“He’s locked up,” I told her.

  Tears sprang to her eyes. “I told him. I told him to stop and he wouldn’t listen.”

  I really wished I had the patience to comfort the girl, but unfortunately I did not. I needed information and I didn’t care who I got it from. “Look, I need you to tell me what else the white girl said to you,” I said.

  “She didn’t say a lot. Just told me not to talk to you. Tell him I’m sorry. Tell Jojo I didn’t know the black lady was a cop.”

  “Whoa wait, what black lady?”

  “A few days ago, she came down here. Rounded a few of us up asking about Jojo and his dealings with X-clusive. She knew he was my boyfriend. Said she’d seen us around town. Told me if I didn’t want Jojo to die, I had to tell her what he was up to so she could help him.”

  I frowned for many reasons. One, Jojo was seventeen with a college-aged girlfriend. Two, who the fuck was this black lady? Three, why the hell would Melissa tell this girl not to talk me or Javon?

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Danielle. Jojo calls me Dani.”

  “How old are you?”

  She hesitated a moment then glanced at the ground. “Just turned twenty-one yesterday.”

  “Do you know Jojo is only seventeen?” I all but yelled.

  “I . . . I do, but—”

  “There are no buts! You’re a grown woman. He’s a kid!”

  “I told him that. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. He kept asking me out, buying me things, showing up places.”

  “How old was he when you met him?”

  “Sixteen.”

  “Which means you were twenty.”

  “Was nineteen going on twenty.”

  “He’s a boy.”

  “He’s nice to me. He doesn’t make me do things I don’t want to do. He doesn’t hit me. That makes him more man than any man my age.”

  “He’s a boy!”

  “He’s seventeen. He’ll be eighteen soon.”

  I had a good mind to take my gun from my purse and shoot that bitch. I knew I was probably overreacting. Knowing what happened to Jojo as a child made me want to protect him, even from himself. We all knew Jojo had a thing for older women, so to speak. When he was fourteen, I beat down some eighteen-year-old he had set his sights on. Then when he was fifteen, Inez choked some twenty-year-old chick out. Mama had laid into a few other older women Jojo had gotten himself involved with. It was never ending. It was like the boy couldn’t help himself, but he was still just a child and I would always beat down any adults who couldn’t control themselves when it came to children.

  “Let me tell you something: you stay away from Jojo. Do you understand me? He’s a child—”

  “She said you would try to keep us apart.”

  “Danielle, Dani, whatever your name is, stay away from Jojo. I won’t say it again.”

  “No.”

  I tilted my head to the side. “Excuse me?”

  “I said no. I . . . I can’t.”

  I slid my phone in my back pocket. I was about to put that bitch flat on her big ass until she stepped back and opened her coat. I took a breath so deep it got lodged in my throat. Her stomach protruded just enough for me to see she was pregnant. It was small and barely there, but she was clearly pregnant.

  “Oh, my God. How far along are you?” I asked.

  “Four months.”

  “Does he know?”

  She nodded.

  “Oh, shit, Jojo,” I whispered.

  I was so undone, I had no idea what to say next. I gave Dani my cell number and told her to call me if she heard anything else. That was all I could do for now. The urge to strangle her was so strong, I had to leave before I did just that.

  I didn’t know what to say or what to do as I rushed to my car. Nausea overtook me. I rummaged in my purse and popped a Phenergan. Seeing Dani pregnant made me remember I was too. I had yet to tell Javon. Dr. Ahn told me there was a very big chance I wouldn’t carry this child or any other child to term because of the damage done when I lost the last baby. It was as if the chick I’d been fighting with had literally kicked my womb loose. My cervix was so damn thin the doctor was giving me P17 shots to try to prevent premature labor.

  Javon wanted a baby, but there was no way I would get his hopes up only to lose the child, then have to see the pain in his eyes afterward. No, I couldn’t tell him yet, not until the doctor said I was in the clear.

  I couldn’t worry about that, not when Jojo had a grown woman pregnant. And not while he, Navy, and Monty were locked away. Not to mention that the way Mama was cut down like a dog in the middle of the street kept replaying over and over in my mind. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I never saw the black car trailing me as I pulled into traffic.

  Chapter 8

  Uncle Snap

  “There was a problem at the jail,” Jai said as soon as she walked into the house. The panic in her eyes alarmed me. Dressed in a cream two-piece business suit that fit every curve she owned, she looked every bit of the lawyer she was.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Where’s Javon?” she asked.

  “Upstairs in the shower.”

  I watched Jai’s expression. Clearly there was something going on or something had gone on between her and Javon. I couldn’t be sure. But I saw the way nephew looked at her and I saw the way she regarded him. I didn’t want no bullshit, but I knew what would happen if Javon had done something stupid like cheated on Shanelle again.

  I wouldn’t even confront nephew about it. Sooner or later, the shit would hit the fan. For that very reason, I kept Jai at arm’s length. Wasn’t for nobody coming in trying to cause havoc. It was the same reason I fed Lucky with a long-handle spoon. He may have thought he was nickel slick but I had his penny change.

  “Will you get him? Or I’ll do it,” she said and made her way to the stairs.

  I stopped her. “I got it,” I said. I took the stairs two at a time. I rapped on Mama’s door three times.

  “Yeah?” Javon yelled.

  “We got some trouble,” I said. “Jai’s here.”

  “I’m coming,” he said.

  I headed back downstairs. I tried to call Shanelle, but I got no answer. Javon came downstairs five minutes later. Dressed in jeans and a hoodie, he looked like he was ready to go hang out at the park or something. Jai’s eyes danced over him like he was a suitcase with millions of dollars in it. He noticed it because the fool-ass boy smirked.

  “Get to the business, Jai,” I said.

  She came to her senses. “Your brothers were attacked in jail this morning.”

  That wiped that silly-ass smirk right off his face. “What?” he asked.

  “Yes, apparently it was a setup.”

  I asked, “Anyone hurt?”

  “Yes. Jojo killed two inmates.”

  “What the fuck? Say what?” I blurted out.

  “They’re going to charge him with those murders.”

  “You were supposed to have them out of there by now,” Javon snapped.

  “I was working on that. Had gotten bail set for Navy and Monty—”

  “And what about Jojo?” I asked, cutting her off.

  “I have to play this smoothly, Raphael. I can’t just walk in there and walk out with him without even attempting to go through the proper channels. If we don’t want him to be seen as this drug lord, we have to not treat him as if he is one.”

  “Fuck all that, Jai. If you had done what you were supposed—”

  “Wait one damn minute,” Jai snapped. “I’m doing my fucking job. Don’t come at me like I’m not. I got to the jail to bail out Monty and Navy and they told me what had happened once I got there.”

  “Did they let you see the boys?” I asked, just to stop her and Javon from having a pissing match.

  “They did. Monty and Navy are pretty banged up, but they’re well. It’s Jojo who, I fear, has had a psychotic break.”

  Javon frowned then folded his arms across his chest. “Meaning?”

  Jai sighed then set her briefcase down. “I have footage from the jail of the fight. See for yourself.”

  Jai pulled her MacBook from her briefcase then opened it. She took a flash drive from the bag as well then inserted it. It took a few seconds for the video to pop up. I watched as Jojo took a seat. Watched as some old-ass prison-built nigga took his apple from his plate. Saw when Navy stepped in. All hell broke loose then. Navy punched the man. Jojo took his tray and broke it across the man’s face. Two niggas grabbed Jojo from behind while Navy was still putting in work on the other dude.

  Jojo was on the floor fighting for his life. I’d never seen nephew fight with such aggression. Hell, I didn’t even know he could fight. My heart dropped when a shank hit the floor. Heart sank further when two men grabbed Navy and tried to take him down. I had no worries that Navy could and would defend himself. There was a naked blur that rushed into the camera. Bodies went flying everywhere.

  “What the fuck was that?” Javon asked.

  “That was Lamont,” Jai answered. “He was attacked in the shower first. Needless to say, he won. But pay attention to Jojo.”

  Javon’s cell went off upstairs.

  “It’s probably Shanelle,” I said. “She called earlier.”

  Javon made a move to go upstairs, but Jai stopped him. She grabbed his arm. “She can wait. This is important,” she said to him.

  I almost told Javon to go answer the phone anyway, but my eyes were locked on the screen. By now, Jojo’s glasses had fallen off. I watched as nephew picked up the shank then put his back against the wall. Monty or Navy must have put the bug in his ear to always fight with your back against the wall when outnumbered. As soon as niggas rushed him, Jojo wasted no time lashing out. He used that shank like he had been trained to do so by a master swordsman.

  By the time nephew was done, bodies lay at his feet. Two nonmoving. Jojo looked like something out of a horror movie. Both hands fisted, shank in one. Blood raining down his face and, although I couldn’t hear him, the wide mouth and wild look in his eyes told me he was screaming. More like roaring. They’d placed him in a jungle and he came out king.

  The video stopped. Javon and I were both left speechless. His phone started ringing again.

  “Get to the jail to get my brothers out of there. I don’t give a fuck who you have to call and what favors you have to call in. I want them out of there. Tonight,” Javon ordered.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Jai said.

  Javon got in Jai’s face. “No. Don’t see what you can do. Do it or I’ll find someone else who can.”

  With that, Javon stormed back upstairs. Jai looked after him like she wanted to chase him down and make him forget his brothers.

  “Jai, leave him alone,” I said.

  “I’m not bothering him. I’m just trying to do my job.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it. Shanelle is his woman. Leave him be.”

  Jai gave a snide chuckle as she closed her MacBook then put it back in her briefcase.

  Before walking out the door, she said, “If I want him, I can have him, and Shanelle being his woman won’t stop that. Again, I’m here to do my job, but if something else comes up, I won’t stop it.”

  I watched the young woman walk out the front door. My nephew was a good man, honorable even, but I knew the wiles of a woman could tempt even the best men. I prayed Javon was over that phase in his life. Prayed even harder that Shanelle knew better than to let Lucky get too close.

  My phone started ringing. It was Shanelle.

  “Hey, niece. Where are you?” I asked.

  It took me a minute to realize I heard gunshots in the background.

  “I need help, Uncle. I got ambushed. I called Javon but he didn’t answer. I crashed my car trying to get away.”

  I didn’t even have time to explain to her why he didn’t answer. “Where you at, niece?”

  “Cleveland Avenue just off exit 241. I’m stuck. I’m in the parking lot behind the legal aid office. I took out a few but my ammo is low.”

  “We coming, baby girl. Javon,” I yelled.

  He came barreling down the stairs. “What?”

  “It’s Shanelle. We have to go.”

  Chapter 9

  Javon

  There was no pause in my actions. As soon as Uncle Snap said Shanelle’s name and that we had to go, I felt it in my gut that we had another situation going on.

  “Hit me with the level of the situation, Uncle,” I quickly said.

  “We have a Queen’s Gambit going on, nephew,” he responded in worry, tossing me a bulletproof vest while he slid his on.

  Fear flashed across my mind. A Queen’s Gambit, or QG, was a term I saw written in Mama’s diary. It was code that either one of the Syndicate’s female heads was being attacked or any wife of one of the Syndicate’s heads was being attacked. Had Mama Claudette been able to get to a phone and put out a message to the Syndicate, that was exactly what she would have either said or texted: QG.

  In a QG, it could go in favor of the queen taking out her enemies or those who attacked her, or it could all go foul and turn on her. Right now, Shanelle was without protection and backup. Immediately, all I saw in my mind was Mama being surrounded and taken down. I couldn’t have that happen to Shanelle. I was already dealing with Jojo being attacked.

  The image of him screaming on the video was burning fresh in my skull. I knew exactly why he was screaming and why he was able to take those motherfuckers down as cleanly as he did, with no glasses on top of that. He was locked in a PTSD and manic attack and the added fact that it was a setup for all my brothers to go down like that, whoever was gunning for us was going to show their hand eventually. When they did, I’d be right there ready.

  Moving to my silver Charger, I kneeled near my license plate, changed it out, then hurried toward the driver side. “I need all street cameras and security cameras to be put on blackout around and near Cleveland Avenue, immediately,” I shouted in my Bluetooth to the Forty Thieves. Worry and rage had me clutching the wheel of my ride. My knuckles were white from the pressure I had in my grip as we sped through our area to get to Shanelle. “We have a QG going on,” I explained. “Get on it.”

  Silence was my friend until my uncle decided to speak. “I’ve been going over and over in my head on who is gunning for us, nephew.”

  “Yeah? Did you figure that shit out? Because the family is being attacked. We need Jojo out right now, and Shanelle . . . Fuck.” There was no way this was reality. “Never should have taken on Mama’s plan for us. We keep losing.”

  As I sped on, I wished that Monty and Navy were with us. Considering how they protected Jojo, I knew they would be the best eyes outside of Uncle to keep Shanelle safe while we took out whoever was after her. But, since they were in transition to being released, wasn’t much else for me to do.

  “Don’t say you never should have taken this on!”

  I glanced at my uncle then made a sharp turn, slowing down as he spoke with passion.

  “Boy, you’ve single-handedly moved a mountain that even my woman had trouble pushing. You got the family sitting all in their perspective roles. This ain’t your fault that we all are having difficulties right now, okay?” As he spoke, he reached under the seat and removed a part of his compact long-range Remington. He set one part on his lap, then ran his palm against the side of the door to remove another component. “There’s a helluva lot that you and your siblings need to learn. I’m tryin’a give you that, nephew. You just gotta let these seeds sprout then trim them when you see they are growing in the wrong directions. Get me?”

  I glanced at him as he put the rifle together then locked it with force. He was right, but it wasn’t something that I could fully accept right then and there. There was just too much that had happened that wouldn’t allow me to have that same type of wisdom as my uncle. I just needed everyone to back the hell up off us and give us some breathing room, but I guessed I had to show it from a different angle then.

  “Yeah.” I exhaled, flipped my hoodie up, and slid low in my ride, rolling down the windows as we approached a four-way. “Yes, sir. I get you.”

  “Good. Here.” Slapping a semiautomatic on my lap, Uncle Snap cocked his cap over his eyes, then shifted his seat back and lay with the Remington pressed against his chest.

  One look at my uncle and it was time. Gripping the wheel, once the light changed, we rolled past the legal aid office. It was a tall white cube building with various windows with parking at the back. Immediately we heard gunshots ringing out. Cars were chaotically zooming by, while my uncle and I hit a quick U-turn then drove near the building, taking it to the back of it.

  I could see, in the parking lot connected to the legal aid office, Shanelle’s car parked haphazardly half on a curb, half off near an exit fence of the lot. Across from her was a black car with people climbing out of it. In front of it was a second car, a navy blue Cutlass, which also had people spilling from it. She was surrounded and the shit smelled like a setup.

  Jaw clenching, I zoomed the car up, nodded at my uncle, then aimed my ride at the people who shot at her. Immediately I saw a parked black car. Guns were pointing from it at my baby. Several of my backup were blazing bullets at that black car. Whereas, me? I swiftly backed my ride up, hit the gas, then ran my ride into that bitch. The sharp crash of my car into the side of it had my uncle and me jerking around.

  “Gotdamn, nephew!” Uncle Snap shouted out.

  I didn’t have time for a snappy comeback but I gave him a quirked eyebrow as I climbed out of the car. He moved with me, kicking open the glove compartment, pulling out any identification, then climbing out to aim his Remington at the shooters.

  “Shanelle!” I shouted, using my automatic.

  Tension had my vision narrowing as I looked around. People in hoodies came from my left and right. Others broke apart and scattered like rats away from the gunplay. I watched the Forty Thieves chase after them, as others took it upon themselves to run up on me trying to take me down. I had to inwardly laugh. They just didn’t understand who the hell I was. Rolling my shoulders back, I ducked down, flipped my gun in my hand, fisting it, then countered with several punches to the face of a goon.