The Last Kings Read Free Page A

a drug cartel. It was crazy because with all of the knowledge I had about it, I never thought about getting into the game myself. Mainly because every single one of the men my mother dated were hustlers who met sticky endings no matter how much of a boss they were. One of the worst experiences in my life happened due to the game and the life that came with it. After that, I was skeptical about that idea, and it made me worry about Ray every day. However, if it came down to it, though, I know I would be down for the ride.
    â€œReally, Mocha, I feel you,” I said lying back on my bed. “This shit is getting played out to me too. If I didn’t think Grandma Rae would flip, I would have been gone.”
    â€œI know. These petty-ass refund checks can’t cover the kind of taste I have. I’m tired of Ray buying all of our shit. One day, he isn’t going to be here, and school isn’t taking me anywhere. I need to figure out what I’m going to do with my life. Right now, I feel as if I’m wasting it taking tests to get a degree that I don’t even want.”
    â€œWe can get jobs,” I said but instantly took it back. I couldn’t picture either of us flipping anyone’s burgers. “Never mind.”
    â€œRight. The working world ain’t for us,” Mocha agreed, turning to face my bed.
    â€œYeah,” I concurred.
    There were a few minutes of silence before Mocha began speaking, a little more quietly that time.
    â€œSo you haven’t talked to Ray at all?”
    â€œNo,” I told her. “I don’t know what’s been up with us lately. I used to talk to him every day.”
    â€œYeah, you know what they’re saying, right? About Coopa?”
    I nodded my head. Coopa was the kingpin of Detroit. He usually kept his business tight. From what I heard and saw, he was a man that you didn’t want to cross. He shot first and didn’t ask or answer any questions. He was a good-looking man in his late thirties; light skin with small brown eyes and well respected in the game. He currently was the head of the biggest drug trafficking operation the city of Detroit had ever seen, and his team consisted of all the hustlers in Detroit. Ray was like his right-hand man, which meant that Ray was big. Lately, though, I’d been hearing that some people wanted Coopa’s head on a stick. Something about he had been making some business deals and not holding up his end of the bargain. He thought he was untouchable, and so far, he had been. I just didn’t want Ray in any mess behind Coopa’s messiness.
    â€œWhat do you think about it?” Mocha asked me.
    â€œI mean, what can I say? Ray’s a grown-ass man. I just hope that when Coopa goes down, Ray doesn’t go with him,” I told her.
    â€œMaybe he’s just waiting for the right time to get out,” Mocha threw out.
    â€œNaw, Ray loves his life too much. If anything, he would just take over. Then we could finally drop out of this bitch,” I said.
    â€œWhat does that mean?” Mocha asked.
    â€œNothing,” I said, not really knowing what I was saying.
    â€œSadie, are you really thinking about that?” she asked. “I thought we were just playing around with that shit.”
    â€œThat ‘shit’ would be better than just sitting here wasting my life away doing nothing,” I told her.
    â€œYou tripping; you’re trying to be on some crazy shit,” she said.
    â€œSome C. N. Phillips-type shit,” I said glancing at my bookshelf.
    â€œOK, Say,” Mocha said, calling me by my nickname. “This isn’t a book! This is real life! Let’s be real for a second. If we start up our own business, it would get shut down before we even took flight! Antwan told me about what Coopa did to those niggas from California. Their bodies were found in Dumpsters. Fuck with that shit if you want to, Sadie, but it’s not smart. What makes it