Hearing glass clack together and something heavy get placed on his legs, Zane opened his eyes and carefully sat up as he looked down to see a tray of breakfast served for him. Grabbing the tray and placing it on the bed near him Zane leaned sideways and ate a piece of bacon. "Thank you for the breakfast Ma." Zane said as he seen Sierra walk from out of the bathroom and tighten her robe.
"You welcome baby" Sierra replied.
Watching her lotion her legs and arms he took a sip of his orange juice and placed a piece of waffle and eggs on his fork. "Cmere and eat this wit me I ain't finna eat this by myself." He said as he held the fork in his hand.
Smacking her teeth Sierra closed the cherry jergins lotion bottle and got into the bed. Crossing her legs and leaning over she opened her mouth as Zane placed the fork in her mouth and nodded as she chewed the waffles. "That right there.. Is sumn dangerous!" Zane said.
"I'm glad you said that 'cause now I wanna give you an ultimatum.. Who food is better me or my mom's?" Sierra asked. Smiling and shaking his head no Sierra sucked her teeth and sighed.
"You gotta choose one Zane!"
"I'm not finna do that to yo momma man both of ya'll food taste good I can't choose." Zane said.
"That's fine. You don't gotta say it 'cause I already know my cooking is better," Sierra sarcastically joked.
Holding her mouth as she ate a fork full of sausage and grits Zane fed her, she pushed his arm. "Now why the hell would you put all that in my mouth?" Sierra said, a playful smirk dancing on her lips as Zane laughed.
Seeing him laugh, Sierra rolled her eyes affectionately, She loved moments like this with him and cherished seeing how much he was opening up to her. "I wanna take you somewhere this weekend. So if you got plans, you gon needa cancel 'em," Zane announced.
Raising her eyebrows and looking at him, she smiled. "Like where?"
"You don't need to know allat, just know we out this weekend so pack ya bags." Zane urged.
"You making me nervous Zane just give me a hint or something!" Shaking his head no Sierra realized he wasn't gonna tell her so she gave in.
"Ok.. but Ima still find out!"
"And King's birthday is today, so Ima need your help picking him out a gift. Plus, I gotta go and drop my family off at the airport around 3," Sierra seriously spoke as she placed the tray on the nightstand.
"I gotta go take care of business, and I ain't gone be able to come say goodbye to yo mom so Ima send you some money to give to them. And before you say something, I already know what you said about giving money but that shit went in one ear and out the other. Just make sure you do that, Ight?" Zane asked.
Looking at him with a slight mug on her face Sierra shook her head and huffed. "You so damn hard-headed. And just know anything over the top I'm sending it back."
Brushing off everything Sierra was saying, Zane sat up, his tattoos pointing out by the morning light, and threw the covers to the side. Walking into the bathroom and running the shower, he grabbed his toothbrush, squeezed a line of toothpaste on it, and began brushing his perfectly straight teeth.
Going into the closet and picking out an outfit for her and Zane Sierra placed his outfit on the bed and slipped on her clothes. Clipping together her watch together and finger-combing through her black curly hair Sierra put on her shoes as she checked the time to see it was 2:27 she grabbed her purse and walked in the bathroom.
"Damn, you can't atleast knock on the door?" Zane said as he dipped his head under the water.
"Boy please I done seen every inch of you. But I'm finna head out do you need something before I go?" Sierra asked.
"Nah I'm good ma.. cmere real quick." Walking towards the blurred glass shower door and watching him slide it open, he stuck his head out and gave her a kiss.
"Call me when you get to where you going Ight?" Nodding her head she smiled and walked out whilst he continued washing up.
"I heard there was another shooting over there on 36th. You got any information on that, Timmy?" The officer asked as he settled into his office, savoring the sweetness of a glazed donut with each bite.
"Yeah, some witnesses were saying they saw a male in all black running out of the scene, and others are saying they don't know—everyone was just trying to get out of there. But a case I'm still working on is there was a similar shooting with the red car, and when I checked the bullets from this crime scene and compared them, I realized they both have blue tips on the bullets," Officer Timmy explained.
Nodding thoughtfully, the officer absorbed the information, contemplating their next steps. He took a few more bites of the donut, and, satisfied, discarded the remaining portion.
"Well, I'd say you're onto a hell of a start. But until you get something more to this, like fingerprints or footage, then we'll be able to add onto it and dive deeper into this," he said, addressing the need for additional evidence.
"Yeah, I can definitely feel we're onto something good," Timmy affirmed, the prospect of unraveling the mystery adding a sense of determination to their ongoing investigation.
"Listen. We gon need to get in contact with niggas and start taking deals.. We gon have to start spending money to make more money K cause I ain't fuckin wit how I'm making my money right now." Zane said as he blew out the thick smoke.
"You? Nigga me neither but shit if it's feeding my family and keeping clothes on our backs and a fuckin roof over my head I ain't complaining. In fact, I'm thanking God for each day we wake to see another day! Especially knowing the shit we out here doing." King explained.
"That's true shit." Jayvon added.
Slowly twisting around in his chair Zane huffed and took another drag from his blunt. "Fuck it.. I say I take that deal with Kookie and see how this shit go."
"Nigga we ain't in a fuckin' experiment lab we can't afford to just 'see how shit go' Zane. This shit is real life.. You gotta make careful and thoughtful decisions Z." King said.
"And lately nigga you been moving hella reckless. Like what the fuck is up with you Zane? Two dead bodies on yo muthafuckin' hands, why?! Because you ain't move correct! How you supposed to be head of this shit and moving like you a rookie nigga?" King added.
Furrowing his eyebrows and crunching his face Zane turned to look at King and stared at him. "Fuck is you saying then nigga? Cause I ain't no rookie lets set that shit straight! Nigga the only fuckin reason y'all getting paid hundreds of thousands every fuckin week is because of my reckless shit! Yall ain't laying niggas out to show niggas this shit ain't a game, I am! You sit here and bitch about shit I'm 'fuckin up' but yet I ain't seen you get out in them streets and move shit YET!"
"You always putting we's on shit when nigga it ain't been we doing shit!! it's been ME! I've been making plays so it ain't no fuckin we in this bitch!" Zane yelled.
Looking down at the floor and nodding his head King looked back up at Zane. "I guess when you was out of business those last few weeks it's been you running the warehouse making sure shit got shipped off by yourself too or.. was that all me? But it's Ight Ima chill 'cause you going through shit right now and I ain't finna take it to heart but you right.. I ain't been doing shit! it's been all you."
Dapping up Jayvon and walking out of the studio Zane smacked his teeth and took a hit from his blunt. Looking up from his blunt and looking at Jayvon Zane furrowed his eyebrows. "Fuck is you looking at? If you wanna follow that nigga be my guest."
"Nah nigga you needa calm down. I ain't picking sides or nun but King was spitting real shit.. You have been moving reckless and 12 ain't blind they obviously gon catch onto all this shit and become suspicious of who out here just killin' niggas like flys.. And that's you nigga."
"All I'm saying is you needa start thinking shit through instead of moving off yo emotions right now. But Ima head out. Ima catch yo ass at the party?" Jayvon asked.
"Ion think I'm coming to his shit." Zane said as he rubbed his trimmed beard.
Dapping him up Zane shook his head in disappointment and looked up at the white popcorn ceiling. Zane knew King was right and he should've waited and moved smart but he was going through alot and trying to hold in all his emotions blurred all common sense out and caused him to make the wrong decisions.
Zane and King was damn near like blood brothers and to them they basically was. Zane hated when he and King fell out because they rarely fought and when they did it was over dumb shit that wasn't worth falling out over. But whenever they saw each other they easily came back close cause they could never stop being tight, especially over little things.
Putting her car in Park as she navigated through the congested airport parking, Sierra couldn't help but feel a mixture of joy and sorrow as she dropped her family off.
A warm smile lit up her face as she spotted her mom and Auntie unloading their luggage from the Uber's trunk. Eagerly hopping out of the car, Sierra joined them, offering a helping hand and closing the truck with a sense of familial camaraderie. Pulling out her Visa card, she swiftly paid the $60.39.
"Thanks Amor!" Her mom said as they all walked inside the Airport.
"Well, Mi Amor, it's time! I enjoyed my stay!" Sierra's Auntie acknowledged.
"I feel lightheaded just seeing you finna leave me mommy!" Sierra sarcastically joked.
Seeing her mom playfully roll her eyes and pull her into a tight hug Sierra held back tears. "I love you Sierra and I'm so proud of you! You and your brother you guys really make me proud."
Nodding her head Sierra curled her lip as she seen her mom close her eyes to hide her emotion as tears started to form in her eyelids. "Aww mommy it's ok! Thank you for everything you've done for us you guys was my number one motivation to start my business and I deeply appreciate that"
Holding back tears, Sierra gently pulled away and kissed her mom's forehead, "I don't wanna make you miss your flight, so I love you, and have a safe flight, ya'll!"
Sierra turned around and placed her cousins, Mykel, and Tyler Paw Patrol and Spiderman suitcase down. Tapping his shoulder as Mykel watched his iPad Sierra bent down and pulled back his headphones. "I'm finna leave Kel give me hug."
As his little arms wrapped around Sierra and he hugged her she pulled back a little and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I love you ok? Be good for Tu mamá" Sierra said to him in Spanish before standing up.
Going over to Tyler and the rest of her family and giving her hugs and goodbyes Sierra stood by the entrance as she watched them rush to their airline. Walking out to her car and sending her mom the $20,000 Zane sent for her family she pulled out and drove home to get dressed for King's birthday party Dreka had thrown today for King.
Sitting in the living room and seeing the front door open and Sierra come through with a McDonald's bag a soft chuckle escaped him as he observed her. "Damn you was mad hungry, huh?" Zane quipped, a playful smirk playing on his lips. Sierra, with a grin, placed her purse on the counter before settling down next to him.
"I honestly don't know how 'cause before I left, I was full as hell, but I got you something in the bag too," she replied, popping a fry into her mouth.
Reaching in the bag and pulling out 10-piece nuggets Zane grabbed a sweet and sour packet and looked up at the mounted TV that was currently airing 'The Chi.'. "Im finna go get in the shower and get dressed for King's party. What color you wearing? I wanna match you." Sierra asked.
"I'm not going to his lame shit." Zane said as he laid back on the couch. Sierra furrowed her eyebrows, crossing her arms in concern.
"What happened?" Seeing him shake his head like it wasn't nothing wrong Sierra smacked her teeth. "Zane what happened?" She repeated.
"It ain't nothin'. We just had a disagreement on some dumb shit," he replied with a nonchalant shrug, attempting to downplay the situation.
"So if it's some dumb shit, then why you not going?" Sierra persisted. Zane's noncommittal shrug prompted an exasperated sigh from her.
"Well, whatever it really is, it's not worth all of this, so you're going. End of discussion," Sierra declared, walking into the bedroom to select an outfit.
Blowing out a breath, Zane set the McDonald's bag on the counter, then followed Sierra into the room, his mind still entangled in the unspoken tension hanging in the air.
As Zane graciously opened the car door for her, Sierra stepped out, entwining her fingers with his, and together, they entered their house, to see about 30-50 people inside talking and dancing to the Chris Brown and Young Thug, Sierra smiled as she seen Layton run up to her and Zane and hug them both.
"Hey babygirl! You look so pretty." Sierra said as she picked her up.
"Ima go say happy birthday to him.. You coming?" Sierra asked.
"Hell nah." Smacking her lips She let go of Layton as she felt Zane take her from her arms. Seeing King pour him up a shot and nod his head to the music with some of his people, Zane let go of her hand as Sierra walked over to him and hugged King. "Happy Birthday Brother!"
"Thank you thank you!" King responded.
"How it feel to be 28 going on 30 cause you getting hella old!" Sierra joked.
"Oh, you tryna be funny now? And shit for me to be almost 30 I still look and feel like a young nigga!" King laughed heartily.
"Whoever told you that one they lied to you. But I'm finna go say wassup to my girl real quick Zane should be.. somewhere around here." Sierra said, heading towards Dreka.
Zane, now contemplating whether to approach King, took a moment. Sighing, he adjusted his black NY cap, poured another shot of Crown Royal, and leaned against the counter. The house buzzed with energy, but Zane hesitated, aware that he needed to make amends.
Finally deciding, he tossed back the shot, feeling the burn cascade down his throat. As he scanned the room, he debated the best approach. Pouring another shot, he steeled himself and walked over to King. Walking around him and staring at him they both smiled and Zane shook his head as he dapped him up.
"You done being a bitch?" King playfully jabbed.
Zane laughed. "Happy Birthday nigga."
"You know ain't no falling out between us nigga that shit in the past now." King assured.
"You my muthafuckin' brother we forever gon be kool, so Ima be the bigger person and say my apologies for allat shit earlier cause you was saying some true shit and I do needa work on my shit." Zane confessed.
Understanding the sincerity in Zane's words, King nodded and exchanged a dap. "It's all love 'cause I know the shit you going through, Z."
"That's the only apology you getting too so don't expect that shit often." Zane joked.
"Anyways nigga! I thought about what you was saying earlier and took yo words into consideration and I think we should start making deals and having different incomes instead of just depending on this shit to move us onto bigger things." King offered.
"And the only deal we got right now is Kookie.. So we take it and along the shit that come with him and we start putting our shit out there to where it's gonna catch nigga's eyes and they gon wanna work with us." Zane said.
They both understood the risks associated with accepting KP's deal, and King's hesitation was palpable. With a baby on the way, he was reluctant to instigate any conflicts with Pablo and his crew. The prospect of starting a war in their current situation weighed heavily on King's mind. But the allure of a faster and more significant income pushed them to consider dropping Pablo and exploring opportunities with larger people in the game of drug dealing, gangs, and cartels.
"I got niggas that know some people we can work with and once we get that settled we take that deal and handle Pablo." King mentioned causing Zane to nod in agreement.
Seeing Dreka walk into the living room King looked up at her. "We finna do cake baby c'mon" Dreka tiredly informed as she held her back.
Standing up and placing his blunt in between his lips King wrapped his arms around her back for support and walked to the kitchen to see his 2-layer gold and black cake with edible hundred dollar bills on the side that Dreka had gotten customized.
As everyone gathered around him Dreka put her hands together and looked around. "Ok so everyone who bought gifts put it in the living room. And bet no one sing that white ass birthday song we don't condone that over here!" She joked.
Singing along to the chorus of voices and lighting up his '28' candle King picked Layton up as he leaned over and blew out the 2 and let her blow out the other. Seeing her clap in excitement he smiled and cut her a small piece of cake.
Grabbing a stack of plates and helping out Sierra sliced everyone a piece of cake and ice cream And handed everyone their plates. "I cannot wait till December I need him out asap!" Dreka said as she rubbed her stomach.
"Sometimes I can't believe I'm really an Auntie! Like you always used to say you wasn't gonna have kids first but you onto ya second damn child!" Sierra remarked.
"Once I had Layton that all changed! Like watching her grow into this big girl has been an amazing journey for me." Dreka expressed.
"I just love being a mom.. And soon to be Auntie!" She jokingly added.
"Girl don't even!" Sierra said.
"Ok, but let's talk about it, though. Are ya'll ready?" Dreka asked.
Taking a sip of her Taylor port, Sierra set the glass down and glanced over at Zane as she thought about the question. "Girl, I would love to be a mom, but just not right now."
Dreka nodded in understandment. "I feel you boo. Be free as long as you can!"
"This shit get me tipsy quick this is dangerous!" Sierra said as she looked at the back of the wine bottle. Hearing step in the name of love play and some of the crowd move to the living room and start dancing, Sierra smiled as she looked up and snapped her fingers rhythmically to the beat.
Moving towards Zane and grabbing his hands she pulled him up from the couch and they started dancing. As everyone shared one last dance together and played a few rounds of cards, the night came to a close, with the echoes of laughter and camaraderie lingering in the air as everyone left.
NI-