Prosper glanced at his girl before he looked back at Ghost. “Eyes on me, nigga.”
Ghost looked at Prosper, who had to give him his props. He didn’t look like a scared nigga about to die. He was solid. It was too bad they had to be on opposing teams. The streets could be cold as hell like that sometimes. In another lifetime, two solid ass niggas like them would have made billions together.
“The only other thing I gotta say is to her.” Ghost nodded his head forward in Teonny’s direction. Prosper eyed him, but he stepped aside so Teonny could be in full sight. It wasn’t like Ghost could harm her, so he would let him say his piece.
“Say somethin’ out of line, and you’re done,” Prosper warned.
“I’m done either way.” Ghost grinned tiredly.
“I’ll make it slow and painful. Don’t try me,” Prosper said.
Ghost nodded and looked at Teonny. “I don’t have many regrets, but my one and only regret was letting this nigga take on one mission.” He jerked his head to the side towardJerome. “Only reason I kept him around after that was because I promised his mama on her deathbed that I would look out for his stupid ass, and I loved Auntie Linda like she was my own mama.”
“What are you getting at?” Teonny asked. Prosper noticed she now shook with rage. He wanted to go to her and comfort her, but he didn’t think she wanted that from him right now. After all, it was his fault she found out all this information right now.
“Ya mama?—”
“Shut up!” Tameka shouted. She lunged for Ghost, but Lamar, who had been a silent spectator, stepped forward and held her back.
Prosper didn’t even like the thought of hitting a woman, but he wanted to knock her ass out cold for just a second so they could wrap this shit up.
“Continue,” Prosper said to Ghost.
Ghost stared at Teonny. “Ya mama came to me five years ago and begged me to put a hit out on Kevin. Jerome had been begging me for years to do a hit to prove himself, so I let him go. Him and one of my other men, who has since passed, snuck up in ya house on my order because ya mama begged me and told me she would break me off with a large sum of money. She wanted Kevin dead because he wouldn’t leave you for her. She wanted him for herself. He refused to leave you, so she came to me.
“Jerome is the one who killed ya daughter. He started smokin’ that shit after the hit and ain’t been the same since. Ya mama been paying me monthly to keep me quiet. From what I understand, it’s on your dime too. She ain’t want anyone to know, especially you, that she’s the reason your daughter is dead. I ain’t ever killed a child in my life, but I feel responsiblefor your daughter. I know my time has come, and I’m aight with reaping what I sowed.”
Teonny dropped to her knees midway through Ghost’s speech. Prosper’s heart ached. He didn’t care if she rejected him at that point. He went over to her and got on his knees. After he wrapped her up in his arms, he rocked her back and forth.
“H-he’s lying, Teo. Baby, you have to believe me.” Tameka thrashed against Lamar, who effortlessly held her in place.
Meanwhile, Jerome called Tameka everything but a child of God, while Ghost remained silent.
“What you want me to do, baby?” Prosper asked repeatedly. He just wanted to take her pain away.
Finally, it was like Teonny snapped. She got up too quickly for him to grab her, and she lunged at Tameka.
This was the very first time in her life that Teonny blacked out.
The pain in her chest was the only thing she could feel.
It was the only thing she could see.
It was the only thing she could taste.
It was the only thing she could smell.
It was the only thing she could hear.
How her five senses could experience the samefeelingsimultaneously and in different ways was beyond her. All she knew was when she blinked again, her mother was on the ground at her feet, and Teonny somehow had a gun in her hand. Lamar’s hands were up, and he stood off to the side. Her guess was she somehow snatched the gun from him. She looked down at her mom, who was now barely conscious.
Never in a million years did Teonny picture this scene. Her, with a gun in her hand, ready to kill someone she loved more than anything. Tears filled her eyes as her hands shook. Herhands never fuckin’ shook when she held a gun. At least not for the past five years. Maybe that was a sign.
She couldn’t believe she had allowed someone to fool her once again. After her ex-husband, she thought she knew how to spot a narcissist from a mile away, but she’d been wrong. So very fucking wrong. The shitty part was the second time around hurt one hundred times more.
“You ruined my life,” she whispered.
“I’m so?—”
