“You’re taking her power,” Krude said, and I lifted my brow. “She’s already lost enough, shit has been decided off emotions, and not one time has anything ever been discussed. You have a plan, she had a plan, but nothing was ever executed properly.” He ran a hand over his locs, then shook his head. “Yale trusts you because she loves you. You sending her off is going to break that trust right along with her heart.”
I looked over at Nine, and he had the same confused look that I did. If Krude’s advice made sense, then shit was more fucked up than I initially thought.
“When exactly did you start making sense?” Nine asked him.
“I always have, you niggas just never listen,” he answered with a shrug as he dug into his pocket. He pulled out a Ziploc bag containing a white towel and handed it to me. “Now becareful with this shit. I damn near took myself out when I put it in the bag. I was sneezing and went to blow my nose. If Megan hadn’t been there to stop me, my ass would still be laid out on the floor.”
“What is this?” I held the bag up to the moonlight and looked at it.
“Chloroform,” he answered proudly. “I had to ration it out.” He mugged the fuck out of Nine, who only looked amused.
“You’ve been the one supplying him with this shit?” I asked Nine.
“Nah, my mama,” Nine answered with a shake of his head. I chuckled lowly as I put the bag in my pocket. For years, we’d been wondering who the fuck supplied Krude with this shit, and now I knew. Mrs. Nadine was no better than any of the other elders with the way she encouraged this nigga’s irrational behavior. “She swore she didn’t know what he was doing with it, though.”
“My homegirl is no snitch,” Krude said, nodding. Nine started to say something, but Krude cut him off. “Anyway, you sure about this?”
“No, but I’m going to see it through, though,” I answered as I pushed off the car. “She’s going to be mad, probably hate me, but she’ll be safe.” I opened the car door, grabbed my phone from the armrest, and checked the cameras. She’d turned off the light and was more than likely already asleep. It didn’t take long for Yale to fall asleep once her head hit the pillow.
I shut my car door and made my way up the driveway and onto the porch. After I let myself in, I looked around. The living room was still empty. I made my way up the stairs and into the bedroom. Just like I thought, Yale was asleep, the soft sound of her breathing was the only thing that could be heard. I approached her, then pulled the small bag from my pocketand opened it. Without thinking, I softly kissed her lips; she responded instantly, pulling me to her by my collar.
I pushed my tongue into her mouth, loving the taste of mint that was still there and hoping that she would understand everything I was trying to say without words. I pulled back, resting my forehead against her and blowing out a deep breath.
“I’m so fucking mad at you right now,” she said softly, and I nodded. “I swear it’s a part of me that hates you.”
“I know.” I lifted my head and quickly put the towel over her face. Her eyes got big, and I saw panic, then anger. “I’m sorry.” Was the last thing I said before her eyes rolled into the back of her head. I waited a few minutes before removing the towel from her face, then threw it on the bed and picked her up. Toddles came out from her hiding spot, sniffed me once, then followed me down the stairs.
With a bit of maneuvering, I got out of the house, closed the door with my foot, and walked down the driveway. Nine and Krude were leaning against Nine’s car, watching me. Nine stood to his full height and opened the passenger door of my car for me.
“She’s going to forgive you,” Nine said once I had Yale buckled in and closed the door. “It won't be in the beginning, but it’ll happen eventually.”
“Or she’ll try and kill you,” Krude called out. I looked over the roof of my car to see him standing there with a smile on his face. “I’m betting she tries to kill you. Or at least beat your ass. She’s not as nice or as forgiving as this nigga is giving her credit for.” He pointed to Nine and shook his head.
“Thanks for the encouraging words,” I said to Krude.
“You’re welcome,” he laughed. “Don’t ever say I didn’t do anything nice for you either since I let you borrow my shit.” Hestepped back from the car. “And please understand that you’ll be replacing it since you’re a doctor.”
I dapped up Nine then rounded the car and got in. I had a ten-minute drive to my next destination and needed to get there. With one hand on the wheel and the other resting on Yale’s thigh, I made my way down the driveway.
Chapter thirty
Yale
“Eventually, you’re going to have to talk to us,” Berkley said as she watched me watch them. Eight days, that’s how long it’d been since I woke up on the plane headed back to New Mexico with women I was told I was related to and a man with whom I’d been working with for years. A man that I learned was my damn father. “You have questions, we probably don’t have the answers, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t valid questions.”
“More than likely, we don’t have the answers,” Clarke agreed as she leaned back in her seat. Her dark eyes were focused on the small piece of wood in her hand that she was craving. At first, I thought she was doing it to annoy me, but a few hours in, I realized she just liked to keep busy and was probably trying to control something, so carving pieces of wood into different things was her way of doing that. That small piece of wood was being carved into a house.
“The only one who probably has answers is Spelman, and that’s because she’s been with him the longest.” Berkley pointed at Spelman, who was sitting in the chair furthest from me. Her focus was on her computer, but I could tell from the way her mouth twitched that she was listening. “What, you thought I didn’t know?”
Spelman’s head lifted, and she looked at each of us before closing her laptop and shaking her head. “I wasn’t hiding it,” Spelman answered. “You never asked, so I didn’t think it mattered.”
“How long have you been with Tulane?” Berkeley questioned. I rested my back against the headboard of the bed and crossed my ankles. Spelman being with Tulane the longest made me pause. Had he raised her? Been a part of her life the entire time? What made her so different from us to have that type of relationship?
“A few weeks,” Spelman answered. “I got into some shit and needed his help.”
“Did you know who he was?” Clarke questioned, and Spelman nodded. “So you knew he was your daddy?”
“No,” Spelman denied, then laughed softly. “He introduced himself as Mr. Joseph. He was introduced to me through one of the athletes I represent.” She stretched her legs in front of her and tapped her hands against her thighs.
