I kissed her forehead, then headed back to my room to get dressed to go check my stupid-ass brother.
When I pulled into his driveway, I could see another car parked there, but I didn’t give a fuck who he had in there with him. I got out of my truck and headed up to the door. I pushed the doorbell repeatedly before his best friend, Shooter, opened the door.
“What up, Truce? Long time no see.”
I didn’t even acknowledge him as I pushed past him into the house. Dame was sitting in his recliner with his legs crossed at the ankles and a glass of dark liquid in his palm. Two other niggas were sitting on the couch in front of him and turned to look at me.
“Y’all niggas can bounce. I need to speak to my brother in private,” I told them. No one seemed to move, and a menacing chuckle left my mouth. “Dame, tell ya boys I’m not the one they want to fuck with right now.”
Damien’s eyes left mine, and he nodded for them to give us privacy. They stood, and the one I knew as Romeo ice-grilled me while he walked by. I took my fist and sent it flying into his face. His head reared back, and I could already see his eye swelling when he bounced back up. Recovering, he pulled his gun, placing it to my forehead. A sinister smirk crossed my face, and I grabbed the nose of it, pressing it further into my forehead.
“Yo!” I heard Dame yell.
“Do it, lil’ bitch.” I sneered. “You pulled it, so now you gotta pull the fuckin’ trigger.” He bit his bottom lip and curled his finger around the trigger. “Yeah, do it, you fuckin’ coward. Don’t hesitate!”
His body was shoved out of the way as Dame came into view. “Get the fuck out! You done lost ya fucking mind, Ro.”
“I ain’t about to let his big ass hit me and get away wit’ it!”
“Then you shoot a fair one! Don’t pull no fuckin’ gun on my brother, bitch! Get the fuck out! And ya ass is suspended until further notice. Fuck wrong wit’ you!”
He put his gun away and stormed out of the house. The other nigga followed, but Shooter lingered behind. “You good, D?”
“He’s good, nigga. Bye!” I roared.
Dame nodded. “I’m good, man. I’ll call you.”
Shooter shook his head and chuckled as he left the house.
As soon as the door closed, I sent another fist flying into Dame’s midsection. He curled over, coughing, then stood upright, getting into his fighting stance. I pulled the hoodie from over my head and tossed it to the side.
“We ain’t kids no more, Tru. You ain’t about to be hitting me like I won’t fuck you up.”
“I’m not just going to hit you, I’m about to beat yo’ ass then tell you why I did it,” I told him, throwing two quick jabs, making him stumble into the wall.
He recouped quickly and started throwing wild hits, only catching me one time. I laughed and side-stepped the incoming punches. Grabbing him, I tossed his ass into the wall and started giving him body shots. He tried to swing and hit me in the face, but I blocked his fist, hitting him twice in the face with my right fist. His body crumbled to the floor, and I stood over him, proceeding to beat his ass. When I saw that he wasn’t fighting me back, I backed off. I shouldn’t have stopped because I’m sure he never did when he was beating on Jela.
He spat blood onto the floor as he looked up at me. “Satisfied?” he asked.
“I don’t know what the fuck you going through, but I’m telling you now, leave the Renegades alone, nigga.”
He stood up. “Fuck them! Fuck Law, and fuck you too, Tru. That motherfucka don’t own this fuckin’ city. He can’t tell me where the fuck I can handle my business at!”
“You almost got your ass clipped tonight, D! Law is not playing games with you! You could have been dead right now because of this stupid-ass power trip you on!”
“Like I said, he don’t own this city. If he wants to be a good samaritan, then he can take his ass somewhere else and be that. As long as he keeps trying to push me out, I’m coming ten times harder at his bitch ass. He got that one off on me tonight, but trust and believe, he won’t get another opportunity like that.”
I stood, glaring at him, trying to figure out his angle. Was he trying to commit suicide? Did he want to die?
“What’s going on, Damien? Are you trying to get yourself killed, dummy!”
“I ain’t worrying about dying. I ain’t afraid to leave this earth! If that’s the plan for my life, then so be it!”
“I don’t know what the fuck happened to you over this past year, but whatever the fuck it is, you need to settle that shit before you loseeverything—including your lady and your daughter.”
Staring at him, I acted oblivious about Jela not being in the house. I decided not to tell him that she was the real reason I was beating his ass. I didn’t want to let on that I knew where Jela was because I knew he was looking for her by now.
“Where is she, Truce? I know you or Neveah put her bald-headed ass up to leaving me. Where the fuck is she?”
