Once they surrounded the house, Vegas went to the porch and knocked. The minute he did, niggas started scrambling, and we all bum rushed the house at every entry point. Shots were being fired, and some didn’t have silencers, so I knew we would need to get out of here ASAP. I ran and ended up face-to-face with a nigga named Trae that I used to shoot the shit with. My weapon was drawn and so was his.
We had a silent stare down for about five seconds, before a shot was fired. My heart was racing, and I just knew I was gone, because I didn’t pull the trigger. When Trae dropped, I turned my head to the left and saw Seneca. He gave me a head nod as they canvased the rest of the house to make sure we got everybody.
“Let’s roll!” Mythic said.
As we ran out, guys in all white rolled in. I had to assume that was a cleanup crew or some shit, like I saw in the movies. I was more than sure Ali was responsible for getting them out there. I hopped in Mythic’s truck, and he pulled out somewhat slowly, making sure not to kick up too much dust or burn rubber. Everyone else did the same as he did.
Once we got on the highway, I took a deep breath and tried to steady my heart rate. I could have been gone. That nigga would have shot me in the head. Seeing the blood skeeting out of his neck would probably be an image that would take a while to get out of my head.
“You good?”
I nodded as I struggled a little bit. While I knew there was a possibility I could die when I hopped in the vehicle with Mythic,I didn’t see it playing out like it did. It literally could have been the end for me. Our family could have lost me, and possibly PJ. I had to get to him. The only reason he was still hanging around those niggas was so he could help me. I felt guilty as fuck.
“You can’t think that way, Seven. PJ is a man. He chose to do what he did. Nobody forced him to do that. If you think that way, it will kill you, man. I get it though. PJ is a real one. That’s my nigga. You know that. Let’s just focus on him and trying to do whatever is needed to make sure he can come back to us.”
I nodded. Mythic had been in a lot more situations like this than me. So I knew he was speaking from experience. That was how he knew part of what I was thinking about.
“Trae and I ended up face-to-face. I thought I was dead. I didn’t fire. I should have fired right away . . . without hesitancy. We stared at each other for a good five seconds, man. When I heard a shot fired, I thought he had shot me. It was like my life flashed right before my eyes. Seneca seen the whole thing and took him out.”
He nodded. “Been there. When I went to rescue Treasure, Ali and Jericho did the same thing for me. Jericho tackled me to the ground, and Ali killed Javian. We’d come face-to-face. Neither of us fired right away either. He talked shit, and I talked more shit. I think it’s that we’re trying to intimidate the other. Otherwise, we would shoot each other the fuck up, and we’d both die. It’s survival. That’s a scary ass feeling though. You did good.”
We had almost gotten back to Nome. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and sent my dad a text.On our way to the hospital.
He responded immediately.Okay. We’re here.
I knew he was worried about me . . . about all of us. Ace was right behind us. That nigga was firing at all cylinders. I thought he was gonna hit one of us. The only killing either of us had ever done, before today, was out of self-defense. He’d killed the threemuthafuckas that had attacked our grandfather, and I’d killed the muthafucka that tried to rob me. This was different.
“I never wanna have to do this shit again. I don’t know how I was able to be involved in this all those years. All I could think about was Maui, Caleb, and Majestic. Maui is the love of my life and to force her to have to live without me is something I’m not prepared to do.”
“Majestic? Y’all naming my nephew Majestic? What the fuck wrong wit’ y’all?”
I saw the smirk appear on his lips and felt it appear on mine as well. When he didn’t respond to me verbally, I said, “That’s cool, man. I’ma teach my nephew how to make all his cousins bow in his presence.”
He chuckled. “You full of shit. Don’t be tryna turn my son into you and yo’ daddy.”
I chuckled. “Shiiiid, nigga, that would be the best thing for him. Remy getting soft on us.”
He held out his hand, and I slapped it, then squeezed it. We were both worried about PJ. I was just grateful I didn’t get a call saying that he was gone.
When we got to the hospital in Beaumont, we could see everyone crowded in the emergency room waiting area. Ace was right behind us. Uncle Philly, Uncle Ryder, and Ryder J had blown by us on the highway. They were already doing their best to console their wives, and Lema, PJ’s twin, was being comforted by her mom’s best friend.
I walked over to my family, and my mama hugged me tightly. My sisters hugged me immediately after. I went to my dad and shook his hand. “What are they saying?”
He slid his hand down his face. “It’s not looking good. He’s still in surgery. We know he’s lost a kidney and a lot of blood. We’re just waiting for another update.”
I looked around the room, seeing the heartbreak on everyone’s faces. Karima was praying, going from person to person with tears streaming down her cheeks as she did so. Mrs. Kema looked like she would pass out at any minute. Despite what Mythic said, I knew this was all my fault. Had I never signed the dotted line with the FBI, my family would be cutting up on the streets of Nome.This shit is all on me.
CHAPTER TWELVE
IESHA
Ihadn’t talked to Seven in three days. During that time, I was able to get Mya’s book cover done and a lot of other projects completed. It was how I kept myself busy to keep my mind off him. However, today would be the day that I sat with my thoughts about everything, and I made a decision on what I would do. I had to do this because I was tired of the back and forth. If I accepted him back into my life with this bullshit that was going on, I had to accept everything that came with it. I had to think about the whole picture.
I grabbed a spiral and prepared to do this the old school way, with pen and paper. After getting a bottle of Fiji water and a bag of popcorn, I sat on the couch. I didn’t have to think hard.
I huffed as I sat here in my thoughts. It was clear that Seven was worth the risk. Truth be told, I knew that shit before I wrote this. I just needed tangible proof of my thoughts. Most of the cons weren’tthatbad. I needed to reevaluate whether I could handle the shit he found himself in or not. With Seven, I knew there would be future shit to deal with as well. It was just part of his nature. I twirled my braid around my pointer finger as I searched the depths of my soul.
I curled my feet under me and laid my head against a throw pillow, wishing things could be easier for me mentally. I wanted to call my mom, but I knew she would just say what she always did.Stop overthinking, Iesha.I couldn’t help it though. Whenever I thought I’d overcome it, something always happened to bring me right back to it.
