Page 50 of Rocky

“Oh, yeah. It slipped my mind. Do you need help with anything?”

“Hell yeah. Are your sisters coming? The more volunteers the merrier.”

“Yeah, they should be here soon.”

“Tell them to park where you’re parked, and I’ll have someone come and get them. If not, they will have to walk several blocks.”

I texted my sisters with the information, and they confirmed they weren’t far from where I parked. Rocky sent the same officer to get them, and they arrived about fifteen minutes later.

Rocky wanted me somewhere he could easily find me and didn’t want me in the mix of things, so he put me in charge of handing out water. My sisters were eager to help, so they were split up and given various duties.

There were motorcycles lined up along the sidewalks and the Mayhem club members were letting children and adults pose on them to take pictures. Later that day, the members would perform bike tricks to entertain the crowd. There were hundreds of people there to support, and I was sure they’d enjoy the show.

“Rocky, it’s always good to see you.”

The man’s voice sounded familiar, so I looked up and saw the mayor of Onyx City, Aziel Harris. He was accompanied by his beautiful wife, Desire, and their three children.

“Mayor Harris, wassup? I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to stop by,” Rocky responded.

The men exchanged a fist bump before Rocky greeted his wife.

“I told you I’d be here. This is a great way to raise money, and it looks like a lot of people agree.”

“I appreciate that. I couldn’t do it without your approval, so thank you. Baby, come meet the mayor and his wife.”

I was a few feet away, pretending to be busy, so I scurried to my man’s side. He introduced us, and I couldn’t help but compliment the beautiful family. The mayor was fine as wine, and his wife and children were equally gorgeous.

After they left, I returned to my station while Rocky made his rounds, checking on everyone to see if they needed anything and were getting proper breaks. Just as he circled back to my area, I heard the roar of several motorcycles.

“Fuck!” Rocky muttered before I could decipher what was going on. Based on his reaction, it wasn’t good.

“Get Briar and stay here.”

I watched him move toward the bikes as he barked orders into his radio. When I realized the men on the bikes were members of Westside Riders, I became worried. Those men started so much shit that “Shit Starters” would’ve been a more appropriate name for the club.

The inside of the center was open for parents to register their children for the summer and fall programs. Briar had just gone inside the center to use the bathroom. Briar had just gone inside the center to use the bathroom. The inside of the center was open for parents to register their children for the summer and fall programs. He was more familiar with the place and the people than I was, so I felt comfortable allowing him to go to the bathroom alone.

I asked someone to cover my station so I could go inside to check on Briar. He’d been in there long enough to use the bathroom and find trouble. Once inside, I looked around to see if my son had gotten distracted doing something else, but I didn’t see him.

After spotting the sign for the bathroom, I headed in that direction. That hallway was empty and dim, and I didn’t see anyone until I got closer to the men’s room.

“Briar! What are you doing?”

“No, Mommy! Stay over there.”

“Baby, what are you talking about? What’s wrong?” Of course, I ignored him and continued in his direction.

Suddenly, Deacon and another man appeared out of nowhere. The man snatched Briar up and dragged him by one arm. I ran toward him but was hit on the back of the head before collapsing. Everything went black.

I was actually kind ofsurprised the Riders followed through with their plan. Their sole purpose of coming to the block party was to start shit and get some sort of revenge or payback. However, since we were prepared for their arrival, their disruption was minimal. The mayor made sure we had enough officers on hand to handle anything that might go down, on top of the security company who volunteered their time.

As soon as the rumble of the bikes could be heard, Mayhem members were front and center, ready for whatever. After we sent the Riders on their way, the block party continued as if nothing had happened. On my way to find Rue, I made sure RJ was safe and noticed Briar was missing.

“Hey, where’s Briar?” I asked my nephew.

“He went inside to use the bathroom. He’s been gone a long time, though, so maybe he went to play another game.”

RJ went back to playing basketball, and I headed toward the water station where I’d left Rue. One of the other ladies was there and told me Rue had gone inside. I jogged toward the entrance of the building, and before I made it to the door, Briar barged through them and ran into me.

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