Page 81 of A Toxic Redemption

"Daaa!" KJ squealed. he tried to get loose from Kaine and run toward me, but he wouldn't let me go. "I want my daddy, Unkie Kaine."

"Yeah, I know." He looked at me and smirked. "He has to give me the money first."

"It's all there, Kaine," I gritted through slanted eyes as I kicked at the bags of cash. "Let him go."

The more I looked at my brother, I knew something wasn't right with him. His eyes looked sunken into their sockets, and he seemed to be sniffing a lot as if he had a cold. His clothes looked dingy, and he needed a cut. Realization hit me like a ton of bricks. This nigga was on drugs.

"Man, fuck that," Kaine snarled as he aimed his gun at me. "I have the upper hand, and before I kill you, I got some shit to say." He adjusted his stance as KJ began to cry and pull away from him. "You thought you were going to walk out of here with your life, huh?" He chuckled as he wiped his nose with the butt of his gun. "I'm going to kill you and this worrisome ass son of yours. I might even go fuck that fine ass bitch—"

"Ahhh—"

KJ, being snatched from him by Jake, halted the bullshit he was spewing. Thankfully, he took him outside without me having to tell him. Before Kaine could react to what was happening, Bino had a gun to this nigga's temple.

Wham!

I ran up and began delivering blow after blow with the butt of my gun all over Kaine's head, face, and chest. He tried his best to fight back, but there was no use. I was pissed and had the strength of a thousand crackheads right now. After I became winded from beating him within an inch of his life, I decided it was time to end this shit. I wanted nothing more than to beat this nigga to death and kill him with my bare hands, but I had something better planned for him. Plus, I needed to go make sure my son was okay.

"Bino, hand me that bag," I panted as I hovered over my brother. He was barely breathing, but the nigga was holding on. "Has the crew made it in yet?"

"You know it." Bino did as I asked and nodded. "They're out back waiting on you to let them know the play."

"Bet."

On the way over, I had one of my father's old connects research the area I was coming to. There was no way I was coming here without a plan. I knew Kaine wasn't making it out alive, so I got Jake to put the cleaning crew on alert and for them to be as discrete as possible.

"T-think about m-mama," he mumbled just above a whisper. "She's going to hate you."

"She might." I shrugged as I pulled the small machete from the bag. Yeah, the duffle bags held money, but he was never getting it. "She told me to tell you she loves you, though. She can lose one son or both. Either way, it's a wrap for you." Peering down at Kaine, I couldn't help the menacing smirk that spread across my face. "This might hurt a little."

Swish Slash!

"Arrggg!" he yelled out as I cut both of his hands off. "Khalil!"

"Shut the fuck up, nigga!" I gritted. "That's for touching shit that doesn't belong to you! Whether it was a bitch, my money, or my fuckin' kid, you fucked up when you put your hands on anything that belonged to Loon!"

"Ahhh!" Kaine cried as I held his mouth open and cut out his tongue. I've never seen so much blood in my life, but the shit was exciting to a nigga.

"You lost your tongue because you called my mama out of her name. She was nothing but good to us, to you, our whole lives, and for you to disrespect her the way you did will never sit right with me. Oh, and don't ever speak on my bitch."

Before Kaine could attempt to say anything, his eyes went wide as I sent the knife through his heart. He didn't seem to have one in regard to his family and the ones who loved him the most, so it was only right that I break it the way he broke ours. I held onto the handle and held his stare until his soul left his body. He was gone. My brother, my first best friend, had died at my hands.

"Bro, are you okay?" Bino placed his hand on my shoulder. "Tell me what I need to do?"

With my eyes still on a lifeless Kaine, I stood slowly and dropped the knife to my feet. Dropping my head momentarily, I felt as if a weight had been lifted. A sense of peace washed over me, and that's what I needed in that moment.

"I just need the crew to come and clean this shit up for me." I discarded the blood-soaked shirt I was wearing and made my way toward the door before a thought came to mind. "Dump him where he can be found, for mama."

With that, I exited the building as the crew entered. The only thing on my mind was getting to my son and making sure he was okay. Killing Kaine hurt more than I thought. The love of money is the root of all evil. That, mixed with jealousy, put us here, andletting him go was the only way to free my brother from the hell he was living in, that we were living in. I would do whatever was necessary to live a happy and worry-free life with my girl and kids. That was the only thing that mattered to me, and I would choose them over anybody every single time.

EPILOGUE

DEVYN

December2023

"The girl is crying again," KJ announced as he came walking into the kitchen. His little head was leaning to the side as if he were exhausted, and I couldn't help but chuckle. From day one, he has been calling her 'the girl', and he won't stop. The thing is, he doesn't play about his sister. Scooping him up in my arms, I couldn't help but kiss all over his little cheeks. Since Khali's birth, I've been trying to give him all the love I had to offer.

Khali (Cali) Joi Simmons was born in September and had been acting like a true Virgo since the day she entered this world. Giving birth was a bitch, and I vowed never to do it again. There was nothing that indicated that she was my child. From her father's complexion to her brother's kinky hair, she was their twin. Living with three versions of Khalil wasn't easy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world.

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