Before I could get too far, I felt the strong hand gripping my hair, tugging me back toward the sidewalk. A deep, raspy voice was in my ear, sending chills down my spine. I no longer had control as I was pulled in the opposite direction.
“And where the fuck do you think you’re going?” My assailant growled in my ear.
“Please, my baby—” I pleaded, but it was falling on deaf ears as his grip tightened on my hair, damn near lifting it from my scalp.
“Bitch, you think I give a fuck?—”
More gunshots sounded off. This sharp, stiffening pain bolted through my body, from my back and around to my abdomen and stomach. I had never felt it before, and it alarmed me as my baby went crazy in my stomach.
“Agh!” I howled, doubling over with my arm cradling my stomach.
The guy who had me in his hold hit the ground. When he hit the ground at my feet all I saw was the gaping hole in the middle of his head. His eyes were still wide with shock. Staring down at him, stunned, I took a couple of seconds to suck in a few breaths before bringing my eyes up. Ledge stood near the building, gun smoking from the shot he’d just taken. We both seemed floored by the events. He had saved my life. Unable to speak, I gripped the back of the car as this undeniable agony filled me. I sank to the hard pavement, and I could feel the warm liquid sliding down my legs. It felt like I was having a period, but that couldn’t be right. Lightheaded, and suddenly dizzy as hell, my eyes pushed back into my head and I could feel my balance slipping from me.
“Harbor!” Ivy’s panicked voice was the last thing I heard before me and the ground collided.
Chevy
My Lyft dropped me off out front of my place and I hopped out. Stopping at the mailbox, I remembered that I hadn’t checked the mail today. I kicked off my heels and the car took off down the street. Holding the envelopes in my arms and my shoes in hand with my clutch tucked under my arm, my hands were full. Sighing, I couldn’t help but think about Ledge as I made my way to the door. That nigga had me fucked up. A large part of me wanted to call him up and cuss him out right now, but what would that even do? I was starting to wonder what we were even fucking doing. Every time I thought we were getting ahead, this nigga dragged us ten feet back.
I dug my keys out of my clutch while climbing the steps to the porch. I noticed the guard’s car parked when I pulled up.They didn’t greet me or anything like they normally would if they saw me pull up, even if it was just rolling the window down and giving a nod. I thought nothing of it since I was tired and hungry. I turned my key in the lock, but something threw me off when it turned. A cold gust suddenly swept around me when I pushed the door open. The entryway was dark, and I could hear the TV blasting from the living room like the theater surround sound was on. The hell? I frowned and dropped my things at the accent table near the window in the foyer.
“Granny, why is the TV so loud?” I took a couple steps forward in the dark and something cut into my foot.
It was sharp and hurt like a bitch.
“Agh! Shit!” I shrieked, hopping on one foot. “What the fuck.” I tried reaching for the light switch so that I could see, but nothing happened.
Peering up in the darkness, I could see that it looked like the chandelier above had been damaged.
“Granny!” I shouted, but there was no response.
I ended up dropping down onto the second bottom step of the stair case and brought my foot into my lap. Removing a shard of glass, I searched the shadows. Something was wrong. It was too quiet for one, and the kids shouldn’t be in bed this early. Gradually bringing myself to my feet, I rounded the staircase and traveled down the hall toward the informal living room where we hung out and watched TV together. Another gust of air swept by me, chilling me down to the bone. Pausing in the doorway, I could see the Monster’s Inc. movie playing on the big screen, but it didn’t appear to be anyone in the room. Against my better judgment, I took a couple of steps inside, and that’s when I saw my granny laid out on the floor in front of the sectional couch. She was on her side with a big gash on the side of her head.
“Granny!” Sprinting over to her side, I knelt down and tried shaking her awake. “Granny!” I yelled, but she remained unresponsive, so I shook her a little more violently.
Finally she groaned, stirring slightly, but not opening her eyes right away.
“Mmm, Chevelle?” She muttered, confused.
“It’s me. What happened? Where are the kids?” I searched frantically around but saw no sign of either of them.
Finally, my eyes landed on the nearby patio door that had been left ajar.
“The kids… they’re gone.” She told me, and I could hear the sound of a car starting.
Terror set in and my stomach fucking dropped as I sprinted off toward the front of the house again. I was running like my life depended on it, and when I got to the front door, I caught the taillights of a black Acura speeding down my block, tires squealing loudly. I dove out the front door and down the sidewalk to the guard’s car that had been parked at the curb on the other side of the street. Beating his window down, I could see through the tint that he was in there, so why the fuck was he ignoring me?
Reaching for the door handle, I tugged it open and his large body tumbled out.
“Agh!” Stumbling back a few steps, I noticed the slit at his throat as he stared at me with dead eyes.
I shot back toward the house to call the police and check on Granny. When I reached my clutch in the front entry, it slipped out of my grasp and everything spilled onto the floor. Snatching up my cell in the middle of everything, I rushed back toward the living room.
“Granny, what happened? Where are they?” I asked, trembling as the worst thoughts ran rampant in my mind.
“There was a girl here, she took them. Said that you and Ledge had taken everything from her, so she was going to take what meant the most to you.” Granny expressed, groggy while rubbing her head. “She hit me with something?—”
“Kitana.” I whispered, dialing 9-1-1.
