Dirty DNA 3: The Renegade (G Street Chronicles Presents)

by BlaQue

  I immediately started putting on my clothes. Me keeping quiet and not waking Pinky was out the window. She was sitting up in the bed with her big doe eyes watching me scramble around her room to find my long since discarded clothes.

  “What’s happening, Neko? Where are you going? Is everything aight?” she asked me worried.

  “Baby, you should go back to sleep and I promise I’ll be back. I’ve gotta handle what I came here to handle.”

  “Talk to me, Neko. What happened?” Pinky said growing increasingly distressed. She threw the covers back, hopped out of the bed and started searching around for her clothes.

  “Oh, no. You’re staying here. I just found you and I ain’t gonna let nothin’ come between us again. If anything were to happen to you I would lose it,” I said, stopping Pinky in her tracks. I wasn’t about to let her fight this fight for me. This was something I had to do myself. I had to step up and take care of my seed. She may not have been mine by biologically, but YaSheema Nicole was my responsibility. She was my blood. She was a bad seed and it was time for me to be the man she needed me to be. It was time for me to break the cycle that haunted and hunted my family for so long. It was time for me to end the Clayton-Reynolds curse.

  “Neko, you already know I ain’t gonna’ let you go at this shit alone. Some people never get a second chance at life. We did and I ain’t gonna let you walk out that door without me. If you’re gonna go down…I’m going down with you. You can argue all you want, but I ain’t even trying to hear it. So either you take me with you or you ain’t going,” she said. Her face was screwed up and I knew she meant business. That’s why I loved Pinky; she was a straight rider. Even in her older age, she is still down for me no matter what.

  “Pinky, there were two murders and I think YaSheema Nicole had something to do with them both. This shit could get ugly. She may even get angry as soon as she sees you with me. She’ll know you told me where she was. I can’t risk her turning on you,” I said, trying to talk her out of coming with me.

  “Neko, maybe you forgot who I really am. This is something slight. We go over there, get her and take her to a hospital. It’s simple.”

  I’m glad she was convinced it was going to be that easy because I sure wasn’t. I don’t know why I gave in to her. I really don’t think I had much of a choice because Pinky was either coming with me or she wasn’t going to let me out the door. I nodded my head at her and she snatched up her clothes and went to the bathroom. I finished getting dressed and picked up my cell phone again. I was going to give Dread one last call and let him know he should lay low even though I didn’t owe him shit since he didn’t want to man up and be a father to his wayward child.

  I scrolled through my call log and found his number and left him a message letting him know something had happened to YaSheema and I needed him to meet me at the school. I gave him the dorm info I had gotten from Pinky, even though I didn’t know if he was going to meet me or not, but it was worth a shot to ask. Either he would or he wouldn’t. No matter what, I had to. After leaving him a voicemail message, I saw the blinking icon on my phone letting me know I had a message waiting for retrieval. A cold chill ran up my spine as I listened to the message from the Richmond, Virginia Police Department telling me to call them right away. I punched in the number that the caller, Detective Bines, left on the message. He answered on the first ring.

  “This is Detective Bines.”

  “Detective Bines, this is Neko Reynolds. You left me a message.”

  “Yes, sir. I’m with the Richmond Police Department. Is there any way you can come to the precinct?”

  “Detective Bines, I am in no position to get to Richmond. I am about two hours from Richmond in Washington, D.C. Do you mind telling me what this is about? I’m kind of pressed for time,” I said, pulling my shoes on and surfing through my pockets for my car keys.

  “Sir, I hate to tell you this over the phone and it really isn’t our protocol to do things of this nature over the phone. I think it would be best if you came in and spoke with me. The issue is of a sensitive nature.”

  “Detective, either you can tell me over the phone or you will be waiting for quite some time before you tell me anything at all. I have a situation I’m in the middle of that requires my immediate attention,” I said sternly.

  “Mr. Reynolds, again I apologize for having to tell you something like this over the phone but you’re leaving me no choice. We believe we have located the remains of your wife, Rhina Diaz-Reynolds.”

  The whole room started to instantly spin. I know I didn’t hear this man tell me he had found my wife’s remains.

  “Wait a minute. Her remains as in…”

  “Yes, Mr. Reynolds, her body was found decomposing in a hotel room in Richmond, Virginia. She died of multiple stab wounds and she’s been in the room for quite some time. Sir, we would like to ask you a few questions to help us find out who did this and why. Do you think you could come in and assist us?”

  I sunk back on the bed and tried to digest what I’d heard. The tears started to pour and when Pinky walked in the room, she took one look at me and rushed to my side. I swallowed the bile and pressed the phone to my ear.

  “Are you sure it’s her? I mean…how could she be dead in a hotel for damn near a week and no one know anything? Why hadn’t anyone gone in to check on her? Where were the maids…housekeeping…anyone?” I yelled into the phone with my voice cracking more and more with each word as the reality of what was happening to me sunk in.

  “Apparently, someone had put the Do not disturb sign on the door and has been paying for the room by phone to keep anyone from finding out she was in there by way of her credit cards.. It wasn’t until the guests of the hotel noticed a funny smell coming from the room before the hotel staff gained access to the room and found her. Mr. Reynolds is there anyone who would want to hurt your wife?” the detective asked.

  Pinky stood there watching me like a hawk. She didn’t know what was being said to me, but I’m sure she knew it wasn’t good.

  “Detective, I’ve got an idea who may have done it, but you have to give me time to figure it out. I’ll be on my way to Richmond tonight,” I said.

  “Mr. Reynolds, if you have any information we would need you to give it to us so we can put this person away. Whoever did this is…excuse me for being so frank…is a sick fuck and I want nothing more than to put them behind bars. I need your help to do that…”

  Before he could finish his plea, I had hung up the phone on him. I had heard enough. I couldn’t take anymore. Pinky stood over me with a mixture of curiosity and sadness in her eyes.

  “Neko…if you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to,” she said sincerely.

  “YaSheema Nicole killed my wife and left her body in Richmond,” I croaked out.

  “Oh my God, Neko. I’m so sorry. I mean…I don’t know what to say…”

  “Don’t say anything, Pinky. You don’t have to be sorry. You don’t have to say anything at all. Just get your gun and let’s go!” I said, standing up and walking toward the door.

  It was time to end this shit once and for all no matter how bad it hurt.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Full Throttle

  Dread

  I saw that Neko had called and left me a message. He was probably cursing me out for not helping him with YaSheema Nicole. He was just gonna have to understand I ain’t ready to deal with her or any of them for that matter. All of the members of that family, including my daughter, were tainted. I was trying to pull myself out of the abyss I had fallen into since meeting any of them and no one was going to pull me back in. I really didn’t care if it was my daughter. I wanted to make things right between her and me, but doing so could cause me more harm than good.

  Against my better judgment, I listened to the voicemail anyway. Just as I suspected, Neko was attempting to call me in as reinforcement. I didn’t know what he didn’t understand. Actually, I was glad that he had met up with me and wa
rned me about my daughter. There was no telling what could have happened if I ran into her on campus. For all I know, she could have been a complete psycho like her mother. That’s exactly why I was never going back to that school again. I ain’t give a fuck what Queen, Crack, or Ms. Grey had to say about it.

  There was a knock on my door that jolted me from my private thoughts. I was on edge just knowing the people I feared the most were in D.C., and the one who could cause me the most harm was looking for me. I started to panic, wondering who was at my door. Even though Crack and Queen lived in a gated and secured community, I didn’t trust any of it. I picked up a baseball bat off the floor, eased to the door and peered through the peephole. My heart rate only returned to normal when I saw Queen on the other side of the door. She began to knock harder.

  “I know you’re in there. Open the door, Dread. I can hear you moving around in there so I know your ass is home. Now open up the damn door!” Queen demanded.

  I unlocked the door and opened it and let her in.

  “Damn, what are you doing in here? I know you heard me knocking. What’s with the bat? You planning on playing baseball or somethin’?” Queen asked me, eying the bat.

  “Naw. I just thought…never mind. What do you need, Queen?” I asked, trying not to let her annoy me. I knew she was going to be pissed once she found out I was quitting the job she had gotten me.

  “I was just coming to check on you, that’s all. Can’t I come and check on you?” she asked playfully.

  I looked at her sideways and rolled my eyes. Queen was a sweetheart when she wanted to be, but the problem was her sarcastic ass never wanted to be a sweetheart. All five feet of her was a ball of fire and always had been since Crack and I were kids.

  “Since when did you start checking on me? You only come around when you want your rent money or to harass me about sleeping in the carport or finding liquor bottles in the pool. Since I ain’t been in the pool and I went to sleep in my own bed last night, you ain’t got anything to check on me about Queen. I’m good,” I said frustrated.

  “Look…I ain’t the one who went to bed with you last night so you ain’t got no reason to be snapping on me. Now, do you want to tell me what’s wrong or am I gonna have to take that bat and beat it out of you?” Queen said rolling her neck.

  I dropped the bat and put my hands up as if I were surrendering.

  “You got it, Queen. I don’t want any trouble. I ain’t mean to snap on you either, sis. I just got some heavy shit on my mind and I gotta make a few changes. Some of the changes are ones you and my boy ain’t gonna like but I have to do it,” I said, taking a seat in my recliner.

  Queen lifted her eyebrow and I knew I had said way too much to her. I knew she was never going to leave until she found out what I was talking about.

  “Ok, Dread…spill it. I’ve known you too long. I know something is going on,” she said, pulling one of the folding chairs out.

  “I’m not going back to the school to work for Ms. Grey. Shit is kind of complicated.”

  “You fucked her didn’t you? I told you to keep things on a professional level. Damn, Dread! All you had to do was keep your dick in your pants and collect a check. How hard is that?” she sighed. She looked disappointed in me and I didn’t like it.

  “No! Despite what you think, I didn’t sleep with Ms. Grey. I ain’t saying I didn’t want to, but I didn’t fuck her. I almost fucked her but it didn’t go down like that. I got bigger fish to fry besides fucking your friend, Ms. Grey. I’m not going back because I just found out my daughter is there,” I said, wishing I had a drink. I sure needed it for the way this conversation was going. Queen cocked her head to the side like she hadn’t heard me correctly.

  “I know I ain’t hearing this shit right. Your daughter attends Howard? How do you even know it’s her? It’s not like you’ve seen her since…” her voice trailed off. Maybe Queen knew she was overstepping the boundaries. In my personal opinion, she definitely was.

  “I know it’s her because her uncle told me it was her. She attends college at Howard University full-time now and unfortunately, she’s been looking for me for a few years according to Neko. I guess she came here in hopes of finding me,” I sighed.

  “Well, that’s great then. You can get reacquainted with your daughter. I know you really want that,” Queen said excitedly.

  “No, that’s what she wants. I want her to stay the hell away from me. You don’t get it. She’s looking for me for the wrong reasons. She might wanna take my fuckin head off. She came here to get at me…not to have a family reunion. Nothing good can come from us meeting.”

  Queen shifted around in her chair and I could see she was slightly uncomfortable for making a bad assumption. She didn’t know what was going on in my life. How could she? I hardly ever spoke to her and Crack anymore. Even when they tried, I shut them out.

  “Why do you think she would want to harm you, Dread?” she inquired.

  “Are you fuckin’ kidding me? Why wouldn’t she want to kill me is a more fitting question. What kind of father have I been to her? She probably wouldn’t know me if I was standing directly in front of her. By the way…I was standing in front of her and she didn’t know who I was. I’ve missed every birthday, every holiday and I abandoned her when her mother died…out of fear. Why wouldn’t she want to kill me?”

  “You sound silly! I think she would benefit from knowing you. You have to let her know it wasn’t her fault that you left. You have to explain it to her so that she understands that you left her because you had no choice. I’m sure once you sit down with her face to face and explain your side of things, she will get it. She may be upset at first, but if she is anything like you, she will forgive.”

  “Sit down with her? Who’s to say she would even allow me that chance?” I asked sadly.

  “You will never know unless you reach out to her and try and find out,” Queen said, standing up.

  “As for you quitting…I understand. I don’t like it and I expect that you will be on a job hunt shortly.”

  I nodded my head in her direction even though I had no intention on looking for another job. Working is what got me in this shit in the first place; but I had to at least humor Queen and tell her I would look or she would never stop breathing down my neck.

  “Good. I’ll even call Ms. Grey and tell her you won’t be returning for personal reasons.” Queen said, heading to the door.

  “Naw. I’ll tell Ms. Grey on my own. I think I owe her at least that.”

  “Dread, I want you to think about the opportunities that have all been laid out in front of you. It ain’t coincidental. It was pre-ordained. You know I ain’t a holy roller, but I do believe there is something more powerful than us strategizing our moves. Our stories have already been written. It’s just our job to read the pages and live out the part that was written for us. There are no do-overs and you can’t change what has already been written; but I think you change how the story ultimately ends. I just don’t want you to miss out on your chance to get your story right. It started off promising, and then there was gloom and doom. Now, maybe you can get to that fantastic twist that even you weren’t expecting.”

  Then she opened the door and took one last look at me and I nodded at her. I understood what she was saying. Then she slipped quietly out of the front door.

  Not even five minutes after she’d left, I raced outside to my car. It was past time for me to get my story right. Or at the very least, tell my side of things.

  I got in the car and headed to Howard University to make amends with my daughter. It was long overdue and I think it’s high time that she and I met. I just hoped that she was nothing like her mother and that when our introductions were over, I could live to tell about the experience.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Renegade

  YaSheema Nicole/Takiya

  I thought I would feel better after killing Lamont, but I didn’t. I’ve been holed up in my dorm since I jabbed him in his throat
with the Club. I was afraid to leave the room because I had fucked up royally. I left someone alive. As much as I hated to admit that Takiya was much savvier at handling situations like these, she really was.

  “Oh, so you’re admitting that you can’t do this without me; huh? Oh and yes, you were stupid for not killing that bitch. You should have cut that bitch’s throat wide open. But no…you let her go. You let her ass go based upon a promise that she obviously ain’t gonna keep. If you believed she was gonna keep her promise you wouldn’t be hiding out in the pissy room like a coward. Had you killed her like I would’ve, she would have been nothing more than an afterthought. Now you got a fuckin’ problem!” Takiya chuckled.

  “I’m glad you think this shit is funny. I don’t see shit worth laughing about. If I’m fucked, so are you or did you forget?” I sighed, burying my head in the pillow to ignore Takiya, but she was far from done with me. She was on one and she wasn’t about to let up either.

  “I think we should go back to see lil’ miss hot ass and finish her. If we don’t, she can identify you. I’m sure you’ve noticed the police have been crawling around this muthafucka’ all night because of you and your stupidity.”

  “They were here anyway, or did you forget? They were here because you wanna knock off lil’ ole white ladies and steal cars like you’re a damn Dukes of Hazard!” I shouted.

  “Don’t you think you should keep it down before your roomie finds out you killed her lil’ love bug? God help us if she cries one more God damn tear today. If she only knew what a piece of shit that Lamont character was, she wouldn’t be wasting those tears on him.”

  “Damn, Takiya I wish you would shut the fuck up; I’m trying to figure out what to do next since you ain’t tryna’ help. All you wanna do is tell me how badly I fucked up. So if you ain’t gonna help me, then I wish you would get the fuck on!” I screamed. That’s when my dorm door swung open and in walked Paige. I could still hear Takiya ranting, but I had to try to act as though everything was cool. I had done more than enough damage. I didn’t need to get caught talking to myself.