Page 99 of Dr. Bell

“It isn’t! My due date is in less than two weeks. If I try to petition him for child support, he will find out that this baby does not belong to him. I’d rather bow out gracefully and leave that man alone.”

“It’s not that fuckin’ simple, Genika!”

“Why the hell not? Ahh!”

“Dumb bitch! This was never the fuckin’ plan!”

Once it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, I turned back to DJ. He was red with anger as well.

“That was ya father's voice on that last recording, right?"

DJ's face wore every emotion he felt.

"So… Back to my original question. Who killed Hakeem?”

Unc’s eyes cut toward Marco.

DJ’s face contorted into another spell of disbelief. “You said Adir did that shit!” he yelled at Marco. "Fuck!"

"You killed Jamaine and his crew?" I asked DJ. "I mean… You needed to force my hand, right?"

"I fucked up." He hung his head, prompting Marco to attempt to say something. At my urging, Antonias removed the gag.

“Genika was right.” Marco’s voice sounded scratchy, and he proceeded to cough for a spell. Then he shook his head in disgust. “Out of all the people you could’ve ran yo’ fuckin’ mouth to, runnin’ to yo’ pops was your downfall.”

“You made a deal wit' the fuckin' enemy and look where it got you." Although a part of me hated the bind my cousin put himself in, he touched my family in the worst way. There was no coming back from that.

“You was the one cool wit’ the enemy, nigga!” he retorted. “What about you and Hakeem? Huh?”

“When his father attempted to kill him, I saved his life!" I growled. "It’s the same shit I would’ve done for you,” I informed him.

Realizing I was being honest, DJ crumbled. “Pops said you killed Hakeem’s OG ‘cause he owed you a lot of bread.”

“And you went back and told Marco?” I surmised.

He nodded. “Marco went to Hakeem. Hakeem denied it and defended you. Ever since you went to see Hakeem about takin’ the money off Quilo, he’s been suspecting some shit was up between you and Hakeem. Marco came to me and told me what he felt. That's when I told him you killed his OG.”

Unc made a noise that sounded somewhere between a laugh and a growl. “And you wonder why this nigga never made you anything other than a do boy,” he said to DJ.

DJ shook his head.

“You should’ve been head of this family!” Unc shouted. “Ever since he got those damn boys, he’s been soft as fuck! You sit back and let the streets have at it! No one respects you anymore! No one respects this family anymore! Now that you’ve got thatbitchyou’re even weaker!”

I laughed at Unc calling Pretty a bitch. I laughed so loud and long everyone looked at me like I was crazy. Sobering, I produced my heat. Auntie Maddie and Heir were the only ones who reacted. Everyone else knew what was up.

Turning to DJ, I said, “You owe me two. Who’s it gon’ be?”

Green in the face, DJ shuffled his eyes between his mama, his daddy, and his baby sister.

“Mama… Heir… I’m sorry,” he finally mumbled tearfully.

Aunt Maddie shook her head, realizing who her son, the nigga she’d carried for nine months, chose to save. Her startled and frightened eyes met mine.

“No,” she whispered.

Disgusted with this nigga, I said, “Auntie said you’d choose ya pops…no matter what.”

Unc chuckled arrogantly. “Of course, he would! I’m his father—”

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