Page 61 of Steel

“Yeah, and now I’m blowing her back out, so I don’t have that problem.”

Smoke hurled a pillow at his head. “Don’t make me beat your ass.”

“We’re cool now, but I still owe you a fade from the time y’all kidnapped me.”

“Why you bringing up old shit?”

“I wish y’all would shut the fuck up,” Deuce snapped. “Y’all argue like bitches. If y’all love each other, just say that.”

Quaid threw a pillow at him. “You mad ’cause nobody is showing you any love?”

“I’ll shoot you right now.” He pointed at me. “Look, do what you need to do for you, man. Just don’t let that chick from your past keep you from the shit you really want, Steel. I’m not saying you settled for what you and Donna had, but I know you would have rather had a wife than a baby mama.”

“I saw her,” I finally admitted. “Neha . . . I saw her at Jaiden’s school.”

Deuce frowned. “The fuck she doing here?”

I took a long pull from the blunt. There was no time like the present to tell them everything.

“She was dropping off our daughter.”

You would have thought somebody sprayed tear gas in the room with as much as they started coughing while inhaling their blunts.

“What the fuck you said?” Deuce asked.

“Nigga, did you say daughter?” Smoke repeated.

“Yep. She had my daughter.”

Maceo shook his head. “Explain this shit.”

I took a deep breath and told them everything from beginning to end. There’d never been a time when my brothers were speechless, but this had them sitting there on mute. When I was done, all they could do for a moment was stare at me.

“So what are you gonna do about your baby mama?” Smoke asked.

“Ain’t shit I can do but co-parent.”

Deuce shook his head. “I agree with Pops. You need to talk to her and find out why she did this shit. The math ain’t mathing. And if it still ain’t mathing after that talk, we can handle that.”

I frowned. “I’m not gonna kill her or have her killed, nigga. She’s still Nayelli’s mother, and she’s a good mother.”

“We don’t have to kill her. I know Jae would beat her ass.”

Quaid threw a pillow at him. “My pregnant wife ain’t fighting no damn body.”

Smoke snapped his fingers. “Aw shit, youdidshoot the club up. I still can’t believe you had that in you.”

Quaid smirked. “Yeah, well, now she’s gotitin her.”

Smoke frowned. “I can’t stand yo’ ass.”

“Can we focus on the topic at hand?” Deuce asked. “When am I gonna meet my niece? You been holding her hostage, muthafucka. Bring her around her family. You told your mama yet?”

I shook my head. “Nah. I gotta get on that.”

“Tavia finna beat your ass, even if it ain’t your fault,” Maceo commented. “Man, Allison would have grabbed that dish towel and whupped my ass if this was me.”

I rubbed the back of my head. “I do need to tell her. She might wanna beat ass herself.”