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Maasai was much calmer than me, because I was ready to give him a head shot and call it a day, but his voice was low and methodical as he said.

“Where Maagic at? You already know you bouta die. Shit, I hope you knew you were dying regardless, but as luck would have it, I didn’t even have to trap you with the money.

” He stepped to the side, and I moved beside him as the crew yelled up the stairs that the basement was clear. “Where the fuck my sister at?”

Jamo threw his head back laughing, and I immediately considered the consequences of just ending this shit right here, but obviously, Maagic wasn’t in the house, so we needed his bitch ass alive.

“I ain’t tellin’ you shit! Fuck you and that spoiled ass little bit—ahhhh!

” The words had barely come out of his mouth when I shot his ass in his exposed foot.

Letting out a loud scream, he lurched forward, and Mari surprised us all by doing some type of Kungfu shit that landed him on his back.

She twisted the hand he was using to hold the gun until he dropped it, screeching in pain.

“You good, shorty?” I asked her as I held my gun in Jamo’s face. She nodded and applied more pressure to his hand.

“Yeah!”

“I’m still not sayin’ shit! Y’all niggas better get her back in blood!” I shook my head at his ability to still run his mouth after realizing he was on the losing end of this situation.

“This muthafucka,” I scoffed, looking at Maasai, who wore an unreadable expression.

“We gone get her back in blood, alright. How much of this room you think we can paint in this nigga blood before he die?” his crazy ass asked casually, and I gripped my chin in thought.

“Shit, I think the human body got like 10 pints of blood in it, so you might just have to settle on an accent wall. Maybe use what’s left for the door or some shit.” I grinned down at a horrified Jamo.

“Y’all got any hardware stores around this muthafucka?” Maasai had the nigga trying to squirm away, but Mari’s hold was vice like. “Tell me where she at before we decorate this muthafucka Jamo red.”

“That shit got a nice ring to it,” I threw in for added effect.

“Y’all niggas gone kill me anyway, she might as well go too. And she gone suffer more cause she gone starve to dea—” tired of hearing his mouth, Maasai cracked him across his shit with the butt of his gun.

Thump!

Frowning, I looked around the room, trying to see if maybe I was hearing shit, but obviously, Mari heard it too. She lifted her head to the ceiling, and I did the same.

Thump!

“Aye, that shit coming from up there. It’s an attic in this muthafucka?

” I didn’t recall seeing anything on the ceiling that looked like the entrance to an attic, so it had to be in one of the rooms. Maasai was out in the hallway before me, rechecking every room we’d been in, and I was right behind him, only pausing long enough to fill Jamo full of bullets.

When I caught up to Maasai, he was in the bathroom removing a makeshift piece of plaster that was hiding a staircase. Neither of us hesitated to head up with our guns aimed at anybody who might’ve popped out. He stopped at the landing and looked around before motioning for me to come up.

It was a big ass attic, filled with bullshit from the front to the back that was covered in cobwebs.

Disgusted, we moved deeper inside and maneuvered around all the boxes and random decorations until the sound of muffled grunts caught our attention.

We headed in that direction, and I breathed a sigh of relief seeing Maagic.

Her hands and feet were tied, and she had tape wrapped around her mouth.

When she saw us, she started screaming behind the tape.

Maasai immediately dropped to help her. “It took y’all niggas long enough. I thought I was gone be stuck in here forever,” she complained while Maasai got her hands loose.

“Aye man, gone head put that tape back over her mouth, lil’ shit talkin’ ass.” I smirked, and she raised her middle finger at me.

“I’d like to see y’all try it!” she cracked as Maasai got her feet untied, and she stood. He instantly pulled her into a hug, and once he let her go, I went in for one of my own. It was crazy we could’ve lost her for good, and I wouldn’t have ever been annoyed by her spoiled ass again.

“We gotta go, this address on the scanner!” Mari yelled up the stairs to us, and I released Maagic with a mush to her head.

“Let’s get up outta here.”

When we landed back in the city, I was one of the first off the plane, ready to get back to my shorty.

I hadn’t even realized how much I missed her until I thought about going home and climbing in the bed with her.

Shit, I was already missing the twins too, knowing they’d be up soon, ready to terrorize the house.

I grinned at the thought as I walked to my truck, way too happy about walking into a house of chaos.

“Look at this nigga, he damn near bouta run to the crib!” Maasai cracked behind me, making Maagic’s childish ass giggle.

“Fuck you, fool! I see you ain’t too far behind me.” I twisted my lips at him, and he couldn’t do shit but throw his hands up because he knew I was right. “Exactly, muthafucka.”

I climbed behind the wheel of my car, and they followed since he still had to get Avery from my crib.

I pulled a blunt from the glove box, knowing I was going to need it to stay my ass awake for the drive since I’d barely gotten any sleep in the last couple days.

Between the ride and Maagic’s light snoring in the backseat, I was sure to drift the fuck off, so I cut up the radio and handed the blunt over to Maasai.

“Thanks for coming through in the clutch though, for real. I appreciate that shit, and I’m gone get you that money back too,” he said after we’d been driving in silence for a while.

Shrugging, I grinned and looked between him and the road ahead.

“Shiiit, you know Maagic like my sister too. I couldn’t let you do that shit alone.

Plus, I wasn’t trying to deal with your crazy ass wife.

She ’bout would’ve blew me down if I didn’t go with you.

I’m already on her shit list ’cause of Keyani,” I only half joked.

Avery really did give psycho vibes, and I wouldn’t put it past her to shoot a nigga.

“I shol’ hope that crazy shit ain’t a symptom of pregnancy. Keyani on my ass enough.”

“My wife ain’t crazy, muthafucka, she just passionate about the people she loves.

” He smiled lazily like he was thinking about her, and I shook my head at his soft ass.

Obviously, that love-sick shit was beginning to rub off on me.

“She do more crying than fighting, but I ain’t gone lie, seeing her fuck up her sister the way she did had me low-key worried. ”

“Yeah, well, like I said, you better keep the guns locked up.” I eyed him. If she had hands, I could only imagine what she’d do with a weapon, and she had Armand for a daddy, so she definitely wasn’t all the way right in the head.

“Naw, she good, man, but I was meaning to tell you Keyani and the twins a good look on you. I’d say I told you so, but I ain’t tryna rub it in.” He passed the blunt back, and I shrugged.

“I can’t lie, you were right. Shit probably would’ve happened sooner if she hadn’t been playing all this time,” I admitted.

“I know they only there right now ’cause of the shit with Raya, but I like them in the crib.

Speaking of which, y’all might as well stay since it’s so late.

Ain’t no need in pulling Avery out the bed. ”

“Yeah, you right, she definitely don’t like being woken up.” He nodded.

“I’m tryna figure out how Maagic gone sleep, ’cause Kari’s ass probably took that whole queen-sized bed over by now. My little shorty sleep wild as hell!”

“You ain’t gotta tell me nigga, they was at the house with me and Aves!

They slept together over there though, and I was surprised as hell neither of them woke up with a black eye,” he agreed, and I couldn’t help laughing.

The twins were wild asleep and awake, but I couldn’t imagine coming in the crib and not hearing them running around screaming or Keyani in the kitchen listening to loud ass R&B as she cooked.

The thought had me pressing the gas a little harder so I could get home to my family.