Page 28 of Forced Matrimony With An Unhinged Menace 4

“That nigga is dead,” I said, keeping my voice low but hard. “Today. I don’t have time to keep playing cat and mouse with this nigga no more. All this running around chasing a dead man walking, that’s old news at this point. Everything he’s done has earned him a body bag, and he getting that today. That’s final. Soon as we drop this baby off safe, we back on that.”

Zaire nodded, understanding completely, no more needing to be said between us on it.

Namier was in the back seat now, leaned in talking to Nariyah about music, about school, whatever cartoons she liked. She was showing him some games on her iPad, and I ain’t never once heard that nigga talk in the tone he was using with her, all proper, matching her energy cause she was clearly sharp as hell for her age.

My wife really did have a whole little version of herself running around in the world, and no matter what happened between me and Tatti after today, I decided right then, watching my little brother be gentle with this child, that I was gonna protect her with my life regardless and she would forever be apart of my family.

We pulled up to Nyla’s house, and soon as we did, Tattiana came rushing out that front door before I even had the car in park all the way.

She yanked that back door open where Nariyah was sitting and grabbed her face with both hands, turning her head side to side, checking her over like a doctor running an exam.

“What’s wrong, Tatti?” Nariyah asked, confused by all that panic.

“Are you okay?” Tatti’s voice was shaking bad. “Were you hurt anywhere, at all baby girl? Tell me the truth.”

“No, I’m good,” Nariyah said, completely unbothered. “I’m a little hungry though, and I been waiting to get dropped off with you all day. Since last night really. I’m so happy to see you. We gotta go get them squishy dumplings for my TikTok today, remember you promised.”

Tatti pulled her into a hug so tight I could see it from where I was standing, holding on like she was trying to make up for every hour that girl had been gone in one squeeze. She got her out that car, walked her inside the house, then came back out a minute later.

I was leaned against the side of the truck, waiting.

“Kaseem, thank you,” she said, standing in front of me now. “You did exactly what you said you was gonna do and I owe you so much for this. I don’t know what that man is capable of, even if she’s his biological child. Can we talk? I really wanna apologize, explain what I was thinking and feeling that made me lie to you the way I did.”

“Nah,” I said. “I don’t have the time today. We’ll talk soon. I can’t handle that conversation right now, Tatti. I got other shit I need to do, and I need a clear head to do it.”

“Keep pushing me away like this,” she said, folding her arms, “and I’m out here trying to be accountable. You gone wish you wouldn’t have. I love you. You’re my husband. But I have never once chased a nigga nor played with one in my life, and if that’s how you finna act, I’m capable of keeping the same energy. I can’t keep kissing your ass apologizing over and over. You want a bitch to get down on the ground and kiss your feet, and that ain’t never gone happen, and you know that.”

“Nah,” I said, my voice sharper than I meant it to come out. “I don’t want you to kiss my feet! I wanted the muthafucka I kept it real with this whole time to do the same thing back for me. That’s all I wanted. You need to get yo ass out my face and go on in the house before you piss me off, now.”

“Bye, Kaseem,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And we won’t be sitting in this house all day either. We need things. So let your driver and your security know that.”

“You ain’t gotta sit in the house,” I said. “But you won’t be out my people’s sight either, not today. So do whatever you need to do within that.”

“Give me your card,” she said, planting both hands on her hips, standing there looking spoiled as ever despite everything that just happened.

I rubbed my hand down my face and shook my head. This woman was gonna stress me straight into a stroke one day. I pulled my black card out and passed it over, and she snatched it quick out my hand before I could change my mind. She looked me dead in my eyes for a second, something soft passing across her face, then she walked up and kissed my cheek before turning and heading back inside. This muthafucka was crazy as hell. And for some reason, I loved that shit.

I got in the truck and let out a long breath.

“Namier, I can’t believe yo ass ain’t run up in there to be all up on yo bitch today,” Zaire said, twisting around to look at him.

“That’s my lady, hoe ass nigga,” Namier said. “Watch your mouth talking about her. And nah, I know myself. If I go in there right now, I ain’t gone wanna leave out for nothing. Once this business gets handled today, I’ll be back to give her all my time and attention, uninterrupted.”

“Man, shut yo tender ass up,” Zaire said, shaking his head. “Y’all niggas ain’t did nothing but stress me the fuck out with all this soft shit since I got home. Real talk, I’m ready to ask them to lock me back up at this point. All this muthafuckin soft talking, hugging, kissing, and shit, I don’t even recognize either one of you niggas no more.”

All three of us broke out laughing, the first real laugh any of us had shared in what felt like days. Zaire didn’t play that shit that we was on right now, and he was beyond agitated. I couldn’t wait until this nigga found a woman to make him fall hard. I was ready to constantly throw this shit in his face.

I woke up exhausted, my whole body heavy in a way sleep wasn’t going to be able to fix. Last night, I’d barely gotten any real rest at all. Somewhere around midnight, my father-in-law had called needing a favor, and by the time I hung up with him, sleep wasn’t even an option no more.

He’d immediately had my laptop personally delivered straight to Nyla’s front door. Security knocked soft in the middle of the night to bring it, a note attached saying Kadeem needed me to find somebody for him. His name and date of birth was all there. No explanation past that. Just a name and an urgency I could feel even through a handwritten note. These men meant business and I already knew that.

Once I got that laptop booted up and actually started digging, I realized real quick this man had gone off the grid hard. Years worth of nothing to work with. No social media under his real name, no address history that lined up past a certain point, like the man had made it his whole life’s mission to disappear clean and stay that way.

This wasn’t gonna be some quick Google search type of situation, and I already knew it the second I opened that first tab.

After four straight hours of digging, cross-referencing old property records, running facial matches off blurry photos I found buried in some old business directory, chasing down dead end after dead end that led nowhere useful, I finally found him.

He’d relocated all the way out to North Carolina years back, started a whole new life for himself under an alias nobody in this family would’ve ever thought to check. Him and his wife had two kids together, both away at college now, both doing well from what I could tell scrolling through what little was public. Recently he’d moved back here to Dallas, cause his wife’s mother had fallen ill. She’d passed away just less than a year ago, matter of fact, according to an obituary I found buried three pages deep in a search.