Hakeem & Tasia 3: A Brick City Love Story

by K. C. Mills

  “I just found. It’s not like I was keeping shit from you, but I needed a minute to deal with it first,” Hakeem said.

  “But I should have been the first call you made. It’s your daughter, but it’s my niece. How old is she, and what does that guy have to do with it?”

  “She’s two and Janelle’s stupid ass had that muthafucka playing house with her.”

  “No hell, fuck him. That shit’s not happening.”

  “Liyah,” Kendrick and Hakeem yelled at the same time.

  “What?” she yelled back.

  “Watch your damn mouth,” Hakeem said.

  “I have a friend who owes me a few favors,” Jacob spoke, and we all turned to focus on him. He strutted over to Hakeem.

  “He’s one of the best custody lawyers in New York and I just shot him a text to let him know it was time to cash in. I would assume whoever this Dave is handles other legal issues, and not family law, so if I were you I would call Douglas; he’s expensive but good. In fact, it’s almost impossible to get his time right now because he’s so busy, but he’ll do it for me. I just sent you his information. Tell him that Jacob sent you and he’ll take care of you.

  Now, I'm going to have a few drinks and then take my ass home. Love all of you but this is too much stress for the evening.”

  Jacob walked over kissed me on the cheek, and then did the same for Liyah before he left the office.

  Hakeem had a conversation with Liyah, filling her in on all the details about Janelle and Riley, before he checked in with Mika and Malachi. They were hosting a huge event, but assured him that they had it covered, so after saying our goodbyes to Liyah and Kendrick, Hakeem and I headed to our apartment.

  Neither of us really said much on the way home, but once we got there, Hakeem finally did.

  “I don’t know how to handle shit like this,” he said, as he sat on the foot of the bed staring at the floor. His hand went across his head and then gripped the back of his neck.

  “I know, but we’ll figure it out.”

  “How Tay, she’s a fucking kid? What type of person uses a kid to make a point? I swear on everything, if he does anything to her…”

  “He won’t. I know you don’t want to hear this but he thinks that she’s his. He’s fighting you because you’re threatening that. He’s not going to hurt her. In his eyes, that’s his child. He wants to hurt you, so that you can’t take her from him. I know that doesn't make it any better, but she’s good.”

  “I'll make his ass disappear before I let him raise my daughter, Tay. That shit’s not happening.”

  “I know, and like I said, we’ll figure it out but for now, let’s just go to bed. We’ll talk to a Douglas tomorrow, and he can tell you what you need to do.”

  I was standing in front of Hakeem with about a foot’s distance between us, so he reached for me and pulled me between his legs. After he let his head rest on my stomach, he locked his arms behind my back and my hands went across his head, and then over his shoulder blades.

  “This shit is insane. I love that little girl more than I can even really explain, and I’ve only seen her three times. She doesn’t even know who I am, but I swear to God I’ll kill everything moving if anything happens to her, Tay.”

  “I know, and it won’t.”

  Hakeem felt helpless and I knew it. My heart felt heavy because I wanted to fix this for him, but right now there wasn’t anything that either one of us could do. I just prayed that we got things figured out and fast, because patience was something that Hakeem didn’t have, and if Howard kept coming for him, nothing was going to stop Hakeem from handling things the only way he knew how, and that didn’t include any type of legal documents.

  -8-

  Josh Bradford

  “Jace, open the door!” I had been outside of Jace’s apartment for the last ten minutes, and I knew he was there because his security guard said he had literally been in there for two days straight. In fact, over the past few weeks, the guard noted that he only left a few times, was gone for a little less than an hour, and returned. Jace was apparently having all of his food delivered and no visitors.

  That alone was enough to convince me that Howard had the right guy when he focused his suspicion on Jace for Sky’s attack. I had already called the hospital and found out that she was still unconscious, yet Jace had visited several times, always doing the same thing: sitting by her bed for a while and then questioning the nurses on staff about her recovery.

  Again, I balled up my fists and banged on the door, but this time I could hear movement behind it. Shortly after, the locks turned and the door opened slightly. I pushed it open and stepped inside, where I found Jace walking towards the sofa. His place was a mess, with empty bottles of liquor all over the counters and tables, in combination with empty take out containers.

  “The fuck is you doing here?” he asked after he sat down on the sofa, lifted a pack of cigarettes and tapped one out. He positioned it between his lips, before he leaned forward to retrieve a lighter off the coffee table, and then lit the cigarette he was holding.

  “I’m here because apparently your spoiled ass did something incredibly stupid that might not only affect me, but our whole family.”

  I shut the door and looked around again, trying to control the anger that was brewing inside of me.

  “What’s that Detective Bradford? What could I have possibly done that would affect your perfect life?” Jace asked with a smirk.

  This time when I focused on my nephew, I could see how bad he was doing. He was dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants, in desperate need of a haircut, and what was usually a clean shaven face, housed an un-manicured beard. His eyes were red, likely from the alcohol and lack of sleep, which was evident from the dark circles that he wore.

  “Did you attack that girl?” I asked looking him right in the eyes.

  “What girl, Unc? I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” Jace said with a cocky grin.

  “Now is not the time for your dumb ass to play games. I put my career on the line for you, and now I have a fucking rebel cop sniffing around, asking questions about the warrant that I illegally obtained for you and on top of that, he’s questioning me about your relationship with this Sky woman. Honestly, I don’t really give a fuck about how it affects you, but when your bullshit starts to threaten my career, then I have a problem with it.”

  “Always about you,” Jace laughed, took a long pull from the cigarette he was holding, and then placed it in the ashtray in front of him.

  “You're damn right it’s about me. I’ve invested a lot into my career and I refuse to let your ungrateful, spoiled ass, fuck that up for me. So start talking.”

  “What’s there to talk about, Unc? I didn’t do a damn thing; I just went to check on a friend. I was concerned. Is that a crime? And besides, you’re the murder in the family, not me.”

  “You know what, I’m trying to help you but if you don’t want my help, then fuck it. Do your thing, but I promise you if this shit comes back on me then you’re right about one thing, I will be the murder in the family and it won’t have shit to do with what happened twenty-five years ago.

  “Oh, so you’re finally admitting to the fact that you murdered your own brother?”

  Jace stood, and his eyes fell on me with an arrogant grin that made me want to draw my weapon and end his life, but instead I laughed.

  “You don’t know shit about anything,” I said, pointing my finger at him.

  “What I know is that you took a gun and put a bullet in your brother’s chest – that, I know.”

  I had enough, and before I realized it my gun was in my hand, I rushed Jace and his back was against the wall, with the barrel of my gun under his chin. There was a fear in his eyes that made me laugh as I spoke.

  “That was a long time ago. Something in me snapped and I had no idea what I was doing. That’s what all the medical records say, but today, right now, I know exactly what I’m doing. So if I pull this trigger t
hen it will be because I want to, and not because I feel like I have to. Would you like to test that theory?”

  Jace just looked at me without saying a word. This time, I was the one laughing arrogantly. I let Jace go and returned my gun to its holster. I looked around his apartment one last time, before I made my way to the door. Just before I walked out, Jace spoke again.

  “I wasn’t trying to kill her.”

  I paused for a minute, but didn’t bother to turn and look at him. I just walked out the door and didn’t close it behind me. Jace and his temper was the least of my worries. Right now, I was more concerned with the fact that Howard was looking into my cases. I needed to figure out a way to shut him down, before he caused problems for me.

  It was late and I should have been heading home, but my mind was all over the place. Howard was going to be a problem; I could already tell. He had only been with the department for less than a month, and he was digging into shit that didn’t concern him. On top of that, it was likely that he would figure out real soon that Jace was the one who attacked Sky.

  I didn’t know what Williams had done to piss Howard off, but what was clear was that he and I shared a common problem: Howard. It might work in my favor to pay Williams a visit to find out if he was into pairing up with me for some problem resolution.

  I wasn’t about to lose fifteen years on the force, all because some nosy ass detective couldn’t mind his fucking business. I had my family to think about. My wife, Gena and my son, JJ, would not suffer because I allowed Jace to talk me into doing something stupid.

  If Howard started digging now, it was likely that he would find out about all of my other secrets. I had been hitting dealers for years with fake warrants and false arrests, in order to put them in a position to pay me to keep them out of jail. The last thing I needed was for Howard to find out about that.

  He had to go and I needed help to make that happen. Williams didn’t know it yet, but he and I were about to get acquainted.

  -9-

  Hakeem

  “What did he say?” Tasia walked into the kitchen and hopped up onto the counter next to where I was standing, before she reached for me. I lifted my body from the counter where I was leaning, and positioned myself between her legs, before kissing her and tugging on her bottom lip.

  “I owe Jacob, he was right. Dude is on his shit,” I said thinking about the conversation I just had with Douglas.

  “So you’ll be able to get custody?”

  “Shared for now, but yeah. He said since I have a DNA test proving she’s mine, that works in our favor. Now all he had to do is pull her birth certificate to see who’s listed as the father, but either way, he can get an immediate order for shared custody. He knows a few judges, so by tomorrow morning, he’ll have the paperwork ready for Jay to sign. Like it or not, there isn’t really anything she can do about it.”

  I wasn’t completely satisfied and wasn’t going to be until I had Riley, but knowing that I would soon have the paperwork that said that Riley was mine, had me feeling a little better about the situation. I was still pissed as fuck that Howard could potentially be around my baby girl. That wasn’t about to last for long, because like it or not, his ass was living on borrowed time. There was no way I was about to let that nigga be around my daughter.

  “See, I told you things would work out.” Tay smiled at me and then leaned forward to kiss me. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail on top of her head, exposing her neck, which had me wanting to suck on it, and of course the fact that she was only dressed in a bra and panties had by body reacting. The past few days had been stressful as fuck, and I needed a release.

  “Why you looking at me like that?” Tay asked with a grin on her face. Her hands gently gripped the back of my neck, as I leaned in and started planting kisses down hers.

  I reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, and when the straps slid down her shoulders, she let go of my neck and pulled it off, dropping it on the floor.

  “What time do we have to meet Janelle to get Riley?” Tasia asked, as my tongue glided across her nipple and then I took it completely in my mouth.

  “We have time,” I said and then reached for her waist. I tugged on her panties and she placed her hands flat on the counter, so that she could lift her body just enough for me to get them down. I stepped back and worked them down her legs until they hit the floor. My shorts and boxers were next, and I pulled her to the edge of the counter before my fingers entered her center. When her head fell back, I sucked on her neck, letting them glide in and out of her until Tasia’s hands were on my chest trying to push me away.

  “You want me to stop Tay?” I asked, as I gently bit down on her shoulder.

  Her head moved slowly from side to side and a grin spread across my face. I moved her towards me, made her slide down on my shaft, and I held her in place just for a second, before I started moving inside her. Tay wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing the side of her face against mine.

  “You love me?”

  I could feel Tasia nodding, but she didn’t say anything. She was gone but fuck that, I needed to hear her voice.

  “Say that shit Tay.”

  “I love you, Keem.”

  That was all I needed. I made sure she could feel everything I had to offer. I wanted her to know that she belonged to me, and that that shit was forever.

  *****

  “Look Jay, I’m not playing with you. Show up with that nigga if you want and I promise you shit will not work out in his favor.”

  “I’m not damn, calm down.”

  “Yeah aight, just hurry the fuck up. You’re already late.”

  “I’ll be there in a minute,” she snapped and hung up on me.

  “I dropped my phone in my lap and let my head hit the back of my seat. My eyes were closed, but I felt Tasia’s hand cover mine and her thumb stroke it. I looked over at her and pulled my hand from under hers, placed it on top and then laced my fingers with her hand.

  “She’s on her way?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Relax.”

  “I can’t fucking relax. She’s always on some bullshit.”

  “Just think about Riley, don’t worry about her.”

  I looked at Tasia and smiled.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” I said. I had to be a damn fool for anything I had ever done to put me at risk of losing Tay. She always had me no matter what. She was the most selfless person I knew, and it had me feeling like shit every time I thought about what I had done to her. She had every right to walk away but she didn’t, and that had me convinced that no matter what, from here on out, I was going to be the man she needed me to be, the man she deserved. I couldn't erase the past, but I could spend a lifetime making up for my mistakes.

  “There she goes.” I looked in the direction that Tasia nodded and noticed Janelle heading our way with Riley in her arms. She looked like she was pissed off but I didn’t care. I was taking my daughter with me and there wasn’t a damn thing that she could do about it. She had better hope that I brought her back. Douglas had already told me that since I was the biological father, it wasn’t considered kidnapping if I kept Riley away from Janelle, and since Douglas promised to have a custody agreement ready for me first thing in the morning, I was seriously considering it.

  Tay and I got out and met Janelle as she approached the front of my truck.

  “Hey pretty girl, I missed you,” Tay said as she reached for Riley, but Janelle’s dumb ass held onto her and turned slightly away. The funny thing was that Riley wanted to go with Tay, so she wiggled and squirmed, reaching for Tasia, until Janelle finally gave in and released her.

  “Where are you taking her?” Janelle asked with her hand on her hip and eyes narrowed at me.

  “Don’t worry about all that. When she with me she’s my business.”

  “I need to know where my baby is going to be, Keem,” she said again, this time, almost whining.

  “Yeah, like I know where your
dumb ass has her, but trust me, that shit is about to change.”

  Tasia looked at both of us disgusted. “Do you want to see the new car seat we got you to ride in? I picked a pink one, since you told me it was your favorite color.” Tasia looked down at Riley, as they walked to the side of my truck, and Tasia started getting Riley situated.

  “Is Mommy going?” I heard Riley’s tiny voice ask.

  “Nope just us. Is that okay?”

  “Yesssss,” Riley sang and then giggled.

  “Well, will you at least tell me when you’re bringing her back?”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, in two years. I think that’s fair, don’t you?”

  “That’s not funny Hakeem, I’m serious.” Janelle had a panicked look on her face.

  “Shit, so am I.” I turned to walk away, but she grabbed my arm causing me to almost turn around and smack the shit out of her.

  “Get your fucking hand off me.” The look I gave her made Janelle snatch away real quick.

  “I hope you plan on spending time with her, and not just letting her do it.”

  I looked at Janelle’s pathetic, desperate ass, and laughed in her face. “I’ll do what the fuck I please, and like I said before, when she’s with me, she’s not your business but for the record, I plan on spending a lot of time with her. I do have two years to make up for, thanks to your selfish ass, and don’t call my damn phone. When I’m ready for you to see her, I’ll let you know.

  Without another word spoken, I climbed into my truck. Tay was already in the passenger side and Riley was buckled in her car seat, which was sitting in the center of the back seat facing us. I glanced at her pretty little face in my rearview mirror, before I leaned across my seat and kissed Tay on the cheek.

  “Thank you,” I said. I was sure she figured it was for getting Riley situated, but it was deeper than that. I was thanking her for being a true woman. She had me, no matter what, and I couldn’t say enough to make her understand what that meant.

  “Can we have ice cream?” Riley asked grinning, as I watched her face in my mirror.