"Is it okay if I leave her here?" Meech asked Iris.

"Of course. Asha is family, and so are you. You don't have to ask." Meech nodded, taking her words into consideration even though he would never take her kindness for granted. It didn't matter how close they were, Meech would always ask for her permission to do anything in her house.

"I'll do my best to keep her occupied until you get back," Iris said. Meech thanked her before walking into the den where Asha was laid out on the couch staring at the wall.

Asha jumped at the opportunity to get out of Dashawn's house, so she was happy with the change of scenery. And Iris was just as happy to see her. She even pulled Asha to the side, and they had a long conversation that consisted of Iris trying to talk some sense into Asha, and Asha falling victim to her emotions like always. Asha could argue with Meech all day long, but she couldn't argue with Iris even if she wanted to.

"Thanks for the compromise," she said to Meech as he appeared in the door frame.

"Don't make me regret it."

"I won't," she huffed lazily, turning on her side. "Just bring her home."

.....

"Are you okay?" Penny asked Dashawn, zipping up her jacket as she stepped outside.

"Why you ask?" He spoke between puffs of his cigarette. Dashawn didn't too much care for cigarettes, only smoking them occasionally. Penny knew just how rare those occasions were, so something had to be off for him to be smoking one now.

"I can tell something's off...more so than usual." A full week had now gone by since Imani was taken, and everyone was walking on eggshells around D. If he wasn't barking out orders or cursing someone out, he was completely silent. And just yesterday Dashawn snuck off for hours and came back to the warehouse with blood all over him. He was supposed to be staying under the radar, but he was a loose cannon right now. And with Meech being preoccupied himself, there was no one else to tame him.

"I got a lot on my mind," was all he said.

"Are you doubting yourself?" Penny asked carefully, not wanting to offend him. Dashawn didn't respond right away, but he was indeed having doubts about everything, which caused him to question all of his decisions. This week just felt like one long ass rollercoaster, and D was questioning why it seemed like it would never end.

And Dashawn was supposed to be considered the best of the best, but he couldn't even find his daughter. The guilt was eating at him, and he was damn near convinced that his absence was what led to Imani's abduction. At least, if he was here, he could have prevented any of this from happening in the first place. And this revelation also had Dashawn questioning whether or not he made the right decision in faking his death even though he had good reason to.

"D—"

"Not right now Penny," he said while stomping out his cigarette. He then pulled out his phone, checking the time. It was nearly time for them to leave.

"Tell everybody to start loading the trucks. We got shit to do." He brushed past her, opening the door and storming inside. Dashawn had a small window of opportunity to get to Red tonight, and he wasn't about to waste it.

Dashawn's plan to lure Red out by taking out every single one of his affiliates had proven successful the more Red's foundation continued to crack. D figured that Red was the type of nigga that easily folded under pressure, and he was a thousand percent correct in his assumption.

These last few killings had Red so alarmed that he was sure that his location had been compromised. And Red did exactly what Dashawn knew he would do—start making arrangements to relocate again. D got lucky as hell when he stumbled upon this piece of information while he was out yesterday doing his own investigation—the same investigation that had him covered in blood. He didn't know Red's precise location or where he was moving to, but D knew the area he was in, and that was more than enough.

Now D just had to narrow it down, and that's where his crew came in. As soon as they were able to depart from the warehouse, Dashawn was going to have them all scatter within a fifteen mile radius of Red's alleged location. Then, they were to be his eyes and ears to report any suspicious movement.

But before they could leave, Dashawn wanted to check one of the trucks to make sure it had everything that Imani would need just in case they found her tonight. It had blankets, food, medical supplies, clothes, and anything that Dashawn could think of that would make the ride more comfortable for Imani until they could get her to the clinic. D didn't know what kind of state she would be in, but he was praying that she was still alive and well.

"Ok, let's move," he said closing the door.

.....

Three hours later...

"Come on, let's go!" Red yelled. "I ain't got time for this shit. They murked Leon yesterday. I don't know how they did it, but I'm not finna stick around to find out!"

Red was beyond what you would call paranoid. Leon, his second, came up missing yesterday, and a few hours later his body was dumped only a few miles away from Red's hideout. There were no witnesses or anyone that could recall what happened, but Red knew who it was and he was practically shitting his pants.

"We ain't got no more places to go," someone said. It wasn't safe anywhere, and changing locations so suddenly without a plan was reckless. But Red didn't have any other choice.

"Then find somewhere," Red sneered.

"They're here!" Someone else yelled from the door, getting everyone's attention.

"Light they asses up!" Red said grabbing his bag.

.....

Meanwhile...

"Something doesn't feel right," Dashawn spoke up, his voice filling the silent car. He had a few hours to think to himself as him, Tony, and a few others were posted up at one of the locations.

"Why would Red go through all this trouble to avoid me? The nigga is dead either way, but why is he trying so hard to escape his death? He knows what I want, so why doesn't he just give her up to soften the blow?"

"You don't think he has her?" Tony questioned.

"The way he moving, it doesn't make sense that he would still have her."

"You sure?"

Dashawn nodded. Something just wasn't adding up. And his gut was telling him that Red didn't have Imani, but he knew where she was and Dashawn would do everything in his power to get her back. He wasn't about to let another day go by, and this was the opportune time to capitalize on the advantage he had over Red.

"Well, we won't know for sure until we can get to Red," Tony said.

"Are we even sure he's moving tonight?" Someone spoke up from the back. Before D could respond, his phone started vibrating in his pocket.

"Hello?" He heard nothing but gunshots when he answered the phone.

"Hello!?"

"We found Red! These niggas started shooting as soon as we pulled up. I'm not sure how many niggas he got, but they firing rounds like we in a movie."

"Where?" Dashawn sat up in his seat.

"3321 Pryor street." Dashawn pulled off as soon as he got the address.

"I'm on my way. Don't let none of them niggas leave," D said.

"Man, this place about to be swarming with cops."

"O'Shea!" Dashawn was now speeding down the road.

"Nigga, you hear me!" Dashawn was met with silence, and then the phone cut out. He cursed and threw it to the side. And by the time they pulled up, the whole block was quiet. Everyone got out the car, guns drawn. They quickly made their way up to the house, but Tony stopped Dashawn before he could enter.

"Wait," Tony said. The silence made him very much aware of the fact that they could potentially be walking into a trap. And Dashawn understood what Tony was trying to say, but his warning wasn't needed.

"Send our location to the others," Dashawn said to Tony. He then turned to the rest of the group. "Keep your eyes open at all times, and do not let your guard down."

Dashawn then entered the house first. Even without his vest, he still wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. And Dashawn knew he wasn't bulletproof. He damn sure wasn't invincible either, but he just didn't care to wear one. He trusted himself, and he also trusted his people to cover him. If they fucked up and didn't have his back...then they would be planning his funeral for real this time.

Speaking of the dead, countless bodies laid strewn across the floor as they maneuvered through the doorway. D didn't stop to check any of them, but the others did. They wanted to check to see if they recognized any of the bodies. Luckily, they didn't. But, the further they went into the house, the more it was apparent which side had won the shoot-out.

Dashawn signaled for them to split up, in which Tony stayed with him while everyone else went separate ways. For the most part, all Dashawn could see were dead bodies and no other movements.

"Where is every—" Both Tony and Dashawn stopped at hearing a gun go off. The sound echoed throughout the house, causing their ears to ring. D took off in the direction of the noise.

"Damn nigga, you almost took my head off," O'Shea said. O'Shea was the one who initially called Dashawn about finding Red. Everyone knew he was a fucking clown, but he was useful as hell and very loyal.

He lowered his voice and tried to straighten up once he saw D rounding the corner, but he grimaced in pain at the sharp movement.

"Where is Red?" D got straight to the point.

.....

😴

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