by Leo Sullivan
Another option was to call my mama, but I didn’t want to go that route. She didn’t know it, but I’d seen a write-up in her purse when she got home one night, saying that if she missed any more days of work, she would be at risk of losing her job. I couldn’t ask her to take that gamble for me.
“Is there no one else you can call?” Ms. Beatrice asked me again about a half hour later.
Dropping my eyes to the floor, I shook my head. Katie was lying in my arms, sleeping snuggly against my breasts. She was like an angel, but I couldn’t even bring myself to look at her right then. I was her mother and, yet again, I was helpless when she needed me.
“I called someone for you,” Ms. Beatrice suddenly said in a small voice.
Snapping my head up, I frowned slightly as I looked at her. “Who?”
“There was a man … he didn’t leave his name, but he gave me a number and made me promise to call it if you ever needed him. He told me that I should consider calling him a last resort. I—I think that we are there now—at the point where he should be called. So, I did.”
King, I thought, swallowing hard. She’d called a man and there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he was the one she’d dialed.
“I hope I didn’t overstep,” she said, sliding into a chair across from me.
Placing her hand on my arm, she silently beckoned me to look into her eyes. I did that, focusing in on her dark brown eyes which were shining with tears.
“I can tell that he’s a man with many secrets and that he has probably done a lot of things in his life that he wouldn’t want anyone to know. But…” She paused to lick dry lips. “I also know that when I looked into his face, I saw the deepest, truest, love and compassion there. He loved you and I know that he would never hurt you. Right now, you need someone you can depend on.”
I nodded my head and swiped away a tear from my eye. She was right.
Less than thirty minutes later, I was sitting inside of the hospital lobby, staring out the glass doors when I saw an Audi with dark tints pull up, curbside. At the same exact moment, a few more cars drove up as well, all with dark tints, surrounding the black Audi.
“I think this may be your ride,” Ms. Beatrice spoke up, watching the outside along with me.
“I think you’re right.”
Though the caravan of cars were discrete, I knew who was inside. King had arrived to pick me up, as promised by the simple ‘okay’ that he’d sent Beatrice’s phone when he replied, but he made sure to have his soldiers on point to protect him. Even still, it was an incredible risk that he was taking by being there.
“Let me help you and Katie out.”
Before I could object, she stood up, positioned herself behind me and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair that I was seated in.
“I can walk! I told you that I don’t need this thing,” I complained to her.
“It’s hospital policy. Just relax and let me do my job,” Ms. Beatrice replied. I didn’t have to look up at her to know that she was sporting a smug smile.
The automatic glass doors opened, and I watched the Audi carefully as we neared it. Katie was wrapped up like a burrito in my arms, but I looked down at her when the bright sun hit her face and smiled when I saw her squinting her eyes. It was her first encounter with natural sunlight. Pulling the soft pink cap down further over her face, I adjusted her position toward me and hugged her tight.
“Thanks, Ms. B., I got it from here,” I heard a voice say.
Looking up, my jaw nearly dropped when I saw King exiting from the back door of the Audi. He had a stern look on his face and his eyes were scanning his surroundings attentively. Wearing a black jacket with the hood pulled over his head, he pulled his hands out of the pocket of his black sweatpants and walked over to me.
“It’s good to see you again, Malik. I hope you’ve been staying out of trouble.”
At that, even King had to laugh. “Yeah, as much as I can.”
When he lowered his head and brought his eyes to my face, I couldn’t help but blush under his gaze. The love that Ms. Beatrice had mentioned seeing in his eyes? I saw it, too. To be honest, it had never left, but I had been too stubborn to notice. Now it was becoming clear to me that, outside of my mama, King was the only one I had. Even Kelly and I didn’t talk as much anymore.
King already had a car seat for Katie secured in his car, and after I checked it thoroughly, I secured Katie inside. Before slipping into the backseat with her, I gave Ms. Beatrice a tight hug to thank her for everything she’d done for me and then tried to hold back tears as the vehicle began to drive away.
The car was completely silent the entire way to my mama’s house as one of King’s friends, who I didn’t recognize, drove and he sat in the passenger seat. I marveled at the sight of my daughter during the ride, ignoring everything else around me. The amount of joy that I felt in my heart about finally being able to have her with me at every moment outweighed my anger at Caesar for letting us down, once again, and my fear for riding around in a car with a wanted criminal.
“I’m going to walk you to the door. I’ll take out the car seat for you,” King said when we arrived at our destination.
In a near panic, I jerked up in my seat and shook my head.
“No, you don’t have to do that. If anyone sees you—”
“I’m good,” King replied, interrupting me with a sharp tone. “You’re a mother, bringing your newborn baby home. Ain’t no fuckin’ way I’m goin’ to sit here and let you carry all this shit yourself. Once you get her out of the seat, you go ahead inside and I’ll get everything else for you.”
I jerked my head to the guy in the passenger seat. “Why can’t he do it?” I asked. “Nobody is lookin’ for him.”
“How you know that?” the guy joked. He grinned wide, showing off a mouth full of gold teeth. “I’m guilty of a lot of things. Somebody always lookin’ for me.”
“Cut that shit out, Dolo,” King said before turning his sharp gaze back to me. “Go.”
At that moment, I knew there was no point in arguing further. Once King took that tone, he wasn’t trying to negotiate. With a heavy exhale, I began to take Katie out of her car seat after scanning the area to make sure that it was free of police. There was no need for me to be so cautious; King was always aware of everything around him at all times. Still, after being away from him so long, I couldn’t help it. Caesar was never as careful as King had always been when it came to matters of security… that much was obvious.
Once I was inside, I started to get Katie settled in her room. She was still sleeping, and I was eager to finally have her in her bassinet. So many nights had been spent with me staring at it, dreaming about the moment when she’d finally be in it. That time was now.
“Everything is inside. Where would you like me to put this?”
Hearing King’s voice behind me, I turned around and tried to ignore the way that he lazily brought his eyes up from my backside to level his gaze at my face.
“Um… What is that?” I pointed to the large box that he was holding in his hands. It was gift-wrapped with a big bow on top.
“Something I got for the little princess,” he said, placing the box down next to his feet.
Then he pulled out another box from his pocket that matched the larger one with a small bow on top.
“And this one is for you. Congratulations, Sunday. I’m proud of you.”
Without waiting for me to respond, he placed the box on top of the larger one and then turned around to leave. I wanted to stop him; I felt like there was something that I needed to say, but my feet were cemented into the floor. I was paralyzed by the battle between my brain and my heart.
It was stupid to be with King; it had always been that way from the beginning. Being with him was dangerous. It brought enemies and danger to me that I hadn’t earned on my own, the kind that came just because I was the street king’s girl. I’d almost been framed for a triple homicide that I didn’t commit, and I’d almost been killed in
some street shit that probably involved him. Now, I had a child to think of, a baby who needed her mother alive. Being with him wasn’t safe for me and it definitely wasn’t safe for my child.
But as much as I knew it in my head, my heart was resistant to admit that it was true. My heart told me that being with King was the only place that I wanted, and needed, to be.
18
King
* * *
It was hard to leave Sunday, but I had too much business to tend to, so I couldn’t stay. Someone had reported to the Feds that I’d been spotted and the manhunt for me was, once again, at an all-time high. Makita wanted me to believe that Sunday was the one who had alerted the police, but I knew that wasn’t true. Somehow, she found out that I’d seen Sunday that day. I didn’t doubt that she had eyes in the hood but what I did wonder is if her eyes were watching my movements or Sunday’s. These days, she seemed more than a little too preoccupied with my ex.
With the Feds on hot pursuit, ready to bust a shot, the second they saw my ass, Makita had given me a key to her place so that I could use it to take refuge if it ever got to that point. I suspected that she really wanted me to stay with her until I made my next move, but I refused. She was a woman who had shown me some loyalty, but she was still a woman. One who claimed she loved me and was consistently trying to urge me to make things official because she knew I loved someone else. I couldn’t trust her with my life.
When I stepped into Makita’s house, I thought it was empty until I heard her voice echoing from the living room. She didn’t know I was coming; I couldn’t call her because along with the gifts that I’d left Sunday, I also left the burner phone that Ms. B. had called me on. I couldn’t risk having it on me after she used it. If anything went wrong, or if someone happened to become suspicious by my arrival at the hospital, they could put pressure on her, and she would cave. Not only that, but I also wanted a way to stay in contact with Sunday.
“What do you mean he was there to see her? Where the fuck were you?”
Makita was furiously shouting to someone who must’ve been on the phone because she paused to listen to the response before speaking again.
“Look, I handled it the last time you were slipping on your job. You need to remember our agreement because, lately, you ain’t been holdin’ up your end of the plan. Don’t think I didn’t catch that shit you pulled with Gunner!”
Stopping mid-step, I frowned at the mention of Gunner’s name. Suddenly, I no longer thought that she was speaking to one of her friends that she had posted up in the hood to watch me or Sunday. This was someone else.
“No, you called him out because you were tryin’ to be slick and send a message to me, but I ain’t havin’ that. I got too much invested in this shit. Do what you’re supposed to do and don’t fuck up again.”
By the time she hung up the phone, I was standing right behind her. When she turned around, she jumped almost three feet into the air and then began to laugh with relief.
“King, you scared the shit out of me!” she said with her hand pressed against her chest.
I wasn’t amused and I wasn’t feeling too patient either. I had questions that she needed to answer, or shit was going to get ugly, fast.
“Who was that on the phone?” I asked with a straight face.
Though I had my own suspicions, I wanted to watch her reaction. Makita was slick as grease and sly as a fox, but I’d taught her everything she knew about that. Having a father in the streets taught her the game but being with me was what groomed her into a boss. If she lied, I would know immediately.
“That was Caesar,” she answered without hesitation and without any readable emotions on her face.
“Why did he call you? Y’all know each other?”
“In passing,” she answered with a slight shrug. Turning, she walked away as she continued to explain.
“When you got locked up, he came to me, asking if he could be part of The JDB. He said that he needed the money because the low-level hustling wasn’t gettin’ him anywhere. I told him ‘no’, of course, but every now and then there was some menial task that I’d toss his way. Something I didn’t want my hands involved in. I figured you wouldn’t mind since whatever money he earned would also go to Sunday.”
I didn’t miss the dry hatred in her tone when she said her name. Her back was to me, but I could almost see her rolling her eyes. My senses were on high alert.
“So why he callin’ you now? What agreement y’all got?”
She turned sharply in my direction, frowning. “We don’t have any business together. The plan that I mentioned on the phone was the one you came up with. You told him that he works for you and as long as he brings you back news, he can stay alive. I simply reminded him of that.”
I nodded. Her story sounded good, but it didn’t feel right. “And what ‘bout all that shit concerning Gunner? What that got to do with you?”
Her expression faltered, giving away to a hint of shame. “Gunner and I… uh, …” She swallowed hard and began wringing her hands together. “We had a little fling when you went away. I was distraught and just desperate enough to do something with him.” She rolled her eyes. “Caesar tried to hold it over my head after he told you about Gunner. He said that you would doubt my loyalty and was trying to push me into giving his desperate ass some money. I guess he’s tryin’ to get enough money up to ask Sunday to marry him. You know they are back together, right?”
No, I didn’t know that Sunday was back entertaining that clown outside of him being the father of her kid, but I didn’t respond.
“That nigga ain’t gon’ be around to do shit if he don’t come at me with somethin’ I can use. Matter of fact, I might go see ‘bout his ass today. From where I’m standin’ he’s being a fucked-up father as it is and he’s no use to me, so I need to cancel his ass. He ain’t worth keepin’ around.”
“Wait!”
Makita shouted just as I was turning around to leave. I’d come over to speak business with her, to let her know that I’d decided for sure that I had to leave the country and needed to get things straight with my team before I went away, but that wasn’t the pressing issue on my mind right then.
“What?” I asked with agitation as I turned around.
“He did tell me somethin’ for you to use. I forgot to mention it when you started asking me all those questions.” She let out a few dry chuckles. Nervous chuckles, if I’d ever heard any before.
“What he say?”
“He told me that… he said that he remembered one of the men who was with Daze that night. A white boy who goes by the name Ghost. Caesar saw them turning up at this club with this nigga named Shawn who used to run dope out of Augusta a while back. He said they were there with a whole group, but he definitely recognized Daze and Ghost. The others may have been involved, but he wasn’t sure.”
I couldn’t believe the shit I was hearing. “You tellin’ me he saw the same niggas who killed his brother, raped and shot his girl and almost killed him and his kid, but he let them get away?”
Pushing her lips into a straight line, Makita nodded her head, but avoided looking me in the eyes. There was more to it than what she was saying, but I didn’t have time to get to that yet. Now I had three names: Daze, Ghost and Shawn. By the end of the day, I planned to catch up with one, if not all of them, and accelerate their journey to a shallow grave.
19
Sunday
* * *
Katie’s mouth opened wide and she cooed, making a sound that only God’s angels could mimic, before closing her eyes. I smiled as I stared at her dreamily, feeling my heart dwell with the unconditional love that I felt for my baby girl. I’d just finished nursing, bathing, dressing her and then I sang a sweet song to her to get her ready for bed. It was our nighttime ritual and worked like a charm every time.
Katie was a sweet baby. Once I got her to sleep, she wouldn’t wake up until the morning. When I thought about it, it was insane to me how much I’d taken to b
eing a mother in such a short amount of time. Even with Caesar not helping me at all with her, I was okay. I hated that he would never be the father she needed, but I knew that I had more than enough of what it took to do everything on my own. All I could do was hope that, one day, he’d come around.
Just as I was placing Katie down in her bed, there was a knock at the front door and I sighed, rolling my eyes. Just like clockwork, here was Caesar deciding to come by when all the work was done. He never came around until he knew Katie was in bed and, even then, he only came to beg me for sex or try to rub up on my ass. I was sick of it. Even though I was more than ready for some dick, I’d be damn if I got some from a nigga who hadn’t done a thing for our daughter since the day that she’d breathed her first breath.
“Caesar, you need to find somewhere else to go because—”
My words caught in my throat when I snatched open the door and realized that the face that I was looking into was not Caesar’s.
“King?”
I gasped and took a moment to scan the street behind him before pulling him inside by the arm. For the last few nights, a patrol car had been stationed on the corner and I was convinced it was watching to see if King would come by and visit me. I couldn’t prove it, but I felt like someone had seen him when he came over to drop me and Katie off at the hospital.
“What are you doin’ here? A cop has been here every day this week and—”
Once again, I stopped talking, but it was because of the look on King’s face. He seemed stone cold in demeanor, possibly angry, at something or someone. Was it me?