“Don’t.” I cut him off, hard. “You should what, Leon? Been a man and raised her? Because Unc, this the first I hear you got a child. Especially one in the same city who grew up with a crackhead mother.”
“It’s complicated,” he said.
“Uncomplicate it, nigga. You need to tell me everything now. This ain’t small.”
Leon’s laugh was hollow. “You need to be focused on staying alive, not on my life.”
“My life is the one in the crosshairs,” I said. “This changes things, Leon. This changes everything.”
He breathed out. “I went to see her because she…. because it mattered. I didn’t want you finding out from someone else.”
“Yeah, I bet.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling the fatigue of a hundred fights. “Look. Stormi lived. That’s one loose thread. Seth’s empire is still standing. And now my family’s tangled up in it. I need clarity.”
“You’ll get it,” Leon promised. “But you gotta be smart, Dre. Don’t make moves you can’t walk back.”
“And you?” I asked. “You gonna stand by or run if this blows up?”
He hesitated long enough that I could hear the question reflect in his silence. “I’m here. For her. For you when it counts.”
I let the words settle. Leon had ruined my thought process that I had forgotten that Imani was down there giving her best performance. I tossed the phone down on the bed and relaxed my mind while she finished pulling my nut out of me and swallowing it all down her throat before getting up and going to the bathroom.
“Yo I’m hearing Stormi’s alive,” I shouted toward the bathroom as Imani walked in, hips swinging like she ain’t got a care in the world.
She poked her head out, toothbrush in her mouth. “Damn,” she mumbled, foaming at the lips. “That lil’ bitch don’t die, huh?”
I stood up, heart pounding, blood hot with confusion. Threw my boxers on, pacing. “I need you to confirm that. Like now. If she’s alive… everything shifts.”
Imani came out with her face glistening, dragging the towel over her mouth slow. She moved toward me, eyes locked like she was hunting. “Oh, Daddy,” she purred, pushing me back down onto the edge of the bed, straddling me like she ain’t hear a word I said. “You really tryna dip out on me already? I ain’t even got my fix yet.”
“I’m not playin’ right now,” I growled, gripping her hips but not with desire. My mind was still at Jo’s house, still seeing Stormi’s face gasping for air, still hearing him say, “she’s your cousin.”
“I need you to find out if Stormi’s really still breathing.”
Imani rolled her eyes and slid off me, stepping back with attitude. “Man, fuck that hoe,” she snapped, venom in her voice. “You shoulda let me handle her from the jump. Got all bold thinkin’ she could play stepmom to my son, take over my family like I ain’t been here holding it down.”
I stared at her. The jealousy dripping from her tone made my skin itch. “Don’t be bitter, Imani. That shit make you look real weak.”
She scoffed. “And envy don’t look good on you, Mister. You out here obsessed with Seth because he killed your slimy ass daddy. Fantasizing over Stormi. You ain’t never looked at me like that. But I know how to fix it.”
She leaned in close, lips brushing my ear.
“I know how to bury Stormi for real this time. I know how to put Seth on his knees and hand you the kingdom.”
That’s when I snapped.
I grabbed her by the throat, hard enough to remind her this wasn’t love, and slammed her down onto the mattress. Her eyes went wide, but she didn’t flinch. That’s the thing about Imani; she liked the chaos. Breathed it. Used it.
“Watch your fuckin’ mouth,” I growled low, holding her there, heat between us turning violent. “You don’t get to talk like that unless you ready to back it all the way up.”
She smirked beneath my hand, like pain turned her on. “Then let me work. Let me get you what you need, Dre. You just be ready to share that money.”
I ripped her thong clean off, and she laughed like she was in on the joke. I shoved myself inside her, rough, fast like I was punishing both of us. She wasn’t even as wet as I wanted, and I didn’t care. The only way I stayed hard was picturing Stormi. Stormi’s thick ass bouncing when she walked, Stormi’s smile that didn’t make no damn sense with the life she lived.
Stormi with Seth’s baby swelling her body in all the right ways. Her breasts fuller, her glow brighter. I hated them both for having the fairytale while I was stuck here, living the nightmare.
Imani clawed at me, breathless, whispering, “You’re thinking about her again, ain’t you?”
I tightened my grip on her throat, just enough to shut her up, not enough to end her. “Shut the fuck up, Imani.”
