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Part XVII

Part XVII:

I had been home for a few days, and I was lounging with my baby in my arms. He was sleeping soundly, letting me get the only peace I had gotten in two days. Chris was out and about, making his rounds just so he could come back and spend time with his little junior. I closed my eyes as my head rested against the armrest of the couch. After about what seemed like half an hour of silence, I heard the front door opening. "Hey, Baby," Chris kissed my forehead. "Hey," I sighed as he began picking up Junior. "Chris, please. He just went to sleep half an hour ag--." "I got this. Why don't you speak to our company?" he held our baby and nodded toward someone I didn't even know was there. I stood and stretched before turning toward the person.

My eyes widened before I automatically pulled the person into my arms. "I'm so glad you're okay," I told him. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. "Where the hell were you, Kyle?" I hit his arm. "Well, I.." he paused while looking at Chris. I glimpsed at Chris out the corner of my eye to see him glaring at Kyle. "I just wanted to get a break away from everything for a while," Kyle finally answered. I observed his face, seeing that stitches had taken place at his temple and chin. "What happened?" I asked. "I fell," he said. I could tell he wanted to smirk at the fact that he used the oldest excuse in the book. I smirked and shook my head as my arms crossed. "Let's eat some fruit," I said before leading the way to the kitchen. I got a bowl of grapes as we sat at the table. I looked over toward the living room to see Chris watching television with our baby resting on his chest. "Kyle.. Why exactly are you here?" I asked. He shrugged. "He said you were asking about me, and I guess he brought me here to show you I was fine," he answered... I glanced over toward the living room again before looking back at Kyle. "Tell me what really happened," I said. "I can't do th--." "Tell me," I demanded. He shook his head, taking two grapes and popping them like pills. I glared at him a bit, making sure to ask Chris later...

After Kyle left and Little Chris was put in his crib, I addressed him. He was getting undressed, taking off his shirt first. "What did you do to Kyle?" I crossed my arms. A slight laugh left his lips as he shook his head. "Baby, that was months ago. I don't know wha--." "Christopher Dominic, this sounds like a secret, and you and I both know--." He let out a loud sigh that came out like a groan. "Hazel, let the shit go, Baby. We don't talk about that shit at home anymore. We keep that business where the business is. Not at home!" he sternly said. I stared at him for a moment before half shrugging. "Let's go to the spot then," I suggested while putting on a pair of shoes. "Excuse me?" he asked. "You fucking heard me, Chris. I'm calling William now," I grabbed my phone. "You're petty as hell," he muttered while putting his clothes back on. Wolf arrived and I left the baby in his care, telling him where the bottles, diapers, etc. were before Chris and I left...

We pulled up to the spot and parked. "Tell me," I spoke after several minutes of silence... "He was a threat.. Not only to the business but to our relationship... We roughed him up a bit," he said. "That nigga had stitches; don't sit here and try to sugarcoat anything," I spoke in a serious tone, still not looking at him. "We tortured him, Hazel. And then we beat him with bats and shit. We dropped him off at the hospital, and word on the street was that he went into a coma. When I got word that he was up, I paid him a visit. I gave him some money and told him to get out of town for a few," he spoke as if it was nothing. "A few what?" I asked. "Weeks. Months... Years... Just whenever I felt like saying he could come back," he replied. "You can't put a grown man in exile in America and in the 21st century, Chris!" I finally looked into his eyes while turning toward him. "Whether that nigga dies or not is in my hands, Hazel. I can do whatever the fuck I want. And, as long as that nigga wants to live, he's going to listen to me," he spoke.

I looked at him as if he had gone mad. "You're letting this power get to you, Christopher. You can't do that to people... Besides, that's how you'll get more people to come after you," I told him. "They can come after me. I don't give a fuck," he smirked. I slapped him. His jaw clenched as he looked down. Tension filled the air before he grabbed my wrists roughly and pinned them. "Haze--." "No.. Listen to what the fuck you're saying.. You don't give a fuck if people are after you? Baby, I do... I need you. Christopher needs you. I don't ever want to hear you talk like that... Everything's perfect right now, remember? Don't fucking mess it up," I whispered...