I Need A Gangsta: Book Two (Gucci Gang Saga 2)

by B. Love

  Like a snail, Maria slowly slithered to her door, leaving a trail of blood behind her. She avoided calling 911 and unlocked the door for Jax, hoping he would get to her in time. And he obviously had.

  Family could wait.

  Doctors could wait.

  Police could wait.

  All she wanted and needed right now was Jax Diesel.

  Shortly after her mother left, she returned with a smiling nurse who took her vitals and offered her a few chips of ice. They had her hooked up to an IV, so she shouldn’t have been thirsty, but Maria wanted water just because her mouth was so dry.

  Maria was trying her very hardest to remain calm. And thankful. But the longer they stood and talked over her the more irritated she became. There was only thing and one person she wanted in that moment, and if she didn’t get him soon, she was going to act a fucking fool.

  Her doctor came in shortly after, letting her know that she’d lost a lot of blood and had to receive a transfusion. They were able to remove the bullet from her side and assured her that there would be no lasting damage or side effects because it didn’t hit any major arteries. Depending on how quickly her body healed, she could be released anywhere from six to fourteen days later and was warned that it could take one to three months before she healed fully and felt normal.

  The doctor, Derrick’s uncle, reminded Porsha of the promise she made – to leave once Maria woke up from her surgery. Porsha didn’t want to, but she did, seeing as he’d already went against hospital rules because of her connection to Derrick to allow her to stay in there for as long as she had. After promising to be right outside with the rest of her family, Porsha left, giving Maria the peace she desperately needed.

  Before she could pray and talk to God, her door slowly creaked open. His scent, Creed Aventus, filled her nostrils before she saw him cut the corner of the darkened, pushed back corner. As soon as her eyes landed on him, Maria smiled. Instead of walking over to her fully, Jax stayed back. He pulled his snapback from his round head and ran his hand across his tapered fade.

  The white wife beater he had on exposed his cinnamon colored tattooed skin, and her eyes roamed from one set of tattoos to the other. They were just as eccentric as he was. While his right arm was covered with positive quotes, tributes for those that had passed, suns and birds and God… the left arm was covered with the markings of a gang affiliated, money chasing hoodlum. In that sense, Jax was truly a work of art. One that showed the holy hoodlum he was.

  His tight, dark eyes were red… as if he was in desperate need of sleep. Those bushy brows were wrinkled, making him appear to be in deep thought as he stared at her. He scratched the stubble that wrapped around his round, big, pink and blunt brown lips.

  “Heard you was lookin’ for a nigga?”

  “Why you so far away? I can’t be the first person you’ve seen with a bullet wound before.”

  Jax smiled and shook his head softly. “You ain’t, but I don’t do hospitals. People rarely come out of here alive.”

  Chuckling, Maria decided to tease him to lighten the moment because he was clearly feeling some type of way and not himself. Faux offense covered her face as her head tilted.

  “So you saying I’m going to die in here?”

  His eyebrows straightened before his head shook rapidly. “Oh no, nah. Maria.” His head shook again as he balled and unballed his fists. “You alive now so I’m sure you’ll be straight.” She laughed but immediately winced as her entire side burned and throbbed with pain. “Fuck, let me get the doctor.”

  “No,” she called, reaching her hand out to stop him. Inhaling a deep breath, she looked up at the monitor and prayed her rapid heartbeat and accelerating blood pressure returned to normal. Otherwise, her nurse would be coming in soon. “I’m fine. I was just messing with you and fucked my own self up.”

  Relief washed over his face and his shoulders relaxed as he took a small step in her direction. “Now is not the time to be joking around, Maria. I was scared as fuck when I found you.” His head dropped. “All that blood. And you were unconscious. I thought you were going to die.”

  Smiling softly, Maria pushed back tears. Knowing that he cared enough about her to be worried tickled her heart and made it feel light. Outside of her family, the only other man who’d cared about her was Malibu.

  “Come’ere,” she requested softly. With slight hesitation, Jax slowly walked over to her. When he made it to her left side, Maria flipped her hand open on the bed so that he could entangle his fingers with hers. “I’m okay, Jax.”

  Looking towards the ceiling, Jax inhaled a deep breath.

  “You shouldn’t be in here. I should have put my foot down and not allowed you to entertain that nigga.”

  Trying not to laugh, Maria smiled up at him as she caressed his hand with her thumb. “Fuck you mean you should have put your foot down?”

  He looked down at her and gave her his eyes. “I mean you mine and you’ve always been mine and I should have stood firm on that instead of playin’ with your ass. If I would have, he wouldn’t have had the chance to get close to you like that.”

  “Where is he anyway?”

  “Taken care of,” was all Jax offered before releasing her hand. “The hospital called the police as they normally do when someone comes in with a gunshot wound. There will be no trace of Vincent at your apartment. I took care of it and made sure there’s no way to tie you to him or his father.”

  Maria licked her lips and nodded softly before muttering, “Thank you.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  She smiled and shook her head before inhaling a deep breath. “You always say that after you’ve done the most.”

  He shrugged before leaning down and placing a kiss to the center of her forehead. “I’ll do anything for you.”

  “Why?”

  “If I answer that I’ll also be answering your question about why I put up with your bullshit…”

  “Then don’t,” she replied quickly, getting a quiet laugh out of him. “Not right now at least.”

  “That’s cool, but we will discuss this shit when you’re released.”

  Maria nodded, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop that anyway. And honestly, she didn’t want to. She had some unfinished business with Jax that Vincent had almost ruined. The solid he’d done for her by taking care of Vincent made him even more loyal in her eyes. And for the first time since Malibu… Maria found herself wanting to get to know a man in every way possible.

  Chapter 4

  Them

  “You really gon’ light that shit up right here?” Christian asked, smirking with one side of her mouth. They’d stepped out of the hospital when people were starting to linger longer than they wanted them to. Christian loved spending time with her family, but she didn’t like being around large crowds for too long – family or not. When she told Leigh and Audré that she was about to step outside, Leigh offered to go with her, and now Christian knew why.

  “Girl, yes. All them old people in there going on and on with all their different conversations working my nerves,” Audré replied, putting her blunt between her lips.

  “I got a cookie in my purse.” Nodding, Audré put the blunt out while Christian rummaged around the bottom of her bag for the cookie. “What’s up with you?” she asked Leigh who was surprisingly quiet. She hadn’t said much since they’d gotten to the hospital to visit Maria, and that wasn’t like Leigh at all.

  Smiling softly, Leigh shook her head. “Nothing,” was all she offered. Christian knew that wasn’t true, but she wouldn’t pry. If Leigh didn’t want to talk to her about whatever was bothering her, she wouldn’t force it.

  “I gotta go, y’all. Please stay here until I get back,” Porsha rushed out, scurrying past them.

  “Okay,” Christian agreed, handing Audré the cookie.

  “I wonder where she going in such a rush,” Leigh said to no one in particular.

  “Ain’t no telling. She’s been acting strange lately.
”

  “You caught that?”

  “Yea, but I thought I was just tripping. You know how we can be sometimes.”

  Leigh nodded, knowing exactly what Christian was referring to. Because of Ricky, their relationships with their mother was different. While Christian used to be the apple of Porsha’s eye, she felt ignored by her and forced to grow up sooner than she should have. Because of that, there were times when Christian always felt like something was up with Porsha if she started acting differently or got too quiet. Or even had a bad day. There was always a part of her that waited for her relationship with Derrick to end and for her mother to detach from them and go into her own little world all over again.

  For Leigh, it was different. She enjoyed the breaks she received from their mother and silence. It was her father whom she wished she would have had more of. That was one of the biggest ways the sisters differed.

  “Nah. Something is definitely off with her. At first I thought it was Maria, but we know she’s going to be okay now, so I don’t think that’s it. And now that she just damn near jogged to her car without giving details about where she was going… I’m almost positive that’s not it.”

  Silence lingered between the sisters. Seemed as if when they got over one thing, something else popped up. All they could do now was pray that their mother wasn’t in any trouble, and that if she was, she’d tell someone that could help get her out of it.

  If it were anyone else’s hands wrapping around Christian’s arms she would have been upset. If it would have been any other scent besides Sauvage Dior invading her nostrils she would have been a little peeved. And if it were not Nash’s light brown eyes staring into hers Christian would have had a whole attitude.

  “What you doing here?” she asked, pulling away from him gently to grab her phone and look her face over in the camera. Christian wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep or when she’d even fallen asleep, but she wanted to make sure she didn’t have any crust in her eyes or slob around her mouth.

  “I called your phone and you didn’t answer so I called here, and they told me your ass was falling asleep every time you sat down for too long.” With a roll of her eyes, Christian looked towards the cash register to see which one of her employees had snitched on her. “Let’s get your shit so we can go.”

  “Go? I can’t go. I have to work.”

  “How are you any good for anyone right now, Gucci? You were at the hospital all night and you came straight here. Clearly you need to rest. Get your ass up so we can go and stop acting like I’m asking you to do it.”

  With a roll of her eyes, Christian allowed Nash to help her stand with his hand wrapped around her arm. There was no need for her to argue with him. She knew she needed to rest and so did her body. Now that he had seen the state she was in, Nash wouldn’t rest until she did. And if she aggravated him about it too much, the soft, sweet Nash she’d come to love would be replaced with the savage hoodlum who didn’t give a fuck about anything beyond what he wanted.

  Luckily for her, in this moment, Nash wanted what was best for her. And as much as she wanted to stay at work, Christian knew she’d have to abide by his care.

  “If you want me to do something, talk to me nice.”

  “Fuck all’at. Your stubborn ass don’t move if a nigga talking nice to you. I’ll be nice after you rest.”

  Forcing her smile to stay hidden, Christian relaxed in his side as he wrapped his arm around her and led her to her office to grab her belongings. Truth of the matter was, Christian didn’t want to go home because she didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts. Things had taken a turn for the worse in her life two days ago, and she was trying her hardest to stay positive.

  Not only was Money coming after her and Ransom, but she had to deal with Tyrell’s betrayal, and now her sister was in the hospital. Refusing to allow her thoughts to settle on the negative things for too long, Christian looked at Nash and sent up a silent thanks to God for allowing him to come back to her life.

  She’d missed his tall, muscular build. The tattoos along his peanut butter hued neck. His square head and stubble lined jaw. Most of all, she missed his heart shaped, juicy, pink and brown lips and the gruff, low voice that slipped from them – even when he was talking his shit.

  Nash had become something like the Peter Pan of the hood in the sense of… he robbed the rich and corrupt and poured it back into the community for the poor. Even though he had a legal business with Jax, the jobs he did with Maria took up the bulk of his time and meant the most to him. He’d research his targets for hours, days, and sometimes weeks and months on end before making a move. And when he did, he’d pocket no more than thirty percent then invest the rest in food and housing for the hood or community centers, healthcare facilities, stores, and small businesses.

  There was no part of Nash that Christian didn’t love. No part of him that wasn’t masculine as fuck and worthy of her submission. He’d been the only man outside of her brother’s that gave her a solid enough example of leadership for her to follow, and Christian couldn’t help but be grateful that God blessed her life with him.

  “Can you drive, or do we need to leave your car here and you ride with me?”

  Her head shook as he handed her her purse. “I’m good, Nash. I can drive.”

  As always, he stared at her for a few seconds before nodding in agreement and leading her out of her office. Locking up behind them, Christian felt a heaviness enter her heart. Not wanting to let it fester she asked, “You staying with me?”

  “Where else would I be?”

  Smiling, she went through the notifications on her phone hoping someone had called or texted her with an update on Maria. After sticking her tongue out at the three employees that were at the front display case and getting a laugh out of them, she told them to call if they needed her for anything. They assured her that they would have everything under control and Christian allowed that to soothe her as they left.

  Nash helped her get inside of her car, then she waited for him to get in his before they left. Once they were in route, she called her mother.

  “Hello?” Porsha answered.

  “Hey, Mommy. How y’all doing?”

  “We’re doing good, baby. She’s still stable. Smart mouth assed heifer almost got all of us put out the room. She got an attitude with one of the nurses because she said she was rude when she was trying to take her vitals. Of course that man that brought her here was ready for war. I’m just glad we were the only two people here.”

  Christian chuckled and shook her head. “Maria ain’t nothing but a big ass baby. I’m sure that woman did not have an attitude.”

  “Don’t I know it. I’m just hoping she doesn’t give these people a hard time now that your siblings are trickling back in.”

  “I’ll talk to her when I come back up there,” Christian offered, following behind Nash as he merged onto the expressway.

  Porsha had made every one of their family members leave this morning but Jax wasn’t having that. He made it clear that he wasn’t leaving until Maria did and they couldn’t do anything but respect that. A few of their siblings knew Jax through Ransom and Nash, but they didn’t know he had any dealings with Maria. This was a fucked up way for them to find out, but it was a blessing too, because they saw just how down Jax was for Maria.

  “Maybe she will listen to you because her mean ass shol ain’t listening to me.”

  “Well she should at least listen to Jax. Is he able to get through to her?”

  Porsha chuckled. “Chile, they argue like an old married couple. She simmers down eventually. If he don’t watch it, Maria’s gonna give that man high blood pressure and a heart attack.”

  Now it was Christian’s turn to laugh. “Nah, I think he can handle her. From what I’ve seen so far, he knows when to push her and when to be soft with her. I think he’s just what her crazy ass needs.”

  “I hope you’re right. Then your grandma came up here acting a fool. She had a spell this
morning and damn near choked the shit out of Evelyn.”

  “What! For what? Damn. I missed everything. I should have stayed up there!”

  “Apparently Evelyn has been keeping Ever’s bank card. Well, Ever wanted the card so she could buy something for Maria out of the gift shop. Evelyn didn’t want to give it to her because she had a hundred dollars in her purse that’s now gone, so she told her she would go with her, but she needed to pay and keep the card. That sent Ever in and she choked the shit out of Evelyn. Took Jax, Derrick, and two nurses to get her off.”

  Christian sighed and chuckled quietly. “Grandma needs to watch that shit. Family will let her get away with that but if she gets buck on the wrong person, she gon’ have a whole slew of us going to jail for life trying to handle it.”

  “That’s what I told her. Evelyn was cool about it. She was upset naturally but she didn’t hold it against Ever. They left together and Ever was giggling in her face like nothing had happened. How are you though?”

  Christian thought over her mother’s question briefly. They were super close when she was a child, but after Ricky left, their relationship strained. Now, they talked maybe once a week or once every two weeks, but when they were able to talk like this… Christian craved more.

  “I’m good. Got some personal things going on but it ain’t nothing I can’t handle.”

  “I know. You’re my daughter, so you’re strong.” Christian smiled and nodded. “But if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.”

  “Yes ma’am. Thanks. I love y’all. Tell Maria I’ll be back up there after I take this nap Nash is forcing me to take and eat.”

  “As he should, and we love you too.”