"I know I know. And I am sorry for that Jayda. I even cancelled my trip to Honduras because I was so torn up about our fallout and not being able to see my grand baby. Tayvon just showed up unexpectedly that day I thought he'd be in and out."

"I understand the situation you were in Saca, but at the end of the day Justyce is my child and my responsibility. If I say somebody can't be around her then you should take what I say seriously. And your son knows exactly what is going on."

She sniffles engulfing me into a hug which I hesitantly returned.

"Thank you so much for bringing her back to me. I promise I'll never lose your trust in me again."

"Okay." I stepped into the doorway and signaled Cato to bring Justyce to the doorstep. "You want your grandchild for today."

"She's here? Oh yes. Bring me my sugar." She opened her arms wide for Justyce who was just as excited to see Saca. It kind of made me feel bad for keeping her away for so long. She loves her. Cato handed her to Saca and walked back to the car. He's been acting kind of strange since his trip back from Miami. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was though. We were on our way to the shooting range though so excitement mainly filled my head.

"I'll be back to get her at eight. Is that fine?"

"More than fine. We finna bake everything in my pantry ain't that right Juju? Yes we are." She cooed before walking away and telling me to lock the door on my way out.

"You ready."

"Yup."

We were halfway to the range and I just couldn't get enough of staring at my man. This is really mine. My baby. I couldn't stop cheesing at the thoughts that invaded my mind. His eyes switched over from the road and back at me before looking back at the road again. His cheekbone heightened due to a smile that grew upon his face.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing." I giggled, continuing to admire.

"Why you staring?"

"You so handsome baby. That's all." He chuckled licking his lips. I mean he was looking good as usual in his comfortable clothes.

"Thank you baby." In less than ten minutes we were parked and entered the door of the building. I could hear very faint sounds of guns firing already.

"I didn't know you were bringing the sis nigga. Hey sis." Herb walked away from the doorway to give me a hug. He was the nicest next to CantGetRight.

"Hi Herb."

"Them other niggas already in there practicing trying get ready for you?"

"Get ready for what?"

"We always have this lil competition with whoever gets the most accurate shots or head shots gets something paid off after the session. A car note? A light bill? Light shit."

"Ooooh. Who's leading so far?"

"Ya boy right here. Personally I think his ass be angry and take it out on the paper targets."

"Stop telling my girl goofy shit and go work on your aim nigga."

"I ain't as sharp as you, but my aim decent enough to knock a nigga out his socks and you know it." Herb threw up a gang sign before walking off Cooley into a door. Cato shook his head before handing the man his card and giving his information and mine.

"You're not paying by the hour?"

"Nah I'm kinda a member here so I pay by the month. It's cheaper." He shrugged, getting his card back from the long bearded man behind the glass counter.

It was very loud in here and I was thankful for the noise canceling headphones on my head. I had to take a double take at Catora Sullivan because this nigga just walked in nonchalantly without his protection gear.

"Baby" I called his name concerned as to why he's not putting in his ear and eye protection gear. "Here's your protection gear."

"Ion need that shit. If ion wear that shit in the streets ion need it in this bitch." He gestured around him.

"Well personally I don't care how many times you've shot a gun. You are putting yourself more at risk of permanent hearing loss. A single gunshot can do that. Put it on. Now!"

He tried arguing with me until he finally decided to give up and put on the eye goggles and ear protection. We walked further into the range when a howl of laughter came from his lil friends.

"This nigga look like a real stupid goofy rookie." I cut my eyes at Quart. Who is he talking to? "On my granny you look like a square. What you doing with that shit on bro? Take it off." Everyone else around him laughed. My baby looked almost embarrassed.

"Fuck you niggas. And our granny nigga fuck you talm bout." Cato gave them the middle finger.

"First off don't play with him because he's well protected and he looks handsome in it like y'all over doing it forreal. And Quart you can't even talk because your dreads been the same length for seven years. Am I correct or am I correct?"

"And Herb you best not say another word you know what kind of power I got over you. Y'all gone learn about how I gets down for my man soon enough." I made myself clear, daring any of them to say anything else.

"C'mon man now chill out. Don't get that girl started." He groaned, throwing his hands up waving me off before silencing himself and going into his cubicle. I balled up my lips to keep from laughing.

"Thank you baby." I received a kiss on the lips. Cause fuck is to them? They not finna jump on my man.

"Any time boo."

"Now lemme show you how to light a nigga up."

Before I knew it, time had flown. I think I did pretty good. I took pictures of my paper targets and I hit mostly towards the chest area and the head. Now we were in the drive thru of Wendy's with the guys trailing behind us.

"That was so much fun. We should do that again." I squeeze his toned thigh. He didn't even flinch. That is what I like about him. He doesn't over sexualize everything at every moment. He knows exactly when I want him. When I ache for him.

"Yea I needed this lil break. I ain't gone lie I ain't in the mood for no burger you wanna dine in somewhere for a couple hours?" he nodded to Okay ft Heavy Steppers by DCG Shun and BSavv.

"Oh that'll be nice. Where would we go? Oh damn wait. We gotta pick up JuJu first, I told Saca eight o'clock."

"Don't worry about her. She owes you this."

"I don't know." I dragged out.

"Call her up and make it quick. I'm tryna do something to you." He licks his lips, raking his eyes over my body. Cheesing I opened up my purse and took my cell phone out to call my baby.

After a couple of minutes of reassuring me that everything will be okay I got hung up on and my phone thrown into the glove compartment.

"Rude. Now where are we eating?" O clapped my hands.

"I know a spot we passed it up." He shot out of the line and made a sharp right turn. Job by City Girls was next on my playlist and I instantly got to shaking my hips in the seat.

"Pipe it down before I whoop you like yo mama do nigga!" I pointed a finger at his head. He looked at me like yea aight. It was so funny to me because he actually whooped me before. Embarrassing.

"I should've had in's on that bet y'all got going on."

"Yea you should've yo lil ass decent with the gun I ain't gone lie." he nodded giving me my props. Yeah. I'm dangerous.

"We can go on the weekends or once a week if you'd like. Still gotta work on that aim of yours though."

"Cato please don't remind me."

"Naw I'm gone keep reminding yo ass. You really shot into somebody else's lane."

"It was a mistake. I didn't know the gun would be that powerful." I raised my hands. In my defense that gun was too big.

"I take back what I said. You a little dangerous. Just a little." He squinted holding up his index finger and thumb.

Sucking my teeth I squinted my eyes at him. "Now I'm dangerous. At first I was Foxy Brown at the range."

Cato leaned his head back releasing the wheel for a couple seconds to clap his hands and obnoxiously laugh his ass off for a good five minutes. I didn't see the joke, but I smiled and laughed anyway because he made it funny and I liked to see him laugh.

Bah!

Bah!

Bah!

Bah!

Bah!

"Cato." I cried.

"Get down Jayda!" He forcefully pushed me down under the seat. I was hyperventilating so I couldn't stop myself from screaming. The car was jerking side to side saving me a huge migraine for later, if I even lived to see it. I screamed at every bullet I heard pierce the car. Underneath the passenger seat, a shiny black object gleamed back at me causing chills to run down my back.

Wrapping my palm around the handle I sucked up a lot of fear in my body and got up from the floor.

"Jayda getcho ass down!" He cursed to himself trying to get away from whoever was shooting at us. He was trying to shoot back, but he couldn't do that and drive. If I didn't intervene we just might be killed.

"Stop yelling at me Catora and roll down the window?"

"What?" He kept taking two second glances at me until he saw the gun clenched in my hand. "What is you even doing with that girl?" He shouted at me.

"Roll down the window!"

"Put that shit down girl!"

I shot at the corner of his window and pointed at the black car that sent steady shots at us. I kept shooting and then I heard a screech. The car had driven off of the expressway before I heard a loud explosion-like sound. I then dropped the gun on the floor before putting my hand over my mouth.

Oh my God what did I just do? Who did I hurt?

I could hear Cato sigh heavily as he continued to drive wherever we were heading because we no longer were able to go out to eat. During the ten minute drive I kept hearing him mumbling under his breath saying 'set up setup setup'.

Who set him up?

We were finally slowing down in a vacant land of grass until we came to a sudden halt. Sitting quietly for another ten minutes all of my emotions balled up into one and just exploded. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing and my heart from jumping. After my little breakdown I wiped my eyes when Cato turned my face with his hand and began wiping my nose of the snot I kept trying to inhale back into my nose with a pure white soft Kleenex tissue.

"You did good baby. You held it down." My body filled with warmth from his forehead kisses and tight embrace across from the compartment that sat in between us. Something just told me to look into the rearview mirror and I did. My jaw dropped to the floor at what I was seeing.

It was Justyces shot up car seat.

"Oh my God."

"Shit" Cato shook his head before getting out of the car. I was in a state of shock. I was questioning my parenting and my decisions. The sound of my door opening snapped me out of my dangerous thoughts before I felt a hand touch me.

"Do not touch me. Let me out." I pushed Catora's hands off of me before hopping down from the truck myself.

"We were about to pick her up. She was going to be sitting there."

"Calm down baby."

"She was going to be sitting right there. It has seven bullet holes Cato! Look at it!" I snatched open the door aggressively to show him. The once perfect pink car seat decorated with pink and white zebra print on the inside was now dismembered and destroyed with bullet holes.

"I'm sorry this happened baby." he walked forward to bring me into a hug until I pushed his hands away from me.

"Stay away from me. Stay the hell away from Cato." My nose flared in anger and mixed emotions. I didn't know whether I wanted him near me.

"You're afraid of me?"

"I-I don't know Catora. I used to feel safe around you."

"What you mean? How?" His brows furrowed in confusion. He took my hands intertwining my fingers in his pulling me closer to search my eyes for the reason. He couldn't find it and neither could I. This is the man I fell in love with and now I might have to leave him.

"I love you Catora." He kept shaking his head no. "I-We can't do this anymore. I want to live for my child. And I can't do that with your enemies knowing your whereabouts. I'm not risking our lives for you."

"B-But I can protect you. I just need time to think. Baby please don't do this. I need you. You're the only person who makes me happy c'mon man." The sound of fear in his voice was evident. Something he doesn't usually have.

"Cato you just saw what happened back there. You can't protect me from something like that. As bad as you think you can, you can't and that's just me being straight up."

"Don't do this to me Jayda. I love you." He bit his lip looking deeply into my eyes. I closed mine to prevent myself from going against what's right.

"I'm sorry Cato. I have to go." I planted my hand on his cheek in which he snuggled closer into before taking it and planting kisses. The familiar electric shocks ran through my skin like it's been doing since our lips touched for the first time nine months ago.

"Cato stop."

"Don't leave me."

The tears that sat in my eyelids finally overflowed and I had no other option, but to walk away to my Lyft. I had to. He sounded so defeated.

On the ride to Saca's house I couldn't shake the images of his sad face. That hurt I saw in his eyes when we first met, I saw it slowly returning.

She left me.

She just up and left me.

This shit don't sit right with me.

My phone was getting blew up with phone calls and texts from the gang, but I wasn't sure who was gang no more. I wasn't sure at all. I had a choice to make. A hard one, but it was best that I make that choice. I just lost my heart to some stupid dumb shit. This kind of shit is not supposed to be happening in my line of work. No wonder I'm the underdog.

I ain't cried in years, but this situation can make a nigga just about do that. But I didn't. Because I'm hardbody.

I decided to make some phone calls. Important phone calls.

"So yeah. You know what this means right—Lock down the city."

"I gotchu big dog." The person on the phone gave him his word before hanging up. Cato then tossed the phone to the gravel on the road and stomped down on the phone until it's insides were on the outside and the glass was shattered into almost little particle pieces. He then dug a hole with a nearby stick from a fallen tree before kicking the destroyed phone into the hole and burying it beneath more dirt and a patch of grass.

He retrieved his important belongings from the truck before walking toward a blue Chevy car in which he ordered an Uber before strictly violating his phone.

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I was waiting for my book to hit a 1k to update and it finally did.🥺

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