Chapter 18
My entire body shook as I watched Chris pace in front of me.
I had no idea what switch had flipped inside of him to make him kidnap me.
Worse, it was like the more time passed, the more he unraveled.
He dialed one number after the next, demanding whoever he was talking to to come and meet us to follow through with the plan, but they must have all said no, because he grew angrier and angrier.
When he called someone else, I closed my eyes and prayed as tears slid down my cheeks.
I didn’t know what the hell was going on with him, but I couldn’t believe what he was doing to me, and I didn’t even know why.
“Hamilton!” he yelled. “You dirty mothafucka! If you didn’t want any parts of this shit, you should’ve kept your men at my disposal. Every one of them niggas I call is telling me no because of you. You wait until I’m done handling this shit, and I swear to God I’m coming to see you.”
Chris threw his phone against the wall, and it broke, causing me to jump. He pulled my phone out of his pocket, eyeing it intently.
“What’s your password?”
Sniffling, I rattled off, “It’s 081360.”
He typed in the numbers. “I stopped sharing your location with Wicked before we left and he still hasn’t called or texted. Maybe he doesn’t love you as much as you think he does.”
“What do you want, Chris! Why did you bring me here?”
“I want him to come and try to rescue you.” He grinned as he stepped in front of me.
“That’s what he does right? Protect you.
” When I didn’t respond, he gripped my jaw and squeezed hard.
“When he realizes you’ve stopped sharing your location, he’s going to call and come running. When he does, I’m going to kill him.”
“Whyyy?” I sobbed. “Wicked has done nothing to you and he’s been nothing but good to me. Why are you so hellbent on destroying our relationship? I love him! Why doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
Pulling his gun from his waist, Chris tapped the butt of it against his temple. “Shit’s falling apart,” he muttered. “This wasn’t a part of the plan. She’s never going to want me now.”
“What plan? Who?”
His shoulders slouched and chest deflated. He looked at me as if he’d had some kind of revelation.
“I have to kill you, GD. I have to kill you. I have to make it look like he killed you and then killed himself. That’s the only chance I have to make this work. I might not be able to have you as my daughter, but at least I’ll be able to have Diane as my wife.”
He started pacing again, and I realized just how unstable he was when he yelled, “Fuck! I moved too quick. I should’ve calmed down before I went to go see you.
” Chris laughed. “B-but you yelled at me, and that just made it worse. I didn’t plan to snatch you myself.
I was going to let him play the hero and kill Wicked.
That way I’d have you both. Fuck!” When he grabbed my hair and yanked it, I whimpered and peed a little.
“Damnit, Jelai! Why did you have to yell at me?”
“I’m sorry,” I cried, not knowing what the hell else to do.
If he hadn’t tied me up while I was unconscious, I would’ve tried to fight him or get away.
I felt so helpless, and I had no idea if or when Wicked would try to find me.
My only hope was that he’d seen what happened on the cameras and had already started tracking my location through the choker.
I was so grateful I’d never stopped wearing it, even when it looked like things were good between them and The Outlaws.
“Don’t apologize, sweet girl. It’s not your fault,” Chris said softly, wiping my tears with his free hand.
“Can you please just tell me what’s going on?” I begged.
“Dylan had it all,” he muttered, pacing yet again. “Captain, wife, daughter. Everyone loved him and respected him. When I had a chance to have something for myself, I took it. Then he found out and was about to turn me in, so I did what I had to do.”
“I don’t understand,” I almost whispered.
“I ordered the hit on your father. He knew I was into some illegal things and was working to get evidence to put me away. I’m the one who told The Outlaws to take him out.
I never wanted you or Diane to find out, and I knew the closer you got to Wicked that there was a chance you would.
I’d been trying to edge them into a war but it didn’t work, so I set up a plan to have you kidnapped so he could save you and die in the process.
But I fucked it up.” His clipped sob combined with a chuckle. “I can’t do anything fucking right.”
I was stuck between feeling sorry for him and wanting to strangle him with my legs.
The man my father trusted more than any other had just confessed to having him killed because of jealousy and his desire not to go to jail.
My body swayed. I felt dizzy. Like I was about to pass out and throw up at the same time.
“It’s okay,” I forced out, swallowing down the vomit that wanted to gush out with the words. “Y-you would never hurt me. Not when you’re thinking clearly. You just h-had a lapse in judgment,” I reasoned.
“It’s too late now.” He lifted the gun and pointed it toward me. “I can’t fix this, GD.”
“Yes, you can,” I encouraged. “You already took my daddy from my mom. Are you really going to take me from her too?” The gun lowered slightly.
“If you let me go, I promise I won’t tell anyone what happened.
I know you snapped because you care about us and want what’s best for us. You want us to be safe. Right?”
“Right,” he echoed softly, lowering the gun a bit more.
“You don’t want to hurt me, Chris. You love me. You want me and my mom to be safe.”
“I do.”
“So lower the gun and untie me. Let me go. We can go see Ma and act like this never happened.”
Finally, the gun lowered completely. As he stepped in my direction, a loud pound beat against the door.
It fell back just enough for Wicked to climb through.
By the time Chris had lifted his gun, Wicked was already shooting.
I closed my eyes and squeezed my arms and legs together, as if I could shrink, hoping none of the bullets hit me.
When the bullets stopped flying, Wicked made his way in front of me while Whitaker checked to make sure Chris was dead.
“You good? Did he hurt you?” Wicked asked, pulling out a knife and cutting the rope that was around my ankles.
I nodded then shook my head as tears fell. This time, in relief.
“No, he didn’t,” I answered, voice cracking. “I thought I had talked him down, but I honestly wasn’t sure. I’m just glad you came.”
Wicked’s eyes were watery as he looked up at me with a smile. “You know I’ll always come for you.”