARE NUTS!
“I will see yo’ ass this evening at ten, boy.”
“You do that, sexy. I look forward to it. Oh, and wear something pretty. I wanna smash. AGAIN.” He and his demented cousin erupted in laughter once more, but she cut them short. She angrily disconnected the call and began jumping around in place, stomping and screaming.
“HE’S STILL DESPICABLE! HE’S STILL DOIN’ THE SAME SHIT! Therapy my ass! He told me he had a trainers’ meeting a while back, but I bet that’s when he took his ass to Atlanta.” Flashes of when he beat up that man at the restaurant raced through her mind. Talking about he’s reformed now… PLEASE! He’s just a better monster…
She stormed out of the kitchen, made her way into the master bathroom, and started the water. After a long, hot shower, she calmed down a bit. When she stood in front of the mirror combing her wet hair with a shampoo comb, she glared at herself, hating what looked back at her. Her stark reflection.
And she couldn’t stop smiling…
Roman sat across from him, his bare chest exposed and his long legs covered in expensive white linen pants. Bare feet patted against the floor to a drum-filled beat of, Khruangbin & Leon Bridges’, ‘Texas Sun.’ Roman had eclectic musical tastes—that fit him perfectly. The mysterious dark twinkle in his light cinnamon eyes and twisted smirk was his usual expression. It rarely left his face, regardless of his mood.
Lennox studied his cousin’s apartment in appreciation. Roman enjoyed the finer things in life. The man’s downtown Houston digs were high class and fit for the wealthy, with an edge. The modern loft boasted high ceilings, ribbed pillars, Greek replica statues and a kitchen fit for a chef. It was a huge brick-walled structure with multiple rooms, some of them behind lock and key. An open space with wall-to-ceiling windows showcased the city skyline.
Roman tapped his cigar into a large amethyst ashtray. Tilting his bare chin towards the rafters, he clicked his tongue. “It’s funny when they get mad at us for doin’ what we need to do, right?” His eyes narrowed, growing dark.
“Of course. Most women don’t understand Wilde men, and the women that do understand us, we don’t want ’em.”
Roman laughed at that, then pointed to his empty glass. “More whiskey?”
“Nah, I’m straight. I’ll be leavin’ soon anyway.”
“Well, I appreciate you stoppin’ by, even if it’s not for the best of reasons.”
Lennox set his glass down and nodded.
“Lennox, I wish when we were younger we’d spent more time together. I was usually with Phoenix and Ryder, and then I went into the Marines, and—”
“It’s okay, man. Our parents had alliances. Drawn lines in the sand. There was a hierarchy.” Lennox shrugged.
Roman nodded as he smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle in his pants. Taking a swig of his brandy, he set the empty glass down. He leaned forward, and there was that look again—an unspoken hatched-up, devious plan was on the horizon.
“Lennox, I know you’re worried about me. Want me to be proactive and take Gramps seriously… I am. I just refuse to let him see me sweat.”
Lennox was not certain how to respond. Roman often said things that weren’t true—he was a poker player, after all. A good one. No, great.
“I just want you to be careful and most of all, safe. Grandpa can’t entice you with money. You’ve already got it. He can’t cajole you wit’ a fancy gig or popularity. You’re an ex-Marine and now a successful investment banker. But, you have a past. As we all do.”
Roman offered a subtle bow, then grinned. “Yeah, I do. The Black Sheep is what grandpa named me, right? An embarrassment to the Wilde family name.” He cackled.
“Well, bein’ a successful and proud outlaw in his mind I guess can do that, but I think it’s remarkable how you thrive, in spite of it all. You keep your cool… I think that’s what Grandpa likes about you. He thinks he can use that part of your personality to his advantage.”
“Eh, it’s more than that… You know that. He wants me to make some illicit moves on his behalf. Jeopardize all I’ve worked for, now that I’m keepin’ my nose clean.”
“He wants access to the accounts in your care, and insider trade information.”
“And you know this!” Roman gestured as if his hand were a gun, and he was pulling the trigger. “The fucker is so greedy, his billions aren’t enough, Lennox.”
“It’s not the money. It’s not the dollar amount, Roman. It’s the control.”
They rested in a brief moment of silence.
“He won’t be happy until he destroys everything I worked so hard for. But,” Roman grimaced in a nonchalant sort of way, “I’d expect nothin’ less from him.”
“Just be ready. That’s all I’m saying.” Lennox grabbed his keys. “Well, I better get goin’. I gotta swing by my dad’s house, then go get cussed out by my lady.” They both got to their feet, laughing at the same time.
“She’s lucky you didn’t kill them. You went easy on ’em, far as I’m concerned,” he said in a somber tone.
“Exactly. This is the Kumbaya version of myself.” He pointed at his chest. “The elevated version. She thinks I just popped off, but she has no fuckin’ idea.”
“I remember the old you. You definitely weren’t shy around some revenge. Life did a number on you though. I get it.”
“Life did a number on both of us, Roman. But yeah… The old Lennox woulda had both of those motherfuckers six fuckin’ feet deep. This was a favor.”
“Pre-fuckin’-cicely. She should be happier than a pig in shit.”
They bumped fists. Roman walked him to the large industrial looking door equipped with about five locks and a security system mounted to the wall beside it. Lennox went to undo the first lock, and Roman reached for his wrist.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in the Marines. Some believe, once a Marine, always a Marine, Lennox.” His throat constricted and a dire expression crossed his face. “If you need any help with finishing this shit off, if you need backup, you holler at me, you hear me? He’s closin’ in on you, and he’s gonna go after that girl.”
Lennox nodded in agreement. “Thanks. I will definitely call you if I need to.”
“Grandpa doesn’t expect us to band together. He expects us to stay separated, like how some of our parents tried to do us, because of his influence, while growin’ up. He’d purposefully cause division. Create cliques and confusion in the family. Messy, devious shit. Almost everyone says Kage is crazy. But Kage was the only one who was man enough, at the age of thirteen, to do what all of them were too chicken shit to do as full-grown adults.”
“I can’t argue with that. Kage has some problems, but his instinct and bullshit detector is trigger happy, and scary accurate.”
“Kage used to make fun of me.” Roman smiled sadly. “Call me ‘Pretty Boy,’ things like that, but he was protective of all of us, too. He took the role of oldest cousin seriously. So, since you say you’re communicatin’ wit’ him, and now with me, I say we stay as a united front. The three of us at least. People outside of our family can’t understand this. Can’t get how one man can control a business, a family, and a whole damn city the way he does, but when you grow up the way we did, we get it. I got you, man.” He patted his back.
Lennox took him into his arms and hugged him. Roman was the cool and collected clown. He was damn good with numbers. A slickster. Hard to pin down and read at times, too. Daring and arrogant. When he offered himself to you, that was a compliment. He was stingy with his time, and even more stingy with his advice.
They hugged one more time, said their farewells, and he walked away, slowing when he heard all the locks sliding into place. Roman stated that before Grandpa had sent his goons to grab him, he had three locks on the door. Now, he had five and a big ass loaded rifle hidden in the umbrella bin, right by the front entrance…