Page 56 of For the Love of City

“You lied to me. Let me down. Left me holding the bag and betrayed me. Ain’t but so much you can expect me to forgive you for.

I see who you are, but the nail in your coffin was trying to get my brother sent back to jail on some bullshit.

You had these niggas in your ear yet again.

The same ones who’s never looked out for you convinced you to go against the grain.

Again . And that’s when I realized that you’re not stupid.

You’re not gullible. You just don’t care.

You don’t care about you or me or them. The only thing that rules you is the immediate gratification of thinking you got over with money being a close second.

So it’s fuck you forever.” Lyric spit in Trice’s face and walked back toward me.

I already knew what she wanted and I had my hand out with her throwaway in it.

“Lyric—”

The panic was now all over Trice’s bloody face.

You could see the tears she was crying making streaks through the blood that was coming from her nose and mouth.

I was sure that she’d seen Lyric hold a gun before, but being on the other end of it was something completely different.

Especially when she knew Lyric didn’t say shit she didn’t mean.

“Nah, it’s Finesse to you bitch, remember? Lyric is reserved for family and you lost that title a long time ago.”

Lyric pulled her gun and fired it into Trice’s head without blinking. The Laws gasped like they too doubted that Lyric was really like that, while the rest of us just nodded unmoved. Trice’s body fell back and Lyric waited to ensure she didn’t move before she spoke.

“One less snake in the grass.”

“You got rid of your biggest opps, how does it feel Finesse ?” Travis’ stupid ass was holding his hand out like a mic interviewing Lyric for a TV show.

Lyric grinned and leaned into his hand to speak to us all. “I ain’t going to Disney World but I got a quarterback I’m about to ride like a champion.”

Porsha started to laugh and I felt like I was gonna have to beat Grant’s ass just off principal. “Aye man, cut that shit out.”

Lyric just rolled her eyes at me again and handed her gun over to Travis.

“Whatever, C. You about to be a daddy again so you just pushed your grandpa years back by a few. Can’t be like the old folks popping out babies right along with my parents and shit.

Although P is like my sister so I don’t even know what the hell this is anymore.

” She looked between the two of us and shook her head.

She wasn’t disgusted, just confused about what the hell we were.

“It’s all love that’s what it is. The shit works and always has. But get out of here and ice them hands.”

Lyric looked down at her hands as though she noticed for the first time that her hands were torn up.

“Damn, I gotta hear Grant’s mouth now.” She flexed her fingers like she was trying to assess the damage she’d done.

Seeing her worry, Mother Henry went over to her and wrapped an arm around Lyric. “He’s right, baby, come on upstairs so we can make sure your knuckles don’t swell. You remembered your training so well didn’t you?” The pride was clear and Lyric smiled at her praise.

“Yes ma’am, avoid hitting on the bone directly so you can inflict maximum impact.” Lyric recited the teachings we’d both gotten once we were linked up with the Miller family.

“And I see you’ve still been at the range...”

Mother Henry walked Lyric away giving her compliments like she’d just won a prize at the damn state fair instead of having committed a murder. Couldn’t even be mad at it because I was probably gone do the same when we got back on the jet.

My attention went back to the Laws who were both just sitting there in stunned silence.

“Y’all have anything else to say?”

Judge raised his head, and the fear on his face didn’t move me. “I ain’t have nothing to do with setting you up man—”

“You also didn’t stop him. When he was fucking with Lyric y’all were all too happy to keep her under your thumb.

When you were gassin’ D Mill up to write that bullshit about my chap, you weren’t innocent.

So I don’t want to hear shit about you not setting me up.

This is about more than that. I don’t give a fuck if you played a big role or a small one, you played one.

And now you gotta go just like your brother. ”

“Aye what about that nigga T-Lo? Why ain’t he here?”

“Damn, you going down snitching? You don’t have an ounce of fucking shame do you? Where ya nuts at nigga? Your fucking pride?” Jahmir looked completely disgusted with how Jury was moving, which reflected how we all felt. He didn’t have an ounce of pride even in death.

I kissed the side of Porsha’s head before I got down to handle business. As much as I didn’t want her down here, letting her be a witness was proof of how much I trusted her. I stepped in front of her, not wanting to prolong this any more than I already had.

“T-Lo’s ass was picked up before y’all were and is already melting in a vat of acid. He confirmed that he helped y’all find them lames that tried to kill us and let them know when we were leaving the mall. How you think we knew y’all were involved?”

They both dropped their heads and it was as much of an admission of guilt as anything they could’ve said.

“So, how are we ending this? You got the expanse of the murder menagerie. We doing slow and steady so that we here all night?” Yacouba looked like he could go either way but I had better shit to do.

“I been torturing these niggas for the last two years. Having my baby and my girl breathing the same air being polluted by lame niggas for too long is irritating my soul.”

“Not you blaming it on the baby.” Porsha sounded like I was being ridiculous but I was dead ass.

I ignored how she was teasing me but because of her I showed them the only mercy they would receive tonight.

“Any last words?”