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No breath.
Truck was dead.
…
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
My brother was gone.
Just like that.
No matter how many times I wanted to reach back to that night and bring him back, I couldn’t.
Now, I was numb, sitting in the middle of a Legion of Kings meeting, explaining what the next steps would be. How we’d further avenge Truck’s death and bring Sumo to justice.
Three nights ago when Truck got killed, I saw him fall and got out to cover him. Me and Pretty Boy both hit TC in the back when he took off running. He was dead. Sumo drove off in a car. Pretty Boy chased him for as long as he could but he couldn’t keep up.
All three of us were in shock. Me and Pretty Boy didn’t know a world without Truck. It more than hurt us. It nearly destroyed us.
“I want to lay Truck to rest and then I’m putting a price on Sumo’s head.” I heard myself talking and the words came out strong and composed but it was nothing like how I felt on the inside. This kind of pain was insidious.
“No price necessary, King!” Someone called from the back of the room. I lifted my eyes to see who said it but then everyone started saying it.
“Free of charge!” The chant grew in volume until it was a deep roaring roll through the kings.
“We’ll bring him to the three kings,” someone said once the commotion died down.
“Please bring this motherfucker to my doorstep,” Pretty Boy said, his words hard and tight. “You can hurt him but don’t kill him. Just bring him to us.”
Maybe his idea was better. Have the thee kings bring Sumo to justice. It couldn’t be easy and quick as a drive-by or a run-up. Sumo deserved something more sinister.
I listened to Pretty Boy instruct the lower-level kings on how to deliver Sumo while my mind spun a web of karma.
The worst thing Sumo could have ever done was align himself with someone like TC who was angry and short-tempered like him. Nobody took the time to observe TC. Nobody saw what he was like when he was alone. Sumo jumped the fucking gun just because his pride was hurt. He expected me to choose him over Juju and when I didn’t, everything spiraled.
Now, he would pay dearly.
…
Truck’s funeral was on a sunny day. It was perfect for him because he was a sunny person. Me and Pretty Boy kept attendance tight because we didn’t know who would come to our brother’s funeral starting shit.
Luckily, it was a somber but respectful service. Pretty Boy, Juju, and I spoke about Truck and shared memories. The rest of the kings who had something to say followed suit. Even though it was a sad occasion, we couldn’t help cracking jokes because that’s what Truck would have wanted.
We had his remains cremated because even in death, I was my brother’s keeper. I didn’t want his resting place to be amongst a bunch of people he didn’t know. I wanted him to be with his family.
The ride back to the apartment was quiet. Juju sat in the passenger seat, staring out of the window, her thumb running over the king of hearts chain she had wrapped around her fingers.
“You okay?” I asked, reaching over and rubbing her leg.
“I miss him so much,” she sighed. “That was my baby.”
“I know.” A sad smile brushed my face. “He loved you to death, man. I don’t know why though. You’re annoying as fuck.” She shot me a look and my smile got a little stronger.
“Fuck you, King.” The exchange felt so good right then when I needed it the most. I needed Jupiter’s fire to thaw the ice in my chest.
When we pulled up to the apartment off Crenshaw, Sumo was sitting at the foot of the stairs before we could get to the door. Jupiter was first out of the car with her gun drawn and aimed at his forehead.
“Woah, Juju.” Pretty Boy put his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged him off.
