“I don’t understand it, either—but I’m not going to stick around and find out.”
Dorothy continued to wipe at the tears flowing down her cheeks. “Surely the police can do something to protect you.”
Sonya shook her head. “I don’t trust them. I don’t trust anybody, really.”
“That’s a pretty harsh statement,” Dorothy said.
“It’s a harsh place we live in.” Sonya regretted the words immediately. She was speaking out of pain, and she knew it. Her heart had been broken, and she didn’t know how to handle it. This is what she had fought so hard to prevent, and now she was confused: confused about her life, and what she wanted.
“Something else is bothering you, Sonya. Do you want to talk about it?”
Sonya smiled. Her mother could always see through her brave facade. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Start with his name.”
Her mother knew her well. Sonya took a deep breath before starting. “His name is Dwayne Hamilton, and I think I’m in love with him.”
Dwayne ran through the floors of his office building, wanting to get his hands on Sonya’s file. He couldn’t remember which detention center her mother was held at. That was the only place he hadn’t checked.
He turned on the light in his office.
“What the hell?” Everything was in shambles. Books had been thrown from the shelves, and important documents covered the floor. Dwayne pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed to calm down.
He walked over to his desk and checked all the drawers. Empty. Next he went to his knees and began turning over all the papers on the floor. He had to find that file. He had no doubt whoever shot up Walters Intercorp had trashed his office.
Hearing heavy footsteps enter the room, Dwayne looked up to see Anthony staring down at him. “Don’t ask,” he instructed, but the question had already fled from Anthony’s mouth.
“What happened?”
“You don’t want to know.” Dwayne continued to search through the scattered papers.
“Mind if I ask what you’re looking for?” Anthony asked, taking off his jacket.
“I’m looking for Sonya’s file. It has to be around here somewhere. Didn’t you leave it in my office?”
Dwayne stood up from the floor and walked out to Carmen’s desk. He tossed papers around as he tried to find the missing file. When he couldn’t find it, he looked back at Anthony. “How about Laura’s folder?”
“I delivered it to Malik.”
“Damn!” Dwayne snatched the phone and dialed Malik’s office. As he waited for the connection, he tapped his hand impatiently on Carmen’s desk.
He hung up the phone after the tenth ring. “I have to find that place!”
“What do you need to know? I prepared the charts.”
“I need to know at which facility Dorothy Walters is held.”
Anthony looked away, tapping his right index finger against his temple.
“Think, Anthony. Which center?”
“Oh,” Anthony kept repeating to an impatient Dwayne.
Dwayne pinched his nose again, this time harder. How hard could this be? “Anthony, who did you get your information from?”
“Aha!” Anthony shouted. “Atlanta’s Correction Detention Center Annex. Quite a mouthful, huh?” Anthony’s smile faded behind Dwayne’s retreating figure. Anthony raced after him.
Dwayne ignored the curious stares from his office mates as he ran down the hallway with Anthony right behind him. When he reached his Lincoln, parked illegally in front of the building, it had a ticket stuck behind the windshield wiper.
The men jumped into the car and quickly sped through the busy intersection. Anthony reached for his seat belt. He knew Dwayne’s driving well.
Dwayne cursed his luck when a pair of flashing blue lights appeared in his rearview mirror.
“You know, for a lawyer, you get more tickets than anyone I know,” Anthony commented.
Dwayne gave a scornful look as he pulled over and reached to retrieve his insurance card from the glove compartment. When he reached for his back pocket, he remembered leaving his wallet on his dresser this morning. Could today get any worse?
“License, registration and proof of insurance,” the policewoman asked after reaching the driver’s side.
Dwayne looked up and gave his Hollywood smile, as Bridget called it, hoping it would have some effect on her.
She asked again.
Dwayne could only shake his head. The angels were definitely not with him today. “I seem to have left my wallet at home.” Dwayne purposely talked slower. Bridget often teased that he sounded like Barry White when he did that.
When the officer pulled out her pad, he knew he was getting a ticket. He made a conscious note to extend Bridget’s restriction.
“Hello, Rhonda.” Anthony waved.
“Anthony!” she said, waving back at him. “I haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been?”
“Great. I just got back from my trip to Bermuda. Beautiful place.”
“Really? That’s great.”
Dwayne looked over at his assistant. He observed his skinny frame and his regular-joe speaking voice. He looked back at the officer, who was obviously smitten by Anthony.
“Is this going to take long? We’re kinda in a hurry.” Anthony glanced at his watch.
The officer looked back at Dwayne, who gave her what he thought was a friendly smile, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Is this your boss you were telling me and the girls about?”
The girls? Dwayne looked back at Anthony. Was he aiding and abetting a playboy?
“Yes, we’re on a big case, so can we hurry this up?” Anthony asked.
“Well, I guess I can let you go on a warning.” She looked back at Anthony. “If you pick up that rain check I’ve been holding.”
Dwayne gave Anthony a pleading look.
“Deal,” Anthony agreed.
The officer blew Anthony a kiss, and Dwayne started the car and continued on his way. Just as he rounded the corner, he of course picked up speed.
“Whoa! Where’s the fire?” Shock G. commented as a gold Lincoln flew past him and Bridget.
“That was my dad,” Bridget said, leaning over the steering wheel. “I wonder what’s going on?”
“Someone should tell him that the speed limit is forty-five on this road and not ninety-five.”
“Get out.”
“What? I was just joking, Bridge,” Shock G. replied.
“I know. I’m going to follow him. He would hit the roof if he saw you with me. I’ll call you later.” Bridget gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and fanned him to get out of the Jeep.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Shock G. reached for the door handle.
“George!”
“I’m going, I’m going.” George got out of the car and watched Bridget hang an illegal right to chase after her father.
Bridget fussed at the hard time she had keeping up with her father. But she did learn from the best and was able to remain no more than three cars behind him. Where is he going in such a hurry? Is something wrong?
Bridget ran a stoplight to stay behind her father, but she was thankful no cop witnessed the dangerous act. Someone else was in the car with him. She couldn’t make out who it was, but she had every intention of finding out.
She reached the highway, and it was the battle of the race cars. The car chase soon turned into a game for Bridget as she fought to keep up with the Lincoln.
“So you love him?” Dorothy said, smiling at her daughter.
Sonya didn’t see anything worth smiling about. The man she allowed into her private world had made a fool out of her. She had promised herself she would never fall into the same trap that so many women had.
“Sonya, don’t look so sad. Love isn’t that bad.”
“Don’t mind me if I don’t share your opinion,” Sonya retorted.
“Come on. I think it’s past time you found a little happiness for yo
urself.”
Sonya could only shake her head. “I don’t understand you. After all you went through, how can you preach about love being this glorious thing to celebrate?”
“All I can do is hope that you could find something I never had. I have to believe in a greater love. Look what I’m forced to endure every day. I have less than a year before I’m up for probation, and I promise you, I’m not going to live in fear of men.”
That statement got Sonya to reflect on the many years her mother had lost, and a deep sense of guilt consumed her. “I’m so sorry. It’s my fault that you’re even in here.”
Dorothy’s eyes flashed her anger. “Don’t ever let me hear you say that again. I don’t regret what I did for you. I would do it all over again. It’s worth every day I serve in here to see you make something of yourself. Do you know how much that means to me?”
Sonya turned away from her mother. This was too hard.
“Sonya, I know that I stayed with your father longer than I should have. I suffered all kinds of abuse, but the day I saw him trying to molest my baby…”
More tears sprang from Sonya’s eyes as she remembered the day well…
“Sonya, get me another beer out of the refrigerator,” Darryl Walters bellowed the order to his daughter from the living room.
Thirteen-year-old Sonya angrily placed her pencil down on the kitchen table. She would never finish her homework at this rate.
She pulled out another beer and tiptoed into the living room. Her father was in a foul mood again. He had lost another job, so Sonya knew to try to stay out of his way. When she entered the living room to hand her father his beer, she noticed him glaring at her.
What did I do? She looked at the bottle and realized that in her haste she forgot to remove the bottle top. She quickly raced back into the kitchen to remedy the problem. When she reentered the room, her father’s eyes were still glued to her.
Slowly, she walked over to him, extending her arm, hoping that he would just take the bottle from her so she could get back to her homework.
Darryl Walters took the bottle from his daughter, but his penetrating glare never left her.
Sonya backed away, wanting to leave the room.
Her father smiled lazily at her, and Sonya knew then he was drunk. “How old are you now, Sonya?” He shut off the TV with the remote control.
“Th-Thirteen,” she answered. She prayed that Laura and her mother would hurry back from the grocery store.
“Thirteen? I bet you’re driving the boys wild down at that school of yours, huh?”
Sonya shook her head. She felt her stomach clench in a hard knot. Her father’s gaze left her face and traveled down her small frame.
“You have a boyfriend, Sonya?” His words slurred.
Sonya tried to swallow the lump enlarged in her throat. “No, sir.”
Her father stood up from his chair, and Sonya took two steps back. She was caught off guard the moment his arms snaked out and grabbed her.
She tried to fight him off. She kicked and bit him as hard as she could, but all she could hear was his sinister laughter echoing in her ears.
He jerked open Sonya’s jeans just as the living room door jerked open to reveal her horrified mother.
Sonya blinked away her tears and looked back at her mother, sitting on the opposite side of the Plexiglass. “I can’t wait until your release date. You, of course, will stay with me. It will be the three of us.”
A prison guard walked up to Dorothy. “Please visit me when there’s more news.”
“I will,” Sonya promised. She continued to watch her mother as she was led out of the room.
When she was gone, Sonya placed her sunglasses back on and left. She walked down the stairs and across the lobby, unaware of Odell following close behind her.
Chapter 21
Dwayne parked his car outside the Atlanta detention center and took a moment to calm down. Maybe he was overreacting. She may not even want his help.
“Are you all right?” Anthony asked.
Dwayne impulsively shook his head, but then contradicted himself. “Yes, I’m fine. Come on.”
The men stepped out of the car and headed toward the building. Dwayne’s mind crowded with words he wanted to say to Sonya. There was no doubt in his mind that she wouldn’t cooperate in leaving with him. He had to make sure he explained everything to her.
As they entered through the glass doors, a petite woman passed them. Anthony’s head turned, then he collided into a brawny frame that nearly knocked him to the floor. “Excuse me,” Anthony said to the man—who didn’t bother to stop.
Dwayne stopped, then turned to ask Anthony a question, when he noticed a familiar-looking man walking down the steps. The man seemed intent on his destination. Dwayne caught a glimpse of a young woman walking only two paces ahead of the stranger. She seemed nervous to him. She kept glancing from side to side but never turned around to check behind her.
Dwayne started back toward the door.
“What’s wrong?” Anthony asked as he passed him.
Dwayne’s eyes followed the short trim of her hair and down the small slope of her neck. When she made a full turn to face the building, his eyes rested on the gold chain that lay in the crescent valley of her breasts. He grabbed Anthony’s shoulder. “There she is!”
Both men ran back outside. Dwayne’s heart wedged in his throat the moment his eyes saw the gun the stranger pulled from his jacket.
Malik handed the picture of Laura to David. He had used the young boy for information before and found that the fifteen-year-old knew a lot of important information about the streets.
“I’ve never seen her before,” David said.
It was an obvious lie. Malik reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of money.
David’s eyes twinkled as he began to nod his head. “Well, maybe she does look familiar.”
“I thought she might.” Malik stopped at two hundred dollars before David remembered hearing about a job concerning Mrs. Durden.
“What kind of job?”
David flashed Malik a golden smile (only a few of the boy’s teeth didn’t have caps on them). “Word has it that she has something really valuable that somebody wants. The job was for somebody to retrieve it.”
“And you don’t know what it is they’re searching for?”
David held out his hand implying he needed more money for that piece of information.
Malik handed him another hundred dollars, only to be disappointed by his answer.
“No.”
Malik fought the urge to wring the teenager’s neck. His clients had often criticized him for his expensive rates, but if they knew how much it cost to get people to talk on the streets, they would change their tune. “Do you know who accepted the job?” When the boy didn’t answer, Malik’s jaw flexed in anger.
“It’s cool, it’s cool,” he said, trying to pacify Malik. “I don’t know, but I know who might be able to help you. Go down to William’s Place. You know William Gainey?”
“Yeah, I know him.”
“Well, he might be able to help you out. He used to do some work for Frank.”
“Thanks.” Malik shoved the picture back into his jacket and looked toward his destination. This wasn’t going to be easy. He and William had fallen out about two years back. He had doubts as to whether William would provide him with the information he needed.
Malik strutted down Henderson Avenue. He locked gazes with the many street thugs who questioned his presence on their turf. Although no one physically approached him, Malik knew he was being watched.
Malik entered the small pool hall, otherwise known as William’s Place. The men stopped what they were doing to assess their new visitor. Malik knew the routine. Many just wanted to know whether or not he was five-o. He snatched his shades from his face and scanned the room, looking for William.
One man stood and walked boldly over to him. He was equal to Malik’s height and build, but it didn’t
phase him a bit.
“What can I help you with?” the man asked. His stance said he was ready to rumble anytime.
“I’m here to see William.” Malik took the same stance.
“And who the hell are you?” the man challenged.
“Just tell him Malik wants to talk.” If the man recognized his name, he didn’t show it. He just continued with the interrogation that Malik knew was routine.
“William’s busy,” he lied.
“You didn’t even check,” Malik said, losing his patience.
“I don’t have to check. He’s busy.” He gave Malik his back, and Malik knew it was a sign that he had to fight him in order to see William.
Malik grabbed the man’s right shoulder and ducked just in time when the man immediately turned, swinging. Malik delivered a powerful uppercut that sent the man sprawling across a nearby pool table.
The men in the billiards room cheered Malik’s attacker toward victory. Malik’s opponent pulled himself up and landed some hard punches across Malik’s jaw. But that was all he could do before Malik proved why no one messed with him. His attacker was covered with blood from open cuts across his face.
The cheering ceased, and Malik gave a final blow that knocked out his opponent. Malik saw a few men exchange money for bets laid on the short fight.
“Now can someone tell me where I might find William Gainey?” No one said anything. They just turned back to what they were doing. Suddenly there was a lone clapping sound coming from the back of the room. Malik turned to see who it was.
“Bravo,” the voice said.
Malik recognized the voice immediately. “William.”
“Hello, Malik. I see you’re going to just stand there.” When Malik didn’t respond, he said, “Now come on. Is that any way to greet your younger brother?”
Bridget parked her Jeep outside the detention center just as her father raced down the pavement with Anthony following close behind him. Something is going on. She quickly jumped out of the Jeep, momentarily startled to see a woman she was sure looked familiar.
“Sonya?” she called. When Sonya didn’t respond, she was convinced she didn’t hear her. That must be who her father was running after. “Sonya!” she called again.
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