“Yeah, man, congratulations on coming home,” said Royce, extending his hand. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that his sister and Royce had a habit, a bad habit. Maybe later he would talk to her about it. Let her know that no matter what, he had her back.

“Come on, Mama,” he said, helping Michael get Gah Git over to the couch.

“Look who’s here, your grandbaby Gary,” said Michael as he moved Gary’s wheelchair over to his grandmother.

“You can’t walk, Gary?” said Gah Git as she noticed the wheelchair and was about to get upset that no one had told her.

“Of course he can walk, Gah Git. We stole that chair from the hospital and brought it home for you. So, this way, we can roll you around,” said Brianna, bending over and kissing Gah Git on the face.

“Mmm-hmm, roll me around all right. I can see you rolling me too, right down a flight of stairs.”

“Gah Git, nuh-uh, we love you,” said Bria, standing next to her sister.

“Hey, brother, we got to talk. I got some big things planned out for you,” said Michael as he patted his older brother on the back.

“Yeah?” Malcolm replied.

“Hell yeah, don’t worry, big brother; you gonna be just fine, just fine and dandy.”

Malcolm looked around the room at all his family. Their smiling faces and warm embraces and love filled him with joy. He didn’t know what to say. Everyone acted as if nothing had happened. Michael had visited him many, many times. He knew his brother had forgiven him a long, long time ago. He thought of all the time he had missed, all the time that had passed him by. He was just glad to be home. At first he was scared, but when he saw his little brother waiting for him outside those prison gates, he knew everything would be okay. He knew he’d be all right. He looked at his family, laughing, joking, eating, and sharing one another’s company. Just about everyone was there-everyone except Gena.

Gena pulled up to the motel room and extinguished her headlights. She saw Rik peeking out through blinds as she parked her car. It made her smile, and she waved back to him. She looked around the parking lot. Rik’s car was parked out in front where she could easily see it. Unknown to her, Rik and Quadir used to meet at this same hotel back in the day when they did business. Rik had chosen the motel for sentimental reasons.

Gena turned off the ignition, climbed out, and headed for the motel room with the plastic bag of money in her hand. She imagined what it must have been like to do a dope deal. All of the sneaking around, the intrigue, the secret locations, the peeking out of the windows. They acted like they were James Bond or something.

Rik opened the motel room door and embraced her tightly. “Hey, baby girl!”

“Hey, Rik.” Gena hugged him.

“How have you been?”

Gena shook her head and then burst into tears. “It’s too much, you know. I’m just going through it. You just don’t know what I’m going through.”

“What’s the matter?” Rik asked.

“Markita, my friend, something bad happened to her.”

“What’s going on?”

“She’s dead. I just found her body,” Gena blurted out. Her tears fell more rapidly.

Rik wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

Gena wrapped her arms around Rik and began bawling. “And Gah Git, my grandmom, someone beat her and raped her, Rik. She’s still in the hospital. And my cousin Gary tried to save her, and the guy shot Gary, and Bria’s boyfriend.”

“Who?”

Gena shook her head. “I don’t know. He’s trying to kill me. They all said the same thing, that this guy is looking for me.”

Rik pulled her close and walked her into the motel room. He shut the door and locked it. “Gena, what’s going on? Why would someone be trying to kill you?”

Again, she shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“You have no idea?”

Gena shook her head. “I don’t even know what he looks like. He just showed up one day asking where I was and started attacking people.”

“But why you? Why now? Why all of a sudden? What do you have that he would want?”

Gena pulled away. “I don’t know, Rik! He just showed up. Why are you questioning me like this?”

“Gena, you offered me a lot of money when I was in jail.”

“So?”

“Is he after the money?”

Gena shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Where did you get that kinda money?” Rik asked. “And be honest with me, Gena.”

“What does it matter where the money comes from? What difference does it make?” Gena lifted the plastic bag and tossed it to Rik. “Here’s the money you asked me for.”

She turned and headed for the door. Rik grabbed her.

“Gena, did you find Qua’s money?”

“Rik, let go of me!” Gena yanked her arm away and unlocked the door. Rik pulled her back.

“Gena, do you have Quadir’s money?” Rik asked more forcefully.

“Rik, let me go! What the hell is wrong with you?”

Rik slung Gena back onto the bed. Gena fell onto the bed and rolled off onto the floor. This shit can’t be happening again. Not again; not Rik! She rose and charged at Rik, digging her nails into his eyes. Rik howled, pulled her hands out of his face, and backhanded her. Gena stumbled back a few steps, then raced for the door. This time, she was able to get it open before he grabbed her.

“Help me!” Gena screamed. “Somebody help me!”

“Shut up and just tell me where the rest of the money is,” Rik shouted. He slung Gena onto the bed and tried to kick the motel room’s door closed. The door flew back open. Rik turned to see what was blocking the door. Quadir was standing in the doorway.

Rik’s eyes bulged from their sockets and he backed up into the room.

Gena jumped onto Rik’s back. He flipped her off him onto the floor.

“Son of a bitch!” Gena shouted. She spat at Rik, missing him by a couple of feet.

“Now, now, Rik. Is that any way to treat a lady?” Quadir asked. He leaned forward and helped Gena up. “Especially your best friend’s girl?”

Rik reached for his weapon, but Quadir already had his drawn.

“Uh-uh, don’t even think about it,” Quadir told him, pointing his Glock at his friend.

“You sorry muthafucka!” Gena tried to go at Rik again, but Quadir held her back.

“Quadir, what the fuck is going on here?” Rik asked nervously. “What the fuck’s going on? This ain’t right, man. This shit ain’t right.”

“What’s not right is trying to rob Gena for my dough, nigga. Now, that ain’t right,” Quadir told him.

“Qua, man, this is some twisted shit. I saw you, Ock. I went to your funeral. I was a pallbearer. This ain’t no real shit.”

Quadir nodded. “Oh, yeah, I’m real all right, which is a whole lot more than I can say about you, Ock.”

Rik shook his head. “Man, you not understanding. I’m doing bad, Qua. Them Santero motherfuckers is going to kill me, man. If I don’t give them they bread by yesterday, I’m a dead man.”

Gena tried to spit on Rik again. “I was going to give you the money, you son of a bitch!”

“This ain’t enough, Gena!”

“I woulda given you anything you asked for!” Gena shouted.

“So, you were going to do Gena in?” Quadir asked. “Instead of being a brother to her, and protecting her, and helping her, you were going to kill her and take the money that I left for her? Damn, nigga, that’s some fucked-up shit. I can’t believe you.”

Tears fell from Rik’s eyes. “Quadir, you were dead! And she had already moved on! She moved right on to the next dope boy. She wasn’t coming around us no more; she wasn’t being part of the family! She started fucking with that same nigga that did you! What the fuck, Qua? She wasn’t family no more, and she had betrayed you with them Junior Mafia muthafuckas!”

“Regardless, you ready to kill her, Rik?” Quadir asked.

“She betrayed you, Ock! For all we know, she set you up for them niggas! She could have been setting you up the whole time! Qua, she’s brand-new to the game! But me and you, we go back to the sandbox, homie! It was us who used to be break dancing up in my yard on cardboard boxes; it was us who got our first piece together! It’s me, black.”