Free Hard Candy Saga by Amaleka McCall Page B

explaining his suspicion that Razor’s disappearance was related.
    Junior eyed Broady with menace in his gaze, giving him the unspoken signal to sit his ass back down.
    Broady stood his ground, his face curled into a scowl and his fists clenched. There was nothing Junior could say to comfort him.
    * * *
    Razor had been Broady’s friend since he was five years old. All of the times Junior had beaten Broady up as a child and their mother let Junior get away with it, Razor was the one who comforted Broady and let him hide out at his house.
    Now that Broady was older, wiser, and bigger than Junior, he was growing sick of his brother’s domineering ways. Broady had at least seven inches and one hundred pounds on his older brother. He’d always resented the favoritism his mother showed Junior, but at the same time, he felt like he owed Junior his life and freedom. Junior was the one who had paid off all the dudes in Shamrock’s spot so they wouldn’t testify as witnesses against Broady in June Bug’s murder, sparing Broady a serious prison bid.
    But Junior was also the one who had turned Broady on to the streets after his basketball dreams went up in smoke. “You need to learn how to earn your own keep,” Junior had told him one day soon after the incident at Shamrock’s. Junior had already decided that Broady’s future in basketball was over, so he turned Broady on to the only other way he knew how to make money.
    Broady was growing a bit wary of living in his brother’s shadow, but he also understood that Junior had taken over an empire. He realized, too, if he played his cards right, he could be the next in line to take over the family business.
    As Broady became immersed in learning the business, he began to see his brother as a hypocrite and a fake. Junior had completely stolen Easy’s street style and identity. Easy didn’t like his workers to be flashy and loud, but Junior was very flashy and loud. Easy had chastised Junior several times, but it had all finally come to a head when Easy gave Junior a direct order that he blatantly disobeyed. Easy was furious, and he quickly shut Junior down, taking away all of his spots and sending him back on the corner to do hand-to-hand sales. Junior was furious beyond words and soon after began plotting his revenge.
    Now Junior was walking like Easy, talking like Easy, and adopting Easy’s same low-profile style. But Broady knew who his brother really was, and he was nothing like Easy. In Broady’s assessment, Junior wasn’t nearly smart enough to run the empire that Easy had grown. Broady knew he was just as good a candidate as his brother. If nothing else, his sheer size and determination would garner him the respect and admiration needed to take over operations in Brooklyn.
    * * *
    â€œI’m telling you right now this shit ain’t over. I know it was those cats, and I’m ready to bust my gat at those niggas. War or no war.”
    Junior finally walked over to his brother and looked up into his face. Broady could see the fire in his eyes reflected in his brother’s.
    â€œBruh, you don’t want war with me. Sit down and we gon’ talk about this.” Junior gritted, roughly placing his hand on Broady’s huge shoulder and forcing him back down into the sofa.
    Broady relented for the time being.
    â€œI don’t want nobody to make a move until I have a chance to call a meeting with Phil. I need to find out what the deal is. Right now having all y’all niggas sitting in here tryin’a figure out if and how a nigga came up missing is costing me cake. Everybody get the fuck back to work, except you, Tuck.”
    All of Junior’s workers stood up and began filing out of the room. Broady sat slouched in his chair, mean-mugging his brother. Junior was sitting at the end of his couch with his feet up, like a grand pasha. Their eyes locked on each other, and the room seemed to crackle