Animal 2 Read Free Page A

the body of a woman half her age. Her skin was smooth and dark, in contrast to her silver hair, which she wore up in an elegant bun. The green skirt suit she wore fit her body perfectly, no doubt tailored to fit. Around her neck, she wore a string of white pearls. When her dark eyes glanced up at Priest, her red-painted lips parted into a smile that said she had a secret that she couldn’t wait to tell. For all intents and purposes, she was the picture of someone’s loving grandmother, but those who knew her knew better.
    â€œNo worries. This is a friend of ours. I’d like to introduce you to—”
    â€œWho in the underworld doesn’t know Machine Gun Ma Savage?” Priest cut him off.
    Ma smiled, showing off two perfect rows of white teeth, one capped by a gold crown. “Machine Gun Ma is only for niggers I plan on killing or nosy reporters. It’s just Ma to my friends. Are we friends these days, or do you still wanna lock ass over that lil’ misunderstanding we had back in 1982, Tay?”
    Priest stiffened at her use of a name he had buried when he first donned the black robe. “I prefer Priest, and yes, I’d say we’re friends these days, Ma. The past is the past.”
    â€œThat’s good to know, because you never can tell with membersof y’all’s clan. I swear I could never figure out how a bunch of muthafuckas as pretty as you all are could be so deadly. I’m still holding on to the hope that one of my boys gets accepted into your little club.” Ma gave him a wink.
    Shai was surprised. “You two know each other.” He looked from Priest to Ma Savage.
    Ma cackled. “Of course we do. Me and old Priest got history, don’t we?”
    â€œIndeed we do,” Priest said in a less-than-pleasant tone.
    â€œMa, is this the old nigga you always going on about?” The light-skinned young man spoke up. “Shit, he don’t look like much to me.”
    Ma Savage slapped him upside the head with her purse. “You mind your damn manners, Bug Savage. Excuse my youngest boy. Sometimes he lets his ass speak for his mouth. How you been, Priest?”
    â€œI’ve been better, but I’m alive, so I can’t complain,” Priest said with a shrug. “How’re the kids?”
    â€œStill ornery as ever. Big John is finishing up a dime in a fed joint somewhere in Illinois, so Dickey and Maxine have been handling the business. I got no idea where Mad Dog is these days. He comes and goes as he sees fit, and most of the time, he’s got the law a few steps behind him.”
    â€œSame old Mad Dog.” Priest shook his head. Even as a kid, Mad Dog had been the wildest of the Savage boys. He had no understanding of right or wrong. He was like an animal and moved off instincts rather than rational thought. “And Killer?” he asked of the forth-oldest Savage boy.
    â€œKiller goes by Keith these days,” Ma told him. “My delusional son has abandoned his evil ways and is working for theother side now. He just graduated law school. Can you imagine a Savage working on the wrong side of the damn law? His daddy is probably turning over in his grave right now over that blasphemous shit!” She spit on the floor, drawing some less-than-pleasant stares from the people eating at the next table. “I don’t bother with him, but he speaks to Maxine and Dickey pretty regularly. Outside of that, he keeps his distance, and that’s fine by me. Whether I pushed ’em out my pussy or not, I got no care or no time for ungrateful kids. You know how many muthafuckas I done shot to keep food in his prissy-ass mouth, and this is how he repays me, by leaving his poor old mom and siblings to fend for themselves while he’s out trying to save a world that don’t wanna be saved? He prances around rubbing shoulders with his new white friends, like his last name ain’t Savage same as the rest of us.