by Rhonda Bowen
She grabbed her leather jacket from the coat closet. “I can make it in ten.”
“Look, I get that you’re upset,” Trey said. “He’s my best friend. I’m upset too. But this was Adam’s choice. And if you get on that metal death trap and try to ride it all the way to Baltimore, that will make two people I’ll have to worry about.”
Toni turned back to face her brother. “Then maybe you should get me on a flight.”
“Toni, I can’t let you do this.”
“Trey, I am going, with or without your help.”
They stared at each other a long time. Toni was serious, and nobody knew better than Trey how determined she could be, except for Adam. She looked into her brother’s eyes and saw the raw fear in them. Trey was not accustomed to discomfort, and she hoped that would work in her favor.
They held their positions in the standoff for a few more moments before he sighed and pulled out his phone.
“Let me make some calls.”
Chapter 22
When Adam pulled up to Federal Hill Park in South Baltimore, Jonah’s car was already there. Parking behind him, he shut off the engine and closed his eyes.
Ten hours of thinking about what he had to do had done nothing to settle his nerves. But ten years of guilt was something he was tired of living with. On the surface, his decision to turn himself in seemed spontaneous. But the truth was, he had been thinking about it for a while. Especially since the legal situation had gotten intense for Jerome.
Opening his eyes, he got out of the car and walked across the grass toward the bench under the tree where his brother was sitting. He remembered the last time they were here like this. It was after Noah died. The decade between then and now felt like a day.
“How was the drive?” Jonah asked when Adam sat down.
“Not long enough,” Adam answered.
Jonah nodded. “You don’t have to do this, Q,” he said after a moment.
“Yes I do,” Adam said. “I gotta take responsibility for everything that was on me. I think that’s the reason I haven’t been able to come back here. Because I knew that my mess was out here, about to catch up with me any minute.”
Jonah chuckled. “You know what Momma always said... .”
“Be sure your sins will find you out,” they both said at the same time.
Adam shook his head. His mother had always been right about that. He didn’t know why he had thought in this one instance it wouldn’t have been true.
“Have you talked to her?” Jonah asked.
“No,” Adam said, shooting a sharp look at his brother. “Have you?”
“Easy, bro,” Jonah said, noting the tension in Adam’s tone. “You told me not to tell anyone you were coming and I didn’t. But you know, ain’t nothing stay secret around here. She’s bound to find out before the week is out.
“Plus Tiffy was with me when you called this morning, and she’s been side-eyeing me all day. I know it’s because I wouldn’t tell her who was on the phone,” Jonah added. “I love you, bro, but you ain’t the one I gotta share a bed with, you know what I’m sayin’?”
Adam smiled. “Okay, I hear you,” he said. “As soon as you drop me off you can tell her everything.”
“Good, ’cause I’m gonna need someone to drive your piece o’ junk to my house anyway.”
“Don’t hate on Sunshine,” Adam said, referring to his eight-year-old Pontiac Sunbird. “She’s one of the most loyal women in my life.”
“What about the other woman in your life? The one you left in Atlanta,” Jonah said.
Adam got up and began to walk to the car. “Don’t wanna talk about her.”
“Did you tell her about all this?” Jonah asked, as he followed him.
Adam shook his head. Apparently the don’t-want-to-talkabout-her part had not registered. He got into his car and started the engine, not waiting for Jonah to catch up.
“We talking or we driving?”
“Okay,” Jonah said, getting into the passenger side. “Don’t talk about it. But don’t call me at two in the morning when you’re at the hospital freaking out about her either.”
“As long as you quit whining to me about Tiffy maxing out your credit cards,” Adam threw back. “Actin’ like you never knew she was high maintenance when you met her in a Chanel store.”
“Hey, love is blind,” Jonah said, grinning.
Adam snorted. “And broke too.”
But even that couldn’t wipe the silly grin off his brother’s face. Without a doubt he was thinking of his beautiful wife, Tiffany, with whom he had two equally beautiful children—children who had not spent much time with their Uncle Q. Adam’s brow furrowed as he thought of all the things he had missed being away from home. His brother’s wedding. His stepdad’s funeral. His sister’s graduation from university. The birth of several nieces and nephews. Countless birthdays and family reunions. His choices had stolen so much of his life from him. That’s why he had to do this, because he didn’t want to miss any more.
“Hey, I know you’ve made up your mind about this,” Jonah said as he pulled his door closed. “But you mind if we say a quick prayer?”
Adam closed his eyes as Jonah started to pray.
“Dear God, I don’t know what Q is doing or what You’re doing with him. But I know You changed him, and I know his heart belongs to You. If You lead him into this, You will take him through this. So I pray You give him strength to face all that is before him. Help him to know that we are always there for him, but more importantly, that You are always there for him. Bring him back to our family safe and soon. In Jesus’s name, amen.”
Both men opened their eyes but neither of them moved. They sat in the car a long moment before Adam sighed. “You feel that?” he asked wearily.
“Yeah,” Jonah said, nodding. “You got to talk to Momma before you do this.”
Adam frowned. He hated when God changed up his plans like that. But he wasn’t about to not listen to what the Spirit was telling him to do. His heart told him he needed to go see his mother before he went to the police station. Especially since he wasn’t sure when he would see her again. He had been trying to avoid hurting her one more time. But it wasn’t to be.
He waited as Jonah got out of the car and headed to his own vehicle.
“All right,” Jonah said. “Guess we’re going home.”
Adam shook his head. “Lead the way.”
Chapter 23
Even though Trey had pulled some strings to get them on an afternoon flight to Baltimore, Toni still felt anxious. She didn’t want to think of what would happen if Adam walked into a station and turned himself in. She had seen the charges. She knew they were serious. And who knew what else Adam was planning to admit to. Why did he have to be so irritatingly honest?
“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Trey said, grabbing Toni’s hand as they sat waiting for the plane to come to a stop on the runway. But Toni couldn’t even muster a weak smile. She wasn’t so sure.
There was a rental waiting for them at the airport in Baltimore, and Toni had already Googled the directions from the airport to Adam’s mother’s house, the address she got from Trey. She offered to drive, but Trey wouldn’t let her, mumbling something about her breaking the speed limit and getting them a ticket. She rolled her eyes but got into the passenger seat without argument.
The drive was only twenty minutes, but it was too long. By the time they got to the address it was late afternoon. They were in a suburb outside Baltimore. The street was quiet for the time of day, with very little traffic. Toni climbed out of the car and took in the blue and white house that was supposed to be their destination.
“Are you sure this is the place?” Toni asked, looking down at the directions, then back at the house number.
“It’s the right place,” Trey said, shading his eyes as he looked up at the house.
There was one other car parked in front of the house, but it wasn’t Adam’s.
They were too late.
As if reading her mind, Trey grabbed her hand again. “Don’t start jumping to conclusions yet,” he said. “Let’s see if anyone is here first.”
Toni hung back as he walked up the steps and rang the doorbell once. They waited, but no one answered. Trey was about to ring it again when two cars came up the street and stopped in front of the house. Toni’s heart beat hard in her chest. One of the cars was Adam’s.
A tall guy with glasses who was unmistakably Adam’s brother got out of the other car. He walked toward them slowly, a curious expression on his face. Before he could open his mouth, however, Adam stepped out of his car and came toward them.
Relief flooded through Toni as she watched him approach her. However, in almost the same instant it was transformed into hot anger.
“Toni? What are you doing here?” he asked, the look of shock on his face reflected perfectly in his voice.
“What am I doing here?” she snapped back. “What are you doing here, Adam? Are you crazy? Don’t tell me that what Trey told me was right—you’re turning yourself in?”
Adam glared at Trey, who was still standing on the steps. “You let her come here?”
“I didn’t have a choice,” Trey said, holding up his hands defensively. “You know how she is.”
“Were you even thinking about anyone other than yourself?” Toni shouted at Adam.
“Of course I was,” Adam retorted, his eyes blazing. “I was thinking about the boys. I was trying to be real about my mess, for them.”
“For the boys! How does your being locked up help them?”
“You were the one who told me to be honest!”
“When did you start listening to me?”
“Uh, guys, can we take this inside?” Adam’s brother said, looking around to make sure no one else was on the street and hearing them.
“Look, Toni,” Adam said, his voice dropping as he took a step toward her and reached for her hands. “You were right.”
“No, I wasn’t,” she said, pulling away.
“Yes, you were,” he insisted, gently taking her hand again. “I have to do this. I can’t carry this around anymore. I have to come clean so I can move on with my life... .” His eyes were pleading with her to understand, but she couldn’t.
“No,” Toni said, pulling away, stubbornly blinking back the moistness that was filling her eyes. “You can’t. How can you do this to Jerome? You know he needs you. You know he doesn’t have anybody else. How can you just leave him like this?”
“Jerome’s in good hands. He has a great support system around him,” Adam said. “He’ll be fine.”
“Okay, fine, I’m sorry,” Toni said, shaking her head. “Is that what you want me to say? I take it back. Everything I said. I didn’t think you would do this—”
“I’m not doing this just because of what happened with us,” Adam said, reaching out and wiping a renegade tear from her cheek before sticking his hands in his pockets. “It’s been on my mind for a long time. I have to do this—”
“What in heaven’s name is going on out there?”
Four pairs of eyes looked toward the door where an older woman stood, watching the drama unfold in front of her house.
“Momma ...”
“Q?” Adam’s mother blinked several times and took a step forward. “My word, it is you!”
The sound of sirens interrupted anything else she planned to say. Before any of them knew what was happening, two cop cars had pulled up to the gate. Toni could see windows opening along the street, and even a person or two on porches nearby.
Two officers got out of one of the cars and walked toward the group.
“We got a call about a disturbance here.” The officer’s voice seemed to rumble through his tree trunk frame as his eyes scanned the scene before him.
Jonah stepped forward quickly. “No disturbance, officer. We were just going inside.”
“Is there an Adam Bayne here?” the other, smaller, wiry officer asked.
“No,” Toni lied.
“Yes,” Adam answered at the same time, stepping forward.
“Mr. Bayne, do you know that there are open warrants for your arrest in the state of Maryland?” the larger officer said. He set a hand on his belt. “We’re going to have to take you in.”
“Officers, do we really have to do this now?” Jonah began.
“Please step back, sir.” The goliath officer stepped in front of Jonah.
“Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you to place your hands behind your head.”
With a look of resignation, Adam stepped away from Toni. His mother had started wailing at the door, but Toni barely noticed. Her eyes stayed glued to Adam’s as they slapped the cuffs on his wrists.
“Let’s go.”
The officer began to lead him away, but Toni grabbed the edge of his shirt.
Adam shook his head. “Don’t.”
“No,” she whispered angrily. “You can’t do this.”
“It’s already done,” he said simply, an expression of acceptance slipping over his features.
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to let go of him.”
Toni didn’t even look at the skinny white officer.
“Ma’am, if you don’t let go we’re going to have to arrest you for obstruction.”
The larger uniform began to step forward.
“Trey,” Adam called, without taking his eyes off her.
“Toni, let go,” Trey said softly, stepping between his sister and his best friend. “I know this is not the way we wanted things to turn out, but it is what it is.”
Pushing past her brother, Toni grasped Adam’s face between her palms and kissed him, her lips finding his easily, as if they had done it a thousand times before. As she was about to pull away, she felt him lean in and kiss her right back with an intensity that took her breath away. It was like someone hit a mute button. In that moment there was no one else but her and Adam. But within seconds, it was over and they were pulling him away, ducking him down and locking him in the back of the squad car.
She felt glued to her position on the concrete as she watched the squad car until it turned a corner and she could no longer see it. She could hear commotion around her. Her brother was talking to Adam’s brother. His mother was still crying on the steps and it sounded like more people were joining the fray.
But all that registered to Toni was exhaustion. She had been halfway around the country and it wasn’t even 6:00 p.m. Without waiting for Trey, she walked over to the rental and slipped into the passenger seat. She was about to shove the paper on the seat onto the ground when she saw Jerome’s face staring up at her from the front page. Her stomach lurched.
“Trey!” she screamed, jumping out of the car.
“Hey, is everything okay?” Trey asked, alarm written all over his face.
“No.” Toni shook her head, her mind already spinning as she realized how things could get so much worse. “We have to go back to Atlanta. Right now.”
Chapter 24
“We have to pull the stories.”
The words flew off Toni’s lips before she was fully inside Naomi’s office. It was after eight Monday evening and Naomi was standing by her desk with her jacket on and her keys in her hands. She would have already been gone except Toni had called her and asked her to wait.
Naomi sighed and sat down. “Close the door.” Before Toni could even sit, Naomi said, “Okay. What’s going on? Yesterday you were thrilled with the stories. And the first one turned out amazing. We’ve been getting calls from local news channels all day. We even got a mention on the evening news. This is your dream.”
Or her nightmare.
“There is a situation at Jacob’s House now,” Toni said.
“What kind of situation?”
Toni tried to think of the best way to explain what was going on. So much had happened in less than twenty-four hours that she could barely piece it together herself.
She must have paused for too long. Naomi s
tood and came around the front of her desk. Toni feared Naomi was now close enough to choke her.
“Let’s pretend for a moment that I’m not your boss.” Naomi’s concerned eyes roamed over Toni’s face. “What’s going on, T? Are you involved with this guy?”
Toni’s eyes widened. Had she mentioned Adam? Why would Naomi automatically go there?
“You’ve been spending a lot of time there for the story, and doing the interview with him. In situations like this, sometimes the lines get blurred,” Naomi said, as if reading Toni’s mind. “Plus, I read what you wrote about him. So are you?”
“No.” Toni pushed her words out quickly. She wasn’t involved, at least not in the way Naomi was thinking. Unless that kiss counted for something. And come to think of it, a kiss like that should.
“Toni!”
Naomi startled her out of her musings. “Adam Bayne is in jail. He was taken into custody in Baltimore this afternoon.”
“Are the charges legit?” Naomi was nothing if not about the facts.
“Yeah.” Toni handed Naomi a copy of Adam’s rap sheet. “And he’s not denying most of them, so he’s probably going to be in lockup for a while.”
Naomi let out a little whistle as her eyes scanned the sheet. “How did the cops find out about him anyway?”
“He turned himself in.” Toni prayed that Naomi wouldn’t ask her anything else about that part.
“Why?”
Toni paused. “We had a bit of a misunderstanding about the charges.”
Naomi’s eyebrows shot up. She got up and walked back around to her side of the desk. Toni guessed she was trying not to choke her.
“You knew about these beforehand?”
Toni bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. She nodded.
“And you didn’t say anything? Toni! How could you be so irresponsible?”
“I just found out this morning,” Toni said.
“Why did you just find out this morning?” Her editor’s blue eyes turned dark and stormy. “Why did you not know this information three weeks ago when you came into my office begging for the front page? Furthermore, you knew at least twelve hours ago and you said nothing?”