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“ S o, nobody in this muthafucka knows who this is?” I threw the pictures at them. “I tell y’all what. I got a quarter mill for whoever bring me back the info. Until then, there will be no movement.”

I ain’t have time for this shit. This drug game was over for me, but since Perc was locked up, I took the shit back over and shut it down.

When you start taking food out of nigga’s mouth then they start to move quicker and start talking.

No one was happy about my decision but I didn’t care.

My wife could’ve lost her life yesterday.

Nobody was going to eat until them two muthafuckas that broke in on her were dead.

I shut the warehouse down and chained it up before heading to the hood to make a few collections.

I didn’t want any of our product on the streets.

After a while the junkies would start talking when they couldn’t get their fix.

My first stop was right down the street from my mother in laws house.

It was the same street my pops hung on and I was hoping we didn’t run into each other.

I had beef with that nigga for not showing up to the funeral.

I hadn’t seen him since we had dinner with Blessyn them and we confronted him.

“Hey son,” his voice made me hot. I threw the bag in my trunk and slammed it down.

“Don’t address me as that. You lost your right to that shit a minute ago.”

“Oooh, you think you big and bad now ‘cause you done locked the streets down ‘bout your wife.”

“Nigga don’t mention my wife either,” I stepped closer to him.

“She was my daughter for years. I can do what the fuck I wanna do. You and Perc better respect who the fuck I am. The streets know y’all ‘cause of me.”

“Fuck you, nigga. I made a name for myself and so did Perc. All you ever did was stood yo ass up her and drank beer and play dominoes. Respect me nigga, and back the fuck away from my car.”

“Y’all gon’ need me one day you betta pray I’m here.”

“Yeah, nigga I hope you ain’t.” I got in my car and peeled off.

Since I moved back in with Blessyn yesterday she was adamant about not talking to me and shit.

She had her space and I had mine. We only spoke when we had to.

This morning, she was downstairs when I was getting ready to leave.

I spoke to her and rubbed her belly until she knocked my hand off of her.

It didn’t matter what we were going through, I wasn’t leaving her ass alone.

She was my wife and there wasn’t another woman that could take her place.

I laughed at her just to piss her off before leaving out to handle my business for the day.

When I returned home for the night, the smell of Italian food hit my nostrils as I shuffled through the house with duffel bags full of money.

I headed to the kitchen instead of my hiding place first because I wanted to see what Blessyn was cooking.

She could throw down in the kitchen and it was one of the many things I missed about being under the same roof as her.

“It smells good as fuck in here. What are you cooking?”

“I wanted some pasta so I made some and ended up making too damn much so you can have some.”

“Only if we eat together at the table like we used to,” I told her.

“You pushing it.”

“It’s just dinner. What the hell can happen that fast?”

“Aight, it will be ready in a few minutes I’m waiting on the bread.”

“Bet. That gives me time to put this money up.”

“Whoa, wait a minute. Where did that money come from.”

I never really hid anything from Blessyn, but this was something I didn’t want her to know.

“It’s Perc’s money. I’m just going to put it up for him until he gets home.”

“Okay.”

I ran the money through the machines and put rubber bands around them so they would fit in the wall.

Besides the safes this was another place I hid my money.

Blessyn didn’t come down into my dungeon so she had no idea what was in here.

She sent a text to my phone to let me now that my plate was ready for me.

“Any poison in this before I eat it?”

“Thought about,” she shrugged.

“I’m just asking ‘cause you fixing a nigga plate and all when you mad got me wondering.”

“Until you sign them papers, I’m still your wife. You wanted to have dinner with me, that includes fixing your plate with mine.”

“Why can’t we be like this all the time. Why it gotta be beef?”

“You know why and we will not discuss that shit when I’m eating one of the best meals since I’ve been pregnant.”

“Okay cool, we won’t talk ‘bout that shit but listen. We really need to figure out what we gon’ name our son. He’ll be here before we know it and we got to have this shit ready.”

“I don’t want to talk about that either.”

“Fuck you wanna talk ‘bout then?” My agitation evident.

“I don’t really wanna talk at all but if you mention something I’m into then we can talk.”

“Aight so what’s up with you fuckin’ Miami Hurricane’s then?”

“Nigga please. My team rebuilding and once we do that, we in there.”

“Shit, only hope y’all got is DJ nigga.”

“Boy please. That exactly why Florida gon’ beat y’all ass this year.”

“Beat who? Nigga ain’t nobody fuckin’ with Georgia this year. I can bet you on that.”

“Bet it up.”

“What you want?”

“I want a shopping spree with no limit.”

“Bet. If Georgia win, you gotta stay my wife.”

“See now you done fucked up my mood.”

Blessyn grabbed her food and went up to our bedroom.

It was fun while it lasted. Talking sports with your wife was everything.

The shit had my dick my hard but she had her ass on her shoulder so I wasn’t going to fuck with her.

I finished eating and cleaned the kitchen so she wouldn’t have to do it.

When I passed our bedroom, I could hear on facetime with her sister.

At least she wasn’t in there crying. I went into the guest bedroom down the hall and took me a quick shower before getting in bed and going to sleep.

I was awaken about three the next morning with Blessyn standing over me. I immediately jumped-up thinking that she was in labor. She wasn’t bent over or hollering like I would see the girls do on the movies. She did have tears coming down her face so maybe she was hurting but holding it in.

“What’s wrong?” I sat up on my elbows.

“I’m scared. I thought I heard someone.”

“Ain’t nobody coming here. Boogie on high alert. You wanna get in the bed with me or I can go back to our room and lay on the sofa.”

“I’ll just lay in here with you. Please don’t touch me.”

“Damn, I can’t even rub your stomach? My son loves when I touch on you.”

“Stomach and that’s it.”

“That’s cool with me, shit. You come in here throwing demands with yo scary ass.”

She let me rub her stomach until she was fast asleep, snoring with her back turned to me.

My phone started going off back-to-back with text messages.

The shit had to be important for someone to be hitting me this time of the morning.

I eased out of bed and walked out of the bedroom to sit on the steps.

“Yo.”

“I got some information for you but it’s not about you wife,” one of the streets soldiers said.

“Who the fuck it’s ‘bout then?”

“Perc.”

“Let me hear it.”

“His witness is Lexus oldest daughter. She saw the nigga leaving bruh. She told them what she saw.”

“How the fuck?” I looked back at the bedroom door before lowering my voice. “How the fuck did he let this happen. I can’t kill a fuckin’ child bruh. How we gon’ handle this shit?”

“You gotta get with Perc, bruh.”

I rubbed my hands over my face, “Aight. I’ll see if the lawyer heard anything about is phone calls and visits. I gotta meeting with Children’s Court tomorrow so hit me up if you hear anything else.”

I had to go about this shit at a different angle.

While my brother was locked up, I was in the process of trying to get my niece out of foster care.

Everything was coming at me at once and that’s why I was begging Blessyn not to leave me.

That was only going to make me feel worse.

Maybe having my niece in the house with us would bring us closer.

I climbed back in bed behind her and went to sleep.

“I see no problems with your niece being in your custody temporarily. We will make home visits and the first one will be next week. I’ll call before I come to make sure you are home. Here’s my card if you have any questions,” the social worker said.

“Thank you.”

“Best of luck to you. The rest of the kids don’t have family that wants them. Your niece is very blessed.”

“Thank you, again.”

I waited behind the door as she went to go and grab my niece.

For just a second I felt bad for Lexus other kids.

Her mother was still living and I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t get them then I remembered that she stayed in the projects and didn’t have room for three kids.

She could barely keep her rent and shit paid.

My niece came running out into my arms. Poor baby hair was a fucking mess.

She had to be with a family that wasn’t used to dealing with black girls hair.

Maybe Blessyn could get her right when I got home.

I stopped by Target and bought her a few things before finally making it home.

Blessyn had no idea that I was bringing her home and I wasn’t expecting to see Merci here.

“Wassup y’all,” I greeted them as I walked in the den.

Merci was used to being around my niece but with her losing her own baby it made her slightly uncomfortable. That didn’t stop my niece from going over to her and forcing her way on Merci’s lap.

“I gotta do something to your hair,” Merci said.

“She’s going to be with me for a while. She was in foster care and I couldn’t leave her there. Perc would be here with her if he wasn’t locked up.”

“That was sweet of you,” Merci said.

“We have a baby coming at any moment. Who’s going to watch her?” Blessyn asked.

“I’ll help. You know me and mama will help,” Merci told her.

“You should’ve discussed this with me first.”

“Can we not do this in front of my damn niece? I can take her and we go stay in one of my other houses. I’m here to make sure you’re safe. Stop being a selfish ass bitch all the time.”

Blessyn slapped me across my face and stormed off to the kitchen. Merci grabbed my niece and went to look through the things I had bought. I went to the kitchen to explain myself.

“Don’t you ever call me a fuckin’ bitch again.” Blessyn mushed me in my face.

“I wasn’t saying it like that. You took it wrong and I’m sorry.

But goddamn you making it seem like my niece being here is an issue.

She was in foster care Blessyn. Her siblings are still there and the caseworker said that they will remain there because they don’t have family.

Why would I leave my niece in that shit?

I am my brother’s keeper. Whatever belongs to him, belongs to me. ”

“You’re right. My bad.”

“I’m sorry for not talking to you about it. You ain’t talking to me on that level anyway so I thought it was cool. If we get on your nerves, we’ll leave.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. Maybe she can keep me company while you’re gone all day doing lord knows what.”

“Was that a shot? If you want some dick all you gotta do is ask. I’ll fuck you right here, wassup?”

“Bye Lucky.”