No lie, hearing this shit, it made me pull Riot a little closer to me. I pulled her closer because I knew that four years ago, when her brother was gunned down, that she wasn’t given the same outcome. Her brother died right there on the spot. Riot and her family didn’t get the chance to stand in a hospital, and witness a doctor coming out, and telling them that surgery was successful, and that he was going to recover just fine. Knowing that she didn’t get to hear those words, it made me hurt for her, so that’s why I pulled her in front of me, making her back post up against my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her waist, still standing here, waiting to see what else the doctor was going to say to us.
“We’ll continue to keep him here, so that we can monitor him. Right now, you all are welcomed to go in there, but just keep in mind that he is heavily medicated. Please allow him to get his rest,” he finished.
We all thanked him, and with a simple nod, he went on to tell us what room Diego was in. I wasn’t surprised that my mom was the first one out the room. My dad was right there, following behind her.
I kissed Riot on the top of her head, and I let her go. She turned around to look at me, while wiping her eyes.
“Go ahead and check on your brother. I’ll wait in here,” she voiced.
“Nah. Baby, you gotta come back there with us,” I said, and she simply shook her head no.
“Dolo, go ahead. Have that moment in there with your family. I don’t do well with stuff like this. I’ll probably go back there eventually to have my moment with him, but just not right now. Go ahead,” she voiced.
She leaned in, and she kissed me on the cheek. She didn’t even give me another chance to beg her again because she walked away, and she sat down in one of the chairs. I watched her as she folded her hands, placed them in her lap, and she dropped her head. I’m sure this shit was traumatizing for her. I wasn’t going to leave her in here to sit in this shit alone for too long. I just wanted to lay eyes on my brother, squeeze his hand, talk to him, and then I would be back to check on Riot.
I left out of the waiting room, and I had to take the elevator up to where Diego was. They had him in ICU. When I made it to his room, it was just my parents inside, along with Loco. Loco was standing at the foot of the bed, watching him, while my parents stood on either side of him.
Walking in, seeing him in this hospital gown, with all these machines going off, it did something to me. Not getting that big ass smile from him whenever I would walk into the same room as him was hard. He looked to have been in a deep ass sleep. My pops moved out of the way, so that I could get a little closer to Diego.
I picked his hand up, and it was bruised. I remember Riot telling me that he dove on top of her to save her, so he probably bruised it when he did that.
I squeezed his hand, wanting some kind of reaction out of him, but I didn’t get one. Just holding warm hands.
I held his hand in mine for about five minutes, before my pops tapped me on my arm.
“Step outside. Let me holla at you,” his voice was firm. I already knew that was coming though.
When Diego decided to follow in my footsteps with this drug shit, I remember my pops looking me in my eyes, telling me that I better guard this nigga with my life. I’m sure he was about to get in this hallway with me and make all kinds of threats. That’s just the kind of nigga that he was.
We walked out of the room, leaving Loco, and my mom inside. My pops posted up on one side of the wall, and I came over, posting up right next to him.
“I already know what you going to say. I’m on it,” I went on to get the first word out.
“Then I won’t say it. You a wise man, Dolo. You know what the fuck gotta happen after this. Whoever the fuck just did this shit, find all parties involved, and make their motha fuckin mama cry the same way that I just had to witness my wife cry for the past four hours! I almost had to bury my son. Get in the motha fuckin field for your brother and handle it. And if you feel like you can’t handle it, let a nigga know something before I go in my closet, pull out and lace up my boots, and handle the shit myself. Do it quickly, nigga!” he spat, punching me in my chest, like how he used to do us when we were little boys.
Had he been any other nigga, I would have beat his ass for punching me in my chest like that. I expected this shit from him though. He almost lost his son tonight, so I was going to give him a pass.
I heard him though. Heard the nigga loud, and clear. I had to put some shit on hold right now with the business and tend to my brothers ‘almost killer’.
Miami about to feel me. I’m about to make this city bleed about mine, and that’s a fact.
Chapter 16
Riot St. James
It was after three in the morning. I heard the light cut on in the bathroom, so I jumped up out of my sleep, looking at the digital clock that was on Dolo’s side of the room. It was resting on his nightstand.
Dolo didn’t come in last night. I went to bed without him. These past few days, he’s taken a break from the business, allowing Bray, myself, and Kendrick to run it. He would spend his mornings and afternoons at the hospital with Diego. At night, he had his ears to the streets, and he would go hunting. It didn’t take long for us to find out that it was Elijah and Elias that had shot Diego. It wasn’t one of those findings that were placed in our hands though. It was one of those things where we were able to put two, and two together. It was all over Miami that Elias had been killed. No one really posted any information about it, but I’m sure he was killed by one of my bullets. I know that’s what happened. I sent too many rounds into that car that night for him to not have died. It was two of them in that car, and I know my aim was good enough to hit at least one.
Dolo wasn’t resting until he got a location on Elijah, but the nigga had to be somewhere ducked off really good because no one knew where he was, and Dolo had 50 racks on his head. Hemade it clear in the hood that he was willing to give anyone 50 grand that came forward and let him know where Elijah was. Until that day came, Dolo had his ears to the streets, trying to learn about Elias’s funeral arrangements.
I think we all know why he wanted the funeral arrangements. The family was protecting it though. It wasn’t something that was getting advertised on social media. Usually, when a big name dies in Miami, you would hear the radio stations talking about it, it would be plastered all over social media, but none of those things were happening with Elias arrangements. I knew that Dolo would find out about it though, and when he rounded up his men, and he decided to come up with a plan, I wanted to be in on it too. I might not have gotten shot that night with Diego, but I was shot at, and I wanted to get in on the gun action as well.
I stood from the bed. I felt around, turning on the lamp that was sitting on the nightstand. I turned it on, and my house shoes that were on the side of the bed, I slipped into them. I wanted to check on Dolo and see how he was doing tonight. He hasn’t been himself these days. That was expected though. He almost lost his brother.
The two of us were barely around each other these days because he would be at the hospital a good number of hours, and then he would be gone all night, while I was working. Mitch had been driving me around. He was the one taking me from place to place, getting me where I needed to be.
The bathroom door was cracked, so I was able to lean against the wall, and watch him. He was sitting in the middle of the bathroom, down on my vanity chair. I didn’t do makeup or anything like that for me to have my own vanity chair, but the bathroom counters were designed with the Jack-and-Jill sinks, and on my side, there was an open area for a small vanity chair to go.