4. Midas Touch #2
“She’s pregnant,” he announced, and Summit damn near choked on his next sip as he leaned forward on the couch.
“By you?”
“Yeah.” Eazy nodded. “We good too. I mean… I’m fucking with her. We gon’ see how this shit go.”
“Does she know about Niva?”
“I haven’t said anything. We got plenty to talk about.
I’m about to head back to her spot now. You sure you gon’ be good here?
Midas is dangerous, Summit. We might not be able to control Essence or what she does with her life, but we can’t allow that muhfucka around here.
I don’t trust him, and I ain’t budging on that shit. ”
“Fair enough. I ain’t scared of him, though, and you know I stay ready. Your grandma a good shot too. So don’t worry about us. Congratulations on the baby.”
“Yeah.” Eazy chuckled and stroked the back of his head. “Shit crazy when you think about it.”
“Lotus is a good girl. She don’t take no shit either. Reminds me of your grandma. Do me a favor, don’t get so caught up in all this other shit that you don’t savor what’s between you two. Don’t let outside forces interfere. I don’t care who it is. If that’s who you choose, that’s all that matters.”
“I appreciate that. I’mma go pack some shit to take with me.” Eazy pushed himself off the arm and stood.
Ten minutes later, Summit walked him out, and Eazy drove across town to Lotus’s spot, parking out front of her building.
He punched in the code to get inside her building and reached her floor a minute or so later.
Using her key to let himself inside, he paused in the doorway when he found her curled up on the couch under a blanket with a book on pregnancy draped over her lap and the TV tuned low to Forensic Files.
Quietly closing the door behind him, he dropped the duffle he’d brought with him near the couch and shed his leather jacket. He also kicked off his shoes before approaching her. Applying a soft kiss to her forehead caused her to stir, and slowly, her eyes peeled open.
“Hey.” She stretched a bit and examined him in one piece. “Everything okay?”
Something dark and solemn rested behind his stare.
“Yeah. Just tired. I’mma take a shower.” Eazy leaned forward and stole a soft kiss.
“Okay.” Lotus shifted on the couch and watched after him.
Eazy showered, and by the time he emerged into Lotus’s bedroom, she’d pulled the covers back on the bed for them and was already dozing again.
He moisturized, flossed, and brushed his teeth before joining her in only his boxers.
Lotus was warm when he spooned her, and when his arms locked around her she released a soft moan.
Instead of drifting off behind her, Eazy found himself restless.
Holding Lotus, listening to her breathe, and thinking about Niva.
Toni rolled over the next morning and smiled when she found Bull in bed with Breeze leaning into him and Bijou peaceful on his chest. She shifted and turned on her side, so she could admire them all together before reaching out and running her fingers through Bull’s locs.
His eyes didn’t open at first, but he jerked out of his sleep then angled his head toward her.
“Mmm, morning, baby.”
“Good morning. What time did you get in?”
“Late.” Bull pinched the sleep from his eyes and yawned. “Then Jou woke up, so we had some snacks, and I let her watch a little TV until she drifted back off.” He rubbed his daughter’s back and kissed the top of her head.
“It was a long night.” Toni dropped her head onto the pillow. “Your mother came in here and spent a little time with us. We watched two of the five Toy Story movies.”
Bull’s eyes landed on the ceiling. Toni knew he had something on his mind the way his eyes danced over it.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Lot of shit went down last night, T. Gave me a lot to think about, and it changes things. Everything.” He turned to her.
“Like what?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Bezai, I’m your wife. I’m not some random bird. If something is going on, for the sake of us and our children, you need to tell me. I understand protecting me, but you can’t shield me from everything. I’m stronger than you think.”
He let her words sink in before sighing and shifting Jou Jou into the middle of the bed closer to Breeze. Bull sat up, propping one of his elbows on the mattress and staring at her.
“Braxton is dead.”
“Oh, my God.” Toni gasped.
“Not only that, but me and Eazy were talking about that night. The night Bronx got hit. When you told us about the tattoo, it got us both thinking. We all got that tattoo years ago when we decided we were a crew. Only the six of us had it.”
“Six?” Toni repeated, confused as she did the math.
“But… there are only five of you…” Then, something flickered in her mind.
Pretty girl. That voice. Those eyes. When he held his hand up in her face tonight, she hadn’t been paying close enough attention, but now she saw it.
The man who came in and broke her and Chai up.
“What’s wrong?”
“That man, the man who helped Chai take us. He was there. I remember that voice now.” Toni stared ahead and hugged her knees against her chest. “From that night. His hand, he has that tattoo.”
“His name is Midas. Marchonne St. James,” Bull revealed. “He used to be down with us until he pulled some snake shit and got me jammed up for five years. He disappeared, and none of us heard from him again. At least that’s what we thought.”
“He killed Bronx.”
Toni whipped her head in his direction.
Bull nodded. “Not only that, but Braxton sent him to kill Bronx.”
“What!” Tonie squealed, making Breeze jerk in his sleep. “Are you serious?”
“On top of all that, Oracle can fucking walk, and Eazy’s ex, Niva, she’s alive.”
“What the hell? Is this the Twilight Zone?” Toni ran her fingers through her hair. “How? I… I don’t even know where to start. How is Eazy? How are you? And what are you going to do about Midas?”
“I’m killing that nigga. Ain’t no other option,” Bull voiced, listening to an alert go off on his phone beside him.
He reached for it and checked the notification window and saw that he had a text come through from Eazy in the group chat to him and Jewel.
E: Need to talk. ASAP. I’m at Lotus’s spot.
Bull: Say less. Let you know when I’m on the way.
“Who was that?” Toni questioned.
“Eazy. Said he needs to talk. Get dressed. Get the kids dressed. We can go grab some clothes from the house if you want. I kind of want to stay close to Brenda right now.”
“Yeah.” Toni nodded. “I get it.”
“I’m gonna take a shower and go talk to her. One more thing.”
Bull tossed the covers, planted his feet on the floor, and faced his wife.
“Don’t tell anybody Braxton is dead. As far as the rest of the world knows, he took off.”
“Okay,” Toni agreed.
Bull disappeared inside the bathroom, closing the door behind him, and Toni got up to get herself together.
She couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t relieved that Braxton would no longer be a problem.
For the last four years, the man had haunted her dreams. For the first time, she could breathe and didn’t feel the need to look over her shoulder as much.
There was still Midas and Chai to deal with, but without Braxton backing them, it was going to make things harder for those two to accomplish anything.
Bull showered, handled his oral hygiene, and slipped into a pair of sweats, a white V neck shirt, and a pair of navy, gray, and white Nikes.
Emerging from the bathroom, he spotted Breeze on the edge of the bed while Toni tied his shoes.
Jou Jou jumped up and down in the middle, fully rested and ready to terrorize for the day.
“I monkey, Daddy. Look, I jump!” She continued to bounce.
Bull shook his head and paused at the foot. “Jou, you need to be careful. This a big bed. I don’t want you to fall and hit the floor.”
“I big guh, Daddy.” She pouted, a cute frown embedded in her heart shaped face.
Toni finished with Breeze’s shoe, and he jumped off the bed.
“Gamma Brenda said we can have pancakes for breakfast. Can we, Daddy?” Excitement danced around his warm brown eyes.
“Yeah, come on, let’s see if she’s got some ready.” Bull nodded toward the door, and Breeze shot ahead of him as he pulled it open for them to leave. Toni sighed, waved for Jou Jou to come to the edge of the bed, and scooped her onto her hip.
“Come on, little bouncy girl.”
“Bounce bounce!” Jou squealed from her mother’s arms carrying her out of the room.