Chapter Fifty

Kyle and I rush to Storm, and the first thing I do is open the cargo door and lift the secret compartment. Inside, I pull out a small box I’ve been hiding all week. It took forever to get here, but it’s worth it on so many levels.

I turn to see my dawg furrow his brow, wondering if he missed something. “So what’s this big surprise that you’ve been teasing all week?”

“My nana had been holding this for me since I was little.” I smile as I hold up an obsidian pendant. “She always told me that I’d know when I wanted to place this around the neck of the girl I’d fall in love with.”

Kyle gives me this confuzzled expression. “I’m not getting it. I mean, I know you and Z are into each other, but this looks like a regular onyx stone.”

“Actually, it’s an obsidian crystal mined from our native country,” I explain to him. “It’s been blessed and charged by a Kindaran priestess, and it protects its wearer from negative energy and physical harm.”

“No cap?”

“No cap, bro. To most people, it sounds like an urban legend, but that’s not how it works for us.”

“But I thought you didn’t know a lot of the customs. How do you know you’re not proposing marriage or something?” Kyle poses. “I ain’t ready to be your best man yet, playa.”

We burst into laughter for a minute, but I get where he’s coming from. “I trust my nana not to steer me wrong. This isn’t a promise ring or an engagement ring, but it means a lot in our culture to place this crystal around those who mean the most to us.”

“Okay, that’s what’s up, but are you sure, sure about this?” Kyle asks me. “I mean, this is next level, yo. Popping the ‘L’ word ain’t something you just toss out in the air for no reason.”

I don’t know how to explain it to him without it sounding like I’m out of my mind. “I don’t remember the last time I felt this deeply about anything or anyone. I wouldn’t do this if I wasn’t sure, sure. Trust.”

We tap fists before I close the door. “Then let’s make the grand entrance and gesture so the rest of the girls in the place can have something else to hate on your girl about.”

Kyle sprints ahead of me to head into the building so he can get everything set up for the big reveal, and I lean against the back of my car and take in the moment. I’m not playing; I can’t remember feeling this good about anything, ever.

Gamba pops up, like he does when I have nervous energy. “Are you good, kiddo? Anything I can do to settle things down?”

“We’re good, godfather,” I assure him. “There’s not much to worry over tonight. In fact, things couldn’t be better. I’m feeling epic.”

I move from the car to walk back to the front entrance. I slip the box into my coat pocket, making sure it’s safely tucked away. “The only thing we need to prepare for is the screaming girls when I present the pendant to my chosen—”

I get rushed from behind and pinned against a truck. I force my way to face my attacker, anger radiating through me. Jordin stands mere inches from my face with one hand balled tight and the other gripping my shirt.

“Yo, are you kidding me? You’re not even supposed to be here. I don’t have time to deal with your foolishness,” I say, trying to struggle out of his grasp.

“Well, whether you’re in the mood or not, you’re about to deal. You can bet that, playa.”

I look around and try to find a way around Jordin and clear out, but Mark shows up quick with Reggie, closing my escape routes.

“I guess I should thank Ian for getting you to drop your guard tonight,” Jordin utters. “This beat down is gonna be easier than I thought.”

Dammit. I should’ve known Ian would set me up.

“It’s not gonna be as easy as you think.”

Gamba senses my fear and anger and rushes toward the door to my conscious mind. “Keep your calm as best you can until the security patrol comes. We have a couple of minutes. Just hang on, kiddo.”

“I don’t know if I can hold out that long,” I admit. I haven’t been gone long enough for Kyle to think something’s gone wrong, and the parking lot is empty. Everyone else is inside enjoying themselves. Unk and Lennox are already gone after watching the waltz we performed. I’ve got no help. “It’s all on us if things go sideways. Are you with me?”

“Always, godson.”

Despite the comfort his words bring, those couple of minutes might as well be hours, and I have no idea what they’re prepared to do to me. I half expect Jordin to take whatever weapon he has and put me out of my misery quick.

“Man, you still talking bad, even when you’re clearly done.” Jordin punches me in my mouth before I have a chance to react, and I taste blood. He split my lip with ease. “Go ahead, yell for help. All these people inside can come out and witness your demise.”

“Either get this over with or let me go. Time’s running out.” I’m doing everything I can to stall them out. I’m pinned and vulnerable. I need Kyle, my crew, and any others to help even the odds.

“Yeah, you don’t know when to shut up.” He punches me again, hard enough this time for me to realize he’s done playing around. “I’m gonna enjoy silencing you for good.”

Nope. I’m not going out bad without a fight.

Gamba feels the flames roaring around him, and he bangs against the door. “Yasir, I need you to calm down. I cannot get to you. The angrier you get, the more intense the flames are. Please, I need you to settle yourself.”

Nah, there’s another way to handle this, and I’m here for all of it. I unlock the door and let him in, hearing something growling in the darkness that catches our attention. “What was that?”

“It’s something I had hoped to have a chance to explain to you, but it is too late for that now,” Gamba replies as the growls grow closer to the door. “The best way to keep it at bay is for you to calm down.”

“It’s a little too late for that. We’re in the middle of a fight, and I don’t know what they might do to us.”

“Then we better find a way to defend ourselves,” Gamba says. “I will need you to trust me if things get to be too much for us. We will need what exists behind the door to keep you alive.”

“You’re not making any sense, Gamba.” My mind is split between talking to him and dealing with the threats in front of me. I don’t know how to react to what’s happening to me. “I can feel my rage building.”

“I understand, godson. Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

Gamba nods as we peer through my eyes to figure out how to get out of this mess. “Then when it is time, we need to let go and allow things to happen as they are supposed to happen. I promise, I will explain it all.”

“But what if someone sees what we become?”

“We will handle it…together.”

Jordin lets me go, but Reggie and Mark close in on me at the same time, Reggie from the front, Mark from behind. I get the drop on Reggie, landing a right cross to his ribcage, but Mark strikes my lower back near my kidneys, bringing me to my knees in seconds.

Mark and Jordin are on top of me before I can rise to my feet, raining elbows and fists down on me. The three of them find every inch of exposed bone and muscle that I can’t protect. Every spot I cover after it’s struck, they find three other spots to exploit and damage.

Then someone pops up that I don’t expect to be there, and it only fuels my rage, knowing that he got the better of me, and I allowed it to happen. He just stands there, watching me get pummeled within an inch of my life, and I can hear him laughing the whole time.

I try to keep blocking, but the pain’s taking over.

“You really aren’t as good as advertised, my guy. I expected you to at least fight back. I guess you’re more like your folks than I thought,” Ian taunts.

“Bro, what the fuck? You’re gonna let these boys do this right here?” I can’t hide my anger, and that dig at my parents was a low blow. “What happened to sticking up for the Grove?”

“Well, I mean, they have to get theirs, considering three of theirs were hurt, right?”

I yell out in pain, using my arms and hands to protect my head and face from the barrage of blows I take. The growling inside my head grows more intense, gets closer to my conscious mind, but it feels familiar, almost like I’m welcoming an old friend. My mind is having a hard time understanding it all, and it’s confusing things.

“Now, Yasir! It is time!” Gamba screams out. I’m still trying to sort through my rage and fear, but letting him take control feels like the only option if we’re gonna get through this alive.

Enough is enough.

I don’t care who sees what happens next. I’m ready to jump off the edge and into the abyss. As far as I’m concerned, we can lay waste to everything and let Nyati sort it out. “I warned you, and now it’s my turn!”

The next thing I see is a blinding flash of light, then I hear a blood-curdling roar I don’t recognize from within it.

What comes next…legit scares the living hell out of me.