Chapter 17
Jameela
Sleep never found me. I picked Bella up from my mom, bathed her, and laid in bed with her while she slept until it was time to start over and do it all again. As much as I dreaded, I had to do the inevitable and let Lieutenant Hale know that I had been compromised.
Since I wouldn’t be gone long, I dropped Bella with Miss Ramirez while I went to meet my fate.
I felt weak after not eating for close to twenty-four hours, but I didn’t have an appetite.
All I wanted to do was get this over with.
I was surprised to see Officer Christopher in Hale’s office.
My steps slowed when I heard Nicholas’s name.
“She’s been missing for at least two hours, but he hasn’t reported it yet.”
“How did you find out if he hasn’t reported it? Is your girl wired up?”
“I have an inside informant. He says that the cartel has the little girl. King is trying to handle it on his own.”
“How reliable is this source?”
“It’s his cousin,” Lieutenant Hale disclosed.
Little girl? Were they talking about Amira? Turning on my heels, I sprinted out of the building. My fingers trembled as I pulled my phone out of the armrest and dial Nicholas’s number. He sent me to voicemail twice.
Of course, he didn’t want to talk to me, but I might have been able to help. I couldn’t wait for Nicholas. Instead, I scrolled through the apps on my phone until I came to the locator app. Two pink lights flashed, indicating the location of the earrings.
One light flashed right over Miss Ramirez’s house.
The other pinged miles away in an unfamiliar location.
There was no telling what was going through Nicholas’s head right now.
Not that I didn’t trust that he could handle this on his own, but I cared about Amira too much to sit around and hope for the best when it was possible that I could save her.
Twenty minutes later, I pulled up to a cul-de-sac in a suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of town.
The locator app turned green, indicating that I was less than a hundred yards away from my target.
When I’d given Amria earrings like the ones Bella wore, I never imagined that I would have to activate the location feature.
Now I was grateful that she had asked for them.
I parked a few doors down from where the indicator pinged the earrings.
I wanted to find a way into the house without making a scene.
Just in case a scene was necessary, I took my gun out of the glove compartment and tucked it in my waistband.
I undid a few of the buttons on my shirt and spritzed on some of the body spray I’d left in my armrest.
Once I was out of the car, I straightened my clothes and made sure that the gun was still concealed.
I crossed the grass and walked up to the front door of the target house.
I didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary.
It was a quiet neighborhood. Who would ever think that someone was holding a kidnapped little girl around here?
I knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. It didn’t take long for a lanky man in a wife beater to open the door. His eyes fell to my cleavage as he stood there waiting to see what I wanted.
“My car is running hot. I pulled over to let it cool off, but I have to pee really bad. Can I please use your bathroom?”
His eyes moved from my titties over my shoulder.
“I parked a few doors down. You’re the first person I could get to come to the door.”
“Your man coming to help you?” he asked, smirking a little too much at my misfortune.
“I don’t have one. My cousin is coming.”
“Gone head to the bathroom. It’s straight back. You want something to drink? It’s hot out here.”
“Um, let me empty my bladder first. Then we will go from there.”
“Hold on one minute,” he said, rushing past me and closing the door right next to the bathroom. Motioning with his hand, he pointed me toward the bathroom.
“Thank you.”
I closed the door behind me, looking at my reflection in the mirror as I worked on the next step to my plan.
I pulled my phone out again and sent Nicholas another text.
The sound of a child whimpering came faintly through the wall.
I stuffed my phone back in my pocket and drew my gun.
Slowly, I crept out of the bathroom and slipped over to the door that the man had closed.
Thankfully, it wasn’t locked. As soon as the door opened, I spotted Amira sitting on the bed, holding a doll. After stepping into the room, I swept the door closed behind me.
“Miss Jameela!” she squealed.
Holding my finger up to my lips, I shushed her but rushed over to check her out.
“You have to be very quiet, OK?”
Quickly, she nodded her head before whispering, “Yes ma’am.”
I checked the window, hoping to get out of the house the easy way. It was painted shut, so I couldn’t open it without making too much noise. I cursed under my breath as I committed to the idea of going out the same way I came.
“Is my Uncle Darius still here?”
“Was Darius here, baby?”
“Yes. I saw him talking to the man by the door. He didn’t see me. I asked did he come to get me, but the mean man said sit back down until your daddy gets here.”
“Well, I’m here to get you. Stay right here until I come back for you,” I instructed, kissing the top of her head.
I needed to make sure the coast was clear before I moved her. My feet were light as I slipped out of the room and moved down the hall.
“Damn, I thought you fell in,” the man from earlier joked.
“Hands up!” I demanded.
“What?”
I fired a warning shot, shooting past his head and making his hands shoot straight up in the air.
“Put them behind your head, and don’t try anything crazy.”
I only had one pair of cuffs on me, so hopefully, I didn’t run into anyone else. As I was cuffing him, the door burst open, causing me to whip around to see where the sound came from.
“Not this cop bitch again!” Darius bellowed.
“Hands up, Darius!”
“What the fuck are you talking about? You better lower that gun.”
“Put your fucking hands up. It’s over.”
“Ain’t nothing over. I thought your baby daddy took care of you. Aren’t you suspended or something?”
“I’m not gon’ ask you again.”
I didn’t have time to try to analyze what he said. All I wanted to do was get out of here with Amira. I could let the cops or whoever sort him out. I only wanted Amira. He lunged at me, causing me to send my second warning shot into his thigh.
“Ahh! You bitch!” He crumpled to the floor. Spit flew from his mouth as he bellowed. I didn’t give more than one warning. He should have been there for the first one.
“Amira,” I said, opening the door without taking my gun off Darius. “Close your eyes and cover your ears for me, baby.”
I picked her up, securing her body against me as I moved toward the door with my eyes glued to Darius. As soon as my hand was on the doorknob, I burst out of it and ran chest first into group of men. The bile rising in my throat settled as soon as my eyes found him. It was Nicholas.
“Jameela?” His eyes were wild as recognition set in.
“I got her, Nicholas. I got her.”
His eyes danced between me and Amira as he seemed to put things together in his head. The other men moved around us and entered the house. I could hear yelling and commotion, but I didn’t bother to look back. My mission was accomplished.
“Como estas, princesa? Estás herido?”
“No, I just want you,” Amira replied but kept clinging to my shirt.
His shoulders finally relaxed as he pulled both me and Amira into his arms. Nicholas kissed the top of my head before his lips dropped to mine. Kissing him felt better than ever, but before I had the chance to melt into him, he pulled away, taking Amira with him.
“Thank you, habibti. Get out of here. I got it from here.”
“I shot Darius to stop him from taking her from me.”
“My cousin Darius? What the fuck?” Nicholas quizzed, brows snapping together.
“I didn’t expect to see him. He was working with Hale. I saw him in the office one day. Today I heard them refer to him as an informant.”
“Are you OK?” he asked me.
“Yeah.”
“Well, get out of here. I got it from here.”
“Nicholas, I’m not leaving you or Amira like this. I love you.”
“That wasn’t a request, Jameela. Go!”
The bass in his voice shattered my heart, but he didn’t have to tell me again. After kissing Amira’s cheek, I scurried down the steps and kept jogging until I made it back to my car. I had my own daughter that I needed to love on right now.