Mecca pushed past Carter and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Miamor lying in the bed. Hate filled his heart when he realized who it was, and that his attempts to kill her had failed. “This dirty-ass bitch!” he yelled as he lunged for the bed.
Seeing Mecca’s rage toward Miamor sent Carter over the edge. Brother against brother, Carter grabbed Mecca by his neck and slammed him against the wall. Mecca struggled against Carter, but the forearm that was pressed against his throat had him off balance, giving Carter the upper hand.
Carter put his finger in Mecca’s face. “Fuck is wrong wit’ you, fam?” he seethed, his eyes deadly as he hemmed Mecca up.
Mecca pushed Carter off of him, breathing hard from anger.
“I thought she was Breeze!” Mecca yelled as he punched a hole through the hospital wall. “Fuck!” he screamed as he glared at Miamor and shook his hand in pain. The only thing standing between him bringing her the death that she deserved was his brother, Carter. “You in here worried about this bitch, and my sister is out there somewhere!”
Their confrontation was interrupted when a man entered the room, wearing a lab coat and carrying a chart. “Gentlemen, I’m Doctor Shaw,” the white man introduced. “We’ve been waiting for someone to claim this young woman. You are?”
Mecca glared at Miamor with a hatred that Carter had never seen. Carter contained himself and approached Mecca. He could understand how Miamor had taken Mecca by surprise, but he did not appreciate the disrespect. He took a deep breath, and walked up on him then whispered in his ear. “Now isn’t the time or the place for this. Now, I don’t know what the fuck you got against her, but whatever it is, you settle that shit. Now that I found her, she’s gon’ be around, so get used to it. If you ever come out your mouth again about her, I’ma handle you, my nigga. Believe that. Now, you need to go for a walk. Use all of that energy you got and use it to find Breeze, and put the word out to find the nigga who is responsible for doing this to Miamor.” Under normal conditions, Carter would never threaten his brother, but seeing the larceny in Mecca toward Miamor had forced him into a protective rage over his woman.
Mecca stormed out of the room, startling Zyir. “I’ma murder that bitch!” he heard Mecca mumble as he passed by.
Zyir looked back in the room to see what had gone down, but Carter closed the door, then turned to focus his attention on the doctor. He took a deep breath to calm himself before he spoke.
“I apologize for my brother’s behavior, Dr. Shaw, I’m Carter Jones,” he said as he extended his hand.
“How do you know the patient?” the doctor inquired.
“She’s my fiancée,” Carter explained. “Can you tell me how this happened? How is she?”
The doctor sighed and checked Miamor’s vitals as he began to explain her condition. “No one knows exactly what happened to her, Mr. Jones. She was found like this outside of an abandoned house. She’s in a coma. She has severe head trauma, and she’s had numerous blood transfusions. She has three broken ribs, and her jawbone is shattered. If she ever wakes up, she may want to consider reconstructive surgery to correct the jaw. She also has chemical poisoning. There were high levels of toxins found in her blood. Whoever did this to her never intended for her to survive. She’s strong. I have never seen someone hold on for this long after everything she’s been through.”
Carter found the news extremely hard to hear, and his stomach was in knots as he stared at Miamor. “Will she ever wake up?”
The doctor sighed. “That I cannot answer for you. The good news is we ran a CT scan on her, which revealed high levels of brain activity. She’s thinking, and still has the capacity to function mentally. She may even be able to hear you, but for some reason right now she can’t come into a conscious state. Only time will tell.”
Carter found the news extremely hard to bear. He put his hand on his head, rubbing the waves on his freshly cut Caesar, and took a deep breath. “The machines?” he asked, his voice cracking from emotion. He cleared his throat and continued, “Why is she hooked up to so many machines?”
“One of her lungs isn’t functioning properly. We have her on a ventilator to ensure that she is getting enough oxygen. Once the lung heals and kicks back in, she should be able to breathe on her own. Until then, I will do all that I can to make her comfortable,” the doctor said with sympathy.
Carter shook his head. “Thank you, Dr. Shaw, but I’m taking her home where I know she will be safe.” Carter walked out of the room to where Zyir was waiting in the hallway with a briefcase in his hands. Carter took the case and popped it open. Inside, $100,000 lay in neat bundles. “I’m sure this will take care of any resources that your hospital has used to treat her.”
Despite the doctor’s protests, Carter took Miamor back to the Diamond Estate. He had a room set up for her where all of her medical needs would be met. He sat down next to Miamor’s bed. The night had been long, and the sunrise crept over the horizon and illuminated the room as he gripped her hand, his emotions running wild. A.9mm sat in his lap. The hum of the medical machines was torture to his ears.
First Breeze, now this, Carter thought, overwhelmed. He hadn’t found peace since he had come to Miami. He did not know how his father had ever handled the massive empire that he had built with such ease. Carter felt like everything and everyone he loved was slipping through his fingers. Maybe this is why my father walked away from my mother, so that he would not have to watch her suffer at the hands of the game. I should have followed my first mind and kept Miamor at a distance. If I had walked away from her, this would have never happened, he thought miserably. His father’s logic made much more sense to him now as he watched Miamor fight for her life.
He lowered his head and rested his face in the palm of his hands. He picked up his cell and dialed Mecca’s number. He needed his brother. He couldn’t handle all of the chaos alone, and he was not trying to lose the only family he had left.
Carter did not know that in order to keep Miamor, he was going to have to let Mecca go. He would eventually have to choose one or the other, because there was no way that Mecca and Miamor could ever co-exist.
Mecca sent Carter to voicemail as he pushed his Lamborghini through the streets. His foot was like lead on the gas pedal. There was only one thing on his mind… murder. He called Fabian repeatedly, but never got an answer. Bitch ass nigga couldn’t handle one fucking job. Kill the bitch! That’s all I asked him to do, he thought.
His luxury whip left rubber on the ground beneath him as he made his way to his destination. He pulled up to an apartment community and slammed his car door furiously as he made his way inside. Too impatient to wait for the elevator, he stormed up the stairway all the way to the seventh floor. He found apartment 7B.
Knock! Knock!
Fabian opened the door, keeping the security chain in place, but when he saw Mecca’s face, he tried to close it quickly.
Mecca pushed his way into the apartment, causing the door to hit Fabian in the face.
“Oww, shit!” Fabian grimaced as he held his nose and backed up into the apartment. M-M-M-Mecca! What’s good, homeboy? Fuck is all this for?” Fabian stuttered nervously while blood leaked from his busted nose.
Mecca didn’t say a word. He removed his.38 and then began to screw the silencer on as his eyes burned a hole through Fabian, daring him to move.
“Mecca, man! Please, man!” Fabian begged.
Mecca aimed his pistol at Fabian’s head and fired two shots. The only sound that could be heard was Fabian’s body hitting the floor, and just as quickly as Mecca had come, he left. He had no regrets and no remorse. All he wanted was revenge. He knew that talking to Carter was useless. Miamor had him blinded. Carter had placed Miamor on a pedestal so high that he refused to see the truth, but Mecca was determined to get to her. As soon as the nigga turns his back, I’ma murder his bitch.