Page 42 of Steel

Even though I knew I was leaving for a mission, I couldn’t pass up the chance to kick it with her outside of class since her mama hadn’t let her come back. One-on-one, she was so talkative and funny. She had so many questions, and I tried my best to answer them all.

The thing that warmed my heart the most was watching her with my son. They took to each other instantly. The whole time she held KJ, he couldn’t keep his hands out of her face. He’d touched her eyes, her lips, her hair . . . It was like he knew she was his sister, and he was fascinated by her. I’d already snapped so many pictures of the two of them.

As good a time as I had with her today, my mood soured the moment I pulled up at the house because I knew I had to see her damn mama.

I couldn’t believe Neha hid my child for this fucking long. Now that she was caught, she wanted to explain the shit. There was no explanation. There was no excuse, rhyme, or reason for keeping me away from my kid. Every time I looked at her, I wanted to wring her neck. I wanted so bad to let Jaeda loose on her ass, but I couldn’t do that.

It was enough that I let her go over there and say whatever she said at the pizza place. Now if it had been Mia, there would have been a fight. Luckily, she was out of town on that undercover mission.

“Nigga, you hear me talking to you?” Deuce asked, slapping the back of my head.

“Stop fucking hitting me,” I snapped.

“I’ve been talking to your ass for five minutes, and you over here spaced out and shit. The fuck is wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“It don’t look like nothing. You been on this shit for a minute now.”

“I said it’s nothing, nigga. Damn! The fuck you want?”

“Watch your fucking tone, Steel.”

My head snapped in his direction. “I’m a grown ass man, and you are my equal. I don’t have to watch shit.”

“Aye, aye!” Smoke said, waving his hands. “Chill out, man.”

“Who pissed in your Kool-Aid today?” Maceo asked. “You snappy as hell right now.”

“Look, I don’t feel like all this talking. Can we just take the rest of the ride in silence so we can get this shit over with and go home?”

I rested my head against the back of the seat and closed my eyes. I needed to calm down because, the way I was feeling, I’d hate to have to fight my brother. It would have been so easy to tell them what was going on, but everybody would have a million questions, and I didn’t have a million answers. All that would do was piss me off even further.

My phone chimed, and I pulled it out to see a text from Jaeda. Even though she and Quaid were a few cars behind us, she was in our earpiece and could hear everything going on.

J-Baby: You gotta relax, Kerrion.

Me: I’m trying, Jae. I don’t wanna talk about this with them right now.

J-Baby: They are your brothers. You can talk to them about anything. You know that.

Me: I know, but not right now. It’s too much.

J-Baby: I get it. Just stop taking your anger out on them. Get your head in the game. You can’t be out here fucking up this mission because you’re mad right now.

Me: I hear you, Jae.

J-Baby: I’m proud of you for immediately stepping up to the plate. Nayelli is a beautiful little girl and I know you’re going to be a great girl dad, KD. I’ve got your back and I love you.

Me: I love you too, sis.

I tuckedmy phone away and tried to get my head right. Conversation continued against my wishes. I could hear my brother talking his shit, but I ignored him. I didn’t have time for it right now. Instead, I replayed my time with Nayelli in my head to calm my nerves. It was like the moment I knew she was mine, my heart fell in love with her. It was instant and effortless. I couldn’t wait to build a relationship with her. Maybe it was selfish, but I didn’t want to share her with everybody so soon.

Yes, I would tell them about her, but in due time.

We arrived at our destination about thirty minutes later. Our driver killed the lights and parked in the cut where we could be discreet. As we climbed out, the passenger van pulled up behind us and killed the lights. Jaeda and Quaid were next. Behind them, Titan’s crew pulled up and hopped out before making their way over to us.

While he wasn’t with them, he didn’t hesitate to send them when my father requested they come for backup. Since Jaeda and Quaid hooked up, they’d worked a few missions with us here and there because she was always right there when Quaid helpedthem out. On more than a few occasions, she’d come in clutch for them. I could say I liked the niggas. They were cool, efficient, and followed orders with no pushback. We could say what we wanted about Titan and my sister, but he ran his shit like a well-oiled machine.