I didn’t even make it all the way inside before my brother started in.
“Well?” he said from the couch, legs spread like he owned the damn place. Remote in one hand, a half-smoked blunt in the other. “You talk to him?”
I dropped my purse on the counter and leaned against it, arms folded. “Yeah, I talked to him.”
“And?”
“He wants a DNA test.”
He laughed. “Of course he does. Like you’d lie about some shit like that.”
I looked at him sideways. “I mean… can you blame him? I kept her from him for nine years.”
“Ma and Pops had you scared as hell.”
“I still made the choice.”
“Under pressure,” he said, standing up now. “You were seventeen, pregnant, scared, and in love with a nigga they hated. They did everything they could to erase him.”
I stared at him. “You think that makes this better?”
“No,” he shrugged. “But it makes it what it is. And now? He knows. So where’s the help? Where’s the money?”
I blinked. “This not about the money.”
“Yes, the fuck it is,” he snapped. “It’s always been about the money. That man’s sitting on millions, and Liberty deserves a piece of that.”
I slammed my hand on the counter. “And that’s my fault! I made those decisions. I should’ve told him.”
He walked around the island and got in my face. “But you didn’t. And now it’s time for that nigga to pay up. He owes her…. he owes me.”
My stomach twisted. “He doesn’t owe you shit.”
He laughed again, shaking his head. “You so damn naïve.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’m tired of waiting. You went to him. You gave him the truth. You gave him a chance to do the right thing. Now we gone make him do it.”
My voice dropped. “What are you talking about?”
He stared at me dead in the face. “I’m talking ’bout hitting one of his dispensaries. Letting him know he ain’t untouchable.”
I froze. “You must be out your fuckin’ mind.”
“Nah, I’m not. He wanna drag his feet? He wanna take his sweet-ass time acting like he gotta verify shit? Cool. Let’s shake the tree. Let’s see how much he care once his shit gets touched.”
“You’re gone get killed,” I snapped. “You touch anything of his, they’ll bury you alive.”
He smirked. “Not if I move smart. Ain’t gotta be loud. Just enough to shake some shit up.”
“You really think that’s gone make him help me? Help Liberty?”
“I don’t give a fuck if he helps you at this point. I’m looking out for me.I got plans. Real ones. But I need that DeLuca plug. You know how many doors that name opens?”
I shoved him back. “You’re disgusting.”
“And you’re weak,” he spat. “Still stuck on some high school heartbreak like that man ain’t throw you away.”
