Page 32 of A Player’s Prayer (Mills Brothers #3)

Letting off three shots, I watched as everyone in the club ran and scrambled. That nigga, along with Kodi, had me fucked up. These muthafuckas better duck and take cover in case I decide to shoot a few more rounds off.

“I knew it! I fuckin’ knew it!” I heard Skip shout over the chaos as we made our way down to the floor level. “If it ain’t your brother throwing niggas off the balcony, it’s you shooting this muthafucka up! I’m telling Evie on you, stupid-ass nigga! Y’all can’t come back to my club!”

Ignoring his bitching, I pushed through the chaos and locked eyes on a tipsy Dakota. Noemi was trying her best to get her to go outside, but she was adamant about continuing to party.

“Bring your ass on, Kodi!” I walked over, grabbing the ends of her braids. It felt like I was leading a horse out of the fucking stable. “Got me in here showing my ass like I don’t have no home training and shit!”

“Let me the fuck go, nigga!” she yelled as she tried to get away from me. “You can have all these bitches on you, but I can’t have niggas? I’m single!”

“Say that shit again!” I yanked her hair, causing her stilettos to lean over. It wasn’t enough to trip or hurt her—just enough to piss her off. “Make me show my ass in front of all these people some more…”

“Let me go, Wild ! I done told you… it’s over!” she continued to yell out as if what she was saying was going to snap me out of my obsession with her pretty ass.

Wrapping her braids around my hand, I walked closer to her. Angling her head with the bundle of hair in my hand so that she looked up, I leaned down and licked her face from her chin up.

Before she could protest, I started singing out loud.

“We don’t wanna never end! It's like our life, it just began… You walkin' out, you comin' back again… Cause we became the best of friends.” When Noemi started cackling, I looked over and found a group of bitches either drooling or laughing at Kodi and my interaction. “See… got these bitches thinkin’ I’m a fucking joke. You can be mad all you want, Kodi, but you belong?—”

Whap! Whap! Whap!

Here I was trying to profess my love to this drunk-ass girl, and she wants to swing on a nigga. What made it worse is that the few people who were still in the club weren’t even trying to help me.

“Kodi, chill!” I huffed as I tried to grab her. “Baby, come on, man.”

“I hate you!” she cried as she continued to hit me. “I love you, Adrian, but I can’t deal with these women. You make me sick!”

As bad as I wanted to yolk her ass up, I took those licks because this was on me. At this point, I didn’t know what else to do. As she was getting winded, she was snatched from me.

“Get your hands off him, bitch!” Talena yanked her with Erica at her side. “Don’t touch him.”

Seeing them try to fight my girl, my people swung into action. Before they could get a lick off, Kodi found her second wind and began beating the shit out of Lena. Erica tried to sneak her, but I was on her ass.

“Bitch, get back!” I barked as I grabbed her by the hair, slinging her like Miss Trunchbull did Lavender on Matilda. “Y’all hoes have lost your minds!”

Seeing Skip grab Kodi away from Lena, I ran over, wrapped my arms around her neck, and hit that bitch with the Stone Cold stunner. Crying out like a nigga killed her, I stepped over her limp body and made my way to my girl.

“Baby, are you okay?”

“Get away from me, Adrian.” She shook from me, stumbling. “This is too much! I don’t want to be out here fighting and shooting women over you. I can’t.”

Pushing past the crowd with Amelia on her heels, I followed her outside as she searched the lot for her car. When she approached the truck with the red bow, I watched as she covered her face and cried. Regardless of what she said, I made my way over to her.

“Listen, Kodi… I know a nigga fucked up, but I’m going to make this right.” I thumbed her tears away as I kissed all over her face. “I love you more than life, baby. You’re all I want and need. You gotta know that shit.”

“The women?—”

“I’ll kill them all,” I said with my whole chest because I meant that shit. “No one will ever bother you again.”

Looking up at me with sad eyes, she said nothing as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed my lips. The small peck turned hot and heavy as I gripped her ass and placed her against her truck.

“Both of them muthafuckas are crazy,” I heard Uno grumble. “Y’all go the fuck home! The party is over.”

Placing kisses all over my girl, she moaned and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Take me home.”

I was like a kid on Christmas carrying her through the parking lot and to my car.

After making sure Amelia was good, I told her to drive Kodi’s car to her crib because she was riding with me.

Making sure she was good on the passenger side of my whip, I chuckled at her being knocked out before I could pull out of the lot.

Taking my phone from my pocket, I dialed Money.

“Wild Boy!” was his way of answering as he chuckled. “You’re a fuckin’ fool.”

“So I’ve heard…” I simpered as I approached the first red light. “I need a favor. The nigga that was dancing on Kodi?—”

“Say less.” He disconnected the call. Money knew what to do without me even saying it. There is no way that nigga will live to see the sun rise.

As I made my way to Kodi’s townhouse, I glanced over at her and ran my finger down her cheek.

My hellcat was sleeping peacefully, and it was the most precious view I’d seen in weeks.

She was going to need all the rest she could get because when I get her ass home, I’m going to wear her out for the old and the new.

It’s been five days since the night of my and Kodi’s birthday party, and I haven’t heard shit from her.

The night I took her home, I woke her up, carried her inside, and fucked the dog shit out of her.

When I thought she was dozing off, I stuck my dick in her as deep as I could to wake her ass up.

I thought all was well with us until she woke up the next morning and told me nothing with us had changed.

I wanted to push the issue, but I said fuck it and left.

Instead of going home, I went to the hotel where Ava was staying while she was still in town.

She wasn’t there, but I paid the manager for a room key and had two crackheads steal everything but the beds and TVs out of that muthafucka.

“Kodi still ain’t messing with him, Mama,” Uno answered as he swallowed down the pasta salad Mama made. It was Sunday and we were at our parents’ house. “You should have seen the way those two were acting at the party. Your son showed his natural black behind.”

“That girl beat my butt again, Mama.” I chuckled as I pushed around the food on my plate. I wasn’t in the mood to be bothered, but Mama didn’t play about missing Sunday dinner. “That’s my baby, though.”

“Not only that, but he was out there doing wrestling moves on the girls that tried to jump her.” Skip shook his head as my mother looked on in shock. “This boy shot up my club and everything.”

While my brothers laughed and joked at my expense, I sat there, pouting and drowning in sorrow.

I’ve done everything I could to make Kodi listen to me.

I call her phone, show up at her house and job—hell, I even tried my hand at catching her in the mornings when she jogs. She dissed me each and every time.

“Son, what is going on with you?” my mother spoke, causing my brothers to quiet down. “I thought you were going to mature once you got with Dakota. She seems like a sweet girl. Did you get with her just to bring chaos to her life?”

Frowning, I placed my fork on the plate and glanced over at my mother. I was trying to calm myself before I spoke because I didn’t want to disrespect her. The way she was talking and looking at me was pissing me off.

“Mama, I didn’t do anything but love that girl. She caught me in a compromising position, but it wasn’t my fault.”

“Good riddance to her,” Harley said as she looked over at me. “She almost shot my friend, hit her in the mouth with a pistol, and sent her from your house naked! She better be glad?—”

“She better be glad what, Harley?”

“Aye, bro,” Uno based his voice and eyed me with a warning expression. “Chill out.”

“Nah, nigga. She wants to address me and talk about what my girl better be glad about, and I want to hear it.” I leaned forward on the table, and all eyes landed on me.

“I told you clear as day I loved my girl. I told you to let your friend know to leave me alone because I wasn’t playing about her.

What does she do? She pulls up at my crib on some hoe shit.

I know what type of nigga y’all think I am, but I changed all of that shit for Kodi. ”

“You’re ruining Ava’s life!” Harley shouted. Uno tried to calm her, but she snatched away from him. “You ruined her house, had her beat up, and now she’s in legal trouble with the hotel she was staying in. All because of a misunderstanding?”

“Bruh, get your girl because I’m about to get real disrespectful.

” I chuckled frighteningly, standing from the table.

“Your hoe-ass friend knew I had a girl and showed up at my house to get fucked. Did you know she was coming?” Silence .

“Bet. When I put hoes on my bro, I want you to take that shit to the chin like my girl did.”

Grabbing my shit to leave, I heard my mother call my name, but I ignored her as I walked through the house. I was ready to put my hands on everybody who was pissing me off, and it was best I went on about my business before I fucked up the family dynamic.

“Aye, nigga! Wait.” Skip called out behind me. “Adrian!”

“What, nigga!” I shouted as I stepped onto the porch.

“Why the fuck nobody wants to see this shit for what it is! I lost my girl, and everybody assumes I cheated, fucked over her, or just had girls out here doing the most just to spite her. I love the fuck out of Kodi and nobody knows how bad a nigga is hurting without her!”