Chapter 6
UNO
A chill went through me as I walked into the hospital.
I knew what floor Devin was on, but I stopped at the registration desk to get a visitor’s pass and his room number.
On the elevator, I released a deep breath and braced myself for what might be about to come.
I had no news on Devin other than he’d been shot.
By the time word got to me, it had been more than five hours since he was shot.
An hour before I got the news, I texted Apricot, and it now made sense as to why she hadn’t texted me back.
I wrestled with the idea of going to see Devin.
I worked for him and had been to his home on several occasions, but we weren’t exactly friends.
I wasn’t his next in command. I had no way of knowing if he even wanted me there.
But I showed up out of respect for him and Apricot.
She didn’t deal with her father like that, but I knew she loved him.
She was simply a civilian that didn’t ask to be born into the street life.
No one could blame her for not wanting to be a part of it.
Look at the kind of shit that could happen.
I knew I was on the right side of the hall when I saw a burly security guard positioned outside one of the rooms. My heart sank at the realization that it wasn’t Marlo.
I had gotten word that he died. I wasn’t familiar with the person at the door and wasn’t sure he’d let me in the room.
I decided to check the waiting room to see if I could catch Apricot.
Before I could even locate the room, she exited the bathroom.
We locked eyes and instantly, I felt for her.
Apricot’s eyes were puffy and red from crying.
Actually, her entire face was swollen. She looked exhausted.
Walking in my direction, Apricot wore a sad smile.
The first thing I did was hug her. We were still getting to know one another, but I didn’t see her objecting to a hug.
When she hugged me back and started crying, I knew a hug was what she needed.
I let her get it all out. When she stepped back, I used the pad of my thumb to swipe a tear from her cheek.
“How is he?”
“He made it out of surgery about two hours ago. He was shot three times. One of the bullets barely missed his heart. He’s lucky to be alive. That shit happened in front of me. In front of my daughter.” She broke down again.
“Fuck, Apricot. I’m sorry.” I wrapped her back in my arms, and that was where she remained for at least five minutes. “Where’s Kiwi?”
Apricot sniffed. “With my mom’s mom. My mother and my father’s mother are in his room. I was trying to wait for him to get out of surgery before I left. I need to get to Kiwi. I know she’s going crazy.”
“How did you get here?”
“I drove.”
I sighed. “I’m not sure you need to be driving.”
“It’s okay. I’m fine. I just want to get home to my baby. I can’t eat, and I doubt I’ll be able to sleep. I just want to close my eyes for a bit.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No. Thanks for asking though.”
“Since your pops is still kind of out of it, I won’t try to go in and see him. Let him know I came by.”
“Okay, I will. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
I gave Apricot once last hug and walked toward the elevators.
Saving money for a rainy day was something I learned the importance of early in the game.
I had enough money put up that I could be good for a long time, so I wasn’t panicking.
Even though Devin would probably be out of commission for a while, I was sure his right-hand man would step in and take over for him.
After all, that was the point of having a second in command.
I was sad to hear about Marlo and genuinely hoped that Mr. Jennings pulled through. Only time would tell.
I hadn’t even made it out of the hospital parking lot before Devin’s second in command, Ken was calling. I already knew the conversation would be short and sweet because he didn’t do a lot of talking over the phone either.
“What’s good?” I answered.
“You busy?”
“Nah, I just left the hospital. I didn’t get to see Devin. Apricot said it hasn’t been too long since he made it out of surgery.”
“Okay. Meet me by the spot.”
“On the way.”
The location that we were meeting at was less than thirty minutes away from where I was. When I got there, Ken was already there. He was sitting behind a desk smoking a cigar. “You want a drink?” he asked after I walked in.
“Nah, I’m good.”
He nodded and got right down to business.
“I’m in charge for the moment. I have to go out of town in seven days, and that shit isn’t negotiable.
My daughter is getting married in Vegas, and if I miss it, my wife will see to it that I’m laid up in ICU my damn self.
I’m going to be gone for three weeks, and I suspect that if Devin is in good enough shape to call any shots, he’ll put you in charge. ”
“Me?”
“Yes you. He’s already given you more responsibility, right? Talked to you about when he retires?”
“Yeah, but I mean, I guess I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”
“No one expected him to get shot. Shit happens. Devin and I have been at this for a long time. It’s time to fall all the way back. He can walk away and let people fend for themselves, or he can leave someone in charge. He wants to give you the opportunity, but that’s only if you want to take it.”
“Any word on who shot him?” I changed the subject.
Ken chuckled angrily. “Fucking Africans. Crew touched down from New York a few months back and got wind of who the big-time hustlers are. Niggas came at Devin on some extortion type shit, and you know he wasn’t going for that.
He had the restaurant they do business out of shot up.
Dude’s pregnant wife was inside, and she got hit. Her and the baby died.”
I ran a hand down my face. “Shit.”
“Shit is right. So, I’m guessing they’re out for blood. Maybe it ended with them getting Devin. Maybe it didn’t.”
I damn sure wasn’t trying to take over some shit that had unresolved beef. I wasn’t up for dealing with extortion, beef, threats, none of that. I wanted the money. Anything after that was unnecessary.
I thought about Apricot saying the shooting happened in front of her and Kiwi. I knew that had to be traumatizing as fuck. I also knew if something like that popped off in front of Ace I’d be out for blood. It truly was a never-ending cycle.
“We can worry about that later. I’ll be in touch about your reup.”
“Got it.”
Walking out to my car, I could only imagine what Apricot’s reaction would be if she found out the reason her father got shot.
A pregnant woman being killed was unfortunate.
In all seriousness, the African couldn’t even be too mad, because him attempting to extort Devin was also nasty work.
In this game sometimes, niggas couldn’t win for losing.
Removing my cell phone from the center console, I felt the urge to call my son.
Whether a person was in the streets or not, life was short as shit.
All we could really do was make the most of every moment that we had.
I damn sure was going to spend as much time as I could letting my son know that he was loved.
Devin had been in the hospital for three days when he requested to see me.
When I entered the hospital room, his wife gave him a stern look before offering me a tense smile and leaving.
She probably knew I was there on business and wasn’t too happy about it.
I had never seen Devin look so weak and fragile.
But as he sat up in the hospital bed needing a shave and hooked up to all kinds of monitors, he was far from the clean cut OG that I always saw.
“What’s up, Uno? I heard you came by to see me the day that I got shot.” Devin’s voice was raspy.
Nodding, I sat down in the recliner his wife had gotten up out of. “I did. I didn’t try to come in the room though. Apricot told me you had just gotten out of surgery.”
“Ken told me he talked to you. I need you to handle shit until he gets back. I also want you to do me a favor before he leaves, and you get busy.”
“What’s that?”
“I need you to check on Apricot and Kiwi. She told me she got an apartment and would be moving in. No one can get on my property but until I get home, I want my wife staying at an undisclosed location. Apricot is stubborn, and she refuses to stay there. Can you do that for me please? If something happens to her or Kiwi…” Mr. Jennings couldn’t even finish the sentence. He looked off to the side.
“I’m not sure how much of her personal space Apricot will let me invade, but I can try.”
Devin chortled. “A stubborn one she is. I hate to hear I told you so. And even though she hasn’t said it, I can see it in her eyes. She’s disappointed in me. Upset that I put Kiwi in danger. She won’t even let Kiwi come see me. I messed up.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. I had never heard Mr. Jennings sound apologetic about a damn thing. “I’m sure she’ll come around.” I didn’t even believe that, but what was I supposed to say?
Mr. Jennings looked over at me. “You don’t know Apricot.
” He studied me for a bit. “Had I known about what Lonzo did sooner, he would have been dead much sooner. Apricot might think I’m a monster, but all I ever wanted was to give my wife and child a good life.
My family means everything to me. You’re mature and not with that dumb ass rah rah. I’m trusting you with my babies, Uno.”
“I got you,” I assured him.
“I already told Apricot that you’d be reaching out to her and not to give you a hard time. Hopefully, she’ll listen. She’s a little shaken up, so I don’t think she’ll protest too much. I just want to be cautious until I handle the niggas that came for me.”