AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I repeat the words Priest told me when I was seven years old fighting my unseen demons.
Gabe drops his head and lowers his shoulders. “I don’t have a father. That’s why I’m such a punk.”
I place a finger under his chin and lift his eyes to me. “Don’t ever call yourself that.”
“That’s what Uncle Mitchell and MJ call me because sometimes I cry when I can’t figure out my emotions. Uncle Mitchell says if I had a daddy I wouldn’t be such a pussy.”
I shut my eyes as I tamp down my anger.
“Split their skulls and let their brains spill onto the pavement. You allowed cowards around your son.”
“I’m with the crazy bitch on this one,” Priest adds.
Shaking off my thoughts and desire to kill, I open my eyes to find Gabe watching me.
“Showing fear or emotion does not make you a punk. Just like bottling up your emotions and denying your fear doesn’t make you a man. Everybody fears something.”
“Are you afraid of anything?”
I nod my head. “Yes.”
“What?” his little brows pinch.
“I fear myself. I fear that one day, I’ll get lost to the things inside my head and no matter what anyone does, I’ll never come back from it.” I imagine that was pretty deep to lay on a child, but I will never lie to my son.
Gabe smiles and places a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Hulk. I’ll always bring you back. Me and Mama.”
My chest seems to expand with each breath I take, and I’m forced to swallow to relieve the sudden dryness of my mouth.
“If anyone can do it, it’s you and your mom.” I ruffle the curls on top of his head before standing up straight. “Alright. Want to go long again….” My words trail off when the wind blows the smell of stale cigarette smoke through my nostrils. Just as soon as the scent captures my attention, a twig snaps in the trees behind the house.
My hands fist at my side, yet I don’t turn in the direction of the sound. If I acknowledge it, whoever it is will either run or attack. I bend back down to get eye to eye with Gabe again.
“Let’s play hide and seek,” I tell him. His hazel eyes light up with excitement. “Go inside and hide and remember don’t come out until I find you or I declare you the winner.”
He nods his head and then takes off running.
“One, one thousand,” I start counting until he’s fully inside the house.
The moment Gabe is out of view I turn to the trees. It takes only a second for the person hiding there to step out. Shade, a deacon from the church, that specializes in guns and is known for his tracking skills comes into the yard.
“You alone?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. The Church isn’t known for group projects. Outside me and my brothers, most Deacon’s work alone.
“Yeah, I’m alone.” Shade says hopping over the fence, his gun aimed at my head.
I don’t make any sudden moves because he’s a sure shot. There is only one person that can handle a gun better than Shade, and that is my brother Hawk.
“But at any time, all I have to do is hit this button on my phone,” he holds up the phone. “And this house is swarmed with Church members. I don’t think we want that do we?”
“No,” I say, keeping him in my sights.
He moves in closer feeling more confident. “Let’s not make this hard then. All they want is for you to come back. If you come with me peacefully, I won’t tell them about your little mini me in there.” He tilts his head toward the house. He moves in even closer.
I lift my hands up in a posture of surrender. Shade watches me wearily, he’s debating if it’s really going to be that easy.
The first thing I learned while in the Church is that competition is encouraged amongst the Deacons. They thrive off being better than the next man. Priest never stood for that. He taught us that a diamond will shine no matter where it is. As long as we did our job and did it well, we didn’t have to worry about competing.
Shade will never miss the opportunity of being the one to bring me in. He’s feeling so cocky about getting the jump on me, he doesn’t realize that with our short conversation he’s revealed that not only is he alone, but he also has no back up on the way. He also revealed that he knew my secret.
