“Maybe death isn’t the right answer, brother. Maybe there’s other ways of takin’ them down.” I turn to face him, unsure what he’s getting at here. I don’t think there’s any other way of hurting them aside from killing them.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Christian has money. He’s a fuckin’ accountant for fuck’s sake. We get Mystic to work his magic.”
“How so?”
“What would cripple Christian? Losin’ his clients? Stealin’ from his clients? Hell, he could end up in prison for that shit.” Ban smirks at me, and I see where he’s going with this. Christian wouldn’t make it in the pen. He would no doubt be someone’s bitch.
“I like where you’re goin’ with this. But what about Beth?”
“What about her? She’s all about her looks. We take that away, and what does she have?”
“I don’t know, Ban. I just can’t wrap my head around all this. Why the hell would Christian even do this?” I ask him. I just don’t get it. This doesn’t seem like something Christian would do.
“What if it’s not even him, Tide? Beth was all too quick to throw him under the bus, yeah? What if it isn’t Christian?” It makes sense. Why would Beth offer that information to me? It makes no sense.
“You’re right, brother. This doesn’t make sense.”
“Not even a little. Why would she want to see her own son dead?” He’s right. I’ve been too hotheaded to see it, but he’s right. This wasn’t Christian.
“Fuck, Ban. I don’t have any issue with killin’ Beth,” I remind him.
“I know you don’t. But we need proof. Where would she get that kind of money?” That’s the question, isn’t it? Beth didn’t have much when we were together, and the fact that I ended up in prison more times than I can count, I didn’t have shit to offer her. So where would she get that kind of money?
“Let’s see what Mystic can get for us.” Ban slaps a hand on my shoulder and smiles.
“Now you’re thinkin’.”
“I’m not thinkin’ right, brother. She’s pregnant too. And she doesn’t know if it’s mine. Fuck, Ban.”
“You wanna raise it? You want it to be yours? Then that’s what you do. Christian doesn’t need to know shit at this point.”
“You’re right. But there’s always gonna be that naggin’ feelin’ in the back of my mind with not knowin’, yeah? There’s ways to find out, aren't there?”
“Yeah. There is. I’m sure Mylah would agree to it, too.” I nod my head before fist-bumping him and walking back inside. I need to talk to Mylah. I need to straighten this all out.
I walk down the hall and straight into the bedroom where she lies on the bed. Her eyes are closed, but I can tell by her breathing that she isn’t asleep.
“We need to talk.”
“There’s not much to say.”
“There is. You gonna get a test done on that baby?”
“I can if that’s what you want.”
“I need to know that it’s mine, Mylah. Either way it’s mine, but I just need to know.” She lifts her head to look at me, and I see the sorrow in her eyes.
“Even if it’s not yours, you still want it?”
“I want you and everything to do with you. That baby is a part of you.” Tears spring to her eyes before she wipes them away.
“When is the doctor coming?”
“He had an emergency, but he’ll be here tomorrow.” She nods her head before I walk over and sit on the edge of the bed.
“Everything is gonna be fine. We got this, baby.”
