Once I saw my husband raise his bushy caterpillar eyebrow, I quickly fixed my statement.
“Tahari, the boy’s name is Tahari.”
Malik’s jaw tightened slightly, and I could see the protective instinct flicker in his eyes. But I held his gaze without saying a word because I was allowing him to take it in slowly. When his brows furrowed in confusion with a tad bit of anger, I spoke.
“We’ll deal with it,” I whispered, more to myself than him, “together. Just like we always do.”
He crossed the room, leaned into me, and brushed a kiss against my temple.
“Alright,” he said softly, “together.”
And just like that, the weight of the secret felt lighter. Lord knows I hated keeping things from my husband. It didn’t even matter that it was only for a couple of hours. As we both got ready for bed in the quiet of the bedroom, the memory of our own youth danced at the edges of my mind. I didn’t know this Tahari boy, and I can honestly say I had no idea if he and Maliah would end up how Malik and I had. So now, my focus is on keeping our daughter safe and her heart intact.
Chapter 3
Malik “Bleek” Browne
Ibounced the ball against the hardwood flooring. The coating on the gym court was so shiny that I could damn near see my reflection. This was the life that I had always wanted. The family, the house, and the peace of it all. Shit, with all the amenities I put on this land, my kids didn’t have to leave our property if they didn’t want to. Although I had built this space in our liking to try and keep my kids here, my baby girl was still trying to find her way to the same territory that I had clawed myself out of.
“Check up, nigga,” I smirked as I passed the ball to my right hand, Sha.
He caught it before bouncing it back to me. I quickly side swiped before drilling to the hoop and ending with a left-hand layup that landed the orange ball straight into the net.
“Man, it’s early, and ya ass just showing off,” he huffed while throwing his hands up.
It was obvious that MJ had gotten his basketball talents from me. I smiled just thinking of his skill. I took pride in my boy. He had a full ride to UCLA on a basketball scholarship. Tiresome nights in this very gym are what contributed to that. Having a natural knack for the sport was something that I was grateful for.Not only did it give us something in common, but it was one of the things that we bonded over. I tucked the rock under my arm before walking over to the bleacher for my water bottle.
“This is like our third game, bro. I need to get my ass back home before your sister-in-law starts tripping that I left out this early. You know how she can get.”
Sha was married to Eternity’s little sister, Tori, but that isn’t how we got close. When I was out in these streets and relocated my coke operation from New York to Florida before taking over the Ruiz Cartel, he was right by my side for it all. With time comes change, and having a family slowed me up tremendously. Nowadays, I let Sha take the front seat while I sit in the back and collect payments. He had a family just as I did, but he lived for the thrill. With me, all that shit died the day Maylee was born. I stepped outside for big deals regarding expansion, or if there was a situation with our work. Everyone prayed that I never had to come outside for the latter. That dog was still very much in me. I just felt it was unnecessary at my age to constantly show my teeth. But trust, I had no problem with flashing these muthafuckas if needed.
Just thinking back on all the wild things we used to do, I smiled. That smile quickly faded when I thought of my baby girl beingin lovewith some hood ass nigga named Trigga. I rolled my eyes just thinking of the fucking name. I kept my princesses sheltered for this exact reason. My children went to the best schools to receive the best education, and they wanted for nothing because I made sure of it. From a young age, they went to private school. MJ insisted that he attend a public high school for better basketball opportunities and exposure, so I let him. Maliah followed right behind him, and against my better judgment, I let her because Eternity had talked me into it.Mali has her big brother to protect her. You need to loosen the leash some, or you will lose her,she repeated.
I never wanted to create a hostile or uncomfortable living environment for any of my children. Still, I did want to keep them shielded and under my care always. I didn’t have the best upbringing, and neither did Eternity. My efforts to protect my girls obviously meant nothing because here we were with this dating shit. I mean, a piece of me knew that this moment would come one day. I just prayed that it was with some Steve Urkel ass little nigga. Not someone named damn Trigga.
“Maliah got herself a little boyfriend,” I quietly said after finally taking a sip of water.
“A fucking what?” Sha quickly responded.
Like me, he was just as protective of her. My friends and I were all like that when it came to our daughters. Shit, my closest friend, who I consider my brother, Ty, lived out in the Dominican Republic. His home is not only built up like a fortress, but his oldest daughter doesn’t go anywhere without an armed security detail. You see, his children knew exactly who he was. They just knew not to speak about it, especially with my children. Before I took over, he was the head of the Ruiz Cartel. When his children got to a certain age, he was big on letting them know his past so that they wouldn’t gravitate toward the shit in the future. I never agreed with him until now. Now that I had met with the fate that he had been avoiding since becoming a dad, I feared how my girls would view me, the real me. My daughters know me to be a legit businessman of multiple auto shops. I had a chain of shops up and down Interstate 95. Smart businesses that were placed strategically right off the expressway in different states to make it easier for my coke shipments.
My girls couldn’t know that. How would they take it knowing that their father was as big as El Chapo? Who they knew was Malik Browne, owner of MB’s Auto. I even had commercials with some cheesy ass jingle. MJ’s mother, Paris, had helped me withpublic promotion years ago when we were a thing before she died. The only child who knows of my street endeavors is MJ. I felt like it was necessary because he was the only boy. Of course, I didn’t want him to follow in my footsteps. I always wanted better for my children. But I felt it was important for him to know the family history. If I could turn back the hands of time, I would have shed light on my past for Maliah. Maybe we wouldn’t be here.
“Yeah, a fucking boyfriend,” I huffed out before taking a seat on the bleachers.
He sat beside me and breathed out a breath that was filled with stress. I thought when I looked in the mirror and saw a couple of grays in my beard that age was sneaking up on me, but with this news, I woke up with six new ones. My daughter was about to age the fuck out of me. I could feel it.
“She… she told you this shit?”
My boy was so perplexed that he was stuttering.
“Nope, she ain’t said shit to me yet. Eternity told me.”
He pulled his phone out.
“What’s this little nigga’s name?”
“Eternity saysTrigga.”
