Prince of the City (30 page)

Malik jumped in shock. He couldn't believe he was slipping that much to let someone creep up on him like that. He wondered for a second if Peaches had seen the guy, but he knew she couldn't have because she would have warned him. Peaches was stuck in Tupac's lyrics as she waited for Malik to finish loading the truck.

As the man moved closer, Malik looked him up and down, trying to figure out who in the hell this person was.

He then said to the man, “Look, I don't think we know each other.”

“Nah, you don't know me. However, I'm an old friend of your father's.”

“Look, man, whoever you are, this ain't a good time right now,” Malik replied as he slammed the hatch door, hoping the noise would warn Peaches to look in the rearview mirror.

When Peaches looked up at the sound of the hatch closing, she saw Malik talking to someone, but she didn't think anything about it. She figured the man was probably someone Malik knew. Still, she kept her eyes on the man.

“Oh no, Malik. This won't take but a minute. I came for my brother.”

“Your brother? Who's your brother—”

“My name is Slim. I just came home from Lorton where I did twenty-three years. My brother was the only family I had.”

“So. What the fuck that gotta do with me?”

“I'm Slim James, nigga! Sonny's brother!”

Instantly, Malik reached for his .45, but realized he had left it upstairs lying on Rico's chest. As Slim James reached into his waistband, Malik knew he was dead. After all the years of sucking up the game from his father, Linda, and Lee, he was going to die anyway.

Malik knew he had failed. He knew everything he went through in life was for nothing. The pain and suffering, the love and revenge, it all meant nothing. He tightly closed his eyes as Slim James pointed his gun at Malik's head. Malik was fearless as he stood face-to-face with death, waiting patiently to receive his final blow.

The first bullet fired sounded like a cannon exploding.

Boom!

When it hit, Malik didn't feel anything. He began to wonder what it really felt like to be dead.

The second bullet sounded. This time Malik felt a wet splash on his face like someone was throwing water on him. He opened his eyes, but couldn't believe what he was seeing. Now he knew that the choices he'd made in life were correct and valuable. He knew there was someone that he could always trust. That someone was the mother of his child and his soon-to-be wife, Peaches.

Before Peaches left the house that night, she wasn't sure if everything was completely safe. So she went into Malik's closet and pulled out his 9-millimeter. It was the very same gun he'd taught her how to load and fire. Peaches never thought she would use the gun, but still, she played her position.

When Malik slammed the hatch of the Escalade, Peaches was instantly alarmed. As she looked on, she turned down the music to overhear the conversation with the strange man who'd appeared out of nowhere. She could sense from Malik's body language that something was wrong. Then when she saw Malik reach for his gun and come up strapless, she knew she had to do something, and fast. She literally saw their future flash before her eyes. Quickly, she eased out of the truck, hoping her pregnancy wouldn't get in the way of her moving fast and efficiently.

Just as she reached the back of the truck, she saw the man pull his gun and point it at Malik's head. Peaches moved even faster, hoping she'd be able to creep up from behind just in time. Peaches thought she'd failed as she saw the man on the verge of pulling the trigger. After the first shot, though, she realized he wasn't fast enough. She fired one shot to the back of his head, instantly killing him. She then stood over his body and delivered another bullet to his face, just to make sure.

The blood from the impact of the bullet splattered on Malik's face, making him open his eyes and witness the realest shit he'd ever seen in his life.

As Peaches stood over Slim James's body with the smoking gun still in her hand, Malik smiled inside as he thought back to how he'd taught Peaches well and how she'd listened to every lesson, never ignoring his wisdom. There she was, the true queen of his castle and savior of his life, someone whom he would always hold in the highest esteem and give the greatest honor.

“Malik, are you okay, baby?” Peaches asked as she frantically looked over at the love of her life, hoping and praying that he wasn't hit.

“Yeah, I'm all right. Give me the gun and get in the truck,” Malik instructed while easing the gun out of her hand.

As Peaches started the engine and put it in gear, Malik stood over Slim James's body and emptied the rest of the clip in his head before jumping in the truck.

As they fled the scene, Malik looked into Peaches's eyes. “I love you, Peaches. You're my queen and I promise to treat you like royalty forever.”

“I already know this, Malik. I love you too. You were always my king, even when you were the prince. Now let's get the fuck outta here, boo, while we can.”

“You got that right,” Malik responded with a smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Readers,

 

As you can see, once again, I have delivered another classic. And although this novel may give you a harsh sense of reality and expose certain parts of the game, it is my duty to inform you that this is not a true story. These are only recollections of a lifestyle I once lived.

 

Jason Poole

      
      

Jason Poole is the author of three urban best-selling classics: Larceny Part I, Convict's Candy, and Victoria's Secret. He is also a screenwriter, who has written several movies as well as the executive producer of a budding reality show slated for production. Now serving as president and CEO of his own publishing house Gangster Chronicles Books, Jason is currently working on his memoir titled, Products of Our Environment, and the release of his first novel under his own imprint.