Chapter 1
SIX MONTHS LATER
“I’m coming, man!” I said, running around my kitchen. “You acting like I starve you, dude.”
KJ did the dramatic fall out in his high chair, screaming at the top of his lungs. My boy didn’t play about his food. He got that honestly because I was the same way. When I was ready to eat, I didn’t need excuses.
As soon as I sat in front of him with a serving of eggs, yogurt, and mashed oatmeal, he settled down, smacking his lips. I shook my head as I fed him the egg.
“You greedy as hell, Fat Man. You get that from your uncle Smoke.”
KJ hummed happily as he smacked on the eggs.
He didn’t give a fuck about what I was saying.
I smiled. My boy was growing and thriving.
Being thrown into single fatherhood was the last thing I expected six months ago.
Donna being gone was hard. For everything I thought I knew about babies, there were three things I didn’t.
Thank God for my family. They stepped behind me and KJ big time. My baby had more love than he knew what to do with.
My front door opened, and Jaeda walked in. She bypassed speaking to me and went straight for her nephew.
“Hi, Fat Man!” she cooed, tickling him.
He gave her a gummy smile and banged his fists on the high chair.
“Did you miss your auntie, boo butt?”
“Don’t talk to him like that, man. He’s not a dog.”
“Shut up, Steel.”
She scooped KJ from his high chair and smothered his face with kisses. His little squeals made me smile.
“I missed you,” she said, snuggling him against her.
“You just saw him yesterday.”
“KJ, why is your daddy in our business?”
She took a seat next to me and pulled the half-eaten plate to her before continuing to feed him. She was my babysitter for the day, so she’d come to scoop KJ up.
“I packed his bag already, Jae,” I said, standing to grab my energy drink.
“Okay. We’re gonna work on sign language today. Quaid found this program for babies, and I wanna try it with him.”
I smiled. My brainiac sister and her equally brainiac husband loved teaching these kids new things.
We’d come a long way from snatching that nigga up for her.
I hated to admit it, but he was a good dude, and the perfect person for her.
They loved doing corny shit together, but it made them happy. She found her twin flame.
“Have fun,” I said.
“I can’t wait to take him to Comic-Con this year. What do you think about being Baby Groot, KJ?”
“That lil’ tree looking nigga?” I asked.
“Yes. He would be so adorable.”
I walked over and took KJ from her. “Unhand my baby. You got both of us fucked up.”
She laughed. “Steel, he’s gonna have fun.”
“You’re gonna scare him. Niggas be walking around there looking weird and shit. Gon’ traumatize my boy.”
She rolled her eyes. “He won’t be traumatized. I won’t let him see anything scary. Quaid already got our tickets. It’s me, him, Jaiden, Korri, and KJ. You should come.”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“And I don’t care to find out.”
She kissed her teeth. “Whatever. Let me finish feeding him so we can go.”
“I’ma go shower and get dressed so I can head out with y’all.”
“Okay.”
I kissed my son before giving him back to his auntie and left the kitchen. Upstairs, I showered and made haste in getting dressed. I had five one-hour blocks of self-defense classes starting at ten and an after-school class for kids. The kids were my favorite class to teach.
I loved watching the progression of their confidence and abilities.
I learned to fight at a young age. Niggas used to think that they could fuck with us because of our last name.
Everybody had to prove they weren’t scared of a Dillinger.
Our father told us a long time ago that people wouldn’t like us just because of that.
We were born into a world that would judge us before they really knew who and what we were.
There had always been rumors. There was always some secret beef or animosity.
My siblings, cousins, and I never really went looking for trouble as kids.
It just seemed to find us, and when it found us, it was up.
We’d always ridden hard for each other, and nothing would change that.
My studio, KD Defense Academy, had been rated number one for three years in a row.
It was one of the things I was most proud of.
So many people walked through my door, bruised and broken, but walked out with a renewed sense of self and confidence.
It was some beautiful shit to see, especially with my kids.
A lot of them talked to me about things going on in their lives, and most of the time, it was bullying. I hated that shit. While I didn’t condone violence with them, I told each of them they had every right to protect themselves against clear and present threats.
For that reason alone, I offered more than self-defense.
I had a team of two counselors, a social worker, and a private police officer. Many clients come in seeking self-defense because of a significant other, spouse, or abusive family member. I extended the extra services for special cases like that.
Fully showered and dressed, I headed back downstairs. Jaeda and KJ were on the couch watching Ms. Rachel. My baby loved that happy ass lady. He would grin the whole time he watched her on TV.
“I’m ready to go,” I said, opening the door.
Jaeda turned off the TV and stood with KJ in her arms.
“Say bye, daddy,” she said, waving his little hand. “Have a good day.”
I smiled as I leaned in to kiss his chubby cheeks. “I love you, Fat Man. Be good for your auntie. Thanks again, Jae.”
“No problem. We’re probably gonna make our rounds here then go visit Mama.”
I grabbed KJ’s baby bag and handed it to her. “Call me if you need me.”
“We won’t need you, but okay. Have a good day, Steel.”
She kissed my cheek before walking out the open door. I watched as she strapped KJ into his car seat and got in herself before climbing into my car. It was time to get the day started.
Four o’clock rolled around quicker than I imagined.
Before I knew it, the bell above the door was dinging with the sounds of my after-school kids rolling in with their parents and guardians. As usual, they greeted me with hugs, pounds, and high fives. To my family and those who knew us and of us, I was Steel. To them, I was simply Mr. K.
“Mr. K, I got a hundred on my spelling test!”
“Mr. K, I made student of the week!”
“Mr. K, I made the football team!”
They were all talking at once, but I could hear every one of them. Clapping my hands, the room immediately settled down.
“Sounds like you all had a bomb week,” I said, looking around at them with a smile. “I’m proud of your accomplishments. Keep up the good work. Now, everybody, take your places and start your warm-ups. We start in ten minutes.”
“Yes, sir!”
They rushed to their places on the mat. I made my rounds, greeting the parents as usual. I paused for a moment when I saw a woman with a little girl. The child couldn’t have been more than ten, but something about both of them was vaguely familiar.
The little girl looked around nervously as she held the woman’s hand. I made my way over to them and extended a hand.
“Welcome to KD Defense Academy. I’m Kerrion. How can I help you?”
The woman squinted at me for a moment as though she was trying to figure out who I was. The little girl looked up at her and shook her hand.
“Aunt Dee, he’s talking to you.”
Dinah blinked rapidly. “I’m sorry. You just . . . you look very familiar.” She shook her head, then grabbed my hand. “Anyway. I’m . . . Dee, and this is my niece, Nayelli.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I looked down at Nayelli and extended my hand. “Very nice to meet you, Nayelli.”
She gave a soft smile and grabbed my hand. I didn’t know what it was, but our eyes locked, and again, hers looked very familiar. I’d seen them before, but I couldn’t put my finger on who she shared them with.
“Are y’all from around here?” I asked, pulling my hand back.
“No. We just relocated to the area a few weeks ago, which is the reason I’m here. Nayelli has been having a little trouble with bullying. We’ve talked to the school, and nothing is helping.”
I frowned. “What’s going on?”
“The usual name calling. Then there’s this group of little girls picking on her all because the boy one of them likes told Nayelli she was pretty. I mean, look at her. She’s a beautiful little girl. It’s not her fault that little na—”
She paused for a moment to look down at her niece. I could tell she was thinking about what she wanted to say. Finally, she covered Nayelli’s ears.
“Look. My sister doesn’t believe in being violent to solve a problem, but her auntie is with the shits, you feel me?”
I chuckled. “I feel you.”
“Kids can be cruel and sometimes downright disgusting. It’s gonna take one time for somebody to put their hands on my niece, and I’m whupping everybody’s ass.
The parents, the kids, the teachers, . .
. everybody. Before it comes to that, I want to make sure she can protect herself.
If there has to be a fight, I want it to be a fair one. ”
She removed her hands and wrapped her arms protectively around her niece.
I looked down at Nayelli. “It’s hard being the new kid, huh?”
She nodded. “I hate that school. I wish I didn’t have to go.”
“I understand that. How would you feel about joining my class?”
She shrugged. “Aunt Dee said I need to learn how to kick some ass.”
Dee smacked her arm. “Now I did not say it like that . . . maybe to your mama, but not to you. Watch your mouth.”
I inadvertently chuckled. All I could hear was my mama in my head.
“Why don’t you two stay and watch today’s class?” I suggested. “If you decide you want to join, my assistant can get the paperwork signed for enrollment.”
Dee nodded. “We can do that.”
“Just have a seat with the other parents. I’m about to get started.” Looking down at Nayelli, I flicked her nose. “Again, it was nice to meet you, Nayelli. I hope you decide to join.”
She smiled softly as I walked away. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew her. She looked like somebody, but I couldn’t put my finger on who. The shit was going to eat at me until I knew who it was. I could easily ask Jaeda to look into it, but I didn’t want to do that.
I was sure with time, I’d figure it out. Until then, I was gonna mind my damn business.