Chapter 22
I silently cursed under my breath as I saw Mr. Paul’s car pull up to the scene.
I wasn’t looking forward to explaining this to him, but at this point, it couldn’t be avoided. There was no way I could skim over the details of this shit.
“You better go handle that,” my father said.
“I’m going.”
With a heavy sigh, I headed over to where Mr. Paul, Kilow, and Damaris stood behind the caution tape. I motioned for the cop on our payroll to let him in. After instructing his sons to stay back, he dipped under the tape and met me halfway.
“What the fuck happened here?” he asked, looking around.
“Someone pulled up and opened fire.”
“Whatchu’ mean somebody pulled up and opened fire?”
“Mr. Paul, I have some shit to tell you, and you ain’t gonna like it.”
His brows furrowed. “Speak on it.”
I took a deep breath and told him the story from beginning to end, filling in all the parts Shar and I left out during our first conversation about it. The more I revealed, the deeper the scowl on his face became. When I finished the story, he stared at me for a moment before his hands were gripping my shirt, and he was yelling in my face. I held my hands up. I wasn’t no punk ass nigga, but this was my lady’s father. I would never put hands on him.
“The fuck did you get my kid into, muthafucka! That’s my baby. My only fucking daughter, and you got her out here on some inspector gadget ass shit? What did I tell you when we had that conversation? Didn’t I tell you I’ll die about mine? I trusted you to keep her safe, and this is the shit you let her do? This ain’t no muthafucking Bonnie and Clyde around this bitch.”
I could hear my people’s footsteps approaching as he gave me a strong uppercut to the stomach. I couldn’t lie. That shit knocked the wind out of me for a second.
“Don’t put your fucking hands on my son,” my father said, pushing Mr. Paul back.
“Nigga, that’s a grown ass man. Either I’m whupping his ass, or you taking this ass whupping for him.”
My father took off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves.
“Pops, you don’t have to do that,” I said, trying to pull him back.
“Shut the fuck up, Maceo,” he spat. “I don’t care how grown you get. I don’t care how much I love Shar. Ain’t nobody disrespecting my seed in front of me.”
Mr. Paul unbuttoned his jacket. “Stanley, I love your son, but right now, it’s fuck him for putting my daughter in danger.”
“Sharina is a grown ass woman. She made the choice. Maceo didn’t force her into shit.”
“Fuck all that. He should have told her no and stood on that shit. Like I said, either I’m beating his ass, or I’m beating yours. My baby ain’t gonna forgive me if I tear into her nigga like I really want to, so what’s up?”
“ I don’t wanna whup your ass, Paul, but if we gotta take it there, we sure the fuck can.”
“You ain’t said shit but a word.”
Mr. Paul took off his jacket and threw it at Kilow and Damaris.
“Yo, we really about to let this shit happen?” I asked, looking at the family.
Uncle Blake shrugged. “I mean, their old asses will get tired. This is how real niggas handle shit.”
The words had barely left his mouth before both my father and Mr. Paul were swinging. There wasn’t a single lick that didn’t land. Right hooks, upper cuts, jabs… all that shit. They were fucking each other up, and everybody just stood around watching, including the police. That was the thing about having them in our pockets. They basically just let shit unfold however it needed to.
Pops and Mr. Paul were throwing hands like two niggas who hated each other. I just knew Shar was gonna fuck me up for letting this shit happen, but it was a fair fight if I’d ever seen one. It wouldn’t be the first time my father had fought to defend one of his children. He’d done it with each of us at some point in life, grown or not. Still, I had to break this shit up before they killed each other because it had gone on long enough. When I stepped in to pull them apart, my brothers fell in line too. Uncle Blake outted his blunt and motioned for his sons to help him with Mr. Paul.
It took every ounce of strength we had to pull them apart. Both of them were fighting off principle, and that made shit ten times as bad.
“All right, y’all, damn!” I yelled. “It’s done.”
Both of them pushed us away and spit out blood.
“We straight?” my father asked.
Mr. Paul looked at us, his chest heaving in anger. “We ain’t good until the muthafucka after my child is in the dirt.”
My father nodded. “It’s gonna be handled.”
“It better.”
Mr. Paul glared at me before walking away to his sons.
“You good, man?” Uncle Blake asked. “Your old ass was handling that well.”
“Fuck you.”
“You don’t hear me talking to you?”
The sound of my father slamming his hand down on the table broke me from thoughts of earlier events. We were sitting in the meeting room at the big house, with everybody still in wedding attire. Ms. Maddie had come over because we were going to need her and her contacts on this too. Currently, she was tending to his wounds.
“My bad, Pops,” I said, leaning forward. “What did you say?”
“I said you need to stay your ass in the house until we have a solid lead. This shit was too close for comfort. Shooting at us was nothing, but these niggas put a bomb in a body.”
Smoke scoffed. “That was slight work. That doesn’t mean they on some next level shit. They ain’t fucking with me on the weapons. I got some new shit coming in tonight.”
“Thank you, Devin,” Pops said sarcastically. “Please, make this moment about you.”
Smoke waved him off. “I’m just saying.”
Pops rolled his eyes, and Maddie popped the back of his head. “Be your ass still, Senior.”
“I’m being still.”
“No, if your ass had been still, I wouldn’t be doing this. Shame on all of you for letting his old ass get in a fight.”
“What were we supposed to do, Maddie?” Deuce asked. “Fight that nigga for him? That man is practically my wife’s uncle, and she already tore into my ass for letting them fight in the first place. If I’d put hands on him, that was gonna be the end of me getting some pussy for a hot minute. Y’all know I’m trying to get her pregnant. If he wants to fight, that’s on him. Pops is a grown ass man.”
“Overgrown, as Mama would say,” Uncle Blake added with a chuckle.
“Whatever,” Maddie mumbled, closing the first aid kit. “He’s not my problem anymore.”
“But you’re here,” Pops shot back at her.
“I’m here for the family. I love Maceo and Sharina. I’m here for them, just like I was here for Deuce and Salima. Now what the fuck are we gonna do?”
Pops turned to Jaeda, who was clicking away on her computer. “Baby girl, were you able to get anything off that burner?”
She didn’t answer right away. A few seconds went by before she finally looked up.
“Actually, yes. I was able to pin a location off a cell phone tower at the time of the call. It’s a house in the countryside. According to my calculations, it’s somewhere in the woods off Highway 14. Me and Mia are headed out that way tonight with my drone to see if I can get aerial footage.”
“My baby ain’t going out there without protection,” Maddie said.
Mia rolled her eyes. “Ma, I’m not a baby. I can handle myself.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t. Take one of your brothers or your cousins.”
“Mom! Oh my God! Me and Jaeda are just as capable as any of these niggas.”
“You heard what I said, Mia. Either pick one of them, or I’m sending one of my own people.”
Mia folded her arms with a frown on her face but didn’t say anything.
Maddie chuckled. “Fine.” She pulled out her phone and dialed a number before placing it to her ear. “Orion, it’s Maddie. I need Titan tonight.”
Mia jumped up. “Oh, hell no! I’m not working with him, Ma. You know we hate each other.”
“Then pick somebody, or he’s it.”
Jaeda spoke up. “With all due respect, Ms. Maddie, I don’t need my brothers to babysit me. Me and Mia are just as capable as they are of taking care of ourselves. The type of drone I have can transmit video from up to five miles away, and it has thermal imaging. We don’t even have to leave the car.”
“I don’t care,” Maddie stated.
My father held up a hand. “Leave them be, Maddie. They can handle it. You have to stop coddling Mia. She’s an adult, and she’s had twice the training her siblings have. She’s good.”
Maddie sighed and hung up the phone. “Fine. Have at it.”
I could tell she was upset about not having eyes on Mia, but my father was right. Mia did have more training than the rest of us. She trained with Maddie’s father’s organization and with ours. There was no doubt that she could handle herself.
After talking strategy for a little while, Pops dismissed us. There wasn’t much we could do until we knew what we were working with. Jaeda’s aerial footage would give us an advantage if she actually found something.
I made my way down the driveway and in the direction of my house. Deuce had offered to give me a ride, but I needed the time to clear my head. Today was supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life, and it was nothing but a fucking mess. Now I had to go home and face Shar.
When I walked into the house, it was quiet as hell. Usually, she had music playing loud as hell, or she was watching some ratchet ass reality TV show. Tonight was different.
“Baby!” I yelled, closing the front door and locking it.
I heard the clicking of heels as Shar emerged from the kitchen, still in her wedding dress. She smiled softly as she approached me.
“Hey, baby,” she said, sliding her arms around my waist.
“Hey, love. Why are you still in your dress?”
“Well, they say it’s bad luck to see the bride in the dress before the ceremony. I figured we had enough bad luck today.”
I shook my head. “We damn sure did.”
“I don’t want it to end like this,” she said, peering up at me.
“What do you suggest we do?”
She smiled as she pulled away and grabbed my hand. “Come with me. I have something to show you.”
She gave my hand a tug, and I followed her through the house and out to the backyard. Much to my surprise, it was slightly decorated with a rose petal and candlelit path that led to an arch of flowers. Beneath the arch stood Salima with a sleeping Darlyn strapped to her chest.
“What is this?” I asked.
“This was supposed to be our wedding day, and I’m not going to bed without my last name being Dillinger. Salima went online and got ordained. She’s going to officiate our ceremony.”
“Yo, you serious?”
“Yes. Tensions are high right now. I don’t want to wait to plan another wedding. We can do this by ourselves, and when this whole thing is over, we can have the wedding we wanted.”
“I don’t want you to settle for this, Shar. You deserve more than a backyard wedding.”
She cupped my face. “I’m not settling. I want to be with you. Just like I knew you’d get me a beautiful ring, I know you’ll give me the wedding of my dreams. Right now, I don’t care about the number of guests. I don’t care about the fancy decorations or extravagant wedding gifts. We may be living on borrowed time, and I don’t want to waste another second of it. I want to get married… tonight. Right here, right now.”
Just then, my back gate opened, and Deuce stepped through. He took a place at Salima’s side.
“He knows about this?” I asked.
“Now you know I can’t hold water when it comes to this man,” Salima said, giggling.
Deuce chuckled. “If anybody should be here, it should be me. I mean, I take full credit for you even knowing sis existed.”
“Nigga, you always want the credit,” I said, playfully throwing up my middle finger.
“I take credit where credit is due.”
“It was my idea to go to Mr. Luckey’s that day,” I reminded him.
“And you got there because I was driving. You’re welcome. Now, what are y’all niggas waiting for? Get your ass to the altar.”
Shar laughed as she pressed the button for the surround sound. The smooth melodies of “Forever” by Damage came through the speakers. Shar picked up her bouquet. I offered her my arm, and she slipped hers through it. Slowly, we made our way toward our best man and matron of honor. Salima wore a big smile, and even Deuce’s ass looked happy.
As we came to a stop, Shar turned the music down low. Salima cleared her throat.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate one of life’s most cherished moments when two hearts become one. We are here to witness and bless the marriage of Maceo and my girl, my bestie, my wifey, baby’s mama, and my ride or die, Sharina.”
Deuce chuckled. “Baby, I don’t think that’s how it goes.”
“That’s how it’s going tonight. Besides, nothing about this is traditional. Now can I finish, sir?”
He smirked and motioned for her to continue.
“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. We are gathered here tonight to witness the union of Maceo and Sharina. Let me just say that watching you two fall in love has been adorably cute and funny, and I called it a long time ago. It’s a beautiful thing when two people who aren’t looking for love find it with each other. Shar, you have been my girl my entire life. I love you beyond rhyme or reason, and I’m honored to be here in this moment.”
Shar blew her a kiss. “I love you too.”
“I’m gonna give you two a chance to say your vows now. Shar, you can go first.”
Shar smiled brightly as she handed over her bouquet and turned to me. She grabbed both of my hands and stared lovingly into my eyes before speaking.
“Maceo Ahmed Dillinger… you’ve owned my heart from the first time I laid eyes on you. True, I was just trying to get into your pants at first…” She paused to laugh, and so did I. “If I’m honest, the more I got to know you, the more I liked you, and it scared me. I was afraid to give you my heart because I wasn’t sure how you would handle it. I can confidently say you’ve done an amazing job of taking care of my most prized possession.
“Thank you for seeing past my rough exterior. You tap into the woman in me that loves softness. She loves cuddles and movie nights. She loves surprises, big and small. She values the quality time we get together. Moments where it’s just us are when I am the most at peace with the world. With you, I can let my hair down and be my annoying, goofy, extra, freaky self.”
“We all know y’all are some freak hos,” Deuce said with a chuckle.
Shar laughed. “Be that as it may… I love you. I love you for the life you’ve given me and for giving me you. I know with you, I’m safe and fiercely protected. Even in the midst of danger, I would follow you because I know there is nothing you wouldn’t do to make sure I came out unscathed. There is nobody else in this world that I would rather walk through all of life’s ups and downs with but you.”
She cupped my face. “I see you, and I stand ten toes down behind you. There is nothing we can’t get through together, Maceo. Even if the whole world turns against us, as long as we have each other, we will always pull through. You’re my person in every aspect of the word. I’ve got you.”
She stood on her toes and kissed me softly before returning to her spot.
Salina swiped a tear from her eye. “You’re up, Maceo.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, preparing to be in my most vulnerable state. It wasn’t often that I completely let my guard down, but Shar deserved that in this moment. When I opened my eyes, she was staring at me with nothing but love in her eyes.
“Sharina Nicole Gladden. I don’t think I have the words to express just how much I love you. In my heart, you are right next to my family. I’ve never allowed a woman to get as close to me as you have. Love isn’t a foreign concept to me, because I love many people. But I’ve never loved anybody the way that I love you. You give me peace. You give me strength and encouragement.
“I’m used to tough love. I’m used to that rough, aggressive shit, but you give me softness a nigga never knew he needed. I look forward to slow days with you. Days where we do nothing but lay up and talk. I look forward to you making me watch Girlfriends or Living Single for the millionth time. Even though I complain, I secretly love when you plan spa days for us. You know you got a nigga skin glowing and my feet all soft and shit.”
She grinned at me, knowing that I talked big shit every time she brought out the foot spa and facial products. Yet and still, I sat my ass right there and let her do her thing. I cupped her face as I stepped closer to her.
“You’ve made my house our home. Before you, it was just a place with walls that I didn’t care if I slept in. You’ve filled those walls with love and laughter. You’ve made it a place I’m happy to come to at the end of a long day. There is nobody I’d rather spend my long days with. Nobody I’d rather have carry my last name and my children.
“You’ve given me everything by simply giving me you. There is nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for you, Sharina. No mountain is too high, and no risk is too dangerous when it comes to you. I promise to protect you with my life. If there ever comes a time when I’m no longer here, I’ll wait for you in the next life because there is no time or space where I want to exist without you. I love you with my soul. Today, tomorrow, and forever. With everything in me, I love you, Shar.”
A tear slipped down her cheek, and I swiped it away. Salima sniffled as she dabbed her own eyes.
“Well, I don’t think we need to hear anything after that,” she said faintly.
She and Deuce produced our wedding bands and handed them over.
“Repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed. Let it be a symbol of my endless love and unwavering commitment to you. As this ring has no end, neither shall my devotion to you. I give you this ring as a daily reminder of my love and the promises we make today.”
We repeated the words, then slipped the rings on each other’s fingers.
“By the power invested in me by some random website, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Maceo Dillinger. You may kiss the bride.”
I wasted no time pulling Shar into my arms and laying a nasty ass kiss on her lips. She always matched my nasty, so it was no surprise that she gave it right back to me. My hands slid down her back and gripped her ass, causing a loud moan to fall from her lips.
“All right now,” Deuce said, clapping his hands. “We’re still standing here.”
“You’re dismissed,” I said.
“Nigga!”
I laughed as I pulled him and Salima in for separate hugs. “For real, though. I love y’all, and I appreciate you doing this for us.”
“You’re welcome. Now, when the family finds out, I didn’t have shit to do with it and neither did my wife. We’re gonna act just as shocked.”
I shook my head. “That’s fine. Y’all can go now.” I scooped Shar up bridal style and started walking back toward the house. “Aye, blow them candles out!” I tossed over my shoulder.
“I’ll light this bitch on fire!” he yelled at my back.
Shar and I laughed hysterically as I led us inside. I practically sprinted up the stairs to our bedroom and placed her on the bed. For a moment, all I could do was stare at Shar. She was no longer my girlfriend… She was my fucking wife.
“I know,” she said, seemingly reading my thoughts. She looked down at her ring. “We really got married.”
“Are you happy?” I asked, leaning into her.
She smiled as she palmed my cheek. “Very happy. I love you, Maceo.”
“I love you too, mama. Now, take this shit off so I can give you this newly married dick.”
She laughed but was happy to oblige me.