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However, while I was still immersed in it, I needed to locate Nina Nine, Tayla’s mother, if I could even call her that.

I’d put out light feelers to see if I could find her, but I hadn’t heard anything.

I didn’t want Steph or Jourdan to know that I was looking.

Stephon had explicitly told Jourdan’s ass that while she was pregnant, she wasn’t to do a damn thing except get taken care of and have their baby.

I agreed. But she’d had the baby last month.

I just hoped she didn’t ramp back up with all that vigilante shit.

Parenthood had slowed them all down. I was the last man standing, leaving me to handle the problem when the time came.

Shit!

My phone was ringing, but I was unsure of its location. I walked around until the sound got closer, finding it between the couch cushions. It was Jourdan.

“What’s the deal, JoJo?” I asked into the phone I held on my shoulder as I finished packing my work duffle.

I could hear my niece Angel Journee crying into the receiver.

They had named her after Steph’s middle name and my late mother.

I also had no idea why Steph’s mother had named his ass Angel because there was no fucking way he was that.

However, my niece Angel came out of heaven with her cute little pudgy self.

Before Jourdan could answer me, I heard Steph.

“Baby, give her here,” he said, and that’s when Angel immediately stopped crying. I could hear Steph laughing in the background because she hated that he was able to do that.

“Anyways, it sounds like you’re still at home. Why?” Jourdan said.

“Damn time manager. I was heading out before you called, and now you’re holding me up.”

“So, now you can’t walk and talk at the same time?” I grabbed my work duffle, locked up, and headed to my truck. I’d bought two cars since moving to NC. One was my Mercedes AMG 63; the other was my matte black Chevy Tahoe Z71 .

“Aye, tell Steph, I’m about to be on my country boy shit like him!

” I said and laughed. I’d told him when he went with me to the dealership to get it that it was country, like his big-ass Ford Raptor.

He hated it when I called anything his country.

I started the truck and backed out, ensuring the garage was closed before pulling off. I would talk to them on the way.

Although I felt Cypress was a country town, I enjoyed the proximity of everything in a smaller city.

I didn’t have to jump on the interstate to get where I needed to be.

Tonight, I was cutting through the neighborhoods.

I couldn’t tell you what it looked like before I arrived, but Cypress was a city in transition.

Streets that I knew used to be the hood, based on the run-down houses that sat there, were now being torn down.

In their place, new modern homes were built.

Steph cut into my thoughts when he spoke because Jourdan had put the phone on speaker.

“Fuck you, Brice. Ol’ fake ass NWA member, nigga wanna be Ice Cube so bad.”

“Tsk, got damn I’m glad you set it off, Wu-Tang. Who do you think you are today? Ghostface Killah? No, wait, Ol’ Dirty Bastard,” I said and laughed.

“Nah, yeah, I’ll be ODB. Ooh, baby, I like it raw. Ask your sister,” he said in a serious tone.

“Yo, Steph, pause. Angel, tell your nasty ass daddy not to talk to me about the shit he be doing with your mama.” I could hear Jourdan laughing in the background .

“Aww, grow up, Brice, and don’t be cursing around my baby,” Jourdan said.

“What’s this? Gang up on Brice day because I know that nigga just said fuck me.”

“I’m her daddy. I can say what the hell I want.”

“Steph, one of these days, I’m going to fuck your big ass up. Aye, let me get off here, though. I just pulled up to the hospital.”

“I know where you work and what kind of car you drive. I may be beside that shit when you get off,” Steph said, and I laughed again.

“Talk to you later, I love y’all.”

“I love you, too,” they said together before I hung up.

I pulled into the spot, taking a deep breath before exiting.

That little intermission with my family only temporarily filled the void I had before it was back to the grind.

I got out, grabbed my bag, and started across the lot.

There were a few cars spread throughout.

I finally walked through the sliding double doors of Cypress Med Hospital, letting the sterile smell of the room fill my nose.

Then, I surveyed the waiting room. I was thankful that only a few bodies sat.

I hoped the rooms would be the same once I started my rounds.

As I passed the nurse’s station, a chorus of voices rang out in a singsong tone from the four nurses who were congregating instead of working.

“Hey, Dr. Washington,” they said. I was one of three doctors who worked a rotating shift out of a department of ten.

I attended medical school to become a physician specializing in emergency medicine and trauma surgery.

I also completed a fellowship and became board-certified in pediatrics.

Since I’d been at CMH, I’d worked on the children’s side of the hospital when they needed me.

It was wild how I’d taken the Hippocratic Oath to practice medicine and ethically save as many lives as possible.

Then, I would take one just as quickly on the other side of my reality.

I was a walking juxtaposition, but I’d come to terms with it the day I put on that white coat for the first time, knowing the type of life I lived prior.

I was Ice, born and raised to be a ruthless motherfucker, white coat or not.

I flipped my locs back with my hand as I passed the group of women. They had no idea of the deadly persona beneath the surface of my smiles. Then, I checked my wrist to be sure my tie was on it. I was sure at some point during the night, I’d throw it in a bun on top of my head.

“That man is so damn fine,” I heard one of the nurses not so quietly say behind me as I walked by.

I also listened to the grunt that one of them let out.

I was sure it was Ivy. Ivy Smith was one of the Registered Nurses who often worked my shifts with me.

She’d staked some claim on me amongst the other women who worked here.

Aside from friendly conversation, I wouldn’t give Ivy any dick.

I tried not to sleep with the women I worked with.

Meaningless sex could be found walking down the aisle at the grocery store. I had no reason to get it here.

She sidled beside me as I walked the corridor towards the locker room.

She barely reached the top of my shoulder.

She was tiny compared to my tall six-foot-five-inch stature.

I was used to being around tall women. I had to admit that she always smelled edible; it was sweet and floral.

It starkly contrasted the bleachy medicinal odor in the halls of every hospital known to man.

It also reminded me that I missed the consistent company of a woman.

I spent so much time on the streets, surrounded by nothing but niggas, that I appreciated coming home to Tayla.

She refused to take her ass to her own home.

Why she’d been crossing my mind recently was fucking with me.

If I were being honest, she never stopped.

However, this was the second time today.

“Brice,” she said. I turned my head to give her a deadpan expression.

“Nurse Smith,” I returned sternly. She stared back into my eyes, batting her lashes.

“Dr. Washington,” she said again seductively.

I laughed and shook my head, continuing into the locker room and heading to mine.

It was a small locker room, utilizing every inch of space to fit two double-stacked rows of lockers and a bed for overnight shifts.

For that reason, it was the only room with a lock.

We all had a key, but if it was locked, it typically alerted us that someone was sleeping and not to be bothered.

The bench between the lockers also left little room for movement.

Ivy took advantage by standing beside me, leaving my arms that brushed her body little room to move around.

Ivy thought that I had a kink for her calling me Dr. The truth was that I didn’t want anyone to get comfortable enough to call me my given name. It was a defense mechanism because my low level of trust also extended to her .

Ivy was beautiful, I had to admit. She was stacked and curvy in all the right places. I covertly stole a glance to appreciate how she filled out the top and bottom of the mint green scrubs she wore.

Damn, Short Stack.

“Can we have lunch together later?” she asked.

I continued taking out my lab coat and throwing it on, along with my stethoscope.

Then I fished out my pen and notepad, placing them in the pocket.

Once satisfied that I had all I needed, I put my bag inside the locker and closed it, spinning the combination.

“How many patients are on the floor tonight?” I said as I began walking back to the nurse’s station at the back. Once I reached it, I slid one of the rolling computer carts to me and logged in to see for myself.

“Five right now,” she said as I confirmed.

Trust issues

I had also purposely ignored her question because Ivy was forward, and no matter what I said, she would take her lunch and sit with me regardless.

Usually, I would be turned on by that behavior, but more recently, it wasn’t doing it for me.

However, I craved a woman’s company tonight and would take it from her since she was willing to give it.

“Come on, Short Stack, let’s begin our rounds,” I said, and she returned her megawatt smile. I internally cursed myself for often blurting out whatever was on my mind.

Damn it, Brice. Shit, I can’t put that toothpaste back in the tube.

It was the first sign I’d given her that a chip was in the ice wall I’d built. I was desperate to feel any semblance of what I had before. I didn’t want or intend to lead her on in any way. I could only hope the rest of the night went by without me entirely giving in to my recent yearnings.