1. Staten Marek #2
Apparently, her mama’s boyfriend slid into town thanks to some chick she befriended at the lodge, and this nigga was off his rocker and snatched Six up.
Shaking my head, I knew I had to back Brick on this because he was real tight about it.
For the first time, my little brother had a woman in his life that he cared about, and a nigga was all too familiar with that feeling.
Cambrie hadn’t been in my world long, but she’d made all the difference and had me thinking maybe that other half shit my pops used to go on about was real.
I knew without a doubt that I didn’t want to be without her warm presence in my life.
Outside of my kids, she gave me something else to look forward to when I walked through that door at night.
“I gotta go take care of some shit. The kids already ate, but if you need anything, just call up to the house and talk to Marcie.”
“I think I can manage a few kids, Staten. So does this mean you’re OK with me staying here?” Nadia pushed, rinsing off the plates that were used for dinner tonight.
“There’s a spare room around the corner on your left. I’ll be back when I can.”
I didn’t want her staying here at all, but my brother needed me, and right now it was convenient with Cambrie gone.
This was just a temporary solution because I had every intention of bringing her back here.
I just had to help Brick first. Six was good people, and she brought out the best in him, which I was all for.
Brick could easily get side-tracked or allow muhfuckas to get under his skin when he knew better.
He pretended to be confident, like nothing got to him, but my little brother was softer than cotton on some real shit.
Before leaving, I stopped upstairs to check on Piaget and Rogue, then slid into my bedroom to change.
Dressed in all black, I sat on the edge of my bed, bent over, tying the laces to my all-black Air Forces.
“Daddy, I went to Cambrie’s room so we can finish reading my book, and she’s not in there.” Piaget strolled inside, clutching a book called From the Desk of Zoe Washington with an illustrated black girl on the cover. I finished tying my shoe and sighed when I sat up.
“Cambrie left for the night.”
“Where did she go? Is she coming back?” Piaget’s little face scrunched up in confusion.
“She’ll be back. Nadia’s downstairs with Tavi and Saga. I’m going to run an errand, but I’ll be back. We can read together if you want.” I reached out and pinched her cheek.
“Saga and Tavi’s mama don’t like me,” Piaget muttered, eyes drifting to the ground.
Immediately, that shit had me hot. I didn’t play that treating kids differently shit with anybody.
So it pissed me off that Nadia seemed to hold some kind of resentment for Piaget and Rogue because they weren’t hers.
Neither of them deserved that. I didn’t ever want to be the type of parent to favor one child over the next because of where they came from or how they were conceived.
That shit, more than anything, irked my nerves about that girl.
“Tell you what, just stay out of her way until I get back. You and Rogue can come lay in my bed if you want and watch TV,” I suggested.
“Okay! I’m going to get Rogue!” Piaget set her book on the edge of the bed and ran toward the door just as my phone went off again.
I picked it up off the dresser and studied the screen.
Brick was summoning us to the bunker, which meant we were about to get dirty.
I didn’t mind it for the right reasons. Shoving my phone into the pocket of my hoodie, I strolled to the door and left the door cracked for Piaget and Rogue.
I kept my guns in a safe, and my weed was secure in my closet out of reach as well.
My only issue was leaving them here with a woman they didn’t feel comfortable with.
I didn’t think Nadia would ever physically harm them, but I didn’t like her attitude when it came to my youngest two.
By the time I got downstairs, Nadia was wiping down the counters in the spotless kitchen. Tavi sat at the counter, swinging her legs and tapping away on her tablet while talking her mother’s ear off.
“Can we go to the mall tomorrow and shop? Or maybe to the movies?”
“I don’t know, baby girl. We’ll see. Your daddy might have plans or something for you. How have things been going around here, though?” Nadia paused and leaned against the counter, and I kept my distance in the doorway, eavesdropping.
“They’re OK. I love this house, and Grandma Rossi says we can start taking riding lessons soon. I already picked out the horse I want to ride. I don’t understand why Daddy wanted to live in Chicago all this time instead of being here.”
“He had his reasons,” Nadia muttered, straightening up at the counter. “What’s up with your brother and Cambrie?”
“I don’t know. It’s like all of a sudden he likes her or something.
He’s a boy, though, and she’s pretty. Rogue is obsessed with her.
It’s always Cambrie this and Cambrie that,” Tavi mimicked, making her mother titter.
“It’s so annoying. I’m so glad you’re here!
Can you make your breakfast casserole in the morning? ”
“I sure will. How about we pop some popcorn and get some more snacks and stay up tonight watching movies?” Nadia suggested.
“Let’s bake cookies!” Tavi squealed.
“You got it. Go check on your little brother and sister. Make sure they’re good and I will bake the cookies.” Nadia pushed herself off the counter, and Tavi set her tablet down.
The minute she rushed by, I let myself into the kitchen.
With the fridge door open, Nadia glimpsed me over her shoulder.
Her being a good mother had never come into question.
I wholeheartedly believed that she loved our kids.
Time had healed what she left broken in me all those years ago when she walked out though.
I’d spent a lot of time coasting with Damaris, then Cyra.
The idea of getting close or allowing anyone into that place she once held didn’t appeal to me once she was gone. Until now.
“Do you know what time you’ll be heading back?” she asked, grabbing a roll of cookie dough from the side door of the fridge and slamming it shut.
“Nah.” I shook my head, and she stopped at the counter and popped open one of the cupboards to grab a baking sheet.
I didn’t like how she was moving around my shit, making herself at home. This was the type of shit to give my kids the wrong idea.
“Okay, well, we’re just going to chill tonight. I don’t know what type of plans you have for them tomorrow, but I could take the girls and maybe do some shopping, see a movie? You and the boys could do something too.”
Swiping my beard, frustrations poured out of me in the heavy sigh I released.
I didn’t have time for this shit, and she was only further agitating me when I just wanted to find Cambrie and make shit right.
Seeing that broken, glossed-over glint behind her eyes had my stomach in knots and my chest tight as hell.
“Yeah, I’ll let you know. Make sure all the doors are locked.”
“Staten,” she called after me, which left me pausing in stride on my trek to the garage. “I only want to help. I don’t know what’s going on, but maybe whatever happened here tonight was supposed to happen and is for the best.”
I didn’t utter a word or even feed into that shit as I moved forward.
She would say that when it looked like some shit was working in her favor.
Little did she know, my thoughts weren’t on her or why she was here.
She was going to have her visit with the kids and go back the fuck home because I wasn’t entertaining this shit.
Hopping into the driver’s seat of my truck, I hit the button on my visor to raise the garage door and backed out into the night.
The drive over to the bunker was dark and filled with silence while I blew on a freshly rolled blunt.
All this shit with Cambrie, Rossi, and Nadia was fucking with me.
I kept replaying that look on her face and the way her voice cracked when she heard me going off.
By the time I arrived to park, I spotted both of my brothers’ cars nearby and shut off my engine.
I checked my phone once again to see if Sol had texted me.
Since she hadn’t, I decided to check in myself.
The line trilled twice before she picked up.
“What’s going on?” I asked before she could even greet me.
All that excessive breathing on the other side sounded like she was exhaling weed smoke as music played softly in the background.
“She’s fine. She just needs to decompress. Give us the night. I’ll keep you updated, but you gotta give her some space, Stat, OK?”
“The fuck you talking about space, Sol? I need to talk to her.”
“You can’t force this, OK. This is heavy. So, go handle things with Brick. I know he’s flipping out about Six right now. Focus on that and I will handle Cambrie,” Sol insisted.
“I just need her to be OK and come back home. The kids are asking about her, and I don’t know what to tell them except she’ll be back.”
“And she will. Listen . . . I see what she means to you, OK. You, who never wants to let anyone close, let this woman into your home and around your kids. That alone says everything, Staten. I want you to be happy, and Cambrie has become a very good friend, so I want her happy too. Trust me, I’m on your side.
I know things with Rossi are tense right now?—”
“I don’t want to talk about that. Just tell Cambrie the kids miss her and want her to come home. I gotta go.”
“I’ll let her know. Y’all be careful,” Sol warned before we hung up. “Tell my stink to hold his head. You are Marek men, and you always make it happen. Swear on the bottle.”
“Sealed with a sip,” I recited with a nod.