Page 23 of Baby Me

“You been here with Break?” Jared asked.

“Twice,” I confirmed.

“Well, he doesn’t live here anymore, so I’m not sure why you thought it was okay to stop by my house.”

I had to remind myself that I was doing this for my baby girl. I fidgeted with a lock of my hair as I tried to find the right way to approach this, especially since he’d just called Star his old lady. Maybe Missy was the other woman and Star didn’t know. Was I supposed to tell her? Fuck. It felt like no matter what I did or said at this point that these people would never be inclined to help me or Coral.

“I wouldn’t have ever bothered to find out, but things have changed, so…”

“What are you talking about?” Star huffed, obviously frustrated with my presence. I couldn’t say that I blamed her at this point. Apparently, I’d been brought to this house under false pretenses, even though I had a very real, pressing matter to discuss.

“I don’t know her. Can she go to another room or something? This is personal.” It was the truth. I didn’t know Star, and honestly, I didn’t’ want her flipping out on me when I told Bagger that Missy was the one who brought me here. My baby was sick in the hospital, and I didn’t need to be hemmed up on charges if Tripp’s daughter decided to fight the messenger.

“If you think something personal involves me, then she’s going to know about it whether you say it in front of her or five minutes after you leave, so just get on with it.”

“Bagger,” I pleaded, knowing how messy it was going to get. “Please, I don’t want your whore in my business.”

“What the fuck did I just say to you at the door?”

I flinched back from the venom in his voice. “Sorry, it’s just, this has nothing to do with her.”

“Vina, shit or get off the pot! You got something to say, spit it out now because my patience is wearing thin.”

“I have a daughter.”

“Okay, and?”

“She’s in daycare right now, that’s why she isn’t with me.” That last line was a lie, but I didn’t want to drop the cancer bomb on him before I got him to agree to a DNA test. I wasn’t stupid. A sick kid would send some men running quicker than any other potential kid.

“She’s trying to tell you that you’re her baby daddy,” Star offered with a little less attitude.

Jared’s head turned so fast to look at Star, that I almost couldn’t track the movement. “What the fuck?” He then turned back to me and if looks could kill, my poor baby would be an orphan.

“See, this is why I didn’t want her in here. It’s not her business and I was trying to break the news gently.”

“The only person I’ve ever stuck my bare dick in is standing right behind me.” Jared jutted a thumb over his shoulder. I shook my head at that.

“No, I think there was once,” I attempted to say.

“Never!” He argued without hesitation. “I’ve never fucked you, or any other club girl, bare. You know better.” He paused, as if in thought and then carried right on with his explanation. “I only remember being with you once about a year or so before I got with Missy. Halloween party before…” His words trailed off and I nodded my head.

“Yeah, that’s why I came to see you. My daughter was born on July second last year.”

“I wasn’t the only man you were fucking back then. You were a club girl, living on site, any of my brothers could be your baby daddy, or hell, someone else entirely. I don’t know what you got up to when you weren’t at the club. If you think I’m just going to accept the fact that you seem to want to pin this kid on me, you are dead fucking wrong.”

“I’m certain that it was you,” I told him. “Missy even said that my daughter looked like you when she saw us in the store the other day.” I winced at the outright lie I just told. Missy had hinted at that, but it was in the hospital today. I was probably going to hell, but if my daughter got the chance to live, then I’d deal with the eternal flames.

“Missy?”

I nodded. “She drove me here. I couldn’t remember where the place was because Breakneck brought me before. I never paid attention.”

“Missy brought you here?”

“Yeah, she’s outside in the car.” I pointed back to the door in explanation.

Jared turned and all but ran for the door. I wasn’t sure what he was going to say to Missy but didn’t really have a chance to follow him and find out either because Star moved to stop me. “I wasn’t around when you worked at the club house, but I used to live there. Tripp is my dad.”

“If she brought you here, she’s long gone now,” Bagger said as he came back into the house.

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