My Baby Is a West Coast King 2

by Shvonne Latrice

  Fuck, I don’t know how I thought I could hide anything with as much as I post on social media. But I guess I assumed Miles’s ass wouldn’t have access to Instagram and such. He was never into social media when we were together. He only recently got Facebook when I fled.

  “Yeah, umm, it’s new so it’s nothing too serious.”

  My stomach churned as the lie spilled through my lips so effortlessly as if it were true. I didn’t know why I’d lied because it wasn’t like I was interested in Miles. I guess I just didn’t want him to start acting stupid because I had a man.

  “That’s good, that’s good.”

  KNOCK! KNOCK!

  I jumped at the sound of someone beating on the door, making Miles laugh softly as he got up. He went to let the hotel employee in, who had three place settings covered with a silver lid. He removed the plates and set them where we wanted, before Miles tipped him and sent him on his way.

  “Melody, put your toy to the side and come eat at the table,” Miles ordered.

  “Nooooo,” she whined with her adorable self, preparing the tears in her eyes.

  “Melody, stop it,” I stated sternly and she did as she was told.

  The three of us sat at the table, and after Miles prayed over the food, we started to eat. I was famished, so I was thankful that Miles got me food even though I’d tried to turn it down.

  “I talked to my lawyer,” he said, making my heart rate speed up.

  “You did? Why? About what?”

  “About taking her from you,” he laughed as if what he’d said was okay.

  “Why would you do that? I’m her mother; she needs me. You can’t just take her from me, I won’t let you.” I dropped my fork and was about to stand up but he put his hand on my wrist.

  “Sit down.” I looked at an oblivious Melody who was stuffing her face with food, before slowly sitting back down in my seat. “I won’t take her from you, but that’s only under one condition.”

  “What?”

  “You give us being a family a try. No, not a try, excuse me. You come home and we can raise her together like we’re supposed to.”

  “No, Miles, I can’t do that. I have a career and a boyfriend—”

  “That you said wasn’t anything serious.”

  “You almost killed me! Do you honestly think I would ever be with you again?” I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, more out of anger than sadness. “I don’t want to try anything with you.” I lowered my voice when I saw a worried Melody looking at me.

  “Then I will have to take you to court. And who do you think will win? The young girl with a fickle income state who ran off with the child? Or the established lawyer with a clean record? If you had have reported those times I almost killed you, you may have had a chance,” he laughed, eating some of his eggs.

  “Melody, let’s go.”

  “Already, Mommy?”

  “Yes, come on, baby.”

  Miles just sat back laughing as he continued to eat.

  “All you have to do is come home to me. I’ll tell you what, we can look at a place out here together if you act right.”

  “I will never come back to you.” I scooped Melody up, grabbed my purse, and then started towards the door.

  As soon as I pulled it open, he said, “Then enjoy the time you have with her because you’ll never see her again once I win full custody. I may give you supervised visitation rights.”

  I simply let the door close behind me, and rushed off to get as far away from that hotel as I could. I wanted to get my things and run far away, but I had to be strong and face this nigga this go ‘round.

  Chapter Six: Erynne

  “Where you going?” Risk placed his large hand around my waist when I tried to get out of the bed.

  “I’m just gonna go get some water,” I replied, moving his hand off of me.

  “Hurry up.”

  It was 2:45 in the morning, and I needed to get out of here so I could make my 4am flight. I booked it early as hell because I wanted to be sure I could get out of here while Risk was asleep.

  For the past almost two weeks, he’d been spending every day with me, even making me come along to his meetings regarding his illegal dealings. I no longer had a job since I planned to leave, so I had no excuse really to be away from him. The only time he gave me space was when I went to see my parents, and even then, he’d have one of his big burly workers sitting outside, making sure I didn’t attempt to make a run for it.

  With Laine in Los Angeles, and me not wanting her to know anything about Risk, I was alone in trying to figure out how to get from under his thumb. I finally got the idea when talking to Anna, the only person who knew about my relationship.

  I felt like I was betraying Laine by keeping a secret from her and telling someone else instead, but I had a reputation to upkeep with Laine. I was always the responsible one, and she was more of the reckless decision maker. It’d been that way since we were little girls, and I don’t know, I guess I felt like she wouldn’t see me the same if I told her I’d been dating a kingpin this whole time, and not even exclusively. The situation with Chaz already had her side eyeing me.

  Anyhow, Anna agreed to come get me and take me to the airport. I’d sold my car, and there was no way my mother was waking up at two in the morning to take me anywhere, so I was thankful for Anna.

  I tiptoed across Risk’s laminate flooring until I was out of his bedroom, and then I went down the hall and opened the closet he never used. In there was my luggage, which wasn’t much since I’d mailed most of my stuff to Laine so she could put it in the apartment. Along with my two suitcases was a pair of tights, a t-shirt, hoodie, and some Nikes. I quickly put it all on, while checking over my shoulder periodically.

  I’d showered last night, so I went into the guest bathroom where I’d stored a toothbrush, paste, and some mouthwash, then got to work. My heart beat damn near out of my chest as I grabbed my luggage and rushed down the stairs. When I got to the kitchen, I took my purse, which was hidden in the pantry, and saw Anna had text me to let me know she was outside of Risk’s home. Taking a deep breath, I made a run for it, making sure to be as quiet as possible.

  “Aye! Where you going!” Risk’s outside security barked.

  “I umm… the gym.”

  “With luggage? Let me call the boss- ah!” he shouted when I kicked him in the nuts so hard that I felt a little bad afterward. If he couldn’t have kids after that, I wouldn’t be surprised. He fell to the ground, face turning red as he clenched his yellow teeth together in pain.

  Anna flicked her headlights, so I ran to her car and started throwing my shit in. She got out to help me, and once everything was in the car, we got back in and she peeled out to the airport.

  Lord, please let me get on this plane, I prayed.

  ***

  About five and a half hours later…

  I smiled as I grabbed my luggage from baggage claim, because I’d already seen Laine pull up in that same Lexus from last time. I was so excited to see her, and I missed her so much.

  Tying my hoodie around my waist, I ran out to her car, and when she saw me through the window, she lit up. She quickly got out, wearing tights, a sports bra, and tennis shoes. We said nothing for a moment as we embraced tightly, and then finally I let her go so we could put my bags up and get back in the car.

  “You hungry?” she asked, fastening her seatbelt.

  “Yes, starving.”

  “We can go to this little French cafe. The breakfast food is so good. Then you can explain yourself and it better be good.”

  “Okay,” I chuckled.

  The French cafe was very intimate and small, with a lot of decoration. If I woke up in here, I would for sure think I was in France. I wasn’t sure how authentic it was though, because honestly, I’d never been to France before. It was definitely on my bucket list though.

  “Here are the two mimosas. And are you ladies ready to order?”

  “We’ll both have the breakfast bur
rito with a side of fruit crepes, please,” Laine told the waiter, closing and handing over her menu.

  “And can we get some hot tea too. Green if you have it,” I smiled.

  “Absolutely.”

  Once the waiter walked off, Laine sipped her mimosa and stared at me with that look. I couldn’t explain it, but she always made that face when she felt like a lie was gonna be coming her way pretty soon. However, she was my best friend and I didn’t want to keep anything from her any longer. We told one another everything; it was a part of our bond.

  “Okay, so I was supposed to come originally two weeks ago, but I couldn’t because well… let me start over. For the past year and a half, I’ve been dating Risk.”

  “Risk?” she frowned in confusion, before her facial expression softened, signaling she now remembered him. “Thee Risk?”

  “Yes.”

  “How? What? When? Where did you even meet him? Erynne, tell me this is a joke. He’s fucking dangerous, and a criminal,” she whispered the last part. “You guys don’t even hang in the same circle! It’s impossible for you to.”

  “I know. I met him one night when I went out with Anna. Remember you didn’t want to come because you said your grandma was asleep and you wouldn’t be able to shower because of your uncle?” She nodded. “That night, I met him and we’d been talking ever since. He was nice to me and bought me things, and the sex was pretty okay, so I kept it going. He kind of made me become more comfortable with the opposite sex.”

  “So you’ve had a boyfriend for over a year and I didn’t know. Wow.”

  “I’m sorry, Laine. And he’s not my boyfriend. He was just something new for me. And—”

  “So that’s how you were able to buy such expensive things at times. He bought that shit.”

  “Yeah.”

  “What does this have to do with you not making it out here? Please do not tell me that you’ve changed your mind and are gonna stay in Illinois to be with him. No way I’m helping you ship all that shit back.”

  “No, hell no. He was the reason I didn’t come earlier. He wouldn’t let me. He threatened me actually, and then kept an eye on me, like babysitting almost. I literally had to make a run for it this morning.”

  “Threatened you how?”

  “Like that he’d hurt me if I left.”

  “Why don’t you seem scared? Risk isn’t some corner boy, Erynne. If he threatened you, he’s probably gonna make good on it. Ugh, I hate when you make me worry. Between you and Cassie, I’m gonna have gray hair.”

  “Cassie?”

  “Yeah, she was on the run from her daughter’s father. I didn’t tell you because well, she was on the run and the less people that knew about her and her baby, the better. But he found her now and she says things are okay.”

  “She has a daughter?”

  “Yeah, that’s why her ass had been MIA a lot of the times when you visited the last two times.”

  “Wow,” I chuckled, just as the waiter set down my food. I had absolutely no idea Cassie was a mother, but I remember her being gone at weird times and not coming back until late, if at all.

  “You talked to Chaz?”

  I swallowed back hard, feeling my stomach do backflips at the thought of him. Ever since he’d said what he said on the phone, I’d been trying to get over him. For some reason, I felt like he didn’t mean it, but I think I was just being delusional. I’d drawn up a whole fairytale in my head about he and I, thinking he would realize he was mistaken in ending our friendship, and come find me. Shit like that only happened in the movies though.

  “No, he pretty much told me that he didn’t really like me and that he just used me to pass time since he was having problems at home.”

  “Chaz said that?”

  “Yep.”

  “Mischief and Kordell always say that nice guy shit is just an act. I guess they were right.”

  “Umm. yeah. Even before he talked to me that way, I could definitely tell he was not some nice guy like he pretends to be. He’s definitely a crazy controlling Benjamin.”

  “Maybe he’s just lashing out because his wife lost their baby. Cassie told me Chaz was in a glum mood when she went to the studio with Kordell.”

  “Baby?” I searched Laine’s eyes, hoping to see that she was lying or something.

  “Yeah, you didn’t know? She was pregnant. I didn’t know until Cassie told me about the miscarriage, but I assumed it came up in conversation between you and Chaz.”

  “No, umm, we didn’t talk about her too much.”

  Suddenly, I’d lost my appetite. I didn’t like the way that bitch talked to me on the phone, but maybe Chaz was just using me. I’m sure if his wife was pregnant, he never had any intention on leaving her. And if he really cared about me and wanted me, he would have told me about the baby on the way. I guess he was telling the truth; I was just something to pass time.

  Laine

  Forgive or Forget Part I…

  Erynne had just gotten here basically, and I already had to leave her. However, it was her fault for coming into town so late. I’d booked a ticket to Chicago to see my grandmother months ago, and this afternoon I was leaving.

  I was so excited to see her, but the thought of my uncle being there and trying me, gave me a terrible feeling. Even though I felt stronger emotionally now, he was still way stronger physically. I planned to get a hotel room, but when I mentioned it, I could tell my grandmother’s feelings were hurt so I told her I would stay at home with her.

  “Can’t believe I just got to L.A. and you’re taking your ass back to Chicago,” Erynne said, eating a piece of bacon while standing in the kitchen of the West Hollywood apartment that Mischief’s uncle helped me get.

  “I know, but that’s your bad. Should have brought your ass on time.”

  “Trust me, I wanted to. Blame Risk.”

  “Speaking of Risk, did you tell him about me? Because I don’t need him trying to cause me any problems while I’m back home.”

  “Yeah, he knows of you. I had to tell him something when I first traveled to Los Angeles. But maybe you shouldn’t go.”

  “I’m going, Erynne. I’ll be back in five days, so what are your plans while I’m away?”

  “Gonna go down to that shop Kady and Cassie told me about to see if I can make something shake. But other than that, I’ll just be chilling, hanging with your friends.”

  “Oh Lord. Come on and drive me to LAX, please.”

  “You sure Jude won’t mind me using the Lexus while you’re gone?”

  “I don’t know and I don’t care. He hasn’t really said anything to me since Mischief pressed his gun to his forehead. The most we discuss is business and nothing else. I think he’s ready for me to move, even though my contract isn’t up.”

  “So that means you and Cassie are gonna move here?”

  “Most likely. We’re gonna talk to him about it. And since there is an extra bedroom, I wanna see if Kady would be interested. Splitting the rent four ways would be a breeze.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Erynne dropped me off at the airport, and after checking my big bag in I went to get some iced tea from Starbucks, and then to my gate. About an hour later of me answering emails, and making a few phone calls, I was booked solid for when I got back to L.A., and they were now boarding the plane.

  As I stood up to get in line, my phone chimed, and I looked to see it was a text from Rico. He and I had been keeping in contact of course, but our schedules hadn’t matched up lately so no second date had been planned.

  Rico: What do I have to do to get closer to you?

  I rolled my eyes because I hated texts like this.

  Me: No formula for it. It’ll happen naturally if it’s meant.

  Rico: Damn, what you doing tonight?

  Me: Gonna be in my hometown. I’ll text you when I get back and see what’s up.

  Rico: Aight.

  He was disappointed but I didn’t really care.
He was a grown ass man, and I wasn’t about to coddle him.

  When I looked up from my phone, I realized there was one more person walking onto the plane. I almost got left, texting this nigga.

  I quickly grabbed up my carry on, and rushed up behind them to have my ticket scanned. I was happy as hell to be in first class, because it was only my second time, my first being the morning Jude flew me out.

  “Welcome,” the flight attendant with fried blonde hair smiled, lipstick on her teeth.

  “Thank you.” I slipped past her, looking at the seat numbers and then stopped when I found mine. My heart dropped to my stomach as I stared down at Mischief in the seat next to me by the window. He looked to me and smiled deviously, turning me on.

  I’d totally forgotten that I’d invited him to come home with me when we bought the tickets. I didn’t think he would come though since we were broken up.

  “What are you doing?” I quizzed after shoving my bag into the overhead compartment.

  “Waiting for a bus.”

  Rolling my eyes, I buckled my seat belt and inhaled sharply. His masculine cologne filled my nostrils. I loved the smell and how he didn’t overdo it.

  “I don’t know what you’re gonna do in Chicago, because you’re not coming with me.”

  “Yes the fuck I am. We bought these muthafucking tickets together so we’re gonna spend the time together. Don’t make me act out in front of yo’ people.” He kissed my temple gently, sending chills down my spine. “Fuck you looking at?” he hissed at some guy in the aisle across from us. He quickly turned his head, sensing that Mischief was crazy.

  I saw the young black flight attendant lick her lips lustfully at him from afar.

  Shaking my head, I leaned it back against the seat and prepared for an annoying ass ride with this stupid ass nigga. Dumb fine ass. I swear I couldn’t stand him.

  Forgive or Forget Part II….

  The two of us stayed silent as the attendants went through the demonstration process in case the plane crashed into water. Once it took off and we were steady, I pulled my iPod out so I could listen to some music. I glanced over at Mischief, admiring his sexy side profile as he looked out the window at the clouds, seemingly in deep thought. The plane had taken off at 4:45pm, so the outside was now getting dark.