Forty #3
“G, come the fuck on… why would I kill her? She’s like family, and I’ve always looked out for your people like they’re my own. I didn’t bother to go after her, I just left the apartment because Kevin had called it in… played right into his shit.”
“Robinson is working with Preston Vance. What he and Vance got going on has nothing to do with whoever the Red Hook killer is. That seems personal to Robinson.” Corleon came walking up from the beach.
“My girl been spooked out with her pops since finding the evidence in his house. She won’t say nothing, but her family got some secrets.”
“Vance wants your head… you killed his father.” Corleon looked at his best friend in the eyes. “Preston Vance is an Eaton.”
“Boom!” Aimee did an explosion with her hands. “Sorry.”
Menace stood there with the phone in his hand. “Sigel, like we knew is a do boy… the small fish. He’s supposed to be undercover but not doing a fuck thing. You were the connection to bringing your brother down.” Core pointed to Zoya.
She hung her head. “Being hardheaded gets us nowhere. We protect him always… it has and will always be the plan, Zoy. You hear?”
“Yeah, Kora.”
“Right now, he doesn’t know that you suspect anything. He wants to take everything from your brother. Menace destroyed his life, so in his eyes he wants to return the favor and take everything the Eaton’s owned back. Technically, all of it should have gone to him.”
“How is he related? We covered all our shit when we decided to end his ass… how the fuck is this back to bite us in the ass?”
“Nash had a wife and son in Atlanta. He kept them away, never mentioned them and Eaton was never put on his birth certificate.”
Menace started pacing. “You telling me this bitch could take everything?”
“And put you in prison or kill you,” Skyler added, like it made shit any better. That was the reality of what he was trying to do.
“I’m stupid, Mens?”
“Nah.”
“He’s smart. Starting with Case House because he knows that is important to you. Took some of our top spenders over there… well the disloyal ones. One of the houses was just raided this morning.”
“What the fuck?” Zoya and Kora both hollered at the same time.
She ripped her glasses off and looked into the camera. “Case House has operated without any raids because everyone is paid well to make sure that doesn’t happen. He fucks with our money, then we fuck with his.”
“How?” Capri questioned.
“Truthfully, he thinks that Stevie is dead, which is why Mens went on his rampage. We let him believe that while also believing that he fled. Close down all the Case House locations within the city. Let him believe he sent Menace Caselli packing.”
I could tell from the way Menace looked that he didn’t like that.
“We stay low a little bit longer. Enjoy your families and then we all arrive back in the states one at a time. Zoya, you first, then the rest of us pile in. I don’t take too kind to niggas playing with our pockets, so I got their drop off schedule for their armored trucks. ”
Capp rubbed his hands together. “Me and Pissy got new job assignments?”
Corleon winked. “You already know. As for you, Forty… turn yourself in and let them take this to trial. This shit goes left….”
“We bringing that shit right.”
“By breaking you the fuck out of there.”
Zoya stood up offended. “Why are we bringing up breaking him out of jail… like I’m not the best defense attorney. Stop playing with me.”
G rubbed her ass while giving us all the stink eye. “Fucking doubting my wife… fuck is wrong with y’all.”
“This nigga done stalked her and now he got her and won’t shut up,” Meer mumbled.
“Fuck you mean? Didn’t you hop in the back of her whip and was in her guest bedroom closet?”
Capri looked confused. “What you mean my guest bedroom closet?”
“Bitch, you supposed to hold some shit close to the chest.” Meer looked at G, who was laughing.
“Meer?”
“Sug, my stomach really hurt right now… stop asking questions you don’t want answers to.”
“Sound like she wants the damn answers, Robert.” Zoya folded her arms.
“The way you gonna scream when that epidural fail… G, call me when it does. Matter fact, let me know the next appointment so I can see my God baby.” Zoya mushed him and laughed.
“Who said you gonna be my child’s God father?”
“I got you,” G said from behind her.
“For now, you will chill here. Zoya will arrive back in the states first to get everything lined up with your surrender, and so she’s there to take you into custody. You will fly back commercial.”
“And I’ll be right there waiting when they walk you off the plane. I got you, Forty.” She held her hand out, and I squeezed it.
This trial was going to be even bigger than her last one. The government was going to pull out every stop to busy me. Robinson wasn’t going down without a fight, and he damn sure wasn’t about to let whatever he was hiding be uncovered.
“Noooo, noooo!” We heard screaming and turned to see Inez standing there looking like shit.
She was in withdrawals, but that wasn’t enough for her to forget what happened in Robinson’s apartment. “Chill, he’s not going to hurt you.”
“Roo…. Robinson said he—”
“Who you going to listen to? Some old nigga you letting fuck on you, or your fucking family, Nez?” Khaos barked.
“Damn,” Aimee muttered.
She went to reach for Khaos and he pushed her away, not wanting to comfort her. Inez was trembling like I had attempted to kill her. I remained quiet because anything I said would only set her off even more.
G stood up and walked towards her, wrapping his arms around her. “Stop babying her every bloodclaat minute,” he sucked his teeth as he looked at them.
“Nuh come yah wid dat.” He sternly looked at his brother, letting him know there was a time and place, and right now wasn’t that.
“And you think taking her with us to Jamaica is smart? She’s fucking going through withdrawals. Mommy and Zoya been alternating on caring for her.”
“It’s fine, Khaos. She’s family,” Zoya assured him, but he wasn’t trying to hear none of that.
“We did the fucking rehab shit. She doesn’t stay and doesn’t complete it… now we do this shit my way. You doing this shit cold turkey.”
It was then I realized that her body wasn’t trembling because of me. She was going through withdrawals. G was holding her tightly, not because of a hug, but because she couldn’t stay in one spot.
Everyone stared at her and felt bad for her at the same time. “They…they all looking at me.” She self-consciously ran her hand through her hair.
It was combed, probably because of Ms. Sharon.
“Yeah, that’s what happens when you a junkie… check y’all fucking pockets.”
“Kenneth, that’s enough!” G raised his voice, causing his mother to roll outside to see what was going on.
“Inez, come here,” Corleon called for her, and hesitantly, G released her. “She’s going through a withdrawal, and that shit will get bad. You don’t want your moms or Zoya being pregnant handling that… I got her.”
“Nah, she’s my fam—”
“Nigga, you the father of my future niece of nephew in there… we family. I said I got her.” Inez clung onto him, as he gave me a nod, and walked with her onto the beach back to their villa.
“Come on addiction counselor,” Menace nudged Cappadonna.
Cappadonna stood up and Capri snapped her fingers. “Sit yo’ ass back down, Cappy.”
“Next time, Mens… I got y’all.”
He snickered as he trailed behind Corleon and Inez.
I knew the plan and I had to be alright with it. Pulling up that number on my phone, I stood up and walked onto the beach to hear her voice one more time.