Page 57 of Chosen By a Baller 3: Playin’ For Keeps

“Yeah,” Kyrie replied. “But what are you going to do to that nigga if you don’t mind me asking?”

“The same thing he did to you, but instead, I’m going to make sure the job is complete.” Zeek shrugged. “Since he wanted to shoot you, I’m going to make sure I kill that nigga.”

“Bet. I wanted to go and see for myself, but Marvin big-headed ass told me to stay the fuck out of it.”

“And he’s right, cuz. You don’t need to get involved in none of this. You got a lot going for yourself, and we don’t need muthafuckas putting two and two together, and you end up losing everything.”

“You right.” Kyrie sighed.

The conversation drifted after that. We joked, talked a little more shit, and laughed like we weren’t discussing a body a few minutes ago.

Eventually, Zeek pushed up from the couch.

“Aight.”

I stood with him, and we both dapped Kyrie up.

“Stay out the way,” I told him.

He smirked. “Man, get the fuck on.”

I laughed, shaking my head as Zeek and I headed for the door.

The second we pulled off, the joking stayed behind. That nigga had been breathin’ easy for far too long. Walkin’ around like he ain’t try to take my cousin from us.

That shit was about to end soon because that nigga had to fucking go. His time had run the fuck out.

After my cousins left, I stood in the middle of the living room for a second, rubbing my beard as my eyes swept the house. It was too fucking quiet.

Ain’t no way one person should’ve been able to change the feel of this place this damn much, but somehow, Sianni had. Her laugh wasn’t bouncing off the walls anymore. She wasn’t calling my name every five damn minutes. For the first time since I’d brought this big ass house, it actually felt like one.

I let out a slow breath before heading upstairs. By the time I made it into the room, I was already peeling my shirt over my head.

A hot shower usually cleared my mind. Today, that shit didn’t do a damn thing.

After I got dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a black T-shirt, I headed back downstairs. My gaze moved around the house before I could stop it. Her sketchbook was gone from the coffee table, and the throw blanket she’d been wrapped in every night was folded neatly across the arm of the couch.

I scoffed under my breath. They’d only been gone a little while. Ain’t no way I was already trippin’. I grabbed my phone off the kitchen island. My thumb hovered over her name for a second before I tapped it anyway.

I told myself I was just checking to make sure they made it. That was it. Nothing more.

As the phone rang, I leaned back against the counter, my jaw tight enough to make my teeth ache. Truth be told, I didn’t even know what the fuck I was gonna say once she answered.

“Hey, baby, is everything alright?” she answered, her voice floating through the receiver.

The second I heard it, I closed my eyes. Her damn voice was soft as hell, but it hit me the same way it did every time. It settled something in me while fucking me up all at once, making my dick twitch before I even had the chance to see her face.

“Wassup? Y’all make it?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay even.

“We almost there. Is everything alright?”

“Everything straight,” I said, rubbing my hand over my beard. “I’m just missing you.”

The words slipped out easier than I expected. A few months ago, I'd have laughed in a nigga's face if he told me I'd be calling a woman just because I wanted to hear her voice.

Now, somewhere between the arguing, the fake marriage, and everything we'd survived together, Sianni had become the one person who made this house feel like home.

I loved that girl. And I wasn't running from that shit anymore.