“Damn,” Mr. Earl said under his breath.
A second man got out, masked the same way, moving with just as much purpose. There was no hesitation between them. They made their way straight to my shop. I felt my jaw tighten as I watched them force their way inside and disappear. The footage kept rolling until I spoke again.
“Slow it down right there,” I said with a raised brow as I watched the screen closely.
The door to my shop flew open. One of the men rushed out first, moving fast like something had gone left inside. The second one came right behind him, and both of them stopped in the alley. Their body language said enough before anything else did. Whatever happened in my shop didn’t go the way they planned. They started arguing, and I mean aggressively. Their hands were flying as they got into each other’s space. It escalated fast. If I had blinked, I would have missed when things had gotten physical. Mr. Earl leaned forward in his chair.
“Now what the hell…”
I didn’t answer him. I was too busy watching. The fight got messy quickly, and both of them were swinging, grabbing, and trying to overpower each other. Then, in the middle of it, they stumbled, crashing into the side of the Impala hard enough to rock the car slightly. And that’s when it hit me.
My mind flashed back to a conversation with Tahari that I had not too long ago. I had been showing him one of the shops, walking him through everything, and somehow, we got on the topic of cars. He mentioned that he had just gotten some bodywork done on his. There had been a dent on the side. A big one. My eyes narrowed as I stared at the screen, watching the exact spot they had just slammed into. Even in the grainy footage, I could see the imperfection in the paneling. It wasn’t smooth like it should’ve been.
A slow, heavy feeling settled in my chest. On the screen, one of the men finally broke off from the fight. He stumbled back before turning and walking off toward the Impala. He got in and sped off down the alley like he was trying to put distance between himself and whatever just happened. The other man stayed behind for a second, catching his breath before heading toward the Camry. I leaned in slightly.
“Can you zoom in on that?”
Mr. Earl tried adjusting the frame, but it didn’t give us much more.
“The plate is covered,” he said while shaking his head.
I sighed as I leaned back slowly. My eyes were still fixed on the screen as my mind started putting pieces together. There was so much going through my mind. I wondered if this nigga used Maliah as a way in. A way to get to me. I felt sick to my stomach at all the different possibilities.
I kept my eyes on the screen for a moment longer, even after the footage had already told me everything I needed to know. There wasn’t anything left to question, nothing left to search for in those frames. I exhaled slowly before straightening up.
“I appreciate this, Mr. Earl.”
He nodded while leaning back in his chair like it was nothing to him.
“Anytime, youngin’. That’s what neighbors are for.”
I gave him a look of respect before turning and heading for the door. When I made it outside, I paused for a brief moment, letting everything settle into place, because once I left that lot, I already knew I wouldn’t be looking at this situation the same way again.
Then I made my way to my car and pulled off. The drive home gave me too much time to think, and every second of it was spent replaying what I had just seen. Months had already passed since the first robbery, and at some point, along the way, I told Sha to leave it alone. There were no leads at the time and nothing solid enough to chase. I wasn’t about to have him wasting energy running in circles behind something that we couldn’t get to the bottom of. At the time, that decision made sense. This lead literally fell into my lap. I felt like I was cracking a cold case.
My hand rested steadily on the wheel as my thoughts slowed down. They were becoming more deliberate with every mile. The footage didn’t just give me pieces. It gave me direction, and everything about it pointed me back to the same place, whether I wanted it to or not. This little nigga had to be playing all of us. What I felt wasn’t anger, at least not in the way most people would expect. It was something a lot more controlled than that, something that required patience instead of reaction. Moving too fast would only create problems I didn’t need, especially with my daughter already tied to the middle of this situation in ways she didn’t even understand.
By the time I pulled into my driveway, my mind was made up. I wasn’t going to confront anything half-prepared. Situations like this had to be handled with intention, not emotion. I had pulled him under the wing, and that was the best advantage I had at the moment. Tahari wasn’t going anywhere. And neither was I. I would address the situation in my own time… with just me and him in the room.
Chapter 22
Eternity
Life had started to settle again, or at least it carried the appearance of something steady and familiar when I stood back and really looked at it. MJ was healing, and although it had not been an easy process for him, I could see the shift happening little by little. The scars on his arm were a constant reminder of what he had gone through. He complained about it more than he probably realized. Still, the heaviness that had followed him home from the hospital was no longer sitting on his shoulders the same way. He moved through the house with more life in him now. He was laughing again and engaging again with the rest of the house. What happened to him had not broken him. Still, it had changed him in a way that only time would fully reveal, and as his mother, I could only watch and pray that whatever it was shaping him into would make him stronger.
Maylee had found her rhythm as well, especially now that it was summer and she didn’t have to be tied to a classroom. A while ago, she had started a new gymnastics class, and it did not take long for her to come home talking about the girls she had met there. The excitement in her voice when she spoke about them made it clear that she was stepping into aspace where she felt comfortable and where she could be herself without hesitation. Watching her grow into that confidence and watching her form friendships that made her feel seen and included brought a kind of peace to me that I did not take for granted. There was something special about seeing your child thrive in their own world, separate from the one you built for them.
And then there was Maliah. I found myself thinking about her more often these days, but not from a place of worry the way I used to. Instead, my thoughts lingered on her with a quiet sense of reassurance, and a lot of that had to do with Tahari. There was something about the way he carried himself when it came to her that I could not ignore, no matter how much I tried to stay neutral and observe. It was the way he paid attention to her, the way he anticipated her needs without making it obvious, and most importantly, the way he protected her without making it feel like control.
It reminded me so much of Bleek when we were younger. Back then, everything between us had been raw and intentional. It was untouched by the layers that life would eventually place on top of it. Seeing that same energy reflected in Maliah’s life and seeing her experience a version of love that was rooted in care and presence made me feel joyful for her. It made me feel like she was going to be okay. It was like she had someone beside her who understood what it meant to stand firm without overshadowing her. My thoughts drifted there longer than I intended. It was so consuming in a way that almost made me forget where I was, until the sound of my phone alarm cut through the quiet and pulled me back into the present.
I blinked, my eyes shifted down to where my phone rested on the counter beside me. The sound continued until I reached over and turned it off. My gaze slowly moved to the sink. The pregnancy test sat there waiting for me to glance at the findings.For a moment, I did not move. I looked at it, as if staring long enough might somehow change what I already knew was there. Eventually, I reached for it. My fingers wrapped around it carefully, almost cautiously, and when I brought it closer, my eyes settled on the result. Negative.
A slow breath left my body as I leaned back against the toilet. My head tipped slightly as I tried to process something that had already begun to feel too familiar. I held onto the test a moment longer before letting my arm fall. My head dropped back as I exhaled again, this time with more weight behind it. I had wanted this. And I mean badly. The thought of another baby, another life to nurture and love, had settled deep within me, growing stronger with each passing day. But every time I found myself here, in this same position, holding the same result, it chipped away at that belief just a little more.
My grip tightened slightly before I dropped the test into the trash beside me. It made a small sound when it dropped into the empty pail. This felt like the norm for me now, and honestly, it made no sense to share the news with Malik. For a moment, I sat there in silence, my thoughts turned inward in a way that I could not stop. A quiet, unwanted thought had come to my mind. Maybe my body was broken. It was not something I wanted to believe, but it was there, lingering in the space where hope had started to wear thin. I had done everything the way I was supposed to. At my age, my doctor advised that I change how I eat and try to be more active. Which I was doing. I was trying. I had been patient. I had given it time. I had even held onto my faith with each negative result. And nothing crushes faith quicker than disappointment, but still, I was holding on. And was still rewarded with nothing.
I pressed my lips together, my eyes burned slightly before I blinked the feeling away. I refused to let this turn into something that would consume me. I sat up slowly and placed my handson the counter to the sink. I looked in the mirror at myself. I couldn’t do this shit again. I couldn’t get depressed about this, not about anything ever again. Life was not perfect. It had never been for me, but thus far, it was still full. My children were here, and they were safe. They were growing into themselves in ways that made me proud every single day. My family surrounded me with a love that had carried us through more than most people would ever understand. And even in this moment, while I was sitting here with disappointment resting heavily in my chest, I could not ignore everything that I still had. Maybe this was not my time. Maybe it would come later. Or maybe it would come in a way that I had not yet imagined.
