49. Four
Four
“The names.” Trey handed me the folder as he sat next to me.
I could see Cori from my spot across from her shop.
I was trying to give her some space, not to crowd her.
I could see that all this was starting to affect her more than she wanted to admit.
Ever since the conversation with Uncle Bradon and then her telling me everything she could remember about the night she was assaulted, she’d been sleeping less, and when she did finally shut her eyes, she wasn’t resting.
She moved constantly and some nights cried in her sleep. I hated that shit.
I looked down at the folder in my hand and nodded. “Thanks.”
“You sure about this, Four?” Trey asked. “I know she means a lot to you, but going against the names in that folder is going to cause a lot of problems.”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “Ain’t a name in this folder that is going to cause me to lose sleep. They touched my woman; for that, they have to die.”
“You sure?”
I looked over at my brother and lifted my brow. “Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked him. Trey licked his lips, then looked away. “Nah, say what you gotta say, Trey. Why the fuck would I care about a name in this folder?” I held it up. “Huh?”
“Because the names…they are connected.”
“Has that ever stopped me before?” I asked him.
“Nah.”
“Exactly, this shit is personal. I don’t ask for shit, except to be left alone.
Since I was a fucking kid, I was told I would be a monster and that my CIPA made me different because I couldn’t feel the shit that Robert had done to me.
I was molded into something that I didn’t even recognize in the mirror.
Then I met her, and she looked at me. Nigga that’s all she did was look at me, and I knew.
Whatever she needed, wanted, it didn’t matter; I would make it happen.
I was a fucking kid making declarations of love and didn’t even realize it.
” I dropped the folder on the ground in front of me, then wiped my hands over my face.
“Cori was the only person that didn’t ask me for shit.
Even now, she doesn’t ask me for anything, and I willingly give her my all.
So, going after these niggas.” I pointed to the folder.
“For her? Yeah, it ain’t no questions asked about it.
Robert wanted a fucking monster, then he’s going to get it. ”
“You’re wrong, Four,” he chuckled, then stood. “Corinthians wasn’t the only person who didn’t want shit from you. I've been looking out for you since you were born. I was going through the shit before mama pushed you out.”
“Trey…”
“It’s cool,” he said, shaking his head. “I get it. It took me a while, but I legit get it because I’m the same way.” He nodded at the folder. “Let me know if you need any more help.”
Trey put his hand out, and I stood. We hugged then he left.
I waited until his car pulled off before I bent down and picked up the folder.
I opened it, and the first name that I saw was Tyrell Cartell.
I flipped the page and couldn’t believe my eyes.
I’d seen this nigga before in Cori’s shop.
I took my phone from my pocket, swiped it, and called Nine.
“Yeah?”
“I need my location scrambled,” I told him as I walked to my car. “Put me in Vegas.”
“Shooting dice or playing cards?” he replied.
I got into my car, started it, and waited for the phone to connect to Bluetooth. Once it had, I put the car in drive and pulled out of my parking spot. “Celebrating,” I replied. “Make sure it’s a family affair.”
“And where will you be for real?”
“Killing Tyrell Cartell.”
***
I didn’t believe in grand gestures when it came to killing.
Typically, I wasn’t over the top or dramatic with the way I killed people.
I was straight to the point, bullet between the eyes or right in the heart.
But it was something different about killing Tyrell.
I wanted him to know I was coming; to know the reason I was killing him and then see the fear in his eyes right before I ended his life.
Which is why I was walking through his house now. He was at work, more than likely; hell, I didn’t know, nor did I care. I went to his kitchen, opened the fridge, and looked around. He had a few things in there to eat, but nothing was calling my name.
“Your grocery shopping?” Nine asked. I lifted my head to see him walking into the kitchen. I knew calling him for a location switch would get him to ask questions, but not him tagging along.
“Nah,” I answered him and went back to looking in the fridge. I grabbed two bottles of water, then closed the door. “Just looking for supplies.”
“For?” His brow went up, and I smirked. “Man, what do you have planned?”
“I’m still working it out in my head,” I told him, then leaned against the fridge. “You got a problem with anything I planned to do?”
“I don’t have a problem with shit, especially since I don’t know what the fuck you are planning,” he chuckled and shook his head. He sat at the dining room table. “This shit is your show.”
“Why are you here then?”
“Because I have questions,” he answered. He sat back, crossed his arms, and smirked. “I want to see how much you’re going to lie to me.”
“I ain’t ever lied before,” I replied. “About shit.”
“True,” he nodded in agreement. “So, answer this for me.”
“Alright.”
“When I asked you to move here when I came for Cross, why didn’t you?”
“Because I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away from Cori,” I replied. “You saw us together.”
Nine sat forward, resting his elbows on the table and nodded. “I have, which confuses the fuck out of me. You love her, like straight from the heart, no questions asked love. How did you manage not to see her all these years? You have the money and the resources to move how you want.”
“And I did,” I said. “I came and saw her whenever looking at her pictures wasn’t enough. I kept my distance because my dumb ass thought I was protecting her. I thought she moved on, had a nigga. At least that’s what my information told me. She was happy, and I didn’t want to fuck that shit up.”
“Was that the first time you spoke to her in all these years at the restaurant?”
“Yeah,” I chuckled even though nothing was funny. “She ran from me. Took a trip and I followed her.”
“What happened?”
“She asked me to be strangers,” I told him.
“We got a lot of trauma. We been through a lot of shit, you know?” I looked down at my feet.
“Shit is crazy though because out of all the shit I been through she was always the best part. Getting beat on, damn near dying, none of it mattered if I got to see her.” I looked up at him.
“I vowed to protect her before anyone else. She’s always come first.”
“Which is why we are sitting in this niggas house right now.”
“Something like that,” I replied. I wasn’t going to tell Nine about Cori’s assault. That wasn’t my story to tell; if she wanted him to know, she would tell him.
“So, I was pining over her cousin, and you were doing the same?” he asked with a laugh, and I nodded. “I get it. My past with Cross wasn’t like y’all’s, but I get it.”
Headlights flashed through the living room window, and I pushed from the fridge.
I didn’t want to talk anymore. I could hear Tyrell close the car door, then the sound of his keys jingled as he put them in the front door lock.
Seconds later, the door opened and closed behind him.
The living room light came on, then he stepped into the living room.
He noticed Nine first, and his hand went to his back.
“Don’t be stupid,” Nine sighed, shaking his head.
Tyrell didn’t listen; he pulled his gun from his waist and pointed it at Nine. “Who the fuck are you?”
“It ain’t me you gotta worry about,” Nine said, leaning back in his seat. He crossed his arms and smirked. “It’s the crazy nigga behind you.” He nodded at me.
Tyrell’s dumb ass turned his head but not his gun.
I hit him so damn hard I heard his nose break, and he crumbled to the ground.
When I looked down at him, all I could do was be pissed at myself.
This was the same nigga that I’d stabbed in the hand years ago.
The one that I knew Robert had sent my way, thinking I wouldn’t do my research.
I’d fucked up by letting him live, and now that shit was coming to bite me in the ass.
***
Nine opened the door to the warehouse, and I dragged Tyrell in by his foot. The entire car ride over here, I thought of every way I could kill him. What I thought would hurt the most and how to extend that pain until I was satisfied, and truthfully, I would never be.
One of Cori’s cousins called my name, but I barely gave him a second glance as I continued to walk to the room I always used. I pushed the door open, tossed Tyrell in, and slammed the door behind me. His head bounced off the floor, and Nine chuckled.
“You gonna kill him before he even realizes he’s dead?” he said.
I walked to the corner of the room and lowered the chains. After I wrapped Tyrell’s ankles with it, I went back to the wall, pressed the button, and lifted him into the air. He swung side to side, and I looked over at Nine.
“I’ll remind him before he dies,” I told him. “You remember this nigga?”
“Nah,” Nine said, looking at him. “Should I?”
“I stabbed him in the hand,” I reminded him. “At the restaurant, a few years back. He was supposedly a potential client.”
“I remember; it was the day I thought I introduced you to Corinthians,” he said, and I nodded. “Dumb ass nigga should’ve gotten the hint then.”