by L. R. Wright
“What about the hotel?” Lei wondered. “He might go there?”
Kendrick shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. The hotel is too public, even though there are hidden areas there. He wouldn’t risk being seen there. Besides, he knows that we would be here. He should have come here.”
“Kendrick is right.” Alexa clenched her teeth together. “Daddy wouldn’t have gone there or to his house. It’s not secure.” She knew her father well, but there were some things he kept hidden from them. He could’ve gone anywhere. He had friends everywhere. Pop’s house wasn’t an option.
Alexa and Dro were renovating Enrique’s old house. That’s the reason she had even been at the B5 safe house in the first place. Chase was finishing the bunker and it was easier for him to look out for her and the kids in the safe house above B5. They had upped her security in recent months and Dro felt more comfortable if Chase was with her while Dro had been in Puerto Rico on business.
“Get some men up to the Canadian safe house and go both routes,” Dro told Lei. “Maybe we can get an idea of where he went. If he’s not in danger, Pop will get in touch with us at some point. That’s all I really have to hold on to. Ari is with him. She can handle a gun and so can Ma. I know they’ll protect each other.”
“I’m sorry,” Chase said, bowing his head.
Kendrick placed a hand on Chase’s shoulder. “It’s okay, bruh. We’re just glad you got out of there. Who was driving?”
“They were in two protected trucks,” Chase answered. “Ari and Pop were driving behind us. We thought it would be safer if we went first to case out the spot. When they veered off, Pop was leading.”
“It doesn’t make sense for Pop to go anywhere else except here,” Kendrick mused. “That’s what makes me worry. It’s just not like him to not stay in touch.”
“If he thinks it’s best that he doesn’t stay in touch, he won’t,” Dro said. “I think we need to assume that Pop is fine until we know differently. If he’s lying low, it’s probably best if we focus on neutralizing the enemy. We need to go to Misti’s”
“Why do we have to go to Misti’s?” Chase looked confused.
Kendrick patted him on the shoulder again. “It’s a long story. Why don’t you get a shower or something and we can discuss our next move.”
***
An hour later, they all gathered in the security room. Kendrick had filled Chase in on everything that had happened.
Alexa paced back and forth in the small space. “We’re wasting time here. It makes sense that we just go in for the kill. I’m tired of playing around with these people. They don’t own us and they don’t control me.”
Dro frowned. “Will you just calm down, baby? It doesn’t make sense to just stroll into a public diner and open fire. I know you’re worried and ready to get this over with, but come on.”
She sighed heavily then plopped down into a chair. Deep down, she knew Dro was right. But they had no idea where her children were and terror ripped through her gut. It was hard to get a hold of her emotions.
“What if we just buy the diner?” Kendrick suggested. “That way we can control who’s there.”
“It makes sense.” Chase fiddled with his gun. “I’m sure if we approach the owner with enough cash, he’ll let us do what we want.”
“What if he doesn’t?” Dro asked. “We have to have another plan.”
“Buying the diner is the wrong move,” Lei said, ending a phone call. “We don’t want to be connected if we do have to “open fire.” The guards just called. They got rid of Janine. I also have some feelers out to some of Pop’s contacts. Hopefully, we’ll hear something soon.”
“Okay.” Dro walked over to the wall and punched in a code on the keypad, opening a hidden panel. “I want to make sure we have all the fire power we need. If we get separated for some reason, we meet here. I sent a small group up to the Canadian safe house to check around too. Until we hear differently, we’re going to go ahead and get a handle on this enemy.”
All of a sudden, Alexa felt like she couldn’t breathe in the stuffy room. She stormed out. Little pins pricked her body. She clenched her fist, stretching her neck from side to side. She was frustrated and it wasn’t helping the situation. It wasn’t like her to let her emotions control her, but these were her children, her parents, and her best friends. If something happened to them, she was sure she wouldn’t survive it. A hand on her shoulder jarred her from her thoughts. She whirled around, fists ready, poised to fight. Kendrick was standing there.
She dropped her arms to her side. “Don’t you think you should be in there planning?”
“I’m right where I need to be. Alexa, you have to get a hold of yourself. You know that emotions are only going to make this harder. I know it’s been a while since you’ve had to turn them off, but you have to try. Once this is done, we can make some decisions about where you want to be.”
She stared at the ceiling. “I already know where I want to be and it’s not here. I told you, Kendrick, I’ve been feeling this way for a while. I need to get out of here. I need to take my children and leave town.”
“We can talk about that when this is over,” Kendrick said softly.
“Dro will never let me leave,” she mumbled, pacing back and forth.
“You’re right,” Dro agreed, stepping into the hall. “You’re not going to run, Alexa. Why would you even want to? I can’t just leave. I have a company to run, obligations here. You want to leave so bad, but are you willing to leave me?”
She turned away from him. “If that’s the only way I can keep my kids safe...” She didn’t finish the sentence, but Dro wasn’t stupid. They had been having this conversation for some time now. She was feeling increasingly uncomfortable in their environment. She needed a change, but Dro was adamant against it. He couldn’t just pick up and leave. He did have obligations that needed to be met. But she only had one thing keeping her there—him.
“What, Alexa?” he challenged. “If that’s the way you can keep our kids safe, what? You would leave me? Walk out on me, and take my family away?”
She glared at him over her shoulder. “You know I don’t want to leave you, Dro. It’s not like that. I just...forget it. This is not the time to talk about it anyway. We need to end this so I can see my kids again—if they’re still alive.”
“Stop,” Kendrick and Dro shouted simultaneously.
“Don’t ever say that to me,” Dro roared. “My kids are still alive. Our family is still alive.”
“You don’t know that, Dro,” she cried. “Where are they? Where’s my Daddy? They’re not here. We don’t know where they are. I know Daddy is good. He can take care of them, but why hasn’t he touched base with us?” Fear gripped her throat as she yelled at Dro, cutting off her breath until she had no choice but to fall to her knees. She collapsed onto her stomach and broke down sobbing.
***
Dro waved Kendrick away, but he didn’t move. Lei and Chase stepped out of the security room. Dro was sure the sight of Alexa breaking down stunned all of them. He dropped to his knees, gathered her into his arms, and stroked her back. “Baby, it’s okay. The kids are fine. You have to believe that.”
“Oh God, I hope so,” she sputtered. “Please God, let them be okay. My babies—”
Dro locked her in his embrace and swayed back and forth, rocking her.
“My babies,” she whimpered. “Where are they? It’s my fault. All of this is my fault. What if they got my Daddy? What if they hurt my babies? Ky—what if they—”
Dro tipped her head up and gazed into her swollen, red eyes. He wiped an errant tear from her chin. “Don’t say it.”
“I can’t stop thinking it. She’s my baby girl. And Alex? Where are my babies, Dro?”
Dro glanced back at Lei and caught him absently wiping tears from his face. “Baby, I don’t know where they are,” he whispered against her ear. “But you’re going to have to get control over this. We have something to do. Pop is takin
g care of them.” He grasped her face with his hands when she tried to bury her face in his chest. “Come on now. Stop crying. We have to take care of this. Do it for me and do it for our children. Be the strong woman I love.”
The sound of Lei’s phone ringing penetrated the room.
“This is Lei,” he said, his voice raspy.
They all remained silent as he spoke on the phone. Dro noted the subtle changes in Lei during the conversation. It wasn’t good news, judging by the tense, all business tone in Lei’s voice and the vein throbbing on the side of head.
Lei ended the call and massaged the back of his neck. “They found the two trucks abandoned on an old dirt road off the interstate. There’s no sign of the children or anybody else.”
Dro held Alexa closer when she started crying again.
“That just means Pop ditched the cars,” Kendrick said. “He’ll be in touch as soon as he can.”
Dro knew Kendrick was just trying to think positively because anything else was unacceptable.
Dro helped Alexa to her feet. “Right. Pop has this under control. I mean, that’s why we sent...” His voice cracked.
“Pop is fine,” Lei whispered. “We all agreed Pop was the best person to go with the kids. He’s fine.” With that, Lei returned to the security room. Eventually, they all shuffled in behind him.
Alexa peered into the panel in the wall—the weapons closet. She opened a drawer and pulled out a wig and some colored contacts.
Dro watched her suck in all of her emotions and wondered if he could do the same. He had tried to tell her to get it together. When Lei got the call about the trucks, though, his heart dropped. He had no other choice but to believe Pop had everything under control.
Kendrick grabbed some ammunition out of a drawer and a black duffle bag. “We need to be extra cautious. No splitting up. We do everything together.”
Chase packed a few tools into a flat bag. “If something should happen, we know that we meet back here.”
They gathered everything they needed and left B5.
CHAPTER 20
November 5, 2011, Misti’s, Coney Island:
At Misti’s, Adam Neal sat by himself in his usual corner booth. He was worried about Janine. She hadn’t sounded right when he talked to her on the phone. In fact, she was totally out of character. He tried to chalk it up to her being at work, but the more he thought about it, the more worried he became.
They were too close to their goal to mess up now. Although, parts of him wanted to forget he ever met Melissa, he missed his brother, Erik, too much to back down. He hated the Martinez group because he thought they had destroyed Erik. Even though they didn’t technically pull the trigger, they had set the events of that night in motion. Alexa had lied to Erik for months, making him think she loved only him. She played him and never intended to be with him. She only wanted Dro. And Dro had punked Erik too many times to count. Adam hated them both.
He observed the new waitress, on the other side of the diner, waiting on customers. Janine was fifteen minutes late. He had called her numerous times in the last hour, but she didn’t pick up. Melissa would be here any minute.
The new waitress sauntered over to his booth. “Refill?” she asked gruffly.
He slid his mug back and forth on the table. “Sure. Are you new here?”
“Yes I am,” she replied, smacking on her gum. “Can I get you started on anything?”
He winced at her homely looks. The black waitress wore thick rimmed glasses and a blonde wig, which were quite unattractive. Her eyes, though, were a deep hunter green. When she smiled, he noticed a gold tooth in her mouth. He trailed his eyes down her lumpy body. She was a far cry from the cute little blond that used to wait on him.
“I would like the chopped salad with extra raspberry vinaigrette,” he said with an air of superiority.
The waitress scribbled on her small notepad. “Will you be eating alone this evening?”
“No, I’m expecting two more people.”
She slipped the pad of paper in the pocket of her apron. “Okay, holla if you need me.” She stuck her pencil into her bleached wig.
He rolled his eyes as she walked away. He surmised that the owner must have been desperate to hire the woman. In Adam’s opinion, she was horrendous. He hated to see black women with blonde hair. In his mind, black women were some of the most beautiful women on the planet—but this woman was a far cry from beautiful.
He took another sip of coffee and opened the New York Times app on his smart phone while he waited.
The homely waitress brought his food back ten minutes later with a lopsided smile. “Here you go.” She set his plate and the extra side of dressing in front of him. Once he picked his fork up, she poured more coffee into his mug. “Enjoy.”
As she turned to walk away, the bell chimed and Melissa entered the restaurant in her black mink coat. Adam rolled his eyes again. Melissa was one of the worst women he’d ever known. She reeked of smelly, but expensive, perfume and flaunted her wealth wherever she went. She was disgusting. But she was a means to an end for him.
Melissa skipped the pleasantries and slid into the booth. “Where’s Janine?”
“She was held up at work.” Or at least that was what he hoped.
She waved her hand to signal the waitress after she pulled her gloves off. “Well, we have to start without her. I have to leave town tonight.”
The waitress waltzed over to the table. “What can I get you Ma’am?”
Melissa crinkled her nose at the waitress. “Ma’am? I assure you I’m no one’s Ma’am. I need a coffee and extra cream.”
The waitress pulled out her pad of paper and snatched the pencil out of her hair. “There’s cream on the table, Ma’am. Did you want to place an order? Can I interest you in the fish and chips? They’re on special today.”
Melissa rolled her eyes and snorted. “I wouldn’t eat the food here if you paid me. I need plenty of cream with my coffee, thank you.”
The waitress scratched her forehead with her pen. Her brow creased. “I’ll be right with you, Ma’am.”
Adam snickered when he heard Melissa curse her under her breath that the waitress dared to call her Ma’am. She went on like that for several minutes until the woman came back with a piping hot coffee dispenser.
She poured the coffee into an empty mug and tossed a new bowl of creamers in front of Melissa. “Is there anything else you need?”
Melissa waved her off as if she was insignificant. “No, I’ll call you if I need anything.”
The waitress paused for a minute and then shuffled over to the counter.
He watched as the frustrated woman cracked her neck and then proceeded to wipe down some tables. He turned and scrutinized Melissa as she dumped tons of cream into her coffee mug. “What’s going on? Why did you need to meet?”
Melissa leaned closer. “We have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?” he asked, keeping his tone even. “Janine delivered you their location. What could have possibly happened?”
She shifted in her seat. “We lost some of our men. Apparently, they sent someone ahead to secure the place and there was gun play. The kids never showed up. One of their men is down, though. Nicholas Cass? Do you know him?”
He swallowed a bite of chicken. “He works very closely with them. Janine knew him from a college friend. He’s the one who got her into Martinez. She’ll be upset to hear this.”
Melissa opened five packets of Splenda and emptied them into her coffee. “I’m leaving town tonight, Adam. It’s getting too hot here for me.”
“What about us?” Adam couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You can’t just leave, Melissa. We’ve come too far.”
She stirred her coffee with a spoon. “I haven’t abandoned the plan, but I have to assume that stupid ass Tommy sang before he ‘disappeared.’ Dro may come looking for me. I have to get out of here. Don’t worry, I’ll be in touch.”
Adam was growing more frustrate
d by the minute. “Cut the crap, Melissa. You walk out of here, and I’ll never see you again. In the meantime, you have my assets frozen in that damn bank of yours.”
Her eyes flashed to his. “And they’ll stay that way until I get what I want.”
He leaned forward, clenching his fists together. He wanted to choke the life out of her. “You’re lucky I want the same thing you want. Or I would definitely wipe that smirk off of your face.”
She pushed her coffee mug toward him as she stood up, spilling some on the table. “You better be careful who you’re talking to like that. I can make it so your future is very dismal. Just keep quiet and you’ll get your money back in due time, plus some additional funds when I take over Martinez Security.”
He rested his back against the booth and twiddled his thumbs. “You’re so sure that you’re holding all the cards.”
She sneered at him, pointing a crooked finger in his face. “Don’t be so sure I’m not. You and Janine just stay in line and everything will work out fine.”
He grabbed her wrist and jerked her back into the booth. “Look, I don’t like this. You said it would be easy once Janine gave you the location to the safe houses. She gave you the whole list. You had ample opportunity to grab Alexa and her children. You couldn’t do it. Why should I believe that you’ll hold up your end of the deal now?”
She struggled to pull her arm away as he dug his fingers into her skin. Smoothing her wiry hair down with her other hand, she swallowed. “Let go of me Adam before I scream bloody murder.”
He loosened the grip on her arm and she snatched it away. He picked up his knife and fork, while she rubbed her arm.
“Just hang tight,” she hissed. “Everything will be okay.”
He stabbed a piece of lettuce with his fork. “It better be,” he warned before taking another bite of his salad.
