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“Do you think he suffered long or do you think the shots took him out quick?”

“Nah, that nigga fought. I could tell how he was outside that truck. He was still tryin’ to make it home to yo’ ass.”

“I can’t believe I found him like that.”

“Yeah, I hate you found him. That’s why you can’t shake this shit.”

“Grief doesn’t have a timeframe,” she told me.

“True. I’ll give you a few days to think about the Flush. We gotta have some answers for all those employees.” I got up and headed towards the door. “And the next time one of us stops by, can you please reveal the old Kyenna that kept her hair and shit done? This one is scaring me a lil’.”

“Get the fuck out,” Kyenna said.

“Aight, Sis. Call me if you need me.”

I pulled into Averie’s subdivision. It wasn’t anything like the King Estates, but it was modest, being that she didn’t want any handouts from my brother. He offered to buy her whatever house she wanted. All she wanted was for him to take care of his kids. Averie had her own money. She worked as a registered nurse at a plastic surgeon’s office.

Averie wasn’t impressed with my brother’s money. She was with him when he only had what he made from our Pops. I pulled into the driveway and before I could knock, the front door swung open.

“Uncle Meek!” Khari jumped in my arms.

She was dressed in a cute pink dress. Kaiden came down the steps in a pair of khakis and a button-down shirt. I dapped him up.

“I tried to tie it myself. My mama can’t do it either.”

I laughed because it was crooked as fuck. Shit, I wouldn’t know how to tie one if it wasn’t for my brother. He liked to dress the fuck up and told me I wasn’t a real nigga until I learned how to do my own tie without our mama.

“I wish my dad was here to go to my honors program.”

His ass hit a soft spot. I had business to handle, but for them, I would stop what I had going on.

“Yo’ dad would’ve been so proud of you. Tell you what. I’m gonna go and stand in for yo’ dad. How’s that?” I asked as I finished his tie.

Averie was coming down the stairs dressed in a nice pair of pants and a shirt. Averie was thick. As much as she tried to hide it, she couldn’t.

“Hey, Shameek.”

“What’s up?”

“I heard you tell Kaiden you were coming to his honors program.”

“I did.”

“Look, I don’t need you being inconsistent. I know you got your own thing going on and this is not your responsibility. I can handle it just fine.”

“When it comes to the kids, I got them. Will I be able to show up to everything? Probably not. But they will know I’m here. If I’m not able to, my sister can. If she can’t, my parents will. Y’all are family.”

“They’ve been through enough. Khari is still asking about that man. She wants details on what happened to him.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?” Her expression changed.

“Kyenna…”

“What about her?”

“She misses the kids.”