“What’s good, Moose?” Dane chucked his chin at him. “Thanks for looking out for her.”
“Your mama is one of a kind, kid. I told your auntie I would bring her home, and we were gonna chill for a minute until shegot sleepy. Been a long night, and sometimes after traumatic events, it’s hard to go right to bed.”
“Come on, Ma. You want me to make you some coffee?” Dane offered, leading her toward the front door where Danilo had stepped out.
“I’m heading out, son. Glad you’re good, Nari. I’ll hit you up a little later.” Danilo moved past them to the stairs, but Inari spun on her heel to face him.
“Danilo, wait.”
He paused on the second step, and her attention swayed to Moose. “Can you go inside with Dane for a minute? I need to talk to him real quick, and I’ll be right in.”
Moose side eyed Danilo but nodded at Inari’s request. To say he was jealous would have been an understatement. He also didn’t like her baby daddy’s energy, but he relaxed so she could handle her business. Once the two of them were inside, she faced Danilo.
“What’s up? Something wrong?”
“You could say that. The detective leading this investigation at my job, it’s Tulla,” she revealed.
“Get the fuck out of here!” Danilo hissed. “The fuck she doing back here?”
“She’s not just some nosy detective. She’s the Chief now.”
“Mothafucka,” he grumbled, shaking his head and swiping his beard.
“I don’t know what you plan on doing around here, if you’re stepping back into things with Mira… but I thought you should know.”
He studied her for a minute. To him, she would always be that thick, foul mouthed teenage girl on the block with her little friends talking shit and twerking to some ratchet shit. He knew it was more to her than that. Inari was strong-willed and resilient. She could adapt to any situation and usually somehow spin thatshit to her advantage. Any time life threw her a curveball, she knocked that shit out the park. It amazed him to think about all the shit she had overcome. Her loyalty and devotion to someone she loved was unmatched. Even with him. She could have easily said fuck him over the years, but she rode with him the best way she could, given her own situation.
“You straight?” Danilo checked with her, causing her eyes to snap to his from the wooden porch.
She pinched the tip of her nose and nodded before taking a breath.
“Been a long night.”
“I’m talking about Tulla. I know what seeing her means for you.”
“It was a long time ago, Danilo.” Inari’s hard stare was his cue not to press too much on the issue. “The last thing I need is this bitch coming around here, stirring shit up for me and not for Ayla either. My sister is in a good place right now.”
“Anything for the family,” he recited, finishing his descent down the stairs.
“Thank you… for checking on Dane.” She called after him.
“Be careful, Nari. I see who you keeping company with, and I know it ain’t my place?—”
“You’re right, it’s not,” she agreed, watching him stop at a black old school Monte Carlo.
She remembered that car and was surprised he still had it. Danilo didn’t have to be extra flashy; he was already handsome and charismatic. Problem was, he liked that flamboyant shit and couldn’t help himself. He grew up without shit. His parents never gave a damn, and he wasn’t tight with any of his siblings. Inari was underage when they met, but he fucked with her because she kept it real with him and was smarter than a lot of grown ass women he knew.
“Aight.” He threw his arms up in surrender before disappearing inside his whip.
She waited until he pulled off to go inside and join Dane and Moose. After closing and locking the front door behind her, Inari pressed her back against it and took in her home. It was nice to be encompassed in these walls again. Last night had rocked her. She’d left that street shit alone a long time ago, but there was a time when a motherfucker pulling a gun on her was a regular occurrence. She’d fought too hard and hustled too fucking hard to get away from that and to keep her son away from it. Somehow, she kind of always wondered if the past would indeed spin the block. In a dark, secluded space somewhere inside her, she lowkey was waiting for it.
Dane and Moose’s voices carried from the kitchen, and when she arrived in the doorway, she found her son seated at the kitchen table and Moose at the counter with eggs, bacon, onions and peppers scattered on a cutting board.
“Everything good?” Moose glanced her way.
“Yeah. I’m going to run upstairs and take a shower.” She took note of how comfortable he was in her home, right along with Dane at the table like this was some everyday occurrence.
Inari never had a relationship after Danilo. Sure, she dated around and got her rocks off, but she’d never introduced Dane to anyone she was entertaining. None of them were serious enough in her eyes. Moose was just… Moose. It was obvious her son looked up to him.
