Buried Deep ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Two [One Step at a Time]

The next few weeks were a blur. I was the happiest I had ever been because I had gotten my life back on the right path. Everyday, I fell more in love with Adrienne. We spent countless hours together. Her aunt and uncle loved to have me around their apartment, and I had gained ten pounds from her aunt's home cooking. The Northside enjoyed Adrienne's company as well, and she would spend her evenings after school hanging with the guys.

Cayden sent runners from south to the Northside with the message that he was waiting for me to return. He expected me to be a loyal Southside brother, but Cayden lost me the day he threatened to use Adrienne in his revenge game. I warned him I would chose Adrienne over the Southside without hesitation, and the more time I spent with her, the easier that decision was becoming.

Over the past few weeks, I had met with the principle and the school board multiple times to discuss my truancy. They were threatening to fail me out of school, but I was determined to finish. With some luck and good negotiating skills, I convinced them to allow me to take online classes to complete the school year. They even provided me with a computer, and somehow; Cam set up Wifi at the Blood's apartment.

Since I had been staying with the Northside, Cam requested my presence at every handoff. I wasn't a true brother of the Northside, but I was gaining respect in the gang.

I witnessed my first drop gone wrong the other night when a group of guys from outside the city showed up, thinking they could jump Cam. They tried to take the merchandise and money, but their leader's pistol locked up. The Northside took them out with the power of their submachine guns, layering bullet after bullet into them until there was one survivor. Cam carved an 'X' into his arm before telling him to take that as warning back to his city.

During my time in the north, I also witnessed many deals that went right. The power of the Northside was undeniable, and seeing their inner-workings first hand brought about the realization of how inferior the Southside had become. The Northside owned the black market in Chicago, and their clientele was diverse. They strived to be untouchable by any other entity in the city. The Blood had people on the inside at the police department who they paid to keep quiet, which contributed to their success with smuggling merchandise from the cartels in Mexico.

Cam had his hand on the heart of the city. His gang controlled whether it sank to chaos or rose to success, and I was lucky to be on his side.

Tonight, Cam planned on initiating a new member who was sent from the cartel in Mexico. They sent him to Cam as a symbol of good status, and in return, Cam sent them a fresh shipment of colt-45 pistols.

The new guy had a thick body that towered over the rest of the guys in the Northside. His hands were scarred from years of hard labor, and his colorful tattoos jumped off his tanned, leathery skin. His dark, greasy hair was slicked back to his head which allowed a clear view of the three teardrops imprinted beneath his left eye. The cartel was known to be ruthless, and the teardrops signaled he was a killer. His brown eyes stared straight ahead as he took a seat in the middle of the room.

The Northside initiation intrigued me, but I never wanted to be in the way; therefore, I stood in the back of the dark basement. My eyes watched the exchange between Cam and the new guy as I leaned against the hard wall.

Cam pushed the sleeve on his left forearm up, revealing the array of cuts he gained during his reign in the Northside. He dragged the dark, jagged blade down his arm, reopening the wound without even a flinch.

He had spent years sharing his blood with his brothers, and it had become so easy for him. I clenched my fist and glanced down at my forearm, watching the veins beneath my skin.

I wanted to be as strong as Cam.

My eyes flashed back to the scene in front of me.

Cam's blood oozed from the cut, running down his dark skin, and dripping onto the floor. He turned his attention to the new guy in the circle with him.