Carl Weber's Kingpins Read Online Free Page A

out.”
    â€œMe too,” Theo said, grabbing a few more pieces of chicken and putting them into his pockets. He flipped his hoodie over his head and exited right behind Nate. I was getting ready to make a move too, until I saw Nate’s daughter, Brianna, and her cousin standing by the doorway. Brianna had tears rolling down her face. Her cousin was trying to wipe them with a tissue. Seeing that shit took me back to where I didn’t want to be. I looked at Alexis, as she pealed herself off the floor and eased in a chair. The bruise on her face was starting to darken—she wouldn’t be able to hide it. No question, she was very beautiful, but as far as brains were concerned, she was lacking. To me, she had put up with Nate’s shit for too long. But he was my boy, so I kept quiet about the shit. Especially when Brianna tried to comfort her mother, and she yelled for her to go to her room.
    â€œNow, Brianna, and close the door! Take Jo with you!”
    With a sad look on her face, Brianna did what she was told. I followed behind her and Jo, just to make sure they were okay.
    â€œWho won the boxing match y’all were playing earlier?” I attempted to divert their attention elsewhere and make them forget about what they had witnessed or heard. They both claimed to be winners.
    â€œYou didn’t win, Brianna. Stop lying,” Jo said, then plopped on the bed and pouted.
    â€œYes, I did. I beat the pants off you, and you know it.”
    I teased Jo. “Man, you let a seven-year-old girl beat you? You’d better step up your game and get down to some for-real business with her.”
    Jo snatched the remote and turned on the TV. We all started to play the game, but this time Jo was winning. Brianna didn’t like that, so she got mad and indulged herself even more in the game. She’d forgotten all about the argument between her parents, and by the time I left the room, they were laughing again.
    I closed the door, then made my way to Nate and Alexis’s bedroom. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, long, model-like legs crossed while scrolling through Facebook. Her tight jeans were unzipped, and with a half shirt on, nipples erect, I could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra. I leaned against the doorway and eased my hands into my pocket.
    â€œCan I get you anything before I go? I already know where Nate and Theo at, so I’ma go holla at him again about this. Maybe I’ll be able to talk some sense into him, so don’t worry about him coming back here, starting trouble.”
    Alexis lay the phone on the bed, then shifted her head in my direction. Her voice cracked as she spoke tearfully to me. “The only thing you can tell him is to come pack his things. I’m tired of this shit, Bones. Y’all just don’t know how bad things really are. Tired of him putting his hands on me for no fucking reason at all.”
    She got up to blow her nose and looked at her bruised face in the mirror. While shaking her head, she moved her long hair behind her ears. “This is ridiculous. Last time, it was my lip. The time before that, it was my nose. And look at this right here. Trust me when I say you have no idea what kind of animal your friend is.”
    She came over to the doorway and lifted her shirt. Showed me two big-ass bruises near her breasts that looked like severe bite marks. She then moved her jeans away from her hip and showed me a bruise next to a heart tattoo with Nate’s name scripted across it.
    â€œHe kicked me out of the bed last week and did this. Said I was snoring too loud, and he couldn’t sleep. It’s petty shit like that, that keeps setting him off. I honestly can’t take this shit no more. Eventually, I’ma start fighting his ass back.”
    I released a deep sigh. I knew things were bad between them, and I feared that Nate would hurt her or she would hurt him. “Like I said . . . I’ll talk to him, all