Page 99 of The Coldest: Stay Dangerous Part 2

A number with a Kenton area code starts calling me, but I ignore it, and turn on Do Not Disturb.

“Oh, Rico,” I whisper to myself, hoping Tyree didn’t hurt him too badly.

Rico

I breathe out of my mouth slowly as Pooh shifts my nose back into place.

“It’ll be a little crooked,” he mutters, turning toward the kitchen island for the bandages. “But shit, mine is, too.”

I blink back the tears, and of course this nigga is grinning. Anything to have something in common with me.

We haven’t talked much since I came back to the city with Nan and Mars, opting to let him bond with his grandson. Ju’s been dodging my calls, but I’d planned on just pulling up on her anyway. Now, I definitely need to. Ty-Ty peeled out of his aunt Lala’s crib immediately after I let him get a few hits in, but I saw Reem’s face as Nan and Pooh carried me out. The nigga was furious, and it’s only a matter of time before the news spreads.

Mars needs to be far away from the fall out. Ain’t no telling how niggas will react, and I’m not dumb enough to deny this is some egregiously disloyal shit.

But, I stand by it. Nan made a call, and I backed it up. And for a little while, I had a piece of my brother all to myself, when the moments where I realized I was all alone became unbearable.

I won’t apologize for keeping him hidden. And Ty is the only nigga I’m letting tap my jaw.

“Well, he’s finally down,” Nan huffs as her little feet carry her into the kitchen. “He’s soft. Hopefully being here will toughen him up.”

“He’s not soft, Ma. He’s just never seen Rick lose a fight before.”

It feels weird hearing Pooh defend me from Nan. It feels even weirder being this close to the nigga, and not having a biting thing to say, or fingering the bullet I keep with his name carved into it. I’ll give him his credit privately; the old nigga is timid as fuck. Nan called herself confiscating all the weapons Ty-Ty and I keep hidden around the condo before Pooh came over earlier this morning.

Part of me was expecting Ty-Ty to be here when we arrived. We’d bought this place together years ago, back when I first got out of the Marine Corps. I knew he was paying the bills for his main girlfriend’s apartment, too, but these past few years they’d been on the outs, so I figured we'd get his introduction to Mars out the way in the morning.

Alas, he was nowhere to be found. I had to stick to my original plan of letting the choppa sing at Lala’s crib.

I expected him to try to fight me, and I knew my family wouldn’t let him fuck me up too badly. A broken nose is nothing. I’d be more upset if any of my teeth were loose.

“I’m going to tell everyone it was me–”

“Nan.” I grab the ice pack off the island and gingerly place it across my eye. When she finally meets my gaze, her lips thin into a line, eyes blinking back emotion I know she hates that she’s showing.

I walk over to her and pull her into a hug, ignoring the burning sensation on my back. Of course, I would scratch up my fresh tattoo tussling with this nigga.

Curling over Nan, I whisper, “I’m good. I’m here.”

She fists my shirt and nods against my chest, but she doesn’t let go. Nan’s never been the type of grandmother that baked cookies and gave forehead kisses. She only got this sentimental when she was faced with our mortality.

Well into her seventies, Nan has slowly watched her immediate family die one by one. Everyone around her dies young, while she just gets older. I don’t know how I’ll feel when she finally goes, but I’m determined to see her go, so she doesn’t have to bury both of her grandsons.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I’d long since put it on Do Not Disturb, with only Snow, Peanut, and Ju allowed to bypass it. Pooh jokes about her being the soft one in Spanish while I fish my phone out my pocket.

P-Nutty

come to my crib now nigga

fred srsly got a kid??? b honest

“Whoever that is can wait.”

I pocket my phone, shaking my head. “Nah. Chickens coming home to roost, Pooh. Might as well get everything out tonight.” I trade the ice pack for my gun and slide it between the small of my back and my jeans. Grabbing my hoodie off the chair, I slide it on my aching muscles.

“I’ll be back.”

Pooh holds Nan back as I leave the condo. I’d already taken some painkillers as soon as we got there, so they should be kicked in by the time I make it to Nut’s.