Serena gasped, and his father moved like he was about to try and hit him, but my gun in his face stopped him in his tracks. “No need for that. Let him get his shit off.” The look in his father’s eyes said that he’d kill me if given the chance, but I was hoping to see them go first. Cursing under his breath, he turned back to Cruz.
“That’s what this is? A vent session? You mad ’cause we tried to help you get rid of a mistake? Big fucking deal, nigga! My papi? My papi tried to kill you when you were born! He didn’t give a fuck about none of that sentimental shit you’re talking about! Compared to what we did or at least were trying to do, it’s like an abortion.”
Cruz’s face turned bright red, and he pointed toward the door. “Get! Out!” The nigga was so mad his chest was heaving, and I thought he was going to bust a stitch. His mama hurried to get out that muthafucka, but his pops took his sweet ass time, and before he was able to duck out the door, Cruz made his fingers point at him like a gun and smirked. The old nigga’s lipsdamn near disappeared into his face as he strode off. I waited until the door closed behind them to tuck my gun in my back and walked over to Cruz, scratching my neck uncomfortably.
“You cool?” I didn’t know what else to say. He looked up at me blank-faced, and I shrugged. “What, nigga?”
“Naw, ain’t cool, I’m bouta have to kill my fuckin’ mama, nigga! I don’t give too much a fuck about Juan, but I fucked with my OG. She the whole reason I even paid attention to Keyani, ’cause I thought she reminded me of her, but my girl ain’t nothing like that ruthless bitch.”
“Yeah, when I heard her talkin’, I kinda felt like she had more in common with Raya, but it be like that sometimes.”
“I ain’t even gone argue with you on that ’cause you gots to be some type of crazy to fuck with a bitch that put your son in the hospital.” My eyes bucked as he said the same shit I’d been thinking during her whole phone conversation.
“That’s what the fuck I was sayin’!”
“I’m sorry about Avery and the house, man. I’m gone make sure I handle Raya for all the shit she been out here doing.” I nodded, accepting his apology.
“Just make sure you tag me in!”
Chapter 25
Cruz
Ipulled a page out of Maasai’s book and dipped out the country while I recovered. Wasn’t no way I was staying in Chicago while I was fucked up and Raya was on the loose. I wanted to be at one hundred percent when I caught up to that bitch, and I was going to make her ass suffer too. It had been over a month, and I was already feeling good, even though I was still sore as shit. That didn’t stop me from digging Keyani’s ass out every time she let me though. She came straight up to the hospital when she got the message I was up, ready to run her mouth and tell me everything that had happened while I was out. I couldn’t blame her though. My folks were dead ass wrong for doing her like that, and it only made it worse that they had enlisted the same bitch who had damn near killed me to do it. I was ready to eliminate everybody who brought us harm though, so as soon as the hospital cleared me, I was on a flight with my girl and my kids with me.
“Baby, wake yo’ ass up. We gotta go.” I slapped Keyani’s plump ass and watched the ripple it made. The shit had me ready to reconsider leaving just so I could lay between her legs again, but it was time to get our lives back. She let out a kitten-like moan, and my dick stirred as she stretched her half-naked body.
“Hmmm! I’m not ready to get up yet!” she whined and snuggled deeper into the bed.
“Well, me and the kids bouta leave yo’ ass here. How ’bout that?”
With her eyes still closed, she grinned lazily. “Shiiit, don’t threaten me with a good time! Make sure you make them go to bed by eight and have them ready for the bus by seven,” she rattled off instructions and waved me away.
“You got us fucked up! Don’t make me call them in here. You know they love jumping on beds and shit.” That had her popping right up with a groan as she held her hands out to me. “Come on, baby.” I pulled her to her feet and kissed her dry mouth ass before sending her into the bathroom, smiling as I watched her. It had taken some time to get her to stop feeling guilty about what happened, and even now, I still felt like she was holding on to that shit when it was Raya’s fault. Yeah, she’d asked for some food, but that crazy bitch was already tailing us, and if Reno and Drew had been behind us, they would’ve probably been dead just like Roc. A nigga really had to thank God that she was able to walk away with barely a scratch, and I’d survived that shit too. It had me reconsidering my life, and my folks had only solidified what I was already thinking. I was out this shit, but first, I needed to drop a couple muthafuckas off.
“Cruuuuuz!” Kari came running in the room, grinning wide and unashamed of her missing teeth. When she said my name now, the shit had a whistle to it, and I cracked the fuck up every time.
“What’s up, Kari?”
“Wanna hear a joke?”
I rubbed the back of my neck and forced myself to nod. She’d been telling me knock-knock jokes from off the popsicle sticksshe had here, and them muthafuckas were bad, but since baby girl expected me to laugh every time, I always tried to do that for her. “Yeah, go ahead.”
“Okay, okay. Knock, knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“A little old lady,” she said, already snickering.
“A little old lady who?” I tried not to sound so dry, but they were bogus as hell for the jokes they had my baby going around telling, but I was gone laugh like this wasComic View.
“Hey, I didn’t know you could yodel!” Shorty literally grabbed her stomach from laughing so hard, and I let out the most exaggerated one I could muster, considering that my body was still sore as a bitch.
“Dang, that was a good one. I’m gone have to see if I can remember any jokes that I can tell you.” I reached out and tickled her belly.
“They won’t be as good as mine!” she howled, talking shit even though she was about to pee on her damn self.
“Oh, you think, huh?”
