Page 103 of Crash: Love in Scrubs
“Sametra.”
“Spit it out, or is this something else you planned to keep from me? If so, you might as well leave the same way you came.”
I hesitated for a moment, but she wanted the truth, demanded it. So, I’d give it to her. I stepped closer, backing her up against the wall behind us until there was nowhere left to go. My hands found the wall on either side of her head, caging her in.
“Calm down, I aint finna eat your pussy again,” I grinned licking my lips.
“Malik,” she said pushing me a little, with a serious look on her face.
“Ashe is dead,” I whispered against her lips, close enough that she could feel my breath and my dick standing at attention from being so close. I missed her so much. I was ready to move on. “May he rest in piss.”
Her eyes fluttered closed as the words sank in. I leaned in, brushing my lips against hers. gently, barely there. I licked her top lip, I knew she had that mango lip gloss I loved so much on.
“Look at me.” Her eyes flickered open, and I searched her face for any sign of what she was thinking. “I love you, and I’m done apologizing for protecting what’s mine. The question is, are you done punishing me for it?”
“Did you…”
“I handled it, baby, leave it at that,” I murmured, pulling back to give her some space. The silence that followed was deafening. I watched her face cycle through shock, confusion, and something that might have been relief before settling into something I couldn’t read. I wasn’t giving more. She’d just have to let that go.
My phone had rung while I was reviewing notes for Pressure Points, Rex’s name flashing on the screen. I’d been expecting this call. I declined the call but called back on his secure line. This is how he moved, and I appreciated it.
“Talk to me,” I said, setting down my pen.
“It’s handled. Mario’s crew caught up with him in Atlanta yesterday morning.” Rex’s voice was matter-of-fact. “Found him outside some motel he was staying at.”
I closed my eyes. “How bad?”
“Bad. They worked him over good this time, broke ribs, internal bleeding. Head trauma finished it. Brain swelling.” Rex paused. “Didn’t make it through the night.”
I waited for guilt to hit, but all I felt was relief. Clean, uncomplicated relief. Fuck em.
“You good?” Rex asked.
“Yeah, I’m good. Real good, actually.” I leaned back, feeling the weight lift off my shoulders. “That’s one less problem.”
“Cold-blooded,” Rex chuckled. “But I get it.”
“He made his choice.” I thought about Sametra, Samaj, our future, and the baby coming. “Now my family can move forward without him showing up on bullshit.”
After hanging up, I sat in my office for a long time. Ashe was gone, and I’d pulled the trigger on it. The minute everything went to shit, I decided Ashe had to go. He’d disrespected me, took me as a joke, and fucked with my woman. I warned him. I gave Mario sixty grand to cover the debt and handle Ashe.I could’ve paid Ashe if I was going to pay anyway. It was the principle. Ashe would never touch a dime of my money.
I thought about those four kids he’d left behind in Georgia. More kids growing up without their father, just like Samaj had. But everyone had to be accountable for their actions. He made his bed. Sorry, not sorry.
The cold-hearted part of me was something I tried to keep under wraps, but my cousins weren’t lying, I had a dark side. Help the bear. I had a side that Sametra woke up and dragged from the dungeon. Anybody playing with her or our family would be met with the same fate.Part of me wanted to drive straight to her, but this wasn’t news for a phone call or rushed conversation.
Instead,I slipped the ring box back into my desk drawer. I was one step closer to getting my family back.
The memory of Rex’s call had been weighing on me for days, but looking at her face now, seeing her process the news I realized she was stronger than I’d given her credit for. She deserved to know it was over, deserved to be part of understanding what that meant for our future.
“I wanted to tell you in person.” I stepped closer to her. “I didn’t want to overstep and tell Samaj either. That’s not my place, unless you make it my place. And maybe I overstepped with the whole Ashe situation, but what’s done is done.”
She was quiet for a long moment, her hand unconsciously moving to her stomach where our baby was growing. “I never wanted him dead, Malik. I just wanted him to leave us alone.”
“I know, baby.”
“But I'm not going to pretend I’m not relieved.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Does that make me a terrible person?”
“It makes you human.” I pulled her closer. “He made his choices. He chose to abandon his son, to threaten our family,and violated your privacy. What happened to him was a consequence of his own actions.”
