Free Honor Thy Thug by Wahida Clark Page A

tell anything. You understand?”
    I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew Jaz would be glad to hear this. “So when will the cuffs come off, and when will the goon leave from out of my room?”
    “They should be getting the call any minute now. As a matter of fact, let me call them.” He left the room.
    I was ready to get up out of there, but Steve wanted me to stay there as long as possible. He said that because of the beat-down, I had a potential lawsuit. But I couldn’t have cared less about a lawsuit. I was anxious for my leg to heal, because I’d made a promise that once it did, each and every nigga who had anything to do with me losing my son was dead.
    I looked up, and the minute I saw Jaz step into the room, I knew something was wrong. “What’s up?” Jaz stood on one side of the bed, and Kaeerah went around to the other.
    “I just saw that bitch Oni in the chapel.”
    “Watch your mouth!” I snapped. Kaeerah was looking dead in her mouth. “You need to get somebody to watch her. She doesn’t need to be up here every day all day like this. And you should know that I don’t want to hear shit about Oni.”
    “You watch your mouth, Faheem,” Jaz snapped back, and Kaeerah started giggling. “It’s not about her. The news I have for you is about my girl. Kyra is in the hospital out there where Tasha is, and I’ve gotta go out there to see her. I’ma take Kaeerah with me and hire a nurse to be here with you. Is that okay?”
    “A nurse? I’m in a hospital. What the hell do I need a nurse for? And how long do you plan on being in California?”
    “I’m only going to stay for a couple of days. And I’m hiring a nurse for my peace of mind. I can’t be out there wondering if you’re okay here.”
    “Kyra. Kyra?” My brain started processing. “I thought she was dead. She’s in the hospital? What Kyra are you talking about?”
    “My Kyra. Our Kyra. And she isn’t dead. She is very much alive. Once they release her from the hospital, she’s moving in with Tasha.”
    “So where the hell was she all of this time? Is she all right?”
    “I don’t know the answer to either one of those questions. But I want to leave in the morning. I hate to leave you here by yourself, but I gotta go see what’s going on. You sure you’re okay with that?”
    “I’ll be fine. Steve just told me that since my prints were nowhere at the scene other than on my son, they gotta release me.”
    Jaz came over and hugged me. “Yes! I love you, baby. I was so scared that you were going to jail, Faheem, you just don’t know. That’s the best news, well, the second-best news I received today, because Kyra being alive, that news floored me. Baby, we will get through this. I don’t want to leave you, but I gotta go see Kyra.”
    “I told you, I’ll be fine.”
    “Why is he still in here? Baby, the charges being dropped is not real to me until he is gone.” She was referring to the cop still sitting in the corner.
    “So, they aren’t going to take you to jail when you leave here?” Kaeerah asked.
    “No, Eerah, Daddy’s not going to jail.”
    “Good! So you can come to Cali with us tomorrow!” My baby gave me this big Kool-Aid smile, and at that moment, it felt as if everything was going to be all right.
    “How is your daddy going to get on a plane with this cast on his leg?” I reached out and tickled her neck.
    She giggled. “Easy, Daddy. They can let you on first in a wheelchair.”
    “Nah, baby, I can’t even walk yet. I’ll wait right here for y’all to come back. Then, as soon as you do, you can roll me out of here in a wheelchair and take me home. Is that a deal?” I held my pinky finger up.
    She wrapped her little pinky around mine. “It’s a done deal!”
    “That’s what I’m talkin’ about.”
TASHA
    I didn’t know why I was so nervous. After all, Kyra was my family, but still, I really didn’t know what to expect and was wishing that Angel and Jaz were there to help me out with this. Trae