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“Well, I know for a fact he is. I’m saying, you used to come to my crib and sleep when you couldn’t stay at your mom’s crib. You got a job at the store with me. You used to play the game with me. Then, all of a sudden, when he got his crib, he talked you into staying with him, and had you out on the corners banging for him. Just look at it, Malik. I been trying to keep us outta the drug game for a minute, but that nigga always tried to get you to get in it with him. So it has always been about controlling you and keeping us from bonding.”
“Yo, you right, man,” Al-Malik said.
“I know I’m right, and I always tried to tell you that. But I had to let you find out on your own. Don’t worry about him.”
“Tae, you don’t know him. He has changed, man. Trey is a beast. That nigga don’t have a problem putting a bullet in somebody—anybody—and I don’t want that to be me. He don’t give two shits about popping off.”
“Yo, I got you. Didn’t I always look out for you?”
“Yeah, but we were kids then.”
“And I still look out for you. You my man, and I ain’t gonna let nothing happen to you. You ain’t got nobody in your corner. I’m more of a brother to you than your own brothers, so like I said, fuck that nigga.”
***
Later that night Al-Malik walked into his condo and turned on the lights. Before he could get to his bedroom, someone knocked on the door. He frowned. Looking up at the clock on the living room wall, he saw that it was two am. He didn’t have a clue who would be visiting at that hour.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Trey.”
Al-Malik was reluctant to open the door.
“What’s up?” Al-Malik said, looking through the peephole at Trey, trying to read his body language.
“Man, open the door! Why you trippin’? We ain’t chilled in a minute. I feel like we need to get that back, nah mean?”
Al-Malik opened the door. “What’s up, man?” he asked, feeling uneasy.
“What’s up?”
They both stood in the doorway.
“You gonna let me in?” Trey finally said.
“Sure.” Al-Malik stepped to the side, allowing Trey to enter his condo.
Trey walked in and stood in the middle of the living room. Al-Malik closed the door and hesitated before he walked into the living room.
“What’s good, man?” Al-Malik asked.
“You been running your mouth,” Trey said, pointing at Al-Malik. Trey’s demeanor had changed in an instant.
“Who? Me?”
“Yeah, you, nigga. I don’t see nobody else in here but us.”
Al-Malik was confused. “I ran my mouth about what, Trey?”
“Some bitch been running her mouth about Diamond fucking with that welfare fraud shit.” Trey looked at him.
Al-Malik had no idea what Trey was talking about. “OK, so what the fuck that got to do with me?”
“It got a whole lotta shit to do with you. If Diamond get locked up because you ran your fucking mouth, then it’s gonna be some shit.”
“But that’s what I’m tryna tell you, Trey. I didn’t run my mouth to nobody.”
Trey was lying about Malik running his mouth. He knew Al-Malik was innocent, but he simply had to get rid of him because he was weak. Trey knew that if enough pressure was applied to Al-Malik, he would fold under that pressure. With the scam business expanding rapidly, someone was bound to get caught, and if that person was Al-Malik, Trey knew he would talk. Trey didn’t want that kind of heat coming down on him for having Diamond’s back or Diamond. They had a sweet thing going on, and he was gonna do whatever he had to do to keep it that way.
