Page 39 of Widow Mayker

“Jemell needs to come in for a talk.”

“He don’t need to do shit! Find you some evidence and stay the fuck off his line, lil’ bitch.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear and chuckled. The man in me wanted to drive to 1110 Manchester Street and tell Jerell to call me a lil’ bitch to my face. That nigga couldn’t fuck with me with or without my badge. I’d slit his face to give him something to remember me by.

Count to ten, nigga. I had to. Jerell wasn’t the first nigga to disrespect me, and he wouldn’t be the last.

Later that evening, I craved hearing Maja’s voice again, so I quickly ran through my nighttime routine so that I could call her.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Red or pink?” I asked.

“Red,” she replied. That much I knew. “Blue or green?”

“Blue,” I responded.

She tittered. “Of course.”

“Green doesn’t look good on me,” I explained.

“Liar. I’m sure everything looks good on you. Mike or Lebron?” she asked, quickly switching the subject. However, I was smiling hard at her subtle compliment.

“That’s not even a fair question, baby.”

“Answer it anyway,” she softly demanded.

Her tone caused my dick to swell. “Bet. If it’s down to the wire, Mike. If I gotta battle some youngins, Lebron. Forehead kisses or diamonds?”

“Hmm… Diamonds can be lost. Forehead kisses can be tucked internally and pondered on for months. Rain or sunshine?”

“Rain,” I replied. “Like the sun, but water has its own way of healing, nurturing, and cleansing.” Those were things I wanted to bring to Maja’s life. I wanted to heal her, nurture her, and cleanse her past from controlling her future.

MAJA

“You and Heir decided to wait until I left the country to show y’all whole asses,” Poppa fussed. Heir and I were sleeping peacefully when he laid on the doorbell until we answered the door. Poppa entered our house with a scowl on his face, and Mama was by his side.

“Well—”

Poppa shot Heir a death glare that made her shut her mouth. “You ran off wit’ the opps,” he said to her, then glanced at me. “And you ran off to the fuckin’ woods, wit’ the ops. Yo’ fuckin’ phone wouldn’t even pick up a signal. What the fuck is goin’ on?”

“Babe…” Mama touched Poppa’s arm. He gave her the same look he gave Heir. Mama scratched the back of her head and found something else to look at besides her husband.

“I can explain,” Heir stated. Poppa positioned his arms over his broad chest and tilted his head, impatiently. “It wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but I was living in the moment.”

Poppa’s face screwed up even more. “That’s all you got?” Sheepishly, Heir shrugged, causing Poppa to sigh in frustration. “Aight, look. What’s done is done, and as much as it pains me, y’all are grown. I may not agree with everything y’all do, but it’s my job to protect y’all. Not only are the two of you heiresses, but I love y’all to the muthafuckin’ grave.”

Heir and I embraced Poppa. Having him in our lives proved that all men weren’t the same. His steady strength and unwavering love ensured that Heir and I always knew he had our backs.

“If it makes you feel better, this thing with Kody isn’t a thing at all. Maja, on the other hand, spent the entire weekend with that man.”

Poppa grumbled under his breath as I glared at Heir for throwing me under the bus. Unashamed, she grinned proudly.

“You think this is funny?” Poppa asked Heir. “You do realize the position you put Adir in, right?” His statement wiped the smile off Heir’s face. He closed Heir’s partially opened mouth. “Exactly. This isn’t a game. The McAroy and Bell families have a truce in place. Don’t let that shit go up in flames just because you want to live in the moment.” He dropped a kiss on Heir’s forehead, then mine. “I love y’all.”

“Love you, too.”

“Love you, Poppa.”