The drive back home seemed like one of the longest drives in my life because all I could think about was how I had to leave Milani and Austin. Most people would be worried about testifying, but not me. I don't give a damn about none of that shit. I just wanna be there with my family.

Getting out of my car, I answer my ringing phone and hear Jontaevious on the other end.

"Her house is clean." He says.

"Preciate ya, boy." I say before hanging up.

I sigh loudly because those words Tae said means that Ariyah is dead so she's one less problem I have to worry about. Putting my key into the lock, I twist it and open the door. Milani's mama and grandma did the damn thing with this house. It smells like baby powder, the floor is sparkling, and everything has been put in its place. It looks like the house is brand new.

"Man, what you doing here?" I ask my dad when I walk through the living room and see my dad watching tv.

"Son, you're gonna make the wrong decision."

"What you talking bout, pops?"

I sit down on the couch next to his chair and he looks into my eyes. "Milani called and told me about your little lawyer problem. I'm gone handle it. All you gotta do is show up tomorrow. I'm gone sleep here tonight and I'll give you more information in the morning. Milani said she didn't want you to be alone."

Swiping my hand down my face, I stand up and walk towards the stairs. "Nah, I don't need you to handle it. I got this. I appreciate you staying here, but stay out of my shit. Ima talk to Milani about getting you involved."

"Let her be. She only wants the best for you. You got a good ass woman, Drummer. Don't ever let her go. She kind of reminds me of your mama, ya know, before she switched up on me. I don't think Milani would do that to you though."

"I hear ya and I don't think so either. Goodnight." I say before walking up the stairs.

Stripping out of my clothes, I put them into the dirty clothes hamper while I grab my clippers from underneath the sink then give myself a haircut. I couldn't go into court looking like a caveman. Once I'm finished, I turn on the water to let it heat up while I use the toilet.

I take my shower quickly and get dressed in a pair or basketball shorts then get into bed, putting my phone on the charger. Remembering that I need to call Penelope, I dial the number under Tae's name in my recent calls.

"Penelope?" I ask lowly.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm assuming your girlfriend told you what I said. Are you still gonna go through with it?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Penelope laughs. "Of course not. Meet me at George N Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 9:30am. I'll meet you in front of the building so we can run through some things before the judge arrives."

"Alright." I say then hang up the phone.

Not being able to help myself, I Facetime Milani and hope that she answers. When she finally does, a smile comes across my face.

"What you doing, baby?" I ask and she turns the camera on Austin who is eating in her arms.

"Hey man, yo mama keeping you fed? Do you miss your daddy? Huh?...Daddy misses you, son."

"He's been doing so well with his feedings. I'm so happy." Milani smiles and I do the same.

"Lani, why you tell my pops about me testifying?"

Milani ignores me and my phone buzzes with two messages from her, both of them are pictures from when she was pregnant.

"Which one should I post?" She asks, trying to change the subject.

"Boffum because you look so fucking sexy. I can't pick just one. Now stop playing and answer me."

"Thank you, baby. I told him because I was worried about you and I knew he could fix it. I have no idea how, but I know he'll make sure that you come back home to me and our baby."

Sighing loudly, I can't even be mad because she had good intentions. "Okay, I was just calling to see y'all. Goodnight,I love you both."

"Goodnight, I love you too... say love you, daddy." Milani says as she puts the camera back on Austin who is he's smiling.

Hanging up the phone, I set an alarm for 8:00am and allow sleep to take over.

***

When my alarm rings loudly, I turn it off and stretch my muscles then get out of bed, heading into the bathroom to do my hygiene. Once I'm finished I walk downstairs to a full breakfast made by my dad.

"I didn't know you still cooked, old man." I smile as I pile my plate up with eggs, grits, sausage, pancakes, and hash browns. I also bring over the jug of orange juice and fill our glasses.

"Yeah, I still do a lil sum sum every now and then."

He joins me at the table and we say grace before eating our food.

"So what other information did you have to tell me?" I ask as I put salt and pepper on my eggs.

"Drummer, listen to me carefully and make sure you understand what I'm saying. One slip up could end it all. I know we've had our fair share of problems and I hate that shit. I love you, son and I'll always have your back forever. I fucked up when I found out you shot Hazel, but Milani told me you were getting blackmailed and was forced to do it so I forgive you. I should have made you tell me what was going on instead of jumping to conclusions. Now here comes the important part. Do not go into the court room. Lawyers always have an ulterior motive and she'll cross your ass as soon as you do what she needs. Trust me, I've lost too many homies to the system because of it. All you have to do is keep her outside in front of the court house and don't stand directly in front of her. You understand me?"

"I love you too, pops and I understand. You've never led me wrong in life so I trust you. I'll do what you said. You have my word."

"Good and if you have doubts, think of your son."

Nodding my head, I finish my food and walk back upstairs to brush my teeth and wash my face again since I just ate. I look through my closet until I find a suit then get dressed, brushing my hair after I'm finished. I grab my wallet, phone, and keys before walking back downstairs.

"Remember what I told you, Drummer."

"I remember, pops. I got this." I nod as I walk out the door.

After getting into my car and cranking up, I start driving to the court house as I call Milani.

"Good morning, Lani. I hope I didn't wake up you or Austin."

"Good morning and you didn't. I just showered and the nurse helped me take him a little wash up. I feel so clean now."

"That's good. How you feeling today? Yo stitches still hurting?" I ask as I focus on the road.

"I'm feeling better and they still hurt, but not as much. I am a little tired though , but on the bright side, if our check ups are good today, we can come home so make sure you're there when we get there."

I smile widely at the thought of them coming home and us being happy. "Damn, I hope everything goes well. Let me know."

"I will and Chanel is on her way here. She said Brandon is on his way to the courthouse. Y'all will probably arrive at the same time, but good luck, baby. I gotta go now. Austin is crying and needs to be changed. I love you."

"I love you too."

Hanging up the phone, I drive a little while longer before whipping into a parking spot and getting out of the car; looking down at my watch. It's 9:28am. I made it just in time.

Looking around I immediately lock eyes with Brandon. He walks over to me and we're both dressed in the same suit. We both bought these together when one of Brandon's uncles got married and had us in the wedding.

"I see you still holding on to that old ass suit." I laugh and Brandon does the same. "Shiddd you are too."

"I can't believe we really doing this. That lawyer bitch finna play us against each other and that's fucked it." Brandon tells him.

"Yeah, I already know, but my pops got a plan." I say as I glance up and see Penelope pointing at her watch as if she's telling me to hurry up. "I gotta go. That's Penelope, the lawyer, right there."

Brandon daps me up before walking over to a man who I assume to be his lawyer. As soon as I approach Penelope, I think about my dad saying that she's gonna cross me after this. I also remember what he said about not going into the courthouse and to not stand in front of her. Knowing him, he's probably gonna have somebody come beat her up and shit, just to scare her off the case.

"Well well well, you clean up nicely, Mr. Jacobs. Too bad it took you testifying against your best friend for it to happen. Oh yeah, and congratulations on the baby."

"Fuck you, bitch. Say what you gotta say so we can get this shit over with." I say as I move aside so that I'm not standing in front of her.

Before she can get a word out of her mouth, a black van pulls up then two men jump out wearing masks and holding guns. Bullets connect to Penelope's body like a scene from a movie as I drop down and cover my head. People around me scream then moments later I feel someone's hand on my shoulder.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!!?" Brandon screams as Penelope drops to the ground in a puddle of blood.

The van pulls off with a loud screech as me and Brandon scramble over to Penelope.

"Drummer, what you doing!!? We gotta go!" Brandon yells and I ignore him.

Bending down, I see that Penelope is barely alive and blood is pouring from different openings in her body. She tries to speak and blood spews from her lips so I lean closer to her so I can hear what she's saying.

"D, LETS GO!!!" Brandon says again and I turn towards him. "YOU GO! I'll catch up!" He doesn't move so I repeat my statement and he takes off running.

"What did you say, Penelope?" I ask, really wanting to know.

"I-I'm s-sorry." She says barely above a whisper as she chokes on her blood and takes her last breath.

Looking next to her I see a white envelope so I pick it up and slip it into my pocket then scream for help. Officers finally arrive on the scene and they start to question me and other random people who witnessed the murder.

"Excuse me. Are you Dallas Jacobs?" An older black man with a George Jefferson haircut says to me.

"Yes, I am."

"I'm judge Kyle Marks. You were supposed to appear in my courtroom today, but after this tragedy, I think we all need to go home. It's apparent that the people working with Brandon Howard mean business. I'm sure they tried to kill you and Ms. Ramirez. You should be thanking God that you're alive. The police said if you hadn't ducked when you did, you'd be dead right now. Ms. Ramirez was a good lawyer and person. She put on a hard persona because it's hard for women to make a name for themselves in this profession. In honor of her name, I'm letting you off this case. We'll get Brandon Howard another way. Thank you for your cooperation."

"You're welcome." I say as I shake his hand.

Two hours later, I am finally able to leave and see that I have multiple missed calls from Brandon and Milani. Deciding not to call Brandon back, I dial Milani's number and she starts crying telling me she saw what happened on the news. She was worried about me.

"Baby, I am okay. The police were questioning me so I wasn't able to answer my phone... no, I'm not lying... yes, I'm going home now... Brandon is okay. He left right after it happened. ARE YOU SERIOUS? Quit playing with me, Lani." I sigh answering all of her questions then getting excited when she tells me that her and Austin are coming home.

"Milani, you sure you don't want me to pick y'all up?" I ask as I drive back to the house.

"Yes, bae. I'm sure, my mama is gonna pick us up. I'll see you soon."

Hanging up the phone, I keep my eyes on the road until I finally make it then run into the house to find my dad.

"ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY!!!?? You had her killed!!!??" I yell loudly as I face him.

"I did what I had to do to keep you in my grandson's life. Now you ain't gotta worry about the feds being on your ass. They'll never be able to connect the murder back to you."

"And what about you!!? What if they find out you hired killers??"

"Drummer, this ain't my first time doing this. I got everything under control. Believe that. There's plenty of cold murder cases out there that had little to no evidence to help find a killer. Most of em were my doing. Well I had other people doing my dirty work, but you get what I'm saying."

Shaking my head, I groan and yell loudly, "THAT SOLVES NOTHING!!! MY RECORDED CONFESSION IS STILL OUT THERE!!! What if she had a backup plan that involved having that tape shown if I didn't cooperate or something!!?"

Not giving my dad time to talk, I take off upstairs and slam the door behind myself. The judge's words replay in my mind, as well as, Penelope's apology and I start to feel bad for her. She didn't deserve to die, no matter how much of a bitch she was.

Taking off my jacket, I toss it onto the bed and the white envelope that I took from Penelope falls out of it. I had forgotten all about it. Walking over to it, I allow my shaky hands to open it up.

"Fuck! What have I done!?" I think to myself before stuffing the note back into my pocket when I hear Milani's voice from downstairs.

___________

The last Chapter will be Next🥺. If you've made it this far, thank you for reading, voting, commenting, and adding my book to your reading lists💞 I appreciate you all so much🥰❤️

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