Chapter 6 #3
Then, I got with Bahati, and shit started looking up for my family and me thanks to her pops. We had a stable plug and a stable income. Both were a first for us, and we were eating. Then her feelings drove her actions, and she started fucking with my paper, so I had to dead that shit.
That’s what I did—I handled shit.
I wasn’t a man of immediate action unless I’d assessed the situation.
Back then, you would’ve never been able to convince me that I’d be given an ultimatum about who I was marrying between two unfavorable women.
Bahati may have seemed like the obvious choice to Don’s ultimatum, but she was just as far from it as Solana was.
I had issues with both women, and constantly comparing and contrasting them wasn’t something I took pride in.
But I couldn’t stop. In a way, it was necessary.
Don putting me on a time clock to marry one or the other was some goofy shit.
Another man putting me, Shio Cuppacio, on a timer was fucking laughable.
I did shit on my own fucking timing while making my own fucking choices.
Those choices, though, had Bahati sitting next to me, seething because I wouldn’t answer her questions.
My choices had her out in the world, taking care of a little girl as a single mom.
My choices had failed to allow me to see Solana for who the fuck she was.
All that shit had me questioning every fucking thing.
Slightly turning my head, I could see that Bahati was still pouting.
If nothing else, she was beautiful, but within hours, she’d proved that she was still an emotionally driven woman.
That was a “fuck no” for my lifestyle. She didn’t know how to read the fucking room, and when she did, her first move was to figure out how to get ahead of whatever so that her outcome was advantageous.
The shit was selfish, and I wasn’t marrying a selfish woman.
In a perfect world, I wouldn’t be marrying either of the women, but I couldn’t say no without fucking up my cousins and my brother.
“Bahati… I didn’t mean for you to get dragged in this shit.” I didn’t think I’d ever see your ass again. Damn sure didn’t want to. But that’s what happens when you spare a motherfucker. “But you got my word that no harm will come your way ever again,” I said, keeping some of my thoughts to myself.
“And Shya?”
Shya.
The light had turned green, so we were back in motion, but I still glanced over at Bahati. She was slightly turned in her seat, legs folded, and staring at me. Her big lips were pouty, and her eyes were wide with wonder. But Bahati wasn’t her, and she definitely had some shit to her.
“You willing to get a DNA test to prove she’s mine?” I asked, glancing at the road, then back to Bahati.
She blinked but then nodded. “Yes. She looks just like your mother, Shio.”
I watched her for signs of deception as I countered, “You don’t know my mother.”
“I don’t, but you’ve watched your stepfather enough on YouTube for me to know what she looks like.”
Silence. That’s all I could give her before switching the focus of our short conversation.
“You should have told me you were pregnant, Bahati.”
“After you tried to kill me? Shio, I was happy to walk away with my life. I don’t resent you because I knew how important feeding your family was to you, so instead of imposing on your life, I counted my losses.”
I shook my head at her foolish words. “A baby, though, Bahati? I would’ve fucking been there.”
“I know, Shio. I’d always said that I was going to come find you, but I hadn’t mustered up the courage.” Her eyes fell. “I’m sorry.”
Damn.
I didn’t need another damn thing added to my plate, but I’d never turn my back on my child.
Plus, when problems came my way, I didn’t shy away from them or complain about shit being tough.
I wasn’t prepared for Bahati to be a permanent fixture in my life, especially since she was only supposed to be there temporarily back then.
Her time with me had ended, and I didn’t like to hold onto anything past its expiration date.
Still, here she was, and with a plus one.
I was a man first, and family was everything to me, so I’d have to adapt as needed.
“Shio, I know you don’t want to talk. You’ve never been one of many words, especially, considering…” She glanced out of the window and grabbed her broken arm. “Why was I kidnapped? I must know.”
It has always been us—the Cuppacios. We’ve gone through what most men could never survive.
The mental, physical, and psychological abuse from our fathers that we endured together created a bond that no man or animal could break.
Then, we had to merge with the Rinaldis, exposing men and women who didn’t share our blood to our secrets.
After that, Solana entered my world, and thankfully, she hadn’t been privy to all things Shio.
Now, Bahati was here. However, baby mother or not, she was only getting what I was willing to give.
Don was right about one thing tonight: I’d been letting too many people into the circle.
“To be honest with you, ion know. Why were you kidnapped, Bahati?”
I cocked my head as I merged from the highway, passing a shopping center that was a few weeks away from opening.
Some of the buildings didn’t have signs, but the biggest one was a Shopway—a brand-new store that was a cross between Walmart and Target.
It was the store Ezio said he’d shopped at when I sent him to buy everything he could for Shya after we’d gotten back from Mexico.
Her broad nose wrinkled, and her mouth slacked.
How did the Rodríguezes know I had a child before I knew I had a child? Solana had only been in my home for less than two months. Granted, it didn’t take long to get information on a person, especially if the price was right and your reach was long but the shit just wasn’t adding up.
“I don’t know! It is why I am asking you! And what is all of this, Shio? Are you rich? Is that bitch that’s obsessed with our baby your girl? Why were we kidnapped by Mexicans?”
“You were kidnapped because they believe I’m in possession of something that belongs to them.”
“What does he believe belonged to him, Shio?”
She was met with silence as the car glided atop a speed bump.
“Is she your girl—”
“No.”
“Okay…” She sighed with relief, and for some reason, that made the veins in my neck pulse.
She ran her tongue over her straight teeth. “Are they some type of gang? They didn’t speak English.”
Bahati hadn’t been the type to sleep around, mainly because she would do anything to prove that she was my one and only and that she was down for me.
Even though this shit was hitting me left field, there was a good chance that her baby was mine.
That meant she would be around, and if she was going to be around, she was going to easily be able to put shit together, even if I didn’t tell her.
Still, I’d be getting a DNA test, and if the baby wasn’t mine, I’d just handle her, silencing her and everything I was about to tell her.
“They are a huge Mexican cartel.”
“And you didn’t kill the ones who were in charge. I saw them, Shio. Only one was at the building, and he got away. Will they come back for us?” Her eyes widened, fear present as she waited for my assurance.
“Aye… I just told you, I got you.”
She nodded curtly. There were so many questions swirling through her mind, I could tell from the way she was biting the nail of her thumb.
I didn’t want her in my business, but she’d already witnessed my folks and me murder before fleeing the country after said murders.
We’d broken a plethora of laws, and she’d been there for many of them.
I had to pivot this because the family’s safety would always be a priority, and now, two women were under my roof that I did not trust. But since Bahati was going to be around because of Shya, I would rather tell her what she needed to know from my mouth than her to be digging around for shit.
“My father—”
“Your dead daddy?”
I nodded once. “He was a part of a mob. The Cuppacio Mob.”
“I thought that was just a rumor.” She chuckled.
There had been whispers all over Chicago about the Cuppacios.
It was probably one of the reasons we got so much respect when we were first trying to figure out how to take care of everyone.
We didn’t pay any attention to the rumors; we couldn’t afford to.
We also didn’t give a fuck enough about our fathers to glamourize the tales floating around Chicago.
“Nah. It wasn’t a rumor.”
“But people in the mob are rich, and when I got with you, you were—”
“Trying to come up, but you interfered with that because you were constantly in your fucking feelings.”
She recoiled and cleared her throat. “Shio… I—”
“It’s cool. I’m past that.”
And I was, truly. I didn’t dwell on shit. It didn’t do anything for my mental.
I’d made it to the gated subdivision of my home—a home that was once my peace, where I resided alone. Now, I was sharing my roof with three other people. The magnetic key attached to my dash allowed access without having to speak to the guard.
“Our fathers didn’t leave us shit. They fucked off their bread. We built our shit from the ground up. We ended up merging with another mob—the Rinaldis—and that’s why I’m here in Jagoda Bay.”
“So, you’re a mobster?”
“Look, the only reason why I’m telling you this shit is that we’re all close, and we don’t filter our words. Everyone has wives, and they’re always around. You’ll hear shit, and instead of you trying to play detective, you’re getting your information from the horse’s mouth.”