by Kelly, Marie
“Are you here to arrest us?” Wrath asked what I was thinking.
Since nobody knew Detective Baker was working with us after all these years, he could have easily been there to arrest us.
“No,” he said and then smiled.
“What?” I asked because this wasn’t a situation I would be smiling about!
“I don’t know what the fuck y’all did, but I just got word from a friend that Alfred has stopped his investigation.”
Both mine and Wrath’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Come again?” Wrath asked, and Paul chuckled.
“Yeah, you heard me right. My friend told me that all that evidence was gone, and they found Alfred’s report. He stated that the baby mother was assuming something happened to her baby father, but he had found evidence that he had ran away to Pennsylvania with another woman. Apparently, he even gave his bosses evidence of that shit when the baby mama went down there shouting something else. I guess his bosses believed him. Case closed.”
I don’t know why, but I looked around the room, waiting for some fucking cameras to jump out and punk our asses or the police to storm in and prove it all to be a lie.
Paul must have seen the questioning look on my face, because he handed over another folder to Wrath.
I stood there and watched my brother read through it before he passed it to me.
Looking inside, I saw that what Paul said was true.
He had someone run through the system and there was no evidence, charges, or anything drawn up against us. The only thing found was a statement from Detective Kevin Alfred attesting that Popeye and Sly had moved to Pennsylvania with other women and how Popeye’s baby mama believed he had been killed. But after further investigation he found that to be incorrect.
“And all those pictures he had of us at our trap houses and warehouse?” Wrath asked as I continued to read over the statement.
“It’s all gone, Wrath. Nothing in the system or in his desk. It’s all gone.”
Wrath and I locked eyes, but my brother didn’t say a thing.
“You know that was Dior’s doing, right?”
I didn’t give a fuck what he was saying before Paul walked up in there. There was no denying that Dior got her pops to back the fuck up.
And if I didn’t trust her before, I damn sure did now.
“The nigga had enough shit to bury us under the jail. You know that, right?” I questioned my brother, who slowly nodded his head to agree.
I handed him the folder, and he took it from my hand.
“I’m going to get my fucking woman, Wrath.” I kept eye contact with him to let him know I wasn’t fucking playing.
I guess fucking the enemy’s daughter worked out for my ass.
All Wrath did was nod his head, but I was going for Dior even if he didn’t approve. I only told him because I didn’t want it to be a secret this time. She had my back, and I wasn’t going to hide her anymore.
Imagine if I had killed her, I thought and shook my head at myself.
I patted Paul on the back and thanked him for this good ass news, saluted Legion, and rushed out of the warehouse to get my woman!
I couldn’t get to Dior’s apartment fast enough. I had even tried calling her on the way over, but she wasn’t answering. I guess all the times I had ignored her calls made her have enough, but that didn’t stop me from going to her apartment.
After ringing the buzzer, I stood and impatiently waited for her to answer the door for me.
A few seconds later, and the door was slowly pulled open. When I saw her face, I felt bad seeing how red and puffy her eyes were.
Without saying a word, she stepped back from the door and allowed me to walk in. I kept my eyes on her as she closed the door behind me, and when she went to step away, I pulled her into my arms.
“Let me go, Jashawn. I know you don’t want me anymore,” she cried, and my heart broke to see her tears.
“I’m sorry, Dior. I’m sorry, baby.”
“Let me go.”
“No, Dior. I’m never ever letting you go, baby.”
“How could you think I would set you up like that? I would never do anything to hurt you! I told you that, and I told you to trust that I wouldn’t allow my dad to do anything to you. I defended you, and you walked away, leaving me all alone!”
She thumped her fists against my chest, and I allowed her to do that because she was right. Instead of believing and trusting we were in this together, I walked away at the first sign of trouble.
I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around her legs.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry that I walked away. I’m sorry I lost faith in you; in us. I was confused, I was angry, and I was hurt.”
“I was too, Jashawn! Do you know what it feels like to know my dad is trying to destroy the man I love?”
I looked up at her.
“I love you too,” I confessed, and she pushed me away from her.
“No, you don’t! You don’t even trust me!” More tears poured down her face, and I sighed.
“I do trust you, Dior. And I’m sorry that I made you feel like I didn’t. I was confused, but I’m not anymore, Dior. I apologize, baby, and I promise never to doubt or walk away from you again. No matter what.”
She had shown me from the beginning that she had my back against her pops, and I should have trusted that.
“Dior,” I called her, and she looked at me. “I’m sorry, can you please forgive me? Please?” I begged on my knees.
“Jashawn, how do I know you won’t walk away again at the first sign of trouble? Or that you won’t go to another woman?”
I understood her fears because I hadn’t been showing her that she had nothing to worry about.
“My heart can’t take you walking away anymore, so if that’s what you are going to do, you can leave now. But if you stay, you stay, Jashawn, and have my back like I had yours this whole time.”
I nodded because she was right.
“I’m here, Dior, and I’m not going anywhere ever again. I’m sorry, and I love you.”
She looked away from me and sighed.
“I want to tell you something, and I hope you will finally see that you can trust me, Shawn,” she said, and then she told me all about her dad.
“Is that how you got him to stop?”
“Yes. But at least you know just in case. I told him if you went down, I was taking him with you.”
“Damn, Dior.”
She nodded. “Yeah, and you walked away from that.”
Shorty had me feeling like the fool I was. She told me shit about her pops that I knew she never told anyone else. Things that I could use to destroy that nigga. And I know she only did it to prove that she was for me.
“Dior, if you give me another chance, I promise not to let you down again.”
She looked away from me again.
“I should be mad, and I am if I’m honest. But I also know that it was a lot to take in. Your girlfriend’s dad was trying to arrest you; I guess I would be scared about you too if that was me,” she said, and I smiled widely.
“But, next time, I won’t take you back. If you can’t trust me, Jashawn, then we can’t be together.”
“It won’t happen again.”
I approached her, and when she didn’t step back or push me away, I pulled her into my arms and started kissing all over her face.
“I love you. I fucking love you, shorty.” I confessed what my heart had been telling me for a long ass time.
I knew when I couldn’t kill her that I loved her, but I should have been smart enough to know she loved me just as much.
She went against her pops for me; it didn’t get any more loyal than that.
“It’s us against it all, Dior. I will never leave your side again,” I told her, and she looked up into my eyes.
“I hope you don’t, Jashawn.”
But she had nothing to worry about. That was one promise I was never breaking. Nobody was
going to take me from this girl ever again!
Meshach ‘Guns’ Ramsey
“Man, what the fuck is wrong with you, shorty?” I asked my love as I watched her throwing shit around our condo.
“I’m not happy, Guns! You don’t really want us together, and I’m seeing that now!” she yelled at me, and I frowned at her.
Here I was going against my fucking family, setting my brothers up, and paying motherfuckers to fuck shit up, and she was telling me that I didn’t want us to be together?
“Do you think I’m doing all this shit for nothing? I’m doing it so we can be together!” I angrily said, and she rolled her eyes.
“Are you sure about that because it doesn’t look like it from my side! You look like you’re quite happy being an errand boy for Wrath!”
I gritted on my back teeth because that’s the last fucking thing I was.
“That’s how you feel?” I said to her, and she turned to look at me since her back was facing me.
“Yes! I’m sick and tired of all this shit, Guns. You told me we would be together, and that it would be soon! But, months later, I’m still sitting here waiting and having to pretend that I love him! Only for you to be complacent with Wrath making you oversee a few boroughs!”
“And I told you we had to be patient! If I’m reckless with it, my brother will find out! Is that what you want?”
My love was blowing me right now. It was like, lately, all she did was complain like nothing I did was good enough anymore.
It was really starting to fuck with me.
She looked at me—eyes overflowing with weariness and unhappiness—and then sighed.
“No, that’s not what I want, but I can’t do this anymore, Guns. I can’t keep pretending I’m happy when I’m not. Maybe we shouldn’t do this anymore.”
She turned like she was about to leave our condo, and my chest got fucking tight. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
My love was the only woman I had ever been with and the first woman I had ever loved. She was everything to me, and the only person who really saw me.
In her eyes, I was everything; a king who could do no wrong. But, right then, I saw the disappointment in her eyes and reluctance to go on.
Not wanting to see her leave me, I quickly grabbed her back and pulled her to me.
“Baby, don’t leave me. I need you.” I wasn’t afraid to admit.
I didn’t want to be like one of those niggas who had too much pride to tell a woman that they loved and needed them. I would be the first to admit my feelings.
My love tried to pull away from me, but I tightly held onto her.
“What do you want me to do?” I whispered, and that made her stop struggling against me.
She looked up into my eyes, and I allowed mine to plead with her not to leave.
“Do you want us together, Guns?”
I thought she was asking me a trick question because I knew that all I was doing was showing her that I wanted us to be together, but I still decided to answer her.
“Of course, I want us together, baby. It’s one of the reasons why I’m doing this.”
Her eyes searched mine for a few seconds before she spoke again.
“Well, I need you to prove it, Guns.”
I frowned, wondering what else I could do to show how much I wanted to be with her. If me setting up my brothers didn’t show that, I had no idea what else would.
We continued to stare at each other like we were silently willing the other to get the answers from our eyes, and then a funny look washed over her face.
“I can’t kill my brothers, baby.”
I wasn’t sure if that was what the look in her eyes meant, but I wanted to let her know that wasn’t an option.
“I know that, Guns, and I wasn’t thinking that. Even though I strongly believe you will never get on top as long as your brothers are alive.”
“The fuck is that supposed to mean? You don’t have confidence in me?”
She didn’t think I should kill my brothers, but she believed I would only be king if they were dead?
“No, that’s not what I’m saying, Guns. And if I didn’t have confidence in you, would I be here?”
My brows knitted together, and she sighed.
“I just mean your dad will still make excuses for them and keep them on top.”
“Nah, he won’t. He’s already mad as fuck at them for the shit that’s going on now.”
“Yet, Wrath is still in charge.”
That had me thinking, but then I snapped out of it.
“I don’t want my brothers dead.”
She shrugged. “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I didn’t let her comment bother me because I was sure my dad was at his breaking point. And with all that was about to happen, I knew he wouldn’t allow Wrath to stay the king.
And then an idea came to me.
“I know just what to do, and I know this will work!” I said excitedly, and that made her smile.
“What?”
I quickly shared my plan with her, and by the smile that sat on her face once I finished, it let me know she thought it would work too.
“Do you really think it will work?” she asked and wrapped her arms around my waist since she was too short to reach my neck.
“Deadass. It will work.” I smiled.
“I love you, Guns,” she said before smiling at me, dropping to her knees, and taking my dick out of the grey sweatpants I was wearing.
“I love you too, baby,” I hissed when my dick slid into her warm mouth.
My love was right. I had sat back for too long. It was my time now!
Alvaro ‘Wrath’ Ramsey
A Few Days Later
“How is that, sir?” the lady asked, showing me the forty-thousand-dollar diamond tennis bracelet that I was about to purchase for Kanada.
“Perfect.” I nodded my approval and smiled.
With all the time I had been spending in the streets, I hadn’t been spending as much time with Kanada as I would have liked to. So, I wanted to buy something to show her that she was still my focus and she had my heart.
Plus, after being understanding, Kanada deserved it. I came home at night to find that she had my food waiting for me in the microwave and a note telling me she missed me and hoped everything was fine for the day.
And the nights when I just needed to feel her, she never complained when I woke her up to give her some dick. She just rolled over and gave me what I needed. There was no cussing, fussing, or questioning. Kanada trusted me as much as I trusted her, so if I said I was somewhere, that’s where she believed me to be. And, trust me, I was wherever I told her I would be. There was no other woman out there for me, and I wasn’t even looking.
After that night Brittany tried to lure me into her bed, she had been quiet. I saw her when I collected KeKe, and she never said anything. Not that I was complaining, because I was actually enjoying the quietness.
Life was good and getting back to normal. That included the shit between me and Surge. I had to eat my words because Dior ended up being straight. Shorty came through for us, and it had me thinking about what would have happened if Surge did kill her.
I gave my brother a hard time about his decision to keep her alive, but that decision had saved us. So, I couldn’t even be mad when he went back for her. Sis was good in my book.
She went against her pops to save my brother—there wasn’t going to be anymore distrust from my end.
And I was big enough to apologize to Surge and her. I let her know that I was the one who was pushing Surge into doing something his heart just wouldn’t allow him to do, but he stood his ground against me.
Although he was angry, confused, and hurt, the love he had for Dior wouldn’t allow him to kill her.
Paul had even started working with us again, and he let me know that all was well and quiet again on the Fed’s side. The only thing I had to deal with now was Trojan—who was still MIA—and that crew.
Even though they had been quiet for some time now, I still wanted to find out who the fuck they were. But, for now, I was going to take a minute out of my day to spoil my woman who had been a rock the whole time. She just knew that all I needed was a listening ear when I felt like talking or something warm and tight to push up in when I didn’t.
Whatever I needed from her, I got without asking or a fight. To me, she deserved so much more than this bracelet, but it was a start. I was about to buy every damn thing in this mall today.
After paying for the bracelet, I quickly left the store and looked around to see which store I wanted to go in next.
As I looked around, I caught sight of an old acquaintance.
“Lock, what’s good?” I called out to him, and he turned to look at me.
“What’s popping, bro?”
We slapped hands.
Lock was a friend who owned a record label and recording studio. The nigga was a bad ass music producer doing big things in New York. Some of the hottest new talents popping up were under him.
“How you been?” Lock asked me.
“Good, bro. I can’t complain. What about you?”
He sighed.
“Shhhitt. I’ve been stressed as fuck. My cousin came into town on some business, and someone tried to kill him.”
My brows shot up in shock.
“Damn, I’m sorry to hear that. What happened?”
“The nigga hired a prostitute to meet him at a hotel. She wanted a thousand dollars, but he wouldn’t pay that, so she attacked him. Left him for dead.”
I frowned.
“When the fuck did that happen?”
This was news to me because I didn’t hear no shit about that.
“Sometime in October.”
I don’t know why but hearing that caused me to go quiet and fall into my thoughts. My heart started to race as a battle between my heart and mind began.
Nah, I’m tripping. I got to be tripping.
I couldn’t stand the questions that were circling my head, so I decided to ask something that I knew was about to fuck my whole world up if my gut was right.
“Did this happen October 24th? Somewhere near Madison Avenue?”