Page 138 of 4 Corinthians

We stared at each other before he finally nodded. “Alright, back to you and Corinthians. Y'all have a history, a fucked up one. Why pretend you didn’t know who she was?”

“Because we agreed to be strangers,” I told him. I gave him the CliffsNotes version of what I’d been doing over the years, and he sat there. The more I told him, the angrier he got. I even told him about the stuff going on at the kids' school.

“What do you plan to do next?” he asked, shaking his head. “Because I know you have a plan.”

“Eight is going to work there,” I told him, and Nine’s eyes narrowed. “You might be mad at him, but Eight would never hurt a kid. And as long as he’s around, neither Logan nor Robert will be able to touch him.”

“I’m not with using my son as a pawn in a fucked-up game with neither of them niggas, and if his mama finds out?” Nine laughed even though nothing was funny. “I like my life. Cross don’t play about our kids.”

“And I don’t play about Judah, you know that. But I wouldn’t say they are safe if I didn’t think they weren’t. If we move them to a different school, we are going in blind. Robert’s network is vast. Eight being at the school keeps an eye on him.”

“I’m trusting you on this, Four, not Trey or Eight, you. If something happens to my son, I’m coming to you.”

“I understand,” I said, nodding. “I need you not to tell Cross, though.”

“Not tell Cross what?” his head tilted to the side. “That our son could be in danger or that you have a history with her cousin?”

“Both.”

“Why?”

“Because Robert killed the DeCorte parents,” I told him.

Nine fell back into his seat and lifted his head to the ceiling. “What kind of fucked up shit is this?” he asked, but not talking to me. He lowered his head and looked at me. “What the fuck do you mean Robert killed their parents? I thought everyone but Cross’ parent died in a car crash.”

“Robert’s doing,” I told him. “He wanted Cori, got nervous that she was going to tell her grandparents, so he had Ruben sign over his rights, then killed them.”

“But they were raised by their grandparents.”

“Had to be some pull on the DeCorte’s end. I remember Robert being pissed for months. He kept saying that there was an error on his paperwork. I never found out what it was, nor did I care. I just knew she was safe.”

“She was in straight hell,” he said, shaking his head. “Cross told me that Corinthians went through a stage where she didn’t talk, was being bullied, and all kinds of shit. She was the reason that Granddaddy got them into the family business. He saw Corinthians drowning and needing an out. He thought he was teaching her to survive.”

“She already knew how. Robert got his hands on her well before that.”

“Now her hating that shit makes sense,” Nine said.

I shook my head. “She doesn’t hate it,” I told him.

“Yes, she does. I’ve seen her a few times at the warehouse. She only does it when she has to.”

“She doesn’t hate it,” I told him again. “Trust me. She doesn’t, which is why she doesn’t do it often.” I stood. “I wasn’t the only monster Robert created.”

***

“I’m starting to think my child would rather spend the night everywhere but at home,” Cori said, coming into the living room. I checked the salmon, then stepped away from the stove. After I picked her up from Madea’s, Judah, who had decided along with Deuce, was staying at Psalms' house for the night. She was going to take them swimming in the morning, then bring them home.

“You sad?” I chuckled as she sat at the island.

She pulled her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. “No, just not ready for him to be that independent,” she answered with a shrug. “I knew it would happen eventually, but I didn’t think it would happen when he was this young.”

“He’s hanging out with his best friend who also happens to be his cousin at your sister's house,” I reminded her. Cori had the nerve to look sad, and like the sap I was when it came to her. I felt bad. Her love for Judah was unmatched; she was a dope ass mama, and that was a beautiful thing to witness. I rounded the island, stood behind her chair, then wrapped my arms around her. “If you want, we can go get him.”

“No,” she laughed softly. “I’m just in my feelings for a second. Mama guilt and all.”

“What are you guilty of? Loving your kid?” I kissed the top of her head and then went back to check the food. I wasn’t going all out or being fancy, just making simple blackened salmon Caesar salad. Everything was ready except for the salmon.

“I wish it were that simple,” she laughed. “I had a rough patch after Judah was born. I couldn’t do anything.”