Streets of New York. Mark Anthony

just firing to be firing. He also took cover behind Squeeze’s Yukon and heard bullets whizzing by his ear. His heart pounded rapidly and it felt like it was about to explode out of his chest. He wanted out of this shit and this crazy fucking world that he was in.

      Squeeze and his niggas quickly jumped back into the truck when they heard sirens and sped off. Nine and his niggas also took off. All that shooting, and no one had gotten hit.

      “Take me back to my fuckin’ car!” Promise demanded.

      “Nigga, you ahight?” Show asked.

      “Just take me back to my fuckin’ ride,” Promise reiterated.

      No one said a word. Squeeze just drove Promise back to his ride and when he got out, they quickly pulled off not uttering a word. Promise jumped into his ride and started the ignition.

      He sat for a while with the Jeep in park and thanked God he was okay. Shit could’ve gotten a lot worse. His heartbeat was coming so fast like he was about to have an anxiety attack. He hadn’t been in a shootout and it was scary, a fucked up situation to be in. Promise had busted his gun before but having niggas busting back was a whole new ballgame.

      When he got his nerves together, he put his X5 in drive and drove back to Queens, back to his place where he needed to chill out for a minute and be alone.

      At 5:00 p.m. that same afternoon, Promise left to pick up his daughter. He couldn’t help but think that he could’ve died earlier, caught a stray bullet or worse been locked up. And then where would his daughter be? Probably snatched up and placed in an orphanage. He started crying while he drove.

      When he reached the daycare, Promise pulled up in front and sat for a moment. He dried his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt, took in a deep breath and exited. Promise knocked on the door and Audrey answered.

      “Hey, you,” she kindly greeted looking excited to see him once again. “Ashley,” she turned her head and called out, “your daddy’s here.”

      Ashley jumped up outta her chair and ran to her daddy shouting, “Daddy,” and jumped into his arms.

      “Go get your stuff, baby girl,” Promise said not looking too enthusiastic.

      “You okay?” Audrey asked looking concerned.

      “Yeah, I’m good…just had a rough day,” he explained.

      “I understand. We all have one sometime. Try not to stress it…tomorrow will be better,” she said smiling.

      Promise looked into her deep hypnotic brown eyes and returned her smile. He knew her for one day and already she had made him feel good. He just wanted to grasp her in his arms and become lost in her bliss. She was all-woman and she was the kind of woman he needed in his life. She reminded him of Ashley’s mother.

      Ashley came over to her father with her things in her arms. He threw on her book bag and began to head for the door.

      “Bye, Ashley,” Audrey said.

      “Bye, Miss Audrey,” Ashley said back waving bye.

      “Bye, you,” she said to Promise smiling at him.

      Promise smiled back. “Bye, see you tomorrow.”

      Audrey continued to smile as she watched Promise exit with his daughter. “Cute,” she uttered to herself and then went back to attend to the other children left in the room.

      A few days passed and Promise contemplated asking Audrey out. Not a date or nothing, he just wanted to chill. He loved her company even though so far it had only been for short periods of times when dropping off and picking his daughter up from daycare. He thought about her constantly.

      He tried to chill from hanging out in Brooklyn too much, especially wit’ his niggas but when Squeeze called him up to talk about making that money, he was down for it. He needed to keep bringing in that paper so he and his daughter could live.

      The other day, they committed a string of B & E’s out in Long Island and the other night, they fucked up a pimp over by Pennsylvania Ave and raped his hoe. Promise stood on the sideline watching while Squeeze, Show and Pooh each did they thang wit’ the trick running up in her raw too.

      Promise felt that shit was getting too hot in Brooklyn and Squeeze was wilding the fuck out. He was out of control. For Squeeze, it wasn’t even about the money anymore. It was about the thrill, the love of being out there on the streets and terrorizing, dominating, or causing as much chaos as he could. Squeeze was about making his paper but the nigga was also about maintaining his rep. He was wild, crazy, and fearless and the beef escalating between Nine and Squeeze wasn’t making the streets in Brooklyn any safer for him.

      Thursday evening, Promise ran late when it came time to pick up his daughter. While driving, he glanced at the time on the radio and it was close. He got caught up and the daycare closed at 6:30 pm. If the parent was running late, the staff would drop the child off at a nearby day care and they’d keep the child till eight. But the parent is charged an extra $20 for every night he or she picks the child later.

      Promise’s X5 came to a screeching stop on the sidewalk and he dashed out his Jeep and ran toward the building.

      “Shit,” he mumbled.

      He knocked on the door and felt relieved when Audrey answered.

      “There you are. We started to become worried,” Audrey said smiling as usual. “Ashley, your daddy’s finally here.”

      “Daddy,” Ashley excitedly shouted out. As usual, she came running into her daddy’s arms.

      “Get your stuff, baby girl.”

      “You had us worried there for a minute,” Audrey said to him.

      “I lost track of time. I’m sorry.”

      “That’s okay. It’s understandable. Things happen.”

      There was a brief pause as they waited for Ashley. Promise wanted to ask her out but felt hesitant. Do it, ask her out, he told himself. He peered at her. She was still close to him and was attending to the other three children still left waiting. He wasn’t shy when it came to the ladies but there was just something about her that made him kinda nervous. Maybe it was the fact that he actually liked her and wanted to spend time with her instead of trying to fuck her.

      “Um…Audrey, can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked.

      Ashley came up to her father saying, “I’m ready, daddy.”

      “Give me a minute, sweetheart. Watch television and give Daddy a minute.”

      Audrey came closer to him. The aura and her perfume enticed him and become embedded into Promise’s mind. He felt hypnotized.

      “This kinda hard for me,” he admitted.

      She raised her eyebrow at him curious as to what he had to say. “What is it?” she asked.

      He let out a quick sigh and then just bluntly came out with it. “Are you busy sometime tomorrow night?”

      She smiled. “Why, Promise, are you asking me out on a date?”

      “Nah, nah…it ain’t nuthin’ like dat. I’m just sayin’ you seem to be cool peoples and I wouldn’t mind chillin’ wit’ you a little more often. You know, besides seeing you twice a day for my daughter. I mean, if dats ahight wit’ you?”

      She let out a slight giggle and stared into his eyes. Audrey definitely was attracted to him, no doubt. She loved his style and, to be honest, she liked and admired the street in him. Audrey knew he was from the hood by the way he come bopping