“Bahati, I’m not worried ’bout no bread. You can buy fifty Gucci outfits for all I give a fuck. I wouldn’t have given you the card if I were going to monitor your spending.” I looked her over again. “You can buy her some designer shit, too, though. Why haven’t you?”
Bahati had been proven to be a decent mother, but it rubbed me the wrong way seeing all those designer packages for her and hardly anything for Shya. I would think she wanted to do the matching-mommy-and-daughter type shit that my mama would’ve wanted to do if she’d been blessed with a daughter.The type of shit Dasani did with Delicate and Scarlet did with Princess.
“I… I thought you wanted to wait until the test results before I started to spend on her.”
“The results are coming. Truth be told, I’d rather spend it on her over you, Bahati, and I ain’t saying that shit to hurt yo’ feelings. I’ll make sure you straight, regardless, but she’s my child.”
She nodded. “Understood. You already bought her a few expensive items. She’s just going to grow out of them.”
“And when she grows out of them, I’ll get her some more. It ain’t shit.”
I handed Shya to Bahati, being careful because I knew she was working with one arm. I would have laid her down, but I didn’t want to chance making her upset again if she woke. All that crying couldn’t have been good for her vocal cords.
“Keep the phone I gave you, but leave the house sometimes. She’s probably crying because she’s bored. Take her to the movies, the park, or out for ice cream. My homie has an aquarium restaurant a few hours away. I can have a driver take y’all there. Go get y’all’s hair and nails done together. You don’t gotta be locked away. Whoever was after your daddy isn’t stupid enough to go against me, and the Rodríguezes aren’t your concern.”
Looking down at my Apple Watch, I realized I was falling behind schedule. I turned on my heels before I took Shya back and let her rest on my chest so I, too, could take a much-needed nap. Pausing, I looked slightly over my shoulder.
“I left the keys to the Range on the hook near the garage. You can have that truck. It’s practically new. Text me all the details of what you did that day, Bahati. I want to know everything, down to the brand of rice you used and what aisle you purchased itfrom. I need your full address too. I can go by the apartment and get anything you need.”
She’d long known my number, which was programmed into the phone. She would text me every now and then throughout the day, asking where I was, and just like I’d done to Solana, I left her on read. I would respond if it were about Shya, but none of our brief conversations centered on Shya.
“I told you, we barely had much…” she responded.
“Well, I’m sure you got important shit. Papers and mail. Shya’s birth certificate and social. Her shot records. Baby pictures. All that shit. I’ll go get it. Just text me the address.”
She licked her lips—big-ass lips that used to be wrapped around my dick on any given day.
“Bahati, it ain’t optional. Lay her down and get to typing.”
With that, I left her in the kitchen and headed back into the basement. Before getting back on the treadmill, I unlocked my phone again.
My thumb hovered over the camera on the right side of the screen. My heart stilled in my chest. Thick, dark hair covered her face as she lay in a fetal position on the hard floor. Closing my eyes, I pinched my nose and counted myself down. Solana’s usage had been far worse than I suspected. The drugs detoxing her system were kicking her ass. Using my index finger and thumb to zoom in, a notification stopped my motion.
Other phone
Texting everything shortly
Other phone
Any specifics you want for dinner?
Other phone
Also, a lady named Uriah keeps texting you. Should I tell her I have this phone now?
I received one more notification, but it wasn’t from Bahati.
Doc2
Bad news. We’ll need to do another DNA test for all three of you. I can get that second DNA test scheduled as soon as you’d like. Check your email for more info.
What the fuck?I thought to myself, refusing to let anything else deter me from finishing my workout.
I would look over the email later this evening and get back to the doctor. I was specific about who I allowed to do the test because of our predicament: mob, kidnappers, and rival cartels. Now I was starting to think I should’ve gone to a clinic somewhere like Nel’s crazy ass had suggested. I swear, if it wasn’t one fucking thing, it was another, and each day that I lived through made my list longer and longer.
I locked the phone screen, pressed play to restart my playlist, which was already connected to the gym speakers, and let the pain of the intense workout wash over my reality.
God first
