Page 34 of Quasim II: King Inferno

“I know you better lower your voice, Tyshawn,” my grandmother hollered from the back room, and I tossed myself back onto the couch, breaking out in a fit of sneezes because of the damn cat hair.

“Red played his part by acting all sick and helpless to let them lower their guard.”

I looked at Polo like he was heating shit on a spoon, too. “Lower their guard? Papa Inferno spit at his feet and told him he was going to piss on his grave.”

“They think there’s a truce… while it’s peaceful, we move on that shit.”

“Do they? Quasim stared at me like he wanted to kill me right then and there. You had niggas run in Meer’s crib and shoot his daughter’s bed up… you think there’s a fucking truce? Why the fuck would you have Tank shoot his daughter’s bed up?”

“The plan was to shoot her ass up.”

Polo was a different breed. Even I drew the line somewhere, there was no line with this nigga. He was serious as he spoke about shooting Meer’s daughter. He finally stopped debating onif he was going to sit, and sat on the edge of the chair, leaning forward.

“That nigga took yo bitch, then got you bowing to him like he a fucking king, Took. It got back to me how he was showboating your bitch in front of everybody… letting it be known he’ll go crazy if harm comes her way… to get to the ice king is to get to his heart, and she’s his heart.”

I constantly thought about Blair when she got out that red Mercedes G Wagon. How everyone stood up when she passed by.

“We end the Inferno Gods. They fucking eat while tossing Red scraps. Fucking with the brakes on Papa’s whip didn’t take him and his wife out… running into Meer’s crib didn’t do shit. For the kingdom to fall, you have to take the king out. We getting this money.”

“He took my woman, forced me from my home, and got them boys thinking they’re untouchable. Got to give it to him, he is exactly who he says he is.” Red came in from the front door.

I’ve heard the story of the beef with Papa Inferno and Red Devil. Red was delusional; Papa didn’t take his woman because she was never his, but if he wanted to tell that story, who was I to judge?

I was broke, needing a fix, and smelled like fucking cat. “I want her dead, though… Let me be the one to do it. Want him to hurt like he did before,” I smirked, thinking of Cherie and how bad he was hurting. I never saw the king crack before, but taking Cherie, I saw the cracks.

Blair

“I missed you around here,”Syn said, as she leaned on the counter while I went over classes and replied to emails.

I had been locked out my work email on my personal laptop, and I needed to come in to reset the password. Plus, I needed to get out the house, and Quasim wasn’t letting me leave without someone with me.

Havoc was outside waiting for me to wrap up. He was trying to play it cool, but his eyes were on Syn the entire time as he stood out there. Wylie was across the street with Kincaid, and they had their head on a swivel, so he was justified in his staring match at Syn.

“I missed being around here, too. So much is going on.” Syn didn’t exactly know what went on in my personal life.

She did know I was caught in a fire. However, that was all she knew, and I kept it like that. She never questioned why the Inferno Gods hung around the studio, but then again, if you were from the east coast you knew about the Infernos, Bullies, and Reapers, and I didn’t take Syn as someone that was green.

“Are you actually resting or working?” She raised her brow, going to grab some cleaning supplies to clean the studio between classes.

“I was locked out of my email, so I wasn’t doing much of any work which is why… shit.” I bit my bottom lip as I looked at the email that came through, reminding me of a client that I had in Miami.

I clicked into an email that should have been answered a week ago. Last year, one of the basketball wives of a player on the Miami Surge reached out to me for a postpartum doula. She only needed me for two weeks after her birth.

She booked me right away, and now her assistant was reaching out to confirm that she was going to be induced soon, and to ask my preference on flight times.

With everything that had been going on, my business had been the last thing that had been on my mind. This was my fault, and I was going to make it work so I could fly out and do what I had been paid to do. I couldn’t allow a relationship to pull me away from everything that I had worked hard for.

This had been a dream at one time, and now God had made a way for me to accomplish that dream and live in answered prayers. I quickly replied to her that I would be there and would follow back up with flight times.

“Everything good?” Syn noticed my serious expression.

“Remember when I told you about Quinn Clark’s wife booking me to be her postpartum doula?”

“Yeah, you said you loved her blog and couldn’t wait to work with her. Her name is Lilac or something, right?”

“Well, I forgot all about it and her assistant reached out to confirm with me last week… I’m gonna have to head to Miami for two weeks… this is not the right time for that.”

Syn put her hand over mine. “Relax for a minute. Let’s do some breathing exercises… breathe in.” I took a deep breath inand smelled a faint smell of lavender and opened my eyes. Syn was waving some small metal tin in front of my nose. “Let it all out and let’s take it back in one more time.”

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