Page 26 of That Fire

She pulled a gun from her scrubs, and Royal pulled his from his waistband. “Stay here, Aaliyah,” he said and kissed my head.

I didn’t know what all was going on, but based on the little bit I heard from Seven yesterday, the FBI wanted the Hendersons for whatever reason. Otherwise, why would we have to stay inside? They had to think the Hendersons had something to do with these FBI agents getting popped and those niggas getting killed after they shot and killed PJ. I knew they went to Liberty and had a field day, but apparently, they didn’t have proof of that because no one had been arrested.

Laying here freezing, my body was trembling. I knew being cold wasn’t the sole reason. I was nervous. I could hear shouting, but thankfully, no gunshots. The door opened, and Bali and Royal walked back inside with frowns on their faces. All those damn Hendersons had the same frown lines.

“Ignorant, MAGA muthafuckas. I’m sick of this shit,” Bali said.

Royal came to my side and grabbed my hand.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Some white people claiming to be law enforcement without showing a fucking badge. They were trying to come back here to verify no one was here illegally. They like fucking with us because they can’t stand seeing us owning our own shit. They don’t like for us to be doing better than them. Black American people are a blessed culture. If we could all tap into our gifts andgreatness, we could overtake this fucking country by force . . . just like they did,” Royal said.

“Did they leave?”

“Naw, but Uncle Kenny and Uncle Storm are up there, along with Seneca and Chad from Watchful Eyes.”

“Mayor Storm by himself would intimidate me.”

Royal rolled his eyes, and said, “That nigga is more bark than bite.”

“Watch yourself, nigga. You ain’t finna talk about Daddy Mayor in my face.”

I smiled at her calling him Daddy Mayor. When I heard Noni say it, I couldn’t help but laugh. I thought she was joking at first. When I saw the frown on her face, I realized she was serious as hell. I had to apologize.

Bali grabbed the paddle and went back to what she was doing, checking to make sure everything else was okay. She had a frown on her face the entire time, and she was quiet. I knew she was still pissed. According to Red Squared, he said Bali was definitely as much bite as she was bark. I believed that with my whole heart. I believed that about Noni too after she slapped his ass at that restaurant.

When she pulled the paddle from my belly, she said, “All looks well, Aaliyah. Normally, an ultrasound tech does this, but y’all my family, and I’m so happy for y’all. Royal, fatherhood will look good on you. You’ve always been a good guy, like Uncle Jasper, despite being a ho-ass nigga.” She glanced at me, and said, “No offense, Aaliyah.”

“None taken.”

“For the record, I think you’ll be a great mom too.” After pulling the machine back, she continued. “Go give your sample Royal so we can have proof that those people in Houston fucked that test all the way up.”

He gave her a one-cheeked smile, then kissed her cheek on his way out. After the door closed, she broke out in tears. Scared the shit out of me. I sat up and slid off the table, going to her. “Bali, you okay?”

“Yeah . . . I’m just so happy for y’all. These hormones got me all fucked up!”

I giggled as I hugged her. When she got herself together, I said, “You must be having a girl to have you feeling all of that.”

“Girl, no. I’m having a whiny ass lil boy.”

I laughed so loud. That was why she said that about our little prince. “I’m sure Carter is extremely happy about that, huh?”

“Absolutely. He’s already talking about having him on a fucking bull like his dad had him.”

“Generations of bull riders. I love that. I already know Red’s gonna be that times ten if he and Noni have a boy.”

“Yeah, he gon’ get on her last nerve and make the old Noni come back out to play.”

I giggled. “I’ll pray for a girl for them then.”

“Chile me too. I can’t go through their foolishness again. They seem to be just fine with their chaos though. Thank you, Aaliyah.”

“You’re welcome. Let me go check on my man.”

She rolled her eyes. “So y’all decided to be together. I’m glad.”

“Yeah. We finally admitted to each other how in love we were.”