Bullets In A Cold Winter Breeze

Chapter Thirty-One Faulty Family

Looking at the next point of interest makes my head shake in disgust for Vitale. I'm not Sherlock fucking Holmes; I shouldn't be on a goose chase. Undoubtedly, Vitale has men following AJ's every move; why in the fuck wouldn't he give me AJ on the fucking platter? The most apparent and gut-wrenching answer that makes me need to shit is because he can. Vitale wants me to know this new partnership isn't split in the middle. He's the boss, and anything besides that exact concept will be my fucking dome piece if I don't do as I'm instructed.

"Fuck ass nigga." I spit as I back out of the neighborhood so I don't have to pass in front of Michelle's trigger-happy ass.

"Alright, Trent. Here's what you know. AJ's not going to play cat and mouse, so getting Michelle flustered was the best possible outcome. She'll call him. He'll want a real explanation. He'll find me, we'll talk, and then... And then I have to kill him." The words continually stab inside of my eardrum in the worst possible echo. They infect my brain, instantly granting me a throbbing headache. All I can see replaying in my head is the day he rescued me from being jumped by Melanie's old boyfriend.

As soon as I arrive at the rugged-patchy apartments, I realize I'm in the domain that AJ boasted got him his start in the game as a boss. As proud as he was about them, I'm sort of surprised he hasn't taken better care of them. More than half of the apartment's bricks have faded from red to burnt grungy brown, and the tall buildings look as though they'd topple to the ground with a few pats from a hammer. I shake my head, jumping out the car as I propel thoughts of anything besides killing AJ out of my brain. No time for sightseeing him being a lackluster landlord.

One Mission, One Goal, One Focus. I chant inside of my head as I walk toward the apartments. Despite there being a zero percent chance that AJ is in a dump like this after Michelle told him to be on watch, I imagine a phene in the hallway will drop a gem that they won't even realize helps me out.

"Who the fuck is you nigga?" A light skin Wesley Snipes teen probes. He jumps off the near stoop away from the flickering lamp post, eagerly rushing towards me. Using his teeth to bite his bottom lip as if it's the most frightening thing I'll ever see. I tighten my jaw out of pure anger more than hoping to intimidate the young nigga. That was off-limits when I hopped out of the Camry.

"You ain't bout none of that shit you woofin!" The next teen assures with a cackle and solid slap to his knee. He utters some other nonsense to his friend that gets drowned out by a bystander, with a speaker turning up the volume on Chief Keef's War. Great, more ammo for this soft-ass bitch. I give the teen's friend that's still on the stoop a "are you sure" glance before I flip the view to the one in front of me. Due to my unsettledness and calm demeanor, his eyes soften for a split second, but after he sees a few men outside who will likely give the teens some street credit, they light back up, hungry for some attention.

"Man fuck this Jetta driving mothafucka!" The first teen barks, now within five feet of me but walking backward as I walk towards the worst-looking building to my right.

"Be cool young niggas," I nod, disregarding their disrespect. I am not teaching discipline. I'm here on a mission.

"Fuck all that nigga. Where you from? Who you know?" He quizzes, reaching inside his hoodie a bit too eagerly for me not to pull my gun out of my waistband and point the snub directly at his nose. Now, this ceases all of the light from his eyes as they widen in terror. I grimace in disgust. It's this bitches first time getting a gun pulled out on him. What type of thug does he think he is?

"Ayo, chill nigga!" The teen who'd been nailed to the stoop demands on his feet with pleading body language. "We were just fuckin around!" He continues, slightly more calm than his last outcry. I have no doubt that just a few doors down, some realer savages would have unhesitantly pressed me and forced me to give legitimacy to who I am. However, I'll take any break I can get.