“That’s what’s up.” Kross watched as the chickens circled around the backyard as Buddha continued to clean up the coop for them. “I just wanted to thank you for what you and Nadine did for me last night. I appreciate it,” he expressed his gratitude as he reached into his front pocket.
“I don’t need your money.” Buddha declined the offer before Kross could even get his stack of blues out of his pocket.
“Nobody said you needed it; I just feel like I owe it to you.”
“I’m good, Kross.”
Kross accepted his defeat and pushed his stack of blues to the bottom of his pocket. A silence swept over the two men as they focused on the chickens that ran around the backyard. A deep sigh drifted out of Kross before he turned his attention to Buddha.
“A’ight then. I appreciate you for looking out. Nadine want me back when she get off work so she can close this shit up.” He gestured to his side that was heavily bandaged.
Buddha stepped out of the chicken coop while nodding his head. What he did next was something Kross would have never expected, but it was well appreciated. He wrapped his arms around his nephew and shared an embrace that Kross didn’t know he needed until he felt it.
“Listen, your daddy was on the same path of revenge before he died. It only leads to one thing, and that’s death. You be careful out there and always keep one in the head.”
“Fa’sho, Unc.”
The men parted from their embrace before they shared a final handshake. This was the most like family their bond ever felt, and in that moment, Kross knew he could lean on Buddha for anything.
After peeling off from his uncle’s house, Kross headed in the direction of his mother and Andres’ house. He needed to see his son, especially after last night when things could have gone bad. He pulled in right behind Ezekiel’s Lambo, realizing his brother had been on the search for him.
Being cautious of his injuries, he hopped out of the car and made his way to the door. Once Raquel answered the door, alook of relief masked her face as she pulled her firstborn into a tight embrace.
“Boy, you had me thinking the worst,” she shakily let out as all her nerves began to melt away upon laying eyes on him.
News of the shooting at King of Diamonds had hit the airwaves and had the whole city’s attention. The last location Raquel knew her sons were going to be at was the club, so when Ezekiel came by the house without Kross, it sent her into a panic. Ezekiel tried his best to keep his mother’s worries at bay, but even he had no fucking clue where Kross went, and the fact that he had gotten hit wasn’t helping the situation at all.
“Ma, I’m good,” Kross assured her as he entered the home. Ezekiel emerged from the living room with the same look of relief on his face upon seeing his brother.
“Nigga, where the fuck you been? You had me, Noonie, and Los looking for your ass everywhere,” he snapped at him, all the while pulling him into an embrace, grateful that he was still alive, though not completely well.
Kross lifted his arm and showcased his side that was bandaged and cleaned up. “I had to get right. I stopped by Buddha’s and Nadine’s crib.”
A gasp fled out of Raquel as she put her hand over her mouth at the sight of the injury her son suffered. Immediately, Andres came to his wife’s side and assessed the injury as well. “Kross, this is getting out of hand,” Andres said as he shook his head.
“Andres, I’m good. I just need to lay low for a little while to shake back. Me and ‘Niyis heading back to the condo just for a couple of days.”
“No! You’re not taking that baby over there with you when you have God knows who targeting you,” Raquel protested with a firm look in her eye.
“Listen, I have tried everything with you two?” she pointed her finger at Kross and Ezekiel “—but I refuse to let the messy’all stir out in the streets traumatize my grandson more than it already has. Until you have all this crap figured out, you can’t see him.”
Taken aback by his mother setting restrictions around him seeing his son, Kross’ face contorted into a lethal glare. “The fuck you mean I can’t see him? That’s my fucking son.”
Ezekiel could see the rage that began to glisten in his brother’s eyes, which caused him to sit a hand on his chest. “K, chill.”
Pushing Ezekiel’s hand away from him, he shot him a crazed look. “Aye, is y’all cool? Y’all trying to keep me away from my son when I’m the only parent he got?”
“Kross, I don’t think it’ll do him any good seeing you like this,” Andres sighed.
“He’s not your fucking son,” he spat coldly at his stepfather before turning to his mother. “And he’s not your son either. I had to track you down at the church to even get you to think about going to see him in the hospital, and now you trying to restrict me from seeing him. Y’all got me fucked up.”
He attempted to bypass them to make his way to the guest room Aniyis was set up in, but Raquel stood firm in her decision, which prompted her to shove Kross in the chest. He stumbled back from the aggression she had in the push, which caused a set of deadly eyes to peer down at her.
“Handle your shit, Kross. Then you can see him!” she gritted with her finger in his face.
Kross was in disbelief. Him out of all people losing access to Aniyis was beyond him. The problem was he never took a moment to step out of the grief and anger he had festering inside of him from losing Cassie to realize that he was doing his son more harm than good as he sought revenge.
Feeling as if everyone was cliqued up against him, Kross shook his head and took the door out of the home. The heavyslam of the door managed to shake the foundation of the home and left Raquel broken by the fact that she had to take such extreme measures to protect her grandson.
