No Loyalty

by De'nesha Diamond

  Aiden’s smile grew a little wider. “That’s my best friend right there, man. People give him a hard time, but shit, they should count knowing him as a privilege. It don’t get no realer than Kayden.”

  “Aww, it’s so cute how much y’all love each other.”

  “We’re all we got.”

  Bronx gave his arm a light squeeze. “That’s not true. Y’all got me and Jess.”

  Aiden took his eyes off the road for a minute to look at her. She was gorgeous with a smile to kill for. Aiden enjoyed her appearance a few more seconds before looking back at the road. The rest of the ride was fairly quiet, both of them lost in their own thoughts just vibing to the music and enjoying the company of each other.

  “Aiden! Look out!” Bronx yelled at the same time that he slammed headfirst into an oncoming car . . .

  CHAPTER 5

  The crash sounded loudly throughout the empty streets. Neither Aiden nor Bronx were given time to even think before the air bags popped out, pinning them to the seats. There was nothing that Aiden could think of or even feel for that moment when he looked over at Bronx, whose head was lying to the side with blood leaking from it.

  “Bronx!” he screamed.

  When she didn’t answer, Aiden did everything he could to maneuver his way out of the car. Miraculously, he only sustained a few minor cuts and bruises. His legs were a little weak, but that was it. When he was finally all the way out of his car, he noticed just how much damage had been caused.

  The floating feeling from the alcohol was still very present as he stumbled around the back of his car. He’d tried to go around the front, but there was no way for him to get around it without doing too much walking. The front of his car was smashed head-on into the front of the large black town car that he’d just hit.

  Aiden’s mind was all over the place as he thought about what he needed to do next. He didn’t know whether to check on the person in the car, Bronx, or to call the police. Too afraid that Bronx as well as the people in the other car were dead, Aiden did the only thing his mind could think to do. He snatched his cell phone out and dialed the first and only person he wanted to talk to.

  He answered on the first ring. “Y’all finally made it home?”

  “Kayden!” Aiden yelled in a rush.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  Aiden could hear movement on the other end. “I hit somebody. You have to come. I don’t know what to do.”

  “I’m already on the way. Tell me where you at?”

  Aiden heard a car door slam on Kayden’s end as he looked around to find out where he was. He hurried to tell it to Kayden before taking a seat on the sidewalk next to the smoking cars.

  “Where’s Bronx? Is she all right? Have you called the police?” Kayden asked in one breath. “Tell me where you are.”

  “I don’t know . . . I’m afraid to check.” Immediately after Aiden told Kayden where he was, he held his head down and began to cry. “I only called you. Her head is bleeding really badly,” he told him through tears.

  “Aiden, listen to me. Get yourself together. I’ll be there in a minute. You hear me? I’m almost there.”

  Aiden could hear Kayden talking, but he was so overwhelmed with what had happened that he could barely think straight.

  “I should have listened to you. I was way too drunk to be driving.”

  “We not gon’ worry about that right now.” Kayden cursed in the background.

  Ten minutes of Kayden talking to Aiden passed before he was pulling his large blue truck up next to the back end of Aiden’s car. He rushed to Aiden and pulled him from the ground before grabbing him into a hug.

  “You gon’ be straight, a’ight? We always make the best of fucked-up shit.” He held Aiden’s head between both of his palms and made eye contact with him. “We gon’ handle this shit the way we always do, you hear me?”

  Aiden nodded but didn’t say anything. When Kayden let him go, they walked to the passenger side of Aiden’s car to check on Bronx. She was slumped over in the seat, drenched in blood. Her eyes were closed and her mouth hung open slightly.

  Kayden was the first one to lean into the car. When he stood back up, Aiden’s breath got stuck in his chest as he waited for Kayden to tell him whether she was dead or alive.

  “She’s alive. We need to call the police. She needs an ambulance.”

  Aiden’s eyes grew wide.

  “Chill right here for a minute. Let me go check on the other people.”

  Aiden grabbed his shoulders to stop him. “No. Stay here. Let the ambulance deal with that.”

  “Nigga, no, because if they’re dead, we got some shit to figure out first.” Kayden walked away, leaving Aiden standing there.

  He watched feeling hopeless and pained. How had this happened so fast? One minute he had been talking and enjoying himself, and the next he could possibly be charged with a host of felonies.

  “Ah, fuck.” The disappointment in Kayden’s voice told him everything he needed to know.

  When he looked toward where Kayden had been standing, he noticed that he was now on his way back toward him. Kayden touched his shoulder, pushing him to the ground to sit down. He then took a knee in front of him.

  “They’re dead?”

  Kayden nodded, and Aiden groaned inwardly as his head fell forward onto his knees.

  “Aye, man, I don’t know how this is going to play out, but this shit gets worse.”

  Aiden’s head shot up. What could possibly be worse than him accidentally killing someone?

  “It’s that man-looking bitch that you was running against.”

  “Ahhhhhhh, damn, man!” Aiden’s head fell forward again as his tears resurfaced.

  Not only had he killed someone, he’d killed his opponent. She was married with three children and would be the perfect person to send him to jail for the rest of his life. Aiden killing her could provide one too many negative scenarios, leaving the courts nothing but space and opportunity to paint him as the bad guy.

  “Like I said, I don’t know how this is going to play out in the courts, but this shit is bad. I don’t think you should do this.”

  “What do you mean? It’s already done, Kay. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

  Kayden’s face held the most anguish and pain that Aiden had ever seen in all of their years. His eyes were drooping and his face held a solemn look. It was almost as if he was on the verge of tears. Kayden was biting his bottom lip as he looked at the ground.

  “It’s like this . . . I’m a known criminal, I can do this jail shit with my eyes closed. You can’t.”

  Aiden already knew what his brother was suggesting, and he couldn’t allow that to happen.

  “No, Kayden. Man, no.” He briskly shook his head from side to side. “You’ve been through enough. I won’t let you do this.”

  “Twin, what choice do we have? You’re a lawyer, you can get me out of this shit. You know the law. I don’t know nothing but the cell. We have to work together to make it out just like we always do.” Kayden’s eyes watered as he looked at Aiden. “We’re all we got. It doesn’t matter how much money I spend on a lawyer, nobody is going to go as hard for you as I would, and I know the same goes for you. So let’s just do this. I got you, man. Always. I can do this shit.”

  Aiden could literally feel his heart breaking inside of his chest as he listened to his brother’s scenario. Though it made good sense and was the most logical one, it still hurt him to even think about it.

  “Is there a possibility that I could get off from this? Maybe do a few years and come home?” Kayden questioned.

  Aiden nodded. “Vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter are both charges that don’t carry much time. If I could get the judge to rule this accidental, you could possibly not do any time at all, but if not you might have to do a few years . . . maybe even a few months, and be right back home.”

  Kayden’s face and attitude picked up as he took a few breaths and nodded his head. “Yo
u know I’m built for this. That’s time I can serve without blinking.”

  The optimism in his voice gave Aiden hope, but the sick feeling in his stomach killed it two times over. Every time he thought about Kayden serving time for something that he’d done, he felt like passing out.

  “Look, Aiden, you’re going to have to get ahold of yourself if we’re going to do this.” Kayden’s voice had taken on a stronger, undefeated tone. “I can’t do this if you’re going to be out here falling apart like a li’l bitch.”

  “This just ain’t right, Kay.”

  “What ain’t right is me letting you throw your whole life away over a few drinks. I’ve been in shit for years. Even if you do confess, they’ll probably assume you’re covering for me.” He shrugged. “You’re a fucking annihilator in that courtroom. You can beast in there and have me out in no time. Stop stressing.”

  Though Aiden still wasn’t completely sold on the idea, he nodded his head anyway and stood with Kayden’s help. They looked at each other with the love they had for each other radiating between them. Neither had to say anything for the other to already know that the bond they shared was about to be taken to another level.

  “I love you,” Kayden told him. “We got this.”

  “Nah, you got this. You’re the world’s greatest this time around, twin.” Aiden grabbed his brother in a tight hug.

  They held onto each other for another few minutes before pulling away for Aiden to call the police. Together they sat and waited for the inevitable. Even with both of them knowing how hard this was about to be, neither of them could have predicted what was yet to come.

  Once the ambulance and police arrived and the ball began rolling, there was nothing they could do to stop it. Kayden, knowing his brother better than anyone, hurried to tell the police before his brother could stop him that he’d somehow lost control and had accidentally hit the other car.

  The detectives handling the case allowed Kayden to have a seat on the curb while they finished investigating, which Aiden assumed was a courtesy to him, because they’d recognized him immediately. While some investigated the scene, others stopped near the twins to ask questions. After Kayden told them that he had driven Aiden’s car home due to Aiden being a tad drunk, they seemed satisfied enough to move on, again probably on the strength of knowing who Aiden was and the position he held in the community.

  “All right, Mr. Lattimore, as of now we’re going to book your brother on one count of driving under the influence and possible vehicular homicide,” a chubby detective in a white dress shirt told him. “I’m assuming you’ll be representing him?”

  Aiden’s head felt like it weighed a thousand pounds as he nodded it up and down.

  “Okay. You can follow us to the station if you’d like.”

  “Okay,” Aiden said before asking to speak to Kayden first. The police granted Aiden’s request.

  “Make sure you put these damn girls on the same page as us,” Kayden told Aiden. “I don’t have time for them to be fucking shit up for us.” He chuckled. “And make sure Bronx is all right.”

  Aiden appreciated Kayden’s comical attempt at making him feel better, but it hadn’t worked.

  “Do me one favor, twin,” Kayden said.

  “Anything,” Aiden told him, and he meant it with every fiber of his being.

  “Take care of Jess and my daughter. Look out for them until I come home, a’ight? I don’t want her to have to do this alone.”

  Aiden grabbed the back of Kayden’s neck and pressed his forehead against his. “I got you, man. I’ll treat them like I know you would.”

  “Bet.”

  Kayden pulled away when the detective walked back to them and grabbed his arm.

  “One more thing, twin.” Kayden stood up from the ground with the assistance of the police.

  Aiden raised his eyebrows in question.

  “Make sure you get me out of this shit.” He flashed him a bright smile and allowed the police to lead them to the back of the squad car and load him in.

  Aiden tried as hard as he could not to pass out as he watched Bronx being loaded into the ambulance, his opponent being zipped up in the black bag, and his brother and best friend being driven away from the scene of a crime that he’d committed.

  A cry loud enough to wake the dead escaped Aiden’s mouth as he fell to the ground in the middle of the street. His entire world had just been flipped upside down, and there was nothing he could do about it. He cried for what felt like hours before pulling himself from the ground and going to Kayden’s truck and getting in.

  It took him a minute to gather his composure enough to put his seat belt on and crank up. Once he finally did, he looked around at the beat-up cars that had just been loaded onto the flatbed. All he could do was shake his head. He’d done all that he could to take care of Kayden since they’d been children, and now that the shoe was on the other foot, he didn’t know how to handle it.

  He wasn’t used to being without his brother. What would he do if he couldn’t get Kayden off? Would he allow him to spend unnecessary years of his life behind bars for something he didn’t do? Or would he run to the courts throwing everything he’d worked for in the trash and confessing to his transgressions?

  Aiden let out a delayed laugh at his last thought. That one probably wouldn’t work, because as Kayden had said, they’d probably assume he was covering up for him anyway. Aiden laughed a while before his laughter turned back into cries.

  It was nearing three o’clock in the morning when he finally pulled away and headed to Kayden’s house to let Jessica know what had happened. It hadn’t even been a full two hours and Aiden already felt like he was about to lose it. He couldn’t fathom the thought of letting Kayden down.

  Kayden was counting on Aiden, as he always did. And just like every other time, Aiden would do everything he could to make sure they both won. Though in their hearts they were both hoping this time would be like the rest, they had no idea just how fast their hopes would be shot to hell.

  CHAPTER 6

  “Damn, man. Look at my baby.” Kayden stared at the picture of his daughter, Jayden.

  He’d just finished reading the letter that Jessica had sent him, telling him all about her labor and how hard it had been without him. In the letter, she’d included three pictures. One of Jayden taken at the hospital, the other of her, Aiden, and Jayden at Jayden’s one-week checkup. The last one was of her by herself in a nightgown.

  That one had gotten the majority of his attention because it had been a little over two months since he’d been with her, and he was missing her like crazy. Aside from the fact that he hadn’t had any pussy since then, he missed her touch. Being in jail was never easy, but for some reason, this time felt harder than all the others. Kayden didn’t know if it was because he didn’t know what was going to happen or because he was actually innocent this time. He didn’t know what it was, but it seemed as if every day got harder than the last. Though he knew Aiden was actively working on his case to make sure when they went to court that they actually won, he was still a ball of nerves.

  Even with Aiden visiting three times a week to check on him and update him on what they had going on, Kayden still felt like he was missing out. His daughter had been born a month ago, and though he’d seen plenty of pictures of her, not being able to hold her was eating him alive.

  Being stuck in that dirty little cell every night, cuddled up with the paper-thin mattress and uncomfortably flat pillow, was torture. He was used to rolling around every night in his king-size bed on top of his pillow-top mattress with Jessica’s ass resting in his lap.

  Although the pictures that she’d been sending him of her and the baby eased his mind, nothing compared to being wrapped up in her love at any given moment. To have her thick thighs holding tightly onto him as he slept was the one thing he missed the most.

  Being with Jessica was a part of his normal routine, so now that he had to live vicariously through Aiden, he was growing rest
less.

  “That’s your family?” His cellmate was looking down at the pictures Kayden had spread across his lap.

  Kayden slid the picture of Jessica in her nightgown behind the rest of them before looking up and nodding his head. “Yeah.”

  “That’s what’s up. They’re beautiful.”

  “Appreciate that.”

  “You’re a lucky man. Make sure when you get out of here you sit down somewhere so that you can stay out and take care of them.” The older man climbed onto his top bunk and made himself comfortable. “The world ain’t made for women and children. They need their protector out there with them. You hear me?”

  “Yes, sir. I hear you. That’s the plan.” Kayden shuffled the pictures around, stopping at the one of his girls with Aiden. “I’ve got my twin brother holding them down for me until I touch back down.”

  “Twin brother?”

  “Yeah.”

  The old man grunted but didn’t say anything. “You trust another man with your family?”

  Kayden frowned as something in him was irritated by the old man’s words. “Yeah. That’s my fucking twin. After me, he’s the best person for them to have in their corner.”

  “I hear you, young blood. Just do like I said and keep your head on straight when you get out.”

  “Um huh,” Kayden mumbled as he lay back on his bed.

  Though Kayden wasn’t easily frazzled, the old man’s words weren’t sitting well with him. Never in his life had he tolerated anyone talking down about Aiden, especially insinuating something disrespectful. He didn’t play that shit, but because he was already in enough trouble and didn’t necessarily think the man was saying it in an insulting way, he would let his comment roll off. This time only.

  “Lattimore. Visitation,” the CO told him from the door.

  Kayden sat up and stuffed his pictures under his pillow before walking out of the room and following the CO to the visitation room. Since Aiden was his lawyer, they didn’t visit in the general visitation area. They were granted the lawyer-inmate room.

  “You holding up pretty good?” the CO asked Kayden.