The ringing of his cell phone woke Messiah out of his sleep. As soon as he was about to answer it the ringing stopped, "ain't that bout a bitch" he huffed as he snuggled back into Tonya. His eyes weren't closed two seconds before the phone started ringing again.

"Somebody better be dying" he mumbled as he hung off the bed to grab the phone. "Speak"

"BIG SHIT POP—" before the caller could get the words out Siah was already jumping out of bed and throwing his clothes on. He instructed his workers to only contact him when big shit was poppin' meaning shit was going down at one of his trap spots so he had to get there ASAP.

After grabbing his gun, phone, and keys he ran out of the house making sure to lock the bottom lock on his way out. He made it to his truck and peeled out of the complex. On the way there he sent Tonya a text.

SiBaby💙: Hey ma, some shit went down at one of my spots. I'll be back before you wake up in the morning so don't worry that pretty little head of yours. I love you 😘 

Placing his phone in the cup holder he got his mind right for what he was about to walk into. It took 15 minutes for him to get to his destination. Checking his surroundings he grabbed his gun, tucked it, and exited his truck.

It was deathly quiet, something that was abnormal for this neighborhood. This particular trap was in the heart of the hood where junkies and drunks roamed the streets 24/7. This quietness put an ill feeling in Messiah's spirit so he pulled his gun out and allowed it to lead his way.

As he approached the front of the house he noticed that the door looked as if it was cracked. Messiah used his foot to open the door as his gun stayed in front of him while he fully entered the home.

"What the fuck" he mumbled as he flipped the light switch, turning the lights on. Messiah clenched his jaw in anger as he walked around the front room checking for any signs of life from the bodies sprawled out in front of him.

It was as if his entire crew was laying at his feet. He heard what sounded like shuffling coming from one of the back rooms. Taking his gun off safety, he made his way in the direction of the noises. Halfway down the hallway he saw someone dragging themself towards him.

Messiah aimed his gun, ready to shoot if he needed to then the person lifted their head up. Siah instantly went to help Qua up.  "What the fuck ! What happen? Who did this?" he asked.

"Aaahhhh! It- it was Bl- black" Qua yelled from the pain of the gunshot wounds. He was shot once in the side and once in his leg.

Messiah instantly froze at the revelation. Black was his bestfriend, there was no way he was the one behind everything going on lately. "That would explain how they knew about Tonya" he mumbled to himself.

Hearing Qua groan, Messiah came back to, making sure to be careful as he helped his cousin to the truck.. "I gotta get you to the hospital" Messiah spoke as he maneuvered his way through the sea of dead bodies. Once they made it to the truck Siah helped him into the passenger seat then he went around and got inside.

"Na man, take me to Doc" Qua whispered as he rested his head against the window.

"Qua man, come on man, talk to me" Siah spoke as he tapped his cousin. "Tell me what happened"

Qua coughed as he held his side; "man it was a normal night everything was running smoothly, Black came in bringing his weekly profits from his spots. We chop it up for lil minute and he leaves."

He paused to catch his breath as Siah listened intently. "You good?" he asked.

"Yea" he coughed. "I'm good. So bout five or ten minutes after he leave, boom! The door getting kicked in. I'm thinking it's 12 so I run to the back to start shredding papers."

"Shit, it's a fucking road block! FUCK!" Siah yelled in frustration as he banged his palms on the steering wheel. He looked over at Qua who was attempting to sit up as straight as he could.

Siah started to slow down as he approached the officer who was checking IDs. "How you doing sir, I need to see your ID please" the woman stated as she flashed her flashlight into the car.

"Aight, my wallet fell out of my pocket and is on the passenger floor board. I'm going to reach over there and grab it. Don't shoot!" Messiah said as he slowly reached over to grab his wallet. He'd be damned if he was the next black man on the news for being shot by a cop.

While searching around blindly he hears what sounds like a muffled gunshot. He popped his body up right and immediately came face to face with a lifeless Qua. "What the fuck" he shouted as he went to reach for the gun under the front driver seat.

"Aht aht! I don't think that would be to smart of you cute face" the officer stated as she held a gun with a silencer attached to the side of his head.

"You didn't even have to do my boy like that" he mumbled as he starred straight ahead. Messiah kept his cool as he tried to think about why his bestfriend would move like this.

Messiah couldn't understand what would make his homie cross him. Money, greed, power were all the main factors behind a hostile takeover but neither of those made sense. Messiah and Black were equals, Black had his own territory, his own workers, his own money, so what did he want from him?

As the thought left his mind a arm wrapped around his neck from the back as a rag was placed over his mouth and nose. He smelled a familiar scent before he started to black out, his last thoughts being "damn how I get caught slippin'?"

*************************

One month later .........

Tonya stirred the grits into the boiling water and turned the fire down. Sighing deeply she grabbed her phone and dialed his number again, for the past month Messiah had been M.I.A once again. Something in her was telling her this time was different though, something was wrong and she knew it.

After finishing breakfast she made her and Toya's plate and sat them on the table. "Toya come eat!" she shouted down the hallway.

Within seconds Toya was running out of her room and heading towards the kitchen table. "It smells ggoooodd" she said as she climbed into the chair.

"Thank you" Tonya mumbled, she was really in her feelings about not hearing from Messiah. The girls ate in a comfortable silence but that quickly changed when Tia came stumbling through the front door making Tonya sigh and roll her eyes.

Tia has been back to her old ways for the past two weeks, putting pressure back on Tonya. Ignoring her groans, Tonya finished her food and Toya helped her clean the kitchen. When they were done they went into Tonya's room to watch a movie, there was no focusing for her though. Her heart was telling her that something was wrong with Messiah, there was no way he would ghost her for this long.

She called Mecca and waited for her to pick up. "Hey bestie" Mecca said as soon as she answered.

"Hey, have you heard anything?" Tonya asked as she played with Toya's hair while she laid on her lap.

"No, Jay got arrested last week so I haven't been around that way" she responded honestly.

"Ok thank you" Tonya replied with tears in her eyes.

"He's okay, maybe he's just busy."

"For a month straight? Na, I know him. I know he wouldn't go this long without checking on us"

"I'm coming over" Mecca stated as she slid on her slides and prepared to leave her apartment.

"Okay" she mumbled and ended the call. Within five minutes Mecca was knocking on the door so Tonya went to let her in.

"Hey" she said dryly.

"Hey boo" Mecca cooed as she wrapped her in her arms. Tonya let out a loud cry as her knees buckled, this was to much for her to handle. She needed Messiah, she needed to hear his voice, see his face, and feel his touch.

"I know, I know" Mecca comforted her as she rubbed her back in circles.

After calming down she took a deep breath; "I— I just need to know he's ok" she whispered.

"You gotta have faith, Messiah's strong. He knows what he's doing." She replied as they sat on the couch.

Toya was sleeping and Tonya was thankful for that because she didn't want her to see her having a panic attack. She laid her head on Mecca's lap and sniffled as tears fell from her eyes nonstop. Within minutes she was sound asleep.

When she woke up she stretched, and looked around the living room realizing that Mecca was gone. She made her way to her room, stripped out of her clothes and she grabbed her towel. She headed to her bathroom to shower but before that she looked in on Toya who was now playing with toys on her floor. "Hey pooh, did you have a good nap?"

Toya looked up and nodded her head, "yes, did you?"

Tonya chuckled, it amazed her how smart her little sister was. She sometimes forgot that she was only 4. "It was nice thank you. I'm about to shower then I will start on some dinner for us okay?"

"Okay, can we have hamburgers?"

"That's fine with me" Tonya shrugged.

After her shower she started dinner and was done in no time. The girls ate in Tonya's room since their mother had her drunk friends taking over their living room for the forth time this week.

When they finished she gave Toya a bath and they climbed back into her bed. About an hour later Tonya heard her light snores, she kissed her cheek and allowed sleep to take over her too.

*************************

It was one in the morning and Tonya was up pacing her room. She had woken up out her sleep and now she couldn't get back comfortable for nothing. Something was eating at her, something was wrong and she was determined to find out.

Walking into her closet she grabbed a pair of sweats and one of Siah's hoodies. She threw them on and grabbed one of his guns from the top of the closet. After kissing Toya's forehead she rubbed her hand through her hair; "big sissy loves you" she whispered. She locked her room door from the inside just in case some of her mother's friends were still there and headed for the door.

Quietly she made her way up the hall and into the living room where Tia was sprawled out on the couch as beer and liquor bottles cluttered the coffee table. Shaking her head she exited the home and headed to find her man.

By 3am Toya was awake and searching the house for her mother and sister. After not having any luck finding them she opened the front door and looked out into the corridor. Normally she wouldn't leave the home when they were gone but she was waking up from a bad dream and desperately needed someone to hold her.

Closing the door behind her, she made her way down the corridor, down the stairs, and to the courtyard where her mother usually hung out. Since the courtyard was empty she stood on the sidewalk looking up and down the parking lot for a familiar car. After having no luck, tears filled her eyes.

As her eyes darted around the parking lot she noticed a car pulling into the complex then stopping in front of her.

"Mama look!" Kiari said as she pointed to Toya as she stood on the sidewalk looking back and forth. Tori had just got off from working a twelve hour shift and picking Kiari and Isaiah up from the sitter.

"What's she doing out her this late?" Victoria asked herself.

"Mommy can we have a sleepover? Can she come over?" Kiari asked.

Victoria thought it over for a second, thinking about how irresponsible Tia had been lately. "Yes babygirl that's fine"

Kiari rolled down the car window, "where you going Toya?"

"Looking for my mommy and sister" she replied as tears fell from her eyes.

Even at nine years old Kiari felt bad for her, she could see the pain in the little girl's eyes. She looked back at her mom, "go ahead" Tori stated.

Kiari exited the car, walked over to Toya, and grabbed her hand softly. "Wanna come stay the night at our house?"

"Mommy says stranger danger" she replied as she pulled away from her and backed up.

"I promise I won't hurt you, we live right down the hall from you" Kiari spoke while pointing towards their apartment building. "You remember you asked me to have a play date with you?"

Toya thought for a minute as the memories of that day played in her mind. "Promise?" she asked as she held her small pinky out.

Kiari held hers out also and wrapped it around hers, "I promise, I promise to always protect you for as long as I live."

Toya took her hand, they made their way up the flights of stairs and towards the family's apartment. Tori and Isaiah were trailing behind them, "mama who is this?" Isaiah asked as he pointed towards Toya with his face scrunched up.

Tori unlocked the door and allowed all the kids to walk in ahead of her. She placed her purse on the table and turned to him, "this is Toya, she will be staying the night here so be nice" she scolded.

Isaiah huffed; "I'm stuck in a house with a whole lot of women."

"Boy hush" Tori laughed as she lightly mushed his head.

"Okay Toya you're gonna be staying in Kiari's room. It's straight down the hall." she said as she led her down the hallway and into the bedroom.

Once she flipped the switch the lights came on and Toya surveyed her surroundings. "It's pretty" she whispered shyly.

Kiari grabbed her hand and walked her onto the room. "You can have this bed" she said as she lift her up and sat her on the bed. "In the morning we will go back to your house to see if your sister is home."

Toya nodded, climbed all the way into the bed, and pulled the covers all the way up to her neck.

Kiari turned the tv on, the lights out, and climbed into her bed. It wasn't long before both girls were sound asleep.

*************************

Tonya's eyes fluttered open as she groaned in pain. Trying to stand she realized that she was tied to the chair that she was sitting in. She started to panic as she wiggled back and forth, making it feel like the ropes were getting tighter.

"The more you struggle, the more it will hurt" a familiar voice spoke.

She allowed her eyes to fully adjust to the darkness allowing her to make out a figure in a corner of the room. "Why am I here?"

The last thing she remembered was standing in front of one of Siah's spots watching as it became engulfed in flames. Once she turned around to leave and something struck her in the head causing darkness to take over.

"I'm sorry I had to bring you into this" the voice spoke as she wrecked her brain trying to place it with a face.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" She asked as her voice cracked a little.

"One simple thing" he paused for dramatic effect. "Where's Messiah's stash?"

_________________________

Kiari a.k.a Ri ^^^

Isaiah a.k.a Luckie ^^^

Victoria a.k.a Tori ^^^

__________________________

Author's 📝

Thoughts 💭 Questions 🤔 or Concerns 🧐

I will no longer be focusing on Toya & Tonya . This story is about Toya and Luckie but I had to give a back story on the circumstances that led to her meeting him & his family .

I may or may not revisit the whole Siah and Tonya situation bc honestly it's kind of unimportant . But what y'all think ?? Yay or Nay ?

Anywho; Thank you 🙏🏽 Thank you 🙏🏽 Thank you 🙏🏽

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