21. The Bloodiest Night
Twenty-One
The Bloodiest Night
brICK
“What’s good, P?” I had just washed the day away and was about to lay up for the rest of the night when an incoming call from my brother quickly let me know that shit wasn’t happening.
“We figured out who’s behind all the bullshit. Some girl Kilo used to fuck with saw some niggas on the South flashin’ money and braggin’ about slidin’ on a bunch of Westside businesses.”
“Shit,” I grumbled as I sucked my teeth. All the money I paid that fuck ass investigator, and all I needed was a nosey woman on the case. “Where you at?”
“Headed to the garage,” he answered.
“Fuck,” I mumbled. “I’m on my way. Give me like thirty.”
“Bet,” he said before hanging up. I immediately picked up the phone and dialed my contact from the Southside.
“What’s good?” Kar’s raspy voice answered, I could tell he probably had a blunt in each hand and a chick on his lap. He was cool, but we weren’t friends. I could never fuck with none of them niggas just off GP, but it was still important to have that rapport.
“My nigga, you got something to tell me?” I snapped.
“Nah, nigga, holdup. I just got the same call you did. These ain’t my people.
Some lil’ nigga named Nido came to me talkin’ bout he wanted to get on.
I told his ass no, so I guess he and his merry band of lil’ niggas decided to be on their Robin Hood shit.
They started with you because it would be less obvious, then moved down our way.
They knew better than to try the East side. ”
I scoffed. Zion and his people ran their shit like something between the military and the mafia.
I decided right then that I needed to step it up.
No more of this gracious shit. If a nigga tried one of us, he was goin’ on a fuckin’ t-shirt before the sun went down.
Kar shared the information for every nigga that was plotting against us.
He offered to send us some backup, but I declined.
They came at us first, so we needed to make the example.
I put down the phone just as Destiny came padding out from the bathroom still wrapped up in her towel.
“What a fuckin’ day!” The way she exhaled told me that she was exhausted, and I felt like shit, knowing I was about to make that shit even longer.
“I gotta go, babe.” Just as I suspected, her lil’ peaceful grin slipped right off her face as her eyes met mine.
“Going where? It’s late,” she said. One thing Mrs. West didn’t play about was having her husband home at a decent hour. Unless we were together, that woman expected me home and in bed with her by the time she shut her eyes for the night.
“I just spoke to Pistol. We found out who’s behind all this bullshit, and we’re about to handle it.”
“Why do you have to go, Brick?” she asked impatiently. I stood up and gently held her by her waist.
“Wherever my brothers go, I go,” I answered. Apparently, that was the wrong answer because her face twisted up angrily.
“And none of y’all should be going! All this money, and y’all don’t have… henchmen or something? Someone else who can handle this?” She was starting to panic. I gripped her tighter and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“That ain’t how this works. They tried us. We gotta make a statement that this shit won’t be tolerated or somebody else will be bold enough to try it next time.”
“I don’t want you to go,” she whispered softly.
“I know. I’ll be back, though.”
“Don’t make promises that you can’t keep,” she shot back.
“Destiny,” I said, gently holding her face in my hands. “I promise I’ll be back. Tomorrow we will put all this shit behind us and everything will go back to normal. I’ma take you on the honeymoon you deserve, and everything will be fine.”
She just stared at me, nostrils flared as she fought with everything she had in her to hold back her tears.
“You better come back,” she hissed. I kissed her forehead again, then her nose, then her lips three times before I pulled away. By the time I had changed into an all black outfit, she was ready for bed in one of my t-shirts and a pair of shorts.
“Don’t wait up for me, okay. Get some rest,” I said. She just stared at me angrily, letting me know I would have a lot of making up to do when I got back.
“I love you,” she mumbled, stubbornly.
“Aye, don’t be sayin’ that shit to a nigga like it’s a goodbye,” I scolded, unable to handle an emotional goodbye from her.
I had to keep my mind right so I could keep my promise and make it back to her.
“Tell me that shit when I get back and your ankles are by my ears while I’m deep in that pussy. ”
That broke her just a little, and she poked her lips out as she stifled a laugh. I snuck another quick kiss before getting the fuck out of there before she could try to convince me to stay.
Breaking News
11:31 p.m.
Unmarked Vehicle Opens Fire on SouthEast Side, Leaving Three Dead.
Authorities have no leads and are currently asking anyone with possible information to contact Sleighton Police Department.
Breaking News
12:47 a.m.
Sleighton Man Murdered in His Apartment.
The victim’s girlfriend said she was sleeping in the bedroom when she heard what sounded like a struggle. By the time she made it to the living room where the victim was, she found him deceased from a single gunshot.
Breaking News
1:13 a.m.
Dozens Dead As Sleighton P.D. Investigate Fatal Fire at Southside Business.
The remains of multiple victims were found inside the local bar. Witnesses claim a gang of masked gunmen came in, allowing certain people to leave the popular bar before shots rang out. Medical examiners have been called in to identify the deceased.
Breaking News
2:27 a.m.
Five Dead After SUV plunges off Sleighton Bridge.
Witnesses say the Tahoe started driving erratically after being struck by another vehicle and jumped the barricades, dropping off the side of the bridge.
Dive teams were called in, but unfortunately no one survived the crash.
Authorities have declined to comment on whether the incident is related to other violence ringing off around Sleighton.
Bystanders are calling this “The Bloodiest Night The City Has Seen In A While.”
* * *
By the time we had ditched our clothes, weapons, and car, I was slinking into my house at close to four in the morning.
I knew I would be eating pussy and buying gifts for the next month just to pacify my girl, but I didn’t really give a fuck.
I didn’t enjoy this part of the life as much as my brothers, but it was my life.
I had to do what I needed to make sure my family was safe, respected, and prosperous.
The way Peep was propped up against the headboard with the TV on full blast, let me know she didn’t listen to my instructions on getting some rest, and had been fighting The Sandman until he hit her ass with that K.O.
I chuckled to myself before heading to the shower. The high of the night was starting to come down, and my limbs felt like they weighed a ton each. I took yet another shower, praying the steaming water was so hot that it washed away enough of my sins so I would be fit to go lay with my angel.
When I returned to the bedroom in a pair of sleep shorts, Peep was still sitting up and knocked out.
I walked around to her side, turned the TV off, then gently grabbed her so I could lay her down.
She jolted up like she didn’t realize that she was asleep, then looked around in confusion before her eyes landed on me.
“Baby!” she immediately sobbed as she locked her arms around my neck, pulling me in close.
All I could do was continuously apologize to her as I let her hold me and cry it out.
And I was sorry. I was sorry as fuck for making her this upset.
I made a note to keep her busy the next few days so she didn't catch any headlines of the carnage. My baby was way too fuckin’ pure for this world.
The moment she pulled back and our eyes reunited, it clicked—this was exactly what I had been looking for the whole time. Everything I never knew I wanted wrapped up in a pretty, soft, brown package with a bow on top.
My peace.
My calm.
My best fuckin’ friend.
I never thought I was worthy, but the Lord had other plans and blessed me tenfold. She was worth more to me than any dollar I could make, home I could buy, or car I could stunt in.
“I love you...” The words came out before I could even stop them, but I didn’t regret it.
She didn’t even tease me or give me a hard time like I just knew she would.
The only thing she did was pull me in for a kiss while whispering reciprocations of my statement against my lips.
Before I knew it, I found myself climbing in between her legs, hands gripping her waist as my lips kissed her tears away.
I wasn’t even trying to go there with her—I just wanted to hold her and be close to her—but when she wiggled her way out of her bottoms and started trying to work me out of mine, I caved.
Her body melted as I slowly slid into her, taking my time as I loved on her body the way she deserved.
No words were needed as we found our rhythm.
She only let out a light whimper every now and then when I hit her g-spot.
The truth was I couldn’t say anything out of fear that I’d drop a tear or two myself.
I did my best to let my body say everything my words couldn’t, holding her tight and planting kisses to her lips as I gave her the deepest strokes I could.
“Oh G—Brick! I love you so much, baby!” she screamed out as her body seized up and her walls sucked me in. I came just as hard, face buried in her neck as I shivered and filled her pussy to the brim.
“I love you too! Fuck, I love you girl!” I thought that saying that to her would feel like losing something, but all I felt was free and warm. I spent the rest of the early morning telling my wife how much I loved her for round after round as the sun came up.
* * *
One Week Later
“Nigga, I know you ain’t still apologizing! Come smoke with me! Bring your own blunt though, since you eat ass, now,” Kilo whined.
I was in fact still apologizing. After a beautiful night together, Des woke up and saw the body count on the news, and I was in trouble again.
She still loved on me at every opportunity, but when shit got quiet in the house I caught her ass giving me this look that had me feeling guilty as hell.
Damn, a nigga kills forty-three people, and now I’m the bad guy?
They started with us, and I didn’t do it by myself.
I was currently standing in the lobby of my jeweler’s shop so I could pick up the solitaire diamond pendant necklace that I prayed would get me back in her good graces.
“Man, I’m on my way, just let me pick this shit up. Needy ass nigga!” I needed Kilo to find his wife quickly because every time I looked up, the nigga was calling me for something or showing up at the house. Whoever he ended up with was gon’ be annoyed as fuck twenty-four seven.
“Let me hit you back. Eden is calling me.”
“Damn, nigga! You just gon hang up on me because Eden palm tree-head ass is callin’? I thought we were better—”
“Bye Kilo!”
I hung up and clicked over, but before I could even greet the girl, Eden was hollering in my ear.
“Brick, where is my sister?” I heard her yapping. I rolled my eyes because why the fuck did she call me looking for Destiny?
“Damn, hey to you too, sis! She’s out shopping, spending up all my muhfuckin’ money!
” I teased back. Having her ass as a little sister was almost as annoying as having Kilo as a little brother.
Both them niggas tap danced on my nerves daily…
but Eden’s crazy ass hit harder. Still, knowing that if push came to shove, both of us had a village behind us made all of their antics worth it.
“Brick, listen to me. You need to go get her now. I tried calling, but she’s not answering my calls!” The seriousness in her tone made me stop in my tracks.
“Eden, slow down and tell me what the fuck is wrong,” I demanded.
“I’m about to hop on a flight home, but y’all got the wrong niggas!” Her voice boomed through the phone.
“What?” The smile fell off my face as I stepped away from the counter.
“The people who were hitting your business partners weren’t the same niggas that shot up your car that night!”
“Wait, what?” I asked, catching myself as I swayed on my feet a bit.
“It took me a while, but I was able to hack the street cams and pull a plate on the car. It’s registered to some chick named Katarina Simmons.” My mouth went completely dry as my face went blank. I gripped the phone so hard that I felt like it would slice into my palm.
“Brick?” she called out again.
“Ka-Kat!” I yelled out. “Katarina Simmons is fuckin’ Kat!”
“Kat as in… Kitty? The stripper?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yes!” I shouted. “Eden, Destiny is with her now!”
“Fuck! I’m sending the address, and I’m on my way, I’ll be there as soon as I touch down! Go get my fuckin’ sister, nigga!”
We quickly hung up and I called Destiny as I stumbled out of the shop. It rang three times before going to voicemail. I damn near threw my phone when it went straight to voicemail the next two times. I hopped in my truck and sped off in the direction of the address that Eden gave me.