50. Love
LOVE
My heart thumped hard in my chest as I held Baby’s hand, running into the police station.
When I got the call from Trey telling me he found a way to get my brother out, I thought he was bullshitting with me.
It took me a minute to understand what he was saying at first, especially because I was still recuperating from the sex we just had.
The feeling I felt sliding in her first the first time was indescribable. It connected us on a deeper level, and it almost brought tears to my eyes. I always believed Baby was the one, but tonight really solidified that for me. I'mma make her my wife, and that’s the only thing I'm sure about.
“Trey, what’s going on?” I greeted him with a side hug. He was waiting in the lobby when we walked through the doors.
“Love, I got some good news.” His attention turned to Baby.
“How you doing? I’m Trey, and you must be Baby?” She nodded, shaking his hand. “Tiffani talks about you all the time.”
Once the introductions were outta the way, he said with sadness. “Sadly, the owner died from his injuries.”
I know he ain’t drag me down for that. I could've been fucking Baby right now.
“How that’s good news Trey?” I asked, confused.
“Well, it’s not.” He took a seat in the corner, pulling out his phone.
Flicking his head to the side for us to come over, we joined him and sat down.
“I found a surveillance video from across the street at another business. The police never looked at this one, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try and see what I could gather from it. ”
“Did you find something?” I needed him to get straight to the point.
“Oh yeah, you can see everything. Check this out.” He pressed play on the screen, and me and Baby brought our heads together.
The video didn’t have audio, but from the reflection of the mirror, you could see clear as day what’s going down.
Valentine and Tank went inside, with Tank moving in behind him like he said he was.
They went out of sight for a quick second before Valentine came into view, shaking hands with the store owner.
While his hands were still visible, you could see a gun being raised towards the corner of the room.
My brother flinched when it happened, twisted his head around to see where Tank was. Both of their mouths were moving, but obviously we can’t hear shit. My heart fell to the pit of my stomach seeing Tank raise the gun to my brother’s head, and Valentine putting his hand up in surrender.
The owner was behind the counter, slowly reaching for something under his desk that I assumed was the gun.
“Watch this part,” Trey instructed us.
Valentine walked around the desk with his hands up, grabbing the plastic bag Tank pulled from his back pocket. He filled it up, then passed it back to him. You could tell the moment they heard sirens, because both of them started moving real fast.
Tank pointed towards the door before they ran towards it at the same time. At this point, the owner had his gun in his hand. I guess Tank heard him cocking it back when he turned around, and shot him in his chest.
Baby flinched against me, and I grabbed her hand in comfort.
“So, what now?” I asked in question.
He put the phone away and stood up. “I’ve been up here for hours now tryna get him released today. The police watched the video and dropped all charges against him.”
“Just like that?”
He shook his head. “He’s innocent, Love. He’s being released as soon as I can post his bond.”
I struggled to find words. “I don’t know what to say man. You really owe you one. Even after everything, you still came through.”
He shrugged. “Tiffani told me about her past, but that’s not a reason to send an innocent man to jail. It’s all good.”
I dapped him up because he a real ass nigga. Turning to Baby, I pulled her into my arms for a hug.
“He’s coming home, baby,” she whispered in my ear.
I closed my eyes, nuzzling her neck.
“I can’t believe it.” Pulling back, I kissed her lips, then her nose. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“Where else would I be?” She rubbed my cheek lovingly, and I hoped she meant that because I’m not letting her go.
I smiled, turning to Trey. “So, what you about to do?”
He looked up from his phone. “Well, I gotta stay here a little longer. I figured you’d wanna be here when he gets released.”
“Yeah, I do. Let me run her home real fast.” I could sit here and be uncomfortable, but I didn’t want her to be. Besides, she needed to be at home when her sister left town.
“I wanna stay with you, though,” she objected, pouting her lips.
Instead of replying to her, I told him I’d be back before leading her outside to the car. I didn’t explain myself until I made sure she was in, walking around to get on the driver’s side.
“I don’t want you to stay up here all night,” was the first thing I said once I closed the door. “Besides, you need to be there in the morning when Leah left.” Backing out of the parking lot, I headed in the direction of her auntie’s house.
“Why? My Auntie is there, she doesn’t need me,” she let me know, playing with the dials on the radio.
“Yes, she does,” I mumbled, turning to her. “And you need her.”
She sucked her teeth, huffing out a breath. “No, I don’t.”
She tried not to look this way because she knew I was telling the truth. I chuckled, shaking my head because she was so damn stubborn. I’mma have my hands full tryna keep up with her ass.
As I'm driving, I thought about all the shit that brought us to where we are now.
Getting her case at my job, getting arrested, then all the stuff with her sister she had to deal with.
Hell, I never thought me and Mama would have a civil conversation, but that happened too.
Maybe the trip to the hospital was a blessing in disguise because she finally got her life together.
I was happy she apologized and came clean, but we still had a long way to go to repair what she’d broken. This incident was a wakeup call for me too, and I planned on working on my relationship with Valentine. I’m just grateful that we were able to prove his innocence and get him home.
This business that me and Messiah started was a dangerous one, but I ain’t new to the streets, and I think we’ll be alright.
Once I stopped at a red light, I used my index finger to tilt her chin toward me. “When you done with your parole, I wanna take you on a vacation.”
I knew she still had a few months left, but she needed something to look forward to.
Her face lit up. “For real?”
“Yeah. Wherever you wanna go,” I told her, looking back and forth between her and the road.
I asked her to let me lead and she followed without hesitation.
That kinda trust wasn’t something I took lightly, so whatever happened, Baby will always come first in my life.
After everything we’d been through to get here, there wasn’t a soul alive that could tell me we weren’t meant to be together.
From the moment we locked eyes, I knew I was hers and she was mine. She was my home, my peace, and I can’t wait to call her my wife. Her happiness is my responsibility now.