Chapter 4 #2
Juke shook his head. “I haven’t talked to her since I got knocked. Her mama said she ain’t want to talk to me. She was disappointed or some shit. I didn’t press it. I know I let them both down.”
“That don’t even sound like Glimm,” Haze said. “I might not have seen her in a long ass time, but from what I remember, she was a daddy’s girl. My guess is Trick had them scared to talk.”
“My baby girl been with that nigga for the past six months?” Juke asked. He had tears in his eyes, and Gideon’s heart went out to him. Juke looked like a defeated man, and that was never an easy sight to witness.
“From what I gather, but she got away from him yesterday. She came to the right people too. We ain’t gon’ let him take her back,” Haze said with conviction in his tone.
“It ain’t that simple, lil Henry. Trick got ways about him I don’t even understand. He took me down, nigga. Me. He took ya pops down . . .” Juke looked down at the table.
“I heard about that, but I want to hear it from you. What happened to my pops?” Haze asked.
Juke let out a long breath. “Me and ya pops was shoppin’ around for some new product to shake shit up in the streets and make more money.
We got greedy. Trick was a young nigga, but he came to us with some good ass product for a good price.
When it came time for the sale, he must have switched the product out.
Ya pops was pushin’ the shit to all the kingpins, and them niggas wasn’t happy, rightfully so.
“One of them got to him before we could fix the situation. I took care of the nigga that got him, but I always felt guilty. I convinced Henry that we should take Trick’s deal.
The shit felt like my fault, which was why I fell back.
I couldn’t look ya mama in her eyes or you kids and know I was the reason you ain’t have Henry anymore. ”
Gideon’s heart ached. He loved Big Henry like he was his own father.
One glance at Haze, and Gideon could tell he was barely keeping it together too.
Finally knowing the full story of what happened to Big Henry settled on their shoulders.
Gideon was glad when Haze spoke the very words that were on the tip of his tongue.
“That shit ain’t ya fault.”
“I appreciate ya words, but that’s a guilt I’ll live with until I die.
If I never convinced him we needed to take that deal, he would still be alive.
Plain and simple.” Juke’s eyes found Haze again, and then they trailed over to Gideon.
His lips tugged up into a sad smile. “It’s damn good to see y’all though.
But I can’t have you tied to this shit with Trick. If something happened to y’all—”
“Why everyone keep testin’ us like we lil niggas or somethin’?” Haze asked Gideon, cutting Juke off.
Gideon shook his head. “I ain’t got a clue.”
Haze leaned forward on the table again. “Let me kick it to you straight, OG. I ain’t take up after my father. I ain’t slangin’ dope, you feel me?”
“I know what you deal in,” Juke said matter-of-factly.
“Then you know there ain’t no weapons movin’ in Desmore Bay that haven’t passed through me first. I have warehouses with enough weaponry to fund a winning war against Russia. Hell, America. Not only do we have the weapons, we have the money and the niggas.
“I might be out the way and looked at as just the president of a motorcycle club, but I promise you I’m so much more than that. When I say I’ma handle this nigga, I mean I’ma handle this nigga.”
“What about Glimmer? I can’t have her caught up in the middle of a war. She’s out here alone, man. She ain’t gon’ survive this shit.” Juke looked helpless as he worried about his daughter.
Haze grinned. “I’m glad you asked. Gideon here came up with a plan for that. Tell him, G.”
Haze nudged Gideon with amusement dancing in his eyes.
Since last night, Haze had been relentlessly teasing Gideon about going to the extreme of marrying Glimmer.
Good thing for Gideon, he had thick skin.
Not only that, when he had his mind made up about something, nothing could change it, especially not Haze’s teasing.
Gideon cleared his throat and looked Juke in the eye. “Glimmer agreed to marry me.”
At first, Juke’s thick eyebrows furrowed, and then he looked downright confused. “I didn’t even know y’all knew each other for real.”
Gideon shook his head. He could tell Juke wasn’t fully understanding. “Nah, we don’t. You know wives are off-limits in The Bay. Her safety would be secured through our marriage. After Haze, I’m the biggest nigga walkin’, and it’ll be good as law that she can’t be touched.”
“You is the biggest nigga walkin’, big ass,” Haze joked before he looked at Juke. “But nah, as crazy as the shit sounds, it would guarantee her safety.”
Juke stared Gideon down. He had transformed from a helpless man to an overbearing father in seconds. Gideon respected it.
“She said she’s okay with this?” he asked for clarification.
Gideon nodded. “She did.”
“I need to talk to her. Do what you have to do to guarantee her safety, but I need to talk to her,” Juke finally said after staring Gideon down.
“We can bring her here—”
“Nah.” Juke shook his head. “I don’t want her to come here. I just want to talk to her.”
“You sure, OG? We can set y’all up with a room like this. I know the warden here. Y’all ain’t gotta do the visiting room or no shit like that,” Haze offered.
Juke shook his head. “Nah. Don’t bring her here. I can’t let her see me like this. A phone call. That’s all I need.”
“I’ll make it happen,” Gideon promised. “You sayin’ I have your blessing to marry your daughter?”
As unconventional as this was, he wanted to do right by Glimmer and make sure everyone was on the same page.
Reluctantly, Juke nodded his head before he patted Gideon’s broad shoulder. “I know you gon’ do right by my daughter. Keep her safe, Gideon. I’m trusting you to do something I couldn’t.”
Gideon nodded. No pressure or anything. He wasn’t worried about it though. He had always been good at keeping the people closest to him safe. He wouldn’t drop the ball with Glimmer.