Page 3 of Kissed By the Trillest Thug 2

“I could have killed ya ass instead,” I honestly stated.

He groaned again, dragging it out, while still clutching his arm like I hadn’t been intentional about where I placed that shot.

I stepped from behind the counter and closed in the space between us. His carrying on and hooting and hollering almost made the corners of my mouth turn upward. Almost. I let the humor fall off my face as the seriousness settled back in.

“Listen to me,” I said, my voice dropping just enough to lock him in.

His movements slowed, and even through the pain, his attention was fully on me now.

“I don’t want to see you again, Tahari.”

His breathing was heavy, uneven, but he was listening. His ass was sweating and getting blood all over my damn floors. I would have to call a cleaner in for sure to get this dealt with. Although I didn’t end his life because of Maliah, that didn’t mean that I wanted him anywhere near my child.

“And you better stay the fuck away from my daughter.”

There was a shift in his face at that statement, but I didn’t give him room to respond.

“I should have killed you. There’s more than enough reason for me to do it.” I sighed because I thought of the only reason why I left him breathing. “But I know my daughter loves you,” I added, the words coming out slower, like they didn’t sit all the way right with me. “And that’s the only reason you’re still breathing right now.”

I let that sit for a second so he could really understand what I was saying. I needed him to really know that the air currently circulating in his lungs right now was due to my daughter. Now, I didn’t know if I would be as generous if I ever laid eyes on him again.

“But if I ever see you again…” I continued, my voice sharpening just enough to draw a line he couldn’t miss, “your family might as well start frying chicken and getting shirts made.”

Silence fell between us. It was suffocating because it felt final and heavy. I held his gaze for a moment longer before turning away from him. I was done with the situation. As far as I was concerned, Tahari was finished. Whether he accepted that or not wasn’t my problem.

Chapter 2

Trigga

The night air hit me the moment I stepped outside, but it didn’t do anything to settle what was going on inside my body. My arm was burning in a way that made it hard to think straight, the pain deep and steady. It was spreading with every step like it was trying to take over the rest of me. Mr. Browne and I had driven over here in his Durango, and when I got outside, I started to panic, thinking of how I was going to get the fuck out of here. As I looked across the lot, I saw my car parked. I had left it parked in his driveway, so I figured I had to be losing my mind. I blinked a couple more times, and sure enough, my baby was parked not too far from me. When I looked back at the auto shop, Mr. Browne was standing in the glass, nodding his head toward the car.

All of this shit had to be premeditated. So much so that he had someone come and drop my car here.

“Sssss,” I hissed as my arm started throbbing.

I kept pressure on the wound as I moved toward my car, forcing myself to stay upright even though my body was starting to feel heavier by the second. Falling wasn’t an option. Not out here. Not like this. By the time I got to the driver’s side, my breathing was already off. I pulled the door open and slid inside,trying to steady myself before everything caught up to me at once. I’d successfully made it to my car, and when I thought about it, that didn’t mean shit without anything to start it. When I looked over at the passenger side seat, I saw my car keys sitting on the surface.

“This nigga is the coldest.” I let a chuckle escape my lips, although it wasn’t shit funny.

These same keys were hung on the key rack when you first walk into his house. I sat there for a second with my head leaning back against the seat, but that didn’t help much either. The world felt like it was shifting slightly, like I was trying to hold on while everything else moved without me. I gained some composure and then reached over and snatched the keys off the seat. I started the car and pulled off. My hand tightened around the steering wheel as I drove, but even that felt off. My grip wasn’t as strong as it should’ve been, and I couldn’t tell if it was from the blood, the pain, or the way my focus kept slipping in and out.

My phone was vibrating in my pocket, and I fought like hell to get it out of the pocket of my sweatpants.

MALIAH

It kept ringing; her name flashed again like she wasn’t going to stop trying until I picked up. For a second, I considered answering to hear her voice, just to ground myself in something familiar. But I already knew how that would go. She would hear that something was off. She would ask questions I couldn’t answer right now. Questions that, honestly, I never wanted to answer. So, I let it ring. And I let it ring again. Then it stopped, only to start right back up. She was persistent like that. For one, we were supposed to be going on a date, and two, wheneverI didn’t answer my phone, she immediately went into worry mode. She had no idea just how tapped in with the streets I used to be; still, she worried about my well-being.

I exhaled through my nose and kept my eyes forward, ignoring it even as it felt like it was pulling at me. My vision blurred slightly at the edges, forcing me to blink a few times to refocus on the road ahead. I needed somewhere to go. Somewhere I didn’t have to explain anything. I was too damn paranoid to go to a hospital. This man shot me and then magically made sure that my vehicle was available for me afterward. I had no idea just how much pull he had. What if I made it all the way to a hospital just for him to have someone finish the job there? I couldn’t have that. The only person who I knew would and could help me without asking any questions was Ms. Gia.

She stitched people up for a living. This through-and-through bullet hole would be a small job for her. The thought came with a strange sense of instinct, like my body made the decision before my mind fully caught up. I turned without overthinking it, heading straight toward the apartment that she shared with Ghost. The same one that I used to live in with them. Ghost and I weren’t even speaking right now and hadn’t been for a while. I knew that despite that, Ms. Gia would still help me, though. Ghost and I had gotten into spats before, and she never treated me differently because of them. She was a mom. A true mom, and when us boys fought or disagreed, she minded her business.

By the time I pulled into the apartment complex, my arm felt worse. It felt heavier, and I was moving it slower. It was like it didn’t belong to me anymore. I parked without straightening the car properly, cut the engine, and sat there for a moment trying to collect myself enough to move. My breathing was uneven, and I could feel the strength leaving me in small waves. I forced myselfout of the car anyway. The walk to the building wasn’t long, but it felt like it was. I didn’t pay attention to anything around me. No cars. No people. No sounds. My focus was locked on getting inside before my body decided it wasn’t going to cooperate anymore.

Each step up toward the apartment door took more out of me than the last. By the time I reached it, I could feel how close I was to hitting a limit I didn’t want to acknowledge. I was about to be sprawled out on this damn ground. I raised my hand and knocked hard enough for anyone inside to hear, even if they were in the back room, my old room. But there was nothing. I waited. I was shifting my weight slightly, trying my hardest to stay balanced. Then I knocked again, stronger this time, putting everything I had left behind it. Still nothing at first.

I leaned forward slightly, pressing my hand against the door for support. My breathing was low and uneven as I tried to stay upright. A few seconds passed. Then I heard it. The lock was turning. It turned slowly at first, then quicker, like whoever was on the other side finally realized something wasn’t right. The door opened just enough for Ms. Gia to peek out. She was so damn short she couldn’t even see out the peephole, and Ghost and I always used to clown her for it. The moment her eyes landed on me, her whole face changed.

“Lord… Tahari!”