ᴍᴏᴛɪᴇsʜᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴀᴘᴋɪɴɢ (#1 ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇʟʟs ᴛʀɪʟᴏɢʏ)✓

38: Tiesha And The Birth II

Ky’Mon was pissed.

Not just annoyed—full-on, jaw-clenched, vein-popping pissed.

And it was all because of Money Maker.

“Nigga stole ten grand,” he said, voice low but seething. “I ain’t even mad he took it. I’m mad he didn’t tell me. I had to gun down the wrong person and now that’s on me.”

It was late, the clock creeping toward midnight. He had just come home, dropping down onto the edge of the bed like the weight of the day was dragging him toward the floor.

Tiesha knelt behind him, working her hands into the tense muscles of his shoulders, trying to ease away some of the frustration.

“I feel so bad,” Ky’Mon went on. “He was a promising young man. Aziz been acting shady lately too. Ever since he got back with his bitch-ass baby mama, I know that hoe been telling him to steal from me.”

Tiesha’s thumbs moved in slow circles. “So what are you going to do about it?”

“I already gave him a warning,” Ky’Mon muttered. “He’s gone if he tries shit like that again.”

“You ain’t scared he’s gonna rat you out?”

“Then he know he’s going six feet under.”

It had been two months since Koko gave birth. The house had been busier, louder, more complicated.

“How long have you known him?” Tiesha asked.

“He ran away from home and Makanaki took him in. He was the only one I could vibe with back then.”

“What about Zyante and Isaac?”

“I got Zyante after he cracked a code for me. Isaac came on his own.”

“Killer and Dreads?”

That brought a faint chuckle out of him. “You’re mentioning people close to me.”

“Yeah.”

“Killer was my college mate, and Dreads is just one of the dealers I trust. He can get me anything—weapons, drugs, people, loyalty.”

“You went to college?”

“I have a master’s degree in business management.”

Tiesha pouted. “And I’m a dropout in marketing.”

“You wanna go back?”

She stood, lifting the hem of her maxi dress so it wouldn’t drag as she crossed to the bathroom.

“No need,” she said over her shoulder. “I didn’t think I needed it back then, and I don’t really need it now. With our parents gone, Kiesha growing, and Lowe busy, I had to be the mother figure for both of them.”

She disappeared into the bathroom, peed quickly, then winced at a dull ache in her lower belly.

When she came out, Ky’Mon was undressing. She moved toward the vanity mirror—only for him to suddenly grab her breasts from behind.