Alighttapatmy door roused me from blankly staring at the television. Passing time while Judge Bell and Minnie Bell spent time with Bianca was starting to douse me into a depression I’d never felt before. If I wasn’t sitting by her side, shit was just dull as fuck. However, I couldn’t be selfish. So, I retreated to my apartment whenever they entered her room.
I opened the door to find Adir on the other side. He was dressed for war prompting me to ask, “It’s time to move?”
He simply nodded. Within minutes, we were on the elevator headed back to the lobby. The sun wasn’t out yet, and the early morning hours seemed ominous. Leaving the staff with strict instructions to keep the place on lockdown, Adir, Adrian, Alli, Noa, and I filed out of the building and to the non-descript black cargo van waiting for us. Humble rode shotgun while Russ took the wheel.
The four-hour ride brought morning with it. We pulled into the driveway of a mansion owned by Dr. Cartright. Percy’s mother welcomed us into her home and took us to a room that was fitted with soundproof walls and several televisions mounted to one wall. Weapons of every kind were displayed and locked behind glass cases.
Mrs. Charmaine Cartright smiled at us and said, “Everything you need is in here.” She handed Adir a remote. “Stay as long as you need.”
After she left the room, we spent the next few hours going over the layout of the house the Rollins brothers were holed up at. It was in a decent sized neighborhood not too far from downtown Atlanta. By nightfall, we had a plan and wasted no time putting it into action.
Twenty minutes later, we arrived in the Rollins’s neighborhood. Shit was riddled with people walking the street, hanging in their yards, and loud ass music playing. Block parties were common in this area no matter what time of day it was and no matter what day of the week it was. The cacophony of noise was just the backdrop we needed to cloak the hail of bullets we were about to rain on 3410 Hummus Way. As if the non-descript van was an everyday thing in these parts, nobody paid us any attention. At the end of the block, the Rollins’s hideout came into view.
“There’s one of ‘em,” Humble pointed out.
Cliff sat on the hood of a familiar black sedan parked in the yard, talking to some of his homies. He took one look at the van, hopped off the car, and pulled his strap. His crew was ready, too.
Smiling, I pulled my ski mask down and jumped out of the van while it was still rolling. Alli took off one way as bullets started flying. Adir went another way, while I had my sights set on Cliff. That hefty muthafucka was fast. However, I almost appreciated this workout.
He aimed over his shoulder and recklessly shot. As if I wasn’t made of flesh and blood, I kept chasing that nigga. Aiming, I clipped him on his right calf just to slow him down. I wasn’t about to keep playing with this nigga. He collapsed, then rolled on his back and wildly shot, hoping to hit me. As soon as his gun clicked, signaling that he’d run out of bullets, I approached him. Inside the open field we were in, I glanced around.
“Fuck y’all want? The safe is in the back room!” He attempted to bargain with me.
I countered calmly, “I’m after yo’ soul, nigga.”
He acted confused. “The fuck for?”
“You hit up that restaurant?”
His eyes widened, then he sputtered. “I was after a rat! What’s it to you?”
“A couple of yo’ bullets touched my people.”
“Shit!” he exclaimed. “Fuck! My fault, nigga!”
I put a bullet through his neck. “Yo’ fault, nigga.”
He gurgled on his own blood as he held his neck. His eyes bugged as he struggled to breathe. I stared him in his eyes until the last breath drained from his body. His body relaxed, giving up all signs of life.
“I got this.” Russ came up behind me and said, “Get back to the van.”
Satisfied that one of the niggas behind Bianca’s shooting was dead, I trekked back through the field and toward the house to find Adir exiting the house’s back door.
“One down,” he stated.
“Two down,” I added.
We bumped fists and headed back to the van. Now to get back to Bianca and figure out how the hell I was going to win this woman’s heart.
CHAPTER 3
BIANCA
ThesoundofAdir’sand Antonias’s lowly speaking voices roused me. Prying my eyes open, the first set of eyes that met me were those of Antonias. Nothing could’ve prepared me for what lie there. He looked relieved and concerned at the same time. Then, there was the set of his jaw. It was tight as he slid his large, tattooed hands into his black scrub bottoms. He didn’t even blink as he stared at me.
“Baby!” My mama ran to me and collapsed over me, breaking my attention from Antonias. Her tears soaked through my gownand prickled my skin. She kissed my forehead, then my cheeks. I’d never seen her this devastated before.
“Hey, Mama,” I croaked. “I was shot. Who shot me? Torro… Where is he?” Looking for answers, I shot my tear-filled eyes at my father, brothers, and finally, Antonias. His once relieved and concerned expression turned into a look of annoyance. As if he was disgusted by the sight of me, he turned and gave me his back as he paced the room.
