I knew that sound. It was a silenced sniper rifle. When I turned around, I saw all four gunmen lying dead on the ground. Anyone who was left standing, including Brother X, headed for the hills. Not wasting any time trying to figure out what had just happened, I pulled out my guns and ran after X, but it was too late. They jumped into a car and were halfway down the block in no time.
Back over by my car, I checked to make sure the guys on the ground were dead. The sniper had hit his intended targets precisely, and no one was left breathing.
I heard footsteps emerging from the shadows, and I cocked my weapon, prepared to shoot. Then the person came into view, and I lowered my gun.
“Man, you scared the shit out of me!” I said. Standing there, brandishing a sniper rifle and wearing a shit-eating grin on his face was Daryl Graham.
I glanced at my watch. “Damn, bro, you’re two hours late.”
Daryl looked around at the dead bodies. “My plane was delayed. But from where I’m standing, looks like I got here right on time.”
“Is everything all right?” We both turned to see Minister Farah coming toward us. Thank God he’d stayed behind in the restaurant, I thought with relief. That trip to the restroom had probably saved his life.
Daryl
44
With Connie gone, it was good to be around people I considered family. I needed to be surrounded by those who loved me to help me cope with Connie’s passing. In her, I’d lost not only a lover but my best friend. Of course, nothing could completely erase the pain of her death, but being around the Duncans helped ease it just a little. Putting my foot in this Brother X’s ass for what he did to LC was going to help me channel my emotions even more. I had stayed by Connie’s side the same way I knew she would have done for me, and now it was time for me to be there for the Duncans when they needed me most. They’d done the same for me in the past.
Call me corny, but as I sat on a lounge chair by the pool, listening to the birds in the trees and feeling the soft breeze on my face, I felt like Connie’s spirit was right there with me. It was really peaceful, until I felt a shadow over me. My eyes flew open, and I was instantly on high alert.
“What’s up, stranger?” I relaxed when I realized it was just Paris standing over me.“I didn’t even hear you come out,” I said.
“Yeah, you looked like you were miles away. On an island in Paradise or something.”
“Far from it. I was thinking about my deceased wife.”
“That’s a little morbid.” She smiled and licked her lips. “You should be thinking about a hot body like mine, not a cold one.”
Leave it to Paris to say something inappropriate. She had always been like a bratty little sister to me, though I will admit her comment was almost crossing the line. “Damn, girl. I see your mouth hasn’t changed one bit, has it?”
She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, if everything goes down how it’s supposed to, we’re all going out to celebrate later on tonight. I just wanted to see if you wanted to go out and have a drink with us.”
“Drink?” I said, looking her up and down. “Are you even old enough to drink?”
“Yeah,” she said with her usual sassy attitude. “Daryl, I’m not a child. I have a baby.”
It seemed like just yesterday she was running around in braces. “I must be getting old.”
“Well, you wouldn’t believe some of the things I’m old enough to do. I wouldn’t mind telling you—or should I say showing you—after you buy me that drink.” She was like a little girl trying to act grown.
I chuckled at her antics, imagining her as the young, pigtail-wearing girl I once knew. “P, I just lost my wife. I’m not even thinking about being with a woman, least of all one I consider to be a little sister.”
She threw her hands on her hips and pulled down her dark sunglasses just enough to reveal her eyeballs. “Hmmm, we’re going to have to do something about this ‘little sister’ thing, aren’t we?”
“Not if I have anything to do with it.” I laughed her off.
“We’ll see about that,” she said and then turned to leave.
I shook my head as I watched her switch her hips back into the house.