“That may be the case, but they not gon’ see the shit that way. They know y’all took out those niggas in Liberty, despite the missing bodies. They want Henderson wealth, Henderson status, and Henderson blood. The only way to fight this shit is both legallyandin the streets. Marcus’s family will help us handle the streets, but it will be extremely tight. Not everyone in Watchful Eyes will be on that team. Jericho, me, and Vegas. We are the three that can go undetected. Seal-like status. Y’all feel me?”
Everyone nodded while Aunt Chrissy wiped tears from her face. She was always so sensitive. Rylan put his arm around his mama.
“Other Watchful Eyes crew will be here on the ground, securing Henderson territories and only shooting in self-defense. I normally don’t share as much intel before the action, so this definitely has to stay extremely tight. Shy’s career depends on it. We will be acting as snipers and taking these people out. We will be wiping surveillance in the area and cleaning our tracks as we go. They gon’ be dropping like flies.”
“Baby, we need to have a prayer vigil for y’all,” Aunt Jen said.
Ali nodded, then looked at Rhodes. “Call your lady.”
He nodded. My sister was rubbing her stomach, so Mythic went to her and knelt beside her. He said something to her, then he helped her from her chair. They went to a corner of the room, and he stood behind her, lifting her belly, and she leaned against him and swayed side to side. I watched them for a moment. It seemed nobody else mattered in this moment to him. He whispered something in her ear and kissed her neck as her eyes closed.
If anybody would have told me three years ago that this nigga would be the best man for my sister, I would have probably wanted to shoot them in their mouth. Mythic Semien was ruthless, and I would have never believed he would take care of my sister the way he had been . . . from day one. He loved her with his soul, and that was all any of us wanted for her . . . for the twins’ mean asses too.
As I watched them, Uncle WJ said, “Karima’s here.”
I looked up at the monitor and saw her arriving outside. One of the cartel guys helped her from her car, and Rhodes went to the door to get her. Aunt Jen stood from her seat, prompting us all to do the same. When Karima walked in, she gave us a tight smile. Rhodes hoisted her onto the tabletop to be sure everyonecould see her. She was just as short as Maui and almost just as pregnant. She was about six months along. We all literally towered over her and could easily block her view.
She closed her eyes and began. “Everyone, grab someone’s hand. Ali, Shy, Jericho, and Vegas . . . come to the front.”
My eyes darted around to see everyone’s eyes were wide. No one had told her anything . . . just that we needed her to come pray.
“God has called you to be angels of war. Chad, Rondo, Dinalee, Seneca, Jungle, Rhodes, Mythic, and Uncle Philly, y’all are God’s angels of protection. PJ . . .”
Her eyes popped open, and she looked around the room. “PJ is God’s messenger.”
She was gasping for a moment . . . almost hyperventilating. God had revealed that to her. She lifted her hands high and tears fell down her cheeks.
“God, we need You like never before. Thank You for bringing Watchful Eyes to us and the men outside. Despite the things we’ve done and engaged in, I know we are still Your people. You cover Your people. Thank You for covering the Hendersons, the Semiens, and all of the other families connected to us. Only You are able to protect us. You have chosen to do that through Watchful Eyes. Thank You for Missus Taylor as well. She will be battling in the courtroom for us with Shy.”
I took a deep breath as I felt heat around my ears and neck. I already knew what her prayers felt like from that night in the hospital when Grandpa died. It was like we could all feel the presence of God. He’d anointed Karima to be the family’s spokesperson when it came to getting a prayer through.
“Protect these men of honor as they protect us. We ask that this war moves swiftly. Keep our children, keep our spouses, keep everyone’s minds intact. Help us to be mindful of who gets the glory. Help us to acknowledge You in all our ways. Keep PJ.Keep his mind, and keep him occupied. It’s not good for man to be alone. Give him peace, comfort, and let him know just how loved he is. God give us all strength, wisdom with dealing with the information discussed here, and most of all, peace. In Your name we pray, Amen.”
When I opened my eyes, I could tell the men of Watchful Eyes were stunned. They’d never witnessed anything like this. It was hard for me too the first time I witnessed it. Karima was God’s chosen one. There was no doubt about it. She went around the table, from Ali to Vegas, Jericho, and Mr. Shy. She anointed them with oil. She then went to the other men of Watchful Eyes, and they all allowed her to anoint them too.”
She spoke to everyone in the family, and when she got to me, she anointed me. I frowned slightly, wondering why she anointed me and not other members of the family.
“Keep frowning, and I’m gon’ pour the whole bottle on you. You need Jesus, boy.”
I rolled my eyes and chuckled, then she hugged me. “Congratulations on your lady . . . finally. She’s going to be good for you. I can see it already.”
“Thanks, Rima.”
She pinched my cheek, then Rhodes appeared behind her, leading her to her car. Once he came back inside, Uncle WJ said, “Thanks, Jen. We definitely needed that.”
She nodded.
“The Hendersons are a rising force. Whenever Black people began to own their own towns and function as their own providence, they try to destroy it. We govern Nome ourselves. We will soon have our own bank, schools, police department, courthouse, and other facilities. They feel threatened by us. That’s not our problem though. It’s theirs. We will rise above this. In this administration, we truly have to stay vigilant. Theytried with ICE and weren’t successful. They are going to come harder, but so are we . . . with God’s help.”
Everyone clapped and offered hugs and handshakes to everyone. As I was leaving, my dad stopped me. “Nigga, you wasn’t gon’ holla at me before you left? Yo’ ass get a woman and forget all about your family. You gon’ be one of those muthafuckas?”
“Man quit tripping. It ain’t like that. We been all scattered and shit, not hanging with each other. I guess since Uncle Marcus’s people are here, we can get back to normal,” I said, reiterating what Royal had said earlier.
“Actually, we need to get back to normal to bring those muthafuckas out the woodwork.” He lifted his hand, and said, “Aye everybody! We need to get back to normal. This being separated shit is for the fucking birds. See y’all at the diner tomorrow. Business as fucking usual.”
Everybody laughed and agreed. Turning back to me, he said, “Love looks good on you. I’m proud of you for learning how to love her. It was kind of hard to teach you, because my ass had to learn as I went, but I hope I showed you how to love a woman through my actions. I mean . . . my actions can be fucked up at times too, but for the most part, I believe I did right by your mama.”
“You did, baby. I love you.”
