TYCE 3 (16 page)

Mr. Seals smiled again as the compliment went straight to his head.

“Do you have my money?” He placed the end of an ink pen between his teeth.

“Of course I do. I don’t stall out when it comes to an agreement. I put the money in a storage unit. The key is in your mailbox in an envelope along with the address and unit number.”

Mr. Seals clapped his hands together. “Great, that’s good news. Now I can finally get my boat!”

“I’m glad I could help make your dream of being a sailor come true. So what comes next after this?”

He continued to gnaw on his pen. “Well, she will sit in jail until the trial. With the current evidence combined with her disturbing past I’m confident I can get her locked up for at least five to ten years.”

Dallas felt a rush of excitement speed through her body as she heard the good news.

“And you’re sure she’s not going to get bail?”

“Trust me baby doll, there’s no way she’s getting bail. The judge on the case owes me a few favors that I plan on cashing in.”

“Good, that makes me happy. Well, Mr. D.A, I don’t wanna keep you yapping on the phone all day so I’ll let you get back to work.”

“It was such a pleasure doing business with you.” He said sincerely.

“The pleasure was all mine. Take care.”

 
 
 
 
 
Dallas hung up the phone and could no longer contain the energy bouncing around in her body. She did a happy dance in the middle of the room wearing a pink bra and panty set. Now there was nothing standing between her and her man. She was willing to do anything to win Tyce’s trust back. Dallas was ready for a one on one relationship. She was even thrilled at being a mother for the first time. Ever since she was a teenager she always wanted a little baby girl.

Hold On Baby

 
 
 
 
 
I was sitting in the living room watching Khari sleep in her swing with a plate of cold bourbon chicken and white rice on my lap. Twenty minutes ago I warmed up the plate Carmela fixed for me and now it was sitting on my thigh untouched. The only thing I had an appetite for was Angelique
and
Jell-O, so I walked my plate into the kitchen exchanging it for two cups of sweet red stuff.

 
 
 
 
 
I had a lot on my mind and as usual Jell-O was my food for thought. I had the plan formed for Angelique’s break out, but something was still bothering me. Just like the lawyer said, I’d gone thru a list of possible enemies she could have and one name came to mind over all the rest. Only one person would have motive to do something as sinister as this.

 
 
 
 
 
Apart of me didn’t want to believe it. I mean could she really be that evil? Could she really be that conniving? I grabbed another cup and put a spoonful in my mouth continuing my thoughts. No matter how I tried to spin it, the end conclusion was the same. All signs pointed to Dallas as the puppeteer behind the scenes. She had to have help, shit like this couldn’t be done alone.

 
 
 
 
 
I really wasn’t tripping about getting Angelique out of prison. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be successful. Everyday a little piece of my soul died knowing my love was locked away suffering like an impounded animal. I did what I could from the outside to make her comfortable. I put money on her books so she could at least eat a little better. I wanted so bad to see her but I forced myself to stay away. I couldn’t risk getting arrested by the deputies there. I had no way of knowing how deep the set up went and me being out the way would seal Angelique’s fate for sure.

 
 
 
 
 
I had important work to do, which started first thing tomorrow morning. For now I watched our daughter dream in her cozy swing. There was no way I was going to let someone take my child’s mother away.

Hold on baby, I’m coming.

Rise and Grind

 
 
 
 
 
I beat the alarm clock the next morning arising at 4:45 a.m. I normally slept in boxers or shorts with no shirt but the huge bed seemed cold without Angelique there, so I put on a pair of thin cotton pajama pants with a wife beater to keep warm before going to bed. My morning would be busy because I had a number of things to do, including getting Khari dressed and dropping her off at Gloria’s house. I asked her to watch her while I handled my business and she enthusiastically agreed.

 
 
 
 
 
That was the job I needed her to do in this bold plan I had. Taking care of her granddaughter was the most important part of all this. I knew I could trust her and she would take care of my baby girl like she was her own. I didn’t have to pack much because Gloria had everything she needed and then some at her house already. I chose not to ask Carmela to keep Khari because that wasn’t in her job description, plus I felt that responsibility would be better left to her own flesh and blood.

 
 
 
 
 
Two short hours later I was knocking on Gloria’s front door with a sleeping baby in my arms. Gloria answered the door in her turquoise robe and matching slippers with a silk flower print scarf covering her head.

“Hey baby. Good morning.” She yawned.

“Morning mom. You ready for this lil’ munchkin?” I kissed Gloria’s smooth cheek.

“You can bet your last dollar I’m ready. We gon’ have tons of fun. Don’t you worry Tyce I’ll take good care of her.”

“I know you will mom. Let me know if you need anything ok?”

Gloria sucked her teeth. “Boy I won’t need nothin’ when it comes to her. What I do need is for you to be careful.”

Gloria looked at me lovingly, giving me that motherly stare.

“Ahhhh, come on now…I got this.” I smiled down at her.

I placed Khari in her open arms, gave both of them one last kiss on the cheek and left. Gloria waved to me as I pulled off from the curb. The second destination was Pamela’s house and that’s where I was headed. The sun was barely in the sky, but I was smashing full speed ahead with my illegal agenda, ‘
and who said niggas don’t get up early
?’

 
 
 
 
 
About a half hour later, Pamela and I sat at her kitchen table discussing the info she’d attained for me over the past couple of days.

“Her name is Daphne Reynolds and she’s 41 years old.” Pamela passed me a 5x7 picture of her.

“How old is this picture?” I stared at her face.

“Just a few days.”

“Oh, ok good. Thanks mom.”

“No problem.”

 
Pamela passed me a yellow post it note with an address written neatly on it.

I winked at her. “Damn you work fast.”

“When it comes to my family you bet your butt I do.” She returned the wink with one of her own.

Knock Knock

 
 
 
 
 
After a long day I was finally relaxing in my leather lazy boy recliner enjoying a cigarette and a cold beer. I was watching the movie Boys In The Hood. It was at the part when Rickey was about to get blasted but instead of the sound of a gunshot. I heard my doorbell ring instead. I grabbed my gun off the coffee table and cautiously walked to the door. No one ever came by my house unannounced. I knew when someone was coming over to visit my shit.

 
 
 
 
 
I put my right eye to the peep hole not believing who I saw standing in the light of the porch. For a second I thought about not opening the door, but again, curiosity got the best of me.

 
 
 
 
 
I opened the door. “Whatchu doin’ here Dallas?”

She was obviously dressed less to impress. Her ass was barely contained in the micro boy shorts she wore not to mention I could see the imprint of her nipples thru her thin white T-shirt. Six inch heels completed the sexy ensemble as she posed with one hand on her round hip.

“I came to see you.”

“For what?” I cocked my head to the side.

“Because I miss you and I need to talk.”

“Talk about what?”

Dallas paused for a second softening her eyes as she stared at me.

“Us. Tyce I wanna talk about us. Can I please come inside?”

I rubbed the light hair on my chin. “This is mighty bold of you to show up here like this. How you know Angelique aint here with me?”

“A little birdie named Khalil said he heard she got arrested last week, so I took a chance and came over. I was worried about you and how you’re holdin’ up with a new born all by yourself. I didn’t believe it when he told me she was fighting with the police. What the hell happened?”

I was still standing in the doorway. “Somebody set her up and she wasn’t happy about it. That’s what happened.”

“Do you know who it was?” Concern was on her face.

“Naw not yet, but I’m workin’ on it.”

We stood face to face sharing an awkward silence.

“Soooo, are you gonna let me in or not?”

I sighed before I answered. “Yeah come in.”

I closed the door behind her and turned my gaze to her ass as she strolled pass the entrance and into the front room. She walked around like she owned the place displaying a gentle shift of her hips as she moved through her former residence.

“I see you’re still as cautious as ever.”

She said over her shoulder referring to the gun in my hand.

“You know me. I stay ready…” She cut me off.

“So you don’t hafta get ready.” She said as she walked over to the couch.

“Exactly.” I followed her lead sitting in my chair opposite her.

“So where’s your bundle of joy?” Dallas looked at the empty baby swing.