At that second, he put two and two together, and shit got real. Peanut knew that things could go badly for him if anyone else noticed the similarities. Most likely a long stint in prison, plus he’d lose Jackie, and that wasn’t going to happen. He had to do something, but what?
“Yo, give me that fucking baby,” he said nervously. He was breathing hard and sweating.
“You crazy.” Bianca wasn’t having it. “You’re not taking him anywhere.” She reached for Babylon to protect him, but Peanut swooped him up from the bassinet first.
‘”Give ’im back!” she shouted. “Give ’im back!” She tried to pry her baby away from Peanut’s left arm, but he used his right arm to fend her off.
“I swear I won’t utter a word to anyone. Just leave him alone.”
“I know you won’t.”
“I haven’t said nothing this far, and if you just leave him alone, I promise I won’t say nothing.”
“You ain’t going to have the chance to say shit, bitch.” He shoved her. Hard. Bianca stumbled backward. She was about to charge forward when Peanut pulled out a six-inch pocketknife and put it to the baby’s neck. He barked, “Don’t make me hurt the li’l nigga.”
The threat of the knife biting into her son stopped Bianca cold in her tracks. She gave him a look that only a lioness could possess over her cub, and that’s when he pushed her down, completely knocking the wind out of her.
“Bitch, I swear, I will kill you if you say a word.” His eyes had fire in them. With his Timberland boots, he stomped her down as if she had stolen something, causing her to go black. She never saw her baby again.
When her family asked her about the baby, she said she had dropped him off on the steps of the fire station.
To this day, the words of her grandmother still rang in her head: It was probably the best thing for it. The best thing you could’ve done for that retarded baby anyway.
CHAPTER 10
“Damn.” Caesar sat in disbelief. “That’s really fucked up. They are fucked up. Your uncle, he’s a sorry motherfucker.”
“Don’t I know it,” she agreed, secretly wanting him to say he was going to kill him for hurting her. But he didn’t. It was okay, because at that second, Bianca was reminded that nobody but her was ever going to be her saving grace.
He rubbed his hands up and down her back. “It’s going to be okay. Everything is going to be all right.” Caesar stared off in thought while holding Bianca. “All you have to do is go and talk to them, and I know you don’t want to live through that again, but you gotta tell these people what happened. I assure you, there is nothing that your pussy-ass uncle can or will do to hurt you.”
“My uncle? I’m not worried about him. I’m worried about me—about facing the police.”
“I don’t condone telling on nobody, but this is different. You are the victim.”
“Listen, baby, this is already becoming a witch hunt. Nobody is going to believe me. Not my momma, my sister, and damn sure not my grandma. The police already got me convicted and under the jail.”
“No, no. I’m going to help you get through this,” he said, still thinking, putting together a plan in his head.
Bianca pulled away, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
“One of my boys has a sister who is an attorney,” Caesar started. “She helped him get off after shooting this house up that resulted in a dude being paralyzed. He did that shit, too, so I know she can work something out for you.” Caesar headed over to the nightstand where his phone was. “I’ll call him and—”
“Whoa, wait!” Bianca said. “No, don’t tell anyone.” She had horror in her eyes.
Caesar stopped and looked at Bianca. “We can at least ask her some questions. We have to be prepared for what to tell the police, and of course, we will have her there with you while you are being questioned.”
“I’m not telling the police shit,” Bianca snapped.
“Don’t be stupid. We’re gonna have to tell them something.”
“We? So, are you saying you’re going to talk to the police?” Bianca started pacing again.
Puzzled, Caesar looked at Bianca. “This ain’t no Maxwell song. Girl, the cops gon’ come knocking in real life, so we need to be—”
“Gone,” Bianca finished the sentence.
“Gone where?”
“Baby, we can pack up and just go. No, we don’t even have to pack. We can just go. We’ve got the money to start over somewhere.” Her eyes lit up. “Miami! We can go back to Miami. We can set up camp there. Your brother can—”
“My brother can’t do shit!” Caesar cut her off. “I told you, he don’t fuck with me and I don’t fuck with him. He’d turn you in just to spite me. That’s how ruthless the life he lives has made him. Trust me, my brother is no safe haven, and neither are those thugs he keeps close to him.” He paused, wanting to say more, but he caught himself. “Just believe that.”
“Well, the police haven’t touched him, which means even in all his wrongdoings, he’s doing something right.”
Caesar shook his head. “No, no. I’m not involving my brother.”
As far as Bianca was concerned, this was the best solution. Why wouldn’t Caesar just hop on board? A part of her was starting to do something she hadn’t done since meeting Caesar, which was doubt his love and loyalty to her. Did he want her to go to jail? Did he have another chick on the side that he was going to replace her with the moment they threw her in jail? She didn’t know what to think, but she hoped she was wrong about the things she was thinking. Her next line of questioning, though, would let her know where his head was at for real.
“Then where are we gonna go?” Bianca asked.
Caesar took a deep breath and looked at Bianca
