“Get over here,” Quinton instructed.
“Wait a goddamn minute! You know these muthafuckas, my nig—!”
In the middle of Dante’s outburst, Quinton gestured to one of the gunmen, who let off two shots, sending Dante crashing back against the wall of his grandmother’s kitchen.
CHAPTER 66
Chanel
As it did often, my mind drifted to Dario. I never stopped to think about how he might be taking all of this. I was always thinking of being back in his arms, or when we went to the radio station that day. How we made love after that. How good it felt being with him. All the stuff we said to each other, and how the love was just so evident. How I’d never loved a man as much as I loved him. I often thought about the shit Tyler pulled, that almost had me lose out on the man I was put on this earth to be with.
In just the little bit of time that we’d been a couple, we had been through a lot of shit! In the midst of him coming into mine and Rai’s lives, I found the paternal side of Rai’s family. If I never believed in guardian angels, I did when Dario and I met. That guardian angel was Rai’s bio dad, Lucas. Lucas saw to it that his son found his family. Lucas saw to it that the cousin, who was more like a brother, found a woman to love him past any and everything. We were all bound by Lucas. And that was the part I was missing in all this.
All the thinking I did about my Dario, I didn’t stop to think about how broken he must be feeling. First Lucas, and now me. Yes, I was still of this life; nevertheless, away from him. Another instance of someone he loved being taken away. It broke my heart. I mean, shattered the hell out of both valves.
I’m going to love you down, baby. I’m going to be everything you ever thought a woman could be, when I get back to you, I silently swore.
He was going to need that from me and I was ready to give it to him, with every ounce of strength I had. The pangs of what he was feeling began to hit me from all directions, and all I could do was tuck my head between my legs and cry. I cried for Dario, for my son, and for the rest of the family that was going through the motions with one of us missing—again.
When I heard the door begin to open, I got up off the bed and ran to the restroom. I wasn’t going to give that bitch, or her damn henchman, the opportunity to see me breaking down. That shit wasn’t going to happen at all. Once in there, I closed and locked the door, turned on the water faucet and then sat on the edge of the jacuzzi tub and sobbed. I just wanted to go home.
“Miss Norwood . . .” I heard the familiar voice call out over the water flow.” Then, she knocked. “I need you to come out. Please.”
“I don’t want to talk. I don’t want to see anybody. Just please leave me alone!” I begged.
“It won’t take long!” she insisted.
“I’m not hungry! I just want to be by myself right—”
“I think you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”
I rolled my eyes, in frustration. It was clear that she wasn’t going away. Just because she’d let me call my son, I guess she thought I’d want to chat her up. But that nowhere near what I wanted. Yeah, she let me call Rai and that was wonderful, but yet here I still was away from him! So, she was far from a gracious host, just because of that one fucking act of kindness.
“Somebody . . . is uhh . . . here to take you . . . home,” she spilled, hesitantly. It took a few moments for what she said to register. It took a few more moments to determine if I was hearing things. When I didn’t answer her, she said, “I promise, I’m telling the truth.”
I leaped from the edge of that tub so fast, my head spun. I lost my footing but rebounded immediately. Once on my feet, without hesitation, I ran toward the bathroom door and yanked it open to find a guy standing directly behind her. I looked up at him, then back at her. Her eyes were sunken, sadness inside them. It was a deep sadness, and definitely not what was always there. I took my attention away from her, and then addressed him.
“Who are you?” I asked, hoping and praying that this wasn’t some joke.
“Your father-in-law sent us to bring you home . . .”
CHAPTER 67
Chanel
“In all the time that I’ve known you, I have never known you to be this quiet.”
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. My nerves were all over the place. I couldn’t remember a time ever being so nerve-wrecked. I had probably only said a few words, since I got in the truck with Quinton. There was a black, Chevy truck parked outside the residence when we all emerged. A few of the guys, including the one that came to get me out of the room, hopped into the UPS truck, and then Quinton and I got into a pearl-colored Escalade, that was right behind it.
“You better welcome this silence, buddy. Value it.”
“Yeah, you got a point. Especially, because I know that when you and your girl get back together, it’s gonna be nonstop talk and giggles.”
“One-hundred percent.” At the mention of Tracie, my mind drifted back to that day in the mall’s parking structure. “How is Tracie doing?” I asked, sure that I already had the answer.
“Pssh, man . . . she went through it. Couldn’t calm her for nothing. For days. She still asks a lot of questions. But this was so hush-hush that I couldn’t talk to her about it.”
I shook my head, slowly, my heart occasionally skipping beats. Anxiety was trying to creep in. I reached over to the lever and rolled my window down for a bit of air. I inhaled a deep breath, then slowly released the cloud of air.
“I’m sure she’ll understand.” I paused, and rolled my neck, to soothe the tension building. “But I know seeing that play out had to really fuck with her.”
“You good?” Quinton asked, touching my wrist. “Want the air on?”
“No. I don’t need any air. I’m good. Just trying to . . .” I blew more air through my mouth. “. . . just trying to level out.”
I closed my eyes to try to keep the memories away from me. I didn’t want them. Because the truth was that when they took me, I thought I was going to die. I thought they were going to kill me. When I first heard the screech of the tires, I knew that I was going to be taken somewhere, probably raped and then killed. I didn’t expect to live another day. Especially, when that man put the cloth over my mouth . . .
My fists tightened in my lap, and my breathing began to quicken, as I recalled every play by play. My foot pressed against the board of the floor, as I tried to push the thoughts away. My foot. I remember trying to kick him. I fought—hard. I kicked and screamed and punched in the back of that truck. Up until he overpowered me, holding both hands, forcefully, behind my back, while he applied some cloth . . . chloroform . . . over my mouth . . . Oh, God! I held onto my throat and began wheezing.
“Chanel!” I heard from Quinton. “You goo—”
“Quinton! Please, pull over! Please!” I begged, hyperventilating.
My chest felt like it was closing. Like I was being restricted from breathing. Almost like when the guy first covered my mouth. I tried coaching myself to fight what I was feeling, to no avail.
The car did a sharp right, out of the flow of traffic, finally coming to a stop. We ended up in the parking lot of a Safeway. At that point, I frantically grabbed at the door handle and threw the door wide open. Struggling for air, I jumped out of the front seat. My knees weakened the minute my feet touched the ground. I laid both of my hands against the side of the truck and panted, all the while fighting back monster tears.
“It’s a panic attack, Chanel. Breathe through it,” Quinton stated, from the side of me, in the most comforting tone. “Just breathe through it,” he repeated.
“I’m trying . . .” I panted. “I’m . . . trying,” I labored, puffing through the small hole formed between my lips.
Quinton rubbed my arm, soothingly. “Slowly. Do sets of 10, until you feel yourself starting to calm. You’re safe, Chanel. You’re safe,” he consoled.
After a few minutes, I looked over at him. It was just as my breaths steadied. “Okay, I’m ready.”
&n
bsp; “You sure?” he asked me.
I stood upright, regaining my full composure. “I’m sure. Thank you, Quinton. I really appreciate what you did.”
“It’s nothing,” he said, helping me back into the front seat, and then closing my door.
With the exception of the Sirius XM station playing on low volume, we drove in silence. I knew it was Quinton’s way of giving me my space to regroup.
“We’re here,” he announced, 20 minutes later. “You ready?” he asked.
“Am I!” I yelled out, excitedly, sounding in no way as though I’d had a meltdown a short while ago. I looked over at Quinton, with the biggest grin on my face. “How do I look?” I asked him. Just as he was about to answer, I waved a hand in the air. “Never mind. I know I’m busted, but it don’t matter!”
Quinton started laughing, while I was unbuckling my belt. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be right here.”
CHAPTER 68
Chanel
“Miss Norwood, it’s so good to see you.”
I looked up from the sign-in sheet to see Mrs. Murray, the school’s principal, standing nearby, hovering.
“Thanks. It’s good to see you as well.” I finished filling out the sheet with all the applicable information. “Here you go,” I said, looking at the secretary.
“Ummm . . . so . . . I wanted to know if I could grab a few minutes of your time,” Mrs. Murray chimed in.
I looked at her crazy, at first, because she was prolonging the reason that I was there, and I didn’t really feel like making time for whatever it was that she needed to discuss. Not now, anyway.
“What’s going on?” I asked her, from my spot. Refusing to move.
“If I could . . .” she said, motioning toward her office.
I looked at the secretary, who had turned her head away from my gaze. “Send for my son, please. Thank you,” I told her, without awaiting a response.
I looked at the principal. “Okay,” I sighed. “It won’t be long, right?”
“A few minutes, at most. Definitely, before the lunch bell.”
A few minutes later, we were sitting across from each other inside her quaint office with way too many plants and what sounded like lite rock music, streaming through her computer’s speakers. I never would’ve taken the short, rimmed woman in her late 50’s as a rock listener! But hey, whatever.
“I’ll get right to the point,” she prefaced. “Is everything okay at home?”
My eyes narrowed at her, and with just those accusatory words, she now had my full attention. “What?”
“I’m only asking because Rai’s grades have taken a hit the last two weeks. His test scores are low and—”
“How many tests could he have had in two weeks?” My attitude was coming through and I heard it, but I didn’t care one bit. “Because even in two weeks, if he did have a few bad grades, it’s not like he’s at risk of failing, right?”
“Right. But I’m just expressing concern.”
“Is there extra credit available?”
“I can certainly check on that.”
“I’ll check on that, Mrs. Murray. And I’ll get my baby on track to where he needs to be. Is that it?”
“Miss Norwood, I’m not in any way trying to upset you. That’s the last thing I want to do. We’re a team—Rai’s team. I just want to make sure that all is well.”
“Okay, so I’ve been out of town. Who have you contacted about this before today? My fiancé? Either of his grandmothers? Any of his guardians? I’m sure that one of them—if not all of them—have been around for contact. So, is this just you assuming that something is wrong with his home life? Because you sound more accusatory, than concerned.”
The discomfort that appeared across her flushed tone gave the answer that she was reluctant to provide.
“Not at all trying to accuse. I really just wanted to know if there was anything major keeping him from applying himself at the level that I’ve known him to. And since my relationship is with you—”
“Look, Mrs. Murray, excuse my temper. I apologize. I really do,” I said, standing from my seat. “I know that you don’t mean any harm. I know this. I guess I’m just confused as to why you waited until you saw me to address this. Yes, we have a standing relationship, but at the same time, don’t ever miss an opportunity to include my son’s village in any issues, during my absence. And the reason that I say that is because while he’s falling short, it could mean that he’s also falling behind. I don’t want that.”
“Understood.”
“Good.”
Little did she know, her words made me feel as though I’d been slapped in the face. My son was hurting, and had suffered a great deal due to my absence. That was all I was worried about. That was what I needed to tend to.
I opened her office door to leave. “When I’m settled back in, let’s meet again. Have your secretary put me on your calendar and I’ll be here with you and Rai’s teachers on whatever date you set. You have a great day.”
When I rushed around the corner on my way back to the front of the office, I was in utter awe to see my baby standing there, looking down at his cell phone. Clearly, when they called him from class, they didn’t tell him why or he would’ve been looking around and not down. I immediately started to cry, watching him. His caramel skin, his curly bro-hawk, and he seemed taller!
He’s grown a bit!
Oh my god! He’s grown!
After having stared at him forever, I finally said, “There’s my baby!”
When he first looked up at the sound of my voice, he seemed stuck. As though he was trying to see through fog.
“Mama?”
I nodded my head, smiling through thick puddles of tears. “It’s me, baby.”
Once it registered, Rai ran to me, just as he had when he ran for the first time. And I was right there to catch him.
CHAPTER 69
Dario
“I think you managing Shane is cool. He seems like a cool dude. What they did to him wasn’t right. I’m still really tripping off of how much they went through just to get a fight with me. This shit spiraled so far out of control it’s not even funny.”
“Man, did it ever.”
“Crazy how life works, though. I just hope they can live with the consequences. Because they definitely set a domino effect in motion.”
Wayne laughed out loud. “You mean that beating you’re about to serve to Ace’s ass in Vegas day after tomorrow?”
“That, and then some.”
“Oh . . .” Wayne said, slowly. “There’s more?”
I looked at him. “What do you think? They put their hands on my woman, Wayne. They have her hostage until I fight this fight. That’s just gonna make me serve him 18 times what I was gonna serve him to begin with. They poked a sleeping bear. I was sleep, Wayne. Retired, minding my own motherfuckin’ business. And they came and fucked up my life, took my woman. They’ve had her for two weeks. You know that’s not shit that—”
“I get it. I just wish I’d told you about what they wanted earlier.”
“I don’t wanna dwell on that right now. I really don’t. There’s too many other ways shit could’ve been handled and that’s just a small piece of it. I mean, not small-small . . . but not large. Let’s just leave that where it is. Chanel will be home soon. And that’s all that matters at this point.”
“True.” Wayne lifted off the wall he had been standing against for the past hour. He looked at his watch. “It’s almost time for Rai to get out of school, so I’ll let you get to that.” He chuckled, loud enough for me to hear.
“What’s funny?”
“Seeing you in the family way.”
“What’s funny about that?”
“You’re asking the person that knew you back when being in any type of family situation wasn’t even a part of your vocab! You had a different woman for every day of the week! Rarely, the same one . . . ever.”
“Yeah, guess I kinda grew up.
”
“Guess you kinda fell in love, is more like it.”
“Yeah, that for damn sure. And I wouldn’t trade her for all the fuckin’ money in the world.”
“She is special. And the perfect girl for you.”
“Woman. Perfect woman for me. There’s nothing ‘girl’ about her.”
“Speaking of women, where’s that firecracker sister of Chanel’s? She was kinda sexy.”
“Wayne, let it go. That girl is outta your league. Besides, she went back to Atlanta a few days ago.”
“So, she just came to help,” he said, nodding. “Admirable. Yeah, maybe text me her—”
“Not gettin’ in that, man!”
We laughed all the way down the stairs, and it felt like old times. All the shit that had taken place in the last few weeks, and even before that, seemed to dissipate. I knew that at the end of the day, Wayne was real people. He got caught up in a situation that I knew for sure would never repeat itself. I knew that for a fact. We had a brotherhood. And now that the dust was beginning to settle, I was ready to give the brotherhood another go.
“What time are you flying out?” Wayne asked. “I’m probably going to leave Friday night.”
“When I pick up Rai, he’s gotta pack a suitcase and we’re leaving early in the morning. Going to let him have the day off. He’s been through a lot, with Chanel gone, and I just want him to relax for a day and then be able to see his mom. Because I already know that I’ll be waiting for my turn with her, once she sees him. They’re bond is beautifully unbreakable. Her void is one that I can’t fill and I’ve seen it in his eyes. So, yeah. Gonna let him . . .” I stopped talking, mid-sentence, thinking that I’d heard something inside the house. “You hear that?” I asked Wayne, picking up my steps toward the front of the house. “Sounds like somebody is trying to get in my fucking house!”
“I thought I heard something,” Wayne said, right on my heels to investigate.
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