Chapter 7
With my slacks and a button down on, I was satisfied with my look for the day. The last thing I wanted to do was go to church. If it weren’t for the way Anthony shook his head at me when I walked out of the bedroom this morning, I would have thought going to church today was the worst thing that could happen.
“What you looking so crazy for?” I asked him, knitting my eyebrows together.
“Y’all are too old to be having sex,” he said, continuing to shake that peanut head of his.
I almost jumped over the couch to get in front of him. “What are you talking about?”
“You are too old to be having sex. You have a son who’s almost grown.”
“You heard us?” I asked in a harsh whisper.
“I’m pretty sure the whole neighborhood heard you.”
“Shh!” I grabbed his shoulders and stretched my eyes to show how serious I was. “Do not tell your mama you heard us last night. I don’t need that kind of stress right now.”
Wes would put me on restriction for sure if she knew that Ant had heard us having sex. I was not about to be cut off because we didn’t know how to be quiet. She would kill me if she knew Anthony had heard us in action. As far as she was concerned, he thought she was a virgin. We definitely needed a bigger place.
“If y’all don’t want anyone to know the two of you do the do, then I suggest being quieter. I started to knock on the door and say get off my mama.” He laughed.
“Very funny.”
“Do I need to give you the talk, Dad? We discussed all of that stuff in health class. I probably can give you some tips.”
It was a relief that he was taking things so lightly, but I knew Wesley would be mortified. Looking toward my closed bedroom door, I made sure the coast was clear before continuing.
“Are you doing the do, Son?” I asked.
I hadn’t given Ant the talk. I had missed most of his life. So I really wasn’t sure what he knew about sex or if he was active. He was fifteen, so I knew it was likely too late to talk to him about the birds and the bees. Thankfully, that health class had given him a foundation.
“Not yet, and after listening to the two of you, it’s not on my list for the near future.”
“All I ask is that you talk to me first. I’m not here to discourage you. I just want to be part of the decision. It’s a big step.”
“I will, Dad. You just make sure you’re practicing safe sex. You’re too old to be walking around with a newborn baby.”
“Boy, don’t nothing get old but clothes,” I reminded him. “Hey, your mom wants to talk to you about us moving in together. I know that you don’t want to leave your school, but honestly, I don’t think it’s safe for you there. There’s a lot that she hasn’t talked to you about.”
“Does it have something to do with Grandpa and why she thought you were dead?”
“In a nutshell.”
“Is my mom in danger?”
“I don’t know, Ant.” I didn’t want to scare him, but I didn’t want to lie to him either.
“Be honest with me, Dad. My mom won’t tell me anything. She thinks I’m a kid.”
“I don’t know, but I think she could be. I don’t want to take the risk. She feels like letting you keep your routine and staying at your school is more important than worrying about what could happen to her.”
“I understand, Dad. If it means keeping her safe, I don’t mind moving.”
“Thank you,” I said, throwing my arms around him and pulling him against my chest. I kissed the top of his head before holding him at arm’s length. “I would give my life before I let anything happen to you or your mother. You hear me?”
“Yes, sir.” He nodded his understanding. “I know you would.”
“Good.”
“Aw, look at my boys bonding,” Wesley stated as she emerged from the bedroom.
“Mom, come on now. Why you gotta be all mushy all the time?”
“Let my baby be mushy,” I said, walking over and hugging her to me.
She smelled amazing and looked even better in a fitted light purple dress. If we didn’t have plans already, I would have been trying to figure out how to get her out of it. I would just have to send Anthony to the store or something.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to waste. I knew she would shut me down even if I tried. The sound of motorcycles roaring grabbed my attention. Since I had to go to church, I made sure that AJ and Lade were going to be there too. I wasn’t about to suffer alone.
“Lade and your uncle AJ are here,” I told Anthony as I moved toward the door.
I knew those heathens were going to have a lot to say, so I planned to take everybody out for lunch after church. It was the least I could do. I opened the door and burst out laughing at the sight of both of them in suits.
“What’s so funny, you ugly bastard?” Lade asked.
“For starters, you in that monkey suit.”
“Don’t hate, Maze. You know we look good,” AJ countered.
“I’m not gon’ lie. You look decent. I just haven’t seen Lade in a suit since he went to court for assault that time.”
“That was six years ago.” Lade shook his head.
“And it looks like the same suit.”
“For your information, it is. I take care of myself, so it still fits after all this time.”
“I’m fucking with y’all. You look good. Thank you for doing this for me.”
“Anything for the fam,” AJ commented.
“You act like you were asking for a kidney. You’re the one that hates church. I go to church,” Lade noted.
“I do too.” AJ shrugged.
“I don’t hate church. I just have a hard time supporting organized religion.”
“But organized crime is OK?” Wesley interjected.
“No, it’s not. That’s why I run a reputable business. I want to have something that I’m proud to leave behind for my son if he wants it.”
“You won’t even let me ride yet.” AJ chimed in.
“Your lessons are going to start soon. Once your mom finds us a new place, we will get started.”
“You ain’t putting my son on one of those death traps, Amaze.” Wesley warned me.
“He’s going to be completely safe after I teach him the ropes. You know I’m the best, baby.”
“Second best.” AJ cleared his throat.
“Maybe even the third.” Lade interjected.
“Well, that settles it. Ant is going to have the three best riders in the game as his teachers. That along with all your prayers and church stuff, he’ll be the best and the safest on the road.”
“Whatever. I’m not about to stand here and argue with y’all on the Lord’s day. Y’all aren’t going to make me late for church with this shit.”
“Let’s go. She’s already cursing. We gotta go let the preacher lay hands on her,” I joked.
“I’m taking you straight to the altar when we get there,” Wesley informed me.
“Anyway.” I shook my head. “Y’all taking your bikes or riding with us?”
“I’m riding my bike. You never know who I have to lay hands on after church,” Lade decided.
“Agreed. Why you think I keep showing up?” AJ laughed.
“You know what? I can’t with y’all. Let’s go.” Wesley shook her head, pushing past us.
“Y’all gon’ mess around and get me in trouble with y’all shenanigans,” I said, following Wesley outside. “Babe, you know they’re crazy. I don’t know why I called them over here.”
Church was pretty much the same as I remembered it. There was a lot of good singing and an inspirational message with a lot of collection plate passing in between. I didn’t hate it. Actually, the message seemed to make me feel better.
While listening, I felt some of the pressure that had been weighing on me lifting off my shoulders. I could see why people went seeking solace from the stressors of everyday life. Maybe Wes wouldn’t have to drag me to church with her in the future. I might join her voluntarily. Who knew. I wasn’t making any promises, but I wasn’t completely opposed to going back.
“Now what was that about lunch being on you?” Lade asked, draping his arm over my shoulder as we exited the church.
The sound of Wes screaming tore through me like a knife. My head was on a swivel, whipping around to find where she was. A man in a black leather jacket stood next to Anthony’s car, holding her at gunpoint. People were running and screaming as if they were the ones in danger instead of my wife.
Without thinking, I moved into action, yanking the nine out of the waistband of my pants and firing a single shot at his head. I hit him, sending him crumbling to the ground with a thud. Wes reacted quickly, kicking the gun away from him just in case. Before I could make it to her, two motorcycles and a black SUV came barreling into the church’s parking lot.
A blast shot the glass out of the truck before I realized that AJ and Lade had both brandished their guns. They moved toward the truck, covering me as I rushed around it to get to Wesley. I wasn’t letting anyone get to her before I did. The SUV barreled out of the lot with the motorcycles behind it. They circled the parking lot, dodging shots from my boys before they made their exit too.
“I’m here, baby!” I shouted to Wesley as my feet carried me to her.
She had picked up the dead man’s gun and was holding it by her side. Her hands shook violently as she held her finger on the trigger. Wes’s eyes darted around the parking lot wildly as I pulled her body to mine.
“Where is Anthony?” she asked.
My heart sank at the realization that our son was nowhere in sight. There was so much chaos that I had lost track of him. I had to find him.
“Ant!” I bellowed. I was so hurt, knowing that my son was likely somewhere scared, thinking that I couldn’t keep my promise of keeping him safe.
“Anthony!” Wesley shouted. “You have to go find him, Maze.”
“Stay close to me, Wes. I’m not leaving you,” I said, grabbing her hand as I ran to meet AJ halfway.
“What the fuck was that?” my brother asked when I reached him.
“Have you seen Anthony?”
“He was walking in front of us when we were coming out of the church,” Lade informed me.
“It’s my dad, Maze. He took him. I know it’s him.”
“Give me your keys,” I demanded, extending my hand to both Lade and AJ. It didn’t matter who gave up their keys first. I had to go get my son. AJ didn’t hesitate to toss me the keys to his motorcycle. “Don’t let Wesley out of your sight.” I warned my brother before striking out running toward his bike.
I fired his bike up and took off out of the parking lot like lightning. Jacking the front tire up, I cat walked the bike all the way down the street. I had to move fast. The men who had come to the church couldn’t have gotten too far. I drove in the direction that they had gone. My heart seized up when I saw the black SUV up ahead. The motorcycles were no longer in view, but that didn’t mean that they were gone.
I sped up as I removed my gun from its place on my hip. Anthony had to be in that truck. We would have seen him if he was on one of the motorcycles. As I gained on them, I weighed my options. I could risk letting Zach’s men disappear with my son or take the chance of hurting him to keep them from taking him.
There was no way I would let anyone take my son into hiding. I had already seen how well Zachariah could hide someone. I wasn’t taking that kind of risk with Anthony. I had missed more than enough time with him. Knowing how evil and conniving he was, there was no telling what he would do to him. Letting them get away from me was out of the question.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I shot at the SUV, hitting both of the back tires. I cringed when the truck careened out of control and rolled over as it veered off the side of the road. When I was close enough, my tires skidded to a stop. I allowed the bike to fall as I ran toward the wreckage.
“Anthony!” I shouted, hoping that my son was OK. “Ant!”
When I reached the truck, I snatched the back door open.
“Dad,” Anthony called to me.
“Thank God!” I bellowed, seeing that my son was alive and fairly well.
“I can’t get out. My seat belt is stuck.”
“I got you, Son. Don’t worry. I got you,” I assured him.
The body of the person who likely put my boy in the truck was slumped in the backseat. He looked like he had succumbed to his injuries, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to move quickly. I yanked at the cord while pressing the button before finally freeing him from the hold of his seat belt. Once it was off, he threw his arms around me, and I pulled him out of the truck. After placing him on his feet, I inspected him for injuries.
“Are you hurt?” I quizzed.
“I think I’m good, Dad,” he assured me.
“You sure?”
“You think you can take my grandson away from me, you neanderthal!”
My heart slammed into my chest as I spun around, putting Anthony behind me. I hadn’t heard Zachariah’s voice in over fifteen years, but I would never forget it. His ass had been driving the truck the whole time. It was a wonder that he didn’t take Anthony and Wes both. I was sure that was the plan before we showed up.
Blood covered his face from a head injury. He went for the gun lying on the windshield next to the dashboard. Before he could even reach it, I shot him in the hand, shattering the windshield in the process.
“Ah, you dirty muthafucka!” he spat, still reaching for the gun with his good hand.
“Don’t make me kill you in front of my son, Zachariah. You know I’ll do it,” I warned him.
“You don’t have the balls, or I wouldn’t be breathing.”
Anthony was the only thing saving Zach from his imminent death. I wanted to unload on his ass, but I couldn’t let my son witness me killing his grandfather. It just didn’t sit right with me.
“Shut the fuck up, old man,” I said before hitting him with the butt of my gun.
Thankfully, his ass was knocked the hell out as I pulled him out of the truck.
“So that’s my granddad?” Anthony asked me.
“Unfortunately.” I sighed. Once I dropped him on the ground, I turned to Ant. “Don’t take your eyes off him.”
I needed to make sure the other body in the car wasn’t of someone alive. The man slumped in the passenger seat appeared lifeless, but I wasn’t going to underestimate him. After verifying that he was deceased, I unbuckled him and moved his body to the driver’s seat. An engine revving in the distance caught my attention and put me back on high alert.
“It’s Uncle AJ!” Anthony shouted before I could even make it out of the truck.
AJ was coming down the road wide open on Lade’s bike. Not far behind him, I saw Anthony’s car flying down the highway. I knew my boys had my back. I just had to give them time to get here. The car had barely rolled to a stop when Wesley jumped out of the passenger seat and tackled Anthony with a hug.
“Oh, my baby! I was terrified when I saw that you were gone. Are you OK?”
“I’m good, Ma. I swear,” he told her, kissing her face the way I had done a thousand times.
Although he was the one who’d been kidnapped, he seemed to be the one doing all the comforting. It felt good to know that my son was strong enough to comfort his mom when she needed it.
“He’s good, Wesley,” I confirmed as I closed the space between us.
I wrapped my arms around both of them, wishing that I never had to let go. My heart was finally getting back to its normal pace. It wasn’t hard to see why I no longer wanted anything to do with this part of the life.
I kissed both of their heads, grateful that they were safe and secure in my arms. At least they were safe for now. To ensure that they stayed this way, I had to keep my promise to take care of Zach. I wanted to be strategic, but that luxury was removed when he forced my hand.
“Thank you so much for saving my baby, Maze. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, both of you,” I vowed. “I told you. I got you.”
“Oh my God!” Wesley shrieked when she finally noticed Zachariah slumped on the ground. “That’s… my father.”
“He told that man to grab me, Ma,” Anthony stated. “Why would he do that?”
“Your granddad is a very sick and controlling man,” Wesley said, holding Anthony by his shoulders.
“Worse than Dad? I meant worse than Galvin?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“What you need from us, big dog? We gotta get out of here,” Lade questioned.
“Put this muthafucka in the trunk. I’ll drive my family home, then meet y’all at the club.”