Page 83 of Rah

“Fuck wrong wit’you? I came up here to see your sick ass and you comin’ at me sideways. You need to chill out and be glad Solae didn’t kill you.”

Rah sucked his teeth and waved his hand dismissively. “Bitch can’t take me out. She better hope they keep her in prison because, if they don’t, I’m murdering that bitch myself.”

I just shook my head as I sat down in a chair across from his bed. I started to wish that I had at least come when my father or someone else was there. I had always known that my brother was an asshole. I had always known that he wasn’t shit. Hell, I knew he was leaning on the borderline of insane when he wanted to rob that bank. But killing his own best friend made me look at him in a different light. Shit, if he could kill Carlos over greed, he would kill me for much less.

“Whatever, nigga. Don’t shake your head at me,” Rah grumbled. “You always soft for these hoes.”

I blew out an irritated breath. “You know what? I’m out.”

Standing, I figured enough was enough. Rah felt like he was this super hard, swagged out gangsta that had the streets on lock, but all he was, was a little ass boy who stole his way through life, and manipulated people with weaker minds than him. He wasn’t a man, and he for damn sure wasn’t a gangsta. I wasn’t the type of man to get in between a woman and the man that she loved, even if I loved her, but now that he had put his hands on what was now mine, the gloves were off.

“Hold up,” Rah called himself ordering as I walked towards the door.

I grimaced as I stopped and unwillingly looked at him. “What, man?”

“Did you find Aaliyah?”

I shook my head again. I didn’t know what I felt more for him, pity or anger. Motherfucka damn near lost his life, but he still worried about some fucking money. That’s the first thing he asked about; not about Junior.

“Nah,” I told him.

“Nah?” he asked as if I had the nerve to give him that answer.

“No, nigga,” I pressed.

“She won’t answer the phone?”

“No.”

“Then go find that bitch!”

I bit my tongue, fighting the urge to wreck this nigga in his hospital bed. I couldn’t act out about him disrespecting Aaliyah...not yet anyway.

“She’s not at the crib,” I lied. “There are no signs of her. Considering how much money she has, she probably left town.”

The look on his face was priceless. Rah was so full ofhimself that he thought he knew everything and had control of everyone. How dare a bitch get over on him, but Aaliyah had. I wanted so bad to tell this motherfucka that not only had I fucked his bitch, but she was mine and so was his son, but that would give him the idea that I would help her hide from him. So, for Aaliyah, I would keep my mouth closed...for now.

“Fuck!” Rah barked. “Find out where her aunt stays down there in Texas. I’m on that bitch.”

I held in my laugh. This nigga was going to be in the hospital for so long that by the time he got out, he wouldn’t have enough money to afford to fly his bum ass to Houston.

“Get one of your minions to do it. The holidays are over, so I got real work to do.”

He looked at me like how dare I speak to him like that. But I ignored his self-entitlement and left out of the room, saying over my shoulder, “I’m a grown ass man. I ain’t your flunkie, nigga.”

“You need to get out of here.”

Aaliyah watched me curiously as I closed the hotel room door behind me and took off my coat.

“Why?” she asked. “What’s wrong? What did Rah say?”

“He wants that money. But I told him that I couldn’t find you.” Sitting on the bed next to her as she lay there, I bent over and kissed her and Junior, who was sleeping on her chest. “He told me to find out your aunt’s address. That’s how bad he wants to find you.”

Aaliyah’s eyes squeezed shut, and then she opened them, while shaking her head in disbelief. “He is psychotic. I can’tbelieve I was in love with such a clown. I wish Solae would have killed him.”

When I got the call that Rah had been stabbed, neither me or Aaliyah could believe it. We especially couldn’t believe that Solae had been the one to do it. I had always thought that somebody Rah had stolen from would take him out. I would have never thought that it would be Solae. My father told me that she had said she was defending herself because Rah was fighting her, which I believed, since he had done the same to Aaliyah. He was in rare form, and his losses were making him take his frustrations out on these women.

Pussy ass nigga.