“I did.” Marvin sat down on the couch. “Answer your phone and I wouldn’t have to hunt you down.” Seeing that RJ was only wearing pants. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you. You want me to go?”
“No, it’s cool. How did you know where I was?”
Marvin just looked at RJ. “Dude, you’re always with Venus,” he said, and RJ simply nodded his head in agreement.
“Yeah, I guess I am.” He laughed a little and thought about the love he just made with Venus. “So, since you tracked me down, what’s up?”
“I had some people in the street today and they tell me that it was Psych’s boys, Latavius and Odell, that tried to hit me.”
“That means you were right, it was Mobley behind it,” RJ said. “It’s on you, Money, how you wanna handle it?”
Marvin sat there for a second or two thinking about what he wanted to do about it. Yeah, something had to be done. His first thought was to find Mobley and kill him, but then he thought about something Nick told him. “Never respond out of anger. Take your time, think things through. Try and see the big picture.”
“I understand.”
“One of the most important skills you’re gonna have to develop is the ability to see and anticipate five moves ahead, you know what I mean?” Nick paused. “If I do this, what is my adversaries gonna do in response. What do I do then and what’s he gonna do? See what I’m saying?”
“I got you, Pop. It’s like playing chess,” Marvin offered.
“Exactly.”
Therefore, he currently wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.
“I don’t know yet,” Marvin answered. He knew where he could find Odell. He had somebody keeping tabs on him. But before he acted, Marvin thought that it would be a good idea to talk to his father and seek his guidance.
“It’s on you, so whatever you wanna do, you know I got you,” RJ vowed. He and Marvin talked for a while longer before Marvin stood up and said that he had something to handle.
“You coming by the Kings tonight?”
“Yeah, I’ma shoot through there on my way to The Late Night,” RJ said and walked Marvin to the door. Once he closed the door, RJ went back in the bedroom to find Venus fast asleep. He eased in bed next to her and gently wrapped his arm around her. Venus scooted her warm body into his and he kissed the back of her neck. And as he drifted off to sleep, a question rolled around in his mind. Am I in love with her?
It was a few hours later when RJ woke up and glanced at his phone and saw what time it was. He sat up in the bed.
“What’s wrong?” Venus asked.
“I told Money that we would roll by The Kings on our way to The Late Night.”
“You own the club, you can be a little late,” Venus said. “It’s only … oh,” she said when she looked at the clock.
“Yeah,” RJ said on his way to the shower. “Now come on and get in here with me.” He went in the bathroom and then stuck his head out. “If you wanna come, that is.”
“Okay,” Venus got out of bed and followed RJ into the bathroom. “But I am not responsible for anything that my hands just happen to do.” She stepped in the shower and stroked his length. RJ pulled Venus to him, their lips met, he lifted Venus up and entered her knowing that the answer to the question that he asked himself was yes.
Once they both came, they got out of the shower and got dressed to leave. RJ and Venus had just come out of her building and were walking to his car when Venus saw a car coming that she recognized right away.
It was the same car that Sterling knocked her unconscious in and kicked her out of. She was about to say something to RJ, but that’s when Venus saw the gun coming out of the window and she screamed.
“Look out!”
RJ grabbed Venus and dove for the ground. He landed on his back and Venus laid on top of him with her head covered as bullets flew over them.
When the shooting stopped, Venus rolled off RJ and he got to his feet with his weapon drawn, but Barnes was too far away.
Chapter Nine
As Barnes drove away, he saw RJ get up from the ground. “Damn it!” he shouted and banged the steering wheel. He missed. Missed his opportunity. Missed his chance to take Sterling’s position without any issue. Now he needed a new plan and it had to be that night.
But what?