Page 1 of Kissed By the Trillest Thug 2

Chapter 1

Trigga

The words sat in my throat like rocks. For a second, I couldn’t even breathe, let alone answer him. And that throw-up feeling was stagnant. Mainly because that gun didn’t move. Not an inch. Mr. Browne’s hand was steady, like this wasn’t anything new to him. It was like pointing death at somebody was just another part of his day. Judging by the number of bricks Ghost and I had stolen, shit, this was probably the norm for him. I was looking in the eyes of a kingpin; I had to be.

“I asked you a question.”

His tone was even, and I could tell that he meant business. His facial expression held no emotion while he waited for my answer. But I couldn’t find the words to respond. The question he had asked was lingering in the space between us.Where’s my bricks, little nigga?His voice echoed in my ears as I fought to find an answer for him. I couldn’t just blurt out that they were sold. Na, that wasn’t going to work. His voice didn’t rise, but it didn’t need to. It carried enough weight on its own. I swallowed hard because my mouth was dry as hell.

“I… I ain’t know it was yours.”

His eyes didn’t change. Not even a flicker. I could tell that my answer wasn’t good enough. So, I tried to find a better response.

“I swear to you,” I rushed out, my voice cracking despite me trying to hold it together. “I ain’t know this was your business. I didn’t find out until later… until the second MB Autos.”

I was down bad. Not only had I robbed this man once, but twice. And even after knowing it was him I had stolen from, I was around his family, under his roof, and falling deeper in love with his daughter. Silence filled the room, and it was thick and suffocating. Mr. Browne tilted his head slightly, studying me like he was deciding whether I was worth the next breath.

“So that makes it better?” he asked.

I clenched my jaw. Wasn’t shit okay about what I had done, but I swore after seeing those pictures on that wall in the second MBs Auto that I would do better. And I had been. I had to be a better man for her. I had to be the best man for Maliah. I had distanced myself from any and everything regarding my old life. Ghost and I rarely spoke. Shit, I even put Ms. Gia at arm’s reach. Anything associated with my old life had to go on ice because I was working so hard on this new one.

“I haven’t hit anybody else after that.”

I was being honest because I hadn’t had. Honestly, the thought of ever stealing from someone else again made me sick to my stomach.

“That isn’t what I asked you.”

His finger rested too comfortably near that trigger.

“Even if it wasn’t me that you were robbing,” he continued slowly, “you were still out here stealing.”

Each word landed harder than the last.

“You don’t feel no type of shame?” he continued, “knowing you became the same shit that took your daddy away from you?”

The skin around my nose crinkled with my sniffle. I was trying to hold it together, but that one hit me hard for real. Mychest tightened, and for a second, I couldn’t even look at him. My pops flashed through my mind as if it had just happened yesterday. I could see his blood and hear the police sirens. I wouldn’t wish the feeling of knowing you can’t do anything but watch everything fall apart on anyone.

“I used to. The thought of taking from someone used to get to me,” I admitted lowly as his eyes stayed locked on me. “It used to eat me up every time I thought about it. But… I had to survive out here.”

I paused to try and find my next words carefully. I’m sure he didn’t have the best upbringing his damn self. If no one understood the kind of position I was in, then I was sure that he would. I twisted my mouth to the side before letting the words leave my body.

“Ain’t nobody out here handing nothing out. You either take, or you get took from.”

For a split second, something shifted in his expression, but it disappeared just as fast as it came. The quick bunch in his brows told me that he was trying to find a way to reason with me. But the killer look in his eyes screamed he wasn’t going for the shit I had done.

“So where is it?” he asked.

I looked back up at him, already knowing this was the part that wasn’t going to go smoothly. I raised my eyebrow in what I tried to portray as confusion.

“The bricks,” he clarified. “Where they at?”

I hesitated. And that hesitation didn’t go unnoticed. Mr. Browne shifted his weight slightly to his right side. Still, he never dropped that gun from pointing in my direction.

“I sold them.”

The words had barely left my mouth before his whole demeanor changed. His response wasn’t loud or explosive. What he had shown me was way worse. His demeanor was controlled.This man was standing in front of me as cool as the other side of the pillow on a summer’s night. I mean, he had every right to be. After all, he was the one with the damn gun. And here my dumb ass was standing in front of him about to piss down my leg.

“You sold my work?” he asked.