Page 76 of A Toxic Redemption

Mia and I have been fucking around since she first started dealing with Khalil. He always felt like he wasthat nigga,so I took pride in bagging a girl he just knew was all about him. The hatred I have for that nigga runs deep, and I can't wait until I bring his bitch ass to his knees.

Shelia approached me before we got out of high school, telling me all about my father and Ceaser. At the time, Ceaser wasn't living back in the area because if he were, I would have killed him with my bare hands. She told me all about how he was jealous of my dad and how my mother tricked him into thinking my dad was abusing us when we were younger. It seemed to me that nigga was just hating that my mother had chosen a real nigga over his bitch ass.

"Kaine, how long are we going to have to stay here?" Mia whined as she reentered the bedroom. "KJ is starting to get antsy, and I don't want to keep giving him medicine to sleep. He wants to go back with his father, and maybe we should let him."

"Bitch, what the fuck are you even talking about right now?" I raised up and eyed her. Peering over at the pullout couch, I watched the lil' nigga as he slept. He looked just like his father, and part of me wanted to kill him too, but I wanted him to grow up without a father just like I had to. "We're not doing shit until I say so."

As I looked at Mia, I tried my hardest to see the girl I thought I was in love with. In the beginning, I only fucked with her to get back at Khalil. I would get her to swindle money from his assso we could take trips, go shopping, and much more. Shit, there were times I would even send that nigga out of town on a money mission just so I could lay up in his crib and fuck his bitch. It didn't take much with a hoe like her. All you had to do was give her a little bit of attention, and she would bite the bait. However, she was now more of a liability.

To be honest, I did catch feelings for Mia over time, and I was excited when she told me she was pregnant with my child. I let her know she was leaving that nigga, and I had some of my niggas from the hood move her shit from their spot and mine the day we were in the mall getting her ring. The ultimate slap in that nigga's face was going to be running off with his bitch after I got her pregnant. Imagine the joke being on me when I had to live in the same house with a kid that ended up belonging to my brother.

"I just think we need to give him back to Khalil." Mia walked over and sat beside him. Rubbing KJ's head, she began crying. Frowning, I looked at her as if she had lost her damn mind. Where the fuck were the tears coming from? "We don’t have any money to keep him here. Plus, he misses his daddy and—"

"Does he miss him or you?" I asked as I eyed her. "It seems to me that every time you talk about this nigga, you get this look of sadness about yourself. What? You miss that nigga or something?"

I'm not a dumb nigga. I know she still loves my brother. She doesn't think I know she sneaks and checks his social media. Khalil was never the type to post shit, but as soon as he got with that fine bitch of his, he's always online. Shit, she even follows his girl now. If I find out she wants the nigga, she can die with him.

"No, it's nothing like that." Mia rolled her eyes as she kissed her teeth. "It's just that when we were in court, the judge said that Khalil has all this money I knew nothing about. I went inthere asking for twenty thousand a month because you told me to and ended up looking stupid!"

When I told her to mention the illegal money, I did it in hopes that Khalil would be investigated and end up in jail. Shelia informed me of all the money his father was worth, and we devised a plan to get rid of them both. Killing Khalil would essentially kill Ceaser. The nigga's heart was weak as water and wouldn't uphold losing his son. Khalil wouldn't be able to collect the money his father had if they were both dead, so it would go to KJ. That would be the reason I stayed with Mia. That plan wasn't working in my favor at the moment, so I decided to use the love of his newfound son against him.

When I followed my mother and Ceaser to the carnival, I just knew it was a lost cause. Apparently, they all got comfortable with me lying low and decided to let their guard down. Catching KJ's eye was pure coincidence. His snatching away and running to a nigga was comical, and I know my mama was shocked as shit. I know she wanted to yell out, but the Smith and Wesson I flashed piped her right on down. I didn't have shit for her trifling ass, either. She chose her side when she had her bitch of a baby father at our Christmas dinner. Knowing she played a part in my father's death landed her a permanent spot on my 'fuck you' list.

"Hand me the phone." Hesitantly, Mia threw it over to me as she went and took her place beside her son. "You can breathe. I'm not about to go through this shit. I know you've been stalking that nigga. Do you think he's having another son or daughter?"

I glanced up at Mia and noticed her entire demeanor changed. She was pissed that nigga was about to have another kid, but I wasn't going to speak on it right now. Instead, I went to her contact list and found her baby daddy's number.

"Who the fuck is this?" Khalil answered as he exhaled heavily. All this nigga did was smoke. "Speak if you got some shit to say."

"That's not the way to talk to someone who has your life in their hands."

I chuckled slightly, waiting for him to respond. I was pissing this nigga off at every turn, and I knew he hated that shit.

"Kaine, where in the fuck is my son?" he gritted after a while. "I'm tired of playing this game with you, nigga. If you want me, come get me. I'm sick of tired of playing this game with you and your hoe ass bitch."

"That's why you're still mad, huh?" I looked over at her as she listened in our conversation. "You're still mad because Mia chose me."

"Am I?" He chuckled. I could hear him move around in the background, telling someone he loved them and to chill out. The frown on Mia's face indicated she heard him, too. "If I told that bitch to come eat this dick right now, she would without a second thought. I was in the middle of killing her parents not even twelve hours ago, and that bitch was trying to profess her love for a nigga. Tell me what the fuck you want so I can get my son and go on with my life, nigga."

Glaring at Mia, she avoided eye contact. I watched her intently as she moved around the room to clean shit that wasn't there just to try to keep from looking at me. Once a hoe, always a hoe, but it's cool. I had something for her.

"Here's what we're going to do." I stood from the bed and hovered over KJ. "You're going to meet me tomorrow night at the address I send you." I ran my fingers through his curls before tracing them along his little cheeks. He was handsome, but he wasn't mine. If Khalil didn't give me what I asked for, I had no issue killing him. "I want ten million cash and not a penny less. I know you have the money, Khalil. If you try to play with me in any way, I will send your son to your mother's door in bits and pieces. I have nothing to lose, so try me."

"If you touch my son—"

"What?" I raised my brow as if he could see me. "You're not going to kill me, Khalil. Mama would hate you, and we both know that's the last thing you want." I walked back over to the other side of the room and locked eyes with a scared Mia. "Keep your phone charged. I'll be in touch."

Disconnecting the call, I glared at Mia with nothing but pure hatred. It's been three years, and this bitch was still pinning after my baby brother as if she didn't have the best right before her eyes.

"You still love that nigga, Mia?" My eyes turned to slits as I slowly walked her way. "You still want to be with him after all this time, huh?"

"Kaine, please," she cried as she held her hands up in surrender. "You know I love you—"

Whap!

I closed-fisted her. Grabbing her mouth, she wailed into her hands as blood seeped through her fingers. I hit her again once more and caused her to fall to the ground. Once down, I kicked her in the stomach, which caused her to finally cry out.

"Okay! Okay!" she pleaded as she cried in the fetal position. She'd dealt with me long enough to know I wouldn't stop until she told me the truth. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure KJ was still asleep, and he was. We've been doping him with nothing but Melatonin for the past few days, so the nigga will be well-rested when he gets up.

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