I sigh and palm my braids. This bitch isn’t necessarily a liability, but I feel like my crazy quota has already been filled.
“I’m not–”
“We ain’t ask yo ass shit,” Nut interrupts her. “We talking to Shad.”
“Well I’m gonna be the one talking, so be nice,” she whines.
“Bitch–”
Before I could even blink, she aims her gun and fires at him, before going around the conference table, making my bros fire back at her. Me? I just cover my fucking eyes with my hands.
I see why I don’t take point on shit. I can’t even keep Brina’s cousin alive.
“The fuck she shoot us with?!” Ty slurs.
That makes me put my hands down, and I see everyone except Set with a dart hanging out of their throats.
Reem pulls his out, and looks at YT, who’s rising from underneath the table. “This bitch,” he mumbles before falling face first onto the table. The others soon follow, except for Nut, whose head is leaning back on the chair.
“Was that necessary?” I say through my teeth.
She just dusts herself off and takes her seat again. “They don’t need to know my personal business, Shad,” she reasons. “This only involves Set.”
Set looks on at her with his jaw dropped.
When she turns toward him, my bro scoots away just a little, but if she notices, she doesn’t say anything. “I met Sincere at my court ordered therapy. He pursued me, I declined, but I dunno, he kind of wore me down since I couldn’t be around my brothers while completing the stipulations of my release. He told me he had some unfinished business with some niggas down here, so I tagged along. Figured why not, you know? He came off as a square, and I thought he’d need my help.
“It wasn’t until he was leaning out the window that I saw it was you, that’s why I swerved away. He thought shit was sweet, and ended up telling me he used to date Brina too, and let me know he specifically chose me to get closer to her, and I snapped. But someone called the police so he was able to get away, and he’s been in the wind ever since.”
YT looks at Set then and folds her hands together. “Please,pleasedon’t tell Baby Girl I was in the car with him… I never wanted to bring harm to her, and by extension, you. It’s bad enough she knows me as YT now… I’ll never ask for anything else. Just this.”
Set shifts his gaze to me. “We can trust her?”
“She’s B’s cousin, and she don’t want no one from back home knowing about her fuckup. We gone handle this shit. I just wanted everyone to know what was up so it’s no repeats of the East Kenton shit.”
Set’s eyes harden. “You ain’t handling shit, Dub. You supposed to be on a break.”
I ball my face up. “Sincere was only around off the strength of me and Sean. He’s my problem, and I‘m solving it. I don’t need yo permission, Set.”
“And yet you asking for it. And I’m telling you,no.Me and Nut–”
“You can’t even bend two of your fingers!” I snap, shooting out of my chair. “You were in a coma, and that’s after dying on the table.Youain’t doing shit but being a father to my niece and nephew, nigga. I said I got this, and I do. Let me be Shotty.”
YT stands, too. “I got him, Set. I won’t let shit happen to him.”
Set glances at her before scowling at me. “You’ll always be Shaddy Shad to me, I don’t care if you can handle a sawed off. And you.” He points to YT, who just grins. “Anything happens to my brother, I’m telling B you was finna take me out, and then we both coming for yo ass. I don’t give a fuck who you kin to.”
YT nods and salutes him. “Sir, yes sir! If it’s any consolation–”
“Come on, YT, before these niggas wake up.”
I round the table and we walk out, side by side. “Your speech wasbeautiful–”
My grunt shuts her up, but she still has the most unhinged grin as she steals glances at me.
Of course she’s parked next to me, and I swear, I hear her say something about a Deezy choosing well before I turn my engine over and peel off.
Shad
