12. Princeton Brentley
Iwas still shook by the time we pulled up on the property, my jaw locked so tight it was starting to ache.
This spot wasn’t even one of my regular houses; it was one of the residences my company kept for clients, witnesses, employees, or whoever needed somewhere private and secure to lay low for a minute. I never thought I’d be the one bringing my own baby mama through them gates.
Two of my guards walked her in ahead of me, one on each side of her, just making sure she didn’t try anything stupid between the truck and the front door.
She was still going off, mascara stained on her face from crying so hard, her eyes and nose red as hell. But what the hell was she crying for? She was the one who tried to end me.
“Get your fucking hands off of me,” she snapped, twisting her shoulders away from them. “I’m not a child.”
They eased up off her a little, but they walked her straight over to the couch anyway and sat her down. She dropped onto the cushion.
I had Rah Jr. in my arms, so I carried him back to one of the bedrooms, laid him down softly in the middle of that big bed, and covered him up. I sighed hard and shut the door most of the way, leaving just a crack of light so he wouldn’t wake up scared in a room he didn’t know.
When I walked back out into the living room, Paisley was sitting there with her arms crossed, glaring at the two men still posted a few feet from her.
“Give us a minute,” I told them.
Phil looked at me. “You sure, boss?”
“Yeah. I’m good. Trust me.”
They backed up a couple of steps, not all the way out of the room, just enough so we could talk without them breathing down our necks, but close enough that they could get to her quickly if they needed to.
I understood why they weren’t trying to go too far.
None of us was sure what the hell we were dealing with tonight.
Paisley and I glared at each other. I still couldn’t wrap my head around what had just happened. My ears were still ringing a lil’ bit.
“What the fuck were you thinking, Paisley?” I finally asked, keeping my voice low. “After all the shit I’ve done for you, you decide to come shoot at me? And how the fuck did you even find me?”
She rolled her eyes like I was the one who had done something wrong.
“Aye, answer the fucking question.”
“I left my second phone in your car and tracked it. When we pulled up and saw the black truck, that was a dead giveaway. Then I saw one of your security guards standing out front.” She laughed.
“I told him you were expecting me, so he let me through. Then you had another one standing right outside her damn door. Another giveaway.”
I shook my head. “And you did all that for fucking what, Pais?”
“Because!” she snapped. “First, you had that bitch at your honors ceremony, and then…”
“There’s definitely something wrong with yo’ ass. You keep changing shit around in your head to fit whatever fucked-up story you done created. Yeah, I took her, but that don’t mean shit when it comes to you. If it wasn’t her, it still would’ve never been you!”
Her face twisted. “So, you really choosing that bitch over me?”
“Ain’t nobody choosing between y’all because there was never a choice to make!”
She stared at me, her lips parting. “But you fucked me.”
“One fucking time! And I already admitted that shit was a mistake. You took one night and turned it into some whole imaginary-ass life in your head.”
She looked away, but I wasn’t finished.
“And this how you repay me? By tracking me down and shooting at me because I won’t play house with you?”
Her eyes filled with more tears, but I didn’t give a damn. Not after what she had just done.
I shook my head. There wasn’t anything left to say.
“You know what? I’m done. Figure it the fuck out.” I turned and walked off.
She hopped up off that couch so fast. “Figure it out? Did you just tell me to figure it the fuck out?”
I turned back around. “Yeah. That’s what the fuck I just said.
” My voice was climbing now, and I didn’t even try to bring it back down.
“Why would I keep breaking my back to make sure you’re taken care of when this is the shit you do?
I don’t give a fuck how pissed off you make me, I would never, ever shoot at you, ’cause the thought of taking you away from your kids would be the first thing that popped in my head.
Too bad you weren’t thinking the same shit. ”
She sucked her teeth and looked off to the side. “Okay. I was wrong. I know I was wrong.” Then her eyes came back to mine, and I already knew what was coming before it left her mouth. “But are you saying you’re fully cutting me off?”
I laughed, but it wasn’t funny. None of it was funny to me.
“That’s all you worried about.” I shook my head slowly. “That’s all you’ve ever been worried about, huh?”
I stepped in closer, closing that space between us, and I saw Jacob take a step forward out the corner of my eye, ready if he needed to be.
“You can stay here a couple days, but after that, you can’t stay in my house or any of my private properties,” I said.
“I’ll have the movers bring your shit here.
Me offering to move you and the kids into a spot with me, that was some shit I did out of the kindness of my own fucking heart because you had all them complications with Summer and almost didn’t make it through that delivery.
I appreciate the fuck out of you for having my child, but you ain’t gon’ use me no more, Paisley.
I don’t deserve that shit. And now I see you for what the fuck you really are. ”
Her chin lifted, defensive. “And what’s that?”
“A snake.” I let that sit in the air for a second. “You can go run back to your other baby daddy for all I give a fuck. Let him knock your head between the fucking washer and muthafuckin’ dryer, bitch.”
Her mouth dropped open, and for a second, she didn’t even have anything to come back with.
I turned to walk off. That’s when she started swinging on my back, hitting me anywhere she could reach, screaming something I couldn’t even make sense of anymore. Jacob stepped in quickly, wrapped her up from behind, and pulled her off me before she could do any real damage.
I just kept walking toward the door.
“I don’t care what happens to you after this,” I said over my shoulder. “If we need to discuss anything, we’ll go through my assistant or Uncle. Pickups, drop-offs, all that shit. You’re dead to me.” I paused at the door, my hand on the frame. “Oh, and I’m getting full custody of my daughter.”
“I’m sorry!” she screamed behind me, her voice cracking. “I’m sorry, Princeton. Please don’t do this!”
I kept walking out.
My driver had the truck running out front, the door already cracked open and waiting on me. I climbed in, and he shut it behind me, ran around, hopped in the front, and pulled off, my other security truck falling in line right behind us.
I sat back against the leather seat and just stared out the window for a second, trying to slow my heart rate down.
My hands were still a little unsteady, more from the adrenaline than anything, ’cause I damn sure wasn’t scared of Paisley.
I was more shook by the fact that she really tried it.
That she really looked at me and decided pulling a trigger was the move.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and went straight to Nourah’s name in my contacts.
I needed to know she was good. Not just because of the embarrassment of Paisley pulling up shooting like she had lost her whole mind, but because I really liked Nourah.
We’d spent the whole day together before all that happened, talking, laughing, and getting closer in a way that felt good. And then all this shit had to happen right on top of it.
ME: You good, baby?
I stared at the screen for a good minute after I hit send, not expecting a reply this late. Then those three dots popped up.
NOURAH: A little shaken up, but I’ll live.
ME: I apologize for everything. Get some rest. I’ll check on you in the morning.
NOURAH: Okay, Gn.
ME: Gn, love.
I just sat there looking out the window as we got closer to my own house, the streetlights sliding past one after the other.
I rubbed my hand down my face, then ended up yawning. I was ready for bed and to end this weird-ass day.