Page 41 of Stand on That

“It’s gon’ take her some time to get over that. It’s not so much about Dymand as it is about who her mother is.”

“I knew Bree way before I knew Vani, and I still ended up with her. I was with her and only her. Never cheated on her, but somehow, I was constantly having to convince her that Bree wasn’t a threat to her.”

“Listen, we’re street niggas, and we think like street niggas. You kept Bree around mostly because of her name, credit, and income. That car wasn’t the only thing she had in her name for you. Because of those things, she was always coming around at least that’s what Vani felt. In her eyes, Bree held some kind of weight in your life. No matter how many times you told her otherwise, she went off what she saw. And most times she looked up, Bree was sniffing around you somehow some way for whatever reason.”

“I’m good on all that,” I sucked my teeth. “Vani can do whatever it is she needs to do to feel better. I’m not about to keep apologizing for my daughter, and I’m damn sure not gon’ keep chasing her ass.”

“That shit sounds good,” Azarius smirked. “You love that girl. It’s all good G. It happens to the best of us.” Azarius pulled the cork out of the bottle of liquor and refilled my glass.

I was gon’ keep tossing them back until life didn’t feel so heavy anymore.

I stared at my phone screen contemplating my next move. It was five days after Wally’s wake, and I was ready to make my move on Tyson. Azarius was going to be with me, and Kyle was out of town. There weren’t many people that I trusted, but I needed an alibi. When Tyson’s body was discovered, there wasn’t any reason for me to be the top suspect but still, I would never commit a crime without having a solid alibi. Bree was at home with Dymand, and I didn’t want to bother her. Biting the bullet, I unlocked my phone and went to Vani’s contact. More than likely, her stubborn ass wouldn’t even answer.

When her soft tone floated into my ear after the third ring, I was shocked. “Hello?”

“You busy?”

“Not at the moment,” her tone was kind of dry.

“You got plans tonight?”

“What is it that you want, Darius?”

“I need you. You got me?” the question was a loaded one. She knew more than likely there was something tied to that question.

“What you need?”

“Meet me at the carwash on Third. I need you to take my car. Around nine, I want you to go to that new club on Hidden Cove Road. They don’t have cameras in the parking lot, so they won’t see who gets out of the car, but if you take 895, you have to go through a toll. They have cameras that will catch my license plate. I’m also going to leave my phone in the car, so my phone will ping off the towers in that area. Got it? I’ll come to the club and get my car. Then I’ll take you home.”

“What time am I meeting you on Third?” she still sounded bored with the conversation, but she was gon’ come through for a nigga, and that was all that mattered.

“In two hours.”

“Okay.”

The anger I had toward Vani had faded. The same way it always did. If another woman could come along and make me feel the way Vani did, it would be a miracle, and I could finally let her go. What I loved about Vani, how she made me feel, I hadn’t come close to finding that in another person. There was a time I wished that person was Bree. There wasn’t a damn thing wrong with her, but she didn’t get me out my body like Vani did. She had a pretty face, the sex was good, shorty was smart, and a damn good mother. Being in her presence didn’t make my dick swell. Imagining another man between her thighs didn’t make my blood boil. Going days or weeks without seeing her didn’t make my chest hurt.

Not even three years away from Vani stopped any of those reactions from occurring. Maybe I should have risked it and visited her monthly. Maybe I should have been more careful and not had a baby while she was down, but I couldn’t go back. The only thing I could do was go forward. If I had it my way, Tyson was going to be the last body that I dropped before leaving the streets. He was going to be the last person that I purposely sought out just so I could end his life.

Wally had money saved, and his wife knew where it was. She told me she was good but as long as I was around, I would always check on her and make sure she remained good. There was no other way to do it. I went home, took a shower, and dressed in all black. If I went ahead and smoked, my high would be gone down by the time I got at Tyson. I could do anything high that I could do sober, but I didn’t want to chance any kind of error while doing something as critical as taking a life, so I didn’t want to be high for that.

In the car on the way to drop my car off with Vani, I replayed all the conversations I had with Wally where I could remember the jewels he dropped. Tyson was young enough to be Wally’s son and the fact that he took him out over some heroin that was probably worth less than $100 would never sit well with me. Wally didn’t sell weight, and Tyson couldn’t afford to purchase weight. I was more than willing to bet that he wanted Wally to front him, and Wally refused. Only a junkie would deem someone’s life worth such a mediocre amount. The more I thought about it the angrier I became. By the time I reached the car wash, my jaw was aching from clenching my teeth so tight.

Azarius was already backed in waiting on me, and Lo was pulling in on the opposite side of the parking lot at the same time as me. I backed into a spot and waited for Vani to emerge from the passenger side of Lo’s car. Fuck, shorty was fine. She rocked a navy-blue tennis skirt from Alo and a matching sports bra. On her feet were white, blue, and gold sneakers. She was rocking a long ponytail that reached her behind. Her lash extensions were full and thick and brought out the shape of her eyes. From the watch on her wrist to the necklaces draped around her neck and the hoops in her ears, I copped everything she rocked from head to toe except the hair.

Annoyance made me suck my teeth. A stiff dick was an automatic reaction to me seeing Vani’s face. As she approached, I eased out of the car. Her eyes locked on my face, and I could see the concern in her eyes.

“What you got going on?”

“I just gotta handle something real quick. It won’t take long.”

Vani stared at me briefly probably trying to figure out whether or not that answer was good enough for her. “Be careful,” she finally replied.

“Always.”

I eased past her and walked to Azarius’ waiting car. He wasn’t as close to Wally as I was, but that was my brudda, and he was always going to slide with me. I didn’t need any help. Just somebody to watch my back. I knew where Tyson worked, where he lived, and where his girlfriend lived. I was gon’ find that ass before the night was over. Once it was done, I was going to take another shower and slide to the club. If any questions came up, the club would be my alibi. My car would be there and so would I.

Inside the car, I gave Azarius a head nod. He was going to park his car, and we were going to Tyson’s crib in an old ass blue Lincoln that he bought for $3,500 cash from an old head that we only used when we went to do dirt. He already knew the plan. After I handled what I needed to handle with Tyson and took a shower, I was going to ride with him to the club.