Page 67 of Honey Sugar
“I want you to know that you have a lying rat in your circle. He’d lie and kill to get where he wants to be which means it’s not off the table for him to plot on you. Listen, Bear, he killed my mother over a goddamn lie he sold to you just to get close.” My temple pulsed every time I flexed my jaw. Bear leaned over and rested his elbows on his knees.
“Who do you think killed Wolf?” He quizzed. He seemed interested in my answer so now it was time to swap out culprits. I looked at Bear. I stared into his eyes. I knew it was an action that begged him to believe me. It was an action that said I was telling the absolute truth.
“It was Mario.”
“How do I know it wasn’t you? Everyone said they saw a skinny motherfucker with a mask on all over the parades. Even people not affiliated with Mario said that shit, Shadow. Don’t try to fucking play me.” His spine went straight and he sat all the way up. It was a stare-off between us and I wasn’t ready to blink. The air was thick.
“I’m not trying to play you, Bear. What the fuck do I have to gain? I don’t want a spot in your circle. I’m happy minding my business. I’m not happy with losing my mother behind some goddamn rumors.”
“I didn’t order a hit on your mom, Shadow. Mario got overzealous. He told me it was you who killed Wolf and he knew how to get you back. I require a life for a life in my circle. We all know that. He wanted to show his loyalty so he killed the mother of the man he said killed my brother. It was a solo mission. None of my men accompanied him. He acted alone and came back to tell the story. News around town verified it.”
I hated hearing Mama spoken about so casually. Like her life was negotiable. Like it was nothing. She raised me and gave me everything and I couldn’t fucking protect her. I was the reason she got killed.
Me.
Pain sliced through me. That shit was overkill. I thought as time went on wounds of the heart were supposed to heal. I was sitting in that fucking dispensary dying inside. Grief didn’t give a fuck when it showed up. It didn’t care if it was a life or death situation and you needed your wits about you. It was cold and careless.
Don saw the look on my face. The one that said I was seconds away from throwing the entire meeting away because emotions were threatening my cool exterior. It was something so slight that only someone who really knew me would be able to pick up on it. I brought my fist up to my mouth and cleared my throat.
Get your fucking head in the game, Shadow.
I wasn’t Titan right then. I couldn’t afford to be. Titan lost his mother. Titan still felt like a little boy wandering unfamiliar terrain. Titan was shaken and terrified.
I couldn’t afford to be Titan.
I had to be Shadow.
Don’s stool creaked when he stood up and motioned for Bear to follow him. I was grateful for the interruption. I followed behind them and we all walked into the back where the security cameras were.
“What are you showing me, Don? I don’t have all day to sit back here chopping it up with yall. I have moves to make.”
“Watch this, then listen to Shadow.” Don tapped a few buttons on the computer’s keyboard and a window popped up on the monitor. It showed me and Ivy entering the dispensary last week. I made a run to drop off more edibles after Honey Sugar closed. The dispensary was closed too but Don let me in. The date on the screen didn’t match last week’s date though. The date on the screen matched the time and the date of the Mardi Gras parade. It matched the date and time of the shooting.
How the fuck?
“Shadow was here with his lady dropping shit off, Bear. He couldn’t have done that to your brother. You have my condolences by the way.”
Bear sat still for a while then looked at Don. “Thank you, man.” He then turned his cold gaze toward me. “So what do you need from me, Shadow?”
“I need to be able to use your men.” I laid the entire plan out for Bear. I told him what I wanted to do and how I wanted to lure Mario into a trap that he’d never leave. He agreed and we worked out the logistics of setting it up.
I would never be able to repay Don for the way he vouched for me. I tried to give him back the money he gave me for the edibles but he wouldn’t take it. He told me that covering for me was his way of thanking me for trusting him. “I never had a son, but if I ever did, I’d want him to be like you…Titan.” He gave me a hug and slapped my back a little then told me to go check on Ivy. So that’s exactly what I did.
…
I drove for over an hour before I came to the familiar dirt road that was Bayou Drive. Spring was approaching and the smell of honeysuckle was thick in the air. It hung all around me, mixing in with the smell coming off the bayou. The sun was lowering deeper into the earth casting purple into the sky.
The plantation house rose from the ground to greet me. The pristine white porch looked like something out of a magazine with the sun setting behind it. I wanted Ivy to sit outside with me so we could watch it. I saw her car in the driveway when I pulled in. Usually, she stayed at Honey Sugar until everything was done and ready for the morning. It took hours sometimes to pour candies and make drizzle but Ivy never took off early.
I didn’t like the foreboding that sank into my rib cage. I put the car in park and walked up to the house with more speed than usual. When I walked in, the hum of appliances was loud in my ears when normally, I wouldn’t have noticed at all. Every sound that was supposed to be quiet was amplified tenfold.
“Baby girl?” I called out as I walked through the foyer then down the hall. I stopped at the foot of the stairs and angled my head up. “Ivy?” I jogged up the steps and headed straight to her room. I opened the door and saw her sleeping on the bed. I smiled a little at how beautiful she was when she was still and at peace.
I tried not to creak the floorboards as I went to her side. I bent over to kiss her temple and noticed dried blood crusted at the space between her earlobe and jaw. I sighed heavily and went to the bathroom to get a wet washcloth. I knew washing her ear would wake her up but that’s what I wanted. We needed to talk. I hated knowing that I went away and she felt full of anxiety.
I washed away the dried blood and examined the cut she created from pulling on her ear too hard. Once all the blood was gone, I put antibiotic cream on her and I knew it stung but she didn’t budge. Panic set in. I shook her shoulder but she didn’t wake up. A knot swelled in my throat. I shook her harder, calling her name over and over but she was still sleeping. I felt for her pulse but only felt mildly relived when it thumped beneath my fingers.
“Ivy, please wake up. You’re scaring the fuck out of me.” My voice trembled as it spilled out of my mouth. I shut my eyes for a moment to say a prayer. I hoped God heard me and hadn’t cast me aside yet. When my eyes opened, I saw a bottle of Tylenol and beside it, an empty brown prescription bottle.
