Page 8 of Kairo

Conqueror walked toward me without removing the gun pointed at Kelvin. He moved with a strut to let everyone in the room know he wasn’t scared of nobody. He stopped in front of me and slowly removed the ties from my wrists. He handed me his shirt and then his gun.

“Keep that shit on them ’til I untie you.”

I did as I was told. A few seconds later, I was free. I moved my ankles, feeling the pain from them being tied too tight. The anger I felt from being in this situation outweighed it all. I kept the gun aimed straight at the middle of Kelvin’s head. I was pissed beyond belief. I didn’t take well to being embarrassed or played.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t put at least two bullets right between your eyes?” I asked Kelvin.

He had his gun aimed at me, but I could smell the fear oozing from his body. He wasn’t expecting this to happen, and I didn’t expect to see Conqueror.

“Your father ruined my life. I’m angry! He walks around here flaunting like he got it all when he is ruining people’s lives. I had a family. I was on my way to retirement, but your egotistical father ruined it for me.”

“Your beef is with my father. Not me. You should’ve taken that up with him. To have your son play with me for this long is insane.”

My eyes darted over to Keith, who was still rolling around on the floor. My heart ached knowing that I was falling for him, but this whole time he was playing me. The entire thing was a slap in a face. The fence around my heart was back up and it was stronger than ever.

“If you’re going to kill me, kill me!”

It had been a long time since I pulled the trigger on someone. Instead of giving Kelvin the satisfaction of killing him right then and there, I called Junior. After the third ring he answered.

“Yo?”

“Junior, I need you at 673 Holly Drive.”

“What’s going on, Bug?”

“I need you to handle something for me.”

In the background I could hear Junior moving around. Seconds later, I heard the cranking of his car.

“Who hurt you?” he asked.

Junior’s voice was no longer calm. He was on high alert.

I gave him a quick rundown, and by the time I finished, Junior was shouting at the top of his lungs. “These motherfuckers must think we done went soft! Ain’t none of them making it home to their families. I’m five minutes away!” He hung up the phone before I could reply.

I didn’t want to stay there any longer. I knew my brother, and I knew how my brother felt about family, regardless of how much we disagreed. I looked back at Conqueror. He still had his gun aimed at Kelvin. His jaw was tight, and I could tell by the grip of his finger, he was ready to let one out of the chamber. I took a moment to put my clothes back on. Once I finished, I looked at the sight in front of me, disgusted by these cowardly ass men.

“Let’s go,” I said.

He darted his eyes to me and then back at Kelvin. “That’s it? We’re just going to leave? Nah, lay them niggas where they stand.”

“Take me home,” I said, physically and mentally drained.

It pained me to know someone I’d been falling for would set me up. It was devastating and heartbreaking.

Conqueror sucked his teeth. We headed toward the front door, my head held high. There wasn’t an ounce of me that wanted to give these men the satisfaction of thinking they won. Before I could make my way on the porch, Conqueror let out a loud sigh. I spun on my heels to see what the problem was.

“Nah, fuck that.”

He let off two rounds in the back of Kelvin’s head. The thrill and excitement of seeing Conqueror kill Kelvin sent a rush through my body. I looked at Keith, who was still on the ground crying out in pain. My heart shattered. I never would’ve thought Keith would do me the way he did.

“Why, Keith?” I asked, knowing damn well he was in too much pain to answer. “I thought what we had was real. I thought we loved each other.” I felt myself getting choked up.

“I did love you. I do love you. But my dad—he?—”

I didn’t even let him finish. I snatched the gun out of Conqueror’s hand and emptied the clip on Keith. One single tear fell before I wiped it away. I passed the gun back to Conqueror and looked at him

“Now you take me home.”

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