There was a pause on his end like he was choosin’ his words. “Echo Lennox was killed outside her apartment last night.”
I kept my face neutral even though my chest felt like it got punched.
“What that gotta do with me,” I asked, and my tone stayed flat ‘cause I wasn’t about to give this nigga panic through the phone.
Kade went quiet for a second, then he exhaled. “You know what it got to do with you.”
I stared straight ahead while Toni’s breath warmed my chest. “Okay… so… I ain’t do it.”
“I hear you,” he said, but his voice sounded like he was already countin’ the ways the system wouldn’t give a fuck what Isaid. “But you’re already on trial for killing her brothers, and her death makes you the easiest suspect on the island. They’re going to say you silenced her. They’re going to say you retaliated, and you did it to intimidate the family and sway the case.”
I ain’t respond right away ‘cause everything this nigga was sayin’ made sense, and I hated that.
“What’s the move then?” I asked.
“The judge already signed off on a warrant,” Kade said. “They’re coming to pick you up.”
I let out a slow breath through my nose and kept rubbin’ Toni’s stomach like I could rub away the stress too.
“I’m not goin’ nowhere,” I said.
“Kay’Lo… Please don’t do this. If they have a warrant and you don’t comply, they’ll make it worse. They’ll paint you as a flight risk and they’ll use it against you. You need to turn yourself in.”
“I ain’t do shit,” I repeated.
“I know,” he said, and I could hear frustration in his voice. “But this isn’t about what you know. This about optics and procedure and a judge that don’t give a damn about you. They want you in cuffs, and if you don’t walk in calm, they’re gonna drag you in looking guilty.”
I clenched my jaw, then lowered my voice. “I’ll hit you back.”
“Kay’Lo,” he started.
“I said I’ll hit you back,” I repeated, then I ended the call before he could say more.
The second the phone went dark, Toni shifted in my arms like she felt the change in me even in her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open. They was swollen and heavy from cryin’ all night, and when she looked up at me, it was like she remembered everything ‘cause her face tightened.
“What?” She whispered, her voice raspy.
“This shit already circulatin’. They got me as the suspect.”
Toni sat up, and I held her steady immediately ‘cause I wasn’t playin’ about her movin’ reckless with My’Love in her belly.
“No,” she said, and her voice cracked. “No, baby.“
Her eyes filled up instantly like she was back in the driveway again, and she shook her head hard like if she shook it enough she could make reality change.
“It’s my fault,” she cried, and her hands went to her face. “It’s my fault. I fucked up. I shouldn’t have did that. I shouldn’t have went over there. I shouldn’t have took yo’ gun. I shouldn’t have did none of that.”
I grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands down. “Baby,” I said, calm but firm, “look at me.”
She tried, but tears kept spillin’.
“I’m not lettin’ this shit touch you. You hear me? I might turn myself in.”
She shook her head again, cryin’ harder. “Kay’Lo, please don’t do this. Please don’t leave me.”
My chest tightened ‘cause I ain’t wanna leave her either, but I wasn’t about to let fear make me move stupid.
“Toni,” I said, my voice lower, “I’ll die for you. You know that. So doin’ time for you ain’t shit. I’m not about to let my wife go down, and I’m not about to let my baby be without her mama.”
