Chapter 23 #2
I stood to my feet, dusting off the debris from the blunt I’d finished. Laike wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug that I discovered was needed. He pounded my back with his fist before releasing me.
“I’m going to handle that shit. You don’t have to worry. I’m on it.”
“I already know.”
I grabbed the blunt he was handing me.
“Now, what’s on your dome?”
“Shit, getting Ever down the aisle a better woman than she was before all this shit popped off.”
“You will.”
“She’s my life, Laike. It’s like, my life was never shitty, but her presence makes it feel like I wasn’t really living before she walked into my world. Like… it’s so hard to explain. It’s like she woke up something within me that I never want to go without again.”
“I feel ya, nigga. I’m not a stranger to that feeling. I’ve felt that shit. Since me and B called it quits, I’ve felt unalive. Shit is weird because I’m having the time of my life, but a nigga ain’t living.”
“You need to get back right with Baisleigh, Laike. Ain’t shit out here better than having a home. Not a location, but a person.”
“Who you telling, my nigga?” He huffed. “But, I’m no good for B, man. She’s on top of her shit. I’m poison, Luca. I don’t want to fuck up her world. I know I will. I’m cool with watching from the sidelines.”
“No you’re not.”
“I’m not afraid to pretend.”
“Bullshit.”
“But, we’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you.”
“I know.”
“You ’bout to be a fucking daddy, nigga. What you feeling?” He laughed. “How that shit feeling?”
“I’m already a father, Laike. I’ve been Daddy since I walked out of them gates, man. The only thing that changes this time is I’m here from day one. That part, I’m looking forward to. I can’t lie. Seeing her belly grow. Watching her body change. I’m ready for whatever.”
“Per usual.”
For two hours straight, we found comfort in one another’s company.
The sun peaked through The Hills, bringing our gathering to a close.
Intoxicated and feeling as if the weight of the world was resting on my shoulders, I stumbled to bed.
Underneath the covers, I pulled Ever close, wishing I could take her pain away at once.
Sleep never found me. I listened to the beat of her heart as I stared into the open space around us.
God, grant me the power to help Ever heal , I prayed.
His slumped posture and somber appearance confirmed his identity.
Sitting on the edge of the porch, he turned up the cup in his hand a final time before standing to his feet.
He walked closer to the street, leaning against the fence that led to the sidewalk.
The darkness that covered the sky made it slightly difficult to see his face, but I didn’t need to.
I was certain I’d found my mark. The last four hours I’d been sitting on him, he checked every box as described and matched the images I’d obtained over the last week.
My cellphone vibrated in my pocket. Pressing my back against the seat, I stretched my legs slightly in order to retrieve it.
I glanced at the clock on the radio, noting that Ever was more than likely resting for the night already.
For a fact, I knew it wasn’t her calling unless there was an emergency.
I prayed like hell there wasn’t an emergency.
Laike’s name appeared on the screen, prompting me to answer.
“Yeah?”
“We’re not the only ones gunning for this nigga’s head.” He huffed into the phone.
“Yeah?”
“It’s a nigga been sitting on his ass the last two hours I’ve been here.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, bro. If he gets to this nigga first, I’m going to be pissed!”
“Lay low.”
“Bet.”
I ended the call, exiting the vehicle in pursuit of my target.
Sitting like a duck, waiting for Laike to handle his business and finish off whoever he thought had witnessed his crime was not a part of my plan.
I crossed the street while attaching the silencer to my piece.
It locked as I approached the dark figure dressed in denim and a white shirt.
“Yo?” he asked, scrunching his features.
His delayed response to my presence assured his state of mind.
He was intoxicated, mourning the loss of his homie.
My condolences were not with his ass. I hoped that nigga died a couple of times on his way to the devil’s playground.
Though I could’ve laid his ass down from a far with my precise aim, my conscience wouldn’t allow it.
I needed further confirmation of his identity before I put an innocent person in the mud.
There was no doubt that I had my guy once I was close enough.
He reached for his waistline, revealing his piece as a warning.
Don’t show it if you ain’t gone shoot it , I thought.
That was the difference between me and the rest of niggas.
You wouldn’t see my piece until your time had come.
I was a walking threat. I didn’t need a gun to enhance the fear in niggas, not when they very well understood I could end their lives with my bare hands, too.
“Tell Dewayne I’ll meet him in hell.”
Doot. Doot. I penetrated his brain and pierced his heart one after the other. As his body hit the pavement, I crept to the car from which I’d come. As I slid into the vehicle with the engine still running, my cell vibrated again.
“Yeah?” I answered.
“You can’t be fucking serious right now, nigga!”
Silence coated the line.
“I know your wide back ass from anywhere,” Laike joked. “The fuck you got me wasting my time for when you knew you’d handle the shit. I could be laying up in some pussy right now.”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“Nigg—”
“I haven’t slept in two weeks, Laike. Two weeks.
I’m fucking tired. I want to lay down, close my eyes, and rest knowing I’ll see them niggas in hell when I get there.
I can’t do that with that nigga still roaming, gathering his thoughts and planning his retaliation.
Ever expecting me to marry her at that altar in fourteen hours, bro.
That couldn’t happen until he was extinct. ”
“I was going to handle it… tonight.”
“I know you were. I never doubted that. But, shit, bro. It was a little more personal than I let on.”
“Understood.”
“You know where to meet me. Wheels up in thirty.”
“Bet.”
“Put the car in the cubby closest to the hangar. Next to mine. It’ll be handled.”
“Say less.”
Feeling three hundred pounds lighter, I hiked the volume on the stereo slightly.
Stan played low as I burned the tires of the Toyota headed straight for the strip.
My home, my bed, my children, my future wife, and our unborn child were the only thing on my mind.
I needed them all and I needed them bad.
I desperately wanted to go home, stretch my limbs on the couch as they snuggled around me, falling fast asleep as soon as their heads touched my skin.
Serenity lingered, filling me to capacity.
When the plane was in sight, my nervous system was given permission to rest. I parked in one of the designated spots and laid my head against the seat.
Blindly, I unscrewed the silencer while allowing exhaustion to have its way with me.
The consequences of two weeks of cat naps and restless nights hit me simultaneously.
I exited the car and made my way onto the plane, which was fueled and waiting for departure. When I made it up the staircase, staff was waiting to greet me. Unfortunately, I had no words for anyone. A simple head nod or three and I was seated, waiting for my brother and little homie to arrive.
I didn’t have to wait long before watching Laike swerve into the lot like the fool he was.
Hopping out, he took a deep pull from the blunt in his hand.
With his FN in his other hand, he pulled his pants up on his waist, walking gap-legged toward the staircase.
Sighing, I rested my forehead between my index finger and thumb.
“Nigga, what you got a fucking turbo engine in that little piece of shit?” he asked the second his feet touched the cabin.
“Laike, I’m tired and I’m not on that shit this morning.”
“Fuck what you on.” He scoffed. “You owe me a kill, nigga.”
“Whatever.”
“I’m serious.”
“Aight. But, I’m off that. I’m done with that shit. Tried to be, at least.”
“Them niggas had that coming, though. They brought that upon themselves,” Cane interjected.
“True.” Nodding, I agreed with him.
“So, feel free to go around slinging that fucking FN. I’m chilling. I have no desires to end another man’s life.”
“Unless he brings it upon himself,” Cane added.
Agreeing again, I nodded. “Yeah. That shit right there he’s saying.”
“Well, we can’t count on niggas to act right, so there will come a time,” Laike assured us.
“I’m heading to the back, fellas. Appreciate your services.”
“Services? Nigga, we didn’t even touch the fucking triggers!” Laike called behind me as I slid the door of the bedroom backward and stepped inside.
I didn’t bother responding, knowing just how salty he was about what had transpired and his missed opportunity.
I removed my shoes and the black cap from my head as I sat down on the bed.
The softness welcomed me. I laid flat on my back, feet still on the floor.
Visions of a battered and bruised Ever resurfaced, tightening my chest and gripping my heart.
I lifted my phone and typed the simple code to unlock it.
Ever’s number was hardly in my call log because I hadn’t left her side in the last two weeks.
I had to scroll for ages to finally locate it.
When I did, I tapped it, connecting the call.
Though I knew she was, undoubtedly, asleep, I wanted her.
I needed her. Her voice. Her softness. Her words. Her attention. I needed it.
“Hello?” She groaned. “Luca?”
The words came one after the other. I could hear the concern intertwined in them.
“I’m okay, Ever.”
She sighed in relief before continuing.
“Baby, where are you?”
This time, I couldn’t put her worries to rest. Instead of responding, I remained silent, hoping she understood my position.
“Well, when will you be home, Luca?”
“Soon, love.”
“Okay.”
Silence.
“I love you.”
Silence.
“Luca?”
My chest burned. This woman, Ever Sinclair, was my entire world and I wondered if she knew it.
Putting into words how I felt about her would be impossible, which meant the vows I’d been tasked with writing and reciting in the next fourteen hours would only be a fraction of my feelings in word form.
I’d never be able to truly explain. The feeling she gave me was beyond words. Beyond me.
“Hmm?”
“Why’d you call? Are you sure you’re OK?”
“I’m tired, Ever,” I explained, swiping the tear that rolled down the side of my face.
Silence .
This time, it was her response that was delayed.
“The plane.”
Silence . I didn’t have to confirm what she already knew.
“Baby… Talk to me.”
“I just want to go to sleep. I just can’t do it without you.”
“Get in bed,” she instructed. “Rest your head on the pillow.”
I followed directions, climbing up the bed and resting my head on the pillow.
“Put the phone on speaker.”
I did as I was told.
“Are you laying down?”
“Yes.”
“Close your eyes.”
They were the last words I’d heard before tapping out.