Chapter 46
He climbed out of his car and took in the late fall, early winter air of the city.
For two days, he’d been fully submitted to Reign’s care.
She allowed him his space, was present when he needed to lay his head in her lap.
She wiped his snot, kissed his tears, and rubbed his back while she petitioned God for his healing.
The restoration wasn’t done, but she stood upright so he could step back into the lenses of the watchers.
Blair Point Funeral Home was a business he inherited when Lucille and Slim gave him the keys to the game.
He moved plenty of product and cash through here, but never expected he’d be stepping in to plan a funeral for his pilar.
Inside, Nia was standing shoulder to shoulder with Ophelia, looking at the casket outfitting.
“She needs to be comfortable,” Nia mumbled.
“Put up nicely,” Ms. Ophelia replied. “My girl is gone.”
“She needs to go like she came in. In her prime, she had this city on its toes. I don’t care what it costs, Lucille needs to look like Lucille, not that frail woman hooked up to oxygen day in and day out,” Markus rumbled, grabbing their attention.
Nia turned, and her eyes lit up. “I thought you were going to make me do this without you.”
Markus welcomed her into her arms and kissed her temple. “You’ve been taking care of yourself?”
“Your boy won’t have it any other way,” Nia softly spoke as she lingered in his hold a little while longer.
“I heard the news, congratulations. I’m happy for you. Make sense why your mean ass got meaner,” Markus joked, earning him a swat.
“I am who I am. What can I say? Raised by the coldest in the game,” Nia said as Markus hugged Ms. Ophelia.
“She was a bad woman, wasn’t she?” Markus hummed.
Ms. Ophelia rubbed his arm and gave him a faint smile. Like she knew what weighed on him. “It’ll come.”
Markus returned the gesture. “I know. Would’ve been nice to take my mind off this shit.”
“And then what? Have it hit you like a ton of bricks and you become emotionally unavailable? You need to be what you never had. Everything lost will be returned,” Ms. Ophelia assured as Aunt G’s voice flowed through the space.
“Flowers are handled,” she spoke, finding Markus. “Nice of you to join us. I almost wasn’t expecting you.”
“I said I was going to be here. I’m here. Needed some extra propping up, but I’m cool. You got her those orchids? I want them everywhere. I want everyone in white. There’s this fur she had that Slim gave her with the matching hat.”
“I pulled that out of her closet last night,” Ms. Ophelia spoke up.
“You supposed to be at Reign’s,” Markus said, and she shook her head.
“I wasn’t going to be in your way when y’all came back. And I wanted to get her house together. You know she would hate the state it was in. Nia wants the repast there, so I needed to be there. To feel her. Friends for over thirty years. I’ve seen the highs, the lows…”
Aunt G locked arms with her. “And the in-betweens. I’m going to miss her.”
Markus nodded as he clenched his jaw. “Yeah, me too.”
He moved away from them, on a search to find a casket fit for the queen and to gather himself. He hadn’t been this emotional in his life. Not even when Slim died. He was alone for minutes before Nia found him and hugged his waist.
“You know you don’t have to hold it together right now,” she said.
“I do. Because the other option is to crash. I was so close to jumping back over that edge. So fuckin’ close.
A crash is going to cost me everything. So I have to hold this shit together, there’s no other option.
Out here, every move I make is being watched.
I’m going to get through this week, and I’ll sit with this. I got to make sure y’all are good.”
Nia squeezed him more, and he returned the gesture. “We’re going to be okay. We always are. This time I think we’ll come out better.”
“Why you say that?”
“Lucille gave Reign her blessing. I saw it, for a split second, before she went down. It was a touch and orders. The way she looked up at her when her life was leaving her body. Funny because she looked at me and asked, ‘When are you going to stop pretending that you’re not pregnant?’ She always knew. Everything.”
“Always. She was always in my business. ‘Stop messing with those girls, they don’t want nothing but your money, stop living in your head. Stop dropping people off of buildings,” he laughed at the last comment. “She’s never going to make me stop doing that.”
“You stopped living in your head and messing with them girls, though.” Nia pointed out.
“Ain’t have no choice. You dropped someone in our world I can’t get enough of.”
Nia faintly smiled. “I always wanted a sister.”
“I know you wouldn’t let me forget it. Speaking of which, you two are going to have security on you heavy. Moving around the city without it ain’t happening no more.”
“We can protect ourselves,” Nia assured, making him grunt.
“You carrying my niece or nephew. Nah, I ain’t having it.”
“Is Reign…”
Markus shook his head. “Nah, but I’ll handle that when it’s time. Right now, I need you to get through this intact. You’re not going to have those Grant sisters rise up out of their graves and beat my ass.”
Nia laughed and let him go. “You know they will, too. I think we should get her the pearl white that glimmers under the sun. Horse-drawn carriage?”
“Take her through her old hood one last time?” Markus added.
“Yeah. Whose going to help you carry her? You know I will.”
“Girl, chill out. I got it handled. Let’s get this shit done so I can feed y’all and get back home,” Markus stated. “This shit is too much.”
“Agreed.”
When Markus returned to Reign’s brownstone, he found her in the room, hair wrapped in a towel, an oversized shirt on, and a lint roller in her hand.
“What are you in here doing?” he asked.
“I bought you some suits. And before you say anything, I measured you in your sleep. Aunt Lucille was adamant about you wearing a suit in her celebration of life and as you handled business moving forward.”
“How many suits you get me?” Markus asked, trying to figure out how she did it without him knowing.
“Enough to start. After all this is over, we’ll get you a few tailored.”
“What you get for you?” he asked.
“You in the suit is enough for me. How was the meeting?”
“Morbid,” he said with a huff, sitting on the ottoman. “I took them to lunch after, barely made it through that without breaking down. How am I going to carry her out of that church?”
Reign turned around and sat by him. “By holding your head up and walking like the man I know you are. This is just another show and test of your strength. You can do this like you do everything else. That pain you feel is only a sign that there are tender parts of you worth protecting.”
“It’s becoming very evident that the most tender part of me is y’all. I’d die for y’all.”
“We know you will. We’d like to keep you here, though. I know I would. I’m enjoying this walk with you. Even if there are some stones and vipers on our path.”
Markus pulled her onto his lap and kissed her face. “I’m tired.”
“I made lasagna.”
“I’ll eat when I get up. I just need to lay with you. That cool?”
“That’s always cool. Come, let me hold you.”
Resting next to her, he grumbled. “Javi moved up the meeting. It’s tomorrow.”
“Are you going to kill him?”
Markus tiredly nodded. “I am. You got a request?”
“Yes, there’s a hustler in Port Lucia. They call him Havoc.
He’s the head of the Parkway Boys. When I was doing hair in the strip club, he fronted my first pack.
For a long time, him and Javier have had beef.
Considering Javi snaked out his mentor, it’s rightfully deserved.
When you take over the pipeline, let him take over Ocean City.
He’s crazy as hell, but he’s trustworthy, and honestly, the city should’ve been his,” Reign shared.
“And you know why you’re dangerous?” Markus posed.
“I’m not dangerous.”
“You are. That right there, I didn’t even think twice about it. What else you got?”
“Show up in one of those suits, show Javier that you’re exactly who you think you are. And then do what needs to be done.”
Markus kissed her face. “It’s done. Put her hands in my hair so I can sleep.”