Chapter 41

Athena

September 19th 3:25 am

Unknown

"Athena, please we can't go out like this."

I put my two first fingers to the end of my wrist and started counting my pulse, mentally counting to a minute.

"Your pulse is at forty-three beats per minute."

I let my hands rest back to my sides and shut my eyes again, there was no hope for me, my heart was barely even fucking beating, I had to get ready to meet my maker. It was time for me to own up to the sins that I committed over the years.

"Athena open your fucking eyes." Wark beat on the glass with his gun that he kept by his side, he didn't stay away from me that long.

I opened them halfway and muttered, "If you press that button again, I die, and you get no addresses. Did you really think that Bay was going to give up his addresses for little old me?"

"Shut the hell up." He hit the glass again.

"Look at the glass Athena."

I flipped over on my stomach and barely lifted my chin off of the ground, I squinted and saw the crack from where Wark had been beating on it. This damn box was supposed to be from the Pentagon itself and you're really telling me right now this bitch isn't shatter proof.

"You're not dying yet."

I dragged myself to the glass that he was behind and with the little force I had I began beating on the window, "Did you do this for your daddy?" I taunted, if I could get him pissed enough he could basically help me break the glass.

Hitting the glass with the butt of the gun he snarled, "Didn't I tell you to shut your fucking mouth."

"Did you want to show your privileged father that you were big and bad." I beat on the glass. "Your head is so far up his ass that you can't tell whether you're in his intestines or kidney." I laughed, "But did you know that your daddy texted Tre about Bay's warehouse's, I had a lot of time to think while I was in this bubble and what I am thinking right now is that you're doing all of this for your daddy, so you can both takeover California tell me if I'm right or not."

That was the thing to push him over the edge and with all of his might he broke the glass, covering my head I ignored the glass slicing my shielding arms, he stepped into the box and wrapped his hand around my neck, "You're a smart one, aren't you?" I spat in his face and he began to strangle me, "Times up Bay."

Kicking I scratched at his forearms until I felt everything change to a familiar color, probably the same color Bay will be wearing at my funeral, but it was like God had begun to taunt me from the heavens by making me hear his voice one last time.

Mateo

September 19th 3:23 am

Location: Black Zone 4200

I burst through the door and ran farther into the warehouse like place and I stopped in my tracks when I saw Wark standing over her, "Get your fucking hands from around her now bitch!" I held the gun up with my hand hovering over the trigger.

His hands went up, "You're too late bastard and do you really think you can touch me, do you know who I have behind me dumbass."

"Nah and I really don't care, but I do know I have been waiting for this moment for a long ass time now." Squeezing the trigger Wark fell to the ground and placed his hand over his chest.

I handed my gun off to Tunnel and ran over to Athena, I scooped up her limp body and yelled to Dig, "Set this bitch on fire and make sure he is dead before you do."

Dig nodded and I ran back out to the car, hopping in Dr. Hunt met me with supplies ready checking her pulse he yelled to the driver, "I know an underground place just take a right up ahead." He turned to me and said, "This is worse than I thought." Opening each her lids he ran a light across them, "The good thing is her pupils react to the light so there's hope."

Pulling his stethoscope from around his neck he put the plugs to his ear and the base to her chest, "She has a very low heartbeat."

"Man, just tell me she gon make it." I looked down and smoothed her hair out of her face.

He gave me an unsure look, "The only thing I can promise you is that I am going to do the best that I can."

Third Point of View

"Mateo listen to me." His father slapped his hands away from him.

A young Mateo looked into his father's dying eyes, "All your life you have put your heart into things and every single time it has blown up in your face." He coughed a little bit and Mateo wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand, "You remind me of me when I was child I would always have this big heart and I would wear it on my sleeve but that was until I lost your grandfather and he told me if you wear your heart on your sleeve don't be surprised if you get it stolen or broken. And that's when I stopped putting my heart into the heartless."

"Papi, you need to save your breath." Mateo tried to hush him.

But Mateo Sr didn't listen and continued, "I didn't give a damn about anyone or their feelings but that was when I met your mother at a Dominican Restaurant and I remembered the first time we had our conversation, she didn't care that I was a piece of shit human being because she didn't see me for that." He smiled, "I guess what I am trying to say is you're going to find a girl that will make you want to put your corazón on your sleeve just for her and when you do, you hold her tight like I did with your mother. You love her unconditionally and if you two ever fight you apologize first because that girl is going to come only once in your lifetime do you understand me son?"

Mateo nodded his head and continued to wipe his father's mouth of blood, "So I don't put my heart on my sleeve for nobody?"

"Only for your true love." Mateo Sr. held his son face in his hand.

He placed his hands in his fathers, "What if I never find her?"

"Oh, you'll find her." Mateo Sr. says before his heart stops beating.

First Point of View

"Bay she's awake and lucid." Dr. Hunt shook me awake.

I opened my eyes, "How did everything go?"

"Everything went as planned and Athena has escaped death once again." He stared at me for a minute grinning, "She's asking for you."

I got up and rubbed my face, walking into the room that they had set up to be a hospital there she was staring at me, "Bay?"

"Fuck babygirl." My heart jumped a little bit, I walked over to her and I was careful to not pull anything out of place, but I was still in a rush because I just had to kiss my babygirl. Kissing her I pulled back to look at her she was all bandaged up, but she was alive, "I never stopped looking for yo ass."

Tears streamed down her face at a steady pace as she kissed me again, "I know."

"I ain't ever letting you out of my sight again, because I tore apart Chino and San Fran looking for you." I sat down in the chair.

She held onto my hand, "When I was there I-"

"Babygirl I don't want to hear all the fucked up shit he did to you."

"No Bay I have to tell you this." She took in a jagged breath before continuing, "It was two days after you called, and he made me go take a shower because he didn't want me to look too fucked up." She shut her eyes and I became concerned, "Mateo I was pregnant."

My heart stopped beating and I leaned forward in the chair, "W-was?"

"I had a miscarriage Mateo." Her sobs rippled through her to me.

I laid my head on her stomach and she ran a hand through my hair still crying, she was pregnant with my child. I didn't think about having kids until this day, until this moment, where the love of my life was telling me that I could have had a child. I never thought of myself as the fathering type, but I was hurt that I didn't have the chance to get to have that decision, "It's gon be ok babygirl."

"I'm so sorry I should have fought harder." She said in between sobs. "If I would have we wouldn't have been in this situation."

I kissed her stomach lightly, "Babygirl there was nothing you could do they spiked yo shit." I looked up at her and she was looking down at me, "We gon be straight babygirl."

Athena

September 21st 12:30 pm

Ware House Homemade Hospital

"It's easy for you to say but it's hard for me to do." I grumbled placing one foot in front of the other, my leg was hurting like a bitch but according to Dr. Hunt I had to walk around, because if I didn't I was going to be a crippled bitch.

"I mean it can't hurt that bad." Tunnel shrugged unknowing to the shit he just said.

I squeezed his arm and narrowed my eyes at him, "You're lucky my leg is fucked up."

"If you feeling froggy then leap." He muttered underneath his breath.

I slapped his shoulder, "Smart ass."

"You sound like Trina." He kissed his teeth.

"Can I please sit back down." I groaned, "My leg is killing me, and I don't want to even mention my arm." I looked down at the sling.

"Aight crybaby." He jogged back to the opening of the room and rolled the wheelchair to where I was and helped me sit down, "Bay should be back any minute you know he don't like to leave you alone anymore."

"But doesn't he have to worry about getting solid footing on Chino." I smoothed my hand on my pants.

"Yeah but he have shit set up, so he can stay by your side, I ain't even gon lie you had everybody scared for a minute since we couldn't find you...you're family now." He wheeled me back to the bed.

I turned to look back at him, "This is the most that I have heard you talked in forever."

"Yeah I don't like to talk to people that I don't feel comfortable around and that's damn near everybody so that's why I don't talk."

"Big bad Tunnel feels comfortable around little old Athena." I cooed.

"You so childish." He flicked my neck lightly.

Rolling back into the room he helped me on to the bed, "How long have you been with Trina."

I pulled the covers over me and he sat in the chair, "We just made sixteen years, I met her when I was seventeen and she was fifteen at school, we had our son when she was sixteen,'' A glazed look came over his eyes as he spoke about her, "She was the first to put an hombre in his place, the first black girl I ever dated, and the last I guess."

"Damn are y'all married?" I sat up in the bed.

He grinned, "We supposed to get married in December since she wants a winter wedding in all, in my opinion I really don't give a damn because I'm willing to give my life for that girl and if she wants a December wedding that's what we gon have."

"How do you do it?"

"I honestly don't know I fucked up so many times with her, I even went and had a child on her with another woman, I don't why she stayed around my ass for so long, I mean the only thing I didn't do was call her out her name and put hands to her intentionally."

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, "It doesn't matter how many times you fuck up it's really about if you have the love to stay."

"That would be the perfect way to describe her."

I could tell that he really did love her and his eyes that were closed off were now open and you could see through him like a glass window. "What's up man." Bay slapped hands with Tunnel.

Tunnel got up from his chair, "She just got done with walking."

"Preciate' it Tun." Bay nodded.

Tunnel turned to me, "Better not complain."

"Whatever." I leaned back on to the bed.

Tunnel left, and Bay kissed me, "How you doing babygirl?"

"A lot better, how is everything?"

"Shit going smoothly still haven't heard from Norman and Renaldo hasn't heard from Tomas, I think that they found out what was really going on and trying to get they're shit together."

"But didn't you say that if shit goes South between you two that it could possible start an all-out drug war between you two?"

"Yeah it will but if we can get Tomas then he could open his old ass eyes to see that we not coming for him but for that gringo ass Norman."

"But doesn't he want you dead, so he could take California?"

"Yeah but I just can't take down a Colombian Cartel without taking Colombia." Taking my hand, he kissed my knuckles, "I am gon have to do something babygirl, something that I know you won't like."

Picking my head up from the bed I furrowed my brows, "What you mean?"

"Remember that shit I was telling you about that I had to set up?" I nodded, and he continued, "I'm sending you to Cuba."

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Did you really think that I was going to leave you hanging like this when the book is so close to ending. Enjoy the little back to back marathon. --A.A.