Chapter 40 MAJA
MAJA
Bringing in twenty-seven with my man and my family wiped away any sadness I felt about my mother’s absence. Von surprised me in the best way, and he was never without showering me with his affection.
Smiling, I peered around the room, loving the faces that were scattered throughout. Charnice and Katrice were having a drinking match at the bar. Stacy was so busy watching Charnice that he didn’t see me grinning at the frown on his face.
Directly beside Charnice, Zia sat laughing at something Kwamé said. The two of them were a mess together. Their husbands weren’t far. I was still cackling over Percy naming Zia’s son Perseus. Well, Perseus was Percy’s son. No one would ever tell that he didn’t father Perseus.
Then, there was Mama and Poppa. The way Poppa held her in his arms…their love was so loud I felt it clear across the room. I had all these examples of love surrounding me. And now, I had my own.
An eerie feeling crept up my spine, causing the smile on my face to slowly fade. Glancing across the room, I made eye contact with Von, who smoothly broke free from the fellows and made his way toward me. Within seconds, he had me in his arms.
“Everything okay, baby?” he questioned.
“I’m not sure,” I answered truthfully. “I’m not feeling well.”
“Aight, let’s get you home,” he said. Just then, I noticed Poppa and Adir rushing through the venue. Security followed behind them, heightening my senses.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Von stated. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.
” Although I wanted to follow after Poppa and Adir, Von had kicked me so far out of needing to lead, I listened to my man.
Concerned, I worried over my bottom lip and scanned the room to place eyes on my family. Heir had left a little while ago…
Thinking about Heir caused my gut to churn harder than it had before.
In fact, I nearly doubled over from the pain that sliced through me.
Grabbing my phone, my fingers trembled as I dialed my sister.
Across the room, Mama peered at me with confusion written on her face.
Then, her eyes started scanning the room.
She was surely looking for Poppa. As Heir’s voicemail clicked on, anxiety crept into my bones.
Panic set in as Von appeared. His face scared the hell out of me.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded to know.
“We gotta go. Now!” His voice was low, but the urgency was loud and clear. He grabbed my clutch, then my hand. On our way to the exit, Kim bumped into us.
“Have you seen my mom?” she questioned.
Nodding, I said, “She was by the bar the last time I saw her.”
“Thank you,” she rushed out and hurried off.
“Von, what is going on?” I questioned.
“I’ll tell you when we get in the car, baby,” he stated. Another round of security rushed past us into the venue.
Outside, Von’s hand gripped mine tightly as we headed toward the waiting sedan. There was that fire again, slicing through my gut. The feeling was so strong that it heightened my senses to attention. I glanced up at Von, whose eyes met mine.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. The unmistakable round of the sniper rifle shook the foundation beneath me.
“Sniper!” someone shouted.
Glass shattered behind me and Von. He covered my body just as his body was hit by a round. We hit the ground. Chaos unfolded around me as security poured from inside the venue. Von’s coughing restarted my heart, and I screamed at all the blood spouting from his mouth and chest.
“Von!” I yelled, hysterically.
Blood wasn’t something I usually feared.
However, my man was covered in it. Rolling him off me, I didn’t care that bullets were still flying, I leaned over Von’s body and applied pressure to his chest to stop the bleeding.
His eyes blinked at me, and his lips moved but nothing came out of them except blood.
As his eyes lost focus, I died on the inside.
“Von, no!” I shouted as tears rushed down my face. “Vonshae!” My gut-wrenching cries blended with the sound of bullets. Von’s heart stopped beating, and so did mine.
The next few minutes were a blur. I felt myself being snatched off Von. Immediately after, I heard Percy, Adrian, and Micah shouting orders. Although I screamed, it sounded far away.
Russ held me tightly in his arms. “I got you,” he said, but it did nothing to calm my racing heart.
Watching my family perform CPR on Von felt like watching a movie that I wanted to close my eyes to keep from viewing.
I couldn’t close my eyes, though. I was too scared these were the final moments I’d have with Von.
And as traumatizing as it was to see him lying there lifeless, I held onto Russ and kept my eyes glued to Von.
Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more heartbreak, Mama’s screams echoed through the night.
“Heir! My baby!” she cried. “They took my baby!”
Heir! No! My brain shouted in protest. With blood rushing through my ears, I collapsed.