AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Naw. Had Yonkers known he’d done that shit, he wouldn’t be alive. Why did Ice keep his ass around?”
Jungle slid his hand over his head. “He found out that was his brother.”
“Aww shit. So I’m about to take out yo’ uncle.”
Jungle frowned. “I don’t claim that nigga. Fawn don’t even know him. Ice didn’t want him around us. He was grooming me to take over though, so I needed to know who that muthafucka was. After he caught his ass stealing from him, he sent that nigga packing. He should have killed his ass then.”
“Keondra was planning to do it herself. She’d asked for his address.”
“Wait a minute, nigga. What I miss? Y’all argued the last time y’all saw each other, now you finna kill for her?”
I blew out a hard breath. “Yeah. I told her yesterday that I wanted to try to be with her. I feel for her, and I don’t know the fuck why.”
“Damn, nigga! That’s what’s up!”
He slapped my hand as Zamir said, “Daaaamn, nigga.”
Jungle side-eyed him, and he went back to his sippy cup. I chuckled. “Bad ass.”
“What made you give in?”
“It was more exhausting trying to fight it. So since I’m her nigga and shit now, I gotta handle that shit for her.”
“Well don’t do it by yourself. Talk to Ali about it. I know that nigga legit now, but so are we. We’re all trying to be legit, but when situations arise, we handle that shit as a crew. You know Seneca’s ass will be happy to pluck that nigga off just to exercise that trigger finger. Plus, they both know his ass too. Seneca ran directly for his ass.”
“Yeah, I remember. When is the next Watchful Eyes meeting?”
Technically, I wasn’t really included in the meetings for Watchful Eyes because I was only there to help with shit that involved Jericho and Jungle. Maybe I could be in the loop of things after this. “We don’t have one scheduled. After Ali hears about this, he’ll probably schedule one though.”
“A’ight. I’ll hit him up later. So how shit going with the realty plans?”
“Pretty good. They gon’ break ground next week. Sasha and Whitney been on their shit. If Yonkers, Joshua, and Ice could see us now, they would be proud.”
I nodded reflectively. My pops always told me if I got the opportunity to get out of that shit to take it. He said niggas were getting more and more disloyal. Shady muthafuckas were taking over, and you couldn’t trust a soul. He used to say all the time that the only niggas he trusted with his life were Ice and Yonkers. That was why he made sure to check on Yonkers’s family after he got popped.
Until the day he suffered the same demise, Yonkers’s family was his family away from home. Maybe that was where I learned the little bit of sensitivity I had. Seeing him constantly see after those mystery women exposed me to his caring side, especially where women were concerned.
“I’m proud of you too, Joel.”
I shoved Jungle as he laughed. That nigga never called me Joel, just like I never called him Milton. At least my name didn’t sound like an old ass nigga from the movie Car Wash. “Shut the fuck up, Milton,” I said then glanced at Zamir.
He was soaking all this shit in to replay it later. I could imagine that Ice did the same shit with Jungle when we were that young. The difference now was that Zamir wouldn’t know shit about the streets, not if any of us could help it. Jungle wanted his son and daughter to be as far removed from the streets as possible. Some of the shit we saw growing up had us paranoid as hell. When we should have been worried about football games and shit, we were selling dope to fiends.
I couldn’t be angry about it though. Our fathers taught us the only thing they knew. Shit, Jungle’s father was the kingpin. I just wished they would have protected their sons like they did their daughters.
“So why don’t you invite Keondra to Beaumont this weekend?”
I frowned slightly. “I probably will if she don’t have to work. That’s probably when Ali will want to meet. She’ll be comfortable around the ladies since she’s met most of them already. I already know that she’ll get along with Alexz.”
“Hell yeah.” Jungle cosigned. “Their petty asses.”
I chuckled as Chelsea joined us. She quickly handed Zuri to me and took off. Jungle was right behind her. I was more than sure she had to throw up. I stared into the eyes of this beautiful three-month-old baby. Chelsea kept her dressed nice. I hadn’t seen a baby wearing jewelry since Fawn was a baby. Zuri adorned a necklace, bracelet, and earrings. She got her ears pierced last week.
Just as she began squirming, Jungle reappeared. I knew I had to look uncomfortable as hell holding her. I didn’t hold Zamir as much when he was a baby, because everybody else was always holding him. I didn’t put up a fight about it either. Babies weren’t really my thing. Jungle took her from me. “Uncle Vegas don’t know shit about holding you, huh, baby girl?”
“Chelsea okay?”
“Yeah. She had to throw up. I told her to go lay down for a lil while. Me and you will watch the kids.”
