Page 18 of The Perfect Verse
Scooter shrugged, chewing a few bites of his food. After he ate more than half, he stood, then scraped the rest into the trash.
“At least Serita actually pays the bills when I send the money. If Shay can’t manage while you’re here, how will she manage while you’re gone?”
“True. Maybe I should put Leah and Erika on her ass,” he suggested when Scooter’s head tilted back with narrowed eyes. “Aye, I don’t have any sisters. Marco would put a bullet in her head, and Lance… Well, that nigga found God.”
They both laughed at that. He’d gone to prison and became a preacher. Well, a Muslim. It was better than being in prison, even though he didn’t necessarily support their music. As for Marco, that nigga was too trigger-happy. He could have been security, but he was too much of a risk.
“You ready?” Scooter took Donovan’s plate after he’d cleaned it like he hadn’t eaten in a few days. “And Chaney needs to feed your ass, motherfucker.”
“She feeds me plenty,” he jested. “Then I feed her back. I bent her thick ass over and fed her this dick until snot ran out of her nose last night at the studio.”
“At the studio?” Scooter repeated. Donovan smiled, then slid his tongue across his top teeth. “Nasty motherfucker.”
“Hey, we both work a lot. Got to get that shit in.” Scooter would never handle any girl he was with like that, definitely not Kaleela. They kept too much company, even though he had plans to cease most of that. If they weren’t there for business, they’d have to catch them in the streets.
“Does she know about the twenty-city tour?”
He grabbed his keys, then tucked his heat behind his back. Nazir mentioned adding real security, but they’d survived all of their life without it. Short of a few homeless people they found sleeping across the street, the area they were in was deserted once local businesses were closed.
“Not yet, but I’ll tell her.”
They’d spent so much time together despite their busy schedules that he didn’t know how they’d managed to be a part. To break the news, he’d have to do something special.
Scooter, too, but unlike Chaney, he and Kaleela had just linked. He could only hope that what they started was strong enough to keep her interested until he could put in the proper time to prove he was serious about being with her. He couldn’t ask Donovan. It was too soon, and he wasn’t ready for them to be at each other’s throats. The secret shit was heavy and a lot of work. He just hoped Kaleela was worth it.
Chapter 8
Verse Eight
“The proper way?” X repeated, peering slightly over his glasses. “As in legal guardianship, or adoption?”
“Whatever I need to keep them with me. Damn, why does that shock you?”
“Because your ass said ‘legal’.” He chuckled, his chin resting between his index and thumb as he sat across from her in his office. Nothing about Kaleela was done legally, except the businesses she owned that many didn’t know about.
“Adoption means permanent… like that forever shit.”
“I know, X. I’ve had Rell and Travis for about a month and a half, but I need to get them in school. That requires shot records and all that other shit I saw they would need when I looked online. Then, with all the crap they eat, I need to get them to a dentist for cleanings. To do that, I need paperwork, paperwork I don’t have.”
“I told you when you first took them in that law enforcement should have been contacted. Who the fuck knows who they’re tied to? You have to start thinking about yourself, too.”
“I am thinking about myself,” she countered. “I need them, X, just like they need me.”
She didn’t want to tell anyone, but Rell had asked if he could call her their mama. Travis sat by, eavesdropping as he waited for her response. She told them they could call her Mama Kaleela. They seemed fine with the compromise, but their union still felt incomplete because, at any moment, they could be taken from her.
“I get that, but we have to prove they were abandoned.”
“They were.” She threw up both hands in frustration. Living life the legal way was fucking overrated in her eyes. “Has anyone reported on the news that two young, Black kids are missing? Besides, your ass should already know I don’t deal with the laws. I had plenty on payroll. Motherfuckers were slimy as fuck. Why would I trust them?”
She scoffed, wondering if she’d made a mistake coming to him, and behind Shonasia’s back. She had other means, but she figured, why not X? He’d been nothing but loyal and resourceful. He was even respected in the streets, and in and outside of court.
“Hell, I’m already dealing with you, but what choice do I have? I still can’t believe Shona’s ass went and fell in love with a pig companion.”
“The fuck is a pig companion?”
“Ace, nigga.” She smiled, referring to his best friend, who was a Miami Police detective. “Ain’t he a pig? Shonasia really played in my damn face, bringing y’all two asses around.”
“Fuck you mean? She didn’t have a choice. Sweetness was mine the moment she allowed me to tat that kitty up. And I don’t fuck casually. That pussy had to be mine.” He smiled, watching Kaleela’s nose scrunched up. “See, that’s what you need in your life.”
