by Shan
I got out to quickly pump my gas so that I could hurry up and make my way to the airport. It didn’t take me long to find out that Tamar was the one that had shot up my house like that. Khi had been texting me nonstop, asking me for my location, talking about he was trying to help, but I didn’t know who to trust. He said that Taylana was in the hospital and had suffered several broken bones, but she was expected to pull through. She told her brother the moment that she woke up that it was me that had done her like that, and that nigga didn’t hesitate to come for me. I didn’t wanna pull Khi into my mess like I had already done with Amber, so I didn’t want him helping me. Soon as I got to the airport, I was throwing my phone out, and I’d get in touch when I felt it was safe for everybody. I knew that with me gone, Khi could handle it like always. He always cleaned up my mess, and I was sure that this time would be no different.
Khi: Come on, Dae. Bruh, answer me. You got me sick out here looking for you. I heard they got them goonies at the airport looking for you. Where are you, bruh?
“Fuck!” I said to myself after reading Khi’s message. I got back inside the car and just sat there for a minute. I looked around and spotted a familiar white BMW pulling up in front of the store. I noticed the tags read: RUE-187. I knew exactly who it was. Yeah, I was about to jack the jack-boy for his ride.
I had just pulled my pistol from the center console and went to open the door when the passenger’s side flew open and Cuba’s ass stepped up. I chuckled and shook my head. This shit was getting more and more interesting by the moment. Funny, her being with this nigga, but I knew Khi wouldn’t find it funny. I grabbed my phone and snapped a few quick pictures of Cuba as she pulled the back door open. I made sure I caught the license plate, too, before I looked down at my phone and quickly forwarded the pictures to Khi.
I pulled my hoodie over my head and was ready to reach for the door again, until a little boy hopped out of the back seat. He jumped up and down and then ran around to back of the car, with Cuba having to chase after him. My whole body froze as I caught a glimpse of his face. He looked so much like my nieces Sklyarr and Chanel, and like how I imagined Little Dae would look like.
Khi: Where the fuck are you at?
Me: I’ma follow this little ho for you and get back to you.
Send.
Khi: Man, this heat is getting serious, nigga. Where are you? Fuck her! I’ll handle her later. I need to know that my brother is gonna be okay.
I tossed the phone to the passenger’s side and figured that I would put my plans on getting out of town on hold. I had some other shit I needed to figure out real quick.
Chapter 24
Cuba
I walked into Tangie’s shop and spoke to a few customers as I passed them on my way to my work station. I took a deep breath, ready to take a seat, when it seemed like the entire front glass of the shop came crashing in. My heart seemed to leap out of my chest, and my mouth dropped open. The customers began to scatter around the shop as they did their best to get out of the way of two men that wrestled around on the floor, throwing blows at each other. One of the men was able to get loose and up off the ground. He took his foot and slammed it into the guy’s face, and it was then that I recognized who they both were. I backed away and threw my hand over my chest once Khi took his foot and slammed it into the side of Rue’s face again.
“Khi!” I screamed once he pulled his gun out and shoved it into Rue’s face. I ran to him and grabbed his arm, but he turned around and backhanded me in my face.
“Get the fuck off of me!” he yelled.
My eyes bucked wide, and I jumped back and brought my hand up to my mouth. He stared at me, breathing heavily, with his chest rising and falling hard. I had never seen him so angry before, and it scared the fuck out of me. His eyes grew dark, and I was scared to move or say anything, in fear that he would hit me again. Tears ran from my eyes, and it seemed like it was then that Khi realized what he had done.
“Go get in the car.”
I shook my head no, and he tucked his pistol behind his back before he walked over to me. My body began to shake, and I looked around the room and spotted Tangie, Anastasia, and Tameka all looking in my direction. Rue lay on the floor, bleeding, while the rest of the shop cleared out, except for the few that chose to straggle by the door to be nosey.
I brought my eyes back to Khi when he reached for me. I threw my hands up in defense, and he took a step back.
“I’m not gonna hit you. Just go get in the car.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I told him, and I could see his jaw twitching, something I noticed he did whenever he was angry.
“I need to talk to you, Cuba. Go get in the car like I said.”
“No, get away from me!” I screamed. “Get the fuck away from me, or I will call the police on you, Khi!”
Khi nodded his head and turned around. He kicked Rue again, and then left the shop. Anastasia ran to Rue, and I walked over to grab my purse and cell phone from my work station.
“I’m so sorry, Tangie,” I told her as I looked around at all the damage Khi and Rue had caused.
“I’m not worried about that, because I know Khi will fix all this shit, but what I am worried about is you. I try not to dip into your business, but you didn’t learn anything the last time, Cuba? Khi don’t play, okay? He’s not a nigga that you wanna mess with.”
“I just wanted to see my nephew. I don’t even know how he even knew that I was with him. I had Rue meet me at your house, thinking that nobody would see us. We took Little Bryson to a Chuck E. Cheese damn near all the way in Irving, and then I had Rue take me back to your apartment because I had left my damn cell phone there.”
“Oh, that’s why your ass wanted my key. And how the hell do you leave your cell phone, girl? I’m pretty sure he flipped the fuck out with you not answering your phone. God only knows what was going through that man’s head. If you wanna be with Khi, you better figure out another way to see your nephew, because Rue is gonna get you in a world of trouble and end up dead himself.”
“You think I’m gonna be with that nigga after what the fuck he just did? Look at my face,” I said to Tangie, and she rolled her eyes and walked way.
“I’m just letting you know. Rue is using that little boy to get to you, and Khi knows that shit just like we all do. I wish somebody would hurry up and come get this nigga off my floor, too.”
Khi: I’m sorry. Come talk to me please.
I looked down at the message that Khi sent and rolled my eyes. I was done with him. I didn’t give a fuck what Rue was doing. If he was trying to use my nephew against me, then that was his dumb ass. It wasn’t working, nor would it ever. Rue had his time with me, and he’d fucked it up when I did time for him. The way I looked at it, I was using Rue to get to my nephew. That’s all I cared about, and that was what Khi should’ve understood before he came down there acting an ass.
Khi: Bae, come here . . .
Khi: I’m outside.
I took in a deep breath and headed to the back of the shop, where Tangie had gone inside of her office. I knocked on the door before I walked in. She held her finger up to let me know to give her a second, and I nodded and began to pace the floor. Once Tangie was off the phone, she stood up and walked around to the front of her desk.
“Can I stay at your place tonight?” I asked, and she looked at me like I was crazy.
“What? How you gonna be mad at him for what he did? You don’t think—”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t give a damn about him beating Rue’s ass, but putting his hands on me is another thing. I just need to stay there a couple of nights,” I told her and let out a deep breath. I felt better being at her place now that Camp was gone, and I just needed to be somewhere where I could clear my head. I knew I was wrong for lying to Khi again, but shit, he just didn’t understand. It had nothing to do with Rue; it was all about my nephew. I would never climb back in bed with a nigga like that. Khi didn’t have anything to worry
about, and I just wished he had realized that, because he and I would’ve been real good together.
“Go ahead,” Tangie told me with a roll of her eyes.
I quickly hugged her and left out the back of the shop.
Chapter 25
Khian
“’Preciate that, Tangie,” I said as I ended the call and slid it into my pocket. I couldn’t fucking believe I hit Cuba like that, but she ran upon me in the heat of the moment, and I just reacted. Shit was real live crazy, and Cuba had chosen the wrong time to be running around with that nigga Rue again after I had already warned her the first time. I wasn’t even thinking about her ass, to be honest, when Dae sent me that picture of her at the gas station.
My main concern was my brother and trying to find him before Tamar and his goonies did. Since I knew that he was following Cuba based off the pictures he kept snapping and sending to me, I came this way hoping that I would find him in the area. Instead, I saw Cuba and that nigga Rue trying to be on some sneaky shit. Bae had to be careful when it came to shit like that. I knew that nigga was just trying to take advantage of her, being she was in a desperate state of mind, and seeing him with my baby and knowing what he was doing, I just snapped. Still, this shit could’ve waited. I had planned to take care of Cuba later, after I got my brother safe, not doing the shit right now when I could be out looking for Dae.
I knocked on Tangie’s door and waited for Cuba to answer. Tangie told me that Cuba planned to stay at her house that night, and I was finna drag her ass back to the crib with me. I ain’t want her over there with too much time to think and convince herself that I was just some fucked-up nigga that liked to hit on women. Cuba was what I needed in my life. I just felt that shit. Being with her was perfect for me, and I could really see myself falling in love with the girl. I wasn’t about to let this one mistake destroy us before we really got a chance to see how great we could be together.
“Who is it?” Cuba said from the other side of the door.
“Come on, babe. Open the door. I know you saw it was me out here,” I said and tapped on the door a few more times.
KaeDee: This nigga Tamar just left my house looking for your brother. Handle that, because if not, I will.
I looked down at KaeDee’s message and slid the phone back into my pocket. My annoyance level was at an all-time high with this nigga KaeDee acting like he couldn’t drop his fucking beef with Dae and see that our fuckin’ brother needed our help. I ain’t have time for that ego bullshit right about now. We were supposed to have each other’s back through it all, no matter what the fuck we was going through. I knew this shit was Dae’s fault, and it was without a doubt that he fucked up. I was mad as shit that he did and had jeopardized my business and my money in the process, but at the end of the day, he was my brother. He was our brother. I knew whatever the fuck he was struggling with had to be something serious. That nigga had walked out on his girl after she was shot in the back, and I knew my brother wasn’t that damn cold. He loved Amber, and I was glad that she didn’t die in that bitch the night before ’cause I knew that would’ve definitely sent him even further over the edge that he was barely hanging onto. I just needed to get to him, wherever he was.
“Cuba, I got shit to handle. Open the door and let’s go,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I’m staying here, Khi. Leave me alone.”
“Cuba . . .” I paused and took a deep breath. I sucked my teeth and stepped back for a second. All this shit going on had me hostile as a muthafucka. My attitude wasn’t shit to be fucked with right now. I was gonna have to learn how to tone that shit down when dealing with Cuba. The look in her eyes when I saw how scared she was of me had messed me up. “Babe, open the door. I’m sorry for putting my hands on you. It was a reflex thang. You caught me when I was in the middle of beating that nigga’s ass. . . . Cuba, open the door.”
“I’m done, Khi. Just leave me alone, okay?”
“Aye, man—”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket as it vibrated again. This time it was Tamar calling me. I pressed the end button, slid it in my pocket, and backed away from the door.
“I’ma be back, Cuba. Get that shit out your head, man. I’ll be back.”
* * *
I pulled up to my crib to see six cars posted in front of the gate. I spotted that nigga Tamar sitting on top of a Wraith while puffing on a blunt. He was surrounded by a bunch of his goonies, and they were all holding onto some serious-ass firepower. I patted myself to make sure I still had the hammer, but I knew that it didn’t really make a difference. I stepped out of my car and made my way over to where they stood.
“Where your brother at, Khian?” Tamar asked, and I shrugged my shoulders.
“Trying to find him myself.”
“You know what he did to my little sister was real fucked up, my nigga. Broke six bones in her fuckin’ face. That nigga gotta see me about that. He can’t hide forever, and it ain’t nowhere he can go that I can’t reach him. I’m a global-ass nigga, ya feel me?”
“I hear you,” I told him and sucked my teeth.
“Did you know he was fucking with my shorty like that?”
“Nah, I ain’t know,” I lied.
“A’ight. Bet that. I gotta lot of respect for you, Khian, because I know, like myself, that you about your money. I know you hate for muthafuckas to fuck wit’ your paper. You told me that, and I can sense it. Which one means more to you, though? Your brother or that dope, nigga?” Tamar asked and laughed like something was fuckin’ funny.
I knew what he was trying to say. He was about to cut me off, and if I didn’t have anything to supply the traps with, my goonies would be going elsewhere, and niggas was gonna for sure come through and try to take my territory. I shook my head and placed my hands in my pockets. Tamar’s little goon squad got a little antsy at that move and started aiming their weapons in my direction. Shit, one thing about me was that I wasn’t a bitch-ass nigga. Guns and niggas with them didn’t bother me. I had guns and niggas, too, but I stayed out there by myself. This little whole scenario and them parked out front my house didn’t fuckin’ bother me. It was a respect type thing more than anything, and the fact that Tamar pulled up at my crib on this Mafia-type shit was disrespectful as fuck.
I understood, though, ’cause the same way he was going hard for his sister, I was gonna go the same way for my brother, right or wrong. I’d be damned if I let another nigga gun him down. If anything was gonna happen to Dae, I was gonna be the muthafucka to do it. Bet not no nigga that wasn’t his blood ever lay a hand on him without having to see me about it.
“I’ma find that nigga, but I’ll take care of him. You know I can’t just hand him over to be killed. If you find him, you find him. And I understand that you gotta do what you gotta do. I mean, ’cause if a nigga was to touch one muthafuckin’ hair on my fam, I would do what I have to do, too.”
Tamar laughed and jumped down off the Wraith. He came closer to me, and we stood toe-to-toe. He was about the same height as me, maybe an inch taller. He nodded before he sucked his teeth. I could see his veins popping through his neck, so I knew I had pushed a button.
“That’s what’s up. I can’t even do nothing but respect that. My brothers never really did look out for me like that. One of them, anyway . . . but they both gone now. One of them betrayed me, and then the other one, I couldn’t even save. I know if I could’ve, I would have,” Tamar said and took a couple of steps back. “He just better hope that you find him before I do.”
Tamar turned around and walked away, and I stood and waited as they all got into their cars and peeled off. As soon as I saw that they were out of sight, I pulled my phone from my pocket and saw that I had missed calls and text messages from Dae. I opened up my text messages app and read the messages that he’d sent to me.
Dae: Damn, I really fucked up this time.
Dae: These niggas is really on me.
Dae: Bruh, I just had to ditch my car. Money, gun, everything.
Look out for me, bruh.
Dae: Answer the phone, Khi. Nigga, I’m out here on feet.
Dae: At North Park Mall. Come through for me, bruh.
Dae: Just help me get out of town please. I know I been fucking up. I need you. Love you, bro.
Dae: I don’t know why I called KaeDee. I knew he wasn’t gonna answer. I’m at North Park Mall if you can make it. I just needed to get to where it was crowded and figure out my next move. Let me know something. Love you, bro.
Me: On my way. Fall the fuck back and stay out of sight.
Send.
I got inside of my car, cranked it, and pulled off, heading toward North Park Mall. I really ain’t see how I was gonna get Dae out of this situation, but I wasn’t gonna give up on the kid. Tamar was known all over and had niggas for days that would put in that work for him, so it was almost impossible that I was gonna get him up out of Texas and somewhere he couldn’t be touched, but I was gonna try.
Me: Bruh, meet me at North Park Mall . . . right now!
Send.
I shot Tramell a text to meet me at the mall, because I knew that these niggas was following me. Dae needed a car, and I was gonna get Tramell to hand over the keys to his ride, knowing nobody was sitting on his shit. At least, I hoped not.
I sat back in my seat and pushed out a deep breath as I rode through the city as quickly as I could, trying to get to Dae. My thoughts traveled back to Cuba, and all I could hear was her telling me she was done. I respected her for that shit, because a man should never put his hands on a woman, and she was letting a nigga know that she wasn’t going to tolerate no bullshit. I made mistakes, though, and Cuba was either gonna ride with me or she wasn’t. I had chased her enough, and I wasn’t about to keep doing the shit.