Page 3 of My Brother's Keeper
Monfua glanced at me and Xavier, then at Chevy. “The nigga Kareem,” he paused. “Or as Harvey calls him, Scooter, who works at my bar. Mali came to my crib the other night, saying he needed to tell me something, but the nigga was so fucked up I couldn’t make out what he was talking about. All I know is that Kareem and he got into some shit. So maybe Kareem got to him?
“Kareem!”Dio shouted. “The nigga that’s supposedly looking for me? Yeah, I know about it. He did right by taking Mali and not me.”
My eyes slowly rolled toward Dio because his mouth was becoming a little too slick. He looked at me and shrugged, then started talking. “I get it, that’s y’all brother, but the difference between you two niggas,” he pointed at me and Xavier. “Is that people could say what they want about me and Zeus, and that doesn’t bother me, but I’m out there killing every nigga walking over mine. Move first, ask questions never.”
I respected Dio because the love he had for his brother was the same love I wanted to have for Mali, but with the bullshit I’ve dealt with, it was hard. Back in the day, Mison and Kareem hung out from time to time. For all I knew, they used to shoot the shit and chill. Kareem has always been on a different type of time. He was the definition of a true gutta nigga. After my pops went on his downward spiral, I guess Mison connected with Kareem on some broken home parent shit.
Chevy glanced down at his watch before he looked at all of us. “We’re going to find him. No fucking sleep until we find his ass. Let’s ride.”
The sound of Preach praying before we all walked out the door caught my attention. “Lord, please give me the strength. It’s like finding Zaria all over again,” he muttered and walked out of the Zoo.
I didn’t know if this was a goose chase or not, but I hoped like hell we found my brother, alive.
FLEX
My body swung side to side as Scooter recklessly drove my car. Since being held at gunpoint, I had been stuck with Scooter. You might think I knew how to handle him by now, but with so much time apart, he had become something different and deranged. He hit corner after corner, almost hitting a group of teens in their half assed costumes. “Slow down!” I screamed.
Scooter pulled the Michael Myers mask from his face as he sucked in a deep breath. He was sweating profusely as his eyes tried to focus on the road. “You could have helped me put his drunk ass in the car,” he gritted.
I held on to the door and center console, trying to figure out why the hell he thought I was going to help him kidnap somebody. Shit, technically, the nigga had kidnapped me. “I’m not going to jail for you!” I snapped.
He hit another corner as his eyes bounced from the side mirror to the rearview mirror, “I don’t think anybody is following us,” he huffed.
Scooter was losing his entire mind. The need to get this fucking money was going to lead his ass to an early death. I understood his passion to care for Keith, but Keith was living a life that both Scooter and I had dreamed of. Why couldn’t he just be happy with that?
I didn’t know what it would take to shift his way of thinking, but the one thing I did know about him was that once he was fixated on something, that was it until he felt satisfied. When we pulled up to my apartment, I wanted to jump out and haul ass to my door, lock it, and hide. However, I knew Scooter, the niggawas crazy enough to pull the trigger on me, and death wasn’t in my fucking deck of cards.
I already had Foe on my back over Harvey; I didn’t need any additional drama. I haven’t even reached my peak in my life to die. So, running wasn’t a fucking option. Hell, at this point, I thought of throwing the nigga some pussy to calm his ass down.
After he parked, Scooter got out and instructed me to help him with Mison. The struggle of dead weight was insane, but we managed. Once inside, I tried to go to the back, but there it was, the cold steel at my back. “Sit yo ass down. Nobody is going any fucking where until I figure this shit out,” he grumbled.
I closed my eyes and said a prayer because if this nigga Mison didn’t own up, he and I were both dead.
SYMPHONY
I decided to help Bop clean the lounge after the party. London dashed around the open space as he and I began picking things up. I’d become curious about what happened with the Zoo when they rushed out of the building. It was interesting to see Bishop and the Zoo getting along. When they stepped on the scene, I didn’t know what it would look like for the niggas from the Cove because they had never had any niggas step on their toes like the Zoo, but somehow, they were co-existing.
When I saw Mison Keyton step into the party with the Zoo, my interest was piqued, mainly because he was the brother who stayed in the shadows. Mison and I attended the same high school. The person who stepped into that party wasn’t the same Mison from school.
The night Sasha asked me to see her race was the last time I saw him before tonight. I wanted to ask Bishop how much he knew about the Keyton brothers being mixed with the Zoo. Bishop moved around the lounge slowly. “Fuck this. I’m about to pay somebody.”
I laughed. “Well, duh nigga. This shit is a mess,” I paused. I went over to London to pick her up. “So, the Keyton brothers are hanging with the Zoo?”
He turned to look at me curiously as his brows slowly raised. “Why?”
I nuzzled my nose in London’s fur. “Just asking.”
“Sounds like you’re interested in one of them. I mean, I can call up my nigga Chev and get the number if you want to holla.” He laughed.
“No,” I paused as I rolled my eyes. “I was curious, that’s all,” I muttered.
Bishop tossed the trash bag on the floor as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Damn! I missed her call,” he gritted.
I knew he was talking about Indigo. Bishop not having her around was different. He tried to keep himself busy, but nothing was working. I could tell he missed her a lot, and the love he has for her is beautiful. I set London down, and she ran straight to him. “Why don’t you go visit her. I’m sure she would be happy to see you, Bop.”
He picked London up, “She doesn’t want to see me yet. The shit is killing me too.”
I had always admired the way he loved her. I can only hope I will one day find a love of my own with such passion between the two of us. I grabbed my purse from the table to leave when Bishop asked something that caught my attention. “How’s your pops?”
