“Um”—her mother waved her hand in front of her face as if she was hot—“if you say so.”
Giavanna was glad that the doctor walked into the room, so the conversation about Brazil would end. She was conflicted enough and didn’t need the opinions of others clouding her judgment.
CHAPTER 12
Lethal wasquiet as he drove Khrome from the hospital to his house. She’d been discharged at noon, but she didn’t leave right away. For hours, Khrome sat in the NICU staring at her child, thinking about her past, and planning for the future. The nurses allowed them to reach inside the incubator and hold Lyric’s hand. Something as simple as touching their child made both Lethal and Khrome excited on a whole ‘nother level. They were one step closer to being able to hold her.
Lethal was surprised that she wasn’t crying, but she was definitely somber. Before leaving, Khrome told the nurses she’d be back, bright and early the next morning. Lethal was going to take her to his house, so she could drive his spare car. Her hotel room was paid for, for another week. Lethal knew Khrome was in her feelings, but they needed to have a conversation, and he didn’t want to keep putting it off.
“You and that Keyonna chick took $50,000 from Cam?”
Khrome’s head whipped in his direction so fast, she got a cramp in her neck. “Did we take what?”
Lethal glanced over at her, and he had to give it to her. She appeared genuinely shocked by the question. Or maybe she was shocked because he’d found out. “When we got at that nigga, hesaid that you and Keyonna linked up and took $50,000 from him. He also said that you wanted to rob me and that you were grimy.”
Drawing back with a frown, Khrome poked a finger into her chest. “Ididn’t take anything from Cam. When Keyonna offered to help me that day, she gave me $3,000. She said she took six bands from him and gave me half. I asked her where he got the money from, and she said he won it gambling. I can assure you thatwedidn’t set out to rob him, and I didn’t get anywhere near close to $50,000.”
Lethal believed her. “I wouldn’t care either way. We just didn’t start out on the best foot, and I’d hope that by now you know that you don’t have to lie to me.”
“And I’m not. Since paying for my hotel room, including what I left his house with, and the money I made bartending, I have less than $6,000. I didn’t even have time to buy anything for my baby, and I damn sure haven’t bought anything for myself that wasn’t a necessity. If I had that kind of money, I would have at least gotten a car.”
Lethal didn’t verbally respond; he just gave a small nod.
“And I haven’t lied to you about anything since the first time I ran into you after that night. Had I told Cam that I didn’t want to rob you, he would have made me do it anyway. I don’t classify that as me wanting to rob you. Robbing niggas is dangerous. He made me take all the risks, and he took all the money. I didn’t gain much by robbing you. That fuck nigga was trying to save his ass,” she seethed, glad that he was dead.
“Well, that Keyonna chick for sure has it. She can spend it freely now since that nigga is dead.”
“She’s dead, too,” Khrome murmured. “I saw it on the news yesterday. A person jogging found her body on the side of the road.”
“Oh damn, he must have got to her.”
“Yeah.” The thought turned Khrome’s stomach. She couldn’t even sleep the night before because if she wasn’t worried about her baby, she was thinking about Keyonna. Cam was a terrible person. Khrome didn’t blame Keyonna for robbing him, and she didn’t even care that she was only given $3,000 of the money. She was able to get away from him, and that was all that mattered. Cam would have come after her, regardless, but it was fucked up if he thought they had split the money equally because they definitely didn’t.
“I’m not a grimy person, and I don’t play both sides of the fence. I wasn’t loyal to Cam. I just couldn’t get away from him. Or maybe I didn’t try hard enough, but the picture he tried to paint of me isn’t me.” Even if he didn’t believe it, she wanted Lethal to know that about her.
“I’ve never been in that situation, so I can’t say anything about it. I can’t imagine that life is easy with no friends, no family, no job, no money, and a record. Cam knew what he was doing, and he had you right where he wanted you. I was pissed but at the end of the day, the chain was insured, and it was replaced. It is what it is.”
Khrome nodded her understanding. When Lethal pulled up in front of a black, iron gate, she held her breath. Khrome couldn’t even see the house from where they were, but she only imagined that it was something grand. Oh yes, he was going to be the better parent for sure, especially when it came down to what he could do for Lyric financially.
Since she was finally free of Cam, Khrome had been thinking about enrolling in school. She didn’t just want Lyric to live good and be spoiled when she was with her father. She wanted to be able to give her a good life, too. Lethal punched in a code, and the gate slowly swung open. At a low speed, Lethal maneuvered his car through the gate and drove up a long, winding, paved path. The closer they got to his home, Khrome had to stop hermouth from falling open. The brick home was huge, and the neatly manicured lawn had to be sitting on at least two acres of land.
“Wow.” Khrome was impressed, and there was no need to front about it. She’d never be able to compete with this, but she’d be happy if she could simply have a two-bedroom apartment in a nice neighborhood.
Lethal pulled up beside a Benz and killed the car engine. He grabbed a key fob from the cupholder and passed it to her. “As promised, you can drive the Benz. It has a full tank of gas.”
“You gon’ do this for eighteen years?” Her orbs darted back and forth across his face. Every time he was nice to her, Khrome’s chest tightened as she remembered what she’d done to him.
“Do what?” Lethal appeared genuinely confused.
“Be nice to me even though I don’t deserve it.”
“What did we just talk about?” He peered at her as if he was waiting for an answer. “I already told you it is what it is. That’s forgotten. I just ask that moving forward, you don’t lie to me. As long as we’re straight on that, and we can co-parent without drama, I’ll do whatever I can to help you because you’re my daughter’s mother. That’s simply how I was raised.”
“Thank you.” She gave him a small smile, and he exited the car.
Khrome followed suit. Pressing the button on the key fob, she unlocked the Benz. Vick taught her how to drive, but he only let her drive when it was convenient for him. The same applied with Cam. Vick took her to get her driver’s license when she was nineteen, but she’d never had her own car. Lethal had money, so more than likely, material possessions didn’t mean that much to him. If something happened to the Benz, he could replace it like he did the necklace. Still, Khrome was shocked that he trustedher with such an expensive vehicle. For all he knew, Cam was right. Maybe she was grimy as hell.
Lethal trusted her way more than he should have, and all she could think about was making sure he didn’t regret it. Khrome had so much to do that she didn’t know where to start, but she had to get herself together. She didn’t have an example of what a good mother was, but she knew what a good mother wasn’t. Settling in the car, Khrome smiled when she thought about how much of a spoiled princess Lyric was going to be. Her life was going to be so much better than Khrome’s ever was, and that was all that mattered. As long as Lyric had a good life, she could be happy.
