The Demise by Ashley & JaQuavis Page B

this around for the rest of her life.
    â€œI don’t blame you. This is my fault. Just do it. Do it, Money! Do it!” she screamed. She saw how bad he wanted to. In his rage he was the spitting image of Mecca. If she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn that Mecca was the one threatening her life. Goose bumps formed on the back of her neck, and despite the Nevada heat, she shivered.
    Breeze finally managed to roll Carter’s wheelchair through the grass over to the heated scene. “Take a walk, Monroe,” Carter stated. He might have been out of commission, but his tone of voice was strong and it was clear. He wouldn’t stand by and allow anyone to gun her down … not right in front of him.
    â€œAfter all this, you still defending this bitch?” Monroe said through gritted teeth. His nostrils flared as he lowered his gun and stormed off, completely livid.
    Breeze rushed after him as Zyir lingered. “You a’ight?” Zyir asked.
    â€œYeah, give me a minute, Zy,” Carter replied, conflicted.
    Carter looked up at Miamor. He was a shell of the man she was used to seeing. She could see that he hadn’t slept. His red-rimmed eyes and the bags beneath his lids gave away his restless nights. He seemed to have aged overnight. The burden of a dead child weighed on him heavily. The bullets in his chest had penetrated so deep that one had nicked his spine, rendering him to a wheelchair temporarily. It would take months of healing before he could walk without pain, but he could deal with that. It was the inner battle he was fighting that made life feel unbearable.
    â€œYou played this shit all wrong, Miamor,” he said. He could barely look at her. “You drugged me and tried to handle this by yourself, and you got our son killed.”
    â€œI planned to turn myself in—”
    â€œHe was our son, Miamor!” Carter yelled, interrupting her. His voice held so much judgment, so much contempt. He held up his hands and looked at them with tear-filled eyes. “All I see is blood on my hands. I thought I wouldn’t be able to choose between you and C.J., but we both understood what had to happen. I knew you were selfish, but I never thought you would put yourself over our son.”
    â€œI didn’t,” she shot back. “I would trade my life for his in a heartbeat, Carter. You have to believe me. You must know me better than that by now. I loved our son. I wouldn’t have fucked up the exchange. I was taken. It was Murder. He’s alive and he—”
    Zyir walked back up as Carter interrupted her. “I’m done, Miamor. My son … was the most innocent person I’ve ever met. His soul was pure, and he was killed because of something you did. I can’t say it is all on you. I played my part. I chose this life. I chose you. I knew what type of person you were, and I still tested your gangster. I cheated. You retaliated the only way you know how—with murder, with torture. We both caused this. But it’s over now,” he said. “Baraka has placed a million-dollar bounty on your head. I’d advise you to go far away from here.”
    â€œI can’t live without you, Carter. You’re all I have left,” she whispered. Tears clung to her thick eyelashes, threatening a downpour of emotion.
    â€œI’m done with you. Done with all this shit. There is no us. There is no Cartel. Y’all can have this shit … all of it. I’m out,” he said.
    Zyir gripped the handle of the wheelchair and looked at Miamor sympathetically as she fell to her knees. She placed a hand over her heart just to make sure it was still there … still beating. It felt like he had ripped it right out of her chest. She wanted to say that she was the type of queen Fly Boogie spoke of, but she wasn’t, and as she watched Carter being wheeled away, she broke down. Her pride wouldn’t let her beg him to