Page 64 of Maceo

“We are gonna talk later,” he said, pulling away. “I gotta get back to my wife and daughter. I love you.”

“I love you too, man.”

“Come hug your brother so he can get outta his bitch ass feelings,” he said to Smoke and Steel as he mushed my head.

They stood and came over to hug me too. They tried to hug Shar, but she declined.

“I know y’all are mad, but y’all disrupted my beauty sleep. I’m sorry, and I love y’all. Now get the fuck out.”

They all chuckled, knowing she was dead serious. I walked my brothers to the door and saw them out. Closing it, I turned to my lady. She came to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head on my chest.

“Well… that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” she said. “They could have jumped you.”

I chuckled. “They could have. Were you gonna jump in?”

“Hell yeah. I couldn’t let you get your ass beat. We may not be going on any more missions together, but I’m still Bonnie to your Clyde.”

She slid her hands up my chest, then cupped my face. Pulling my head to hers, she connected our lips in the sweetest kiss.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too, baby.”

I pulledinto the meeting spot and shut off my car.

I had to break the news to the crew that our time together had come to an end. They knew it was a short-lived kind of thing, but we didn’t anticipate it being this short. I came bearing a severance payout, straight from my own account. I wasn’t sure what they did with their money, but I brought them into this, so the least I could do was pay them for their hard work and dedication.

Getting out of the car, I saw Miko, Tiny, and Sloan waiting. I’d sent each of them a message and told them to meet me here. Approaching the group, I slapped hands with all of them.

“Y’all good?” I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets.

“We’re straight,” Miko answered. “You got something for us?”

“Uh… yeah, man. I have some news. I was trying to wait until everybody was together. Y’all seen or heard from Zeno or David?”

Tiny answered. “The last I heard from Zeno, he was going to visit his sick mother last weekend. He might still be there. They live in the sticks, so he probably doesn’t have any reception. As for David…” He chuckled. “He uh… he found a sweet little thing that’s taking up a lot of his time. He won’t give a name, but I think the nigga is in love.”

I chuckled. I couldn’t be mad at him for getting some ass. Our business was through now anyway, so he was free to do as he pleased.

“I guess I can tell you now.” I sighed heavily. “Our contract is up.”

They all looked confused.

“Did something happen?” Tiny asked.

“I can’t discuss the parameters, but it’s done. I appreciate y’all for all you’ve done. I know this is unexpected, but I have something for each of you.”

I pulled the envelopes from my back pocket and disbursed them. Inside was a check for a hundred thousand each.

“Damn, man,” Sloan said, gripping the check. “We appreciate the opportunity to serve our country again. You’re a good man. If you ever need anything, don’t be afraid to reach out.”

“Same.”

I slapped hands with each of them before they left the meeting spot. I waited around for a little while longer, trying to get in touch with David and Zeno. They didn’t answer my texts or calls, and that wasn’t like them. It was definitely out of character for them to just not show up. I chalked it up to them being busy. I’d just have to get with them later to give them their checks.

Cranking up, I made my way back to the main highway.

I turned on the radio, preparing to connect my phone, when something caught my attention.

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