Page 27

“Excuse me if I expected more!” she shouted as she turned and faced him.

“Jordan was good to me, I won’t lie about that, but he didn’t have the power that I needed in a man.

I wanted the boss—the head man in charge.

Yes, his little club was up and running, but Uno, you owned the city, and everyone knew it.

I even pushed him to work beside you, pushing drugs and—ugh! ”

Grabbing her by the throat, I cut off what she was about to say. She never knew anything about our illegal business because I made sure to keep it from her. Her lips were a little too loose for my liking, and I was about to shut her up permanently.

“You know… one thing I always hated about you is the fact that you talk too fucking much.” I squeezed her neck and watched the tears fall down her cheeks. “You always thought you had the answers and everything figured out. I don’t know what you think you know, but you got the wrong nigga.”

“Bro, let her go before you kill her.” Uno walked over and placed his hand on my shoulder. “You don’t want Gianna to see you like this.”

Gia was getting weaker by the second as her clawing my hand slowed down. Her skin was losing its color, and as badly as I wanted her to die right here in my mother’s living room, I wasn’t going to do it around my daughter.

“T-That was the last time you will ever put your hands on me.” She gasped from the floor as she clutched her throat. “You’re not the man I fell in love with.”

“Correct. That nigga died the day you thought it was cool to call another nigga in my house and plot on me.” I smirked as I stepped back from her. I needed to put some space between us before I ruined Mama’s new floors. “How is that nigga, Stewart, by the way?”

When I took Gia off my phone line, I had someone trace the calls on her cell to figure out who she was speaking with.

It took me no time to locate and kill the man she thought she was going to play me for.

There were no words that were exchanged.

I simply walked into his single trailer on a Wednesday night and painted the tin can with his brain matter.

“Fuck you!” she shouted as she hopped up from the floor. “I don’t have to take this shit!” She walked over to where her purse was located and snatched it from the mantle. “I’m taking my child, and we’re leaving.”

“Sit the fuck down.” I pulled my Glock from my hip and aimed it at her. I glanced toward the patio, and Gianna was still playing with her uncle and grandparents without a care in the world. “You’re not taking my daughter anywhere.”

“She’s my fuckin’ daughter—not yours!” she cried. “It’s me who went through fifteen hours of labor alone. It was me who lost countless nights of sleep, not knowing how I was going to pay for her milk and daycare. It was me that gave up everything to provide for her. It was me?—”

“It’s me that doesn’t give a fuck.” I walked toward her, placing the gun to her head. “You know damn well had you told me about her, I would have been there for her in a heartbeat. She wouldn’t have gone without anything!”

“What about me?!” she hollered. “I needed you too!”

“You?” I eyed her in disgust. “I could give a fuck less about you and what you need. My only concern would have been my baby. My only concern now is my baby.” I lowered my gun but kept my eyes on her.

“Now, here’s what it’s going to be. You can go wherever you want, but Gianna is staying here with her family. ”

“We can co-parent.” She roughly wiped the tears from her eyes. “You can give me money to help us relocate and pay child support to me. I don’t want to work, so I’ll need?—”

“This bitch is crazy.” Uno chuckled as he stood beside me. “Was she always this slow?”

“Having my nuts drained daily by a human vacuum clouded my judgment, I guess.” I scratched my head with the butt of my gun.

“Gia, have you lost your fuckin’ mind? I’m not giving you shit.

The most I can do is let you stay at that penthouse until I get her a new birth certificate with my name added to it.

Other than that, you can get the fuck out of my face.

I’ll bury you alive under a slab of cement before you ever get a penny from me.

Get your shit; I’ll take you back to the penthouse.

A good night’s sleep will do you some good because you clearly need a refresher on who the fuck I am.

I suggest you not confuse the love I once had for you as a weakness. You don’t mean shit to me now.”

Looking back and forth between Uno and me, she snatched her purse from the floor and stomped to the front door. She didn’t even bother telling our daughter goodbye which was red flag number four if I were keeping count.

“You think Gianna is going to be good with staying the night without her mother?” Uno asked as he grabbed his keys. “And that bitch being in your condo… you think that’s a good idea?”

With my arms folded, I watched Wild chase my daughter around with a water gun as my mother shouted at him not to hurt her baby. Seeing him trip over his own two feet with her doubling over in laughter was all the confirmation I needed.

“Yeah, bro. I ain’t worried about Gia or that penthouse.

I got so many security camera around that bitch.

” I nodded as we made our way through the living room.

I knew my brother like the back of my hand; he was going with me to drop this broad off.

Glancing his way before I got in the car, I smirked and added. “And Gianna’s good. She’s home.”

“Where are you going, Jordie? I was hoping we could watch a movie.”

Lacing up my shoes, I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at the view of my baby girl.

We’ve been staying at my parents’ house until I found one I felt was suitable for us to live in.

Since I gave Wild the house I purchased for Gia and me, I lived in one of the penthouses downtown.

I could have moved her in there with me, but there was no way I was going to have my child living somewhere not suitable for her.

Downtown Milly Grove was not for people with kids, and the people there that had kids were ghetto as fuck. Gianna deserved more than that.

“You remember I told you I work at night?” She rubbed her eyes and nodded as she walked into the living room. “Well, I wanted to go check on a few things before it got too late.”

“Those aren’t your work clothes, silly.” She giggled as I scooped her in my arms. “You look like you’re going to play basketball.”

Chuckling at how observant she was, I glanced down at my gym shorts and sneakers.

I hated I had to lie to my baby and tell her I was going to work, but there was no way I could tell her I was going to find Mimi because she had me fucked up.

I haven’t seen her since the day we left from shopping.

We spent the entire day together, and it took everything in me not to fuck the shit out of her.

I’ve always been attracted to her, but I never wanted to act on it like I did when I saw her damn near naked in the dressing room.

Chandler was a fucking fool, and if he wasn’t careful, his girl was going to be good and taken.

In all honesty, she’d called me, and I kind of ignored her.

It wasn’t on purpose, though. I’ve been so caught up in spending time with Gianna while also trying to figure out how Gia and I were going to split custody.

I wanted nothing more than to take my baby and cut her mother out of her life, but it wouldn’t be fair to her.

At the end of the day, I had no plans to bring chaos into Gianna’s life.

I want to make it better and give her the best one possible, so I was going to attempt to work with Gia on a reasonable agreement.

“How about this…” I walked her into the room downstairs that had been transforming into her space over the last few days.

My mother or I slept down here with her most nights because we didn’t want her walking up and down the stairs alone.

“We can start the movie together, and when you wake up tomorrow, we can go to Kiddie Kingdom.”

“What’s that?” she asked with those expressive eyes that can get anything from me. “Is it a fun play place? I’ve never been to a fun play place before.”

I know she didn’t mean to do it intentionally, but the more she talked about the things her mother deprived her of, the more I wanted to kill Gia.

I don’t know what the fuck Gia has been doing with my baby for all these years, and maybe it was best I didn’t.

If I found out she was abusing my child in any type of way, Gianna would be growing up without a mother.

Turning on The Princess and the Frog, I snuggled with my baby girl as the movie began to play. She told me that it was so many Disney movies she hadn’t seen, and she wanted to watch one every night before bed. The funny thing was, not even twenty minutes into the movie, she always passed out.

As if on cue, her light snores began to sound off as she wrapped her arms around my torso. Running my fingers through her soft curls, I couldn’t help but wonder how I was so lucky to be blessed with something so perfect.

“It feels good, doesn’t it?” I snapped my head up and locked eyes with my mother as she walked into the room. I chuckled at her dressed in her Princess Tiana nightgown to match Gianna’s. “She’s a blessing that we didn’t know we needed.”

“I don’t deserve her, Mama.” I kissed her forehead before laying her down and tucking her in.

“I don’t know anything about being a father.

What if I mess up? What if I’m a worse parent than Gia?

Hell, she hasn’t even called to check on her child.

All she wants to know is if I’ve decided on a child support payment amount. ”