Two Days Later
S m o k i n ’ g o o d , I sat low in the corner booth at the back of Strokes. Wock sat across from me, arms folded, and Antt was next to him, leg bouncin’ like always. Wayne leaned back to my left, sippin’ Henny straight.
“Aight,” I said, cuttin’ straight to it. “So, who got the drop on this nigga Coogs?”
“Oh, word?” Wock rubbed his hands together.
“He's been ducked off over there at night. I already had eyes on it for the past two days. Nigga think he low, but he ain’t.”
Annt leaned forward, laughin’. “The crackhead lookin’ bitch wit’ the green charger?”
“Yup,” Wayne sucked his teeth. “And her dumbass posts everything online, so it wasn’t hard to confirm. Nigga slippin’.”
“Which is why I’ma handle that shit tonight,” I said, lookin’ at each one of them.
Wock’s face dropped. “Nah, nigga. We ain’t lettin’ you get into that shit.
” I just stared at him, jaw flexin’. “I’m serious, nigga,” he said, sittin’ up.
“You too close to the finish line, bruh. Weddin’ in what, three days?
You got everything goin’ for you. You really gon’ risk all that behind this washed-up, bitter ass nigga who mad the world moved on without him? ”
“He pulled up to my fuckin’ grandmother’s house, nigga tryna get active in front of my son. In front of Ny. Shit, this muthafucka put me in a position where I gotta jump back in. Fuck that.
“He played himself,” Wock said. “That’s all. Don’t let his L trick you into takin’ one, bro.”
Wayne nodded. “Wock right, cuz. Let us handle it. We know how to make a nigga disappear without that shit leadin’ back to you.”
Antt added, “Plus, niggas want to do it. Nigga disrespected Granny’s house. The fuck? I want blood.”
“‘Ppreciate it,” I said, exhalin’ smoke.“ But nah, I’ma handle it. I just need y’all niggas on the clean up and to keep shit cool. I ain’t askin’ y’all niggas for permission.”
Wock sat back, exhalin’ hard. “You gon’ tell Ny?”
I shook my head. “She knows what she needa know and that is I’ma always keep her protected. That’s it.” Nobody said shit for a minute. Niggas just sat there in silence wit’ the rest of the bar movin’ like usual. Then Wock clapped his hands once, leaned forward.
“Aight. We gotchu wit’ whatever, bro.”
I nodded, dappin’ him up. “Bet.”
Later that night, I sat parked in my truck a few houses down from Coog’s BM’s crib waitin’ for her ass to leave out.
It took a grip, but finally, that raggedy ass green charger pulled out of the driveway.
Bet. Wock was across the street in the truck wit’ the motor low.
Wayne had eyes from up the block in his car wit’ this nigga Antt.
I stepped out, hoodie low, gloves already on, Glock wit’ the silencer attached tucked in my jeans.
The front room lights flickered through the blinds.
Slidin’ between houses, I ended up in the back, pushin’ the gate open.
That bitch creaked like WD-40 hadn’t hit it in years.
I caught it wit’ my shoulder to keep the noise low, though.
Lookin’ up, I peeped the back bedroom window sat open a couple inches, propped by a brick. I popped the screen, angled inside, and landed on the carpet. Coogs was knocked out on a twin mattress, socks half-off, phone in his hand wit’ a revolver on the nightstand.
I pressed the barrel of my gun to his dome. “Wake your bitch ass up.”
His eyes popped up. “The fuck…”
I slammed the slide of the Glock into his mouth before he could finish the sentence.
Teeth clicked. Blood streaked his bottom lip.
“Shut the fuck up.” My voice stayed level, almost bored.
“You walked into my granny’s house all tough and shit wit’ my son feet away.
You thought that shit was smart after everything I did for your ass for fourteen fuckin’ years? ”
He groaned, spittin’ blood. “I only wanted your attention, nigga. You actin’ brand new! I was that nigga before you. You coulda at least…”
Crackin’ him in the face wit’ my gun again, I put that bitch in his mouth.
“You wanted my attention, nigga?” I gritted my teeth.
“I offered you a spot on payroll, health insurance, and a straight path.
You chose disrespect. You think I went soft ‘cause I got paperwork now? Nah, I just got more shit I refuse to lose.”
He kept tryna talk wit’ the gun in his mouth like a dumb ass, eyes wide. Removin’ it, he spat blood on the mattress and glared at me, breathin’ hard as fuck. “So what’s this, a warnin’?”
“Nah, it’s deeper than that.”
I put one round through his skull and watched him go lifeless instantly, blood spatter gettin’ on me. I wiped the pistol wit’ my sleeve, tucked it away, and backed out through the same window. Wock eased his truck forward and popped the rear hatch.
I tossed the gloves into a burn can he kept ready. He met my eyes in the mirror and nodded once before drivin’ off. Wayne’s car pulled up, and I nodded at him and Antt, lettin’ them know it was handled and they could handle the rest.
Climbin’ into my truck, I pulled off and took the long route out the neighborhood. Ten minutes later, my phone buzzed on the dash.
Streetlights streaked across the windshield while I texted her back.
I sent it, tossed the phone in the middle console, and merged onto the expressway. And I meant that. Shit, I was gettin’ married in three days and wasn’t nothin’ and nobody’ threatenin’ that.