Chapter 12

12

Ahmad

" S end me that photo of him again. I can't seem to access my email. The Wi-Fi fucking up on me again," I told Ash while clicking out of the web.

"I'm sending it now."

"Good looking. This shit should be over soon, and I'll be back home after it's done."

"Sounds good… Can I ask you something though?"

"What's up?"

"What do you plan to do with her once this is over?"

"Let her ass go, what you mean?"

"I mean… You don't find her attractive enough to see—"

"Ashton. Get the fuck off my line."

"I'm just saying. You're acting as if you're scared of commitment. Since you guys are spending time together, it won't hurt to get to—"

I hung up on his ass and placed my phone down on top of the piano. I was currently in my basement washing the laundry that Bunny and Rabbit had worn for the past two days along with the sheets and comforters. My phone pinged with a message from Ash with laughing emojis then the photo of the pussy nigga that I was going to bury in his backyard. For a minute, I thought about his wife and kids, but for some reason, my I don't give a fuck radar alerted me. This nigga was scum. He didn't deserve to live anymore, and I was going to be the one to deliver his fate.

Placing my phone back the way I had it, I wiped down the piano keys with a disinfectant wipe and began to play "Tennessee Whiskey". I was a good minute into the song when I saw a little cute face peek around the corner looking at me. I stopped playing as she moved away quickly, and I laughed.

"Come here, Rabbit."

It took her about ten seconds to finally appear as she walked over to me. I patted the spot next to me as she stared at me. She hesitated for a moment before taking a seat.

"Did you have a good nap?"

"Mmhm."

"That's good. Where's your mean mama?"

"My mommy's not mean. You're the one that's mean."

"I'm not if you just get to know me."

"If you're not mean, then why did you take us?"

I scratched the back of my head because what was I supposed to tell a six-year-old? I knew I couldn't tell her the real reason, so I opted not to answer her.

"You want to learn how to play?" She looked at me skeptically at first, then nodded her little head. "A'ight. So we're going to do a classic one—'Mary had a Little Lamb', but we gon' remix it and say, ‘Bunny had a Lil Rabbit,' cool?"

She giggled and nodded her head. I took her finger and showed her which keys to press while I directed her. Surprisingly, it only took her three tries before she was playing it alone. I smiled in triumph because I didn't want little mama mad at me anymore. She was only being this way because of her moms, but I respected it because any child would protect their mother. We moved on to another nursery rhyme then what sounded like thumps hit the stairs and mama bear appeared.

"Makari Amelle! You scared me half to death! Why didn't you wake me?"

"I'm sorry, Mommy. The mean man was playing music. I like music."

"I know, baby, but we don't know him. You stay close to me. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Mommy," she said, solemnly.

"It's Ahmad."

"What?" Bunny asked.

"My name is Ahmad—Ahmad Pryor." She paused as she looked at me, then down at her daughter.

"Are you hungry, Kari? It's dinnertime."

"Yes. Can we have spaghetti?"

"We just had hamburger meat… What about some chicken, mac-n-cheese, and baked beans?"

"Okay, fine."

"Go wait upstairs for me, and don't go beyond the living room."

"Yes, ma'am." Rabbit turned to me and smiled a snaggle toothed grin. "Thank you, Mr. Ahmad. I can't wait to tell my grandma and grandpa I know how to play the piano!"

"No problem, Lil Rabbit." She headed upstairs as Bunny stood and folded her arms.

"Why didn't you send her back upstairs?"

"For what? She was curious, and as she said, she loves music."

"Yeah, well, I don't know you well enough to be around my child alone… Especially since the reason we're even here is because you snatched us out of our sleep."

"Can you move past that shit already? We already established why you're here. I told you, you could leave at any moment. Ya nigga still gon' get handled, but you can go whenever you choose to. Furthermore, I ain't no fucking pedophile, but I get why you're protective over her. As you should be, but don't insinuate that I would ever violate like that."

She sighed. "I guess I can apologize, but I don't play about my baby."

"She don't play 'bout you, either," I replied then began playing Vedo's "You Got It". She was still standing there but I wasn't paying her ass any attention. I was hoping she'd take her ass back upstairs and go cook or some shit. That fast, she irritated me once again.

"Is there a reason why you're still standing there?"

"When did you learn how to play?"

"When I was in high school. I took music class."

"Nice. I'm glad to see you've learned something other than kidnapping and killing people."

"Ain't you supposed to be going to cook or some shit? Your sarcasm is annoying."

She giggled. "I like getting under your skin. It's payback for you taking me. I bet you regret it now, don't you? Didn't know I would cause you so much hell."

"The fact that you're purposely doing it is only going to make me fuck you harder."

"You really think you're going to fuck me, huh?"

"I know I am. And when I do, baby girl gon' have to go with grandma and grandpa because I'ma have ya ass screaming all through this motherfucka." I could tell I had her ass ready to run. I was mad she hadn't made her exit yet.

"I really don't like you."

"Why? Because you wanna give me some pussy but wanna play hard?"

"Bye."

She turned and started hobbling her way up the stairs. No matter how many times I kept telling her hardheaded ass to stop walking on her foot, she still insisted on doing the shit. I stood and walked over to her.

"That foot ain't gon' never heal because your stubborn, hardheaded ass won't stay off of it."

"My daughter wasn't lying next to me when I woke up. What the hell did you expect?"

"Nothing, man. I'm making dinner tonight, and your ass is going to sit down somewhere because I'm not gon' keep picking your thick ass up."

"Did I ask you to?"

"I swear… Just don't talk no more. Every time you open your mouth it's only making shit worse."

"What—"

"What I say? You must want to get bent over that piano while I spank ya ass?" She closed her mouth as I chuckled. "That's what I thought." I lifted her and took her back upstairs. I already knew it was only going to be a matter of time before I made a believer out of her pretty ass.

I pulled the mac-n-cheese from the oven and set it on top of the stove. Bunny and Rabbit were at the table playing some hand game while I prepared dinner. Their laughs did something to me because I'd never imagined no shit like this. In the matter of forty-eight hours, these two came and turned my fucking world upside down. Every time I tried to activate my not giving a fuck alarm, the shit went dead when it came down to them. I was developing some type of soft spot for them, and I hated it. Ashton may have gotten on my damn nerves, but he knew me. Possibly more than our own parents. He may not have known what was taking place right now, but he knew I would never harm women and children—so it gave him ammunition to try to make something happen between us.

After stirring the beans, I placed everything into serving dishes and grabbed the tongs and two spoons from the drawer then placed everything on the table. I looked at Bunny and dared her ass to try to use the same spoon as the baked beans.

"Nobody's going to use the same spoon, weirdo," she said, noticing I was watching her ass.

"I think you know better by now."

"Mr. Ahmad, stop being mean to Mommy. She would be nice if you stop being mean. Right, Mommy?"

"Right, baby."

"Your mommy has been mean to me, Rabbit. I'm only giving her back what she gives me."

"Well, she's going to be nice now."

"Okay, then I'll be nice too."

"Yay! You want to say grace, Mr. Ahmad?"

I shook my head. "Nah, let's let your mama do it."

"Scared of a little prayer?"

"See…"

"Okay, okay, my bad."

She held up her hands in surrender as we joined hands, and she said grace. We dined over the meal I prepared and made small talk—well Makari talked while we listened and responded. I could see that she was opening up more since our bonding moment in the basement. She was very talkative, and surprisingly, I didn't mind it at all. It may have been because she was so cute and innocent, whereas her mother was sexy and rude as fuck. I'd always been a loner, but having them here made me wonder if after I took her nigga out, would I go back to enjoying my peace?

Once we were good and full, I removed the dishes from the table and put away the food. Bunny and Rabbit helped clean the table and put the dishes in the washer, then she took Rabbit upstairs to get ready for bed. I went to shower and put on my night clothes, then went back downstairs to do some meditating. I needed to purge thoughts of Bunny out of my system because I could feel myself liking her and all her feistiness too much. Before I could turn on my rain sounds…

Thump

Thump

Thump

"Yo, I can't with you, man." I chuckled, watching her hop her ass my way.

"I'm not sleepy since I took that nap. I want to watch TV."

"You literally have a whole television in your room."

"I don't want to disturb Kari. Is it okay if I watch a little TV down here, your highness?"

"I was actually about to meditate. So you're disturbing my peace."

"Oh, sorry. Maybe you should meditate in your room then." I inhaled deeply then released it.

"What's your story?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what's your story? How'd you get caught up with a crime boss?"

She started fiddling with her fingernails and I could see her face grow solemn.

"He bamboozled me. Had me believing he owned a lucrative business, but the whole time he was selling crack to the whole city."

"How'd you meet him?"

"On my college campus. Him and his hoodlum friends were hanging out in front of my dorm, and I ran into him. My first instinct was to turn him down, but he turned on his charm. I was a virgin when we met. I held on to my virginity for a long time before I gave it up to him. Once I did, his secrets started to unravel, and he started to act different."

"Different how?"

"Being controlling. I couldn't wear certain things, I couldn't go certain places, and I couldn't hang out with certain friends. Then when I would try to do things anyway, he'd lock me in the house, turn off my phone, and did shit to fuck up my self-esteem, like talk about my weight. The only time I really got to go outside was when he wanted me to. I was his prisoner, so you'll have to forgive me if I'm giving you hell. It's triggering to be held against my will."

"I told you, you can leave—"

"I know what you told me, but I'm miles away from California. Even if I did leave, I can't go back there. He probably had his goons ransack my place by now, so now I have to start all over. I don't even know why he's looking for me after all this time. How the hell did he happen to find your brother, anyway? You guys live in two different states, right?"

"My brother's firm rings bells everywhere, sweetheart. It's been his goldmine since his third year in college."

"Hm, I guess."

"Look, I can imagine how you may feel, but I got your back. I know you don't trust me, and you have every right not to, but trust me when I say I won't let him touch you."

"Was this before or after he threatened you?"

"Believe it or not, I started having doubts the same night y'all got here. I don't really fuck with women and children—they're off limits. Now, if you were some hoodrat, didn't have a kid, and looked like a man, I would have offed you for sure."

She sputtered a laugh and that shit put a crack in the ice on my heart.

"That is so mean."

I shrugged. "It is what it is." There was silence for a spell before she cleared her throat.

"I meditate too… You want to do it together?"

"I don't trust my eyes to close around you."

"My baby wants us to be nice to each other, so I'm not going to knock you over the head if that's what you're worried about."

"I've never had a woman try to kill me as many times as you, so you'll have to forgive me if I have trust issues."

"Touché. I wasn't going to kill you, though. Just injure you enough to get away."

"So the plane ride don't count as attempted murder?"

"Oh, I was for sure going to kill you then."

"See."

"But in all fairness, we didn't have this much dialogue between us, and you were stranger danger. So death would have become you."

"Touché… I guess we can give this shit a go. But the moment you move, I'm on yo' top."

She laughed as she slid to the floor next to me and folded her legs as far as the boot would allow. I stared at her profile for a second then closed my eyes and envisioned a life with her and Rabbit.