A Hustler's Son II (14 page)

I remained silent. “It doesn’t even matter,” he continued. “You got into the wrong niggas pockets. I knew from the moment I saw you, that you were trouble.”

Kelsi’s eyes remained on me. I guess by now he knew that Jarvis and I was fucking. But what I wanted to know was what was he doing with them?

“We got orders to make sure you disappear,” he continued before the butt of his gun appeared from his jeans.

Was I about to die? Like this?

And all of a sudden it was as if Kelsi flipped. “Yo why we wastin’ time on this bitch?” Kelsi grabbed the gun from him and flipped it over. “I’m sick of you niggas wastin’ time when you should be handlin’ business!”

He hit me in my face with the butt of the glock knocking me to the floor. Kelsi was like a lunatic. His screaming and yelling frightened me even more. But for some reason, I could feel he was trying to protect me. While he was in full rage mode, a maid walked through the broken door.

Who was Aven?
I thought. Without warning, the man in the uniform walked up to me and hit me in the face. I went into complete darkness.

When I woke up, I was in the passenger seat of a black Honda and Kelsi was in the driver seat. It was dark outside and we were somewhere I wasn’t familiar with. When I lifted my head, I was in so much pain I laid my head back against the headrest.

“Too late?” he repeated. When I looked down, I saw his hand was on the handle of a gun. “So you run ‘round town with my mother’s killer, and you ain’t say shit to me ‘bout it?”

“Kelsi, please,” I said softly. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. A whole lot. And I wannabe honest with you about everything. I know it’s too late for me. But I want to be real with you…now.” His complete silence gave me the permission I needed to continue. “I’m not who you think I am.”

“I know,” he smirked. “Your ghetto-ness comes and goes at will. But I peeped that a long time ago.”

I made a mistake. I forgot to perform for him like I always did. It didn’t matter anyway. I was going to be honest about everything. After all, I knew he saved my life back there and if I was truthful, maybe he’d do it again.

“I know. I lied about who I really am, Kelsi,” I told him. “I know a lot about why you here. I know that you hurting, Kelsi. You been lied to. And I didn’t know what that felt like until now. Somebody I thought cared about me hurt me too.”

“Kenosha, get to the fuckin’ point!”

“Kelsi…I know who
really
killed your mother. And it’s not who you think it is. It was somebody you trust.” I told him. His expression changed. He looked demonic.

“What you sayin’?”

“I…-,” the first bullet hit my shoulder and I felt it rip my flesh. I looked at the gun in Kelsi’s lap and it was still there. So where was the bullets coming from? Before I could think of a response, the next bullet ripped through my arm. The heat and the pain was unbearable.

Kelsi’s eyes widened as he backed outta the car. Then he started busting at the person who was shooting at me. Glass shattered everywhere. Kelsi, missed. It wasn’t long before I heard Kelsi’s footsteps taking off hurriedly away from the car.

I was alone.

I was still trying to figure out the-who and the-why until I was pulled out of the car. Laying flat on my back, I saw the person’s face that had been following me around since I’d arrived in New York. He had been outside of the hotel. He had been there when Jarvis made his nephew collect on his debt at Marcy. He’d been there always. There was no use in asking what he wanted from me. The look in his eyes told me he wouldn’t tell.

I don’t make my reasons known ‘til I get ready.

-Kelsi

I was in his presence.

Breakin’ bread wit’ him and his crew.

And all I could think about was hurtin’ and killin’ him and that white bitch he played close. Look at ‘em, laughing and actin’ like everything’s fine. When everything in my world is crumblin’ ’round me. I felt like burnin’ his ten million dollar Manhattan loft to the ground. And even though I was able to put a dent in his operation, it ain’t feel like enough. Maybe cuz I realize no matter what, it won’t bring my mother back.

“I’m tellin’ you, Kyope,” Prangsta yelled as they all drank from the drinks they made at his bar. “This lil nigga’s on his way. You shoulda seen what he did to that bitch last night.”

“Is that right?” Kyope said as he looked at me. The smoke colored shades I always wore concealed my eyes. His girlfriend had her arms wrapped ’round his waist while her head rested on his shoulder. Everybody was dressed in all black, includin’ me. “Looks like you one of my best investments.”

I smiled and turned away. Whenever he stared too long, I’d readjust. I ain’t want him to see who I really was by focusing on my features. I knew the hair on my face confused things a little but the eyes don’t change. Even if covered.

“We couldn’t even do what we was gonna do to her ass,” Spikes added. “This lil nigga is thorough.”

As they went on and on ’bout me, like I wasn’t even here, I thought about Kenosha. I knew they was gettin’ ready to kill her, so I tried to cause a diversion. Thinkin’ fast, I saw the maid walkin’ toward the room and decided to make some noise hopin’ she’d come in. I was tryin’ to save Kenosha’s life. But what for? It’s obvious she was a snake who deserved to die.

Ever since we talked, her words stayed in my mind. What did she mean by sayin’ she knew who really killed my moms? It don’t even matter. At the end of the day, she got what she had comin’. Turns out she had an enemy who wanted nothin’ more than to see her dead. And who the fuck was he anyway? And why had he spared my life. They found Kenosha’s lifeless body on the side of the road earlier today. And here these niggas were cheerin’ me on like I did somethin’. Only if they knew that she didn’t die by my gun.

Wiping her death out of my mind, I regained focus. Because the bottom line was …I had plans to kill Jarvis and Kyope this Friday. No matter what.

Leavin’ them alone, I walked over to the window and looked out at New York. I wondered what my mother loved so much about the city. To me things moved too fast. Everything and everybody was in a rush. Still glancing at the skyline, my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was O.

“Look…I don’t want to bother you. Just wanted you to know I was cooking, and if you came in late, your plate will be in the microwave.

“Let me holla at him alone,” Kyope said to everyone. His girlfriend kissed his cheek and disappeared into the back. “Have Rosa whip ya’ll up somethin’ to eat.” I heard their feet scurry into the kitchen and Kyope walk closer to me.

“She’s beautiful ain’t she?” he asked, as he stood by my side and watched the city wit’ me. “I’ve been here all my life. And ain’t no place else I wanna be.”

“I mean what do you
really
want out of life?”

“I wouldn’t mind havin’ somebody back I miss a lot,” I said candidly speaking of my mother.

“What’s her name? I’ll have her brought to you by morning,” he was confident and for a second, I wished he could perform the miracle. Kyope had the gift of gab. I’d give him that.

“You right about that,” he confirmed. “But if you keep puttin’ in work like you’ve been, you’ll have all the money you want and them some. And bitches will be in line to suck your dick.” I just nodded. This nigga made me sick. Why would he say some gay ass shit like that? “You gotta a girl?”

I thought about O, and was about to say yes. Spending these weeks with O made me feel like she was official. And every time I’d feel myself liking her too much, I’d pull away. To top it off, we still hadn’t fucked.

He laughed. Wit’ all the mothafuckas I merked in his name, I knew there was no reason for him to doubt that I killed O. He ain’t have to know she was in my crib cleanin’ and cookin’ for me.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m alone in this war,” he told me. “And I like to know I got the right people around me at all times. So when I ask you how was it, I want to know if you think everything went as best as it could. You understand now?”

“I’ll tell you this…Prangsta ain’t as hard as you think he is. To me he was actin’ nervous. Like he was afraid to pull the trigger.”

“What you mean, afraid?”

“I don’t know if he was scared, but he was procrastinatin’ and I ain’t go out there for the procrastinatin’ and shit. So I put shit down how I thought you wanted it done. And just like you wanted, she out the picture, permanently.” I could tell he was still thinkin’ ’bout the possibility of Prangsta bein’ weak. I was smilin’ inside cuz it was growin’ too easy to break his crew down.

“I need more men like you,” he said lookin’ out the window again. “Can’t neva have enough loyal niggas on your team. Let’s drink,” he said walkin’ to the bar, returnin’ wit’ a warm glass of Remy Cru. “To New York City, money and loyalty.” I accepted the glass and did all I could do to prevent from throwin’ the liquid in his face.

“To New York!”? I replied, afterwards swallowin’ everything before needin’ some more.

The moment I allowed the warmth of the liquid to relax me, the front door to the loft flew open and a man who looked familiar rushed toward Kyope. His maid ran behind him lookin’ frazzled.

“Sorry, boss! He pushed his way in!”

“Don’t worry, Rosa,” Kyope assured, puttin’ his hand out. “I got it from here.”

I hadn’t seen him since I was a kid but I still knew it was Jarvis. Even when Skully gave me his pic, for some reason, he didn’t look familiar. And when I watched him, it was always from a far. But now…here in his presence, I could honestly say that I remember him.

“Fuck is your problem, man?!” Kyope asked right before Jarvis knocked him to the floor.

Jarvis was high and it showed. I knew I said I would wait until the right time to kill him but when I saw his face, I saw red. I was too close to conceal my anger. When I knocked him down, my shades flew off. It didn’t stop my blows. One after the other. I was splittin’ his face. It took me a second to realize he saw my eyes. The same eyes that at one point needed him to be a father even though we ain’t share the same blood. But I could tell when he looked at me. I was a stranger to him. I realized then that he never gave a fuck ’bout me or my mother. How could he and not know my name?