CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Kane
When I agreed to meet Keyon’s little buddy, who also happened to be Cash’s other baby mama, I had no idea that the chick would be the same person who hooked Bundy and me up with the lick a few months ago. I also didn’t know that the bitch was Cash’s baby mama. Why the hell would you try to set up your own baby daddy to get robbed by a couple of niggas in the first place? I guessed the shit was finally catching up to her now, but like I told her, I wasn’t trying to bring all that bullshit to my front door. Bundy was starting to be a big problem for me, and as much as I hated to admit it, I needed to eliminate him before he became an even bigger problem. Thing was, no one could find him, which was why me and ol’ girl would be taking a trip there. That nigga didn’t just up and disappear without anyone knowing where the fuck he was. Someone knew something, and I was going to find out. I just had to wait until tomorrow to do so, but right now, I was ’bout to spend some much-needed time with my girl.
The next morning came faster than I expected it to, and just like that, it was back to business. Since I already hipped Ant up to the game last night, he was up also, and yes, he was going with us. Since I still had the apartment, we decided to meet up there once Mia dropped her son off to Keyon. The minute she showed up, we’d be hitting the road and heading to Chicago. We would’ve taken a flight, but just in case something popped off, we didn’t want anything being traced back to us.
“You sure homegirl will show?” Ant asked as we sat in the living room, waiting for Mia to get there. We already had run a few errands, and shorty was still late. She was supposed to be there at nine, and it was almost eleven.
“Man, I don’t know. I’ve called and texted her phone, but she’s not answering. If her crib weren’t too far out of the way, we could’ve taken that ride out there,” I said just as someone started knocking on the door. I spotted Ant reaching for his strap as I went to answer the door. “Nigga, what the fuck is you doing? You know damn well that ain’t nobody but ol’ girl.”
“Nigga, I don’t give a fuck. I’m just trying to be safe in case it ain’t her,” he said, making me shake my head.
“Nigga, you wild and you know it,” I said, opening the door to see Mia standing there with her bags in her hand. “It’s ’bout time. I thought we were going to have to leave without ya ass.”
“Y’all ain’t going to believe me, but I’m pretty damn sure that someone was following me.”
“Oh, shit, why the fuck you led them over here?” Ant asked, walking over to the door.
“Fuck bringing them over here. What about my girl? Were they following you when she met you to get your son?” I asked, wishing that she was going to say no.
“Chill out. I’m no dummy to this. I took them niggas on a tour around the city, and then I lost them. That’s when I met up with Keyon. Kane, I already told you that I wasn’t trying to bring drama nowhere near you or ya family,” she replied.
“Good, now let’s go. I’ve tried calling that nigga Bundy a few times this morning, and just like last night, he ain’t answering the phone. So the faster we get to Chicago, the better chance we have of finding him,” I said, grabbing my bags and heading out the door. They followed me as we headed outside to the Tahoe I had rented. We loaded the truck up and got in. Ant and I were in the front while Mia got comfortable in the back as we started our long journey to Chicago. Hopefully, we could find Bundy and put this shit to rest.
* * *
We arrived in Chicago a little after seven that evening. Of course, we were all tired, but I didn’t have time to be sleeping. We went straight to the hotel, where we dropped everything off, and headed straight to my aunt’s, who also happened to be Bundy’s mother. If anyone knew where Bundy was, it was sure to be her.
Pulling up to my aunt’s house, we parked the car on the side of the street and got out. Making our way up the driveway to the door, I noticed that damn near all the lights were off. Since I didn’t call to let her know that I was coming, I was hoping that she was still up. I would hate to have to wake her up if she wasn’t.
“You think she’s still up?” Mia asked as I began knocking on the door.
“I don’t know. I hope she is though,” I replied, knocking again.
“I’m coming,” I heard her yell from inside. A few moments later, we heard the sound of the locks clicking followed by her opening the door. “Oh, God, Kahreem! What are you doing here?”
“Hey, Auntie Norma Lee, how are you doing?” I asked, giving her a hug.
“I’m fine, baby. Come on in here,” she said, stepping to the side to allow us in. “Hey there, Anthony,” she said once she saw Ant. She gave him a hug as well.
“Hey, Miss Norma. I’m so happy to see you.”
“And who might this young lady be?”
“My name is Mia. I’m a friend of theirs. How are you doing, ma’am?” Mia answered before I could.
“Oh, nice to meet you, dear. Y’all hungry?” she said. “Follow me into the kitchen.”
We followed her into the kitchen, where she went straight to the cabinet and grabbed a few plates. She then washed her hands, went straight over to the stove, and began fixing each of us some food. Once we were all settled at the table, she went back to fix us some good ol’ lemonade. After bringing the drinks to the table, she took a seat next to me.
“Now, I know you don’t come around here much, and when you do, there’s always a reason. So why are you here? And ya better not lie to me,” she said without looking at me. What some people didn’t know was that my aunt Norma Lee was once a savage. Truth be told, she still was. She was the only one in our family who actually knew what Bundy and I were into, and she didn’t judge us for it because she once did the shit herself.
“I’m not coming here to hurt nobody. I’m actually coming here for Bundy,” I said, which got her attention. “Do you know where he is?”
“What did he do? And no, I don’t know where he’s at,” she said, standing.
“Bundy’s been a loose cannon after the whole incident that involved us three, and I’m just trying to find him before the people who we robbed find him. I need to make sure that he’s straight before I actually kill the niggas before they kill us. Word on the street is they know about who robbed them, but the only person who can actually tell them the truth is missing. Now like I said, I’m not going to hurt him. To be honest, I only want to hide him until all of this is over. The minute it is, he can go about his business.”
“I trust that you won’t hurt him, but I haven’t seen or heard from Bundy in about two weeks. I’ve been calling him, but his phone always goes straight to voicemail,” she said, getting up from her seat. She walked over to one of her little cabinets, opened it, and removed her rooster cookie jar. Walking back over to the table, she placed the rooster on the table, opened it, and removed a key.
“If I weren’t sick, I would’ve gone over there myself. Since I can’t drive, there was no way for me to go,” she said, handing the key to me. “I’m praying that when you get over there, there won’t be any bad news.”
“He’s probably all right. He probably just doesn’t want to be bothered,” I said, trying to make light of the situation. I didn’t need her worrying her mind about something that she couldn’t change if it did happen.
“Find him. Leave the dishes in the sink when y’all are done. I’ll see y’all tomorrow,” she said before she left the kitchen.
We all sat at the table looking at each other. I already knew what she meant, but they didn’t. “Find him” meant either find Bundy or find the man who killed him. Like I said before, she already knew everything that we were involved in because she’d been through the shit her damn self. Norma Lee was an OG, one most people wished to be like.
Once we were finished eating, I emptied everything off the plates and set them in the sink. I made sure to wipe off the table and pushed the chairs back under it. Turning the lights out, we left the house en route to Bundy’s house. I silently prayed that there wouldn’t be any bad news when we got there.