Page 7 of A Hood Wife And A Rich Goon 2

“Call Jewel. He needs to be there too.”

“You call him.” Eazy sparked his blunt and took a pull. “I ain’t fucking with him right now.”

“The fuck you do now?” Bull sighed.

“I told him I was checking on Lotus earlier. Nigga got all tight and shit. I ain’t got time to be explaining shit.”

“Nigga, that’s his sister. The fuck?” Bull’s face shifted into a grimace.

“She grown as a muhfucka, bro. And…” Eazy took a minute and exhaled a cloud of smoke, “she’s pregnant.”

Bull choked on his next shot, and some of the liquor spewed from his mouth. He coughed and beat on his chest a few times as he caught his breath.

“You serious?”

“Yeah, man. Just found out today. She keeping it too. We ’bout to give this shit a go. I don’t know how it’s gon’ work⁠—”

“Jewel gon’ kick yo’ ass.” Bull tittered, straightening up when his mother quietly strut into the room.

He pushed himself off the counter, and Brenda paused at his side. With her hands resting on the granite top, she studied the engagement ring Braxton upgraded for her about five years ago. Over twenty-five years together was now gone.

“I’m telling Jewel to meet us at Lotus’s apartment.” Bull fished his phone from his pocket.

“Bull, what the fuck!” Eazy objected.

It was too late. He’d already shot the text and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

“We need to move, and we ain’t got time for nobody second guessing. Been enough snake shit going on. Just tell him what it is. Ain’t like he can really do shit about it if you fucking with Lotus and you having a baby.”

“Midas was here,” Brenda revealed.

Bull and Eazy locked eyes across the counter. Brenda cleared her throat.

“That’s how I overheard the conversation about Bronx. Midas was there. He did this, and Braxton knew about it. He said that Bronx was working with Oracle to double cross him, and I guess Oracle flipped on him to Midas about the situation. He started working with Midas not knowing that he was already plugged in with Braxton. Which leads me to believe he knew where Midas was all this time.”

Bull’s jaw clenched. He’d been itching to get at that nigga since he did his bid. Midas left him holding the bag, which gained Bull five years in those tombs he could never get back. Eazy rounded the counter and handed Brenda the blunt in his hand. She looked like she needed it a hell of a lot more than he did. For the first time, Bull wasn’t side eyeing his mother like the devil either. Empathy weighted him in a way he didn’t expect. His father wasn’t shit, but he never expected his mother to be the one to put him down.

Simpering, Brenda took the blunt from Eazy. “Do I look that bad?”

“You look like you could use some rest,” Bull replied. “Me and E gotta go take care of some shit. Don’t let anybody else on this property. Keep security tight. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You don’t have to worry about Toni or the kids. The beef died with your father as far as I’m concerned.”

Brenda sensed that Bull was a bit uneasy leaving his children there, but he always felt like the threat was Braxton, not Brenda. She was as much under his thumb as anyone else. Bull rested a hand against her shoulder and pulled her into his chest. He planted a kiss on top of her head and flashed a weak smile.

“We got plenty of time to talk through this. Don’t worry about nothing. Try to get some rest.”

Brenda passed the blunt back to Eazy, and he and Bull moved to the doorway to leave together. Once they were gone, she gathered saltine crackers, a few other snacks, and ginger ale so she could take it up to Toni. The house now seemed even more eerie than before. She’d already showered and given Eazy her clothes, which he gave Acid to get rid of. Stopping outside Bull’s childhood bedroom door, she paused before raising her hand to knock. It took a moment, but she heard the shuffling on the other side before Toni pulled the door open enough to poke her head out.

“Thought you might need something to put on your stomach.” Brenda held up the items in her hand.

“Thank you.” Toni sighed. “Is Bull still here?”

“He and Eazy left. Said he’ll be back after he takes care of a few things.”

“You want to come in? I was just searching for something to watch. Breeze woke up to go to the bathroom, so we’re debating on Cars or Toy Story.”

Brenda smiled. “I’d love to.”