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Once they were gone, all eyes were on me again.
“You fucked Ken’s face up,” Eli growled.
“Okay, and? I got to talk to Mother. Did little Miss Through-The-Wire tell you that?” I asked. Zee snorted from her seat then shook her head.
“You broke her jaw, Sanai,” Father chimed in.
“Okay? I’m failing to see why I should care about any of this. She’ll live. I could have killed her. I didn’t.”
“You took all the bullets out of her guns. What if Mother had sent someone to kill her?” Eli quizzed.
“Then I guess we’d be planning a fucking funeral. None of that happened, though. Instead, I’m guessing you went to her house and discovered her because there was no way she was getting out on her own.” I took several steps toward Eli and he stood from his seat to glare down at me.
“I did. I went to check on my sister and when I found her like that, I wanted to come find you and knock your motherfucking head off your shoulders. I should have known you were with your nigga while Ken was bleeding and swelling up. You might hate Mother but you sure as fuck act just like her with the way you all of a sudden don’t care about the rest of us.”
I didn’t even think twice before punching Eli in the nose. Zee jumped up and yanked me back while Father moved to stand in front of Eli, placing his palms on my brother’s shoulders.
“Sanai, calm down,” Zee whispered in my ear.
“You think I don’t care about y'all?” I shouted around Zara.
“You have a funny fucking way of showing it!” Eli shouted back.
“You ever stop to think it’s because I was raised not to trust anyone? Not even my own family because one day any one of you could put a bullet between my eyes. You were raised the same way and you want to act like I’m the problem child? I’ve never betrayed any of you and that speaks volumes.
I’m nothing like Mother. She said she’d kill any of us to get what she wanted. If I wanted y'all dead, I would have walked into the house blasting on every single one of y'all because you were stupid enough to invite yourself into my house.” My heart thundered in my chest as I pulled against Zee’s grip on my arms.
“Both of y'all need to stop!” Zee’s voice was ready to pop. It wobbled a bit before she pulled in a deep breath trying to calm herself. “Sit the hell down so we can talk this out and figure out what to do.” She steered me toward a chair but I broke away and went upstairs.
“I’m going upstairs for a minute,” I called behind me as I disappeared up the steps.
I needed to get out of that dress, take a shower, and calm the hell down before I let my anger get the best of me. Zee was right. We all needed to calm down. I wasn’t about to go along with the family plan, though. I just couldn’t trust it.
I changed into a pair of leggings and a tank top then pulled my hair into a sloppy bun on top of my head. Honestly, I was hoping everyone got tired of waiting for me and left. Imagine my surprise when I got downstairs and Bakari was there along with Father, Zee, and Eli.
At least nobody was fighting. That was a good thing.
“You ready to talk now, princess?” Eli muttered sarcastically.
“I am. Thanks.” I flicked my eyes toward Bakari and he was already watching me. The intensity emanating from his stare made my face heat up. I tried not to sit next to him on the couch but my feet steered me right toward him. He didn’t help matters by reaching out for me and tugging me into his lap. His arms draped casually around my waist like we’d done this a million times before.
Father cleared his throat, his eyes focused like a laser beam on where Bakari’s arms rested. “You left the church and were gone all day, Sanai. Clearly, you went on an adventure. Why don’t you tell us what you did besides break Kenya’s face?”
“No,” I said simply with a shrug.
“The hell you mean, no?” Eli fumed.
“You heard me. I’m not telling any of y'all shit because we’re not on the same page. Kenya showed me that. She had Mother’s burner number. Did she tell anyone that?” I looked around the room and they all shook their heads silently. “Exactly. I don’t know who’s on Mother’s side. I don’t know who she’s trying to turn against me. I only know that when I find her, I’m going to kill her. If one of y'all gets to her first then…oh well. Beyond that, I don’t have to tell you shit because I’m on my own.” Bakari gave my sides a quick squeeze and I felt the solidarity in his touch. It made my tight muscles relax a bit.
“You don’t need to go rogue right now. I can’t deal with you and your mother breaking away from the family. It makes us look weak. I have a mission tomorrow night and I can barely concentrate on it because I don’t know what my own wife is out there plotting. You think I want to worry about my daughter, too?”
“I don’t care anymore, Father. I’m tired of trying to prove myself and I’m tired of always following the rules and being down for a family and a business that doesn’t give a fuck about me or what I think.”
“That’s not true,” Zee admonished, shaking her head.
“Okay, maybe for you, Zee but not for Eli, Ken, Mother, or Father.”
“Who said I didn’t care about you?” Eli fussed.
