“Baby, can we talk?”
Nodding, Sophie looked at me then Story.
“Go ahead. I need to speak to Trooper for a minute anyway.”
He walked over to Sophie and I moved from next to her on the bed so he could get near. Story kissed her on the forehead and she extended her arms to hug him.
“You’re okay, right? You and the baby?”
“Yes, we’re fine. I don’t know how, and I don’t really care, but I’m glad you’re here.”
Watching Sophie interact with Story was like watching a child and it made me smile. Her happiness was everything to me.
“Good. Let me holla at Troop real quick and we can catch up. Talk to her, okay?” Story glanced at Alana and Sophie’s eyes followed his before he stepped away and kissed Alana on the cheek. “We’ll be out here.”
Story and I left Sophie’s room just as Alana sat on the bed next to her daughter. I didn’t really have any issues with Alana. The choices she made were kind of fucked up, but who was I to judge?
If Story could see past it, it wasn’t my business. He appeared to have made peace with it. Sophie loved her mother. The lies had caused a rift, but she had to get over that and get them backto a good place. Considering she was about to become a mother herself, she needed her mother.
Once we were down the hall from Sophie’s room, Story turned and hugged me.
“So how the hell this happen?” I asked, getting right to it.
“I still don’t know yet, but I’m sure I’ll find out soon. Alana pulled some strings, which I’m sure are connected to a hefty price.”
“So far as you know, they just let you out?”
“I got a call for a visitor, expecting it to be you and Sophie. It was a lawyer I had never met before. He told me Alana had sent him and I would be released in a few hours. I didn’t trust or believe that shit, so I walked away and ended the visit. Sure enough, a few hours later, I was walking through the gates a free man.”
“And she didn’t tell you how?”
“She won’t say, but I’ll find out. I can’t have her carrying that.”
I didn’t mean to, but my thoughts showed in my expression, which he noticed.
“You don’t have to understand it, Trooper. Just respect it. I love her the way you love Sophie. Would you want that for her? No matter what decisions or choices she made, would you really want her in debt for something your name was attached to?”
I thought about it and he was right. If I were in his position, it really wouldn’t matter what Sophie had done. Even if I wasn’t with her, I would never want her to be in a situation where she owed a debt because of me.
“So what happened?”
“Prescott.”
That was all I needed to say. No other explanation was necessary.
Story’s temple pulsed and his jaw tightened. I saw the darkness in his eyes as he spoke.
“I’ll handle him.”
“Wewill, but not right now. Your ass ain’t been out five minutes, and we got the feds watching us.”
“Feds?”
“Hell yeah, fucking feds are trying to build a case on Chavez, and they picked us up, trying to get us to flip on him,” I explained.
“Chavez, fuck. What that got to do with you, Troop? Los, I understand, but you’re not dealing anymore.”
“I was with Los when he went to see Chavez and they have pictures. Nothing they can use because it’s just us entering his spot and leaving. Dumb fucks thought that was gonna scare us into snitching.”
