Chapter 22
SYNDER
I got my wish. The last few days rushed by.
Christmas was four days away, and all I could think about was spending it with Whims and Sienna.
Tonight was our last holiday gala with the Jets organization.
These affairs were always the nicest. Mostly because my teammates brought their families to the function.
This year, Whims was old enough to play with other kids and have a ball, which was exactly how her night was going.
She wasn’t thinking about me or Sienna. Seeing my baby girl’s smile as she played with the other kids brought bittersweet thoughts.
This was how things should’ve been with her cousins.
The Sneaux family was vast. However, because my pops fucked up his relationship with his oldest brother, Poppa Sneaux, shit was murky when it came to them. They hadn’t been cool since they were in their twenties. So, Yakira and I didn’t have a relationship with the majority of our cousins.
As for my mama’s family, there was no fixing them. After my grandma died, the family went to shit. The holidays just seemed so bland without family, but the family didn’t care too much.
“Dance with me?” Sienna asked, drowning my dark thoughts with her natural bright light.
“Sure, Baby. Anything for you,” I replied. I took her hand and brought her close. While keeping one eye on Whims, I took Sienna into my arms and held her close.
She smiled so hard that her eyes creased and sparkled. I’d never seen red worn so many times, yet I couldn’t find the slightest reason to be tired of it. The color was beautiful on my woman, and she radiated regalness at every turn.
“I still can’t believe you offered me to ol’ girl,” I said.
Sienna snickered. “Well, sometimes you gotta meet delusion with delusion.”
On that, I could agree.
“You gon’ do this again with me next Christmas, then? That’s what I’ve gathered from this.”
Her cheeks darkened. “Are you asking me to be your girlfriend, Synder?”
I balked at her and said, “You just threatened my ex wit’ a lawsuit if she speaks on us again, or even texts me again. Plus, is not my name tattooed on you?”
Her cheeks grew darker.
“Am I not the nigga who has you hemmed up every night, callin’ my name and cummin’ all over my dick?” I asked. “It’s givin’ you tryna be wifey and not girlfriend.”
Passion filled her eyes, causing me to bite my lower lip with want. This woman was so effortlessly sexy, it was scary.
“Maybe,” she replied demurely.
“Aight, then. So, we doin’ this next year, or what?” I questioned again.
“We’re doing it next year,” she confirmed.
I met her halfway for a kiss. “Damn right.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I thought to ignore it, but an uneasy feeling swept through my stomach. Producing my phone, I glanced at the screen, then answered Yakira’s call.
“Syn! Ah!”
Yakira’s muffled screams froze my heart.
“Yakira!” I hissed.
Then, I heard Que yelling at Yakira. Glass shattered, and the sound of furniture moving followed it. From the sounds of it, Que was putting his hands on Yakira again.
“Stop, Que!” That was my pops’ voice. If he was involving himself, shit was bad. Listening to the commotion was too much.
“I’m on the way!” Infuriated, I hung up.
One minute, I was slow dancing with my baby. The next, I was hauling ass out of the venue. I moved quickly, but Sienna kept up and didn’t ask a single question. I strapped Whims in her car seat, then jumped behind the steering wheel.
Skidding off from the curb, I quickly but safely flew towards the crib. My stomach was in knots, and I was afraid to say anything. Yakira’s call had me tight.
I made it to the crib and got Sienna and Whims safely inside.
Once I had them settled, I kissed Sienna’s lips and said, “I’ll be right back.”
“No!” She grabbed my arm to stop me from leaving. “Please don’t,” she pleaded.
Prying my arm from her hands, I ignored the tears in her eyes. “I’ll be right back,” I assured her.
“Synder!” Sienna shouted behind me. “Synder!” Her voice cracked this time.
I wanted to turn around and go back inside my house.
Instead, I hopped in my truck, cranked the engine, and sped back down the driveway.
Within minutes, I made it to my parents’ crib.
An ambulance and two police cruisers were in the yard.
My mama was on the lawn with her hands on her hips.
She didn’t look the least bit fazed. Pops walked out of the house, looking like he’d just gotten his muthafuckin’ ass whooped.
“Where’s Yakira?” I questioned.
She pointed to the ambulance. “I told her she ain’t need no damn ambulance.”
I shook my head and left my mama standing there to go check on Yakira. Inside the ambulance, she laid on the gurney being checked out by an EMT. Her lips were brutally busted, and she had several scratches on her face.
“Where the fuck did he go?” I blasted.
Yakira shrugged her shoulders.
Irritated, I stormed off. It was like her to want to protect that nigga, but I wasn’t going for it. Either I was going to put him in a grave, or he was going to end up putting my sister in one.
Hopping back inside my ride, I sped off from the house.
Christmas lights lined the street. Some houses had elaborate light shows, while others had extravagant figurine setups.
Grumbling, just an hour ago, I was all in the holiday spirit.
Now, I just wanted to get to Que to make sure he didn’t see his next Christmas.
I growled at the sound of my phone shattering the stark silence I rode in. I didn’t want to hear anything but the other voices in my head telling me to speed the fuck up. The phone hung up but rang again seconds later.
“What!” I barked.
“I thought we talked about this,” Big N drawled.
“Aye, I’ain tryna hear that shit! Would you let a nigga put his hands on ya sister?” I questioned.
“Hell, naw,” he replied.
Feeling vindicated, I stated, “Aight, then! What the fuck else you want me to do?”
“I want you to slow down so I can keep up wit’ yo’ ass.”
Glancing in my review mirror, I caught Big N’s lights quickly speeding up behind me.
“You supposed to be watchin’ my family,” I said but kept pushing the gas.
“I have orders to follow you,” he replied.
“Whose orders?” I demanded to know.
Big N sighed, then chuckled. “Sienna is soft, bruh. She’s as soft as a fuckin’ snowflake. She’s also as fierce as a rattlesnake. When she’s passionate about something, she does whatever she can to protect it. Including yo’ ass. Now… Are you gon’ turn around? I can handle ya lightweight.”
“I look like a bitch?” I asked him.
His chuckle cut off when I hung up on him.
Big N was right, though. Sienna was a soft ball of fire.
It would’ve been in my best interest to turn the fuck around.
That feeling was in the pit of my stomach again, so I kept driving until I made it to Que’s neighborhood.
The last time I stepped foot in this neighborhood was ages ago.
Since niggas thought it was a game, I had to show my face.
That was the only way to let them know that I was still that nigga who didn’t mind breaking a face or two.
His house was the fourth one on his street.
I slid up on his grass, nearly hitting the porch.
Snatching my gun off my hip, I climbed out of my ride seeking blood.
Some drunk-ass nigga stumbled out of the house, wondering what the hell was going on.
Big N’s lights flashed on the porch, illuminating the nigga. His eyes were big and bloodshot.
“Where the fuck is Que?” I asked.
Although he pointed towards the house, I was already walking inside the front door and through that muthafucka.
“Where you at, bitch-ass nigga!” I shouted.
The sound of someone rummaging through the house came from the hallway. I stalked that way. The tiny hallway only had three doors down it. I kicked each one of them opened until I found that nigga underneath a bed. On the floor was a lockbox that he’d likely been trying to unsuccessfully open.
“Say, bruh!” he said. He held his hands up. “My fault, aight.”
One-handed, I flipped the bed over, then kicked him in his face. His blood splattered out, ruining my designer shoes. Just as I was about to kick him to sleep, Big N snatched me up. His big muthafuckin’ ass felt like ten gorillas hemming me the fuck up. I wrestled that nigga off me.
Using Big N as a shield, Que thought it was a good time to escape.
He dashed out of the room like I had bullets chasing him.
Since he wanted to run, I was going to let one of these bullets off in his ass.
Aiming down the hallway, I lit that bitch up.
Just as Que hollered in pain, Big N tackled me.
This wasn’t how I wanted my night to end, but it ended up getting worse.