“What’s wrong?” she questioned as she breathed heavily while one of her breasts was exposed, hanging out of her bra. Seven remained silent as he stared at Mouse, clenching his jaws tightly in anger. Hazel followed Seven’s eyes and turned around to see what had him so tight.
“Aggh,” Hazel screamed as she jumped back, noticing a gun pointed directly at her by Mouse.
“Shut that bitch up,” Mouse demanded as he shot a look at his goon. The goon immediately used his free hand to grab Hazel by the throat, shutting her up instantly. The goon then pointed the gun to Hazel’s head and bit his bottom lip in anticipation of her gut being splattered everywhere.
“Wait!” Seven said as he threw both of his hands up. “Let her go. She ain’t got nothing to do with this.”
“I’m the one with the gun. So . . . I guess that makes me in charge, right?” Mouse asked sarcastically as he stood up and pressed his shotgun’s barrel to the chest of Seven. “Take her in the back and tie her up,” Mouse directed his goon while never taking his eyes off of Seven.
“You sure you want to do this, Mouse?” Seven said as veins began to form in his temples because he was clenching his jaws so tightly. Mouse had heard enough and struck Seven in the face with the butt of his gun, causing his eye to instantly swell up and bleed. Seven dropped to the floor and Hazel quickly knelt to her knee and tried to pick him up.
“Stop! Please stop!” she begged desperately as she tried to help Seven up. Mouse swiftly grabbed Hazel by the hair and snatched her up. He then tossed her to his goon and threw his head in the direction of the back, signaling him to take her in the back and tie her up.
Mouse picked up Seven’s gun and slid it in his back pocket, continuing to hold Seven at gunpoint at point blank range.
“Come up off those bricks, my nigga. You can play if you want to. If I don’t see cash or them bricks in a couple seconds, I’ma have my nigga bust that pussy open and then kill yo’ bitch back there. Then I’ma kill you after you watch. So what’s it going to be? It’s on you,” Mouse said with the look of the devil in his eyes. He was ready to act on all of his threats if Seven didn’t play ball.
“I don’t have anything here accept for a few thousand. The money and bricks are at another spot,” Seven said, willing to give up his money in trade for Hazel’s safety. If Hazel wasn’t involved he would have spit in Mouse’s face, not giving him the satisfaction of robbing him; he would have died for his no doubt. But more was at stake . . . . Hazel.
“Don’t play with me, nigga!” Mouse yelled, not wanting to hear that the goods were elsewhere. He struck him in the eye with the butt of his shotgun, causing blood to leak from it.
“Fuck!” Seven yelled as he grabbed his eye that felt like it was hanging out of the socket. Seven came to the realization that Mouse wasn’t going to let Hazel or him live after the robbery so he was about to go all out. Seven quickly grabbed the barrel of the shotgun, trying to wrestle it away from Mouse. The gun went off, sending buck shots into Seven’s front door, making it resemble Swiss cheese. Seven overpowered Mouse and got on top of him, but Mouse still had a firm grip of the gun, not letting it go. Blood was in Seven’s eyes so he could barely see straight. Mouse’s goon came from the back of the apartment to see what had happened. When he saw Mouse and Seven tussling on the ground, he immediately tried to aim his gun for Seven’s head, but couldn’t get a good shot on him.
Hazel was in the back tied up and had to listen helplessly to the terrifying sounds of what was happening in the front room. Her hands and feet were duct taped and a sock was stuffed in her mouth as tears streamed down her face and she whimpered, hoping that she was just in a bad nightmare.
Back in the living room, Seven and Mouse still wrestled for position and the goon waved his gun around frantically, not knowing if he should shoot. Seven gained possession of the shotgun and quickly shot a round at the goon, at the same time the goon was shooting Seven catching him in the arm. However, Seven’s shot caught the goon square in the chest, blowing him back about three feet and slamming him into the wall.
Seven dropped the shotgun because of the wound to his arm, giving Mouse a chance to grab the pistol in his back pocket and shoot Seven. The bullet caught Seven on the side of his head, dropping him instantly. Mouse quickly stood up and saw that Seven was dead. He looked over at his goon and saw him struggling for air as blood leaked out of his body. Mouse quickly stepped over Seven’s body and picked up his goon. “Come on, my nigga. Let’s get out of here. You gon’ be okay,” Mouse said to him as he helped him up and out of the door. Mouse stopped just before he exited and looked back, remembering Hazel was left alive in the back. He was just about to go back there and blow her brains out, but Mrs. Dixon stepped out of the door and Mouse quickly helped his man out of the apartment before she got a good look at him.
Mouse’s goon died on the way to the hospital, needless to say. So in the botched robbery Mouse came out with nothing but a dead friend. Also without any bricks of heroin or money. It was all for nothing and Mouse found out quick that karma was real.
Chapter Nineteen
“Hazel,” Seven whispered as he slowly crawled into his bedroom with blood leaking from his head and eye. “Hazel,” he repeated, so low that she couldn’t even hear him. Hazel finally spotted Seven crawling at a snail’s pace toward her. The blood that he was covered in horrified her as she watched as he gave his last ounce of energy to get to her. She kicked and squirmed, trying to encourage him to keep coming and that’s exactly what he did, giving it his all. Seven finally reached her and unwrapped her, giving her the use of her arms. Just as Hazel got free, Seven collapsed, going unconscious.
“Seven!”
The double doors flung open and Seven lay on a stretcher as the paramedics rushed him into emergency. Hazel ran along with Seven, trying to keep up, and holding his hands tightly, praying that he didn’t die.
“Miss, I’m sorry but you can’t go in here with him. You will have to wait in the waiting area,” a male nurse said as he stopped Hazel as she tried to follow Seven into the operating room. Hazel quickly kissed Seven on his forehead while he had an oxygen mask covering half of his face.
“I’m going to be right here waiting for you when you get out,” Hazel said as she lifted up and held his hand tightly, hoping that it wouldn’t be the last time she saw him alive.
Hazel went to the waiting room and waited patiently for the doctors to come and tell her Seven’s status. Please God, let Seven be okay. He is a good man and deserves his place on this Earth. Please, God, she thought as she buried her face in her hands.
Rah came rushing into the hospital, furious. “Where’s my man?” he yelled with a look of total rage in his eyes. “Where’s Seven?” Rah yelled as he slammed both of his hands on the receptionist’s desk and clenched his jaws tightly.
“Sir, you have to calm down,” the nurse said as she was noticeably scared of the angry man who looked her dead in the eyes.
“Fuck that! Where is Sev . . . I mean, where is Fredrick Callaway?” Rah said, stating Seven’s government name.
“Sir, he is in operation. You will have to wait out there with the others,” she said as she scooted away from her desk near the phone, just in case she would have to call security. Rah slammed his fist on the desk and turned around, seeing Hazel sitting there, crying.
“Hazel!” he said as he rushed to her and knelt down to be eye level with her. “What happened?” he asked.
“They were waiting in the house for us when we came and started asking about a stash . . .” Hazel said before Rah put his hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t say too much.
“Let’s go out here and talk,” he whispered and he stood up and headed to the hallway out of earshot of the people waiting in the waiting room.
“ Now, tell me what happened again,” Rah said as he looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to him.
“That nigga Mouse was waiting in Seven’s crib, waiting to rob him. They pulled me int
o the back and tied me up,” Hazel began to cry hysterically but Rah grabbed her by the shoulders and stood her up, making her look him in the face.
“Finish!” he said angrily as his eyes were bloodshot red with anger, sensing something fishy with Hazel.
“That’s all! Mouse and his boy was there waiting and then they shot Seven while I was tied up in the back,” she said, telling him the best way she could.
“Fuck that! How that nigga know where Seven spot was? You set him up? Huh?” Rah asked as he wrapped his hand around Hazel’s neck tightly. Rah quickly let her go, knowing that he let his anger get the best of him.
“No, no. I would never do that. You know that, Rah,” Hazel said, feeling heartbroken that Rah would suspect her in doing something so treacherous to their inner circle. Rah had also become like family to Hazel and it hurt her knowing that he doubted her loyalty. Rah instantly calmed down and felt bad for putting his hands on her. He hugged her tightly and hoped for the best for his best friend, Seven. They returned to the waiting room waiting to hear from the doctors.
Four Days Later
Seven lay in the hospital bed just waking up from a short coma. Rah had made sure that after his surgery to remove the bullet from his skull, he was taken to a top floor under an assumed name.
“You’re up,” a voice said from the corner of the room. It was Rah, who was sitting and waiting for his friend to come to.
“Rah-Rah,” Seven called as he held his hand out. Rah got up and walked over to Seven, grabbing his hand firmly. “Where is Hazel?” he said slowly, feeling the dryness in his mouth from the lack of liquids.
“She is at Toya’s house. She’s cool. She didn’t get hurt,” Rah assured him. Seven nodded his head, feeling relieved that she wasn’t harmed. He tried to move but he was unaware that he had no motor skills on the left side of his body because the bullet hit nerves that blocked his brain’s communication with that part of his body.
“The doctor said you wouldn’t be able to use you left side for a while. You have to learn how to use it again,” Rah said, not holding anything back. Seven closed his eyes and a wave of disappointment overcame him, but he quickly shook it off and began to think about revenge.
“That nigga Mouse tried to kill me,” Seven whispered.
“I know. That nigga is dead, you hear me? I got you. I was just waiting for you to wake up and confirm what went down. People in the streets saying that you dead. That nigga Mouse think shit is sweet,” Rah said, getting more heated with every word.
“Word?” Seven whispered.
“Yep, he didn’t waste any time. He got niggas thinking he took you out, but he got another think coming.”
“No doubt.”
“So how do you think he found the spot? It’s low key and you never let anyone know where it’s at,” Rah said, not wanting to just come out and say exactly what he was thinking, which was that Hazel had something to do with it.
“I don’t know. But I tell you one thing; I’m going to find out,” Seven said. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes again. “I’m sleepy. Make sure Hazel is here when I wake up. I have to ask her about a couple of things,” Seven said, as he didn’t want to believe the obvious.
“I got you. Rest up, fam,” Rah said as he bent over and kissed Seven on top of the head and exited the room.
Millie sat in her apartment pacing back and forth while she smoked a Newport cigarette. Pains shot through her stomach as she kept eying the pack of dope that sat on her coffee table. She had been having pains for the past five days and had not touched it since, but her hunger for it grew more and more each day.
“No, Millie! Do it for Hazelnut!” Millie said aloud, talking to herself and trying to coach her way out of temptation’s grasp. Millie had used Hazel’s achievement as inspiration for her own road to recovery. But it was harder than it seemed. She was aching for a fix and at her wit’s end. She had caused Seven’s robbery and it was eating at her. She thought Seven was dead and guilt was eating her inside out. For so many years Millie had been using heroin and she was currently on her longest drug-free stretch in years. She was going on five days without shooting up. Millie had a good heart, but at times drugs darkened a person’s soul and made them something that they never thought they could be. Millie thought about how she was responsible for getting Hazel on drugs and once Hazel finally found someone to help her get her life together, she got him killed. Millie rarely cried because of how the game had hardened her, but on that day she dropped tears. She quickly wiped them away, stormed toward the table, and grabbed the dope. She then rushed to the bathroom and flushed it down the toilet. Just over a hundred dollars worth was down the pipes and she felt good after doing it. She decided to head to Insight just as she promised Hazel that she would do.
Hazel stood over Seven while he was out and looked down at him, glad that he was alive. Rah sat in the corner of room waiting for Seven to come to. Hazel sensed something was wrong because Rah was very cold toward her when she arrived with Toya.
“Seven,” Hazel said lightly as she rested her hand on top of Seven’s. The sight of the bandages wrapped around Seven’s head and a bloody spot where he had been shot sent chills up Hazel’s back. Seven began to come to and he opened one eye, looking at Hazel.
“Hazel, how you doing, beautiful?” he asked as he if he weren’t the one lying in a hospital bed.
“I’m okay. I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“I’m good. One bullet can’t stop me,” he said, giving her a small smirk.
Hazel smiled back, not saying anything. Seven tried to prop himself up with his right arm. He wanted to be sitting upright when he asked Hazel a couple of important questions. “I want to ask you something and I want you to be truthful with me, okay?”
“You know I wouldn’t lie to you. What is it?” she asked.
“Did anyone approach you about setting me up? Anyone?”
“No, of course not, Seven. You know I would never do anything like that. After all that you have done for me, I would be crazy.
“Okay, okay,” Seven said, feeling reassured. But he wanted to ask her another thing to make sure that she had nothing to do with him getting almost killed in his own home. “Have you ever brought anyone to my house and let anyone know where I lived?”
“No, of course . . . Hold up. One night, I let Millie come over and clean up. But it was just for a couple of hours while you were on a run.”
“Damn, Hazel,” Seven said as he closed his eyes and sunk the back of his head deep into his pillow. “I told you specifically, never bring anyone to the spot. I told you,” he stated with heavy disappointment in his voice.
“But I—”
“But what?” he yelled as the sound of his heart monitor began to beep faster. “But what?” he asked in a calmer tone. “That’s how he caught me slipping. That’s exactly how! You betrayed me. You betrayed me,” Seven said as he looked away, not even wanting to look at Hazel anymore. “Rah!” he yelled as his jaws were tight and clenched. Rah stood up and walked over to the opposite side of the bed that Hazel stood on.
“What’s up, Seven,” he answered.
“Give her ten stacks and drop her ass off on a corner. I never want to see her again,” he said cold-heartedly.
“Okay,” Rah said.
“Wait, Seven. Don’t. Please,” Hazel said, feeling like a ton of bricks had just fallen on her.
“Get out,” Seven whispered.
“Seven, plea—” Hazel began to say before getting cut off.
“Now!” Seven yelled.
“Seven, I love you. You don’t have to worry about seeing me again. And I don’t need your money,” she said just before storming out and slamming the room’s door.
“Damn,” Seven whispered as he shook his head from side to side, feeling hurt because of what he had just done. He knew that Hazel needed him, but her disloyalty almost cost him his life and he was a hustler who always stuck to the rules. She had to get cut out of his
life because maybe the next time he would not be so lucky.
“Want me to go after her?” Rah asked, not knowing what Seven really wanted to do and noticing the regretful look on his face.
“Nah, let her go. I’m done with her. But her girl, Millie. That’s how homeboy found out about my spot. I would put a million dollars on it. She was the link. The dopefiend almost got me killed. Handle that for me. Make it painful,” Seven said, putting in the order for Millie’s death.
“I got you. What about Mouse?” Rah asked, feeling his trigger finger begin to itch.
“You say the streets think I’m dead, right? Let’s let that work for us. Let Mouse think it’s all good and then I’ma give him something. Something hot, feel me? I will handle that though. Just take care of Millie,” Seven said putting everything together in his mind.
Chapter Twenty
Rah’s eyes scanned the sidewalks and alleys as he slowly rolled through the projects looking for Millie. He had something to handle with her on behalf of Seven. “Where you at, bitch?” Rah whispered to himself as he slowly turned a corner. Rah saw Li’l Rico standing on the block posted against a light pole, obviously hustling. Rah went to plan B and pulled over his all-black-on-black Hummer. He rolled down the window and stuck his head out of the window. Li’l Rico grew a nervous look on his face as he stood straight up and looked at Rah. He swallowed what seemed like an apple down his throat as Rah mugged him briefly without saying a word. Word on the street was Seven was dead, and Rico didn’t know how Rah was going to play it.
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