“This shit not adding up to me, Zeek.” Kross shook his head as his fists balled up in frustration. “Cassie’s not mixed up in no shit. All my lady did was run her business and take care of Aniyis. For her car to get shot up while she with our son... it just don’t make sense.”
Since news broke that Cassie’s car was shot up with her and Aniyis inside, the city of Miami was left confused. She was a sweet girl who didn’t feed into the clout she got from being associated with Kross and his crew. People treated her right out of respect for Kross, so it baffled everyone that she was targeted in such a heinous way. Whoever did rain shots on her and Aniyis needed to be prepared for the hell Kross was about to raise behind his family. There would be no peace in the streets of Miami until he had whoever was responsible six feet under.
“I been trying to figure this shit out myself, and I can’t.” Ezekiel shook his head. “I always made sure her and nephew were straight. I don’t know how this shit happened.”
“Where her car got shot up at?”
“At the gas station next to the condo,” Ezekiel advised him.
“They had to be following her.” Kross shook his head while trying to piece everything together.
“But who? Cassie laid low. Who had it out for her bad enough to light up her car with baby boy in it?”
Stressed, Kross ran his hand down his face as a loud groan exhaled out of him. Everything felt like one big-ass mystery, and he wasn’t fucking with that at all. He needed answers and closure so he could lay Cassie to rest with justice.
“More like who had it out for me,” he throated out coldly. “Whoever it was had to have been watching her and probably watching you and me right now. Nobody can be trusted, and everybody is a fucking snake until they prove otherwise.”
“I feel you on that. I’m keeping my ear to the streets, and I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” Ezekiel assured him as he pulled up to the gates of the condo. He bypassed security since Cassie was sure to put him on the list as a frequent visitor. Eventually, the men pulled up to her building, and Kross hopped out before his brother had the opportunity to set the gear into Park. She kept him well informed on everything that was done in the outside world, so he knew exactly what floor her unit was located on. He recalled how adamantly she had stressed she didn’t want to be too high up in the building when he put up the paper for the condo. She was more comfortable on one of the lower floors, so Kross hopped into the elevator and pressed the button for the fourth floor. Ezekiel attempted to rush behind him, but there was no slowing Kross down.
As he traveled up to the fourth floor, he leaned his head back on the elevator wall and let out a stressed breath. This was only the beginning of the gut-wrenching things he had to face. With Aniyis’ life still in limbo, he had no clue how he was supposed to remain strong while making arrangements to lay Cassie to rest.
Once the elevator opened to the fourth floor, he stepped out and made his way to the unit. He was grateful that his lady let him know every little detail in her life while he was away, almost like she knew he would be coming home to pick up the pieces. He typed in the code for the lock on the door and gained access into the condo.
He was hit with the calming scent of cherry blossoms that she loved so much. His oak brown eyes glanced around the condo, appreciating the way she managed to make it a home for her and Aniyis. She was big on memories, so the walls were flooded in photos of her and Aniyis. Kross even caught some photos of them together before he got locked up. As he approached the wall, he gazed at a photo she took of them while she was riding passenger in his newly purchased Corvette. At the time, he was only 24, and she was only 22, trying to figure out life. He was touching an insane amount of paper and made sure to always include her when he was splurging. He was in his prime then, and despite having only known her for a few months, Cassie fit into his life seamlessly.
“Fuck, Cass.” He shook his head as his eyes glistened with tears. “The fuck I’mma do without you?”
He wiped his tears and tore his eyes away from the photo. Ezekiel entered the condo in pursuit of his brother. “You find something?” he asked while glancing around the condo himself. Cassie was very tidy, so nothing was out of place.
“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be looking for.” He shook his head.
He ventured further into the condo, entering her bedroom. He felt a pain inflict him in his heart upon seeing the nice things she had set up for his return home. She was counting down the seconds for her man to get home, so she set everything up last night so she wouldn’t have to spend any time doing so the morning of. She had red and black helium balloons blown up to spell out his name, and there were a couple of designer pieces she picked up for him so he would be fresh until he got around to shopping for himself. Knowing how important his jewelry was to him, she even went and got all his chains, earrings and watches cleaned.
Reaching down onto the bed, Kross picked up a card that was resting on a few shoe boxes that were stacked up. He opened it and bit down on his bottom lip to keep his emotions at bay.
“Welcome home, daddy! I told you I would hold you down,” the card read.
He felt the urge to open the shoe boxes. When he did, he was blown away by the fact that the seven boxes were filled to capacity with racks of blue hundreds instead of sneakers. She was a solid-ass woman and made sure her nigga wasn’t coming home to less money than he left with. While he was keeping her put up off old money, she was stacking up new money to make sure he was straight when he got out. There weren’t a lot of women like her. She was definitely one of a kind.
Grabbing one of the shoe boxes, Kross took a defeated seat on the bed and fingered through one of the racks. “None of this shit amount to you, Cass.” He dropped his head and shook it as tears broke through the dam he built. “Guide me in the right direction to make this right for you and baby boy. They gone feel me when it comes to you and Aniyis. I promise you that.”
Chapter Three
Kross’ eyes shot open as he was shaken out of his slumber. His immediate reaction was to jolt out of the stuffy cot he was laying on as he attempted to make sense of his surroundings. Once he realized that he was in Aniyis’ hospital room, his anxiety mellowed out. It had been three days since returning home, and he refused to leave his son’s side. It didn’t matter to him that he had to squeeze his six-foot-four frame on the small cot provided by the hospital. It was still a hell of an upgrade from the cot he had in prison. If there was an update to be announced regarding Aniyis, he wanted to be the first to know.
“You’ve been here for three days now,” Kross heard Cassie’s cousin, Amoura, say. “When’s the last time you ate something or even took a decent shower?”
His eyes gravitated down to himself, assessing the wife beater and Nike sweats he’d been rocking since his return home. Nothing was more important than Aniyis at the moment. Plus, he felt like if he left, Joyce would give him hell about being the family member who could stay the night. He didn’t want to go through the back and forth, so he just thugged it out in the room, not giving her the option to stay past visiting hours.
“Shit, since I got out, to be real with you,” he admitted as he did his morning stretch.
Amoura’s face screwed up at the thought of him not showering for the past three days. “How about you go get cleaned up, and I’ll be here with ‘Niyis?” she offered.
Immediately, he shook his head, declining her offer. “I’m good. I’ll get to that later today.” He was lying like hell. The most he was able to do in the hospital room was wash his face and brush his teeth. He was getting uncomfortable wallowing around in his own filth, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.
“Kross, I think you should go clean yourself up,” she urged again. “Niyis could wake up any moment now. You wouldn’t want to be looking raggedy when he does.”
He smacked his lips as he rubbed the back of his neck, contemplating whether he wanted to take her up on her offer. It was hard for him to let go and just trust someone else with Aniyis at the moment. His son was vulnerable and needed his father more than anything right now. The look of hesitation in his eyes caused Amoura to tilt her head to the side in offense.
