Page 10

CHAPTER 10

EARTH

The entire time McCoy spoke, my eyes never left her lips. She could be telling me anything, and as long as those juicy muthafuckas kept moving, I would happily listen. I chuckled and wiped my hand over my beard. Shit was crazy as fuck right now. This damn girl was holding me against my will, yet I was sitting across from her, imagining her lips around my dick and trying to get to know her. I knew the shit was fucked up. She’d kidnapped me to get away from her nigga, and I found myself wanting her. But shit, if that nigga didn’t know what to do with her, that was his problem. At the same time, it didn’t matter because he’d be dead shortly.

“You ain’t got nothing to say?” I questioned, and she just stared at me. I sat forward, elbows resting on my thighs. “You’re a lawyer, I know that, but what else are you about? ’Cause I know that ain’t the only thing you want to be known for.” She lifted her brow in surprise, and I chuckled. I wasn’t a dumb nigga. I might not have known of her, but I knew women like her. She had ambition, that shit was obvious, but she’d fucked up by linking with a weak nigga who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

“I want to expand my business. Have firms in different parts of the country,” McCoy said with a smirk. “I want little black girls who came up in the system just like I did to know that whatever the punk ass kids in her group home had to say or whatever nigga tried to beat into her isn’t the truth. That she’s worth it.”

“You grew up in the system?” I asked, slightly surprised, and she nodded. Now her comment about being alone made sense. “Tell me about that.”

“Nothing to tell.” She shrugged. “I never knew my parents and was never adopted. After I graduated high school, I went to college on an academic scholarship and worked. I met Jamel my senior year, and we got into a relationship fairly quickly.”

“He paid for you to go to law school?”

“No,” she replied with a laugh. “School loans and a lot of sleepless nights due to working paid for law school.

“Jamel was always in the streets. He never hid that from me, but he never let our two worlds collide until after I passed the bar. Then something in him changed. He got meaner and asked me to represent a few of his boys, and I did because their cases were simple. Back then, I needed the money. I had bills to pay, and my loans weren’t going to pay for themselves.”

“So, you learned the game?” I asked, and she nodded. “Represent the hood niggas, collect money, and still look out for your nigga?”

“Something like that,” she replied, and I nodded. “I didn’t look at it like that at first, but as the years passed, I realized that’s exactly what I was doing. I have a Rolodex full of killers, drug dealers, and God knows what else, but I can’t use them.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t know who is connected to Jamel and who isn’t,” she said, then ran her hands over her hair. She winced a little like her head was sore, and I ran my tongue over my teeth. She was sitting here with a fat lip, aching head, and more than likely bruises hidden under her clothes, and that nigga was living his life like everything was fantastic. It wasn’t, and it never would be.

“Yet you took the chance with the group that snatched me up.”

“I was lucky,” she replied.

“They won’t be, though,” I said, and she looked at me like she already knew what I would say. “They came after me. Do you think for one second the DBB is going to let them live? They’d be out of the country by now if they were smart.” I ran my hands over my face and sighed. “Shit, you had to know that too.”

“I did,” she replied with a nod. I never took her for a dumb ass. She knew the game probably better than her nigga, which was why I was sitting on her couch right now. But there was still a piece of me that questioned her. Don’t get me wrong; I didn’t trust McCoy for one second. I knew I was a pawn in her game, but she seemed legit for the most part. Even though she’d just admitted she set them niggas up to die. “It doesn’t make me feel any better about my decision, though.”

“Look, they knew when they agreed to do it. It's kill or be killed in this world, and they made a stupid decision that would lead to their death,” I said and meant it. It was wild that I comforted her as if I wasn’t locked up. But being around her did that to me. I was protective of her and her feelings. “Don’t feel bad because they made their own choice. If anything, the shit was smart.”

“Thank you.”

“No reason to thank me for speaking the truth. If anything, I owe your ass an apology.” I shook my head.

“An apology?” she questioned, and I nodded. “For what?”

“’Cause I should’ve been killed that nigga a long time ago,” I answered with a shrug. “Me and Jamel been beefing for years, but he’d gotten cocky lately. Stepping into places he knew he wasn’t welcome and making noise with folks he didn’t want beef with.

“A few months ago, my boy Prince was killed. The streets talk too damn much at times, but I’ve been listening, and they were saying Jamel was responsible for it. I’m not sure how, but I vowed to take that nigga out for it. I was biding my time, making sure shit couldn’t be linked to me. If I hadn’t been waiting, then you wouldn’t be in the shit you are in now. And you can front all you want. I know that nigga putting his hands on you.” She opened her mouth to deny it, and I mugged her. I hated liars and wanted McCoy not to lie to my face.

The thought that I was slightly responsible for her being with this nigga fucked with my brain. I mean, I knew they had a past, but shit, if I’d killed his ass a long time ago like I knew I was supposed to, then, as I said, I wouldn’t be sitting here. And more importantly, neither would she.

“When this is over, I’ll forever be indebted to you,” she said, giving me a small smile.

“Nah, Coy, I don’t want you in my debt after this,” I said, standing. As crazy as it sounded, I didn’t want her to be in debt to me. I wanted her heart. I knew the moment she stepped her fine ass into the warehouse and mugged me like I was a little nigga.

A few hours later, I snuck into McCoy’s room and grabbed her phone off the end table next to her bed. I swiped the screen and shook my head. This damn girl didn’t even have a lock on her phone. How she planned and executed a whole plan to kidnap my ass and didn’t get caught was beyond me. Jamel was a weak nigga, so I knew he was going through her shit whenever she wasn’t around. The sound of the water turning off made me stop and wait.

I knew dropping the bomb on her that I wanted her for the rest of our lives and beyond would be too much for her to handle right now. So, I had other plans. I was going to kill that nigga Jamel and have McCoy fall in love with me at the same time. The last thing he would see was me proposing and McCoy accepting it before I put a bullet between his eyes. Me wanting her wasn’t in her game plan, but I learned a long time ago it didn’t matter what we planned; life would do what it was supposed to do, no matter what.

I stuffed the little phone in my pocket and left her room. I dialed my brother's number once I was back in my room.

“Who the fuck is it, and what the fuck do you want?” Fire roared into the phone.

“Damn, nigga, just say hello.” I chuckled as I sat on the edge of the bed. “I thought you’d be happy to hear from me.”

“Bitch, you’re supposed to be dead!” Fire replied, making me laugh harder. “Why the fuck would I expect you to be calling me for?”

“'Cause yo’ big bro is like a cat and got nine lives,” I replied with a grunt. “Now tell me what the fuck the word on the street is.”

“Nigga, how about you tell me where you are so I can come get you!”

“I’m chillin’,” I said, knowing Fire would be annoyed with my answer. “Just tell me what you know.”

“You bitch ass nigga.” Fire chuckled. “Apparently, I don’t know shit because you’re supposed to be dead. At least that’s what the fuck Jamel’s bitch ass is saying.”

“’Cause nigga thinks I am,” I said, and Fire sucked his teeth. “I got snatched up, but not by him.”

“By who then?” Fire questioned. “’Cause that nigga tellin’ folks he got your head on a spike sitting in his basement.”

“Obviously, that shit is a lie.” I laughed and shook my head. “That nigga doesn’t even know where I’m at.”

“Where are you?”

“Under his fuckin’ nose, and he doesn’t realize it,” I answered. “Listen, I need you ready to move. Jamel’s bitch ass might not have snatched me, but he definitely gotta die for the shit he has been doing.”

“Tell me what you need me to do,” Fire said. My brother was always on go-mode. It was never a question of whether he had my back, just like I always had his. Being brothers made our bond strong, but being twins made it unbreakable.

“Be on alert. Any and every nigga that steps to DBB gotta go, no questions asked.” I ran my hand over my mouth. “And contact Shaka. Tell her I need her to do a romantic dinner.”

“Romantic dinner?” Fire screeched. “Nigga, we out here trying to plan your funeral, and you worried about a romantic dinner? The fuck kind of shit are you into right now?”

“Don’t worry about it.” I laughed. “Just ask her to be ready when I need her. Can you do that?”

“Yeah, nigga, I can do that,” he said, then sucked his teeth. “What about Mama and Daddy? What do you want me to tell them?”

“They gonna have a daughter-in-law,” I answered. I heard McCoy’s bedroom door open, and her voice echoed down the hallway. “I’ll call you later. Don’t call this number back, though.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“’Cause I’m spending time with my future wife, nigga, and we don’t want to be interrupted.” I hung up before Fire could respond and powered the phone down. I didn’t trust Fire not to call back just because I told him not to. McCoy walked past my room on another phone. Her face was twisted like she didn’t believe the shit the person on the line was telling her. Our eyes locked for a brief second before she disappeared down the hallway. I stuffed the phone under the pillows and followed her.

“Jamel, I’m at work,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t know how long I will be. A couple more hours, I think.”

I sat across from her on the couch. The little ass shorts she had on looked good as fuck on her, but it was the bruises and scars I saw that pissed me off. She’d been through the wringer with this nigga. Her body was the battlefield, and the wounds were proof she was a survivor.

“Are you at home?” she asked, and I heard that nigga say no. Typical fuck boy shit. He was rushing her to get to the house, and he wasn’t even there.

I tapped her shoulder, and she pulled the phone from her ear and put it on mute. “Get the fuck off the phone with that nigga,” I said, mugging the phone. “He only checking in on you ’cause he doing shit he ain’t supposed to do.”

“I know,” she sighed. “But I also know if I piss him off, he’ll show up at my office and show his ass when he realizes I’m not there.”

“Let him,” I argued. “That nigga a bitch.”

“I know that too,” she said with a small laugh. “Just let me handle this so I can sleep peacefully tonight.”

“Do you,” I said, nodding even though I disagreed. I planned to call Fire back as soon as she went to sleep. I wasn’t about to hide in this house like she wanted me to.

“Thank you,” she replied, then took the phone off mute. “Jamel, I’m leaving now, okay? I can take everything home and work from there. Are you hungry? Do you want me to cook something?”

“Fuck nah,” he replied. “Yo’ ass can’t even cook for real. Just take your ass home. I’ll be by tomorrow to pick you up so we can go out.” He hung up the phone, and McCoy dropped it on the table in front of her.

“Y’all going out tomorrow?” I asked, intrigued.

“He wants to go out,” she said, nodding. “To celebrate.”

“Celebrate what?”

“Your death,” she answered, and I smirked. Nigga just didn’t know this was about to be his last party.