Page 179 of The Coldest: Stay Dangerous Part 2

Pilar pops up from the stove as soon as I leave the hallway. She smiles at me as she wipes her hands on the kitchen towel.

Nan, I was expecting. Pilar is an interesting development. A small part of me burns to ask Snow how she knows this woman, and what could have happened for Pilar to be so devoted to her.

“You’re coming back, right? I’ll put up a plate for you.”

My feet stop, and I know I’m gawking at her, since her smile disappears by the second.

Fred would know what to say. Or maybe he wouldn’t, not with how fiercely he wanted to shield Ma. I’ve met all of Pooh’s honeybees, the ones that worked before Ma passed, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t around back then.

“You knew my mother?” I finally ask.

Pilar rests her palms on Snow’s island and shakes her head. “No, I didn’t. But I’ve heard–”

“You was fucking Pooh while he was married?”

Her lips twitch, before she licks them. Not in a sexual way, but she’s not nervous either. I think she’s amused.

“That’s not my style. I’ve known your father for a long time, and when I met him, he was still married. But we did not become intimate in any way shape or form until well after he was a widow. Any more questions?”

“Just two. You sell pussy?”

“I’m more of a… salesman than the actual corvette.”

Figures. Only the female version of Pooh could deal with him. “Last thing: you wanna fuck me?”

Her gaze turns critical as she drags it from my feet to my head, before glaring at me.

“I don’t fuck with dupes when I can get the original. And if my girl in that room tells me you’re treating her any less than what she likes and deserves, that cut across your eye will look like child’s play compared to what I’ll do. And this corvette rides smooth enough to convince your daddy to do my dirty work for me.” She winks at me, before turning toward the fridge, effectively dismissing me.

Yeah, she’s no Ayani. But I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.

“Be safe,” she calls to my back as I move past her.

I think I like her.

“Shut up,” I snort, before looking around to make sure I’m alone.

Nutty’s front door opens before I can fully knock. My hand freezes mid air, and I stare into a barrel of a glock 19.

Tilting my head over to the right, I’m surprised to find Macy, holding the shaking gun in my face.

“The safety’s off, and dammit I will shoot that sexy ass face of yours clean off if you try anything!” she screeches.

Her baby tee barely contains her breasts and growing stomach. Her emotional outbursts at Reem’s housewarming make sense now. She brought two steak knives to her throat to get Set to take his good hand off my neck after I alluded to taking Brina and making her Snow’s sister wife foreal.

This would be baby number three for them. I’m sure Shad won’t stop until he has enough for a band. Most only children do weird shit like that; having as many kids as they wanted siblings. And poor Macy tries to play like she runs shit, but as she stands in front of me, a direct contradiction of her complaints of Shad keeping her barefoot and pregnant, it’s obvious she’s exactly where she wants to be.

“You know, you can always just tell Shad to stop nutting in you,” I drawl, raising my hands in the air.

She backs up slowly, letting me walk inside the house. I close and lock the door behind me, and she gestures for me to walk further into the house toward Nutty’s mancave.

“The fuck is going on, Mace? What you and Nut up to?”

“What’s going on is you niggas act worse than my kids, and certain people are tired of it! Go to the island and place every weapon you have and your phone on it. Now.”

My eyes roll when I feel the gun poke my kidney, but I do what she says, placing my own piece and ankle gun on the island counter along with my phone.

“Knives, too, Richard!”