Page 97 of Dope Boys: Most Wanted
“Cyn,” Detective Russell blew into the crisp fall air. “You’ve been wasting my time.”
Cyn tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s been difficult laying low while getting close. B isn’t fuckin’ with this at all.”
“You told me you could get me Markus and his whole organization. Luciano is dead, and somehow his whole crew hasflipped. New Haiti, The Marucci’s even La Spana ain’t saying shit about Money or how he moves. It’s either you say something or I’m getting you on the RICO. And then the city will know what kind of rat you are,” Detective Russell stated, making Neveah and Cyn both sway. “Neveah, you were his girlfriend. You never saw him get product?”
Neveah nervously looked at Cyn, then back to the detective. Nia’s core tightened and braced to see if the little ass whopping she’d effortlessly handed her months ago stuck. “No, I never saw anything. He kept me locked up in that damn house. He barely talked to me. I was just pussy when he needed it. Nothing else.”
“I’m really not believing that after all these years you two have spent around the Grants that you don’t want to flip on them. Cyn, you’ve lost your nursing license for him. Stealing pills isn’t even worth me charging you with. I want Money,” Detective Russell stated moments before a blacked out car sped down the street, firing shots out of the window.
Cyn dropped behind a car, taking cover. Neveah wasn’t fast in her response, taking a bullet to the chest. Detective Russell fired back but took a bullet to the neck. As the car passed by, Nia pushed the seat back and watched as Cyn peeked up. A show of relief on her face as if she recognized the car. Still no movement on the block outside of a few dogs barking and neighbors refusing to see what the commotion was about. Cyn looked at the bleeding bodies on the sidewalk, fright hit her before she took off in the direction she came.
Nia’s phone was buzzing again. She answered this time before pulling out of her parked spot and taking the long way to Cyn’s and B’s house. She attempted to keep a level voice, not wanting Svyn to be alerted.
“You still mad at losing that bet?” Svyn teased.
“What? No. No.” Nia stammered before straightening herself. “I’m good, just been busy. You good?”
She could hear the chatter in his background.
“Yeah, first shipment is in. It’s gonna be a long night, I don’t want you waiting up,” Svyn said before chuckling. “Considering I kept you up last night.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you when you get home,” Nia said, focused on any signs of Cyn as she came to a slow stop.
“Home? I’m not a squatter no more?” Svyn questioned with amusement.
“No. How about you wake me up when you get back, and we’ll talk about it. Or you can just make me listen,” Nia offered, knowing exactly what to say and do to get him to hang up with ease. She could hear the smirk.
“Say less. Lock up.”
“I will,” Nia buzzed before hanging up.
Another ten minutes and she was parked down a couple of blocks over from Cyn’s place. Her gun loaded and tucked into the waistband of her pants, she walked toward the back of the brownstone. With her heart drumming against her ears, it felt like every step took an eternity. Sure, she loved her friend, but she loved her family more. Markus had done everything within his power to always make sure she was taken care of. Even putting down their own father for hitting her, Markus had never wavered in his protection of her. He was a fierce protector while trying to build his shit brick by brick. Nia would always be the same for him. Cyn had to go. There was no question about that, no second-guessing. Anything that came up against the Grants would have to fall.
“You know,at some point you’re going to have to admit it,” Svyn spoke as he reclined into the passenger seat. “It feels good as fuck to not be driving your temperamental ass around.”
“Nigga fuck you,” Markus replied with a chuckle. “You drive too fuckin’ slow. We got shit to do, and you be taking scenic routes while daydreaming about torturing niggas.”
Svyn chuckled. “I’ve been cooling.”
“Yeah, that shit is ‘cause of Nia. Don’t tell me her crazy ass is calming the killer,” Markus teased.
“Oh, and Reign ain’t,” Svyn said, circling back to his original statement. “You need to admit that shit to her and yourself.”
“Admit what nigga? Huh?” Markus asked. “That she took my fuckin’ heart out of my chest and won’t give it back? That I haven’t even known her six months and don’t none of that shit matter to me because she’s mine? I don’t need to explain what’s already understood.”
“Exactly that,” Svyn pointed out. “Be real. We can see it. You upright, your head is clear, you ain’t crashing out for the sake of crashing out. Her dropping into your world wasn’t to wreck it. Somehow y’all mended each other, and the shit is fuckin’ beautiful. It might be understood, but I’m learning they like the explanation. Quiets the overthinkin’.”
Markus gripped the steering wheel and nodded at the truth.
“It feels like some shit you don’t want to get out of your system. Don’t it?” Svyn posed. “Sweet honey, slowing your heart. Like it could kill you. But on the other hand, it can heal ya soul.”
“All that shit I was chasing to ease my being, and it wasn’t in a bottle,” Markus muttered because it was safe to. Svyn had proven himself to be loyal time and time again. “Just like that shit, nigga. It’ll be the death I’d welcome ‘cause for a moment in time I experienced something real.”
“Make that shit known. That position you’re walking into is going to require that your foundation is steady. Keep that shit firm, stay locked in. You got a solid one.”
“I hear you.” Markus switched the subject, needing his mind off a Reign. He needed to step into the warehouse and stand with the people on his payroll as a leader, not the lovesick housebroken dog. That’s exactly who he was with Reign. If she had as much sashayed by him, the whiff of her air had him trotting behind her tail wagging. He was always on guard for her.If something threatened the peace she was now wrapped in, he was going to attack and not let go.
Arriving at the warehouse, Markus parked his truck, stepped out, and looked around. October was coming to an end, and November, while cold, was showing signs of promise. He remembered when he acquired the building, posing as a t-shirt designer with big dreams. Brantley was to his right, and Svyn was to his left. Then it seemed that they were all locked in, all moving with the same purpose and vision.
