Page 4 of Cannon (King Family Saga #3)

Cannon

Despite being free, I ain’t feel like it yet.

Once we left the prison, I drove to Reese’s townhouse in Jersey. When we got there, she had a new iPhone waiting for me and bags of new clothes. I appreciated it, but I hated feeling like someone was taking care of me. I was the type of nigga that did for myself.

But whatever, I was finally out and surrounded by family.

My nephews, Hunter and Josiah, ran to my arms as soon as I walked through the door.

Hunt was ten when I went away, but Josiah had just been born.

He didn’t know me like that, but he was still happy to see me.

And I was happy to see them. Their letters and pics kept me going through them long-ass nights.

I used to trace their handwriting with my thumb, reminding myself what I was fighting to come back to.

It was good to be back with family.

But there was no way in hell I was staying in this house.

Two nights tops, and then I was gone. My main reason?

Gage, Reese’s husband. That nigga didn’t like me, and I hated his stuffy ass.

If I stayed here too long, I’d end up doing something I’d regret.

And I loved my sister too much to kill her man in front of her.

He was polite enough. Tight smile. Offered me a drink like we were boys. But the way his eyes lingered on my tattoos, the way he over-explained how to use the damn thermostat like I was dumb? Yeah. I saw all that shit.

But I had plans on getting out. I wouldn’t be at this house too long. Before I was locked up, I stashed a lot of money away in crypto with a buddy of mine. While running these streets, I pretty much saved most of my cash because I knew there was always the possibility that I could get caught up.

While playing ball, years ago, I met a kid named Tyran who I ended up selling coke to.

I dated his sister for a bit, but we didn’t last. However, he became one of the very few people I considered a friend.

He was into tech and told me about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency.

With his help, I invested the bulk of my money along with his.

Our money was locked in an account that requires two-person authentication.

No one had access to my password but me and no one had access to his but him.

The last time we spoke was when I called him a month ago letting him know I was getting out. He was excited because our investment had grown to over seventy million, with more than half of that being mine.

He was the first person I called when I set up my new iPhone. But he didn’t answer and that was frustrating the fuck out of me.

But tonight Reese was throwing a kickback to welcome me home.

I ain’t feel like that shit though. I didn’t want a bunch of mothafuckas celebrating me for getting out of prison like I was graduating college or some shit.

This was not some great accomplishment. But I had to let Reese do what she wanted.

If she wanted to throw me a little party, then so be it.

Reese was the only person I ever trusted to hold me down.

We got adopted together. Raised together.

Survived our adoptive mother’s breakdown together after our adoptive dad died.

I kept her in school. Sent money from the streets when she was at Hampton for undergraduate and NYU Law.

Hustled like my life depended on it so she didn’t have to.

And now here we were.

She was in a nice townhouse with two sons and a job as a lawyer. I was a convicted felon with not much to my name. That would change soon. I had some irons in the fire but there was some work to do first.

The kickback was in full swing. Music thumped, liquor poured, folks talked and laughed.

I was the only one not laughing. Prison broke my smile.

It killed what last bit of joy I had in me before I went down.

I was already at the end of my rope before I got sent away and being locked up sent me over the deep end.

I spent a lot of time in solitary, enough to be very well acquainted with my demons. And there were many. That shit changed me for the worse.

I stood near the window, sipping a glass of Teremana tequila, watching people pretend they weren’t glancing at me every few minutes like I was an exhibit in a damn zoo. They were waiting for me to snap and if someone fucked with me, they might get a show.

Reese floated around the room like a real hostess, her laugh just a little too loud, eyes scanning every corner like she was waiting on something to go wrong. Like she knew me being home might come with a body count.

“You good?” she asked when she finally reached me.

“Yeah. You really ain’t have to do all of this for me.”

“Everyone missed you.”

I didn’t believe her. I hadn’t been close to our adoptive family since I was about sixteen and that’s who was mostly here.

They just wanted to see if what they heard about me was true.

Had I gone crazy? They wanted to look in the eyes of a violent psycho and hope that he didn’t turn on them.

They were just here to get some new gossip. Maybe a new thrill.

“I ain’t miss them.”

“Cannon,” she whined my name before hitting my arm.

“What? I didn’t. These people don’t fuck with me and you know it. They all think it’s my fault…”

“Everyone knows it wasn’t your fault…” she said.

We were referring to our adoptive father who was killed because of me.

Nathan Price was the smartest man I ever met. A cardiologist, with a firm handshake and a wide laugh, he and his wife adopted me and Reese when we were still babies. He wasn’t just a provider, he was a dad. Took us in when no one else would. Made us feel wanted. Made us feel like his.

He used to call us his “double blessing.”

And Shelly, his wife, loved us too. At first.

But after he died…well, was killed. She lost her mind.

By the time I was ten, I wasn’t a kid no more. I was the man of the house. I made sure Reese ate. Got to school. Did her homework. I learned to keep the lights on and the social workers off our porch. I made one promise to myself back then, just one: they will not take us from each other.

I kept it. Even when it cost me.

“It was my fault and I’m still making peace with it,” I replied when I took another sip.

“You are so hard on yourself,” Reese said as she rested her hand on my shoulder before turning away.

When she walked away, my nigga Choke walked through the door.

“Welcome back nigga,” he said as he dapped me up.

“Why the fuck you come to this shit?”

“Cuz’ I knew that Reese was gonna have some good food and liquor,” he laughed.

“Yeah, it’s over there. Get you a plate and meet me out back,” I replied as I walked away.

When I got outside, I sat on the patio furniture amongst the tiki torches.

It was after ten and my nephews were asleep.

People still mingled inside and on the lawn.

I wanted them to all leave but I maintained my composure.

I just didn’t want Reese to think that I was going to keep showing up to her lil family parties.

I was not gonna be around here for Thanksgiving or no damn Christmas.

I hated shit like this. She better get it out of her system now.

I watched Choke hug and speak to Reese before he made it outside. With a plate of soul food in his hand, he sank in the wicker chair across from me.

“I’m surprised they let yo crazy ass out,” he laughed.

“I know how to work the system.”

“You caught three bodies, nigga,” he said as he set his plate to the side and pulled out a container of weed and a couple of Swishers.

“I had to. You know how it goes. Niggas gotta be put in their places. I’m peaceful until I’m pushed.”

“Nah, I ain’t mad at it. You’ve always had to prove yourself more. But we really some kin?” he asked.

Choke was a King. He was the son of Nigel King, brother of Silas King. Silas and Nigel had beef for years and went their separate ways. Right before Silas King died, he tied up some loose strings and killed his brother on some jealousy shit.

Nigel’s family was making headway in property development but Silas’s ego couldn’t take that so he murked his own brother. Before Choke could kill him in revenge, the nigga went missing. Later on we found out that he was dead.

I had beef with Silas too. It was his fault I went to prison. It was his fault that my real father, my birth father was dead.

I didn’t know that shit until about a year ago when my birth mother, Tessa King, wrote me a fuckin’ letter, explaining everything to me. I threw that shit in the trash after reading it once. Fuck her. Fuck all those Kings.

All these years, I never knew who my real parents were. I was told it was a closed adoption and that my birth parents wanted nothing to do with me.

So fuck it. I ain’t want shit to do with them either. I never went searching for them. Never cared to find out who they were. Besides, the Prices were so good to me initially.

Choke and I ran the streets together. His father Nigel and a nigga named Smoke used to do business together. That’s how we met.

Shortly after my adoptive father died, I started working the corners for Smoke. Eventually, I climbed up the ranks. I was doing damn good for myself until I got popped. But whatever, it’s water under the bridge now.

“Nigga, we are not related. You’re a King. I am not. Tessa’s maiden name is Johnson. So technically I would be one of those muhfuckas.”

“I know. I’m fuckin’ with you. Reese told me that King and Riot reached out to you. You gon’ work with them?”

“I don’t trust them.”

“Me neither. Nothing good can come from Silas, especially not his sons,” Choke responded as he continued to roll the weed.

“So you gettin’ back in the game?” he asked.

“I’m done with all of that. I got something else I’m workin’ on. I’m gonna need your help but I gotta handle some shit first.”

“Aight, bet. Whenever. Smoke gon’ want you back though. He lost several of his lieutenants recently and all he got left is his sons Nero and Larry. And you know those niggas are fuckups.”

“I don’t care. I’m done with that shit. I just spent five years locked away.

I already know the feds gon’ be watching me like a hawk.

I was about to get out of the game before I was arrested anyway.

I ain’t movin’ backwards. I gave Smoke damn near fifteen years of my life, not including the five that I was in prison for. ”

“Well, when you ready to do some business, hit me,” he said as he lit up a joint then passed to me. He lit one for himself too. As soon as I took a puff, in walked Gage’s Leave-It-To-Beaver ass.

“Excuse me,” Gage announced. He had a throaty Kermit the Frog voice. What the hell did Reese see in this nigga? On one hand I liked that he was a straight-laced dude but on the other, he couldn’t protect her if shit went down.

“The fuck you want, Gage?” I asked as I took a strong pull of the blunt.

“Please don’t smoke marijuana in my house. The boys are…”

“They are sleep and I’m not in the house,” I responded as I blew a thick puff of smoke his way.

His light skin began to burn red as he looked around for Reese. She was nowhere to be found. Did this nigga think he was gon’ tell on me like Reese was my mama?

“I’m asking you kindly to respect my house. It’s bad enough we have your felonious self staying in our home. And you bring your gangster friend here…”

Choke cracked up in laughter. “Dawg, I’m out and I can’t take this nigga’s voice. Is he serious?” Choke stood up and dapped me before ashing out his blunt and leaving.

“I’ll holla at you later,” I said as I defiantly continued to smoke. I was locked away for five years under other people’s rules. I was done with living like that.

“Gage… you wanna hit this? You seem stressed.”

“No, I don’t. Just put it out…”

“Look, you ain’t gotta worry about me staying here long. But you need to get the fuck out of my face before you blow my high…”

“Reese!” He interrupted. Quickly, Reese came running outside.

“What, baby?

“Tell him to stop smoking, right now!” He yelled at her.

I stood up in a flash, stepping right in front of him. “Who the fuck you talkin’ to like that?”

“Um…” he mumbled as he cowered back.

“Cannon, please.”

“Nah, this nigga yellin’ at you like he lost his fuckin’ mind. You need to apologize right now!” I said, grabbing him by the back of the neck, squeezing hard.

“Unhand me, please!” He whimpered.

“I will when you apologize!” I squeezed the back of his neck harder. Rage brewed within me, fighting through my veins. I wanted to pummel him for disrespecting my sister but I was trying to control my temper for her sake.

“It’s okay, Cannon,” she begged, trying to make me let go. By now others at the party were gathering around to see the spectacle. This is what they came for. They wanted to see me lose my shit.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry for raising my voice,” he cried out.

I quickly let him go and he instantly began rubbing the back of his neck. I swaggered out of the party, grabbing her keys and heading for the front door.

“Cannon,” she called out for me, but I ignored her.

There was no way I was staying at this house tonight. I needed to start working on my plan A.S.A.P.