Page 41 of Certified Pressure 4
The door cracked open and Renza was already pullin’ on his pants, lookin’ half mad, half alert. “What’s goin’ on?”
“Somethin’ off,” I told him. “That sensor light keep poppin’ on.”
He frowned, grabbed his gun from the chair, and followed me out to the livin’ room where Blaqson was standin’ by the window. The porch light flicked back on right then, bright as hell. All three of us froze.
“You see that?” I asked, my eyes cut toward the door.
“Yeah,” Renza said. “That ain’t no animal, ‘Lo. Somebody out there.”
That knot in my stomach twisted tighter. I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about Toni tellin’ Sha’Nelle earlier where we was stayin’. That shit was innocent and careless, but I ain’t put shit past nobody. I had this feelin’ all night and I was glad I acted on it.
“Stay ready,” I told them, walkin’ back to the bedroom. Toni was still sleepin’ hard when I came in. I touched her shoulder. “Baby, wake up.”
She rolled over slow. “Mmm, what’s wrong?”
“Get up and get dressed,” I said.
She frowned, rubbin’ her eyes. “For what?”
“Just do it, Toni. And stay in the room. Don’t come out ‘til I say.”
She sat up now, lookin’ worried, but she could tell by my face I wasn’t playin’. I threw a shirt on, grabbed an extra clip off the dresser and walked out.
The second I made it back to the livin’ room there was a loud bang at the front door like somebody was tryna kick that bitch in. Before the sound even finished, Renza, Blaqson, and me was lettin’ off shots. The whole front wall lit up with muzzle flashes and the air filled with gunfire so loud it shook the house. Pieces of the door splintered off, but whoever it was kept pushin’. Then glass shattered from the back patio like somebody tryin’ to come through.
“Somebody in the back!” I yelled, runnin’ that way.
I spun around the corner with my piece up and saw a figure comin’ through the broken glass. Without thinkin’ I fired. The body dropped hard at the threshold. I kept shootin’ until the clip clicked empty and my hands shook. Blaqson covered the other side and Renza held down the front. The room smelled likeburnt rubber and gunpowder and my ears rang so loud I couldn’t hear nothin’ else.
Toni screamed from the room, “Kay’Lo! What’s happenin’?”
“Stay back, baby!” I yelled, reloadin’ as fast as I could.
She came runnin’ anyway, barefoot, tears on her face, and I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind me. “I said stay in the fuckin’ room!”
She shook her head, cryin’ harder, but I shoved her back inside and shut the door. My heart was hittin’ my ribs hard. Renza came rushin’ back in. “One down at the back door,” I said, tryin’ to steady my breath.
“Yeah, and they ain’t comin’ through this one neither,” he replied, peekin’ out the front. “I don’t see nobody now.”
The silence after that felt heavy. The smell of gunpowder mixed with the dust from the shattered patio door and I looked down at the body layin’ half in and half out on the tile. Blood was spreadin’ across the floor and for a second my stomach flipped when I recognized the sneakers. That wasn’t just some random nigga out here.
Then sirens started wailin’ in the distance. Blue and red lights blinked through the blinds like a bad movie. Who called them, I didn’t know. We sure as hell didn’t. Renza cursed under his breath. “Shit, somebody called it in.”
“Probably the neighbors,” Blaqson said. “They heard all that shootin’.”
The loudspeaker outside boomed, “This is the police. Put your weapons down and come out with your hands up.”
We looked at each other. None of us wanted to move, but there was no wiggle room. I nodded to Renza and Blaq. Shid. We ain’t got no choice.”
We laid the pieces down and raised our hands as the front door flew open and cops came rushin’ in shoutin’ orders. Rifles and flashlights everywhere, they pushed us down and slappedcuffs on us while they started goin’ through the house. The muthafuckas didn’t even ask us if we was the damn victims. One of the officers called out from the back, “We got one down!”
Toni came runnin’ out the bedroom, screamin’. “Kay’Lo!” she cried, her voice shakin’. She froze when she saw the body, her hand coverin’ her mouth. “Oh my God, that’s Deuce!”
Before I could say anything, one of the cops swung his gun her way. “Ma’am, on the ground! Get on the ground now!”
My whole body snapped. “Man, what the fuck you pointin’ at her for? She ain’t got shit to do with this, bitch!” I shouted, fightin’ against the cuffs.
“Stay down!” the officer barked, shovin’ me.
