Page 101 of Dope Boys: Most Wanted
Brantley hadn’t bothered to check in since he left. She was now out of a job and a license and knew that it was only a matter of time before Money killed her, too. She only assumed he ordered the hit on Neveah and the detective. Who else would’ve done that with the sun still hanging in the sky?
Only a crazy man or a man who knew that he was untouchable would do something like that. She’d seen Markus do enough and heard stories about his ruthless nature. Staying in the city only made her prey to a man who didn’t care about family ties.
“You going somewhere?” Nia’s voice broke Cyn’s thoughts.
Cyn dropped the phone and blinked rapidly as she took in Nia’s state. “H-how’d you get in?”
Nia held up the keys Cyn gave her years ago. She tossed them on the bed and peered at her. Cyn tearfully peered back.
“M-my dad he’s sick,” Cyn lied. “I need to go up and see him for a while. I’ve been wanting to tell you. I just didn’t know how.”
“Oh, your father…the one that put you out is sick?” Nia questioned. “The father that told you if you fucked with thatniggerBrantley, he’d disown you? I still find that shit wild, being that his Cuban ass is darker than any nigga I know. That’s the father, huh? What’s he sick with?”
Cyn had come down with a sudden case of amnesia, but Nia recalled it all. All the nights they shared stories, cried, bonded, and laughed.
“Nia, please I-I,” Cyn stammered.
“What the fuck does he have, Cyn?” Nia semi-bellowed, hurt, grasping at her vocal chords. “How long has he been sick?”
Cyn’s lip trembled. Having to lie to Nia’s face was harder than she expected it to be. How she thought she could bringthem down and then look at them while she testified was beyond her, now.
“Tell me what part of it was real, Cyn?” Nia asked. “Hm? When you held my hand when I miscarried? When I told you every fuckin’ thing about me? When I brought you into our business? How long have you been a rat? How long have you been plottin’ against me and my family?”
“Nia, I never meant to hurt you,” Cyn protested. “You were my best friend. I loved you. You knew everything about me, too. You think this is easy?”
“Were? Up until now, I just knew you were a solid bitch. All those red flags I ignored. I knew that it would be you to get B and Angel on the right path,” Nia spoke with tears in her eyes. “But I was wrong.”
“Nia, I’m sorry, but I have to go. Just let me go. The detective is dead, the case is going to be closed, and you guys get to walk away. I’ve lost everything!”
“You haven’t lost shit! Not yet,” Nia shot back.
“I’ve lost everything! The man I thought loved me has a baby by a project bitch! My parents won’t fucking talk to me because I chose this shit over them. I have no nursing license, and it’s all because you niggas! Not to mention when that new bitch came around, you forgot about me! I had a miscarriage, too. I had pain too!”
“You had a choice!” Nia bellowed back. “You had a fuckin’ choice. And you choose.”
“To leave,” Cyn cried. “I’m leaving.”
“You’re a rat. A snitch. An enemy. Tell me who put Kay-Dee up to G coming into the shop?” Nia asked, refusing to let Cyn move from her spot. “What was the fuckin’ motive?”
“I thought if she were out of the way, Markus would step down, give B what he needed, and things would go back to what they used to be. My nigga would have some fuckin’ pride abouthimself. And maybe he would’ve seen me and everything I gave up for him.”
“You did this for yourself. Granted, B ain’t nothing to lose your life over, but you did it for you. Own that.” Nia laughed bitterly. “A nigga’s pride comes from a place deep down that they’re proud of. A nigga without no pride is a nigga without heart. You two deserve each other. Together in hell, you meet up there.”
“Nia, please. I love you, you are my best friend. Please don’t do this,” Cyn whimpered, holding her hands up.
Nia clicked the safety off of the gun she held to her side before holding it up in perfect aim to Cyn’s face. Tears fell from her eyes. “I was. Now you’re nothing.”
One bullet through the dome and her head split like a melon. Nia didn’t have the heart to make her suffer. After all, they were friends, and no matter how bad she hurt Nia with her betrayal, love was a hard thing to kill.
With shaky hands, Nia called Fuego. He answered on the second ring.
“What’s good, Nia? What you need?”
“Cyn’s place put it back together, take her phone, and put it on a bus. I want her to disappear,” Nia instructed before hanging up and walking out of the back door she walked into.
She turnedthe doorknob in a trance. Cyn’s blood now dried on her clothes, skin, and hair. Hot tears streaming down her face. Svyn was in the kitchen unpacking the takeout that arrived almost ten minutes before she entered. After she left Cyn’s place, she lost her sense of direction, driving around aimlessly until the smell of zinc and gun powder wasn’t as strong in her nostrils.
“Baby,” Svyn called out. “I got you that seared duck you like from SuQuan’s.”
