Page 75 of Love & Vendettas

“Hey, if you see my baby mama, Sandy, tell her to come down here. She ain’t answering my calls and shit,” another dude named Mike Broshe admits.

“If I was her and you’d beat my ass the way that you did her, I wouldn’t answer your calls either, nigga,” a tiny dude named Big points out.

I know Deuce and Big from the streets. I just met Mike Broshe while locked up. His dumb ass was bragging about fucking up his baby’s mama for stealing from him, claiming that she needed the money for diapers.

I listened but didn’t say a word. That nigga had no clue who I was, so I let him ramble on at the mouth. There was no excuse for him fucking up that girl the way that he did. I’m not worried about it, though. Men like him and Kenny get exactly what they deserve.

I’ll put the word out, and I doubt he’ll even make it to county.

“I always knew you had pull, Knight, but damn,” Officer Crumble admits.

Dennis was a street cop whose beat was the neighborhood where I used to sling dope in my earlier years. We’ve known eachother for some time, but we have never had a reason to cross paths other than just in passing.

“It’s been a whole fucking hour and a half. That shit’s not working for me,” I say, shaking my head.

“Looks like life’s catching up with you, Knight.”

I glare at him and say, “Wasn’t me.”

“Listen, some of these dudes have been sitting in here since three o’clock this morning. They probably won’t get a bail hearing until Monday. It’s Saturday, and your black ass made it out, must be nice.”

“Take it easy, Crumble.” I pat his shoulder and smile as I lay eyes on Frances standing at the sergeant’s desk.

“Yeah, you stay yo’ black ass out of here, Knight. You've got too much potential,” he warns.

“Yeah, I do, don’t I? But I’m not that kid anymore, Crumble. Not that kid.”

He nods knowingly, and I turn to face Frances. We both quickly walk out of the jail and jog down the steps to where her car is waiting.

“Are you okay?”

“Frances, that was light work. I didn’t like sitting there as long as I did, and I never like having my ass locked up for any reason, but the only thing that I was worried about while I was in there was my baby and my boys.”

“Here,” she states, handing my phone to me. “I’ve spoken to her no less than six times since you’ve been in there. I promised her that I would have you call her the minute you stepped foot on the other side of those doors,” she declares, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.

“Thanks,” I say, powering my phone on and waiting for it to start.

“Listen, they’re going to have to do an investigation. You already know the drill. In the meantime, don’t leave town. Don’t associate with any felons. Keep your nose clean,” Frances warns.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“On the back end, Marc and I have our people investigating to see what we can learn. We’re canvassing the area to see who slipped into your shop without authorization. Anyone we can pinpoint who might have set you up.”

Scratching my beard as I approach my SUV, where Ghalen is standing by the rear door waiting for me, I say, “At this point, Frances, I have a feeling it’s someone in my inner circle.”

Frowning, she asks, “What makes you think that?”

“Just a sneaky suspicion.”

“All right, well, whatever you come up with, let me know, and in the meantime, I’ll be doing the same thing on my end.”

I nod, slip into the back of the SUV, and wait for Ghalen to close the door.

When he does, I instantly dial Bayleigh.

“Baby!” she cries.

“I’m good, Bay. I’m heading home now.”

---