Three hours later, we arrived at the tarmac. Adir and Dothan waited by the jet. Dothan had a black folder in his hands. Without a word, we boarded the jet and were off to Miami.
“Coco know you hoppin’ flights?” I asked Adir.
Adir smirked and shrugged. “I’ain lettin’ you go by ya’self. Gotta make sure you get back to my sister.” The same sister I was about to beat his ass over back on Christmas Eve.
“When we get there, I want you to get Shyah and get the fuck back home,” my pops stated.
“Nah, I’m gon’ handle those niggas.” I walked away the last time. This time I wasn’t doing so. They deserved death for whatthey did to me. They deserved that shit for whatever they put Shyah through. I could only imagine how terrified she was.
“Baby, listen,” my mama intoned. “If something happens to you, who’s going to take care of Shyah? You’ve just stepped into the happiest time of your life. Yes, be there for your sister. However, be mindful of the life growing around you. The devil’s favorite thing to do is snatch everything from you.”
“Ya mama’s right,” Adir added.
“Exactly,” my pops agreed. “Let us handle it, aight.”
It wasn’t a question. Gion was telling me to let him have his moment with his old friend. While I could respect it, I wasn’t going to promise him anything.
Less than two hours later, we landed at Cooley’s private airstrip. A blacked-out, bulletproof van waited for us. The sun would be up shortly, so we had to move quickly. We made no extra stops and didn’t so much as yawn from exhaustion.
The Valley Ridge subdivision boasted beautiful single-family homes and nice lawns. I didn’t give a fuck about that shit, though. As we pulled into the yard of the house we were here for, everything went to the back of my mind.
“Lights out,” Gion mumbled.
As the neighborhood went dark, we climbed out of the van. It only took seconds to locate entry into the house. Palming my gun in my glove-clad hand, I stood inside the living room and scanned my surroundings. Although clean, the house was eerily quiet. Walking through the residence, I listened for anything that moved and quickly located the attic. While I did that, Adir went down a hallway to locate Eldon and Arisana.
In the darkened hallway, I found the latch for the attic. The space wasn’t large enough for anyone to comfortably be in that bitch. I seethed with anger as I climbed the small staircase and peeked my head inside. It was too dark to see anything in the shadows.
“Shyah,” I called.
To my right, she scurried from behind a stack of boxes.
“Antonias?” she questioned hopefully, softly.
“Yes, it’s me. Come here, baby.”
She came closer, then reached her shaking hand out to me.
“They’re going to kill us,” she frantically whispered even as she came flying down the stairs. She was dressed in an oversized, raggedy ass nightgown and socks. She was even tinier than I thought.
As I led her out of the hallway, Margarite waited for us in the living room.
She opened her arms for Shyah. “Come here, baby doll. It’s okay.”
Without knowing who the hell Margarite was, Shyah ran into her arms.
Commotion came from the hallway, prompting all our attention that way. Adir appeared with a bound and gagged Eldon. His eyes grew wide at the sight of me. Dothan followed with a bound and gagged Arisana, who looked terrified but hadn’t shed a tear. She eyed Shyah down, causing Shyah to hide behind Margarite. That angered Margarite to the point that she growled at Arisana.
Adir and Dothan sat Eldon and Arisana at the kitchen table, and Dothan opened a folder and put the papers in front of them. He clicked on a mini flashlight and handed Eldon a pen.
“Do what the fuck I say, or you will leave this muhfucka in pieces.” Dothan’s direct orders left no room for questioning. “Sign these documents relinquishing ya parental rights to Shyah Lanaé Lovelace.”
Arisana vehemently shook her head.
I tapped my finger on Arisana’s forehead. “Aht, aht, aht… You don’t get to say no, you piece of shit.”
Her eyes burned with fury. Little did she know, her soul would be burning soon enough.
“As I was saying,” Dothan started, “Sign these papers, and I walk out of here. Or… You can leave here in pieces.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t make me no difference.”
