He pulled away and headed to the door.
“Ledge.” I called after him. He paused in the doorway and faced me. “Be careful.”
He winked before turning to go. No matter the weather, it was always going to be him in my heart. We had gone through the trenches together. And even after all the other extra toxic bullshit, I held on to the belief that we could get through it andmake it to that sweet spot in life. I had put in so much time and effort, it wasn’t even funny, and I wasn’t about to let the next hoe swoop in. Ledge had a lot of flaws, but the good outweighed the bad, and if he was up to correcting himself, then I was up to giving him another chance.
Knowledge
After leavingthe house with Chevy and the kids, I got word from Free about some shit going on. I sparked my blunt that had been waiting in the ashtray. After spending all day with my kids, a nigga had been sober and now I was needing a fucking refreshment. Taking a deep inhale, I checked my rearview, feeling paranoid as fuck. Chevy was on my mind, and that bitch Kitana. I needed to get at her after I dealt with Frequency and whatever shit was going on with him.
If I’m betting on myself, then I’ll completely double down
If you hated on a nigga please don’t greet me with a smile
J. Cole’s lyrics bounced around as the smoke filled the whip. I noticed another car behind me, and decided to test them. After a couple of left turns, they stayed at least a car space behind me, so I knew I was being followed. I took casual pulls of the blunt until I was good and high. Putting the rest out in the ashtray, I turned the music up, sat forward and kept my eyes on the road and my rearview.
“Okay mothafuckas, you wanna play?” I was talking to myself while I hit the button on the passenger dash to pop open the glove box.
I had my shit custom designed to hold a fucking Mac 10. Gripping the handle in my hand, I withdrew it and set it in my lap. My windows and entire car was bullet proof, so I wasn’t worried about that shit. As soon as I sped up, the car behind me picked up speed as well. Soon we were both weaving in and out of traffic as they tried to catch up. Deciding to take them on a private ride when they gained on me, I switched off onto a ramp leading to a back road. The headlights damn near blinded me from behind, but I was focused while leading them on a wild goose chase.
This type of shit brought life to a nigga. I enjoyed the thrill of the chase, the adrenaline and all the shit that came with the life I led. I kept it separate from my family. I didn’t want to bring the people I loved into my shit. The only kinfolk I had left outside of Chevy and the kids was my granny. She was in a private care facility that I paid for, and I visited every few months since she was in Florida. We talked on the phone more than anything. Chevy and I had that in common. Our grandmothers cared more about us than our own mothers. There was plenty that bonded us together.
I rolled the window down, ready to aim the weapon out of the window on my assailant. Pushing forward, they nearly knocked me off the road until we were side by side, door to door. When the passenger window went down on their car, I was ready to squeeze off until a familiar face came into view. Dex, a nigga I trained with in Arrows camp for perspectives, sat forward in the driver’s seat.
“What up nigga!” Dex flashed that silly ass grin I remembered on me. “This ain’t personal, bruh, but pull over so I can holla at you.” He urged, nodding to the road.
We might have been acquainted, but I didn’t trust much to begin with on Earth. Dex was wild when we trained together, and I knew he was still out there moving under Arrow’s command. Deciding I would hear him out, I lowered my gun and pushed the gas to the floor, maneuvering my car ahead of him. I pulled off on the side but left my shit running. Dex parked behind me and we got out of our vehicles simultaneously. Pausing near the trunk of my ride, I gripped my pistol and crossed my arms toward the ground. Dex did the same, he just didn’t appear to be armed.
“The fuck is this about, Dex? You still playing flunky to Arrow?” I grit my teeth, and he chuckled before flicking the tip of his nose.
“Same ’ol Ledge. Always the fucking comedian.”
“What you want?” I pressed him.
“Not me. Arrow has a request.” Dex articulated.
“Yeah? And what the fuck is that?” I snapped, both brows dipping angrily.
“He wants you to take Frequency out.” Dex alerted me.
For a second I didn’t respond, shit I barely fucking blinked I was too busy processing what the fuck he said. Me and Free might not have been on the same page as of late, but that was still my guy at the end of it all. Turning on him would hurt mein the long run, that’s how shit went. We were partners in crime. Bound by a blood oath we had taken when we were twelve years old.
“And what the fuck I get out of doing that?” I played along and he smirked while placing his hands on the hood of his car.
“You get to live, so does your family.” Dex countered. “With Free out the way, the market is open to you.”
“And Arrow ain’t got nobody out here trying to challenge him, am I right? He is the reason one of our businesses took a hit. Arrow don’t give a fuck about nobody but himself. You and all the rest of his little robotic ass soldiers are indispensable. You mothafuckas don’t care. He pads your fucking pockets enough for you to turn a blind eye to what the fuck is going on around you. Tell Arrow, stop playing hide and seek. Fucking coward ass nigga always trying to send somebody to do his dirty work.” I grumbled, removing myself from the car and standing upright.
“The choice is yours, Ledge. Just know if you choose wrong, you also make an enemy of him,” Dex implied.
He was right about that, I was tired of taking orders and the whole fucking hierarchy of the business these days. The old heads needed to sit down and let the rest of us handle shit. Most of them were greedy as fuck and driven by hatred and vengeance. We wanted the money, and to make a difference. It wasn’t about killing any and everybody that came across our desk. It was about what a mothafucka did and was capable of.
Maybe working with Arrow would give me some insight. I could damn sure use it with the way shit was turning out for me. There was a good chance I would never get Chevy or my family back. I knew that she loved me, but she wasn’t about giving a nigga a bunch of chances to fuck up her life.
“A’ight. Tell ’em we got a deal.” I kept my voice low while holding his hard stare.
“Just like that?” He questioned, skeptical while propped up against his ride.
I paused, fisting my beard that had grown out.
