Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
Tunk
I observed the room full of women all talking, going over moves and steps for their opening scene of the pageant.
Mrs. Steph was a little ways away from me, closer to the stage, studying Johnni’s movements.
I was sure it was to run through a late night session privately.
She wasn’t strict like the other coaches, but disciplined for sure, especially when it came to making sure Johnni was on point with everything.
My phone vibrating had me looking down at the unsaved number and reading the message.
107-418-1011: Here’s your heads up, going live in five.
I didn’t bother texting back because there was no need. I knew who it was and what it was about.
It took BK a day to get that information to me and I wasted no time sending it off to my source who would help carry out my plan. I trusted BK’s word that he had something worth telling that would crumble the Wilson castle.
Of course, I sent a small request to hold it until I could take her off the mainland and her pageant being two weeks later was perfect.
I scrolled through my call log, stopping at Jury’s number since I knew Judge had taken a personal day.
When I got no answer, I hung up and called again. This time the line didn’t even ring.
“Yo, I got Najee on the phone. He said he tried calling you but can’t get through.” Bone rushed toward me, sounding out of breath.
I took his phone.
“Ay, we got a situation down here. I happened to be dropping off Oakley when I noticed some suspicious traffic at the Wilsons. The police and ambulance are there. I can’t get close enough to see who’s down, but I can tell you Jury is fine.
She’s talking to the police… Wait, oh shit, the press just got here. ”
Damn, that was fast?
They wouldn’t be there for that. Najee said the ambulance is there.
“Can you see Wilson?” My heart pounded rapidly. Death was too easy for his ass.
“No. Just Jury.”
“Get closer and keep me posted. Someone needs to stay on Wilson.”
“Will do.” I hung up and passed Bone his phone.
“Get Mrs. Steph while I get Johnni. Unfortunately, we have to go. They got hit and might come looking for her.”
I wasn’t sure who his enemies were, but with a man like Quincey, he made them every day, meaning this could be a team effort attack and I wasn’t taking chances with mine.
I stood there trying to be patient until my dad’s words rang loudly in my head.
You ain’t got time to be patient when your family needs you now.
I got on the stage, cutting off the instructor, walking up to Lourdè whose face wore a mixed expression of shock in her wide eyes, confusion in her dipped brows, and anger in her pressed lips.
I leaned in toward her ear. “We have to go. Something hit the mainland and I’m not taking any chances.”
I locked my gaze on hers, letting her see I was serious.
She looked around and this time tears filled her eyes as she nodded. I hated this part. She’d worked so hard to be here and this muthafucka was ruining her moment.
“You’ll be back, I promise.” I kissed her hand as I guided her to exit the room.
We approached Mrs. Steph whose eyes bounced between Bone and me.
“Well, is anyone going to tell me what the hell is going on? Johnni needs to be up there. The pageant officially starts tomorrow; we can’t afford to skip rehearsals.”
“I can’t say. I got a call from one of my crew. Mrs. Steph, your son—"
The wail came loudly as Bone quickly caught her. I looked at Johnni, waiting for her reaction when she just nodded, waiting for me to continue. I wasn’t sure how to take it.
“My God, is he okay?”
“We’re not sure. But until I know further, my job is to get you two to safety. With Johnni’s pageant’s being public knowledge, we’re in unguarded territory.”
“No.” We walked past the lounge, with Johnni stopping, crossing her arms and standing her ground. Mrs. Steph scoffed in disbelief.
“Johnni, he could be hurt. No… worse. We have to go.”
“I said no—"
The sound of breaking news interrupted her mid-sentence as visions of the house she once called home flashed on the screen, flooded with CFPD and news reporters everywhere.
“This just in, Congressman Quincey Wilson was involved in a shooting, leaving one person dead. That story is still developing on the scene. Wilson is also making headlines today alongside his father Quentin Wilson who is a former congressional member with chilling evidence of corruption, blackmail, and extortion. There are also pictures and emails that might suggest a secret love affair with former Senate member Tim Rodgers and his son, Quincey, dating back years. If you remember late last year, Rodgers also was mentioned for similar crimes that later led to him resigning and led to his arrest earlier this year. Wilson was set to appear on that ballot during the special election, projected to fill that slot. We’re not sure if the similar crimes are connected between the two.
Now, it’s too early to know if Wilson will still appear on the ballot.
We will keep you posted as that story unfolds as well. ”
“Johnni, what? Umm…” Mrs. Steph cleared her throat before speaking again. She was the only person who could form words as Johnni just stood there still. If her chest wasn’t moving up and down, I wouldn’t have known she was breathing.
“We’re heading up to get our things. Johnni, let’s go, dear.” Without a word, she fell in line, grabbing Mrs. Steph’s hand and going toward the elevators.
“Wow, that’s some shit to find out with the rest of the world,” Bone said before following them.
“Yeah,” I said lowly, but something told me Johnni knew her husband very well. This wasn’t news to her.
We got to the hospital where Najee was standing outside of Quincey’s hospital room along with Jury.
While Mrs. Steph rushed into the room, Johnni hung back, stopping in front of Jury.
“Jury, thank you for today, with protecting Quincey.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Who was it that shot him? Was it Rodgers?”
“No, ma’am, a woman. But don’t worry, I took her down.” I frowned while Lourdè accepted it, heading into the room with me standing close by until I heard a male’s voice yelling at her.
“This is all your gotdamn fault. I told my son you were trash from the beginning and would destroy his life and career.”
“Excuse me? How is this my fault? I didn’t shoot him.”
“Humph… might as well. My boy wouldn’t be laying here if you knew how to be a proper wife and kept him satisfied at home instead of prancing around on them fucking stages like a child.
” I walked in to see Mrs. Steph standing between the two with her hand on his chest. I took one look at him and knew this was his damn daddy.
“This has nothing to do with me, Quentin. This is your son’s doing.
As you know, I didn’t make any decisions regarding my own life.
No, that’s his job along with yours. Maybe if you taught him to be a real man and to be proud of who he is, Q wouldn’t feel the need to run around still playing in closets that his daddy couldn’t see in.
” When he lunged, I slid Lourdè out of the way.
“Yeah, wrong move.” He was slow to speak as he looked me up and down.
“This is a private family matter. No need for hired help, right now,” he snarled, as if I was supposed to back down. I smirked as I pushed my arm around Johnni in a securing position. Wasn’t shit getting past me, not even this clown ass muthafucka.
“Exactly, and Johnni’s mine. So unless you want matching bracelets and a bed next to your fucking son, I advise you to rethink your next move and words when it comes to her.”
“I told my son you were fucking the help.” He chuckled, while my gun left my waist, making an appearance, causing Mrs. Steph to gasp.
Quentin glared as his eyes bounced between me and the barrel staring him in his face as if he was contemplating testing me.
I cocked it, letting him know I was serious.
“We can make it a toe tag, muthafucka. I promise you I’m a clean shot and you’re in the right place to take your last fucking breath.”
He pushed Mrs. Steph off his arm, making a dash for the door, mumbling something under his breath. Two police officers came flooding in, pushing him back.
I put my gun down.
“Hey, Mr. Wilson, I hate to do this now given the circumstances with Quincey, but unfortunately you have to come with us.” He scoffed humorously.
“For what? Can’t you see I need to be with my family right now? Like you said, my son is laid up with bullet holes in his body.”
“And we get that, but with the evidence we received involving you and him both, I have to take you into custody. Can you please turn and put your hands on your head?” one of the officers asked nicely, but of course Quentin didn’t respond well.
“I will not. This is some bullshit. You can get the hell out before I have both of your badges!” he barked.
When he didn’t move, the other one who was clearly playing bad cop stepped in, using force to restrain him while he began reading his rights.
The whole scene was a lot, which had Mrs. Steph’s crying picking up. Johnni left my side to console her so she didn’t get in the way.
I just stood there, enjoying the show of the same man who thought he was bigger than the program.
“Oh my gosh, what is happening to my family right now? This is all too much,” Mrs. Steph said.
“Shhh… Mama, you gotta calm down and breathe. Everything is going to be okay,” Johnni said but I could tell from her tone she knew better than that.
They made their way into the bathroom, with Johnni coming back out a few seconds later. I was still trying to gauge her mood since she had said very little about the situation. Before I could ask if she was good, the doctor came in.
“Are you the wife?” She nodded.
“He lost a lot of blood but will make a full recovery. The damage done to his penis has left lifelong damage that will take some major adjusting. He’s highly sedated after surgery, so it’ll be a while before he wakes up.
” By now Mrs. Steph had made it out of the bathroom, moving closer to Quincey, grabbing his hand.
Johnni’s face held an unreadable expression as she looked at him.
“If you need anything, let the nurses know.”
“Thank you,” she said, dismissing him.
There was a pregnant pause before Johnni spoke first in the thick tension.
“Mama—” Lourdè’s voice was unsteady as she did her best to address Mrs. Steph.
“I know, dear. Thank you for at least coming up here. I can’t imagine what you're going through emotionally right now.”
“Call me if they need my permission for anything and I’ll come back up. The police will probably be here in the morning for Quincey or whenever the doctor clears him. Whatever you do, don’t get in their way, okay?”
“Okay. I love you, daughter.”
“I love you too.” They shared a brief hug before Lourdè turned to me.
“Courtland, I’m ready to leave, baby,” she said while she tugged on me.
“Okay, Lou.”
I took my lady by the hand so I could take her home.
I watched as Johnni stuffed another onion ring into her mouth while I rubbed her feet.
We had been at the house for an hour and we still hadn’t said too much about the shooting nor the public discovery about Quincey.
I was giving her time to eat and process what all just happened, but I wanted to know everything.
The sound of her sipping a now empty milkshake cup had me smirking and her blushing.
She put the cup down, wiping her mouth and blowing out a heavy sigh.
“Whew… you don’t know how bad I wanted that burger and them onion rings.” I smiled.
“Trust me, I think I understand. You just gave it your undivided attention.”
“And it was worth it before we had to talk.”
“Take your time.” I had no idea why I even said that because I half ass meant it.
“No, I’m ready. This is long overdue. I’m free. This is grounds for an automatic divorce. Of course I have to wait for him to wake up to serve him, but I’m done and don’t have to worry about the contract.”
“Just like that?”
“Yes. Just like that. He called it a protection clause in the contract. In the event that something bad happened, he would release me to save my reputation and name.” She chuckled.
“So I don’t have to worry about his bitch ass daddy trying to come back with the identity theft you committed back in high school?
” That was her secret. She was young and alone after her mother died, trying to maintain a household that her drug addicted father was determined to see fall.
It started with students at school then turned into her getting over on teachers.
When she got caught by Quincey, he stepped in, using his name along with Mrs. Steph to make it go away.
Once I knew, it made sense why Mrs. Steph moved the way she did behind her.
“Nope, that’s under a NDA attached to this contract.”
The sound of her phone ringing paused our conversation. She picked it up to see it was Hollis.
“Ugh, I guess my moment is over.” I chuckled while she answered.
“Heffa, tell that man to open the door.” I frowned, not understanding until Johnni motioned for me to get the door.
“Don’t ask. She’s outside.”
“You damn right I’m outside.” I placed her feet on the couch while I got up to see both Hollis and Mickey standing on the other side of my door, wondering how they knew where she was.
“We leave you alone and your husband is shot and exposed for practically living a double life. I’m telling you, you think you know someone,” Hollis said, walking in first, heading straight for Johnni while Mickey physically agreed.
“Baby, I’ma give you some privacy. I have a few calls to make to the crew,” I said as I walked over to kiss her lips before giving her space to tell her girls the truth.