Chapter Maniac
Maniac
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I leaned back and removed it to see that it was Wren calling me.
She better not be calling me to tell me that she had the baby already or else whoever made me miss the birth of my daughter gon’ have to pay extra for that bullshit.
Swiping the screen, I said, “I’m on the way. ”
“Huh? I can’t hear you.” The blades from the helicopter were too strong for her to hear what I was saying.
“I’m on the way!” I screamed a bit louder.
“Please hurry up. I don’t want to have her without you here.”
“You won’t. I promise!” I yelled and ended the call. “Hurry the fuck up!” I told the pilot.
When I found out that Wren was going into labor, I knew I wouldn’t make it back in time if I drove, so I called for a ride back to Montgomery.
“We’re ten minutes out,” he announced. A lot of shit can happen in those ten minutes. Those were ten minutes that I wouldn’t be able to get back.
Lord, I know I ain’t on yo’ list of favorites, but please, just this one time hold off.
Let me make it to see the birth of my daughter.
I ain’t even finna bother to try and bargain with you ’cause I know I’m gon’ end up sending some more of ya kids up there to you.
Just look out for me this one time. Please.
The helicopter hovered the hospital and landed on top.
I yanked the door open and hopped out, tossing the headset back onto the seat.
Running over to the door, I opened it and ran down the hallway toward the elevator.
I took the mufucka down to labor and delivery and ran full speed to the telephone.
Picking it up, I dialed the number on the wall and waited for someone to pick up.
“Hello?”
“This is Kairo Saint-Mercier. My wife is back there in labor. Wren Saint-Mercier.”
“It’s open,” she replied and I slammed the phone down. Yanking the door open, I entered and stopped at the desk.
“What room is she in?”
“Ahhh!” I heard a female scream, and something told me it was my wife.
“Fuck!”
I ran toward the sound and heard, “Room six!” behind me. Stopping at the door, I pushed it in to find some guy in between Wren’s legs and four other nurses in the room. Aria stood off to the side, holding Zion away from Wren where he couldn’t see what was happening.
“Fuuuuuuck!” Wren screamed.
“Come on. You’re doing great. Just one more big push like that and she’ll be here.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” Wren said.
“I’m here, babe.” I ran over and gripped her by the hand. “I told you I was gon’ be here.”
“Come one and push,” the doctor said, looking up at her from his stool.
“Ahhhh!” she yelled as she gave it one big push.
“There she go.” I peeked over the sheet to see the baby fly out her pussy. The mufucka spread so got damn wide. I looked from her pussy to Wren’s face. This the first time I’ve ever seen anything like that. Her shit was so wide that I felt like I could crawl up in there and live in it.
“Do you want to cut the cord?” the doctor asked me and handed me a pair of scissors. I cut it and they took the baby over to weigh her and clean her up. Taking my phone, I snapped pictures of her.
“What does she look like?” Wren heavily breathed.
“She’s perfect,” I tossed over my shoulder. She was bright as hell with a cute button nose. Her eyes didn’t open as she screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Mama, do you want to do skin to skin?” the nurse questioned her.
“Yes.”
They carried her over to Wren and opened her gown and then pressed her against Wren’s chest. Wren cradled her and grinned as she stared down at her. I went over and looked underneath the sheet at her pussy and that shit had closed up as if a damn baby hadn’t come out of there.
“What the fuck,” I mumbled.
“You’re so beautiful, Kairose.” I snapped a picture of her holding Kairose and then handed Aria my phone.
“Take a picture of us,” I told her.
Aria snapped a picture of us and handed me the phone back. “You want to hold her, daddy?” Wren asked as she looked up at me. She handed me over the baby and I held her, staring down into her face. Kairose Saint-Mercier. The reason why I’m gon’ end up in a cell or the ground.
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING
A knock at the room door grasped my attention.
Luxe and Solei strutted into the room with huge teddy bears, balloons and flowers.
The last I checked, they were still up there with Wicked.
I’d FaceTime my parents so that they can see Kairose.
Ma couldn’t wait to make it back home so she can get her hands on her grandbaby.
“She’s sleeping,” Wren softly spoke. Wren had a long night, trying to get the baby to latch. For whatever reason, she wanted to breast feed her instead of giving her formula. Even though she was struggling, she still wasn’t giving up on doing so.
Luxe placed the gifts down on the sofa and stepped over to the bed where Kairose was. She looked down at her and smiled from ear to ear. It was then that I knew Wren wasn’t gon’ be able to get the baby back from any of them.
Someone knocked on the door. It pushed in and a woman entered with a huge gift bag in her hand.
“What’s that?” I asked her, lifting to my feet.
I ain’t trust shit especially since that happened to Wicked in prison.
We had to figure out what exactly happened to know where to go from there. “It better not be a fucking bomb.”
She tossed her free hand up in the air and said, “I’m just a delivery driver. I don’t think it’s a bomb,” and then handed it over to me.
“Who is it from?”
“There’s a card inside.” I removed the card from inside the bag and handed it over to Wren.
She ripped the envelope and opened the card. Her eyes bucked and the card dropped to her lap.
“What is it?” I asked her, needing to know what the hell was going on.
I snatched the card up from her lap and red it.
Tell Maniac he almost did his job. I’m proud of you.
The card balled inside my hand. “That fuck nigga supposed to be dead!” I barked, knocking the gift bag from the woman’s hand. She backed up away from me and I caught her by the collar of her shirt.
“Where the fuck you get this shit from? Huh?”
“I—I… I just picked it up and delivered it. I don’t know anything.”
“Kairo!” Wren screamed my name. I squeezed my eyes shut and released her. The woman ran out of there so fast, terrified for her life.
Spinning on my heels, I faced everyone, and asked, “How the fuck did he survive? That means he probably called the hit on Wicked.”
“I don’t know, but we’re gonna find him,” Luxe made known. She was ready for war. It only took certain situations to make her come out and buss her gun. Big John didn’t stand a chance when it came to the Saint-Merciers.
Y’all sit here with her. I gotta take care of this shit,” I told them and stepped to the side of the bed. Leaning down, I pecked Wren on the temple.
She caught me by the wrist and said, “Please be careful.”
“I will,” I told her and left out of the room.
I sat there in the chair with my gun resting in my lap. Pure darkness surrounded me. The front door opened, and the light shone in the hallway. My hand gripped the handle of my gun, and I placed my index finger on the trigger.
They entered the door and stopped right there in the hallway in front of the living room.
I flipped the light switch on the end table, and everyone looked in my direction.
“Who the hell are you?” the woman asked as she removed her jacket.
For a stranger to be sitting in their home right now, she was getting comfortable without a care in the world.
“Yo’ worst fucking nightmare. C’mon on in here. All of you,” I told them and she looked back at the children standing behind her. The two boys were dressed in football uniform, which meant they’d either just come from a game or practice.
“What do you want?” Her eyes drifted to my gun.
“Big John and you’re going to tell me where he is.”
“I don’t know where he is.” Bolting from the chair, I zoomed over and placed the barrel of my gun underneath her daughter’s chin. Her eyes expanded and her lower lip quivered.
“Bitch, don’t fucking play with me. It took a lot for me to find yo’ ass. I know you know exactly where the fuck he is and if you don’t, you gon’ bring him to me. Call his ass, now.” She reached her hand into her purse. “And if you try anything, I promise I’ll blow her fucking brains out.”
Slowly, she eased her hand from the purse with her phone. I observed her as she unlocked it and dialed a number before placing it up to her ear. Her teeth sank in her lower lip as she waited for the call to connect.
“Uh, John, there’s some guy here at the house with a gun.
He’s threatening to kill Jada.” Her eyes stayed trained on me.
“He wants to speak with you,” she said and shoved her phone in my direction.
His biggest mistake was letting it be known that he was still alive.
I’ve gone all this time thinking his stupid ass was dead.
He had another chance at life, and he couldn’t gone about his business, yet he still wanted to torture us from the shadows.
“What the fuck you at, nigga?” I asked when I placed the phone to my ear.
“If you harm anyone of them, I’ll kill you.”
“Kill me?” I chuckled. “That’s the least of my fucking worries.
I suggest you get yo’ fat ass here before I blow all their brains out and you know I’ll do it.
You got thirty minutes. Better make some happen,” I told him and pressed the red button.
“Get all y’all asses into the living room.
I shoved Jada toward the entrance and everyone else followed. Her mama grabbed her and hugged on her.
“Do you really have to do this?” she asked me as she eyed her boys who sat on the floor next to her. They all were in the corner of the room as if that was gon’ save them or something.
“John the one started the shit. He knows the rules to the game. That’s something you should’ve been asking that nigga.” I peeked out the window to see if I saw him but saw nothing but a stray dog jogging down the sidewalk.
It took Aaliyah a lil bit, but she finally got a trace on their asses. After I shot him, he’d moved them to the next city over, thinking that was gon’ save them from my terror.
I heard a car pull up outside. When I looked out the window, I saw a black Tahoe parked out front. I moved toward the entrance of the living room where John couldn’t catch me off guard and aimed my gun in that direction. The lock on the door turned and the door pushed in.
“Melody?” a masculine voice called out someone’s name, but the voice didn’t belong to Big John.
“Daddy!” the woman yelled and lifted to her feet. I bent the corner to see an elderly man standing there.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asked.
“I’m so fucking sick of y’all. Where the hell is Big John. If someone don’t tell me something soon, I’m gon’ just start killing everybody.”
“You’re not gon’ kill anyone,” I heard come from behind me and then metal touched the back of my head.
“There you go, fat bitch.” A smile etched across my face.
“You talk a lot of shit for someone with a gun to their head.”
“You should’ve just stayed fucking dead… the first time.”
“I can’t stand yo’ smart mouth ass. I don’t see what Wren sees in you.”
I chuckled and replied, “A man. Something she don’t see in you.”
Wham!
He smacked me in the back of the head with the pistol. My shit hurt a bit, but that wasn’t gon’ stop me.
“I’m gon’ enjoy killing you.”
“Drop the gun, John.” The smile on my face spread wider.
“Did you really think I was gon’ walk in here alone?
” I asked him, spinning around when I felt the gun lower from my head.
Ma stood behind him with her gun pressed at the back of his head.
Everyone knew not to mess with her babies.
The worst thing he could’ve done was fuck with Wicked behind them bars.
“You almost killed my baby,” left her lips. Pops stood not too far behind her.
“Return him to sender, Ma,” I said with a grin as I headed for the front door. A gunshot rang out behind me.