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I took a deep breath, relieved that at least everyone I loved was still alive.

“Alright, I’m on my way.”

As soon as I disconnected the call, Honesty gave me a knowing look.

“Messiah called me, so I’m assuming it’s for the same reason.”

I nodded my head in frustration. Malea was nineteen, but she still lived at home with Yaya and Messiah. She started acting out when she was fifteen, so I knew things would only go downhill once she became a legal adult.

Honesty grabbed my hand, and the two of us headed out of the studio and into her car. She drove us to Messiah and Yaya’s house, which I appreciated because I had a lot on my mind.

As soon as we pulled up to the house, Yaya met us at the door and instantly fell into my arms, sobbing. I hated to see my sisters in pain, so it broke my heart to see her in so much pain. I wrapped my arms around her and assured her everything would be okay even though I wasn’t so sure.

Once she calmed down, I ushered her back into the house. It was quiet, so I assumed the kids were with Mama Elantra. We made it to the kitchen, and I made her sit down because I could tell she was still worked up.

“Tell me what’s going on.”

Yaya wiped the tears from her face, and all I could see was stress and worry.

“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, Solly. I’ve tried to give her the best life I could, but she’s determined to walk down this path of destruction. I’ve tried to talk to her. Hell, I’ve even tried to get her to see a counselor, but she doesn’t want help. I swear she’s not gonna be content until I don’t have any baby hairs left.” Yaya fussed, but I didn’t interrupt her.

“I started noticing a change in her behavior a few months ago, but I chalked it up to her adjusting to college life and the normal young adult bullshit. Anyways, last night, Tyeis was out to dinner with Loyal, and they stopped by the mall to grab a few things. She sent me a picture and asked if I knew what was going on, and it was a picture of Malea hugged up with this grown-ass man. Solly, I’m not exaggerating when I say this man had to be in his forties with a salt-and-pepper beard to match.”

“Forty? What the fuck do you mean? Where the fuck is she at? Has she lost her mind?” I roared. Malea might have been turning eighteen soon, but she wasn’t grown yet.

“I’m serious, Solomon. He’s a grown man, and he looked like one of those old heads Meesha used to run with. We got into it last night, and I told her she needed to stay away from him because anyone who was attracted to a girl who is fresh out of high school is a pervert. She blew up at me and basically said she was gonna do what she wanted and didn’t care how I felt.”

“I thought if I left her alone, we could both calm down and have a conversation today. I had a few clients, so I was at the shop most of the day, but when I got home, I planned to cook dinner and have a heart-to-heart with her. When I went to her room, I noticed her closet was empty, and she left her phone on the bed with a note. She said she was tired of being treated like a child and she was moving in with her man. I sent the picture to Jett to see if he could figure out who the man is, but I’ve been over here going crazy.”

I dragged my hand down my beard as I listened to her explain what happened. The idea of my little sister being laid up with a grown-ass man sent my mind spiraling. All of us had been through our fair share of trauma, so I tried to understand where she was coming from, but nothing good would come from the choices she was making.

“Have you reached out to any of her friends to see if they know anything?” I questioned, trying to figure out our next move. I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I laid eyes on my sister.

“I’ve talked to a few of them, but her two best friends said she recently cut them off because they told her she was making a major mistake. I guess they heard rumors about him, and they weren’t good. She doesn’t want to listen to reason, so she’s isolating herself from anyone who could offer her any advice.”

“I know the two of you don’t want to hear this, but I think the best thing for you to do is to wait for her to come to you. If you track her down and demand she comes home, all you’re going to do is push her even deeper into his arms.”

I had almost forgotten Honesty was in the room with us, but her words instantly soured my mood.

“What the hell do you mean? Are you suggesting we sit back and let some pervert take advantage of our sister? Are you serious right now?”

Just saying the words ignited my anger.

“Listen, I understand you love your sister, and you want the best for her, but we’ve all been her age before. You think you know what's best for yourself, and everyone is trying to hold you back. We’ve all had to learn those hard lessons in life, and she isn’t any different. If you go into this thinking that you’re going to force her to do what you want to do, you’re in for a rude awakening.”

“Whether you want to face the truth or not, Malea is legally an adult, and you can’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do. The last thing you want is to make her feel like you are against her, because it will only make her cling to this man harder. When you find her, let her know you'll support her and that you love her no matter what. Keep the line of communication open because when and if something does happen, she’ll feel comfortable reaching out.”

It sounded like Honesty was speaking another language, and I wasn’t trying to hear anything she had to say.

“No offense, but that sounds like a bunch of bullshit. You think I’m about to sit around and let my little sister lay up with a creep? Are you crazy? What happens if he starts beating her or gets her pregnant? Am I supposed to sit back and watch her blow her life up in order to keep the peace? Do you hear how stupid that sounds? Hell, no. I’m about to find out who this nigga is, beat his ass, and drag her out of that house. I don’t give a fuck what she wants.” I shouted, getting more and more agitated as I thought about some overly grown mothafucka trying to take advantage of my sister.

“I understand you’re upset, but you’re not going to yell at me. At the end of the day, you can’t legally force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. Even if you do go there and cause a scene, you can’t make her come with you, and even if she does, she’s only going to leave again.”

“I hear what you’re saying, Honesty, but we have to try something. Malea is reacting off of emotions, and she needs to understand that man doesn’t love her and will more than likely end up hurting her. We love our little sister, so there’s no way we can sit back and watch her self-destruct.” Yaya added.

“Oh, this is Jett. He ran the data on her phone and found a name and address for this man. Apparently, he has a house and a condo. He’s forty-two, married with five kids. Three with his wife and two with other women. Look at this shit. He has a mile-long record. What the hell?”

Yaya passed her phone to me, and I could feel my blood run cold the more information I read on this cat.