Chapter 9

9

Lila (Nala)

I 'd never been so conflicted in my damn life.

On one hand, all I wanted to do was get the fuck up outta here now that Play had given me my freedom papers. On the other, I wanted to stay because where the hell was I gonna go? I couldn't go back to Cali. I couldn't go home. I didn't have any of the money I stashed, so I was out here broke.

It seemed as though I was stuck with the crazy ass man as my kidnapper and my savior. I was growing tired of trying to kill him. My injuries were taking a lot out of me. Even if I had been successful, how was I going to get away with a busted foot, arm, and my baby?

I looked down at Kari who was playing with the pendant on my necklace. Her eyes were closed, and she was slowly drifting off to sleep. I loved this little girl so much. She had no idea how she saved my life. Before her, I probably would have stayed with Slim's trifling ass until he killed me. It wouldn't have been long before those hateful words turned into slaps, kicks, or punches.

She was everything I had to live for.

"Mommy?"

I looked down to find her staring up at me with tired eyes.

"Yes, baby?"

"I wanna go home. I don't like the mean man."

"I know, Kari. I wanna go home too, but we can't."

"But why?"

I sighed. "Mommy did something bad to protect us before you were born. I took something from someone that didn't belong to me and now that person wants to hurt me."

"Can't you just give it back?"

"It's not that easy, baby."

"Can't we go to Grandma and Grandpa? Won't they protect us?"

"I don't want them to get hurt. It's not fair."

"Will the mean man protect us?"

"He said he would."

She sighed. "I still don't like him."

I giggled. "Me either. Come on. Go on to sleep. Tomorrow we'll do something fun."

"Okay."

She cuddled up next to me and closed her eyes. Before long, the light sounds of her snoring filled my ears. I waited until she was good and sleep before tucking her into bed and getting up. The pain in my ankle had subsided enough for me to make it back out front without wincing. I found Play wiping down the kitchen table. The entire kitchen was spotless.

I smirked to myself, playing back the events from dinner. He must have had some sort of OCD to be using three different forks to eat one meal. That was insane to me, but it wasn't my business. I walked over to where he was working hard and swiped my finger across the spot he'd just cleaned.

"You missed a spot."

He looked up at me with a frown. "You testin' my patience, Bunny."

He wiped down the spot again, then tossed the rag in the trash and discarded his gloves.

"Come sit your ass down and don't touch nothin'."

He grabbed two beers from the fridge and headed into the living room while I gave the middle finger to his back. With a sigh, I hobbled after him and took a seat on one end of the couch while he was seated on the other. I watched him crack the beer can open and take a long ass chug from it.

"Thirsty ass," I mumbled.

"You stressing me the fuck out and I need this shit!" he snapped.

"Nobody forced you to kidnap me. You that hard up for money?"

He chuckled. "Baby, I could buy you."

"You're an arrogant asshole if you think that."

"I'm an asshole by nature."

I rolled my eyes. "Can't argue with you there. How many other people have you taken against their will?"

"Look. It's a job. Ain't nothing personal."

"You need a new line of work. How did you even get into this shit?"

He took another long swig of his beer.

"When you're the black sheep of the family, shit happens. You fall in with the wrong crowd and end up with an insatiable craving to do shit you have no business doing. I was the rebellious misfit, and my brother was the golden child. At least that's what my parents thought of him. In their eyes he could do no wrong. Little do they know, that nigga has his hands in the same shit I do."

I shook my head. "So you turned to a life of crime because you're jealous of your brother and have mommy and daddy issues? Got it."

He frowned. "I don't have no fuckin' mommy and daddy issues, and I for damn sure ain't jealous of nobody."

"Like hell you aren't. Tell me, did you act out as a child to get their attention? Your OCD and anxiety… where did that come from? Genetics? Fear? Did you know that both can develop from neglect? Especially emotional neglect. You seem to be a little lacking in emotional intelligence. Are your compulsions self-soothing?"

His frown deepened. He looked like he was thinking about what I said as though there was some truth to it.

"I don't need a psych evaluation from you, Bunny."

"Hmm. Sounds like you need a hug."

"If you wanna touch me, just say that."

I scoffed. "You couldn't get within inches of me on a good day, sir."

"I seem to remember that thirsty ass look in your eyes at the hospital, Bunny. You wanted some inches all right."

"Fuck you!"

"Maybe that's what your uptight ass needs. A good fuck. Some good dick might stop your ass from trying to kill me every time I turn around. You gon' traumatize lil Rabbit. Got that baby kicking me in my shin and shit."

"My baby doesn't play about her mama."

He chuckled. "I see that. Y'all sport that same damn mean mug. You're wearing it right now."

It was at that moment that I felt the frown etched into my features. I relaxed my face and looked away from him.

"You don't have to look at me. I've seen that mug enough times already to commit it to memory."

"Whatever. I wanna know how you found me. You've got me here against my will. I can't go home. I can't go to my people. At least tell me how I came up on your radar after six years."

"Your baby daddy contacted my brother six months ago to find you."

"Wait, what? How would I even know your brother or how would he know me?"

"He owns a private investigation firm. A few days before I got to you, he got a hit on your location. I don't know how he gets the information he gets, but he found out you were Nala Stanton. All your shit popped up from there."

I frowned. "A PI firm? Aren't they just supposed to find information and hand it over? What kind of crooked shit are y'all into? I should report your ass."

"Then you'll really come up missing. You're lucky I have a conscience."

I scoffed. "A conscience? You should have had that before you took me! The moment you found out I had a child, you should have called it off."

"And then where would you be? Probably with that nigga getting your ass beat or worse. If my brother had given him the information, he would have sent his boys to get you or done it himself. You and lil Rabbit are safer here than anywhere else and that's a fuckin' fact. Until that nigga is taken care of, you're stuck with me, and I'm stuck with both of you. You might as well play nice."

"I don't like you."

He laughed. "I don't like yo' ass either, woman. It is what it is at this point."

My chest heaved in anger. I wanted nothing more than to beat his big, fine ass. How the hell was I going to survive being here with this man? How could I allow him to protect me without giving in to the urge to kill him in his sleep?

"I'm going to bed," I said angrily.

He watched as I struggled to get up off this overly comfortable ass couch. A smirk rested on his face as my prideful ass maneuvered myself into a standing position.

"You could have asked for help, Bunny."

I picked up a pillow and threw it at his head. "Jackass."

"Now if I throw it back, you and your crippled ass will be on the floor. I'd like to see you get up from there."

"I'd like to see you sleep with one eye open, you bastard."

"You come in my room and you gon' know something."

I glared at him for a moment before hobbling back down the hall to my temporary bedroom. I wasn't sure how long we were gonna be stuck with him, but I was gonna make it my mission to give him hell.