“Well? You want to explain this?”
Legend was quiet for a bit, then began drinking from his new, ice-cold bottle.
“Explain what?” he finally asked.
“Don’t fuck around with me. What the article says, motherfucker, is that the head guy is dead. Cymone Louis. The head honcho. You know when I called you that day, after I ran into a couple of his friends…” He narrowed his eyes on the man. “All of a sudden, the drive-bys past my house have stopped. The strange calls. People askin’ about me that I don’t know. It’s all done. I’ve been dealing with bullshit from that for a minute now. I’ve had to become calculated and colder than ever, they forced my hand, but I just figured I’d be fightin’ for a while, watching my back until the big chief came to try and take me out himself.”
Legend cocked his head to the side and smoke purled from his mouth.
“That’s why you asked English to marry you, didn’t you? You didn’t know how much time you had left?”
“I asked her to marry me because I love her, man. I want her to be my wife. I want a family. I want the shit I never saw growin’ up. The American dream.”
Legend rolled his eyes.
“We’re all on borrowed time,” Axel continued. “I go to work and remember that. I have no choice but for it to be stained on my brain, as though written in blood. The message is loud and clear. I see death every day.” He pointed to his eye. “It speaks to me when the family members race in, get in the way, and cry to me, beside themselves with grief. They just start talking, and won’t stop.” He pointed to his mouth. “I hear death every time I open my eyes, and especially when I close them…” He pointed to his ears. “I hear the evil. The agony. The hurt.
“I need some normalcy, Legend. Ain’t nothin’ normal about having to take a slew of motherfuckers out. But it was either them or me. I chose life. Mine. Normalcy is peace.” He placed his hand over his heart. “English is my peace, man. She’s the first note and last lyric of my favorite song. She’s my sunrise when it’s raining on the inside of me. Nah, man… I didn’t want to marry her because I’m afraid time will run out. I asked her to marry me because time without her is just not worth livin’, and I need every day, from this moment forward, to count.”
“That’s some beautiful, poetic bullshit, Thor,” Legend’s eyes grew dark and jaded as he cocked a half smile. “I like it though. You should write corny ass greeting cards on the side, or some shit.”
He wasn’t certain if Legend had ever been in love since their high school days. Or if he even knew how to love someone anymore. If that was true, he hoped he’d learn again. Love was the only thing that made life worth living, and he wanted him to have a piece of what he had—someone to center him, make him feel alright when the world got too dark.
“This article,” Axel held up his phone and waved it, “the man running the show, who wanted me gone, is gone himself now. I imagine there’s chaos in his circle. Things must be volatile. I don’t know these people, but you did, at least through conversation and association. You used to be a big player in the dope game.” Legend looked off into the distance, as if he didn’t hear him talking. “I know all about it. Your reputation proceeds you, bro.”
All he got was a smirk from his friend.
“You haven’t been out of town, man. You’ve been right here with me. These bastards are in Texas. You’ve got some serious influence, even after all of this time, to be able to pull this off. I want to know how you did it? I know you’re behind it, Legend. I can see it in your eyes.”
Legend casually drank from his beer once again, then gave a big applause and whistle as another song ended. Removed the ball cap from his head, he placed it gingerly on the bar counter, exposing jet black waves.
“As honest as you are, Axel, and I admire that about you, even you have secrets. Things only you know. You don’t need to know how I got them off your back, man.” He took another puff of his cigar. “None of that matters. Just be grateful.” He turned away.
“It matters to me.” Axel yanked his shoulder, forcing him to face him again. “I want to thank you for helping me not be in a position where I have to keep—”
“I don’t want praise. I don’t even care about acknowledgement. I don’t want any money, no more charity… all I want, Axel, is your friendship. Your time, man. You’re my brother. At the end of the day, if the roles were reversed, you would have done the same thing for me. I had to do something. You know how that story would end. You would have had to keep takin’ them out, and things would have gotten worse and worse for you. They didn’t know you or understand who they were dealin’ with at first. They mistook you for a pussy. A lame. A square. Nobody thought a guy like you, who looks so pristine on paper, would be out here murkin’ mothafuckas. You surprised the hell out of them. It pissed them off. They wasn’t ready… But even mothafuckas like us end up meeting our match eventually, man. Prison or death. Bars or caskets. You know that. I know that.”