Page 3

The sun was starting to set, and that was the time all the niggas started to come out. A lot of shiesty shit went on once it cooled down for a nigga to come out of the house. My gambling house was starting to pile up and I had to stop niggas from coming in. In each bedroom, we had about seven niggas in a room. The last thing I wanted tonight was for the damn police to roll up on our ass.

Summer thought I had a gambling problem, but I never gambled, at least not here. Most of my gambling was on sports. All I did was collect my money for them niggas being in my shit. It was easy for me to walk out with well over fifteen grand on a slow night. Dope boys, businessmen, and a few women frequented the gambling house. I didn’t judge what the fuck they had going on. All I wanted was my money.

I rode off to grab myself something to eat and check on Summer. When I got back, shit wasn’t sitting well with me. Lj had hit me up and told me that he caught a muthafucka trying to do some funny shit. He already put a nigga out for giving a fake fifty-dollar bill, and now a bitch was playing with the cards. When I walked in the house, I could feel the tension. Nobody was to be armed in my shit, but me and Lj.

“What’s going on?” I asked as soon as I hit the third bedroom.

“This pussy ass nigga changing cards when he shuffles. How the hell we end up with two deuce deuces?” A cat named Charlie pointed out. I trusted his judgement because he had been around since I was a little ass boy.

“Let me see the cards,” Lj said.

My gun was already in my hand as the room grew quiet. Lj waited for the cards to hit his hand, but instead a shot rang out, which caused me to react and let off a shot right in between the eyes of the nigga that was switching the cards out. The room started scattering but what I didn’t notice was Lj lying on the floor, struggling to breathe.

Everything happened within seconds and I reacted before I could figure out what was going on. Now I stood in a room with one dead body and my best friend struggling to live. I stuffed my gun back in my pants and dragged Lj to the front door.

“Hold on, Lj. I’m about to get you some help.” I rushed outside to get the car started and ran back up to scoop him up. I placed him in the backseat, but before I could leave, I had to set this shit on fire.

I ran back in the house and sparked a cigarette that had a little gasoline on it. It was all Lj’s idea when we first started the gambling house. He was intrigued with fires and had a female friend who worked down at the fire station who would give him information about arson and how to get away with it. With the insurance I had on the place, I’ll have another house up and running in no time.

“Hang in there, Lj. The hospital right up the road, nigga.”

I turned in the hospital so fast that I ran into the back of a parked car.

“Aye, somebody give me a hand out here!” I yelled.

It took them a minute to grasp that I was standing here with blood on my shirt and screaming for their ass to help before they jumped in action. I made sure that Lj knew I would be here waiting for him as they wheeled him to the back. Finally having the time to do so, I went and moved my car to a parking spot before coming back in and waiting to hear something. Summer was blowing my phone up, my mama was blowing me up, but I didn’t answer anyone until I had some information to give. Three hours later, the doctor finally came out to talk to me.

“Are you the one that brought the patient in?” The doctor asked.

“Yes, he’s my cousin.”

“Well, we have him stable. We had a hard time saving his arm. There was a nerve that was severed pretty bad. If I had tried to save it, he would not have been able to have any movement in his fingers. He’s in far better shape with it gone. We cut from the elbow below.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome to go back and see him in about an hour.”

I nodded as I tried to wrap my mind around him being without an arm. This shit was going to kill him when he woke up. While I still had time, I got up to leave so I could shower and be back when he came to.

“Lawton Baylor?” Someone called out behind me.

“Yes.”

“Can we talk with you briefly about what happened?” The female officer asked.

“I don’t know what happened. He called me and sounded funny, so I immediately went to see what was up and when I got to him, he was shot and barely breathing.”

“And where did you find him?”

“He was on the block.”

“So he wasn’t at your house that burned down a few hours ago? His car is there.”

“You do know the block is on that same street. We all park and walk. What are you trying to say? And what do you mean, my house burned down?”

“You’re unaware?” She eyed me.

“Fuck kind of question is that? Maybe they burned that bitch down thinking my cousin went in there. Shit, I don’t know, but I don’t like the fact that you standing here with me instead of finding out who burned my shit down.”