Page 81 of Rayzor: Tell Me It’s Mine II

“I love you too. Let me get back to this and I’ll be home, aiight?”

“Be careful. And please, bring my baby home.”

She hung up.

I got out and went down to the house, checking the car to see if any of Levi’s stuff was inside.

At first, I didn’t see anything. I yanked the handle of the door, and it opened because it was unlocked. Not even an alarm went off, nor did any lights come on. The car wasn’t in good condition. The cloth and leather were tattered. Food bags were on the seats- not junky shit, but it wasn’t clean either.

I tossed some shit to the side, looking for anything. The more I sought out, the more I didn’t want to find something I could use.

My heart sped up every time my eyes landed on something.

It’s a catch-22; on the one hand, I wanted to find anything because that meant it’d be close, but on the other hand, if I did find something, there’s no telling what’ll be on the other end of it. I wanted to find Levi, but I wanted him the way we left him.

There was this green thing sticking out from under one of the seats. I grabbed it. It was a small, pocket-sized dinosaur toy. Levi carried these around in his pocket.

The front door opened, and a man walked out. I hopped in the backseat, closing the door. He didn’t see me because he climbed in with ease.

“Sis, you’re worried for nothing. You said they’re running the reward for one hundred, right? Once they get that, we’ll split it and be gone.”

The muffled sound on the other end of the phone sounded like the person was panicking. I didn’t want to jump out immediately, acting on impulse. I needed to hear if anything else would come of this.

“That little talking ass nigga in there sleep. I gave his ass one of them melatonin. He dripped out too. I’m selling that Amiri with some Gucci sneakers. That nigga Rayzor got money. I know he dripped them in that.” He laughed. “I’ll hit you later. Find something to do to get the money before the police. I’m not trying to keep this lil’ nigga long.”

I sat up when I heard the call end. His eyes were wide when he saw me. City was standing in the back of the car.

“Nigga, who the…” He was silenced with one twist of his neck. His head was over his shoulder, limp. I dropped him, and he fell to the side. When I exited the car, City was already going into the house.

I grabbed his phone, then got out to get Levi.

The stairs creaked when I walked. It smelled like old carpet from the outside. There was a TV softly playing behind the door. It was unlocked as I peeled it open. I spotted Levi sleeping on a dirty, burgundy couch underneath the window.

I scanned his body to see any noticeable marks or bruises. He looked fine from the outside.

He stirred in his sleep.

“Levi,” I called out.

He moved but his eyes stayed closed.

“Hmmm,” he groaned and grunted.

“Daddy, you’re here.” He hugged me around my neck so tightly. I wrapped my arms around his little body.

“I’ll always be here for you.” I kissed the side of his head. “Levi, listen to me.”

“Okay,” he nodded.

“Who brought you here? How did you get here?”

“Uncle Tony picked me up,” he explained.

.

“Did you willingly go with him?”

“No. He– he– he… came in the grass, and when I tried to go get Auntie Rhea, he– he–he said that I was leaving with him. He picked me up, ran, and put me in a car.”