“Five. Four boys and a girl. All grown now.”
I nodded. “Are they all a part of NTR?”
He laughed. “You’re asking a lot of questions but haven’t told me what you wanted.”
I swept my hanging bang to the side. “I need your help in getting rid of someone. He has become a thorn in my side. I need him dealt with.”
Mister glared at me curiously. “Aren’t you the one with a judge for a husband. Ask him.”
I blew out a sharp breath as I stood and strutted toward him. “Yeah, but his work is different. What I need is a big task for a big man. All I’m asking is that you help me.”
“Fiona, you’re fine and all, but I’m not the same man I used to be. Pussy is good, but the money is what makes my dick hard. So, what are you offering, and who is this someone?”
Mister had never turned me down, and that frustrated me. “His name is June Calloway. He runs this biker crew called—”
“The Zoo,” Mister said, finishing my sentence. “I heard of them. My sons told me. I heard one of those niggas got hit.”
I leaned forward to allow my breast to become eye level with him. “Yes, that’s them. I don’t care what you do. I want his ass gone. My son is a part of them and I—”
“Your son? You mean Bobbie’s son. Fiona, now I know you’re on that bullshit. Your offer sounds good, but I’m not interested. Does that boy know you're not his real mother? And when did you start caring what happens to him, because the last time we talked, you—”
I lifted and cleared my throat. I didn’t want to have the conversation about Braylen not being mine. I walked over and snatched up my purse. “I’m offering you fifty thousand. Take it or leave it,” I hissed.
I went to head out the door when Mister’s words stopped me. “I wipe my ass with that amount. Come up with something else better, or find someone else to do it. Fiona, you know you would have been better off here, but you took on a man with a child, now deal with that shit. Have a nice night.”
I didn’t bother turning around to look at him because he was right. When Bobbie and I first got together, he was in his first year of law school, and his future looked bright. I was sure mine would be, too. Having his son involved seemed worthwhile at first, but soon, raising a child who wasn’t mine became overwhelming. I started resenting not only Bobbie but also Braylen.
Mister found a way to shut me up for now, but it only fueled my fire to find a way to move June out of the way. I could feel a looming doom over me, but I was determined to find a way to beat it before it won the fucking race.
MORGAN
This was the second precinct I had visited, and no one had Kareem Forte listed in their log. I was becoming worried that it wasn’t the cops who took him. I tried calling his phone to see if he had bailed himself out, but it went straight to voicemail. Unsure of what to do, I headed home.
When I pulled up, a familiar face was standing in the driveway. I took a deep breath before getting out of the car. “Here we go,” I mumbled to myself.
“Pretty ass Morgan, the girl who stole my heart and kept it,” Papi said, putting his hand to his chest.
I hurried up the driveway trying to avoid him, but he jogged in front of me, “What’s the rush, beautiful? Don’t act like a nigga didn’t have your face in the pillow. It hasn’t been that long,” he smiled.
“Papi, please, we’ve been done and aren’t you supposed to be at school?”
“I saw you there. You fucking with that nigga or what?”
It was just like him to try to pry for his own pleasure. Papi showing up at my house didn’t seem coincidental. I knew this was my opportunity to find out what I could, but I knew how Papi moved. He wouldn’t tell me shit unless I gave him something in return. I had stopped walking to give him my full attention. “What do you want from me?”
He licked his lips and nodded. “Why a nigga got to want something?”
“Isn’t that what all you Morwoods want? Something for nothing.”
His jaws clenched as he glanced over my head and then back at me. “Morgan, watch it. You know a lot, and to be honest, when you cut me off, I should have dropped your ass, but what type of nigga would I be to fuck up that pretty ass face?” he paused, and he leaned toward my ear. “If you’re fucking with those Zoo bitches or the rapping doofus ass clown that’s following behind them, you better be careful, because none of those niggas are safe. As a matter of fact, tell them I said NTR is coming for them.”
When Papi walked off, I exhaled. I knew his threat wasn’t empty, but I needed to warn the Zoo that they were coming. I wasn’t sure of Kareem’s role with the Zoo, but I knew who to call. I pulled out my phone and dialed Alyse’s number.
BEANS
PRESS PLAY
“Are you tuned in or are you tuned out? Whatever way you decide, we’re still going to be alright. It’s Beans,” I said into the mic.
