DEADLY DECISIONS III: The End (26 page)

Keisha took the bottle of pills and popped one dry. Her anxiety had been up. “Well good, ‘cause you’re my homeboy and I love you, no doubt, and I don’t want anything coming between that.”

Shanna called out to her daughter, breaking up their conversation. “Keisha Cones, your mother is still awaiting you, honey.”

“I’m coming now, Mama,” Keisha replied.

Gutty smiled. “I’ma get outta here. Hit me when your mom is ready to head back to the safe house.” He started to the door and then stopped and turned back to Keisha. “Yo, Lady G.” Keisha was still standing in the same spot. “Congrats. I know you’ll make an exceptional wife. Li’l Boo is a luck
y nigga.”

“Thanks, Gutty, and you gon’ make some woman a bomb-ass husband one day too, Piru.” Keisha winked before walking into the living area.

Cameron had broken into Li’l Boo’s townhouse since his escape from the hospital, waiting for him to arrive so that he could put a bullet in his head and leave the country. He sat there peeking out the window and growing frustrated, thinking he’d be captured before Li’l Boo returned.
Where this lame-ass nigga at, cuh? I was supposed to be out of the country by now
. He walked over to the refrigerator for another one of Li’l Boo’s beers and began pacing the floor. He heard footsteps approaching and the sound of keys jangling at the front door.

Cameron set the beer on the counter and then quickly and lightly ran to the bedroom. He hid inside the closet and then immediately cocked his gun
. Hope you ready to meet yo’ maker, muthafucka!
Cameron’s heart rate increased and his adrenaline began to rise.

“Po po still ain’t found that nigga Scrap. Where you think that fool hiding out at?” CK asked Li’l Boo.

“If he smart, he out the country. Otherwise, he probably laying up at some bitch’s house.” Li’l Boo then told CK how he had to draw down on Cameron’s mother when they went for Keisha’s son.

CK laughed. “Yeah, y’all never told me what happened. Would you have shot that woman, blood?”

“Bitch would have made the wrong move or didn’t hand Kesh’s son over, I would have peeled her cap back and her li’l hoodrat-ass daughter. Bitch suck more dick then Supa Head,” Li’l Boo chuckled.

Listening to Li’l Boo and CK carry on disrespectfully about his mother and sister made Cameron turn blue with anger.
He went in my Mama shit, pulled a burner out on her, and took my son?
Losing all self-control, Cameron kicked the closet door open in full rage, sending both Li’l Boo and CK going for their pistols. Cameron stormed into the living room, aiming his pistol. “Nigga, you ran up in my mama’s house and took my son?”

CK was going for his pistol, but Cameron told him not to move. “Put yo’ hands up, homie!”

Disobeying Cameron’s orders, CK pulled out his pistol, resulting in Cameron squeezing the trigger and unloading four bullets into his chest.

Going for cover, Li’l Boo ran toward the kitchen. His leg gave out, causing him to fall on the kitchen floor. Immediately going for his gun, Li’l Boo aimed his pistol at the kitchen entrance when Cameron appeared, drawing his pistol down on Li’l Boo.

“Drop that shit, loc!” Cameron demanded, slowly approaching Li’l Boo.

Li’l Boo didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger, releasing two shots. “Ain’t no crabs up in here, bitch!”

Cameron ducked out of the kitchen. Li’l Boo used the time to scramble up from the floor.

Cameron yelled from the living room, “You ain’t making it out of here today, cuh…on Crip!”

Seeing Cameron’s reflection and movement from the glass picture on the kitchen wall, Li’l Boo inched his way closer and closer to the living room entrance, seeing a clean opportunity to take Cameron out.

Cameron continued to rant and rave. “You think you gon’ win Keisha, raise my son, and live happily ever after, after you sabotaged our relationship to begin with and then fucked my wife too, nigga?” he emphasized. “Nah, nah… there ain’t gon’ be no happy ending!” Cameron pointed his pistol around the kitchen corner, firing
aimlessly
. “Come out, muthafucka!”

Li’l Boo dodged the shots and then continued to follow Cameron’s movement from his
silhouette in
the kitchen picture.

Cameron continued on his rant, stating that he was the better man for Keisha and how he saw to it that Carter was dealt with. “I’ll always be the first dick that Keisha ever slobbed on and the last nigga to put a baby in her -”

Cameron’s words were interrupted by the barrel of Li’l Boo’s pistol staring him dead in the eyes.

“Well, you won’t be the last dick she taste.” Li’l Boo shot Cameron in the arm to disarm him, knocking him to the floor.

Cameron winced in pain, reaching for his pistol, which had slid across the floor.

Li’l Boo kicked Cameron in the
ribcage
with his good leg. “Look up, nigga, I’m right here.” He stood over Cameron, demanding his attention. “I knew you were gon’ make me kill yo’ little bitch ass, one! You ready to die, boy?” Li’l Boo kicked him in his wounded arm.

“Kill me muthafucka!” Cameron wasn’t going to grant Li’l Boo the satisfaction of begging for his life before he killed him.

Without warning, the front door came crashing down. “Torrance Police! Drop your weapons and get down…NOW!” the police said repeatedly as they begin to fill the room.

Disappointed that he hadn’t hurried up and killed Cameron, Li’l Boo dropped his weapon and put his hands up.

After Li’l Boo was tackled to the floor and handcuffed, the police cleared the path for the paramedics and then called for the coroners. CK was dead. Li’l Boo was unable to look at him lying lifeless on the floor, and he turned his head in pain.

As the police pulled Li’l Boo up from the floor and escorted him out the door, Cameron yelled after
him
, “You’s a bitch, homie! You should have killed me!”

Li’l Boo yelled back to him angrily, “Yo’ homies gon’ get yo’ ass in the pen after they dig yo’ asshole out, fuck boy!”

In the back of the squad car, Li’l Boo shed tears for his homie.
Fuck, Blood!
The loss had affected him
deeply, c
ausing
him to question his decision to be with Keisha after all. CK was Li’l Boo’s closest friend and now, because of him, CK had been taken from him and his family forever.

Back at the penthouse suite, the champagne and Xanax made Keisha feel relaxed. She was enjoying the moment so much that her thoughts and fears of Carter’s people catching up to her became the furthest thing from her mind. Chattering conversations of who would hold the baby and ideas about different venues for Keisha’s dream wedding flowed throughout the room.

With her grandson resting comfortably in her arms, Shanna was telling her daughter how excited she was about it all when Keisha received a call from Gutty. Deciding to ignore the call, Keisha sent him to her voicemail. She still felt a bit uneasy after their earlier conversation and wasn’t interested in indulging in an awkward conversation. But when Gutty immediately called her back, Keisha went against her earlier decision and took his call. She thought the call could have been pertaining to her mother’s ride back to the safe house.

“What’s up, Gutty?” she answered. Her mother and Poo Baby continued in conversation.

“Are you sitting down, Lady G?” Gutty asked.

Keisha knew that meant bad news. She sat up at the edge of her seat, alarmed. “Yeah, why, what’s good, loved one?”

Gutty just came right out with it. “Word just hit that Li’l Boo shot Scrap after he killed CK. Li’l Boo has been arrested.”

The news blew Keisha back in her seat and her eyes widened as they filled with tears. Having fallen into complete shock and silence, Keisha began to violently cry inside. Tired was an understatement with all the things she had been through.
Why, why, why, why? Damn, why me all the fucking time?
The tears poured.

Full of concern after immediately recognizing Keisha’s distraught state, Shanna and Poo Baby asked her what was wrong.

“Talk to me, baby, what’s wrong?” Shanna scooted beside her daughter, deeply concerned.

The very thing Keisha tried so hard to prevent dazed her and had her at a loss for words. Her children came to her mind.

Unsure if Keisha was still on the line, Gutty called her name. “Lady G, you there?”

Keisha nodded
, forcing words out of her mouth.
“I’m here. Can you pick me up and take me down to the station?” Her mind was so fucked up.

“Say no more,” Gutty said before ending the call.

“What is it, Kesh?” Poo Baby asked anxiously.

“Li’l Boo and Cameron,” were the only words Keisha could muster up to say. She stood up, completely
out of her head,
and then asked her mother and Poo Baby if they could look out for the baby as she headed to the bedroom to get dressed.

“Of course, sweetheart, but please tell us, what about Li’l Boo and Cameron?” Shanna stood in front of her daughter, looking her in her pain-filled eyes.

“Cameron killed Li’l Boo’s homeboy CK and Li’l Boo shot Cameron and has been arrested,” Keisha said, trying to comprehend it in her mind.

Shanna sighed in shock. “Oh God, no!”

“What?” Poo Baby said in awe. “He murdered CK? Is Cameron dead?”

Keisha shook her head remorsefully
. Her worst fear had come to light.
“I don’t know,” Keisha tried to make it to her bottle of Xanax before she broke down, but she couldn’t. Her children’s’ fathers resorting to gun violence cut her like a butcher knife. She cried, “Forget about me! I can handle this. But my kids, though, Ma? They not gon’ understand this and are going to hate me for this when they grow up. I just can’t - ,” Keisha sobbed uncontrollably.

Shanna held Keisha, knowing firsthand the effects that grown-up life could have on children. Her family was still recovering nearly ten year later behind her choices and mistakes. “You listen to me.” Shanna held her daughter face in her hands. “You can’t blame yourself for the actions of two grown men and their egos, Keisha. Your children will not hate you, and I will not allow you to blame yourself for this event. Do you understand me?” Shanna lifted her daughter’s head up. She had never stopped blaming herself for her ex-husbands death and she’d be damned if she sat and watched her daughter go through that same mental torment. “These things are tough. Sometimes it makes you feel like you wanna just crawl down in a hole and die, but we just get tougher!” Shanna fought hard to hold her own tears back.

Having found strength in her mother’s words, Keisha wiped her eyes and nodded in agreement. Her mother was a prime example of strength and triumph and nobody knew it better than Keisha. Her mother never let anyone see her down, and through it all, she never stopped. She always kept right on moving. “I hear you, Mama,” Keisha replied.

Shanna smiled at her daughter. “Good. Now you march in there and get some clothes on and fix your hair. You have to go check on your fiancé. Poo and I will stay here and look after the little one.”

“Thank you, Mom…for everything.” Keisha emotionally began to pull herself together, holding her eyes on her mother. Shame began to set in. Her mother may have forgiven her for all the pain and suffering that she caused her, but as life set in and continued to hit Keisha over the head, it became harder and harder for Keisha to forgive herself. And now she believed that her own karma was just catching up to her.

Shanna told her daughter she loved her back, knowing that her daughter’s thank you
had come from a much deeper place. She was just glad to be there for her daughter and glad that she understood and loved her wholeheartedly again.

Carter’s
security team
stood around his hospital
bed
, dressed
in suits
like
official businessmen, watching Carter fight for his life. His vitals were low yet he still wanted to let his team know just who to go after to avenge his daughter
’
s death. Grieving
over
his daughter was making it har
d on his recovery. One minute Carter just wanted to
lie
down and die to join his daughter in death and then the next he wanted to get up and blow the city of Compton off the map.

Struggling to make his words out
,
Carter’s new head of security Donald Robby knel
t
at
his side and whispered
,
“We’re going to wipe Keisha Cones and her entire
team
out and everybody else in between
.
”
H
e frowned. He had just gotten rank
as
the highest security
member
on
Carter’s
team and he wanted to set the bar high and make his mark.

Carter grabbed Donald by the sleeve of his jacket and whispered, “Not Keisha. The hit wasn’t sent from her
. I
f I hadn’t I heard it with my own ears
,
I wouldn’t believe it myself
.
”
H
e cleared his throat. “Leave her alone
.
Tre has caused her enough grief and I gave her my word.”

“
Somebody has to pay for this
,
boss, and although it may have not been a direct order from Keisha
,
it was
a result
of her
-
”

“Never, never interrupt me when I’m speaking
!
” Carter s
t
ated angrily as he mustered up the energy to sit up in the bed. “Now you get rid of Cameron West
’s
seeds
.
I want him to live without his
legacy j
ust as I have to without my Saige.” Carter put his head down because the loss of his daughter hurt him so bad
ly
. “Now I need you guys to make sure those keys make it to Keisha’s team on time and send this note along with the package
.
” Carter slid his head security
guard
a note he had handwritten Keisha the previous night. “Now if you guys don’t mind leaving me to myself, I’m going to get some rest
.
”
H
e excused his team. The grief of his los
s
was
too
hard for him to hold inside.