“I need to talk to you,” Carter stated as he stepped inside. Carter knew how Zyir felt about Breeze, and although her return was a joyous event, he wanted to prepare Zyir for it. He knew that Zyir loved his younger sister, and he did not want her condition to be a surprise to him. Breeze was not the same girl she used to be.
“No doubt, fam. Come in,” Zyir invited as he stepped to the side to allow Carter to enter.
“It’s about Breeze,” Carter started.
“Breeze?” Zyir repeated in confusion. “Breeze is dead. We said our good-byes to her a long time ago.”
“She’s alive, Zyir,” Carter stated as he put his hand on Zyir’s shoulder.
Zyir smacked his hand away. It was the first time that he had ever bossed up against his mentor. His face frowned in pain as he backed away from Carter, bumping into his end table and sending a lamp crashing to the floor. The mere mention of Breeze’s name was a soft spot for Zyir.
“Fuck is you saying, fam? She’s been gone for almost two years! She’s dead. We held the service…”
Carter stood stoically as he nodded his head. He knew that Zyir would take Breeze’s reemergence just as hard as he had taken her actual death. “I know. We were wrong. She was still alive.”
Zyir began to tear up as he put his hands on his head. “Don’t say that to me, man. That means I gave up on her, fam. If she’s been out there all this time, then I failed her. I was supposed to bring her home,” Zyir stated emotionally as he punched the wall in frustration, putting his fist through the plaster and causing his knuckles to bleed.
He put his balled fists to the sides of his head in utter turmoil as he closed his eyes in horror. This was the last thing he had expected to hear Carter say. Wars he was ready to fight, money he knew how to collect, beef he enjoyed to cook, but to hear that the only girl he had ever loved had come back from the dead had him shook. It was the only situation that he was unprepared to handle. It was a chapter that he had closed in his life, and now it was about to be rewritten.
Zyir’s grief reminded Carter of his own. It was the same way he felt about Miamor. He wished that she would magically reappear the same way that Breeze had done, but there was no bringing her back. She was gone forever, and because of this, he hoped that Zyir appreciated the gift that he was being given.
“She was working in one of Felipe’s brothels. He says he purchased her from a woman who runs a human trafficking camp called Murderville. I don’t know what Breeze has been through, but I know that she needs you.”
Zyir looked at Carter in utter astonishment as he collapsed onto the couch. He buried his face in his hands and shook his head from side to side. His brain could not process the information, but his heart had sped up dramatically and felt as if it would beat out of his chest.
“Take me to her,” Zyir stated.
“Take you to who?” Illiana’s voice broke through the conversation and was an unwelcomed intrusion. She wasn’t shy, and she made no efforts to cover her scantily clad body as she stood in front of Carter and Zyir while smoking a freshly rolled blunt.
Zyir ignored her question and refocused on Carter. “I need to see her, fam.”
Carter saw the look of displeasure that crossed Illiana’s face. He hoped that Zyir could see the signs that Illiana was giving off. It was obvious that she wanted more than Zyir was willing to give. The jealous look on Illiana’s face spoke volumes, and Carter made a note to put Zyir up on game later.
“Handle your business and wrap things up here. I’ll be waiting downstairs. Breeze will be happy to see you,” Carter replied.
As Zyir dressed, Illiana stood in the doorway of his bedroom while smoking the cush weed slowly. I know he’s not rushing out to see some bitch when he has me here. Ain’t nothing better than this, Illiana thought arrogantly.
“Who is this Breeze bitch you’re so worked up over?” Illiana asked.
Zyir stopped dead in his tracks and approached her as he buttoned up his Armani cardigan. He stood two inches away from her face as he said, “Don’t ask questions about things that don’t concern you. You’re here to keep track of your brother’s money, so start counting,” Zyir stated, referring to the money that they had sexed on the night before. Without another word, he walked out of the room. Illiana’s feelings were not his concern. He had one thing and one thing only on his mind-getting to Breeze.
“Thank you for meeting me,” Mecca stated as he sat down on the park bench next to Leena and his nephew. She looked up at him and noticed the graze wound on his face. She had known him long enough to be able to tell that it had come from a bullet, one that had barely missed him.
“What happened to your face?” she asked.
“I had a little run-in with someone. Nothing major. I appreciate you showing up, Lee,” he said, changing the subject.
“You said you had something to say,” she replied. Leena was so short with him. She could not let go of the tiny piece of anger she still held onto, and Mecca heard it in her voice.
“You still toting pistols in my nephew’s diaper bag?” Mecca asked, trying to lighten the mood.
Leena ignored his question as she looked out at the children playing in front of her. “What do you want, Mecca?” she asked impatiently.
“I don’t know,” Mecca replied honestly. “I want us to become friends again if that’s possible.”
Leena raised her eyebrows skeptically. “Friends?” she repeated.
“I know that’s a lot to ask for, but it’s the truth. I did what you said. I asked God for forgiveness.”
“That’s good, Mecca. I’m glad you took that first step,” she admitted. She looked into his troubled eyes and said, “I wish you had taken it a long time ago.”
“How do I know if it worked?” Mecca asked sincerely.
Leena looked at him suspiciously. She had never seen this side of Mecca before. “You will start to feel better,” she replied. As she looked down at her son, who had fallen asleep in her lap, she said, “He looks just like you.”
Mecca nodded and replied, “Money was always the winner. He was a lucky man.”
“You were too, Mecca. You just didn’t appreciate me like you should have,” Leena admitted. The crowded, public place put her at ease around Mecca. She had snuck out while Estes was out playing golf, but she didn’t dare meet Mecca in private. She chose a place where there would be too many witnesses for Mecca to try anything stupid.
“I appreciate you now,” Mecca replied. “I’m tired of living recklessly, Lee. I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past, but I need your help to make my future better. I have no right to ask you this, but you’re the only person who can make me better. I don’t want this life no more, ma.”
Leena hated the fact that her heart raced around Mecca, but she could not stop it.
Just as she was about to respond, Mecca’s phone rang loudly. He answered it.
“Yo, Mecca, you need to come to my place right away. It’s important,” Carter stated.
“I’m kind of in the middle of something,” Mecca protested.
“It can wait,” Carter insisted before hanging up the phone.
Mecca sighed as he turned back toward Leena. “I have to go, but I want to finish this discussion. Can we meet again?” he asked.
Against her better judgment, Leena nodded. “Yeah, Mecca. I’ll meet you whenever you call.”
It was a small step, but Mecca was grateful because it meant that it was possible for him to close the gap between them.
When Zyir saw Breeze lying in the bed, his knees almost gave out. The dark circles around her eyes, the track marks on her arms, and the bruises and cuts on her body made him cringe as if he could feel her pain. He sat in the chair next to her bed as Carter stood near the doorway.