Chapter 16
Loud banging on my bedroom door jerked me out of my sleep. If I wasn’t home, I would have grabbed my gun. Next to me, Shar bolted upright.
“What the fuck!” she groaned.
“Bring yo’ stupid ass outta the fucking room!” Deuce bellowed. “Both of y’all!”
I fell back against the pillows. I didn’t have to guess what this was about.
“Let’s get this shit over with,” I mumbled, tossing back the covers.
“I’m cursing him out, Maceo. And we’re changing the fucking locks.”
She angrily tossed back the covers on her side and rolled out of bed. We’d been up until almost four o’clock this morning after she got home from the club with Salima, so I knew she was tired. After making ourselves presentable, we left the bedroom and went downstairs. Smoke and Steel sat on the couch, both looking like they, too, had been woken from their sleep.
“Deuce, it’s eight in the fucking morning!” Shar yelled.
“I know what time it is. Sit y’all asses down.”
“Baby, just sit down,” I said calmly. “The quicker he gets his rant over, the quicker we can go back to bed.”
Deuce laughed, but there surely wasn’t anything funny. “Oh, so this muthafucka wants to be nonchalant? Y’all wanna know what your stupid ass brother and his equally stupid ass girlfriend have been up to?” he asked Smoke and Steel.
They both sighed and sleepily motioned for him to continue.
“He took a contract with another organization and took her ass with him.”
Both my brothers sat up.
“I know you fucking lying,” Smoke said. “What the hell, Maceo?”
I knew he was just as pissed, if not more pissed than Deuce. I was close with all my siblings, but I was closest to him, simply because we shared the same mother and father. It was the same way with Steel and Jaeda. When the others were with their parents, he was always there.
“Look, it’s over,” I said, sitting down on the couch.
“You fuckin’ right it’s over,” Deuce said, slapping the side of my head. “If Pops hadn’t ended your contract, I would have. You lucky he said I couldn’t sit your ass down for going against the family.”
I found myself in his face before I could think about it. “Nigga, I never went against the family. Fuck is you talking about? That’s your problem, Stanley. You think you can lil’ boy everybody like you run them. You can do that with other muthafuckas, but I’m your brother. You ain’t better than me.”
“Baby…” Shar said, grabbing my arm.
“Nah, let him talk, Sharina,” Deuce said, shoving me. “Better than you, my nigga? Who’s with me on every mission? Before Salima, who was the first person to know anything I had going on? You! You’re my brother… my best friend… my fucking equal. The only person that outranks anybody is my seed. How are you gonna tell Pops you’re my do boy? You feel disposable? What the fuck we gon’ do without you, Maceo?
“I should light your ass up for even letting that stupid shit come outta your mouth. You out here working with niggas you don’t know and can’t be sure if they really have your back. What if they turned on you? What if they kill you? Do you know what that would do to me? Having to bury my blood? Then you brought Shar into it.”
He turned to Shar, taking her arm and yanking her to him. There was anger, hurt, and disappointment in his eyes.
“If something happened to you, do you know what that would do to my wife? That would kill her, Sharina. It would kill her. You ain’t just my brother’s woman or her best friend. You’re her sister. My baby’s auntie and godmother. What are they gonna do without you? How would I explain your death to your parents and siblings? Y’all ain’t thinking!”
He let her go and pulled a blunt from his pocket, sparking it up. Everybody was quiet as he took two long pulls from it before speaking again.
“Bottom line, we are family. Pops put me in charge, but this ain’t my shit. I’m following orders like the rest of y’all. If anybody shares Maceo’s sentiments and wants to step up and do more, please… be my guest. Until then, get outta your damn feelings and fall the fuck in line. We ain’t having this conversation again. If I find out any one of y’all on some secret shit after this, I’m throwing hands next time. And if you really piss me off, you gon’ get one of these bullets.”
He brushed past me, bumping me hard as he walked out the door and slammed it shut. Mere seconds passed before the door opened, and he walked back in and over to me.
“Bring your stupid ass here,” he snapped, pulling me in for a hug.
Just like that, it was over. He wasn’t gonna drag it out. There wouldn’t be any beef between us. He said what he said, and that was it.
“We are gonna talk later,” he said, pulling away. “I gotta get back to my wife and daughter. I love you.”
“I love you too, man.”
“Come hug your brother so he can get outta his bitch ass feelings,” he said to Smoke and Steel as he mushed my head.
They stood and came over to hug me too. They tried to hug Shar, but she declined.
“I know y’all are mad, but y’all disrupted my beauty sleep. I’m sorry, and I love y’all. Now get the fuck out.”
They all chuckled, knowing she was dead serious. I walked my brothers to the door and saw them out. Closing it, I turned to my lady. She came to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head on my chest.
“Well… that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” she said. “They could have jumped you.”
I chuckled. “They could have. Were you gonna jump in?”
“Hell yeah. I couldn’t let you get your ass beat. We may not be going on any more missions together, but I’m still Bonnie to your Clyde.”
She slid her hands up my chest, then cupped my face. Pulling my head to hers, she connected our lips in the sweetest kiss.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too, baby.”
I pulled into the meeting spot and shut off my car.
I had to break the news to the crew that our time together had come to an end. They knew it was a short-lived kind of thing, but we didn’t anticipate it being this short. I came bearing a severance payout, straight from my own account. I wasn’t sure what they did with their money, but I brought them into this, so the least I could do was pay them for their hard work and dedication.
Getting out of the car, I saw Miko, Tiny, and Sloan waiting. I’d sent each of them a message and told them to meet me here. Approaching the group, I slapped hands with all of them.
“Y’all good?” I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets.
“We’re straight,” Miko answered. “You got something for us?”
“Uh… yeah, man. I have some news. I was trying to wait until everybody was together. Y’all seen or heard from Zeno or David?”
Tiny answered. “The last I heard from Zeno, he was going to visit his sick mother last weekend. He might still be there. They live in the sticks, so he probably doesn’t have any reception. As for David…” He chuckled. “He uh… he found a sweet little thing that’s taking up a lot of his time. He won’t give a name, but I think the nigga is in love.”
I chuckled. I couldn’t be mad at him for getting some ass. Our business was through now anyway, so he was free to do as he pleased.
“I guess I can tell you now.” I sighed heavily. “Our contract is up.”
They all looked confused.
“Did something happen?” Tiny asked.
“I can’t discuss the parameters, but it’s done. I appreciate y’all for all you’ve done. I know this is unexpected, but I have something for each of you.”
I pulled the envelopes from my back pocket and disbursed them. Inside was a check for a hundred thousand each.
“Damn, man,” Sloan said, gripping the check. “We appreciate the opportunity to serve our country again. You’re a good man. If you ever need anything, don’t be afraid to reach out.”
“Same.”
I slapped hands with each of them before they left the meeting spot. I waited around for a little while longer, trying to get in touch with David and Zeno. They didn’t answer my texts or calls, and that wasn’t like them. It was definitely out of character for them to just not show up. I chalked it up to them being busy. I’d just have to get with them later to give them their checks.
Cranking up, I made my way back to the main highway.
I turned on the radio, preparing to connect my phone, when something caught my attention.
“In other news, police have identified the body of a man killed in a drive-by shooting on Wednesday in the downtown area. Thirty-two-year-old David Mathews died at the scene after sustaining sixteen gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen. Several other people were wounded in the incident; however, police do believe this was a targeted attack?—”
“What the fuck!”
I was so distracted by the bomb that just dropped that I didn’t see the blacked-out SUV pull out in front of me. I slammed on brakes, just missing what could have been a bad accident. I did tap the back of the car, though.
“Son of a bitch!” I groaned as we both pulled over.
I waited until the driver got out before exiting my car.
“My bad, man,” he said, coming to the rear of the car. “I thought I had more time to pull out.”
I examined my front and his rear. It was nothing but a few scratches, nothing to really call the police about. Then again, this was almost a half-a-million-dollar car. Who the fuck was driving around here in this shit? I looked up into the face of a big, black ass nigga that stood roughly my height with a long scar running down his cheek.
“It’s fine,” I said. “I got some news that distracted me for a second. I could have slowed down.”
He looked between the cars. “It’s minimal damage. I don’t think we need to get the police involved.”
“You sure? I mean, that bitch has a nice price tag to it.”
He chuckled, and even his smile was creepy looking. “If I can afford this car, surely, I can afford to cover a few scratches. We good.”
“Shit, I won’t argue with you, my nigga. Say less. You can’t be from around here.”
“Nah. Just here for a little while.” He extended his hand. “Blane.”
“Maceo.”
He chuckled. “I’ve never met a nigga named Maceo.”
“My grandfather on my mom’s side named me after Maceo Parker, the saxophonist.”
“An old head. I got you.” He pulled out his phone and tapped on the screen for a few seconds before looking up at me. “I guess I should let you go then. Be easy.”
He dapped me up, then climbed back into his car and drove off. I got back into mine, sitting there for a moment as my thoughts drifted back to David. It was crazy that I’d seen that shit when I took my sister dress shopping. We’d passed right by the scene, not even knowing it was him.
Now he was gone, and a million thoughts were running through my head about that shit. Who killed him? Who ordered the hit? My brain started working overtime, trying to connect the dots. Where the fuck was Zeno, and was his ass even alive?
I was starting to believe that instead of chasing targets… we’d become the target.