Butta tried to be there for her as much as he could. He desired with all of his might to comfort her and give her the stability that she’d been lacking. A few things were getting in the way, such as the fact that no one had been able to find Suef. Then there was Nichelle, a chick who’d been down with him for years. Butta and Nichelle had had a sexual relationship but were never a couple. He used her house to stash large amounts of cash and keys to various safes. All of her bills were paid by Butta. As far as other men were concerned, Nichelle could date who she wanted. Butta only had one rule: She couldn’t bring them into the apartment.

The understanding between Butta and Nichelle had been working fairly well, until Nichelle found out about his relationship with Arnessa. She’d known about plenty of Butta’s girls, but she could tell that this one was special. Butta barely came around anymore, and when he did, it was only to put money up or take it out. She really knew something was up when he stopped having sex with her.

Butta felt that something was different about Nichelle. She began to nag him for time and throw herself at him, things she’d never done before. At first he couldn’t understand where she was coming from. Then one day he looked into her eyes and could tell she was jealous. Butta knew from past experiences that jealousy had the power to corrupt people and affect their decision-making process. He decided to eliminate Nichelle’s role in his life before she made any stupid decisions concerning his money.

Butta got up from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed next to Arnessa, who was beginning to wake up. She opened her eyes and saw Butta’s face. “Morning.” She smiled and wiped the sleep from her eyes.

“Good morning, princess. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, Butta.”

“Do you have a passport?”

“Yeah. Why?” Arnessa quizzed.

“Sincere invited us to Turks and Caicos with him and Kisa. We leave the day after tomorrow.”

“I can’t up and leave Cenise—”

Butta placed his forefinger over her lips, “No excuses. We’re going. You need a vacation. We need a vacation somewhere that we can relax without looking over our shoulders. Besides, Eisani said Cenise could come stay with her while we’re gone. Speaking of Cenise, you need to stop being so cold toward her.”

“You think I’m being cold?”

“You’re not being yourself. You’re not being comforting or nurturing, the things that she relies on you for. The two of you barely talk around here.” Butta pushed a piece of stray hair from Arnessa’s face and stroked her with his fingers. “I know you’re still hurting, ma, but you have to put your pain and anger aside and be as normal as you can with her. In less than six months she’s going to prison, a place that will change her forever. So you have to step up now.”