~~~Chapter 31~~~
Being shaken was an understatement. The thought of some people actually sitting outside of my sister’s shop to hurt me was completely unnerving. Then to know that Malice had people tailing us, and I was none the wiser, showed me just how delusional I’d been.
I had to learn in real-time just how different my man was.
Not only did he have shooters on deck, but two of them were off-duty fucking police officers.
Undoubtedly, they had to be dirty to work side by side with the likes of Malice, but it was shocking to know that he even had that type of pull.
So, when the police arrived on the scene, and there were four dead bodies on the pavement, nothing went as I’d expected.
With that van still parked, blocking Malice’s truck in, I knew for sure that he’d be questioned thoroughly.
Instead, it was regarded as a botched attempted robbery that the off-duty officers were praised for intercepting.
The guys parking behind Malice’s truck was considered just as coincidence, as it was assumed that the guys were armed and masked up to rob either my sister’s salon or another one of the surrounding businesses in the shopping strip. We knew better, though.
Needless to say, my parents were there on the scene in a flash. My daddy wanted to know what the fuck was going on, and I knew then that I couldn’t keep everything to myself, anymore.
Then with Malice’s truck being blocked in at an active crime scene, we ended up riding with Riah and Sin J to my parents’ house. As we were exiting my sister’s Rolls-Royce, I grabbed Malice’s hand and we locked eyes.
“Tell them the truth,” he told me, letting me know that I didn’t have to lie to appease him.
“So, none of y’all recognized the faces of those niggas laying out on that ground?” My daddy interrogated me, Riah, Malice, and Sin J, once we were all seated in the family room.
Riah and Sin J both shook their heads.
“I never seen none of them a day in my life,” Sin J spoke up.
My daddy’s eyes then traveled to me. “What about you, Jaylah? You recognized any of them niggas?”
I shook my head.
“What about you, Malice?”
Turning to look at him, I saw Malice casually lick his lips. “Yeah, I recognized two of the faces.”
Riah dramatically gasped.
Sitting on the arm of the recliner my mama was sitting in, my daddy’s nostrils flared. “Do you know why they’d be out there for you and my fucking daughter?”
Malice sighed. “Yeah. The shortest version of it is that it’s because of my ex.”
“Your ex?” My mama frowned.
“Yeah. My ex Paisley. Her daddy is retired from the game, and when she started with her pull-up shenanigans, he decided to uphold her, instead of telling her to do what’s right.
Her daddy pulled up to Jaylah’s house, before we moved, trying to check us.
But things didn’t go in his favor. I pistol whipped his shooter, and Jaylah drew down on him. ”
Riah’s eyes bucked. “Jaylah did what?!”
My mama cut her eyes at my sister. “Riah, calm down, before I have to send your dramatic ass to the next room. Me, Jhyrah, and Jaylah regularly go to the shooting range, so I’m confident that Jaylah knows how to use all her guns.
You’re the one too scary to come with us.
So, your sister knowing how to protect herself shouldn’t come as a surprise. ”
“So, that’s all that happened?” My daddy probed.
“Nah.” Malice shook his head. “Right after we came back from your island, her daddy sent somebody to rob…some houses of mine.”
My daddy hooded his eyes. “Her daddy’s name is Drop, right?”
“Yeah, that’s him.”
My daddy gradually nodded. “So, the nigga just been coming at you left and right, and you just been running, and letting him?”
“Nah. Never that,” Malice responded calmly, making me realize that he rarely lost his cool in high stake situations. “But I need you to know that there’s only but so much that I’ma discuss in a room full of people.”
My daddy nodded, before his eyes traveled to Sin J. “Hey, man, let us holler at them alone.”
Sincere Junior nodded, before standing, and then helping Riah do the same. “Come, baby. Let’s go see what they got to eat around here.”
We all watched them leave the room, before my daddy cleared his throat. “Now, it’s just my me, my wife, you, and Jaylah.”
Malice paused for a moment. “Can Jaylah leave the room too?”
“Nope,” my mama immediately spoke up. “That’s one thing you gone have to learn. In order to truly protect her, then she has to know it all. Leaving her in the blind is how shit happens. And if you think that she’s too fragile for it, then y’all aint got no business together, anyway.”
“Listen to the woman when she speaks,” my daddy co-signed, making me smirk.
“Okay.” Malice nodded. “My people have been hitting Drop from every angle. Burning down his investments. Construction sites, you name it. Chopping him right at the knees. He’s out the game, so his resources are limited.
Niggas are just moving off favors or promises to get on.
Basically niggas with nothing to lose. In the meantime, we forced him out of his house, and his back is against the wall.
This play today was probably out of desperation.
Two of those niggas on the ground were crack heads from the hood. ”
I frowned, feeling confused as fuck. “But, baby, how…how were you handling any of this, while you never left the house?”
He glimpsed at me. “Either overly emotional muthafuckas or workers get in the field. I aint neither one. Whenever something happens, I’m clear across town, and that’s by design.
I already earned my stripes. I put in the work to get where I am today.
So, my life aint filled with day-to-day hood politics.
If I do indulge, then it’s at my leisure.
Putting in work in most cases is no more than a in-person verbal command, or one-worded text. ”
“Oh.” Was all that I could say to that.
“So, you saying that you got this shit under control?” My daddy furrowed a brow.
“I’ll never get ahead of myself,” Malice assured. “That’s a dead man’s mistake. Drop still gotta be dealt with directly, and until then…my people go wherever we go.”
My daddy nodded. “Okay. Got it. Now, come walk with me outside. It’s some other shit I wanna discuss with you.”
Malice stood up, and followed my daddy out of the room, leaving me and my mama alone.
“Whew, that was a lot,” my mama commented.
“Yeah, it was.” I squinted. “But where’s the angry tears and lecture, mama?” I had to know, because my parents’ responses to everything that had been discussed were brow raising, to say the least. Even with my daddy. He’d expressed some frustration, but I knew him. He wasn’t mad-mad.
“A lecture for what, Jaylah?” Raven questioned.
“When you told me about that boy when you were pregnant with Khari, we did our homework then. The streets didn’t have a lot to say, but we know all the right people.
So, we knew that he moves in silence. Knew that he was considered a boss.
A multi-millionaire. A killer. But he was Khari’s daddy.
You weren’t with him, so no conversation was had at the time.
And when he did come around…me and your daddy knew that there was nothing we could do.
Khari was here. Y’all have ties, regardless.
And maybe the Jahrein from a few years ago would’ve attempted to still shut it down.
However, he’s older and wiser now. He literally used to be Malice.
So, he knows that if you chose to love that boy, then wasn’t a damn thing that we could do about it.
So, we’re not here to pick and choose the man you love, Jaylah.
We’re just your village, and here when shit gets rough, or you can’t handle it on your own.
We’ll gladly step in. So, don’t ever think that you can’t come to us, because you’re scared that we’ll waste time trying to tear down y’all relationship.
We love whoever you love, and only experience and time will teach you what’s best for you. Not us.”
***
“Nigga, wait!” Riah fussed. “I’m not done talking.”
I lightly snickered, as I listened to my sister fend off Sin J.
“Right, tell that nigga to back the fuck up,” Jhyrah playfully fussed. “We’re talking.”
Holding the phone to my ear, I remained quiet, because I honestly wasn’t in a talking mood. I was heavily in my feelings, and my sisters were holding me hostage on a three-way call.
Today was Zae’s funeral, and I was not okay. Regardless of us ultimately not working out, there’s no way that I wanted things to end like this. He was gone and never coming back, and the only time I could shed tears was when I’d run off to the bathroom, claiming that I had to pee.
I was in the weirdest space. Somebody had murdered Zae.
His car had crashed into a random curb, after it had been riddled with bullets.
The police had no suspects. His mama had called me bawling.
And I hadn’t spoken a word about it to Malice.
He had to know. So, since he hadn’t even bothered addressing it, I couldn’t help but assume that he was responsible.
For a brief moment, I’d considered attending the funeral, but it was my mama who’d advised me against it.
While we were alone, we’d discussed Zae…
without me divulging the fact that Malice had Claro killed.
Even without that piece of information, she felt that it was best that I steered clear.
As she spoke, I could’ve sworn that she knew more than she was letting on, as she implied that I didn’t need to go around Zae’s family, before someone started pointing fingers.
Not to mention that it might’ve caused problems between me and Malice.
But the real tea was that I still couldn’t go anywhere without him, so I was bullshitting myself when I entertained the notion of seeing the likes of that funeral.
“Riah, maybe we should go over to Jaylah’s and get somebody to do some in-house massages,” Jhyrah suggested.
Riah sucked her teeth. “Did you forget that her pregnant ass can’t get the regular massage, right now?”
“Oh, damn. She is over there knocked up.”
Everybody had been teasing me since I’d announced my pregnancy via the family group chat a few days ago.
“Yup. And remember how she used to laugh at us? Now, look at her. Gone have two under two.”
“Aint nothing wrong with it. I think that her and Malice can handle it,” Jhyrah offered.
“Baby,” Malice sang, as he stepped into our bedroom, shirtless with Khari riding the crook of his arm.
“Hmm?” I lifted my head, as I was lying across the bed.
“Come on.” He grabbed my hand, helping me sit up. “Let’s go downstairs,” he instructed, while guiding me out the bed.
“Y’all.” I spoke into my phone, while Malice was tugging me through the house. “I’ma call y’all back in a few.”
“Okay,” they responded in unison.
“And if you don’t call us back, then we’re calling you back,” bossy Jhyrah warned.
“Yeah, yeah.” I nixed that off, before ending the call.
“That’s one thing that I know,” Malice mentioned. “Your sisters don’t play about you. And they don’t hesitate to call my phone, if you don’t answer. I likes that.”
“Yeah,” I sighed, knowing that my sisters were my ride or dies, and I was theirs.
“Your family in general are different,” he claimed. “Ya pops done already called me three times today.”
I arched a brow, because that was news to me. “Called you about what?”
He glanced at me, while we stepped downstairs. “That’s our business.”
“Oh,” I responded, not even attempting to pry, at this point. There was no telling what he’d been discussing with my daddy, and I honestly didn’t want to know.
“Ooh, look!” Khari pointed.
My chunky baby was now walking and could say a few words. So, she was always telling somebody to look. That’s why I didn’t think much of it, until I stepped off the stairs. When I glanced to my left, I saw a bunch of flowers on my dining room table, along with a spread of food.
“What’s this?” I asked, as Malice stood behind me.
“Some flowers for you, and then I cooked.”
I sauntered over to the table to get a better look. He’d made baked macaroni and cheese, smothered cabbage, oxtails and gravy, rice, black eyed peas, and cornbread. Everything that I liked.
“Oh, wow. What’s the occasion?”
He placed a palm on the small of my back. “Sit down.”
I nodded, before taking a seat.
“Now.” He cleared his throat, as he remained standing. “I did all this to put a smile on your face.”
“Oh.” My eyes watered against my will.
Khamere stooped down to speak in my ear. “And if you just wanna sit here and cry your eyes out, then you can do that too. It’s your world.” He kissed my cheek. “And I’d never be mad about you mourning somebody you once shared a life with. That aint got nothing to do with me.”
Hearing that, I clung to his arm, while squeezing my eyes tightly. And right then, I’d let it all out. Cried until I had nothing left to give. Then I fell into his arms, and he held me, telling me that everything would be okay.