Page 20 of Quasim II: King Inferno

I stood and dapped everybody up before making the drive back to the lake house. Soon as I stepped outside, IG’s were already waiting to ride back with me.

“I’m straight… I can get home alone.”

“No disrespect, King… we gonna ride along with you and then let you go the rest of the way. It’s our job.” Wylie said.

Wylie usually stayed to himself, but with the recent shit going on, this was the most he had been outside with the IG’s. I got on my bike and headed off my block, knowing that I would never live here again.

I had a family to protect and living on this block didn’t provide the protection that they needed. They came for me once and I wasn’t prepared.

I’d be damned if they got a second chance to do that shit.

It wasa little after midnight when I made it back to the lake community. I pulled into the garage and sat for a minute before pulling myself off my bike and entering the house. I expected the house to be dark and everyone asleep.

Candles were lit, creating a soothing ambiance as I walked further into the house. The smell of coconut and patchouli caressed my nose when I turned the corner. Anjo was on the back patio with a glass of wine and her kindle in her hand.

Before going outside with her, I headed up the steps to Elijah’s room. I opened the door, and he was fast asleep. I walked over toward the bed and sat down, rubbing his curls and then kissed his head while silently saying a prayer over him.

“Night, Eli.” I whispered as I exited his room, closing the room door quietly.

Shaking off my vest, I made my way outside where Anjo was. She had Dru Hill quietly playing from the surround speakers that came with the house. I stood in the doorway and watched as she swiped on her kindle and took a sip of wine while massaging the side of her neck while she had her legs pulled up to her chest.

She was at peace.

It was all I ever wanted for her. I wanted her to always have peace, and I would always make sure that she did.

I kissed her neck, and she jumped. “Never sit with your back toward the door, my love. Always know what’s coming your way.” I kissed the top of her head and came around the couch and sat across from where she was seated.

“I didn’t hear you come in, baby.” She yawned.

“I’m sorry for being late. I had some shit I needed to handle before coming home… anytime you tell me that you want me, I’m always going to come, Anjo.”

She smiled, as she put her kindle and wine glass down. I extended my arms as she climbed into my lap and hugged me. “You’re here now and that’s all that matters.”

Something was wrong.

I could tell from her body language and the half-finished bottle of wine that something was off with her. I’ve spent the past few years studying this woman’s every move. I knew when something wasn’t right with her, no matter how she tried to play it off for me.

“Tell me.”

“I…I don’t know how to even tell you.” She put her face into her hands and took deep breaths before looking me in the eyes.

I sat up, concerned. “Anjo, what the fuck happened and who did the shit? Tell me something, mama.”

She removed herself from my lap and went inside before coming back outside with Elijah’s iPad in her hand. I watched as she maneuvered through his iPad and then handed it to me. I looked at the drawing on the iPad and tossed it beside me.

She sat on the coffee table in front of me with tears in her eyes. “Someone hurt him, Quasim. Everything makes so much sense… wetting the bed, the way he’s so scared to go back withthatwoman. He told me that Thea isn’t his real mother, baby. Meer discovered it today while trying to silence some app.”

“Blaze knows about this shit?”

“Yes.”

I looked up toward the sky as my eyes burned with tears, thinking about what I witnessed on the iPad. Anjo grabbed my hands and looked at me while I was trying to calm myself down. I’ve always suspected it, but it was easier to pretend that something like that never happened to him or any other child.

The boy used to cower whenever he came around me. Always staying a few feet away from me because he was unsure if I would hurt him. He clung to my legs when his mother tried to bring him home.

I got up from the couch and went inside to the bedroom to change clothes. Blair followed behind me, sitting on the edge ofthe bed, watching me strip out my jeans and put on a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top with running sneakers.

“Simmy.”

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