Page 110 of Dope Boys: Most Wanted
Aunt G locked arms with her. “And the in-betweens. I’m going to miss her.”
Markus nodded as he clenched his jaw. “Yeah, me too.”
He moved away from them, on a search to find a casket fit for the queen and to gather himself. He hadn’t been this emotional in his life. Not even when Slim died. He was alone for minutes before Nia found him and hugged his waist.
“You know you don’t have to hold it together right now,” she said.
“I do. Because the other option is to crash. I was so close to jumping back over that edge. So fuckin’ close. A crash is going to cost me everything. So I have to hold this shit together, there’s no other option. Out here, every move I make is being watched. I’m going to get through this week, and I’ll sit with this. I got to make sure y’all are good.”
Nia squeezed him more, and he returned the gesture. “We’re going to be okay. We always are. This time I think we’ll come out better.”
“Why you say that?”
“Lucille gave Reign her blessing. I saw it, for a split second, before she went down. It was a touch and orders. The way she looked up at her when her life was leaving her body. Funny because she looked at me and asked, ‘When are you going to stop pretending that you’re not pregnant?’ She always knew. Everything.”
“Always. She was always in my business. ‘Stop messing with those girls, they don’t want nothing but your money, stop living in your head. Stop dropping people off of buildings,” he laughed at the last comment. “She’s never going to make me stop doing that.”
“You stopped living in your head and messing with them girls, though.” Nia pointed out.
“Ain’t have no choice. You dropped someone in our world I can’t get enough of.”
Nia faintly smiled. “I always wanted a sister.”
“I know you wouldn’t let me forget it. Speaking of which, you two are going to have security on you heavy. Moving around the city without it ain’t happening no more.”
“We can protect ourselves,” Nia assured, making him grunt.
“You carrying my niece or nephew. Nah, I ain’t having it.”
“Is Reign…”
Markus shook his head. “Nah, but I’ll handle that when it’s time. Right now, I need you to get through this intact. You’re not going to have those Grant sisters rise up out of their graves and beat my ass.”
Nia laughed and let him go. “You know they will, too. I think we should get her the pearl white that glimmers under the sun. Horse-drawn carriage?”
“Take her through her old hood one last time?” Markus added.
“Yeah. Whose going to help you carry her? You know I will.”
“Girl, chill out. I got it handled. Let’s get this shit done so I can feed y’all and get back home,” Markus stated. “This shit is too much.”
“Agreed.”
When Markus returned to Reign’s brownstone, he found her in the room, hair wrapped in a towel, an oversized shirt on, and a lint roller in her hand.
“What are you in here doing?” he asked.
“I bought you some suits. And before you say anything, I measured you in your sleep. Aunt Lucille was adamant about you wearing a suit in her celebration of life and as you handled business moving forward.”
“How many suits you get me?” Markus asked, trying to figure out how she did it without him knowing.
“Enough to start. After all this is over, we’ll get you a few tailored.”
“What you get for you?” he asked.
“You in the suit is enough for me. How was the meeting?”
“Morbid,” he said with a huff, sitting on the ottoman. “I took them to lunch after, barely made it through that without breaking down. How am I going to carry her out of that church?”
