I shook my head and walked out, tossin’ the diaper in the trash on my way down the hall, then made it to the front door.
I opened it, and Renza and Kelli stepped in.
Kelli looked straight at my baby and gave a small nod. “Hello Ms. My’Love.”
Renza reached out and touched her hand, lookin’ at her. “What the hell you been cryin’ for, girl?”
“Bitch, don’t cuss at my fuckin’ baby,” I said, lookin’ at him. “The fuck wrong with you?”
“I ain’t cussin’ at her,” he shot back. “You need to shut the fuck up before I start cussin’ at you.”
I rolled my eyes and turned, walkin’ off toward the other side of the house. “Come on.”
We moved into one of the other livin’ areas, the one that barely got used, and I hit the light before sittin’ down on the couch with My’Love still in my arms.
I brought the bottle to her mouth, and she latched on right away, takin’ it like she been waitin’ on it, her tiny hands movin’ against me while she started eatin’.
“What’s up?” I asked, lookin’ at Renza.
He leaned back a lil’, then looked at me. “We clapped that nigga.”
I let out a breath through my nose, a small grin pullin’ at my mouth. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he said. “That nigga that shot Unc. He done.”
I nodded, feelin’ that shit sit right. “Good.”
Kelli stood off to the side, quiet like always.
I looked back at him. “So what we got?”
He leaned forward, restin’ his elbows on his knees. “That footage you need… that shit not lost.”
My grip on the bottle shifted. “Who got it?”
“That Kush nigga daddy,” he said. “One of the investigators on yo’ case. His name Marcus Hale.”
My brows pulled together. “Hale? Yeah, I seen that nigga name in my paperwork. He was one of the investigators at my shop, and he supposed to testify next week.”
Yeah,” Renza said. “That’s him.”
I looked down at My’Love for a second, then back up at him. “So that nigga the one got the footage.”
“Yeah,” Renza replied.
That shit ain’t sit right at all. Outta all the muthafuckas that could’ve had the footage, it had to be the same nigga gettin’ ready to get on the stand next week.
That was the type of move that could bury a nigga if he ain’t know better, and I could already see how it would play out if we ain’t catch it in time.
That nigga really came to my shop, looked at everything that happened, saw how them niggas came in there playin’, and still made the choice to sit on the one thing that could clear my name. That wasn’t no mistake. That was a decision, and I ain’t give a fuck who he was related to.
My hand was still restin’ on my baby while I thought that through. “That shit dirty.”
Kelli spoke up from the side, calm as ever. “From what I pulled, he real calculated. We don’t know exactly where he got the footage, but he got it… and we just gotta get it.”
My grip tightened around the bottle while My’Love stayed close to me. “A’ight… so what we doin’?”
Renza leaned forward, lookin’ right at me, already knowin’ I was ready to kill that nigga. “You ain’t doin’ shit but stayin’ out the way and showin’ up to court. As bad as I know you wanna get that nigga, you really gotta be cool and let us figure this shit out for you, ‘Lo.”
