The moment I stepped into my condo, something felt off. I held my gun by my side as I unlocked the door. At first glance, everything appeared to be exactly how I left it, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was up. As I took a couple more steps, a foul-smelling odor damn near took my breath away. I recognized the scent right away since I had been around my fair share of dead bodies.
I sent a 911 message to the clean-up crew and Tech to let them know we had a situation on our hands. My gun was aimed towards my bedroom as I tried to prepare myself for what was waiting for me on the other side of the door. My head whipped from left to right as I observed my surroundings. There were no signs of a break-in, which only confused me more.
Lifting my foot, I kicked my room door open as I covered my face with my t-shirt. The moment I stepped inside, my eyes widened in surprise. Daisy’s naked body lay sprawled out with her throat slit and a knife plunged into her chest. My eyes shot up to the wall above my headboard, where I read the word ‘Distraction’ written in blood.
“Fuck!” Anger coursed through me as I knocked over everything that was in reach. I warned Daisy about running her mouth to Belleza, but she must have taken my words as a joke.
I pulled my phone out and pressed her contact. The only thing on my mind was finding out why she did it.
“Well, well, it’s about time you picked up the phone to call me. You must have finally received the gift I left for you,” she chortled. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to keep my anger under control.
“Belleza, what the hell is this about? Why would you kill this girl in my place?” I spoke through gritted teeth. The smell was too pungent, so I stepped outside to get some air until the crew came.
“I thought I made myself clear when I told you I didn’t want you to have any distractions, Mi Amante. Imagine my surprise when I find out you have been gallivanting around the city with that zorra negra and her bastard. I was only gone for a short while, and that was all it took for you to forget who the fuck I am,” she spat. When Peace told me about a mysterious woman who showed up at the office,I called Belleza and told herto stand down. Since she had been in Colombia, I thought I was in the clear, but apparently, I underestimated her.
“You’ve got it all wrong. I’m not dating that woman. She’s someone I dealt with in the past, and I recently found out we have a child together. There is nothing going on between us besides us co-parenting. I don’t know what Daisy told you, but she didn’t have all of the facts. I’m only around her for the sake of my daughter.” I had no other choice but to come clean about Promise because it was the only way to protect her.
“Interesting. Does your child’s mother know what you do for a living?”
“She knows I own a few businesses, but she doesn’t know anything about my street dealings.” This was one of the main reasons I kept the two entities separate:I never wanted my family to be put in jeopardy because of my life choices.
“Let me explain something to you, Dreaux. I have never been the type of woman who likes to share. Sex is one thing, but I don’t like the idea of another woman having more of your attention than I do. Not only would it be bad for business, butit wouldn’t make me happy.I’ve been told I can be a bit of a bitch when I’m unhappy, and I’m sure you would never want to do anything to hurt my feelings. Isn’t that right, Mi Amante?”
“No, Belleza. Look, you don’t have anything to worry about. All I’m tryna do is take care of my child and make this money. I don’t have time for a bitch, and you know that.”
“I’d like to think I know you fairly well, so I trust you are being honest with me. I don’t take kindly to liars; in fact, I’ve killed men for less. If I were you, I would make it abundantly clear to Ms. Graham that the two of you have nothing between you besides that adorable little girl of yours. What was her name? Ahh, yes, I believe it’s Promise, right?”
On the outside, I appeared calm, but on the inside, I was boiling with rage. Belleza crossed a line when she mentioned my daughter, because I knew it was her way of threatening me. I wasn’t the type of nigga who took too kindly to threats or ultimatums. Unfortunately, I couldn’t react like I normally would because there were too many unknown variables. Belleza could have her men trailing Peace, meaning my daughter and her were in danger.
“Belleza, we haven’t had any issues with our business relationship in the past, and I would like to keep it that way. As far as my personal life, I’ve already made myself clear where I stand. I don’t appreciate the passive aggression when it concerns my child, and I’m sure you can understand that. The same way you would go to war behind yours, I would kill every man standing behind my little girl. There are certain aspects of my life that are off-limits, and I expect you to respect my boundaries. If not, I don’t believe we can continue this arrangement, and I would hate to lose you as my supplier.” Belleza may have had the upper hand, but I was far from a bitch, and she wasn’t about to handle me.
“Oh, nonsense. Don’t be so sensitive, quapo. I would never threaten an innocent child. I don’t believe in having innocent blood on my hands. I’m just really passionate about our arrangement, and I want to make sure things won’t bechanging anytime soon,” she cooed into the phone. It took everything in me not to cuss her out and tell her to suck my dick. Instead, I tried to focus on the bigger picture. My family’s safety was the most important thing to me, so if I needed to play nice until I came up with a plan, then that was what I would do.
“I respect your feelings, and I would never do anything to mess up our arrangement.”
Deep down, I was already plotting how I was gonna take her ass out. I allowed a lot of shit to slide over the years, but her threatening the people I loved sealed the deal for me. Belleza needed to go, but to ensure my plan went through seamlessly, I had to be careful with my next moves. She needed to believe I was adhering to herdemands.
I sent a message to Peace to let her know we needed to talk. Of course, she left me on read, but I wasn’t tripping because she was giving me a taste of my own medicine. Ever since my talk with Belleza, I made it a point to put distance between us. I needed her to believe I was moving funny, so it would soften the blow when I broke the news to her.
Based on her change in demeanor, my plan was working. I wasn’t the type to play with people’s feelings, but this situation wasn’t normal. To protect the woman I loved, I had to let her go. As much as it killed me to do it, there were no other options at the moment. She and Promise were my life, and if something happened to them because I was careless, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
She still hadn’t responded, but that was okay. I knew exactly where to find her, and it was time for me to put my plan in motion. I hoped I would be able to make it up to her one day, but even if I couldn’t, I would make sure she was always safe.
"Daddy!” Promise squealed as she raced into my arms. My knees damn near buckled when I heard her call my name because I hadn’t expected it. When I glanced up, I noticed Peace standing in the kitchen cooking.
“She’s been wanting to call you that for a while, and I told her it was okay.” She answered my unspoken question as I carried my baby girl to the couch.
“What’s up, pretty? I missed you.” I kissed the top of my little girl’s head as she rambled about her day and the things she ate. I tried to keep up as much as I could, but it didn’t matter to her. She was content with me being there and listening to her. Eventually, we went to her room and played with her toys until it was time for dinner.
After she ate, I let Peace give her a bath, and then I took over for bedtime. Promise loved books, so I made sure she had her own little library. She couldn’t read yet, but she recognized certain words and pictures in her books. It seemed surreal to be reading a bedtime story to the little one I created, but it gave me a sense of pride I had never experienced before. The only thing I wanted to do was to protect her in a way I had never been protected.
Promise passed out after the first story, so I tucked her in and kissed her forehead. I whispered a prayer for her before turning on her night light. I wasn’t sure if God answered the prayers of a thug, but I would take my chances if it meant protecting my daughter.
I watched her sleep for a few months, committing her perfect face to memory. My friends used to talk about how deep the love for your child was, but I never understood what they meant untilPromise came into my life. She made me want to be a better person because I didn’t want to taint her with my darkness.
Since Peace was taking a shower, I decided to wait for her in her room. I wrestled with what I wanted to say because I cared about her and her feelings. It was new for me because I never cared about a woman’s feelings before. Things were different with her because genuine feelings were involved, and because she was the mother of my child. Her emotions would directly affect Promise, so I needed to handle her with care.
“Why are you in my room?” Peace scoffed the moment she stepped into the room, but I didn’t take offense. She had every right to be upset with me.
