Dirty DNA 3: The Renegade (G Street Chronicles Presents)

by BlaQue

  “I know NiQue had some issues. It wasn’t her fault though. My pops treated her like she was an outcast instead of getting her the medical attention she needed. It fucked her up completely to watch my father dote on YaYa and then take me in without ever having a relationship with her. NiQue was screwed up because my father didn’t want anything to do with her and I think NiQue passed on her illness to YaSheema Nicole.”

  Shadow dropped the lit blunt in his lap out of shock. “Nigga, you ain’t telling me niecy got the same shit are you?” Shadow said, trying to pick up the blunt before it burned a hole in the chair.

  “I don’t know, Shadow. I really don’t know. I mean…all of the signs are there. I’ve been trying to ignore them, but I would catch YaSheema Nicole talking to herself and her moods would change like the blowing of the wind,” I said, taking the blunt as he passed it my way.

  “Then there is the matter of the police showing up at my crib the day after she left to come up here. They wanted to question her in connection with a murder in Georgia.”

  “Man! Your peoples always got something going on. Why would the police think your niece got something to do with a murder?” Shadow asked.

  “Her friend told the cops they should question YaSheema Nicole about the murder because she made some threats to the dude the night he was killed. Several people heard YaSheema make the threats, so the police think she really followed through with them. Now I can’t get her to return my calls. Shadow, this shit is all fucked up and I don’t know where to start. I feel like I am going backwards in time. I feel like I have been dropped seventeen years in the past; aint shit adding up. Niggas popping up that were supposed to be dead and my niece ain’t returning calls and I think Rhina is missing. I hate to think the worst, but with my family history, there’s no telling what’s going on.”

  “I sure hope you ain’t got problems like you had in the past; because if you do, you’re fucked!” Shadow choked on the blunt.

  I sat there thinking about everything and Shadow was right. If I was reliving the past it may not play out so sweet this time and I wasn’t ready to see how it all was going to end. I slipped into my own private thoughts while Shadow made a call to his daughter, Paige. He left her a message and as he hung up, my cell phone rang in my pocket.

  Pinky’s name flashed across the screen and I answered before it rang for the second time.

  “Hello.”

  “Yeah, Neko your niece is safe and sound on campus. According to the school system, she’s been here for a few days. I’ll keep an eye on her till you get here,” Pinky offered.

  “Thanks, Pinky. I appreciate you taking the time to check on her for me. I’ll see you in a couple days when I get to the city,” I said

  “Ok, Neko and you’re welcome,” she said and then she hung up.

  Once I put my phone away I noticed Shadow was staring at me.

  “What nigga?” I asked him.

  “You better be careful my nigga. You might be fucking around with fire fucking with Pinky again. You’re a married man now and females like Pinky are detrimental to a marriage. That’s exactly why I ain’t never getting married,” he laughed.

  I chuckled at his half-witted humor, but I knew he was right. Getting caught up slipping with Pinky could fuck up my happy home that I had worked so hard to build. However, something deep down told me that there was no way to avoid Pinky and I really don’t think I really wanted to.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Dread

  I woke up to the sound of my iPhone chirping. I checked the time and was shocked to see it was midday. I had slept most of my Saturday away. I guess that bottle I picked up after parting ways with Ms. Grey was to blame. I answered my phone and to my surprise, it was Ms. Grey on the other end.

  “Hi, Mr. Evans. I was just calling to check on you. Before you say anything, I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. I’ve never thrown myself on anyone before and I’m sorry for making things strange between us. I never meant to make you uncomfortable.”

  “You don’t have to apologize, Ms. Grey. I’m gonna be honest with you…I don’t think you want to get mixed up with someone like me. I ain’t got nothin’ to offer you and I probably never will. It was for the best that our groove got knocked last night. I wouldn’t do anything but cause you problems I’m sure you don’t want or need in your life. I don’t have the best track record with women and I ain’t so hot in my career either. As cliché’ as this sounds, it’s definitely me and it ain’t you,” I said, hoping she would understand.

  I didn’t want to ruin another woman’s life and if I kept up this lustful game with Ms. Grey, that’s surely what I would do. I would ruin her and she didn’t deserve that.

  “I understand, Mr. Evans. You have a good weekend and I will see you at work on Monday,” she replied weakly. Then she hung up before I could say anything else.

  Once again I had undoubtedly hurt another woman. It wasn’t my intention to hurt her or anyone else. I figured letting her go now was best for her before things went too far. I lay in my bed wondering what to do next, then my cell phone rang again. I cursed as I answered it blindly.

  “Hello.”

  “May I speak with Dread?”

  “This is he. Who’s speaking?”

  “Neko.”

  I honestly didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t spoken to Neko in years and I was surprised that he called.

  “Yeah, what can I do for you?” I asked smugly. The last time Neko and I had words they weren’t pleasant. He told me to stay away from my own daughter or he would make sure I took an early dirt nap if I didn’t. At the time he said those things to me, I was in such a dark place that I had no choice but to adhere to his demands. I knew what he was capable of and I didn’t want to meet my demise. Now here he was, years later, calling me.

  “I need to talk to you and I can’t do it over the phone. Is it possible for us to meet somewhere?”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean…the last time we spoke you said you ain’t never wanna see me again and if I got near my daughter or your family again, you would have me dealt with,” I shot.

  “I know what I said and ordinarily I wouldn’t be reaching out to you, but there’s something I think we need to discuss. It’s about YaSheema Nicole.”

  I perked up hearing my baby girl’s name. “Is she…is everything ok?” I asked, growing worried.

  “I ain’t sure. All I know is that she is in D.C. and I think she may be in trouble. I never thought I would be saying this, but I need your help,” Neko said.

  “When and where do you want to meet?” I asked, still skeptical about even having a phone conversation with this nigga. He had threatened to take me out and now here he was asking for my help. I couldn’t really say no even if I really wanted to. YaSheema was my daughter, and if she needed me, then maybe this was my chance to show and prove that I wasn’t as fucked up as I’m sure Neko had made me out to be.

  “Meet me at Big Chair Café in Southeast. I’ll be there at three. Come alone and don’t tell anyone you’re meeting me. If you’re not there by three, I’m leaving,” Neko said and then he hung up.

  I sat there holding the phone in my hand with a bewildered look on my face. Whatever Neko had to tell me couldn’t be good. Any news coming from anyone in his family was never good news. The fact that he asked me to come alone was enough to put me on high alert. I didn’t trust him and he damn sure ain’t trust me. So I’m positive this meeting was going to be nothing nice.

  * * * * *

  At 2:45, I pulled up in front of Big Chair Café. I sat there watching the dope fiends lining up at the methadone clinic to get their fix for the day. I wondered if I should even be here. Was I truly ready to come face to face with Neko Reynolds? And more importantly, did I want to know what kind of trouble my child was in? I fought the urge to start my car up and back out of the space and never look back. It wouldn’t be the first time I had done it. The love I had for my daughter wouldn’t
allow me to though. I hadn’t been there for her for so many years that it was my duty to try and help her if she was in trouble. I may not have been shit before, but maybe now I could try.

  I got out of the car and crossed busy Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and entered the café. I found a seat in the back, but not far off enough that I couldn’t get out of there in a hurry if I needed to. From my seat, I could see everyone coming and going. The history I had with this family was enough to make you want to check for all available exits and stay strapped. Nothing good ever came from them. I wasn’t a sucker, but anyone associated with them is marked.

  I ordered a drink and waited and watched the front door like a hawk. I was good into my drink when I felt someone standing behind me.

  “Good to see you, Dread.”

  I looked behind me and saw Neko standing over me. He took a seat across from me while I wondered where he’d come from. I’d watched the door the whole time and I never saw him enter the place. I shook my head in disbelief. Even when you thought you were being cautious fuckin’ with these people, you quickly found out you were slippin’. They were all sneaky and I hope my daughter ain’t shit like them. However, I was doubtful. I wouldn’t be here right now otherwise.

  “Good to see you too,” I lied. Seeing Neko couldn’t be anything but trouble headed my way.

  “Look…we ain’t gotta pretend we’re the best of friends. Let’s be clear, you ain’t doing nothin’ for me, if you do anything at all. You’re doing this for your daughter. In case you forgot who she is, she’s the child you left behind. I know back then things were rocky. Believe me, I know. I lost everyone I loved too. You weren’t the only one. But I couldn’t turn my back on my blood. My niece deserved more than that. My father was notorious for fucking women, dealing drugs, making babies and only raising one of them. Darnell Clayton was a muthafucka’. He created all these mistakes and because of it we all paid the price. It was like my pops bred and raised craziness. He spoiled YaSheema and raised her to be just like him. She didn’t know anything other than what Darnell taught her. She was selfish and stubborn and wante what she wanted or she would take it.

  He never raised NiQue and we see how she ended up. She needed my father’s attention and love. She needed what my father gave to YaSheema and then to me when he found out about me. Instead, my father concocted a whirlwind of lies and paid people to keep up his charade. He and all the people around him who loved him, paid for it with their lives. I don’t want the same thing to happen to my niece. You gotta help stop this cycle. Your daughter may be headed down the same road as her mother. I’ve seen some shit that leads me to believe she ain’t well. I guess I ain’t wanna believe that NiQue had passed on the same bad blood to YaSheema Nicole. I tried to ignore it,” Neko said.

  I looked at him in disbelief. I know this nigga wasn’t insinuating that my daughter was crazy. That couldn’t be what he was telling me. “What are you saying, Neko? I ain’t quite following you.”

  Neko glared at me so coldly; his eyes told me what I didn’t want to face. “Dread, don’t play stupid. You know what I’m saying. I don’t think I need to spell it out. But in case I do, let me break it down to you like this…the police are looking for your daughter in connection with a murder. I ain’t heard shit from her or my wife since she left for school last week. Something is definitely up with your lil’ renegade and if we don’t catch up to her, then the police might haul her ass away. I know I don’t want that. If she ain’t seeing things straight, then her being locked up ain’t gonna do her no good. She needs some medical attention if that’s what’s going on with her.”

  My forehead began to sweat and my hands began to tremble uncontrollably. “You said you haven’t talked to her since she left for school? She’s here isn’t she?” I asked, wringing my hands together to stop them from shaking.

  “Yeah, she’s here. Or at least that’s what the school shows. She checked in, but I ain’t heard nothin’ from her or my wife since…”

  “She’s here. I saw her. She’s enrolled at Howard University; isn’t she?” I asked, cutting him off and getting straight to the point.

  Neko gave me a peculiar look. “Yeah, she’s at Howard. How’d you know? Has she been in touch with you? Has she said anything to you? What did she say?”

  “I haven’t talked to her. I think I saw her Monday when she was checking in. I think it was her. I tried to catch up to her, but she left the office before I had a chance to talk to her. I knew it was her though. I knew it!” I said panicking.

  No parent should be afraid of their flesh and blood. I wasn’t afraid, I was terrified. If everything Neko was saying was true, there was no telling what YaSheema Nicole was up to.

  “Keep it down and keep it together. Did she see you?”

  I shook my head. I wanted to scream No, but the words were caught in my throat. I cleared my throat and stood up.

  “Look…good luck on finding her. Good luck on whatever she’s mixed up in, but leave me out of it! I’m out of here.”

  “I knew meeting you and asking you to be a man was asking too much. Any nigga that would walk out on their baby ain’t shit!” Neko said standing up.

  We were standing face to face and I could see his hatred for me in his eyes. Fuck him! I ain’t care what he thought about me.

  “You could at least tell me how you knew she was at Howard,” Neko said to my back as I walked away.

  I stopped and turned to him. “I just started working there and I saw her. Now if you’re done, so am I,” then I walked out the front door.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Watching my Back

  YaSheema Nicole

  I don’t know why that lady who showed up at my room gave me the creeps, but she did. I swear I remember seeing her somewhere before, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I was probably being paranoid. Takiya had me watching my back about everything.

  “You better be glad I got you watching. If I didn’t, we would still be in Hick town Upper Marlboro trying to talk some white bitch into giving us a ride back to the mainland. You know what? I never knew you were so gullible,” Takiya said, ripping into my consciousness.

  “I don’t want to hear nothin’ else you got to say to me. I know I should have never trusted Lamont and he got away with raping me. We need to just forget about it and move on. It was my mistake,” I whispered.

  “You’re damn right it was your mistake. It was a mistake that could have cost us. I thought we were on the same page when we came to D.C. I thought we were supposed to be finding our father. You’ve been caught up for a week straight on a nigga who beat you and raped you the first chance he got, and you never once bothered to check on your father. Ain’t that the reason we’re here?”

  “No, that ain’t the only reason we’re here. We’re supposed to be getting an education,” I shot back. Then I picked up the remote control and turned on the television.

  I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I came across the five o’clock news. The very same trailer I remembered being in the night before flashed across the screen. I turned the volume up on the television and listened as the reporters stated that the car stolen in last night’s crime had been recovered. It was found on the campus of Howard University and the police were dusting it for prints. My mouth hung wide open. I thought we had only taken the car. I didn’t remember hurting anyone.

  “Oh, what did you think? You thought that ole shriveled-up shrew was gonna just give us her car? Fuck no! I took that shit and got us home. It’s more than what I can say you did. All you fucked around and did was managed to get yourself raped. I saved your stupid ass!”

  I put my hands over my ears and tried not to hear what Takiya was saying. Instead of drowning her out, she just got louder. She was insistent upon making me hear her.

  “You can cover your ears. You can try to run away all you want. You can do whatever you like, YaSheema…but I ain’t going nowhere. As smart as you are, I would think you would know that by now. Besi
des what would you do without me? Huh?

  “I would be normal. That’s what I would do without you. I would have friends. I wouldn’t be strange. If it weren’t for you, I would probably have my family!” I shouted over the television. I was desperate to get my point across. Takiya had done enough damage and now she was going to know just what I thought of her. “Takiya, I don’t need you. Nor do I want you around. I never asked for this. I never asked for any of this! You’re driving me crazy and because of you…people are gonna think I’m crazy. You have me committing crimes that I don’t remember committing. You’re always meddling when you clearly aren’t needed! I wish you would just go away!” I screamed.

  And just like that there was silence. There was no back talk. Takiya didn’t even bother to make a scene. Maybe this time she got the picture and she would just stay gone. I gathered the sweatpants and t-shirt the old woman had given me the night before, stuffed them in a laundry bag and left the room. On my way down to the trash chute, the first thing I noticed was that all the residents were congregating in the lobby. They were all looking out the front door at whatever was going on outside. I inched closer to the group to see what they were all looking at. They were all looking at the three-ring circus of media outside. The reporters were questioning everyone coming and going.

  I heard some of the residence chattering. They were all talking about how the police had found the car that was connected in the murder of the old lady. I lowered my head as the guilt consumed me and eased past the onlookers. I had to get rid of these clothes. I didn’t need anyone connecting me to any of this mess, so I had to dump them.

  I brushed past them all and went out the doors leading outside to the trash chute; I almost walked right into my roommate Paige and Lamont. They were hugged up on one another like old lovers and my blood began to boil watching them interact with one another. I swallowed hard and walked past them like I didn’t see either of them.