Page 139 of I Don't Want You Back

“Yes, I did. Nobody saw me leaving the club or followed me, right?” Jessica asked.

“No, you’re good,” Roman assured.

“Okay boo. I hope you’re still coming over tonight,” Jessica purred.

“Yeah baby. I gotta handle something right quick and I’ll be there,” Roman replied before hanging up.

“Landon was right. Pussy really was the death of that nigga,” Chad said, shaking his head.

“One less fuck boy that we have to worry about,” Roman replied as he drove off and got on the bridge.

When he reunited with his sisters a few months ago, he had no idea what was going on in their lives. They were very forthcoming about everything that had taken place over the years. He learned all about Faryn’s history with Kane and he wasn’t feeling him from day one. Faryn was one of the sweetest people that someone could have the pleasure of meeting and she had been that way since she was a little girl. He was tired of people coming at her sideways. Malia seemed to get her mind right quick, but the same couldn’t be said about her sister and Kane. He was sure that the two-night stay in the hospital got Monica right, but it was deeper with Kane. He was doing too much to too many people.

The last straw for Roman was when he got a call from his barber saying that Kane had tried to hit her. He was already talking to Jessica about getting at him, but they hadn’t officially come up with a plan. It was like fate was on his side when Jessica told him that Kane had come into the strip club where she worked. She had seen Kane a few times when Roman pointed him out, so she knew how he looked. China Doll was Jessica’s stage name and she caught Kane’s eye the moment he saw her. Roman had her working to gain Kane’s trust, but he never really let his guard down. The plan was for her to go to his hotel room, but things turned out even better. Jessica was a pro at what she did, so she knew how to handle herself. Roman didn’t care how she did it, just as long as it was done. He wanted his sisters to live normal, drama free lives for once and he would stop at nothing to ensure that they did.

***

Ava replayed Kane’s final voicemail to her over and over as the tears continued to cascade down her face. To an outsider, she appeared to be crying over her husband’s death, but that wasn’t entirely true. She was still angry for a lot of reasons, but she was hurt too. She and Kane were far from being civil with each other, but she still wouldn’t have wished death on him. It had been almost two weeks since he was killed and buried, and no one knew what had happened. The media was calling it a drug deal gone wrong, but Ava wasn’t buying it. Kane had kept a lot of things from her throughout their marriage, but she didn’t think that selling drugs was one of them. They found money and drugs thrown around his car, so it was an open and shut case in their eyes. New Orleans had too many murders for them to focus all their attention on just one. Of course, Kane’s case made the news, mostly because of who his parents were. They were both respected attorneys, so that was nothing new.

“What did they say Ava?” Ella asked when she walked into the living room.

She had been staying with her daughter since her husband was killed, in an attempt to comfort her and her granddaughter. Although Ava and Kane were separated, they were still legally married.

“The same thing. I thought it was a mistake, but it’s accurate. I can’t believe how stupid I was. He had me thinking we were balling out of control and were damn near broke,” Ava said, her anger now overshadowing her pain.

The biggest mistake that she’d ever made in life was letting Kane have full control over their finances. Ava had a bank card, but she just swiped without a care in the world. When she went to the bank to check their balance, Ava thought that the representative had made a mistake. She had just called back and spoke to someone else and got the same answer. She and Kane didn’t have nearly as much in their account as she thought. Ava was thankful for his insurance policy, but that wasn’t enough for her to live on. She was happy that she had a job because she definitely needed it. Ava was crying for more reasons than one. Even in death, Kane was proving to be an asshole. She was learning things about her husband that she would have never imagined.

“I don’t know why y’all young women do that. Let these men control all the money and don’t check to see what’s going on with your account. I used to be on your daddy’s ass honey. He wasn’t taking care of another bitch with none of that money. God rest his soul, but he was on his death bed and I was checking the bank balance,” Ella noted.

Ella’s feelings towards Kane had changed, but her heart went out to his parents. She remembered when Raheem’s father was shot some years ago; she almost lost her mind thinking that her son was dead. She was so thankful when she got to the hospital and learned that he was only shot in the arm. That was a blessing too because some people didn’t survive those either. No parent wanted to bury their child and she hated that they had to go through that.

“I know mama, but that’s the way it’s always been. He worked and he handled the finances,” Ava replied.

“The dumbest mistake that you’ve ever made in your life,” Ella said as she walked off to go finish cooking.

Ava couldn’t even say anything because her mother was right. Kane pretended to be the perfect husband, but he had been doing her dirty all along. She had to sit on the front row in the church at her husband’s funeral, while a baby mama that she didn’t even know about for years sat a few rows behind. Carmen and Kyle embraced Shantel and her son, but they still treated Ava like his wife. She wasn’t mad at them for wanting to get to know their grandson. She also knew that her daughter would be happy to have a brother. Kane’s parents had taken some time off from work and they had both his kids at their house with them. Ava and Shantel were cordial to each other at the house when they both showed up and she hoped that’s the way it would always be. Ava wasn’t about to have beef over a dead man. She wasn’t going to have beef over Kane, even if he was alive.

“Is the food done?” Aiden asked when he walked into the house.

“I don’t think so,” Ava replied as the interruption broke her away from her thoughts.

“Where’s Robin?” Aiden asked while taking a seat next to her.

“She’s at work, but can I ask you a question?” Ava inquired.

“What’s up?” Aiden questioned.

“Please be honest with me, Aiden. No matter what you say, my loyalty will always remain with you. I know how important family is and I’ll never forget that again,” Ava replied.

“You said all that to say what?” Aiden asked, wondering where the conversation was going.

“Did you have anything to do with Kane’s murder?” Ava asked him.

That had been bothering her since she first learned of her husband’s death. She’d wanted to ask her brother that question from day one, but she didn’t know how to approach him. Aiden and Kane never did get along, so it wasn’t impossible. She would go to her grave with his answer, but she just had to know.

“As much as I hated that nigga, I would never do that to you and Kylie. I thought about it a few times, but I didn’t fuck with it. He got a pass on the strength of y’all,” Aiden admitted.

“I didn’t mean to offend you, Aiden, but I had to ask. I know that y’all didn’t have the best relationship,” Ava replied.

“Nah, for once in my life, I’m innocent,” Aiden said as he got up and went to go see how long the food would be.

Ava felt good to know that her twin had nothing to do with her husband’s murder, but she wondered who did. That was a mystery that would probably never be solved, seeing as how Kane rubbed so many people the wrong way. Knowing him, he’d probably done things that Ava didn’t even know about. Obviously, something and someone from his past had finally caught up with him. Thanks to whomever it was, Ava had gone from being a divorced woman to being a widow.

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