Page 93 of Stay Dangerous

“It’s prolly–”

“Them niggas plotting on you, Unc. Anyone who is coming to you right now is coming to knock you off, on my mama rest in peace.”

The other line was silent for a long moment. I looked in the sideview mirror and saw the car Tyree thought was following us. The windows were tinted a little, but I could tell it was a full car.

“Those little shits. I got something for they asses. Come on, nephew. I’ll see you soon.”

“How do you know they’re following us?” I asked, gripping his phone.

“Because that’s a car I’ve seen every day. And Rone’s dumb ass has personalized plates, so they know it’s me, too. Reach in the back and grab that rifle, mamas. G-Pops taught yo ass how to shoot, too?”

My eyes stretched at his profile. “I amnota gang member! I’m not shooting agun!”

“I forgot yo ass bougie. Put on ya fuckin’ seatbelt, damn!”

I clicked that immediately, and no sooner than that, Tyree pushed the pedal to the metal, zooming through LightningHeights. The car behind us was steady on our tail, even when we entered an alley off a dead end.

Shots rang out, and Tyree swerved a little before correcting himself.

“Ay, get down,” Tyree said, but I was already bending down.

Harder bullets hit the car the second time, and my side began to cramp as a mansion with a high electric fence came into view.

Tyree pushed it into the gas then, speeding by a wall of women holding AK-47s like we were in some war torn country. As soon as we cleared them, they opened fire.

We kept going, stopping at the roundabout in front of the house. I looked back, and saw two cars pulled over before the gate, smoking. The girls were still firing into the cars, moving in sync as they killed whoever was chasing us.

My door was wrenched open, and I was face to face with Rico in twenty years. Honey eyes scanned my face, before dipping low.

“Damn. She’s hit. I’ma lift you up, cariña. Hold onto me.”

I cried out when he shifted me to unbuckle my seatbelt, and leaned into him as he lifted me bridal style. Tyree was barking into his phone. To who? I didn’t know.

I just wanted to sleep.

“Stay up, cariña. You can’t go to sleep, okay?”

But I was already in a losing battle. And once again, I surrendered to the darkness.

Soft sounds of kitchen utensils hitting each other filtered through my brain, making me wince.

Mom would always do that shit. Drag her knives and forks across the plates. She enjoyed how uncomfortable it made me and Auty.

But how did I get back to my mom? That wasn’t right–

When my eyes finally fluttered, pain filtered through my body, especially my side.

But I couldn’t be bothered with that, because there was an older version of Rico sitting next to the bed I occupied, eating a full breakfast on what looked like expensive china.

He was dressed in a tan suit. His hair was in a low ponytail, the ends curled. I would think he’d have a beard like my dad, but no, this man had only a little more facial hair than Rico and Fredo, and looked about the same height as them, or even shorter.

Theirfather. Pooh.

Apimp.

He stabbed the last piece of egg and pancake, and met my gaze as he brought his fork to his mouth.

His eyes, like the twins’, were light brown. Though Pooh’s was more like maple syrup than honey. It was uncanny how much his sons favored him, and only made me wanna see what their mother looked like.