“I ain’t think so. Why don’t you come on back to the compound?” Haze asked, and before she could respond, he walked back over to his bike.
Like a scolded puppy, Glimmer turned the car around and passed the Vicious Kings back toward her home. Gideon wasn’t with them, but something in her gut told her that when he found out about her little stunt, he wouldn’t be happy.
The frownon Gideon’s face had people side-stepping him and parting like the Red Sea. It was one of those times where he didn’t care to fix his face and look more approachable.
He had been at NellanNem’s asking Habib if he knew anything about Trick. The old man only knew that the nigga was bad news, but that was about it, which was odd for Habib. He normally knew all about the happenings in the hood. Whether or not he would talk about it depended on the person asking. Habib had to know that the people he helped would not only protect him if it came to that but also do right by the information. Habib did his best to stay neutral with street shit, but he also had a good moral compass and would use it in a heartbeat.
With no more information about Trick, he stepped out of NellanNem’s in a bad mood. Getting the call from Haze that his wife had snuck out of the compound pissed him off. It took him no time to pull up to the compound. He marched inside and spotted Haze sitting on the large sectional and watching the game.
“Where she at?”
“Your room,” Haze called out. “Aye, Mama is coming over to make dinner. She’s tired of you and Glimm hiding out from her.”
Gideon waved him off. Mama Laurent was the least of his worries at the moment. He had a bone to pick with Glimmer.
He took the stairs three at a time and took long strides toward his room. When he opened the door, he saw that she sat on the bed with her knees to her chest, staring straight ahead with a pout on her beautiful face.
His heart thawed a little as he closed the door behind him, but not enough to ease up on her so quickly. Glimmer had no idea what going out on her own without telling anyone could have caused. Gideon had no doubt that Trick had eyes everywhere, even if the nigga was like a ghost. There was a damn hit on her head. She had to understand that shit wasn’t safe for her outside the compound. Hell, every day he lived with the fear that Trick would get bold enough to hit up the compound. It wasn’t like he didn’t know where it was. Everyone did, which was another reason he wanted to move out of there and settle into a safe and secure life with Glimmer.
Her eyes found his, and he saw tears instantly gather in them. He sighed and walked over to the bed, but he didn’t sit.
“Fuck were you thinkin’?”
Her eyes grew wide as a fat tear dropped onto the comforter. He had never spoken to her like that before. It shocked him too. The anger hadn’t completely melted away yet.
“I . . . I was just going to see my mom, Gideon. I swear I wasn’t trying to cause all this chaos.”
Gideon’s frown deepened, and she scooted away from him slightly. His heart ached at that. No matter how angry he was, she didn’t need to be afraid of him. He would never harm her.
Gideon shook his head. “You understand you have a hit on yo’ head, right, baby? You can’t just wander off on ya own, especially to see ya moms.”
Her face scrunched up. Glimmer knew how he felt about her mom. She couldn’t be trusted.
“She’s my mom, G.”
He nodded. “I ain’t say you can’t see her. I just said you can’t see her alone.”
“But she asked for only me to come. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
His baby was so damn naïve. Honestly, he wished he could keep her that way as long as he could, but he also felt she needed to be hit with a harsh dose of reality so she could be more cautious moving forward.
He sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand down his face. “You don’t find that suspicious, Glimmer? She specifically asked to see you alone?”
He watched as thoughts swarmed her head. Another tear dropped, but he could tell this one was out of frustration. He feared something they would never agree on was her mama. As terribly as the woman treated her, it was like Glimmer had rose-colored lenses on when it came to the woman.
“No, I don’t,” she replied with finality.
He stood up with dread filling him because he had a feeling Glimmer’s sweet perspective was about to change regarding her mother. “Aight then, let’s go.”
Her brows hiked. “Go?”
“Yeah. You want to see her, and you think it’s safe, so let’s go.”
“You want to come with me?”
Even though he was upset, he reached a hand out and caressed her cheek. “I want to go with you everywhere.”
She relaxed at his words, which caused his heart to flutter. He loved that he had the energy to calm her.
