“Where were you when Gwen left her at the hospital?” I spat. “Or when she was going through withdrawals because of decisions you and her mother made? Doctor’s appointments, school tuition, milk, clothes, all of that! You weren’t there then, so why do you want to be here now?”
“I didn’t know about her,” he defended. “When Gwen told me about her, I got clean. She said your boyfriend came to see her?—”
“Wait, what?” I frowned. “She met Makhai?”
He nodded. “If that’s his name, yes. She said a big time rapper came to see her and told her to get it together for her daughter. I knew right away that I’d get myself together for her,” he softened up some. “I don’t want to take her from you, Diamond. I just want to be there. We can help each other?—”
“Help each other?” I repeated. “Why would I help you with anything?”
“W-well, I don’t have it together financially…”
I chuckled while shaking my head. “I see. Gwen saw who Makhai was and when she learned that he was my man, she saw dollar signs, and you did too.”
“No—”
“Yes!” I snapped. “That’s exactly what it is. I remember seeing you the day that I was looking for my sister in that alley a few months ago, now that I got a good look at you. Youhadto have seen her while she was pregnant, or at least after the fact, so save that shit and get from in front of my door.”
“Diamond—”
“You better go now before I call my nigga and it’s really a problem,” I warned. I didn’t know when and why Makhai had seen my sister, but I knew it had to have something to do with Junior. There was no other logical reason he’d have even gone around there.
“I’ll leave for now, but you can’t keep her from me. She’s mine and I have a right to her.”
“You don’t give a fuck about her,” I snapped. “You think she’s some kind of pay day, and she’s not. She’s mine!” I pointed to my chest. “You and Gwen will have to pry her from my cold, dead hands. I promise you that. Get the fuck away from my door.”
I stood planted until he finally walked away. I didn’t know if he was being genuineorif he was really her dad, but I didn’t care in that moment. I needed to figure things out with Makhai then I’d call the social worker to fill her in on what had happened and let them find out who he was. Until then my niece would remain with me where I knew she was safe and loved.
When I got inside, I stripped out of my clothes and changed into something comfortable before taking Keona out and getting her out of her clothes. She was awake, so I changed and fed her before we settled in the living room. I put her on her little jungle gym mat and let her play for a bit while I stalked the ACPD website. I kept refreshing to see if Makhai’s name would magically appear, but to no avail.
They probably thought I was blowing smoke, but they’d see soon. I looked up Miles in Crescent Falls and saw that he was a very prestigious defense attorney; him and his brother who was his partner at their firm. After seeing some of their reviews, some of the people they’d represented, as well as how many cases they’d won, I felt a lot better. I was confident that Makhai would be okay if they got to him on time.
His parents and attorney showed up two hours later, which caught me a little by surprise since his mom only said she was coming. Miles asked me if I’d recorded the arrest and I felt bad when I told him that I didn’t, but quickly remembered the Ring camera footage, so I pulled it up and allowed them to watch it. None of them really seemed worried about Makhai while I was a wreck. They were all laughing while watching the video.
“I’m sorry, but am I the only one worried?” I looked between the three of them. “This was two nights ago and they’re acting like he isn’t there. What if they killed him or something?”
“Diamond, as horrible as it sounds, my son has been tormenting the streets and the police since he was able to walk and talk,” his dad said. “There is no way he’d let them pinch him, let alone kill him. Yeah, they’re playing a dirty game by not allowing him to call us or his lawyer, but trust me when I tell you, he will walk out of there untouched.”
“Yes, if they tried anything with him, that station would be a warzone right now,” his mother added, shaking her head. “My baby is a true menace to society.”
“Aight, not too much on my boy,” his lawyer said and laughed while he stood. “I sent that video to myself, Diamond, I hope you don’t mind.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine.”
“Aight, y’all chill here. I’m going to get my nigga,” he said.
“I’m going with you.” Mr. James stood too. “I’ll call you, sweetie.” He leaned down to kiss his wife then touched my shoulder. “Stop all that worrying daughter-in-law. He’s fine.”
“Yes sir,” I replied, mustering up a smile.
When they left his mother took Keona from me and told me to go get a nap because apparently, I looked like everything I’d been going through. I did go back and shower before climbing in bed, but before going to sleep I text my boss to apologize for my absence. I felt horrible for missing time at work. I already hadto take time off for Keona’s appointments and when the social worker had to come by, but now I was missing work again due to this situation with Makhai. She would be officially retiring in a couple of months, and for the first time, I felt like I wouldn’t be getting that director’s position.
TWENTY-ONE
Loco.
So far, I’d come up with a pretty lengthy list of ten mothafuckas that would be dying very soon. I’d been sitting in the same small ass cell for two mothafuckin’ days and not once had the niggas let me get a call. All they’d done was send different mothafuckas down to ask questions they knew they wouldn’t get the answers to, bring food that was visibly contaminated, and stand outside of my door talking just loud enough about how I was done for since no one knew where I was. I counted each of the different voices I’d heard and was determined to put a face to each of them.
I was about to close my eyes when I heard a lot of commotion, then the voice of one of the realest niggas I’d ever met.
