Page 194 of Captivated By Danger

“Of course, she’s my mother, but I won’t have any of that talking down shit to me. I actually want to talk to them both at the same time so no words will get misconstrued, but I don’t know when that would be and I’m in no rush. I’ve been happier without them berating me at every turn, so if the opportunity presents itself then I’ll take it. I am not seeking it out though.”

“Oh, I am proud of you, Grey. You have come a long way because you know I been wanting to knock your grandma out for you.”

That made me laugh so hard. “My grams did deserve a smack, but I would never be able to do it and I would never let Elle do it.

After an hour of shopping and two carts full of stuff, my feet were letting me know that I’d been on them way too long. I made it known and we headed to the check-out counter. The stores were packed, and the lines were long.

“Greysen, would you like to sit on that bench over there?” the driver asked.

“Oh no, I’m good for right now. I promise. Please don’t tell Diesel, he’ll never let me out the house again.”

I knew that was falling on deaf ears because he had his phone in his hand before I could finish my sentence. Not long after he put his phone away, a text came in from Diesel. Before I could read it, I looked up to see Perris had replaced the cashier we originally had, telling her to go to break. We were next in line and there were people behind us, so I couldn’t leave. I hadn’t seen my cousin since the night she pulled up on Kyle trying to talk to me. She looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her hair wasn’t done like it usually was, and she bare-faced, which was unlike her.

When she noticed us, she immediately tried to turn her nose up, but I was so far removed from her and Kyle’s shit that it was funny. Last I heard about Kyle, he’d lost his job because he was caught huffing some of the laughing gas, but the story he told everyone else was that Diesel threatening him really turned his life upside down and needed something to cope.

“Hm. I guess you are pregnant for real,” she said.

When Elle popped her lips, I tapped her side to stop her from talking. Because Elle was the person who was only going to say something one time before it was time to throw hands. Diesel and I hadn’t made a big announcement about my pregnancy, but of course, when Diesel was taking some maternity photos of me at the beach, someone took a picture of us and sent it to the blogs. Though there wasn’t anything to confirm or deny because I had a lot of stomach, I still hadn’t posted anything about it.

“And what about it?” Quinci spoke, surprising me.

One thing I’ve learned about Quinci was that she was fiercely protective of the people she loves. When Diesel told me how Quinci chopped his mother down to her knees, I was shocked because I could never talk to an adult like that but apparently, it was what she needed because that is not the lady I met.

“Girl, you trying to get buck while I’m at work. Everybody doesn’t have a rich husband that can pay them white folks, please.”

“Ladies, go take a seat,” the driver urged us.

My hand went to my stomach when my baby kicked.

“So, if you know you got a broke ass man, why are you speaking to us? Like, can you please continue ringing up our things?”

Elle looked at me with a smirk on her face. Perris looked at me with a stank look on her face.

“Girl, you only talking because you pregnant and you got your watchdog with you. You keep talking shit, I’ll put you down, pregnant or not. You been with a rich man for two days, now you talking shit. That’s why you hurried up and got pregnant.”

The driver grabbed my arm, but I moved out of his grasp. “Don’t grab me, sir.”

“You been waiting to say that for a while, huh? I’m glad you got that hurt off your chest because when you finish swiping my shit, I’m going to swipe my man’s card and I’m going to walk out of here and forget you exist. You, on the hand, got to stand there, pissed for the next ten hours, only thinking about me. So, if you don’t mind, please finish swiping my shit before I make your life real hard out here, Perris.”

I’d heard Diesel say that a couple times and I thought it was a fly line.

Her mouth opened and closed. It was kind of an upscale store, so I could see the security guards heading toward us. The driver was steadily trying to lead us away, but none of us moved. I felt powerful and my baby kicking let me know that she, or he was proud of me too.

“You know the only reason he with you is because he feels sorry for you.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Be that as it may, you still got to swipe my shit, Perris. You can throw all the insults you want, as long as you do it while swiping.”

I waved my hand out toward the register. Elle stood next to me stewing. I could feel the heat coming off her body. In my peripheral, I could see Quinci slowly taking her jewelry off.

“He only got you pregnant—”

Before I could stop myself, I yoked her lanyard, pulling her to me. “I would think very carefully before you finish that sentence, Perris. Very carefully. Because I am liable to staple your mothafuckin’ ass to this conveyor belt. Leave my deceased daughter out of this, bitch!”

I let her go, slightly pushing her back. Elle immediately jumped in front of me, ready to protect me. Perris’ eyes were wide as saucers. I surprised myself snatching her like I did.

“You got what you wanted when you were fucking my ex-husband. The nerve of you to hurl insults atme.I am over both of you, but I’ll still beat your ass just off the strength. As a matter of fact, I believe in energy transference, I don’t want any of this shit. Let’s go.”

As I was walking away from her, she tried to throw her drink at me, but Elle blocked it.

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