Chapter 30
“Shar! Shar!”
I sped down the highway, my tires practically smoking as I ate up the road. I just knew this was Charity. It couldn’t be anybody but that bitch. I was about to yell Shar’s name again when I heard giggling on the other end of the phone.
“Why so distraught?”
“Bitch, when I catch you, you’re fucking dead. You hear me? Fucking. Dead!”
“Dead like your friends, or dead like your little girlfriend is about to be?”
“Dead like your daddy and your brother. If she’s hurt when I get her back, you don’t even wanna know what I’m gonna do to you.”
“Oooo… I love a good threat. It gets my juices flowing. I’m gonna have so much fun with her before I gut this bitch like a fucking fish.”
The line went silent. Pulling it from my ear, I saw that she’d hung up.
“Fuck! Son of a bitch!”
All I could see was red as I flew down the road toward the compound. I passed by Amp’s car, but I couldn’t stop to check on him. I wasn’t sure if Charity had taken Shar or left her somewhere to die. When I saw the skid marks on the road followed by my brothers, I quickly pulled over and jumped out. Ignoring them calling my name, I sprinted down the hill through the obvious crash site to find my Escalade upside down and smashed into a tree.
“Shar!” I yelled, immediately dropping to the ground to search the car.
When I found nothing, I jumped up and started searching the surrounding wooded area. In the distance, I could hear my brothers still calling me. They got closer, and the next thing I felt was who I knew was Smoke, grabbing me up in a bear hug.
“She’s not here, Maceo. We already searched the area.”
“Get the fuck off me!” I demanded, pushing off of him.
“We’re gonna get her back, man. On everything I love, we’ll get her back.”
“I’ma kill that bitch, Smoke. I don’t put my hands on women, but that muthafucka is gon’ see me.”
“I feel you on that,” he said as the rest of our brothers caught up.
Deuce walked up to me with a frown on his face. “You know we’re gonna handle this shit.” He dug in his pocket and handed me something. “She put a tracker on your car.”
I shook my head. “She planned this shit, man. The fucking tracker proves she was hoping it was me in the car, not Shar. The bitch was driving a whole police car when she did this shit. Nobody would suspect a cop chasing a car on the road. Which one of them muthafuckas is in on this with her? Or better yet, how many?”
“I can’t answer that right now, but we’ll get to the bottom of it. Right now, we need to get back to the house?—”
“I ain’t going no fucking where. I’m going to find my wife.”
“Wife!” Smoke and Steel exclaimed as I walked past them.
I ignored their question while Deuce explained that Shar was indeed my wife. I knew we’d have this conversation later, but right now, fuck that. Right now, I had to find Shar. I didn’t know where to begin to even look for her. Charity had been such a fucking ghost around here. She’d been slipping in and out without leaving a paper or digital trail. I hated to think that I wouldn’t find Shar until that bitch wanted me to find her.
Back in my car, I cranked up but couldn’t bring myself to pull off. My chest felt tight. Tears were stinging my eyes. I had to admit that this shit hurt like a muthafucka. I’d never felt anger and pain like this. Resting my head against the steering wheel, I fought back the urge to cry.
“You gon’ get her back, man…” I coached myself. “You gon’ get her back.”
As I sat there, trying to get a hold on myself, I heard my driver’s side door open. Looking up, I saw Deuce standing there. For the first time in my life, the man looked sympathetic.
“Come here, bruh,” he said, motioning for me to get out of the car.
Reluctantly, I got out, and he pulled me into a strong, brotherly hug. I didn’t know how bad I needed that shit until the first tear fell.
“I got you, just like you had me with Salima. We’re gonna get Shar back and put that crazy bitch to rest.”
“I can’t lose her, man. That shit would kill me.”
“Don’t even think like that. Pops ain’t raise us to accept defeat. Cry this shit out and boss the fuck up so we can get your wife.”
I couldn’t even say anything because he was right. I just had to suck it up and get my head together. I couldn’t afford to think the worst, because Shar’s life depended on it.
Pulling myself together, I separated from my brother and wiped my face.
“Come on back to the house,” Deuce said, slapping my shoulder. “I grabbed your dashcam from the car. Maybe Jae can find something. I’ll get one of our guys to come tow your car out of here. You good to drive?”
I nodded. We slapped hands, then he walked off.
“Aye,” I called after him. He turned back. “She got Amp. I drove past the scene to get here. There was too much blood for him to not be dead.”
Deuce nodded. “Amp was a good dude, and he was loyal. I’ll make arrangements and make sure his people are straight.”
“Bet.”
Sliding back in the driver’s seat, I put the car in drive and headed for the compound. We had to figure this shit out before the day ended.
“Oh my God!” Jaeda exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand.
We’d just gotten to her house and told her what happened. She and Shar had grown as close as Shar and Salima over the last year. By the look on her face, I knew this shit hurt her too.
“Okay, okay, give me a minute…”
She paced the floor, fanning her face for a moment before bursting into tears. When I held out my arms to her, she didn’t hesitate to run into them and cry against my chest.
“We’re gonna bring her home, Jae,” I vowed.
She sniffled as she pulled away. “I’m going with you,” she said, firmly. “Daddy didn’t raise you to put your hands on women, but I’m beating that bitch’s ass before you do her in.”
Smoke chuckled. “Not you volunteering to get in the field.”
“Shar is my girl, and I love her like a sister. She understands me on a deeper level. If the tables were turned, I know she’d be right there to get in the paint if I needed her.”
“Facts,” I agreed.
Deuce handed over the dash camera. “See what you can pull off of here.”
“I’m on it. I’ll check Shar’s location too.”
“No need,” I said. “She turned off the location and I think the phone, too, because I can’t get through.”
We followed Jaeda to her office where she plugged the camera into her computer. When it loaded, she pulled up the log for the day and fast forwarded through. Smoke snickered as the video sped past me and Shar kissing in front of the truck.
“Horny asses,” he mumbled.
“I guess he can be like that with his wife ,” Steel threw in. “We will definitely talk about that shit.”
“Wife?” Jaeda echoed.
“Yeah, man,” Smoke confirmed. “They’re married , married.”
Jaeda smiled softly. “Good for y’all.”
“Thanks, sis.”
She turned back to the computer monitors. When the police car appeared in the frame, she stopped it and zoomed in. We watched as she worked to clarify the image. The moment Charity’s face came into view, I felt the frown form on my face and my body tense.
“Caymen County Police…” Jaeda mumbled.
She moved to another monitor, and after a few minutes, she pulled up what looked like their central dispatch system.
“What are you looking for?” I asked.
“I’m trying to find who was assigned to this car so I can track the location.”
She clicked around for a few more minutes before the information popped up with a masculine presenting woman.
“Jazmine Payne… Looks like she was here for court proceedings yesterday.”
“Okay, but how does she know Charity?”
Jaeda shrugged. “I can’t answer that. But for her to let her use her department issued car for this, it’s either a personal relationship, or that woman is somewhere dead. I’m willing to bet money on the latter. Look at the way she’s tailing them. She was very intentional.”
The video came to the part where Amp could be seen pulling over, and Shar could be heard talking to me. We watched as Charity came to the driver’s side with a shotgun in her hand. The moment Amp rolled down the window, she fired on him, blood splattering all over the front windshield. A few seconds later, Shar sped off down the road.
The panic in her voice was real. I’d never known my wife to be scared of anything, but listening to her as the car sped out of control and then flipped over sent chills up my spine. Shar’s screams took me back to the moment my heart stopped. I’d been sure I was going to hear her take her last breaths while I listened on the other end of the phone.
I had to look away from the screen. Getting up, I left the office and walked out onto Jaeda’s back porch. Pulling out my phone, I tried to call Shar’s again, but I got nothing. I didn’t know why I expected Charity to answer. She was the type to torture me with the unknown. Shoving the phone back in my pocket, I pulled out my blunt and sparked it up.
After taking a long pull from the potent substance, I allowed it to marinate in my lungs for a moment before slowly expelling it from my nose. I closed my eyes and did something I hadn’t done in a while. I prayed.
“Okay, Big Homie. I know I ain’t one of your most obedient children. I know the life I live isn’t one you would approve of, but this ain’t about me. This is about my wife. I love that woman… I need her. If you have any love for a man like me, I ask that you let me bring her home safe. If I can’t bring her home safely, then let me take her place. She doesn’t deserve this. She’s a good person, and she deserves to experience life for all it’s worth. She’s worthy of mercy, even if I’m not. Just… please. Spare her.”
A tear slipped from my eye as I opened them. I quickly wiped it away as the back door opened, and Smoke stepped out. He stood next to me and lit his own blunt. For the longest time, we stood there in silence. I could tell he was thinking, so I finally broke down and spoke.
“Go on,” I said, looking over at him.
“You really got married and ain’t tell me, nigga?”
“It wasn’t like that, Devin.”
“Nah, but Deuce knew.”
“He was there.”
“You for real, Maceo? Damn, bruh. I ain’t saying pick one bother over the other, but shit. I thought we were closer than that.”
“You know you my dawg, man. I didn’t intentionally leave you out. When I got home that night, Shar had everything planned. It just kinda happened. I mean, Mama doesn’t even know, and neither do her parents.”
“Pop know?”
“That nigga knows every damn thing.”
“So he was for real when he told Shar he’d return her husband to her?”
“Pretty much. I still don’t know how he found out. You know how that man is. I got eyes in the back of my head , ass nigga.”
Smoke chuckled. “You right about that. I mean, look at who he raised. I’m sure he knows more about us than we know about ourselves.”
“That’s for sure.”
Another bout of silence fell between us before we spoke again.
“What’s your plan when we catch this bitch?” Smoke asked.
“Murk her ass.”
“On sight? Jae done made it clear she wants to get at her. Mia popped in before I came out, and she wants in on the action too. I say let them work her ass over.”
“They can have a go at her, but I’m gonna be the one to cancel her out. She took the one thing I value as much as family… my wife. The future mother of my children. For that, she’s gonna die a slow, painful death. That’s on my mama.”
Smoke smacked my arm. “You know how Mama feels about us putting shit on her name. She’d curse you out if she was here right now.”
I chuckled. “She would.”
The back door opened again, and this time, Mia stuck her head out. “Jaeda found the car.”
Smoke and I quickly outed our blunts and rushed back inside. When we got to Jaeda’s office, she had a map pulled up on her screen. The location was flashing in a red circle.
“Let’s go,” I said, heading for the door.
“Wait!” she called, stopping me. “I got the location, but we don’t know if she ditched the car.”
“Jae, I don’t have time to wonder about what ifs. I have to get to Shar.”
“Maceo—”
“Jaeda! Let’s go!”
“Sit the fuck down!” she screamed at me. “You aren’t the only fucking person this hurts, Maceo. Yeah, that’s your wife?—”
“Wife!” Mia exclaimed.
“Yes, wife. But she’s our sister, too, and my best friend. I’m not about to let you go out here on some reckless shit and get both of you killed. That’s how we got in this position to start with. We are going to be rational. Sit. The fuck. Down.”
The rest of our siblings looked between us with wide eyes. Jaeda was the quiet, mild-mannered one of us. She could turn up when we were joking around, but she said that shit with her chest. I conceded and sat down.
“What do you suggest?” I asked.
“Look at the location. Does anything about it look familiar to you?”
I squinted as I looked at the address in the pinpoint. “No fucking way.”
“What is it?” Deuce asked.
“It’s my safe house. It’s where we took the victims we rescued. She went back to where it all started.”
He studied the map. “Is this a secluded area? That doesn’t look too far from here.”
“Yeah, it’s secluded. It’s back off the road. I didn’t want too many people around, knowing what we were doing. It’s about fifteen minutes or so from here.”
“All right. I can get one of my young niggas to see if the car is?—”
The sound of my phone ringing caused the room to fall silent. Pulling it from my pocket, I saw that it was Shar’s number. I swallowed hard as I swiped to answer and put it on speaker.
“Damn, three rings before you answered?” Charity said. “You must not want her back that bad. Maybe I did you a favor by taking your bitch.”
“I’m gonna do you a favor when I see you.”
“Oooo… what kind of favor is that? Surprises turn me on, baby.”
“Did you like the surprise I left for you at the farmhouse? I think the blood splatter really brightened the place up.”
She giggled. “Funny. I wonder how Sharina’s blood would look painted on these walls.”
“You do like blood, don’t you? I mean, you put on quite the performance with Blane. I gotta give it to you. I’ve bever seen a bitch get herself off while cutting a nigga’s throat. What kind of fetish is that?”
“So you were watching me, huh?” she asked, ignoring my statement. “If you want me for yourself, just say that. I’m sure Shar won’t mind. I mean, she’s a little incapacitated right now, so she’ll never even know.”
I frowned. “A bitch like you could never get close enough to fuck on me. Believe that shit. The only thing you’d get from me is pissed on.”
She laughed. “So aggressive! I was gonna give you my location, but since you found your way into the farmhouse, I’ll let you figure out where I am. That should keep you busy for a few days. That’ll give me some privacy with your boo.”
Before I could curse her ass out, she hung up on me.
“We need to move, now,” I said firmly.
“Just let me confirm the car is there, Maceo,” Jaeda said, standing. “I’ll take the drone, and I’ll be right back. Don’t worry. We’re gonna find her.”
She kissed my cheek and left the room. I dropped my head in my hands and took a deep breath. I wanted nothing more than to just pull up, no questions asked, but Jaeda was right. We needed to be certain. Charity thought she had the upper hand, and as long as she thought that, we would always be a step ahead of her.