Page 80 of Regancy & Savior
“You straight?” I looked over at Taurus.
“Nah, nigga. Are you straight? You ain’t never been late to shit like this.” He walked over in my direction.
“We have some shit to discuss a lil’ later, but I’m straight. Do me a favor and call Luke. Tell him to take over everything on the low ends until Reggie is good. Amil won’t be back.”
I could tell he wanted to ask me what the hell was going on, but he trusted my words. Immediately, he had his phone out of his pocket.
“Since everybody is straight, let’s get this show on the road.” Reese nodded toward figure sitting in the chair with sack over his head. “I gotta get this motherfucker ready to fly by the nine o’clock news tonight. The other one is already ready to fly. The nigga tried to put up a fight.”
“You’re just mad he headbutted you.” Hanna laughed from the corner.
Without another word, I snatched the sack off of his head. His jumpiness and fear of what was coming next was what brought a smile to my face and joy into my heart. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but when he saw my face, he knew it wasn’t anything good. I watched as he tried to gauge the situation, but each time, his crystal-blue eyes came up with blanks. I hoped he sensed that the end was near.
“You remember me?” I questioned. I didn’t give him a chance to speak. Instead, I hauled off and knocked the fuck out of him.
He spat his teeth out and glared at me. He was about to take the cop way out. I was willing to bet he was about to scream that “I’m blue” shit. He looked like the type. “You know you can’t do this to me right? You can’t tou?—”
I chuckled. “I can do whatever the fuck I want to you.”
“I’m blue, you fucking idiot. If you kill me, there isn’t an escape hole you can hide in.” It seemed like he was trying to convince me of that shit, but he was damn sure touched.
I chortled. “See you in hell, blue.” I turned my back and walked away from the man. He was behind me yelling and carrying on up until a single bullet shut him up. It was alwaysthat simple for me when somebody came for me and mine. Now that same somebody would be used as a message for the other somebodies.
It wasn’t long before Taurus met me outside. “What’s going on, Savior?”
“Amil came to the crib today. He was dirty and strung out. It was never about the territory and protection. It’s about everything else we do under the table. Camen wants to put Duce on so they can use him like a pawn. Think about it… we kept work in the basement at Che’s, but we moved it right before Che comes up missing. Then out of nowhere, Hawks gets burned. They want the control. Who knew about all of the moves besides you and I?”
Taurus shook his head. “Luke and Reggie didn’t know shit past their checkpoints. That only leaves yo’ crackhead buddy. He was the middle.”
“Fuck!” Here I was, doing the right thing, and this was what I was faced with. Amil had been selling us out before we knew it.
“What’s up?” Reese walked out of the warehouse.
I pulled the business card for the rehabilitation center out of my pocket and held it out. I had half a mind to hand it to Reese and ask him to handle that for me, but I couldn’t. Betrayal constituted death in my book, and that was something that would never change. The thing was I couldn’t figure out if I wanted it to happen by my hands or by another’s.
TAURUS
I glanced over at Savior seeing as he’d been quiet the entire ride. Instead of riding back with Beck, he hopped in the car with me. I knew he had some shit on his mind by the expression on hisface. My boy was troubled by the actions of another and stuck in a hard place because his actions could bring pain to the one he loved more than anything. That was a tough pill to swallow. In his position, I didn’t know what I would’ve done. I could say one thing, but if I had to knowingly hurt Lane, I couldn’t do it.
“Gimme the information. I’ll make the call.” I found myself saying. I was willing to carry this one on my conscience for him.
He looked over at me in a way like he was asking me if I was sure.
“C’mon, nigga. I ain’t got all day. You know I gotta go get my niece’s birthday gift since yo’ nut ass decided to make me an uncle so early in the game.” I attempted to lighten up the mood.
He handed me the card, and we never spoke another word about it. Instead, we settled on grown ass conversations that made a nigga’s heart swell. Blood couldn’t make me and this nigga any closer, because it was just that. He had my back, and I damn sure had his. He was the brother my mother never got the chance to give me.
After I dropped Savior off at his crib, I slid to the cemetery. The sun was just rising, so it was the perfect time for a nigga to say his two cents and roll out. I didn’t visit my mama here, but ever since I woke up that day in the hospital, I felt the overwhelming need to go to her plot. I hadn’t been here since the day my grandpops had her body brought here instead of Atlanta. He believed that she should’ve been laid to rest at home because it was where she belonged. I pulled up and sat there for a few minutes before I finally decided to get out of the car.
The funny thing was I hadn’t been here since I was a child, but I knew exactly where she was.
“Damn, Mama, they ain’t cleaned ya stone in a while, huh?” I took my gun from my side and took a seat next to her. Then I used my hand to wipe away the dust and debris that covered her name. She deserved more than that. I didn’t know what to say,because I damn sure wasn’t the nigga who went around talking to dead folks, but this was different. I needed to tell her that I heard her that night, that it wasn’t my time, and that I missed her too.
I didn’t know how long I sat at her stone, but by the time I was standing to leave, the sun was beaming brightly. My mama was letting me know that, even though I didn’t say a word, she heard me. When I reached my car, I dialed Reese.
“Yeah.” He answered on the first ring.
“You around?”
