Page 98 of Search My Soul (Taylor Family Saga #3)

The EMTs cleared the path to get to Pooh. I held Mama Lynnette in my arms while she violently sobbed. My tears stopped as anger and rage began to take over. I didn’t have the answers right then, but I was going to get them.

“They killed my baby, Soul! They killed my baby ! God , why !” I couldn’t bring myself to say anything, so I simply held her in my arms. It took some time for the coroner to arrive. Once I was sure Mama Lynnette was somewhat settled and Pooh had been taken care of, I prepared to leave.

“I’m out of here, mama. You don’t need to worry about his arrangements or anything.

I’ll call the funeral home so they can have my card on file.

Whatever you want, that’s what you will have.

I’m so sorry.” My voice cracked at the end.

I needed to get out of here before I completely lost my composure.

Kissing her forehead, I turned to head out.

“Soul,” Mama Lynnette called out with a whisper. I turned back around to see her reddened eyes on me.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“I need you to make me a promise.”

“Anything for you.” I stood with my hands in front of me, waiting for her to make her request known.

“I want them dead. Don’t let them get away with what they’ve done to my baby.” Her voice was weak from crying, but I could hear the underlying anger in her words.

“I don’t break promises,” was all I said before heading to my car.

Duke, Huncho, and Pure had been blowing me up for the last hour, but I hadn’t gotten the chance to respond to anyone.

Once I got inside my whip, I sent a 911 message to the crew.

I wasn’t going to sleep until those mothafuckas were dead.

My crew hit the ground running, and they were able to locate every single one of the men who were involved in the shooting. It was seven in the morning, and I hadn’t closed my eyes yet. I wasn’t sure if I ever would.

“I feel like I’ve been having this conversation with you more and more lately, but you know you don’t have to do this, right?

We can handle this for you.” Huncho stared at me with concerned eyes.

I appreciated the fact that he was always ready to step in when I needed him, but there was no way I would allow anyone to handle this besides me.

This shit was beyond personal. They had destroyed the last piece of my heart that I had left.

“As long as you’re standing by me, that’s all I need.”

“Always. We’re ready whenever you are.” I nodded toward him as I lifted the liquor bottle to my lips. I hadn’t been this drunk in a long time, but I needed something to get my emotions under control. The pills I popped were beginning to set in, so I decided to get started.

“You can go ahead and line them up. This won’t take long.

” Tears fell from my eyes, but I was too far gone to care.

Losing my son broke my heart, but I found peace because he had never been tainted by this ugly world.

Things were so different in this situation.

Pooh’s future was full of promise and success.

He deserved the chance to live out his dreams. They senselessly killed him over some bullshit, and I wasn’t sure I would ever recover from this.

I took another swig from the bottle before I headed over to the other room. My gun was already on my hip, but I made sure to grab a knife as well. Taking a deep breath, I allowed the darkness inside of me to take over.

When I stepped into the room, I observed the scene before me.

Four men were on their knees with black hoods over their heads.

My jaw flexed and I could feel myself spiraling out of control.

Rage was the only identifiable emotion I could acknowledge.

My crew had never seen me like this, and I could tell they were worried.

Fresh tears poured down, but I didn’t give a fuck.

“Which one was the shooter?” I asked Ammo, who stood on the left side of them.

“This one.” He pointed to the taller boy on the end. Without another word, I pulled out my gun and shot the other three in the head without blinking. He was the one I really wanted.

“Take the hood off,” I instructed. My breathing was becoming erratic, but I played it off. My chest felt like it was about to burst, but I couldn’t worry about any of that.

I tucked my gun back in my waistband since I no longer needed it. I twisted my knife in my hand, but I realized it wasn’t enough for me.

“Can somebody grab my machete?”

I noticed someone walking out so I continued what I was doing.

Stepping in front of the man, I realized he couldn’t have been more than twenty-one.

It was a shame his life would be ending so soon, but there were consequences for every action.

I squatted down to his level and stared into his eyes.

His tears ignited the anger inside of me.

The nerve of him to be crying after he killed someone I loved.

“Fuck is you crying for, little bitch? Huh?” I spoke through gritted teeth.

“I-I’m s-so?—”

“You what? I know damn well you aren’t gonna tell me you’re sorry.

You didn’t step on my shoes or bump into me at a club.

Naw. You took a part of my heart from me.

You gotta know that your words mean nothing.

Dead men can’t apologize. I wanted to snatch up your mom, but we found her in a back alley sucking dick for a crack rock, so I let it go.

It’s not like she’ll miss you.” I smiled as his sobs grew louder.

“I would usually go after someone you care about, but it turns out nobody loves you. Your daddy ain’t want you.

Your momma would rather fuck for her next fix, and your granny said she washed her hands of you when you stole her money.

Is that why you killed my brother? He took away the only person who thought you were worth something?

Huh? Answer me, bitch!” I punched him in the face, and I could hear the bones crack under my fist.

“I’m so?—”

“Fuck your sorry! Yo, where is my shit? I’m tired of seeing him breathe.

” Mace passed the machete to me, and I wasted no time getting to work.

He screamed and hollered for the first few seconds, and as I chopped his body up, blood poured out from everywhere.

I lost myself for a moment and I couldn’t stop.

I didn’t care about him being dead, it wasn’t enough for me.

My face and body were covered in blood, but I refused to stop.

All I could hear was Mama Lynnette’s screams in the back of my mind.

We were so close. I promised my homie I would look out for his family, and I fucked up.

Blood mixed with my tears as I moved on to the other three men.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but my arms started to burn.

I never stopped though. Even though I heard them calling my name, I couldn’t stop.

Huncho and Ammo locked me in a bear hug and tossed the machete on the ground.

I fought them off until my body gave out on me.

They carried me to one of the showers and waited outside the door. My time in the shower was a blur as I watched blood flow into the drain. I’ve been around dead bodies most of my life, but this was different. My chest ached, and I wanted to break everything in sight.

After I finished cleaning up, I got dressed and staggered out of the warehouse.

Huncho forced me into his G-Wagon, and Ammo followed behind him.

I didn’t bother to turn my phone on because I already knew the notifications would be endless.

I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. I planned to hit up the funeral home in a few hours, but after that, I was going off the grid until the service.

I didn’t want to be around people, and my mind wasn’t stable enough to try.

I didn’t know what kind of lessons I was supposed to learn from the losses I had taken lately, but I was beginning to believe this was my karma.