“I can’t. His phone isn’t working.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Go sit down, Kai,” Kisa said through clenched teeth.

Kai stomped her tiny feet and yelled out loudly, “No!”

Kisa leaped from the couch and grabbed Kai by the collar of her Dora pajamas, “I don’t have no patience for little fresh-ass seven-year-olds right now. Your daddy is not here to protect you from a whipping. So I suggest you do what I say when I say it, or else I’ma get my belt and tear your little behind up! Do you understand me?”

Like her mother, Kai was stubborn, so she didn’t respond at first.

“You betta answer me, little girl,” Kisa said with a hard scowl on her face.

With tear-filled eyes Kai nodded her head up and down. Kisa released her grip, and Kai scurried away, her long thick pigtails bouncing up and down as she cried for her daddy.

Kisa was about to return to the couch when the intercom rang. Lord, please don’t let this be the jakes again. The police had trampled through her home the day before in search of Sincere. She was pretty sure that they were still lurking around the block, hoping to catch Sincere slipping.

Kisa pressed the talk button on the intercom, “Who?”

“Eisani.”

Relieved to hear that it was her cousin, Kisa buzzed her through the main entrance to the brownstone. Then she hurriedly ran down one flight of stairs to open the front door.

As Eisani stepped inside she asked, “Who’s here with you?”

“Just the kids. Lena’s at the hospital.”

Eisani pulled a small UPS box from her oversized black Gucci bag. “This came to my house for you this morning.”

A Virginia address was on the return label. Kisa pulled back the flap on the open box; inside was a Boost prepaid phone. She looked up at Eisani, “You think it’s from Sincere?”

“More than likely,” Eisani responded as she reached for the doorknob. “Kane, I gotta go see if I can get some more of Butta’s money off the street for Arnessa.”

“Aight, be safe.” Kisa shut the door behind her then plopped down on the first step of the staircase in the foyer. She pulled the phone out and powered it on. Am I supposed to wait for him to call me, Kisa wondered. After a few minutes and no call, Kisa clicked on contacts, where a number was displayed with no name. She pressed the talk button and held her breath as the phone rang.

Sincere answered, “Kane?”

When she heard her husband’s voice, tears slid from her eyes and she exhaled. “Baby, are you okay?”

“I’m good, ma, what about you?”

“I’m better now that I’m talking to you.” She smiled inwardly.

“How’s Butta?”