Page 114 of Quasim: King Inferno

“We not talking about me… mind ya’ll business and keep it down.” She did a little dance as she took off behind her husband into the building.

“Those two.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I held Anjo while fishing for my phone.

Kew: tomorrow night.

I put my phone back into my pocket and went back to giving my baby all my time. She kissed me on the lips as she held my face. “I love you, Quasim.”

“I love you too, Anjo… a little too much.” I slapped her ass, closed the trunk and locked the truck up before carrying her up all the flights of stairs.

Blair

“I feellike we don’t ever see you anymore. Just because you taking a break from my brother doesn’t mean we can’t hang anymore,” Capri sipped her lemonade, as we both looked at Skyler.

Capri invited her and Jeffie up to the lake house this weekend, and she brought Estella with her. Jeffie was out of town with Menace, so she couldn’t come. “I see you every single day, Capri.” She reminded her that not only did she see her, but she worked with her.

I laughed while Capri waved her away. “Doesn’t count because I’m not in the office for most of the day, and we haven’t caught up in a while.”

Skyler took a sip of her wine and slouched further down in the couch while me and Capri both nibbled on Gam’s cookies. “I am trying to keep my head afloat.”

“Wouldn’t have to if you would allow Corleon to handle it… why do you want to struggle when you don’t have to?” I asked.

Skyler looked over at me. “She’s my baby, Blair.” Her voice cracked as she looked at me. “I can’t take the chance that anything I have going on in my personal life would jeopardizegiving this man custody of her… he doesn’t even know her… I’ve been thinking of just disappearing… moving somewhere he can’t even find us.”

“Don’t you dare do something like that, Skyler. You have me and Zoya right there helping you and you will win this case and send his ass packing wherever he came from.”

She laughed. “After Corleon choked him out, I thought he would have left me alone.” I watched as she reached over the couch and grabbed her ringing phone, putting it on speaker once she saw who it was. “Hey Stevie!”

“You’re gone for the weekend, right?”

“Yes. We’re at Capri’s lake house for the weekend… what’s up?”

“Um, where do I go to renew my passport? It’s been so long since I even used it. I mean, life has been hell lately, so it wasn’t like I was about to go sit on a beach somewhere.” She rambled on, as if she called to have Skyler listen to her inner thoughts out loud.

Skyler, clearly used to it, looked at her phone. “Why do you need to renew your passport, where are you going?”

“Priscilla asked me to come with her to the Bahamas.”

“Bahamas?” Skyler nearly hollered.

“Why are you yelling like I cannot go there… what did you hear, Skyler… can you look into their security or something to see if I’m safe.” She continued on.

I had never personally met Stevie, but the girl seemed a little out there. “I’m asking because what money doyouhave to be going to the Bahamas… you just told me that you were broke the other day.”

Stevie laughed. “And is. Priscilla is covering the entire trip for us… said all I need is my passport. I need this trip so bad, and I know she has the money.”

“How do you know she has the money?”

“Cause she sends it to my account… something about her not being able to join a credit union bank like me.”

“Stevie… I don’t thi?—”

“Didn’t call to hear a lecture about going out the country… let me google where to renew my passport… shit… now I have to smudge that out.”

“Are you painting in the living room again?”

She giggled. “I finally have some inspiration to paint… I promise I won’t get the paint everywhere like last time. That time was an accident.... although that piece was very special because... anyway, later.” Just as quick as she called, she ended the call, and Skyler guzzled the rest of her wine.

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