Page 14

“Girl, Biscuit is a nervous wreck. Scared to come see me.” Teenie giggled, and I shrugged.

I knew Sahmeer. He wouldn’t leave well enough alone. As for Charlie, he’d been calling, but I wasn’t pressed to see him. I’d done my own research, and some of his trips were not business-related. I couldn’t be upset, and I wouldn't say a word. Truth would kill him, but he was good for business. Therefore he was worth more to us alive than dead.

“At some point, though, you have to go home.”

“So he can pretend that all these years he hasn’t played with me? I’m fine… except for my fucking PTSD.”

My voice cracked. I could feel myself unraveling, but I wasn’t taking anything to harm my baby. I remember that day and wished I’d listened. Sahmeer asked me to wait for him to do a walk through, but my fast ass went alone. He also was trying to cockblock. He had his own place, and I had my own. For years, we played house when no one was around, but Alix knew. He just didn’t care to share. He felt we needed to play by our own rules since Truth and Brick played by theirs.

“Oh, honey. Come here.” She hugged me, and I winced. “Damn, your ribs.”

“Still tender.” I smiled since my little one managed to survive all of that. If he or she could, who was I to complain?

“Well, I have to go to the shop. It’s been a few days, and the fellas are asking questions. Also, ho, I’m losing money, and I have to run off those dusty bitches. Biscuit pretends he’s just being nice. Too fucking nice. He gives out more discounts than tats. Fuck that. You want me to order anything before I go? I can have it delivered.”

Her two bedroom townhouse was small in comparison to my three bedroom condo on the Upper East Side. I wasn’t too good to be here, but I’d become kind of claustrophobic after weeks in that damn hospital room. I felt I was suffocating. Rowdy Red had cut me off after Sahmeer beat his ass for dropping me off.

Truth was so caught up in Saint business he didn’t fight me on not coming there. He also wasn’t in a rush to face me. I didn’t blame him. I knew who my family was and what we represented. Unlike my mother, I lived. I survived, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less, though.

“I’m on Instacart. Text me what you need, and I got you. I’ll just get my money back from Breeze. I’ll find a way, but I’m feeding his big head ass baby.”

“Uh uh, girl. Don’t do my baby like that.”

She tittered then waved me off.

“His daddy does have a big head, don’t he?”

“Like I said, I’ll get my money back from Breeze.”

I sent her a list and found a seat on the balcony. I was walking with a cane, but physical therapy had helped. I wondered if my pregnancy would slow me down. I stayed away from mirrors. The sight of burn scars triggered me. I needed to call and find a therapist, but so much was happening at one time.

“Later, Genny, baby.” She kissed my cheek and off she went.

I borrowed her laptop and logged into our accounts. The bar was doing well. No surprise there, even the two restaurants and grocery store. The gym and the tattoo shop was doing good too, but our numbers had dropped significantly for fundraising purposes. I heard the annual race fundraiser was a success, but to me, we’d barely made a dent in what our goal was.

I heard the doorbell ring and cursed myself. I placed it on my to-do list to have a Ring camera installed. I would download the app and ask them to leave the groceries at the door if we had one. After a few more rings, I gripped the side of the chair and managed to get up.

“I’m coming! You can leave them. I’ll get them.”

I wrapped my robe around my body. Thankfully, I dropped a few more pounds, pregnant and all. Teenie had a wardrobe to die for, which included the satin nightgown and robe I’d borrowed. Well, more like I hijacked it. The delivery person rang once more, and I was close to saying fuck that food.

“Hey, you can?—”

Shit, it was Sahmeer. I slammed the door, but just before I could lock it, he forced his way inside.

“Help me! Helllllp!”

He covered my mouth, lifted me up, and carried me straight to the guest bedroom as if that bitch had been here before.

“Have you?—”

He wasted no time. He lowered me to the bed, got down on his knees, and pushed my nightgown up.

“Can you…”

He peppered my stomach with kisses as he slid one of my arms out of the gown.

“Sahmeer, come on now.” My pleas went unheard until I sat completely naked and he sat there, breathing laboriously and stared. That’s it. He just stared at me. He looked at my hand, my ring finger, and kissed it.

“Sahmeer, we really need to?—”

My rant was cut off when he slid a ten carat diamond ring on my finger. It was three or four times bigger than the one he’d purchased seven years ago.

“Sahmeer, what does this mean?”

“Marry me, Gee. Marry me again. I’m begging, baby, and before you ask, Rowdy Red didn’t give you up.”

“Well, who did?” I narrowed my eyes and huffed. “That damn Teenie. I knew she couldn’t hold shit.”

I went to look for my cell phone and realized I’d left it on the balcony.

“Biscuit, baby.” He laughed, giving up his source. “You were interfering with his ball action.”

He lifted both hands, and I pushed him.

“This means nothing, Sahmeer. This is aesthetics, an optic display of ownership, a cheap shot?—”

“Wait. Ain’t shit cheap about that ring. Hold the fuck up.” He stood up and rubbed his knees. “Gee, what more do you want? I even gave you a baby.”

He looked down at his dick that had hardened, which was too bad because he wasn’t getting any pussy.

“Great. Your work is done.”

I reached for my nightgown, and he snatched it.

“Is this about the shit you did with Charlene?” I asked and frowned.

He still refused to own up to being with her. It didn’t matter since I had a whole nigga. Until he did, though, there was nothing we needed to talk about. I was over him not telling Truth and Brick about us. They both were fucking nervous wrecks themselves. One was a slave to pussy and the other was full of shit. Teenie had already filled me in after Auntie Myanne told me he had a house guest.

“Okay.” He gulped. “It happened once, but I was drunk, and you hurt my fucking feelings at the hospital. Happy?”

He stretched out his arms as if he hadn’t admitted to his very pregnant wife that he’d cheated. Was I a hypocrite? Fuck no. Charlie didn’t count because Sahmeer allowed it out of guilt. Too bad Charlie didn’t deliver dick the way I needed him to. The ones before him were when I was young and stupid, marrying him when he wasn’t ready to be my husband instead of a Saint Rider.

“So, we’re good?”

“Nope, but help me up. Your damn baby is sitting on my bladder.

“When I do, will you give me some pussy then?” he asked, helping me up.

With a swift lift of my knee, I slammed it into his balls. He screamed and cupped his stomach as he fell to the floor.

“You better be glad that’s all I can do. If I find my gun, you will have more to worry about than throbbing nuts, Sahmeer. You’ll be explaining why I blew those motherfuckers off.”

“Baby, what if I kill her? Will that swipe my slate clean?”

“For Christ’s sake, no! I don’t know the answer. Is it okay if I just ask for some time?”

He groaned but nodded until he fell on his back.

“Time it is, Gee.”

“Good. Now, roll your ass on out of here.”