Chapter Kahlani
KAHLANI
My phone blaring yanked me out of some good sleep. I groaned and cursed myself for always keeping it in the bed next to me. At first, I hit ignore, with my eyes still closed, trying to drift back to sleep. But when it rang again immediately, I snatched it up with irritation.
Seeing Rah’s name on the screen made my stomach drop. He never called me, unless he was looking for Moses. And since Moses had told me earlier that he was spending the evening with Rah, my heart started racing.
I answered quickly. “Hello?”
“Kahlani,” Rah’s voice rushed through the speaker. “You need to get to the hospital. It’s Moses… He’s been shot.”
The air rushed out of my lungs. “What?!” I shrieked, already throwing the covers off and scrambling out of bed. “What do you mean he’s been shot?!”
“We were riding together. I stopped at the gas station and went inside. When I came back out, some niggas had run up on my car. They were trying to steal my ride. They shot Moses before I could even get back to him.”
My hands shook as I yanked on the first pair of sweats I could find. His words barely registered. All I could think was that my man’s life was in danger, and I wasn’t there.
“He’s in surgery right now,” Rah added.
My heart sank into my stomach. “Oh my God.” Tears flooded from my eyes before I could stop them. “I’m on my way.”
I hung up, fumbling into a hoodie, my thoughts spinning. All I could see was Moses’ face, all I could hear was our last argument. I hadn’t said much to him since, and now… what if that was the last real conversation we ever had? I started to feel so guilty I thought I would be sick.
I rushed through the house, keys in hand, ready to fly out the door when reality stopped me. Trent was still asleep. I ran into his room, scooping his warm little body up out of the bed, holding him tight even as he stirred. My tears wet his hair.
Fear gripped me with every step. I couldn’t lose Moses. I couldn’t picture Trent growing up without him. I tightened my hold on my son and moved faster, because every second felt like it was taking Moses further away from me.