CHAPTER TWELVE
As soon as the children of William and Resheda Webster entered the parlor, it felt strange to Hawk.
They were the official Websters, the only children of the wife of William Webster.
But it was strange because they all also knew there were several more Websters and the various baby mamas that birthed them right inside the banquet hall which was right inside their childhood home.
Just the thought of such a mess would normally piss off Hawk to such an extent that it would cause that deep-seated, burning disdain he had for his father to surface. But after what Matty had told him about his mother, he didn’t give a shit about any of that.
He looked for his father as he looked around, and he immediately saw him across the room.
A tall, well-built white man in his always-pristine tailored suit, he usually looked twenty years younger than his fifty-eight years.
Is that your brother, was always the refrain of ladies whenever Hawk or any of his other siblings went anywhere with their father.
First, they were shocked that a black man could have such a white father.
And then the question of whether that was his sibling would come up.
But nobody would be saying that today. The man looked devastated beyond measure. Even more distraught, Hawk felt, than his siblings looked. He looked every single second of his fifty-eight years.
He hurried to him. “Pop, what’s happened? Where’s Ma?”
It was only when Hawk actually walked up to him did William Webster realize his oldest son had entered the small room. But when he looked at Hawk, he looked lost.
Hawk’s heart squeezed when he looked at him.
His father’s eyes were a bluish-green, but if the light hit them a certain way they looked violet.
But as he stared at his son, all Hawk saw was pain.
Wild-eyed pain. He looked as if he was in such a state of anxiety and dismay that he could hardly contain his distress.
Which astounded Hawk. William Webster was not the kind of man to give a damn about anybody but himself the way he behaved, but he looked absolutely mortified to Hawk. Which terrified Hawk even more. “Where’s our mother?”
William shook his head. “She’s been abducted, son. They took her. Someone has taken her.”
Hawk frowned. Hearing it from his father somehow made it more real to him. “But how could somebody just take her? Do they know who? What happened?”
As soon as he asked those questions, that side door opened and Amber Webster, the twenty-one-year-old bride-to-be and William’s out-of-wedlock daughter, entered the room.
And she entered hot. “What are you people doing?” she asked angrily as her blue eyes darted from her father to her half-siblings.
“You’re ruining my rehearsal by not participating.
We’re waiting on y’all. And why was the police here and they wouldn’t tell us anything?
We’re a part of this family too. What was that all about? ”
Matty, who usually kept his cool, was getting pissed. “Didn’t I tell you there was a family crisis involving our mother, Amber? Didn’t I already tell you that?”
“And didn’t I tell you, Matty, that this is my wedding rehearsal and I don’t care what’s going on with your mother? Didn’t I already tell you that?”
“Okay now,” said Minka, who stood next to the entrance, “she’s about to get her ass dragged up in here. She’s about to get dragged.”
“She’s not my mother,” said Amber. “Why should I care what’s going on with her?” Then she pleaded with her father. “Daddy, come walk me down the aisle so we can finish rehearsals. You don’t care about her anyways. She’s just an old bitch!”
When Amber said that b word, Minka grabbed her by her hair and flung her around like she was a rag doll, flinging her against the wall.
He had her flipping and flapping before Matty and Dray could get to their younger brother and grab him.
And it took both muscular brothers to remove Minka’s slender hands from Amber’s long, blonde hair.
When they finally separated the two siblings, William spoke up. “Get her out of here,” he ordered.
“But Daddy, they’re ruining my wedding rehearsal!” Amber was crying.
“Now!” William ordered angrily and Dray grabbed Amber, opened the door, and all but flung her out. Then he slammed the door in her crying, angry face.
Dray shook his head. “It’s like a nightmare!” he said out loud. Then he looked at the slender Minka. “Hair stylist my ass,” he said. “You could make a living in the WWE!”
But Minka was no pretender. “Her ass laid it down, so my ass picked it up. And I’ll do it again and again if that bitch comes back up in here talking about my mama like that.”
He was ghetto. There was no way around it. It worked in his salon: Those rich white women loved his sense of humor. But they all knew where it came from: Their mother was born on the other side of town in searing poverty. And Minka was just like her through and through.
But Matty was looking at Hawk. “Thanks for helping,” he said sarcastically since Hawk didn’t help at all.
But Hawk frowned. “Ma’s been kidnapped. You think I give a damn about Amber and her bullshit?” He looked at his father again. “Tell me what happened, Pop. Who’s looking for her? Where was she last seen? Who was on her security detail? Somebody better tell me something!”
“Calm down, Hawthorne.” It was Matty. “We all want answers too.”
Hawk did calm down. But he still wanted answers.
William nodded to Dray. “Go get the girl,” he said to her.
Hawk frowned. “What girl?”
“The girl father hired as mother’s bodyguard,” Minka said as he continued to rearrange his suit. He wasn’t shocked the way they were. He was pissed.
So was Hawk. “Mink, you’re joking.” He looked at his father. “Father, he’s joking, right? Tell me Minka is not telling me the truth that you hired some girl?”
“I do not lie,” said Minka.
“Since when?” asked Dray.
“Just go get the girl,” said William.
And Dray, afraid of their father’s wrath the way all of them were, although none of them would admit it, left the room to do as he was ordered.