Page 42 of His Noble Heart
I attached her car to the tow truck in record time, and when I finished, I looked on the corner, and the boys were back. Once I got in the truck, I watched them from my rearview mirror. A few cars stopped in front of them, unsuspecting people walked past them, and illegal exchanges were made.
I shook my head in disgust as I drove away from the curb. Those boys were probably no more than sixteen and should’ve been somewhere doing something more productive. Someone sold them a dream of starting at the bottom and working theirway up, and they were banking on that dream coming true. I was disgusted.
It was approaching eleven p.m., and I was dressed in black from head to toe with my duffel bag on my shoulder. My mother was at work, and Ramina was in bed. I told Noelani my mother was working overtime and asked if I could stay home with Ramina. Thankfully, she understood and didn’t ask any questions. With all my bases covered, I crept out of my room.
“Rowdy, you told Mama and Uncle David you were done,” Ramina reminded me. “Do we really need the money that bad?”
“What are you doing out of bed, Mina?”
“I was thirsty. What are you doing dressed in all black with your duffel bag, Rowdy?”
“Good night, Mina.”
“I’m telling Mama.”
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. You’ll need me before I need you.”
I headed toward the door, and just before I walked out, Ramina shouted, “Ro!”
“What, Mina?”
“Be careful.”
“Always. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
About twenty minutes later, I was a block over from where the tow job was earlier that day. After I dropped the car off at the dealership and took the tow truck back to the shop, I hopped in my car and found myself back in this neighborhood. Two thingsthat corner boys had in common that always worked to my advantage: they didn’t carry weapons because of random police pop-ups and pat-downs, and their lack of awareness should have been studied.
I walked through the alley where I’d observed them hiding their money and stash. When I drove by, one of them was on the corner talking on the phone while the other had dipped off into this alley. He was in a corner facing the building, but I couldn’t tell what he was doing.
Quietly, I crept up on him and realized he was taking a piss. I took the butt of my gun, hit him on the back of the head, and watched him fall to the ground. This would be a lot easier than I thought. I went to the water pipes I’d seen them fumbling with earlier. As I suspected, both were hanging loosely from the building and in desperate need of repairs.
I wasn’t sure which pipe held the drugs and which held the money, but I hoped I’d chosen correctly on my first try. I kept my eye on the entrance of the alley until I felt the paper bag full of folded bills. I smiled as I pulled it from the pipe and looked inside. It wasn’t much, but it would put those two dumbasses in a bind.
Out of the corner of my eye, I heard Mister Chatterbox coming around the building. My gun was in the pocket of my hoodie, and my finger was on the trigger. When he noticed me, his steps slowed, and he ended the call.
“Who the fuck are you?” he questioned.
I had a ski mask on, so he couldn’t see my face.
“Don’t worry about who I am. How old are you and your boy?”
“What?”
“Nigga, you heard me.”
“I’m seventeen. He’s fifteen.”
“Y’all in school?”
“Hell nah. Fuck school. They ain’t paying us shit.”
I shook my head. “Don’t let me catch you out here again.”
“You ain’t our boss! You can’t tell us?—”
I pulled my gun out, something I didn’t usually do unless I planned to use it, and pressed it against his forehead. This lil nigga needed to be taught a lesson.
