Chapter 4
Everyone in the room stood at attention, waiting for Haze to speak. The large meeting room was where they met when the entire club was in attendance.
Gideon watched as Haze’s heavy black leather boots hit the shiny floor with a thud as he paced.
Over the years, Haze learned to think carefully before he spoke.
When they were young, he used to let whatever was on his brain fly right out of his mouth.
That shit had gotten them both into more trouble than either of them cared to admit, so Gideon was glad that with maturity came thoughtfulness.
Gideon stood by Haze’s side and looked at the Vicious Kings and couldn’t help but smile.
He had never been shy about showing his emotions, and he was fully aware that he looked menacing until he smiled.
He tried to look cheerful as much as possible because he didn’t want to intimidate anyone unless he had to.
The Vicious Kings had become his extended family, and he loved every single person in this room, and the space was packed.
Gideon even felt he had a plethora of sisters outside of Kyomi and Deja because some of the VK members had ole ladies that became family too.
They called them the queens, and they were spoiled just like that too.
Everyone in The Bay knew who the Vicious Kings were, and by proxy, they knew to respect the hell out of the queens.
“By now y’all heard about the woman who came to the compound yesterday.” Haze finally spoke, gaining everyone’s undivided attention. There were murmurs and nods before Haze continued. “Her name is Glimmer. She’s Juke’s daughter.”
“Juke from the East side?” Pup asked with stars in his eyes.
Gideon chuckled, which caused a few VK members to laugh as well.
Pup’s real name was Victor, but he earned the nickname because he kept things light and childlike around the crew.
As tough as he tried to act, he was still a kid at heart, just barely sixteen.
He gave off Chihuahua vibes more than anything, and Gideon appreciated him for it.
He wanted to keep the kid young and bright eyed for as long as possible, even though he hung around some of The Bay’s toughest niggas and most vicious killers.
“Yeah, that Juke. As y’all know, he got knocked a few months back. I just got word that the nigga responsible might be tied to some personal shit to me. That same nigga is after Glimmer, and ain’t nothin’ gon’ touch her. Y’all got that?”
After another round of murmurs and head nods, Rome asked, “Who the nigga we got beef wit’?”
Gideon smirked in appreciation. The Vicious Kings were just like that. If one had beef, they all had beef.
“Trick,” Haze replied. “Y’all heard of him?”
“Who hasn’t?” Pup exclaimed. “He’s slangin’ dope all throughout The Bay.”
“That’s a fact,” Deuce said. He was a light-skinned nigga with more tattoos than Lil Wayne, and he stayed in the gym.
His muscles flexed and bulged with the slightest movement.
His girl, Ivy, loved it because she stayed hanging off his massive arm.
She stood next to him now, proudly tucked beside him with her long brown waves and caramel-colored skin.
“He a major player in the game right now. I heard he had somethin’ to do with the eradication of Juke’s empire. ”
Haze nodded slowly. “Me and G ’bout to go get some more insight on the situation. I need at least five niggas in rotation to stay here at all times, to make sure we don’t get hit. I don’t think anyone will be so stupid, but we ain’t takin’ no chances.
“Glimmer, Deja, and Kyomi are upstairs. Glimmer can’t leave at all. If my sister and cousin want to leave, they need to have someone wit’ them at all times, and you need to call me with any move they make. Clear?”
Everyone agreed, and Haze dismissed them before turning to Gideon. “You sure you wanna do this, G?”
The proposal.
It was all he thought about over the past twelve hours. When he made the suggestion that Glimmer marry him, everyone looked at him like he’d just barked like a dog or something. When he broke it down for them, everyone had to agree that it was a good idea, even Glimmer.
It was law in the streets that wives were off-limits.
Children too. Women, if unmarried, were still off-limits, but they didn’t have as much protection as a wife did.
Glimmer marrying one of the most powerful niggas in Desmore Bay would secure her safety.
It would guarantee it. Nobody could touch her.
Not even Trick. It would solve that problem, at least, while they tried to figure everything else out.
Gideon didn’t even have to think about Haze’s question at all. He genuinely did want to move forward with his plan. His instincts, which had never led him astray before, told him this was the right call.
Something primal took over within him, and he wanted nothing more than to protect Glimmer. She was in distress, and he had a way to fix it. If Gideon was anything, he was a damn fixer.
“I’m sure.”
Haze looked at his best friend a moment longer before he nodded and moved toward the front doors of the compound. “Aight then, let’s go.”
Gideon followed behind Haze, and with each step, it sunk in that he was about to go see a man about marrying his damn daughter.
Juke’s eyes grew wide when he stepped into the private room and noticed Haze and Gideon sitting at the metal table.
His steps slowed as the CO uncuffed him and closed the heavy metal door. The entire time, his gaze never left the two men in front of him.
“Good to see you, OG.” Haze finally spoke after they sized each other up for a few seconds.
“Lil Henry, what you doin’ here?” Juke’s voice sounded haggard, as if he had aged a decade since getting locked up six months ago. He looked like he had aged ten years as well. His low-cut hair and beard were peppered with gray, and the bags under his eyes told a story all of their own.
“Come sit down, man. We ain’t here on no beef type shit,” Haze said as he nodded toward the empty metal chair.
Juke walked slowly toward the chair, adjusting the tan jumpsuit he wore before he sat down.
“What you doin’ here, then, youngin? This ain’t no place for you.
Ya pops would have my head if he knew you was here checkin’ up on me.
You know the rules. Once a nigga goes in, keep his books straight, but that’s a wrap on seein’ ’em.
” He glanced at Gideon. “You too, G. You know same rules apply to you. Always have.” Juke clapped Gideon on the back and gave him a soft smile.
While it was true Gideon hadn’t seen much of Glimmer growing up because she was always with the moms and the girls, Gideon spent a great deal of time with Juke. There had always been a mutual respect between them and a ton of love.
Gideon gave Juke his award-winning smile. He hoped it helped to melt some of the tension in the room. Gideon always got a bit restless when there was too much tension.
“Funny you should mention my pops,” Haze said. He leaned forward and pressed his forearms into the cool metal table. “Ain’t seen you since his funeral.”
Juke hung his head. “Yeah, it’s been a long time.”
“Almost twenty years.” Haze agreed. His tone wasn’t cold, but he was straightforward and factual. There wasn’t no babysitting feelings happening on his watch.
Juke looked up with his jaw clenched. He nodded slowly. “You look good. Done grown up. Hear you doin’ real well for yourself too.”
Haze flicked his nose, and Gideon could tell he was trying to hold on to his patience.
“If you know how well I’m doin’, why you ain’t reach out?” The anger in Haze’s tone was more present now, but he still spoke to Juke with respect. There would always be a level of respect there.
“What I look like reachin’ out to my godson, the nigga I helped raise, to help me sort through my pile of shit?” Juke asked with his head cocked to the side and his face screwed up.
“You look like a man, my nigga,” Haze snapped. “My pops always taught me that a real nigga knows when to ask for help, and I don’t know, OG. Ya shit looks like it’s way past help. You sittin’ up in here rotting, ain’t got no more pull in the streets, and Glimmer—”
“What about Glimmer?” Juke’s tone completely changed. His face softened with concern, and he spoke with urgency. “She aight?”
“No, she ain’t fuckin’ alright, man,” Haze said, his tone heavily laced with irritation. “She showed up at my childhood home in a wedding dress and all fucked up because of Trick. Why you okay with sittin’ back and letting that nigga marry her?”
Gideon watched as Juke’s facial expression turned confused and then crumpled. He put his head in his hands and shook it. “That mothafucka.”
“You didn’t know.” Gideon said it more as a statement than a question. He was good at reading people, and he knew Juke wasn’t privy to anything that had been happening on the outside.
“Nah, I didn’t fuckin’ know. Camille told me they were ducked off and in hiding, doin’ well,” Juke said. Frustration oozed from him, and Gideon knew an angry man—no—an angry father, was never a good thing.
“Keep ya head, OG. You locked up now. You can’t let shit on the outside drive you crazy. We came here today to help the situation. We ain’t just gon’ bring this to your attention and then leave it alone,” Gideon coached, always the voice of reason.
Juke shook his head, and Gideon could tell he was trying hard to process what he was just told. “I don’t get why Camille would lie to me. We ain’t been on good terms at all since the divorce, but I always thought she would come to me if there was ever a problem, especially about our daughter.”
Gideon didn’t have the answer to the questions he sought, so he remained quiet.
“Why didn’t Glimmer tell you?” Haze asked the question Gideon had been wondering.