Page 157 of When a Soul Cries

“No.”

*What if that baby—*

“NO!”

My voice exploded through the car.

I slapped the radio off.

Silence swallowed me.

For one terrible second, I saw Mack's face.

Then that baby's.

Side by side.

“What if that really is his baby?” I whispered.

The second the words left my mouth, something cold moved through my chest.

Because if that baby belonged to Mack, Soleia hadn't lied.

And if Soleia hadn't lied…

I had.

To everybody.

To myself.

For two damn years.

Worse than that, I had looked a scared girl in her face after she'd told me somebody hurt her, slapped her twice, and put her out of my house.

My eyes stung.

I blinked hard.

“Nope.”

I sat straighter.

“I ain't doing this shit.”

Mack was dead. Soleia was grown. Whatever happened after she left my house was her business.

And that baby could look like anybody.

Anybody.

I pressed harder on the gas.

“That bitch always been trouble.”

The words didn't sound as convincing as they used to.

My jaw tightened.