Ties to the Hood
Page 21
* * *
“Tommy.”
“What! You don’t have control of your team? You need my assistance?” Tommy didn’t give O’Reilly a chance to govern the conversation. He was so red in the face about Cyrus being a cop, he couldn’t see straight. He wouldn’t let that cat out of the bag just yet. If he was going to go down for his street crimes, he was going to make sure he took O’Reilly with him.
“I just wanted to know if Santiago has come by your place to maybe question you about anything.”
“Yeah, she did, actually. She came by to let me know that someone killed my nephew in County a few nights ago. Why? What’s up with her?”
“Nothing. Just wondered if she had the pleasure of meeting you and whether you gave her a hard time.”
“Naw, not this time. She was very disrespectful. She came in hot with backup, shut my place down. I let her live, though. No blood on my hands this time, but there won’t be another pardon,” Tommy said with a deep stern voice that sounded both monstrous and parental. “I gotta bust a few moves. Stay out of my way. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when and where to be,” Tommy assured O’Reilly and hung up before waiting on a response.
CHAPTER 40
Love Kills
Shun watched as Sophia slept. The dim light began to peek through the blinds, which set a soft gold glow against her skin. He traced the outline of Sophia’s lips and brushed his thumb across her cheek and down her jawline. He would kill for her. She gave up her life for him, and to that very moment, he continued to ask why someone as beautiful and responsible could fall for him.
Shun didn’t seem to think he deserved love or a second chance, for that matter. The one thing he did well ended in jail time and being stripped of his honor. Shun felt his days were numbered. He could accept living and dying by the gun. It was what he was trained for. Losing Sophia was what was going to break him. His true weakness was in her embrace. Love would be the death of both him and Cousin Phil. Shun kissed Sophia’s forehead and rocked her gently in his arms. If there was some way he could ditch the call of death, he would run off to a tropical island and never look back. Only, Phil and his son were in this, as well as Cyrus and his family.
Shun thought that silence was a show of loyalty to his platoon, but there was no honor in that. True honor would rest in the man that betrayed his country to step forward and take responsibility for his own actions. Shun played the events of that night over and over again. He often wondered how different his life would have been if he had turned a blind eye to the happenings deep in the barracks. What-ifs seemed to flood his mind. He was happy to still be alive. In the last few months, his life was a movie: fast cars, women, drugs, and money. Of course, things would end badly. He had the perfect cocktail for malice.
Sophia motioned and winced with pain. She had some pain in her head, but most of her discomfort was from her mental state of mind. She couldn’t place what made her so sick in the first place. She hadn’t eaten anything out of the ordinary. She agreed she was dehydrated; however, she couldn’t be sure she could chalk it up to a hot day and little fluids.
Sophia sat up and took Shun’s hand. “I love you,” she said softly.
“I love you too,” Shun replied without hesitation.
* * *
Dana flagged down a taxi at the airport and instructed the driver to take her to the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach. She wanted to shower and rest a bit before letting Cyrus know that she was in town. She hadn’t told him that she would be literally coming down to Miami, but she figured he had enough sense to know that she would come at the drop of a hat. He was her partner, and she knew he would do the same if she needed him.
Dana dried her hair and unpacked a few of her belongings. She was anxious to see Cyrus, but dreading the news she would have to share. She could feel a lump burning in her throat. She contemplated not telling him because he was going into battle, mentally and physically. Finally, she picked up her phone to call him. As the phone rang, she became so nervous she was visibly shaken.
* * *
Cyrus paced the floor of his bedroom, trying to keep his mind clear of thoughts of his impending demise. He was so confined to his mind he jumped when his phone rang. His heart rate accelerated. He quickly picked up the phone. “Dana?”
“Cy, can you meet me?”
“Yeah, but where? How?”
“I’m at the Faeona Hotel. Room three twelve.”
“OK, on my way,” he said and hung up. Cyrus bounced down the stairs in a hurry. He met Phil’s gaze as he hit the bottom of the stairs.
“What’s up, bro? You good?” Phil asked.
“Yeah, I’m going to go for a ride to clear my head a bit,” Cyrus said, praying no one asked to join him. He was anxious to see Dana and find out what was really going on in his hometown. He didn’t wait for a reply or an approval from Phil. He left swiftly.
* * *
Sophia slowly got out of bed and walked cautiously to the bathroom. She looked at her face in the mirror. Her nose was red, and her eyes were a bit puffy. She turned on the shower and carefully took off her clothes. The warm water was refreshing. She felt her muscles relax, and the tension in her limbs melt away. She thought about her next move in regards to Cyrus and decided that she needed to tend to her own health issues.
* * *
Phil and Phil Junior got dressed and went out for lunch. Phil needed to come clean about Brandy’s death. He didn’t want any secrets between the two of them. He drove quietly to the restaurant. He was busy going over how he was going to break the news.
Junior was surprisingly quiet as well. He was beginning to worry. With Sophia getting sick, and his mother out and about, Junior was a ten-year-old man. He had protected his mother at any cost.
* * *
Cyrus knocked on Dana’s hotel room door excited to see her. As soon as she saw Cyrus, she jumped in his arms, hugging him so tightly he was losing oxygen. He welcomed the long embrace. Realizing the true reason for her presence, Dana let go of him and backed away with tears welling in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Dana began to cry.
Cyrus was holding back a lump in his throat as well and suddenly felt rage building. “What’s going on?”
“Casey’s dead.”
“Noooo!” Cyrus let out a scream and noise of despair that frightened Dana. He clenched his fist and punched a hole in the bathroom door. There he stood with his back turned to Dana. “Where is my son?”
* * *
Junior took a huge bite out of his burger and downed a long swig of his drink. Phil watched him. He didn’t know what he was doing, and he feared that telling him would ruin their new relationship. That was the last thing he wanted. Loyalty was his rule, and he wouldn’t walk away from truth, no matter how bad it hurts.
“Junior, I need to talk to you about your mom.”
“Great!” Junior perked up. He just knew that his mom was going to pop up somewhere in the restaurant. He started looking around the booths and tables for his mother.
“No, son, she’s not here.” Phil started to get sick to his stomach. He was getting nervous. He was sweating under the collar and scared he would lose his son forever.
“Dad, what happened? She doesn’t want to get clean, does she? We can make her, can’t we?” he said, confused.
“No, not that, son. I am so sorry, but your mother passed away,” Phil said, scared for Junior’s reaction.
Junior just stared off into space. You killed my mother, he thought to himself.
* * *
Sophia sat on the toilet in the convenience store bathroom staring at the pregnancy test. She was so scared. How could she raise a child on the run? If she was pregnant, she would have to either give up the baby or give up Shun.
To Be Continued . . .
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