Chapter 24
Cairo
“What the fuck you mean she not here?” I barked, following behind some of my security as they showed me room by room that Jackie wasn’t home.
I’ve been waiting for her to return ever since Mike named her as the possible person who attacked Kateri. I’m not sure if it was her but once he said she had been contacting his sister, questions needed to be asked.
“We checked every room.” Two of the guards went down in the basement to recheck one more time before we left.
“Where you think she went?” Manny asked.
Jackie was closer to Rosalina than us, therefore we had no clue where she’d even think to go.
My sister said she was calling Jackie every day because it wasn’t like her to not answer or even send a text.
No one has seen her in three weeks and that’s not like my cousin.
She was one of the more animated family members who had to be on scene for everything which was why it raised a red flag that she didn’t show at the hospital either.
“I couldn’t even begin to tell you where.” I turned to see Felix and Raul walking in. Raul just came from ending his ex’s life and making sure his mess was cleaned up.
“You doing a lot for a chick you’re not sure about marrying.” Felix always had something to say.
“Nigga, she passed the tests I’ve been giving her so she good.” I waved him off looking down at my phone.
Kateri’s mom was supposed to call me when she woke up.
It’s not like she hasn’t but due to the pain, Kateri would wake up for a few minutes and beg for pain medicine.
The doctor said it wasn’t a good idea to continue giving it to her because she’d become dependent and never want to be awake.
Therefore, I made the executive decision to stop it and she’ll have to stay awake longer than ten minutes.
I don’t know why they even allowed her to dispense morphine when she wanted to.
“What tests?” Manny inquired and Raul moved closer to hear as well.
“That nigga had almost every guard try to get with Kateri. They offered her money, gifts, dick and secrecy.” Felix thought it was funny.
“And?” Raul wanted to know the answer right away.
They knew how hard I took that shit when I found out Victoria was fucking Glenn. Like I told my family, I definitely would’ve been mad she stepped out but I deserved it. However it never should’ve been with the help and for that, she’ll never see the light of day again.
“And she told each of them to get the fuck out her face and if they came on to her again, she would find a way to poison each one.” They started laughing.
“Why she ain’t just say she’d tell you.” Raul asked the same question Felix did when I told him.
“Because she knew what Victoria did with Glenn and probably didn’t want me to think she was down with it.” I shrugged. That was the answer she gave when I confronted her about it. I made it seem like they were on camera.
“Ok then. I guess she’s the one.” Raul started talking shit about how he still didn’t like her. I could care less, as long as he didn’t put his hands on her or be disrespectful. I knew about him being rude to her in the past but that shit stopped once I made her my girl.
“Hell yea she’s the one. You should see the big ass ring he got her. I ain’t even get one for Rosalina yet and his ass about to get on his knee before me.” Felix was at my house when the jeweler stopped by to show me different rings.
At the time, it was just to get an idea of what I wanted her to have. She wasn’t into materialistic things and I didn’t want her to think it was too gaudy either. Kateri really had me going back in the promise I made myself never to get married.
“Damn cuz. She must’ve gotten you strung the hell out.” Manny joked making all of them laugh. I had to join because he was right; I didn’t even think about marrying Victoria that fast. It was something about Kateri that fascinated me about her.
“BOSS, CALL AN AMBULANCE!” We heard from the basement. Rushing down the steps to see what he found, all of us were in utter shock seeing Jackie half dead on the ground.
“Where the fuck was she?” I shouted and Felix was making a call for an ambulance. Manny patted her softly on the face and Raul covered her with a small blanket he ran upstairs to get.
Jackie was shivering, her lips were blue, skin was pale and you could tell she had nothing to eat in days.
The room reeked of urine and feces and what’s worse was seeing photos of me and Kateri out to eat, at my house and one showed my bare chest at the window of the same house Kateri got shot at. Who the fuck was watching me?
“We didn’t see her the first time because there was a wall made to cover where she was.” The guard admitted. I couldn’t even be mad because how would they when I’ve never sent them to her house.
“A wall?” He pointed when I said that. Sure enough it was a shitty one that you could tell was put together quickly. How did the person get it done without Jackie knowing?
“They’re going to kill Kateri.” My cousin spoke barely above a whisper. Raul lifted her and carried her up the stairs.
“Who? Who’s going to try and kill her?” Why did she say they’re as if it was more than one? Hell yea I said try. I wasn’t about to let no one take Kateri from me and I’m still blaming myself for not going to the car.
“Grab more blankets and get some water for her.” I barked out orders.
All of us were trying to make sure she was ok.
At this point, I no longer had her as a suspect to what happened to Kateri.
I’m just hoping she would be able to say who the people were so I could get them before they went after my girl again.
“The ambulance is here.” Felix yelled, running in from outside.
“Send four people with her and I want one of them to ride in the back.” Manny went outside to relay my message as the EMT’s and paramedics rushed in. One started an IV, another was taking vitals while the other two were getting the stretcher ready.
“Cairo.” Jackie squeezed my hand when they put her on the stretcher.
“Don’t talk. I’ll be at the hospital and when you get better, we’ll talk then.” She shook her head no.
“Kateri wants to be your wife and have your kids. Make sure to protect her. She’s not Victoria.
” I’m not gonna lie, her remark made me smile yet we were all worried about her health.
Jackie looked horrible, and still all she worried about was Kateri.
Rosalina did say she wanted to plan our wedding and baby shower.
Clearly they were closer than I thought.
The paramedics pulled off and it was time to start searching her house to see if we could find something; anything.
“Ahhhhhhhh. Ok. Ok. I’ll tell you what you wanna know.” The dude William screamed as Raul jammed a knife in his hand that went through the table. Two days after Jackie was at the hospital, she gave us the rundown of who shot my girl.
He begged me to reenact the scene from New Jack City and brought in a card table with four chairs.
I told him wasn’t nobody buying a damn long table, especially when none of us was sitting at it.
Manny knew a chick who had a Rottweiler and let him bring it too.
The only thing missing were the other people at the table.
The room was dark, it just so happened to be raining and he had on some gold but fake jewelry.
“Make him stand so I can say G Money part.” He was dead ass serious about playing Nino Brown. Felix and Manny were hysterical and recording his dumb ass. I nodded to the guards for them to stand the guy up just so we could get his obsession with the movie over with.
“Sit your five dollar ass down before I make change.” That nigga was so excited he did it, he made Manny send it to everyone in the family.
“A’ight that’s enough. Let’s get down to business.” The guard removed the knife from William’s hand, and watched Raul sit on the other side of the table.
“Leave me.” He waved everyone off. I swear his ass was never doing that shit again. He couldn’t even pull himself out of character. I had Manny and Raul take him out the room.
Sitting across from Williams who was trying his hardest to stop the bleeding, I waited to see if he’d speak first. When he didn’t, my questions started.
“Hi William. Do you know who I am?” He shook his head yes as he cried over his hand.
“That’s good. So you know you’re not going to make it outta here alive.” The fact he started begging and pleading for his life led me to believe he felt nothing he did was wrong.
“How do you assist in all those failed attacks on me, my family and my girl and still think I should allow you to live?”
“It was all her. I didn’t do anything but what she paid me for.” Just like a person about to die to blame everyone else. She may have paid him but he should’ve known that all money ain’t good money.
“So you’ve been working with her side by side for the last year or longer. She paid you by using your technology skills to get Kateri’s location and almost kill her.” His eyes got big.
“See, the two of you fucked up thinking I was dumb and I’ll admit, until it directly affected me, none of your shenanigans made it to my desk.
It wasn’t important because my team handled all of it.
Granted, you caught me off guard with Kateri and Jackie but don’t worry, your fake Christian mother and your sister suffered before taking their last breath.
” He was sobbing louder now. Did he really think he’d be safe after what they’ve done?
“Now, I don’t have time to sit here with you all day. My guys got shit to do and well, you have exactly.” I glanced down at my watch.
“You have ten minutes to give them every bit of information they ask for, or everyone you knew; including your newborn child and two other kids in Texas will suffer.” Felix stepped in with an iPad showing all of them in different spots tied up in chairs.
The newborn was in a bassinet next to its mom and all of her family.
“Ok. Please don’t hurt them. I swear it was only supposed to happen at the warehouse.” Yup, the shit started from back then.
As he relayed the info, more and more of his words made sense. Too bad their plan didn’t work out the way they wanted and each time those two thought of a new one, that didn’t work either. Unfortunately, Jackie was caught in the crossfire and that’s because of how close she was to the other person.
“Get whatever information he has left and do what needs to be done.” I told Manny.
He enjoyed that part more than anyone. Walking out to go visit Kateri because today she was not going to be given any more medicine until she was awake for a few hours, I told them to make sure it was cleaned up properly.
“Aye. Hold up.” Felix came behind me.
“What’s up?” My driver opened the door for me to get in.
“Just wanted to say I’m proud of you.” I gave him a crazy look.
“For what?” Felix wasn’t a sentimental person so his statement was off to me.
“I’m just saying, you went through a lot with your ex and here you are now, ready to get down on one knee.
” Shaking my head at his crazy ass because we spoke on this already, I knew exactly what he was trying to say.
I hadn’t cheated on Kateri or even entertained another woman.
I’m thirty years old and had done more things in my life that most old only dreamed of.
And besides, Kateri didn’t cross me as a woman who would take me back if I did step out on her.
“Thanks.” Getting in the truck, he told me to move over. Clearly he had more to say or he just didn’t want to be around the guys today. Whatever the case, the time was now to come truthful to Kateri and take it from there.