7. Old Threats #3
“I don’t get it.” Confusion crowded Essence’s face, and Toni caught the anger lingering in her husband’s eyes.
“No, you wouldn’t.” Toni sighed. “I don’t know if you’re stupid or slow—”
“T,” Bull warned.
“No! Don’t T me! Not for her!
“Excuse me? You don’t know me or shit about me or Bull for that matter. I know you’re not sitting there trying to judge me when you were fucking his brother not long before you got with him and trapped him with babies!”
Toni quickly shot to her feet, fists balled at her side. Bull immediately reached for her arm and pulled her back down beside him.
“Not here.” He shook his head.
“She don’t get to talk to me like that.”
“T, take a walk. Go find Mama and the kids.”
“You really trying to dismiss me right now, Bezai? Is that what we doing?”
“Come here.” He grabbed her face, planting a soft, calming kiss against her lips that left Essence rolling her eyes.
Toni’s shoulders relaxed as his tongue briefly intersected with hers before he pulled away and looked into her eyes.
“Give me five minutes.”
“Okay,” she agreed, cutting her eyes at Essence before they landed on Midas. “You’ll never get a pass from me for kidnapping me and my kids. I don’t care who you married to.” Toni stomped off with those last words, and Essence’s mouth slipped open.
“What is she talking about, Marchonne?”
“Nothing, baby. She tripping.” He brushed it off, and Niva watched Toni strut off.
Bull leaned forward, peeping Niva lingering in the background, watching Lotus with Eazy in a nearby booth, grabbing the hibachi she was talking about.
“Yeah, tell yourself whatever you need to, Midas.”
“What’s up, Bull? I thought we were going to try this amicable shit? Matter of fact, I ain’t been able to reach Brax lately. You know what happened or where I can find him?”
Bull didn’t blink nor budge. Instead, he narrowed his eyes on his opponent.
“Nah. That nigga in the wind, and I don’t really care either way. Since you ain’t got your ally, you might want to figure out your next move. You sure Prospect Pointe is still the place for you?”
“Are you threatening him?” Essence stepped in front of her husband. “I’m sorry, Bull, what gives you the right?” Although fired up, Essence was a little ego driven in the moment, too, thinking Bull’s anger was solely based on her.
The fact of the matter was, she was the last thing on his mind when it came to Midas.
“E, if you want to let this nigga get in your head and turn you against your own people, by all means, carry on the bird brain activity, but don’t put that on me as something else. It’s about far more than whatever he got you snowed into believing.”
“Ain’t nobody got me snowed on shit, Bull. Midas cares about me. He listens to me. He sees me as me. I’m his partner as far as he’s concerned. We don’t have to hide things or lie—”
“All he’s been doing is hiding and lying to you since he fucking met you! Listen to your delusional ass! This nigga got your head gone! I don’t know if you that fucking lonely, or that fucking dumb—"
“Aye, ain’t gon’ be too much on my wife,” Midas spoke up.
“Fuck you!” Bull spat. “Ain’t no coming back from any of this for you. Only reason you alive right now is because I ain’t figured out quite how I want to end yo’ ass yet. Don’t worry. Your time is fucking coming.” Bull climbed off his picnic table and walked off to find his wife.
“Well, I guess we all part of the out crowd around here,” Niva joked.
Essence had tears in her eyes, which upset Midas for more than one reason as a frown hardened his features.
For one, he didn’t like seeing her cry. He might have started this whole thing with an agenda, but Essence was starting to grow on him.
She was sweet and smart. The kind of woman you can give a bag to, and she can flip that shit.
She was always looking at stocks, property opportunities, and other ways to cut corners and save money like couponing.
Most people might consider that being cheap or broke, but Midas thought it was smart.
She could bulk up on some shit at a clearance price, and that shit always blew his mind when she came in from shopping and told him how much she spent on some household shit.
“E, don’t let that shit get to you,” Midas insisted.
“I’m not.” She sniffled back tears and turned to him. “You want to go check out Mama Lila’s? I know you said you wanted that turkey leg.”
“Fa sho, let’s try to have a good time, baby.”
“I’m gonna go grab me a drink from the bar. I’ll catch up to y’all,” Niva told them.
“Okay.” Essence fell in stride with Midas in the opposite direction.
Bull allowed himself to cool off on his journey across the street where he found Toni with the kids and Brenda, a table filled with empty boats and food containers from nearly every booth.
Breeze sat happily beside his mama, stuffing his face with chicken from Mama Lila’s, while Bijou stood in her chair beside Brenda, dipping her Puff in cream cheese and taking big bites, leaving a mess on her face.
His mother swayed and snapped her fingers to the live R & B playing nearby, a fresh margarita in her hand from Agave.
She grinned when Bull approached, although he was clearly unhappy judging from the scowl on his face.
“Hey, everything okay?” Brenda asked.
“Yeah.” Bull nodded.
“I told the kids when they finished that we would go get on the streetcar. You two want to join us?”
“What you think, baby?” Toni rose and wrapped her arms around her man.
Matching her energy, he locked his behind her back and stared down into her face.
“Yeah, I’m down. Let me use the bathroom and grab a drink first.”
“Okay, you hear that, babies? Finish your food, and we’ll all get on the streetcar for a ride.”
“Yeah!” Jou Jou cheered. “I ride!”
Toni grinned, but her husband pulled away from her.
She was happy that her kids were happy. They absolutely adored their grandmother, and although the two started off rocky, and occasionally butted heads on a few things like her overcompensating on the kids and the drinking, Toni was grateful for her.
It would be easy to hate her considering everything with Bronx, but Brenda saw how Bull loved Toni.
He’d go to war over her with anyone and had already proven as much.
Brenda didn’t want to be that kind of obstacle anymore.
Braxton was gone, and as far as she was concerned, so was his vendetta.
Ten minutes later, Bull gripped a triple Don Julio in his Agave Crossing cup and helped his kids onto the streetcar behind his mother.
He and Toni took the car behind them. She scooted next to her man, and Bull draped an arm behind her back.
It was dark, and the storm clouds rolled in, but the night was still perfect.
“You sure you’re good?” Toni reached up to run her fingers through the back of his locs and then stroked his neck.
“Yeah.” Bull glanced at her but sensed she might have something on her mind. “You?”
When she didn’t say anything, but her eyes fell on the streetcar floor, Bull paused.
“Antonia.”
“I didn’t know when or how to tell you this. I’ve been overwhelmed thinking about it all day. I even told Ham to give me until later tonight to be the one to do it.”
“Tell me what? Do what, T? What you talking about?”
“When I took the kids to the park, someone approached me.”
“Who?” Bull’s brows knitted together.
“He said his name was Sudan.”
Bull’s grip tightened on his cup, and his nostrils flared.
“This happened how long ago, and you just now saying something, T!” he hissed.
“I know.” Her eyes closed in shame when he glared at her. “It’s just been a few hours.”
“What did he say?”
“He wants to negotiate with you. He says you know how to reach him.”
Bull pinched the tip of his nose and took a breath before looking away as the streetcar took off. His children laughed and squealed with so much happiness. Breeze even threw his hands up with Brenda. Bull leaned toward his wife.
“This the last time I’m saying this shit to you. I love you, but don’t you ever keep no shit like that to yourself. Tell me right away when anybody approaches you. We clear?”
“Yes.” Toni blinked back tears and nodded.
She played tough, but his wife was really a softie on the inside. Nobody ever loved her like they should have, and she was one of the most deserving people he ever met.
“Let’s enjoy the rest of this night.” Bull pulled her closer.
She rested her head against his shoulder, and he gently pecked her forehead, letting her know he was mad, but they were good.
Toni was just glad they had the type of relationship now that they could talk through.
Nothing was too big or small for Bull. He was actively showing up and showing out for his family.
“Mmm, this is good.” Lotus stuffed broccoli, chicken, and carrots into her mouth and bounced on the bench of the picnic table where she and Eazy now sat together.
He saw that Bull and Toni abandoned their table when Essence and Midas showed up, so they found one of their own. With his own order of hibachi, and two orders of tacos, he sat beside her and sipped his drink from the Golden Dragon.
“What do you think about getting an air mattress and sleeping at the new house tonight?”
“You sure you want to do that? You know you can barely get off the floor by yourself now as it is,” Eazy noted.
“You are such an asshole.” Lotus shook her head.