Becoming Carter (The Carter Series) (Volume 2)

by W. S. Greer

  The ride back into the city was quiet at first. Neither of us said anything for the first ten minutes, and Kelvin didn’t even bother to turn on the radio. He just drove down the highway with a deep furrow in his brow, staring straight ahead. I knew what he was thinking about. It was same thing I was thinking about.

  “You’re thinking about what your mom said, aren’t you?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

  “Of course I am. Aren’t you?”

  “Hell yeah. You think it’s true?”

  Kelvin snapped his head in my direction and gave me a “are you fucking kidding?” look.

  “Of course it’s true!” he snipped, startling me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just that I know my mom, and she would never lie… about anything. And, she certainly wouldn’t lie about my dad. She’s known him since she was fourteen years old, so it’s pretty safe to say that she knows him better than just about anybody. Not to mention the fact that I know my dad, and I know just how manipulative he can be. He’s a liar, and a coward, and he’s always been willing to sacrifice damn near anything or anybody to get what he wants, and what he always wants is power and money. He’s obsessed with it. I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

  “I understand what you’re saying. I know that the two of you have known Senior for so long, and you’ve seen him in action far before you ever knew me, so I totally get where you’re coming from. I didn’t mean to make you think that I was questioning your mother’s integrity, because I definitely wasn’t. I guess what I meant was, do you think he’s been lying to us the whole time?”

  “See, that’s what I’ve been thinking about this whole time. I remember how strongly Uncle Deshaun felt when he was telling me about how I was right about my dad. He knew something was going on, and after he died, we come to find out that my dad was lying to both of us about protecting you. So, we found out the lie there, but there’s something more to it. There’s something that’s still unanswered that I just can’t let go of.”

  I looked at Kelvin as he stared out the windshield. The confusion about his father was obviously eating him up inside.

  “You want to know if he had something to do with it,” I stated matter-of-factly.

  “If he had something to do with what?”

  “You want to know if your father had something to do with your uncle’s death.”

  I knew I was right, and I could tell from how quiet Kelvin got when I said it. What were the chances that Senior would be such an evil bastard that he’d kill his own brother, just to keep him from telling Kelvin about not protecting me? I had no trouble wrapping my head around the fact that Senior was an absolute prick, but was he really low enough to kill his own brother? That kind of shit would put him in a whole new category of assholes.

  “What if he did have something to do with it?” Kelvin said suddenly. “What if he had Uncle Deshaun killed?”

  “Then,” I started to say, before realizing that I didn’t know what was supposed to come after that. “I don’t know. I know that you think of him as the anti-Christ, but what would killing your uncle gain him? What could he possibly get out of that?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he just didn’t like the idea of one of the members of The Family going against the grain. Like I said, it’s all about power for him. He needs to feel like he’s in control at all times, and he needs everybody else to feel like he’s in control at all times. So, maybe this was his move. I just don’t fucking know.”

  “With all due respect, Babe, you go against the grain far more than any of your uncles, and your father hasn’t tried to kill you.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Kelvin snapped. “We don’t know that for sure. We don’t know what he’s done. You’re right, I do go against the grain, and he’s made it very clear that he hates that about me. He’s always telling me how I should be like Fab, and just go with the flow. So, maybe he is trying to get rid of me. He just hasn’t been able to do it yet.”

  “Okay, but let’s think about this. If your father decided that he wanted to have you killed, who could he get to carry it out? You guys are a family, and I highly doubt that someone in The Family would be okay with killing you, even if your dad did give the order. They love you. Plus, the guy from the alley was Russian, and I don’t think your dad would be working with the Russians to have you killed.”

  Kelvin nodded his head as he stared at the tail lights of the car driving in front of us. “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. There’s no mistaking that thick ass Russian accent that guy had last night. But, I’m still not sure about all of this. Something about this just seems funny to me.

  The stuff my mom was saying in there was deep. She said that he’d let you believe that you came up with an idea, when really it’d be him manipulating you into doing what he wants you to do. That some deep, scary shit. Isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, it is. It takes some skill to con somebody like that. It also takes a lot of knowledge. But, we don’t know anything for sure, so what I think we need to do is find out the truth, and the only way to do that is to stay close to him.”

  “To who? My father?” Kelvin asked like he couldn’t believe it.

  “Yes. You know what they say. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. That might be something you want to apply in this situation. At least until we find out the truth about everything.”

  Kelvin nodded his head once again. “Maybe you’re right. Because I know one thing for sure—just like my mom said—there’s something going on behind the scenes. There has to be a reason why he hasn’t ordered a hit on anyone in the Russian family after they killed Fab, attempted two hits on me, and killed Uncle Deshaun. There isn’t a boss in this world who’d let that slide. That’s just a little too much disrespect from one source. So, there has to be something else going on, and we’re gonna find out what it is.”

  “I’m with you, Baby,” I said. “Whatever you want to do, I’m with you.”

  Kelvin finally merged off the highway and headed towards inner city Chicago. We came to a red light, and the second the car was fully stopped, Kelvin leaned over and gave me a small kiss on the lips.

  “I’m so glad that you were able to meet my mother today. She loved you, by the way—if you couldn’t already tell.”

  “Well, I must say, she’s pretty amazing. Definitely one of the sweetest women I’ve ever met. It’s hard to imagine her being with your father though.”

  Kelvin finally flashed a hint of a smile. “I know, right. Yeah, that’s why they aren’t together anymore. I think my mom put up with as much as she possibly could before she left. She’s a very forgiving person, even when she probably shouldn’t be. But, eventually, she had enough and did what she needed to do. There’s no telling where I’d be if she hadn’t left him.”

  “That’s true,” I said, just as I noticed a black Mercedes pull up next to us on Kelvin’s side of the car. “Who knows what would’ve happened if…” The first gunshot shattered the window and scared the shit out of me, but it was the multiple shots afterwards that filled me with absolute horror.

  I only had a second to glance out the shattered window and see the arm hanging out the Mercedes window with a pistol in its tattoo-covered hand, then everything went dark as Kelvin pulled me down and covered my body with his own as the bullets flew into the car. I could hear the whistling sound as some of the bullets went over our heads, but I could also hear some bullets piercing metal as they hit Kelvin’s door. I could barely even hear myself screaming as the popping sound of the gun drowned out the sound of my voice.

  It seemed like it lasted an hour, but it was actually only about ten seconds before the shots stopped and I heard the tires of the Mercedes screeching as the car sped off. Then, all I could hear was the sound of our breathing as Kelvin continued to shield me with his body. My heart was pounding, and I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack. It was the sound of Kelvin’s voice that finally calmed me down.

 
“Are you okay, Lilliana?” he said sedately, somehow staying calm through the whole thing.

  “I’m okay,” I said. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so. I think they’re gone.” Kelvin slowly raised himself off of me and gave me a once over. “Are you sure you’re okay?

  “Yes,” I replied as I knocked broken glass off my clothes. “I think I’m okay. Are you sure… Is that blood?”

  My eyes bulged when I realized that the left side of Kelvin’s body was completely drenched in blood.

  “Oh shit,” Kelvin said, calmer than I thought he should’ve been. Then, everything changed and I could suddenly hear the panic in his voice. “Fuck! I’m hit. They got me, Lilliana. Son of a bitch! They fucking got me!”

  The room was empty, and for some reason, it made me more anxious. It just seemed like time was going by so much slower than normal, and it was so much quieter than normal, and my heart was certainly pounding harder and faster than normal.

  I sat in the chair with my elbows on my knees, and my hands covering my mouth as I waited for the doctor to come out and give an update on Kelvin’s status. Mikey was sitting next to me, and the worried look on his face did absolutely nothing to comfort me.

  This was the first time I’d seen Mikey outside of a conference room at a hotel/casino, and he obviously left his house in such a hurry that he didn’t even bother to put on anything fancy, and the constant nervous tapping of his house shoe on the tile floor seemed to be raising my blood pressure to an all-time high, but I didn’t dare say anything to him about it.

  As I waited in Mercy Hospital for an update, I couldn’t help having flashbacks about the copious amount of blood all over Kelvin’s clothes. The moment he noticed he was hit, he raised his arm to where the wound was, and just as he did, blood began spurting out of his upper arm like a sprinkler. I remembered the look on his face when he saw it, and how serious he became when he told me to call an ambulance, and his Uncle Mikey only. Mikey showed up before the ambulance did, and for a second I was relieved, but that all turned to shit when Kelvin passed out two minutes before the ambulance arrived.

  I was in a panicked frenzy, and Mikey had to figure out how to contain me all by himself, while also trying to keep himself calm. Now, here we were in the private waiting area of the hospital—where we’d been for the last four hours—waiting for any kind of good news.

  My head was spinning, and I couldn’t help but ask myself questions that drove me insane. Who did this—the Russians, or Senior? And the question that bothered me the most—what was I going to do if Kelvin died? The possibility of Kelvin actually dying sent a terrible pain shooting throughout my body and I struggled to force back the tears every time I had that thought, so I had to force myself to not think about it.

  “He’s gonna be okay, Lily,” I heard Mikey say, his voice echoing softly in the quiet room. I turned to look at him and immediately noticed his eyes were red from trying to hold back his own tears.

  “If that’s what you really think, then why are you struggling to keep from crying?” I replied. It only took me a second to realize that I was probably too emotional to be carrying on any kind of conversation.

  “Nice observation,” Mikey answered. “I have faith that he’ll be okay, but I’m still torn up about this. I can’t believe he got shot again. This is the exact scene from when Fab died. We all sat here in this exact same waiting room, praying for a miracle. But Fab died, and Kelvin didn’t. So, I guess the miracle was that both of them didn’t die. It’s all just a little too familiar.” Tears slowly fell down Mikey’s face, and he quickly wiped them away and turned his head so that I couldn’t see.

  Just then, the stainless steel doors swung open, and in strode the doctor. His white jacket was spotted with blood and I felt my heart rate spike as Mikey and I rose to our feet to meet him.

  “Good afternoon, I’m Doctor Marshall. I apologize for the long wait,” the doc said as he wiped sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket.

  “We’re not worried about that now, Doc,” Mikey quickly chimed in. “We just wanna know what’s going on. Is Kelvin okay?”

  Doctor Marshall’s eyes darted back and forth between Mikey and me. “Kelvin sustained a fairly serious injury to his left arm. He was hit three times, all in his left arm. One bullet pierced his shoulder, another hit his forearm, and the third bullet hit his upper arm and just barely nicked his brachial artery. Anytime an artery is severed, it’s extremely dangerous and the patient must be brought into surgery immediately. Luckily for Kelvin, his artery wasn’t severed, and it didn’t take long to fix. He’s out of surgery now and is already back in his room.”

  A wave of relief washed over me and I could no longer control my tears as the doctor continued.

  “All of the bullets have been removed, and he’ll make a full recovery. I must say, however, Kelvin should consider himself very lucky. If the bullet would’ve been even a centimeter higher, it would’ve severed his artery completely, and he possibly would’ve bled to death before the ambulance arrived. Kelvin’s got himself a guardian angel.”

  “Wow. That’s unbelievable,” Mikey said. “When can we go see him?”

  “He’s already back in his room, so you can see him now, if you’d like. I’ll have a nurse escort you.”

  We followed a tall, blonde nurse down the dark hall and into Kelvin’s room. The moment I saw him, my emotions took over again and my tears started to flow. He was lying in his bed, unconscious, surrounded by all kinds of wires and machines, and his left arm was completely bandaged from his wrist all the way up and over his shoulder. As comfortable as he looked lying there, I knew just how close he’d come to actually dying. If the bullet would’ve been even a centimeter higher…

  Mikey and I walked over to the bed and looked down on Kelvin. I could see it in Mikey’s eyes that he was devastated by seeing Kelvin in a hospital bed again from another gunshot wound. He looked so tired—so defeated. It was a look that I’d never seen in him before, and hoped that I’d never see in him again.

  “I just can’t believe this shit happened again,” he said as a tear rolled down his cheek. “He doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve to keep going through this. Especially by the hands of the same man.”

  My eyes jumped from Kelvin to Mikey. “What same man?”

  Suddenly, Kelvin’s eyes popped open and his body jerked like he’d been woken up out of a nightmare and he grabbed my arm, in apparent defense. After a second of staring at me and then glancing at Mikey, he finally let me go.

  “What’s going on?” he said quietly, yet I could still hear the anxiety in his voice. “Where am I?”

  “We’re in Mercy Hospital, Babe,” I replied, placing my hand on Kelvin’s chest. “Everything’s okay. We’re safe now. Just lay back and relax.”

  “Are you okay?” Kelvin asked, looking me up and down, apparently checking me for injuries.

  “I’m fine,” I said with a slight smile. “You protected me. You saved me.”

  Kelvin finally relented and laid back down comfortably on his bed. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “Good to see you, Nephew,” Mikey chimed in, grabbing Kelvin’s attention.”

  “Hey, it’s good to see you too, Unc. I’m glad you came, man.” Kelvin looked down at his arm and inspected the bandages. “So, what did the doctors say about this?”

  “They said you were hit three times in your left arm. One bullet nicked your brachial artery, which is what caused so much of the bleeding. The doc said it was an easy fix and that you’ll be good to go soon. You’ll make a full recovery.”

  “Well that’s good to know. You didn’t call anybody else, did you, Lilliana? Nobody else besides my uncle knows I’m here, right?”

  “Yeah, I only called Mikey.”

  “Why is that, by the way?” Mikey interjected from the foot of Kelvin’s bed. “Why didn’t you call anybody else?”

  The look on Kelvin’s face seemed to say it all, but
Kelvin spoke up anyway. “I didn’t want anybody else, Unc. I’m having a hard time figuring out who can be trusted, and as of right now, the only people I trust are already in this room.”

  “As much as I can appreciate that, Junior, what about your dad? You don’t think this is something that he’d need to know about? This is pretty serious,” Mikey argued.

  Before Kelvin could answer, Doctor Marshall walked into the room and smiled at all of us. “Alright, you’re awake! How’s everything feeling Mr. Carter?”

  “I’m okay, I guess. Arm is a little sore,” Kelvin replied.

  “Oh, yeah. That’s to be expected after surgery. It looks like your vitals are doing well, and you’re already awake, so that’s good also. Is there anything I can get you to make you any more comfortable?”

  “Nah, I’m good, Doc. Thanks.”

  “Great.” Doctor Marshall turned around and started walking towards the door. Just as he reached the threshold, he turned around. “Oh, before I forget, we got a call from Chicago PD. Some officers are on their way to come ask you a few questions. They said they’d be here in the next twenty minutes or so. Just thought I’d let you know, so they don’t catch you off guard.”

  Just as the doctor exited the room, Kelvin’s face suddenly looked extremely worried.

  “We have to get out of here, right now!” he blared, staring at his uncle.

  “What the hell are you talking about? Why?” Mikey replied.

  “Damn it. I didn’t want anybody to know I was here, including the fucking cops. You know Ivan has people in Chicago PD. We can’t stay here and wait for word to get out that I’m alive and that I’m here. If they find out that I survived, they’ll try to get me while I’m in here all vulnerable. We have to go now!”

  “Kelvin, you got shot in the fucking arm. You can’t just leave. You need a doctor to switch out your bandages and monitor your progress. You can’t leave. We’ll just tell the cops not to tell anyone that you’re here.”

  “No!” Kelvin snapped. “I don’t fucking trust them! We have to go. They’re trying to kill me Uncle Mikey!”