Maury’s gentleness made Halleigh open up to him and tell him things about her past that she was highly ashamed of. Yet, that just seemed to draw him even closer to her.
If she wasn’t so hung up on Malek, she could’ve easily seen herself falling for Maury, but her feelings for Malek were too strong for her to let go. Malek was a part of her, and she couldn’t let her heart love another if she tried.
“Everything’s gon’ be all right,” Halleigh said unconvincingly. “Come on, it’s too cold to be standing out here. Let’s wait inside.”
Halleigh and Tasha made their way back to the waiting room, where they both sat solemnly in silence, consumed with their own thoughts.
It was now almost noon. Ten hours had passed since Maury had been shot. Tasha had been in the hospital now for about three hours, yet she was still in the dark about her brother’s status. She was more than thankful that Maury had her name listed under Sister in the address portion of his BlackBerry. That was the only way that the doctors were able to contact her to inform her that her brother had been shot. But now the unending wait to find out his condition was like torture.
Another hour passed before a doctor finally came out to see them.
“How is my brother?” Tasha asked as soon as she saw the doctor step into the room.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting this long,” the doctor stated. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but your brother was D.O.A. We called you down here because we needed a relative to identify his body.”
Halleigh watched as Tasha broke down.
Tasha’s body went numb as she looked at the man through glassy eyes. “D.O.A.? Identify his—No!” she cried. “No! God, no!”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” the doctor stated out of routine. His tone held no sympathy, and he barely looked at Tasha as he delivered the worst news she’d ever received. “I’ll give you a few minutes to cope with the information I’ve given you. I will still need you to ID the body.” He walked out of the room without once looking back.
Tasha’s screams could be heard through the entire emergency room. Tears fell from Halleigh’s eyes as she wrapped her arms around her friend. Tasha clung to Halleigh, and the two girls sat down, rocking each other back and forth in an attempt to deal with their grief. Although Halleigh’s pain wasn’t as great, she was still hurt by Maury’s death. He had treated her like she was worth more than gold, and she appreciated his brief presence in her life.
God, please take care of him. Halleigh looked toward the sky as she held onto Tasha, but let go when she looked up and saw the news flash across the waiting room TV. Malek’s picture was on the morning news.
“Turn that up!” Halleigh yelled as she jumped up, leaving Tasha’s side and rushing to the nurse’s station. “Please turn that up!” she repeated. The nurse increased the volume on the TV, and Halleigh watched in desperation.
“Hi, this is Grace Stocker reporting live from Celebrations nightclub in Flint, Michigan. Last night this was the scene of a deadly shooting. Two people were shot and killed. One was injured. These deaths bring the total to thirty-seven in Flint’s murder count, making it one of the most violent cities per capita in America.”
Halleigh shook her head in disbelief. “He didn’t show up last night. He was shot,” she whispered. “He was dying.”
As Malek’s picture was displayed on the screen again, the newscaster continued, “Malek Johnson was among those individuals involved in the chaos. Two years ago he had been deemed Flint’s star and was expected to be the number one draft pick in the NBA. Now he is involved in yet another violent encounter.
“Viewers may remember the violence and chaos that erupted at Berston Park during a basketball game between rival drug dealers that turned deadly. Malek Johnson was shot at that event, and now here we have yet another incident where Malek Johnson has been shot. Just another indication of how bad things are in the city of Flint.”
Halleigh tuned the reporter out and rushed back to the nurse’s station. “Is Malek Johnson here?” she asked, knowing there was a good chance that he could be in the hospital somewhere. “Please tell me he’s here.”
The nurse typed in Malek’s name and nodded her head. “Malek Johnson is in room eight-fourteen.”
Halleigh looked back toward Tasha, who was still grieving uncontrollably over the loss of her brother. She ran over to her and kneeled by her side. “I’ll be back, Tasha. I have to go check on Malek. He could be lying up in here dead and I wouldn’t even know it. Are you going to be okay?”
Tasha nodded her head.
Halleigh rushed to the nearest elevator in search of Malek. She stepped inside and closed her eyes as she prepared herself for what she was about to see. Please, God, let him be okay.
Malek, grateful that he was still alive, considered himself lucky to be breathing as he lay on the hospital bed. Something told him to put on his bullet-proof vest the night of Joe’s party, and he was glad that he had followed his instincts. His vest was the only thing that saved him from certain death. One of the bullets had struck him in the shoulder, but most of them hit his vest, leaving him with some bad bruises and one gunshot wound. But he would rather have bruises and a bad shoulder than holes any day.
Having seen Jamaica Joe get shot in the head, he couldn’t help but feel that he had cheated death. The emotions that he felt for his man were overwhelming. Jamaica Joe had been the one person who had reached out to him after his NBA scandal. Even after the murder of Malek’s mother, Jamaica Joe supported him like only family could. Jamaica Joe had become Malek’s family, and now Malek had been forced to watch him die.
The doctors had given him Vicodin to take some of his pain away, and the potent prescription drug had him woozy. He could barely keep his eyes open, but he was paranoid that someone wanted him dead, so he made an effort to stay awake. He also knew that the police would have some questions for him. They would want to know how he had acquired a bullet-proof vest, but he wasn’t going to stick around and wait for them to question him.
Malek focused his attention on the door as Halleigh walked into the room. The room was dark, but he still recognized her. He could tell by the way that she walked that it was her. Her steps were timid, and she was afraid of the condition that Malek could be in.
“They got Joe, Halleigh. She blew his brains out right in front of me,” he stated without looking up in her direction.
“Oh my God, thank you,” she whispered as she walked to his bedside and kissed his cheek. Her mind wasn’t on Jamaica Joe. She was just happy to see that Malek hadn’t joined him in death. She sobbed as she kissed his face over and over again.
Tears from her face dripped onto his skin, and he reached out for her hand. “Why you crying, ma?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I’m just glad you’re okay. When you didn’t show up, I thought . . .” She couldn’t finish her sentence.
“I’m right here, Hal. I told you I ain’t goin’ nowhere. It’s me and you against the world,” he whispered as he graced her face with his fingertips. “Okay?”
She nodded her head with understanding.
“Now help me out of this bed,” he stated. “I got to get up out of here before the police come through.”
As Halleigh helped him out of the bed, he grimaced. She was careful not to touch his bandaged chest.
“Are you sure you’re okay to leave?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m good. I was wearing a vest, so the shots to the chest didn’t penetrate. I took one in the shoulder, though, and my entire arm hurts like shit,” he answered.
Malek reached for Halleigh, and she helped him stand by putting one arm behind his back as he draped his good arm across her shoulder. “Everything’s gon’ be good, Hal. I promise you, I’ma take care of you.”
“But what about you? You just got shot. Who did this to you?” Halleigh stopped to look into Malek’s eyes.
Malek sighed as he felt the throbbing in his chest. He grabbed the back of Halleigh’s neck and brought
her close as he kissed her on the lips. “Do you trust me?” he asked.
She nodded her head.
“Let me hear you say it.”
“I trust you, Malek.”
“All right then. Let me be your man and take care of you. You don’t need to worry about anything.”
Halleigh smiled slightly because she was finally where she wanted to be—with Malek.
Reminiscent of when the rapper Tupac Shakur had been ambushed and shot in New York City and then immediately checked himself out of the hospital against his doctors’ wishes, Malek, fearing that his life was still in jeopardy, decided to “pull a Tupac Shakur,” and checked himself out against medical advice.
Halleigh held onto Malek and helped him into a wheelchair and then wheeled him out of the hospital without ever looking back. They were about to begin a new life together, with Malek as the boss and Halleigh as his wifey.
Tasha stepped into the cold room and stared at the bodies lying on the steel tables and covered with white sheets. Her heart felt as if it would explode from fear. Deep within she knew that her brother was lying lifeless on top of one of the tables.
The coroner looked at the disheveled woman before him, and pity filled her face. A police detective stood in the corner of the room and watched her every move as the coroner led her to one of the bodies.
“Are you ready?” the woman asked as she put her hands on the white sheet.
Tasha wanted to respond, but the huge lump in her throat stopped her from speaking.
After a couple seconds, the coroner pulled the covers back, revealing Maury. Tasha’s hand flew to her mouth as she doubled over in grief. “Maury! God, no! No!” she cried as she caressed her deceased brother’s face. His skin was cold and held a blue hue. The four bullet holes in his chest were red, and dried-up blood had crusted around the wounds. The coroner nodded toward the detective, who then walked toward Tasha.
“Miss, when your brother was killed, he wasn’t alone. We have another victim, a female, and we can’t seem to find anyone that knows her. Would you mind taking a look to see if you recognize her?” the detective asked. He didn’t even wait for her to agree before leading her over to another steel table.
The coroner followed and then pulled the sheet back.
“Mimi?” Tasha whispered. “Mimi!” Tasha couldn’t stop the vomit that came up. She threw up all over the floor. The murder of her brother and her close friend was too much for her to bear. “Why would someone do this?” she asked as she glanced back toward her brother.
“I can’t do this,” she stated before racing out of the room. She could hear her heart pounding in her head, and her breathing became erratic and shallow. She couldn’t breathe, and her stomach was twisted in knots. Maury’s gone, Mimi’s dead. What were they doing together? Who did this? She couldn’t contain her emotions. She didn’t even make it down the hallway before she passed out on the hospital floor.
When she came to, she was in no position to deal with detectives, but at the same time, she had to pull herself together because she wanted to help the police find the people who had done this to two of the people that she was closest to in this world.
“Tasha, we had several uniformed police officers taking statements after the violence erupted at Celebrations nightclub. And although Mimi and your brother were not killed at the nightclub, when we found out about their murders, we were able to go and re-interview some of the people who had given statements to the uniformed officers. At least three people have verified that they saw Malek Johnson leaving Celebrations with Mimi. So, before we question Mr. Johnson, we want to know from you if know Malek Johnson.”
Tahsa’s heartbeat immediately picked up, and while she ignored the cop’s question, she wracked her brain, trying to think back to everything that had transpired the night before. And before she knew it, a light bulb went off in her head, and she could see the whole layout of the VIP area. Yes, she definitely remembered seeing Malek and Mimi talking.
What the fuck?
“Tasha, I know this is difficult, but if there is anything you can think of, it will probably help, no matter how small of a detail you may think it is.”
“Malek? Yeah, who in Flint doesn’t know Malek Johnson? He was damn near the LeBron James of Flint.”
“Did you happen to see him with Mimi at Celebrations?”
Tasha paused; then she looked at the detective and shook her head. “Nah, to be honest, I seen Malek that night, but I never saw him with Mimi,” Tasha lied. She didn’t know what angle the cops were coming from, but she was street-smart enough to know to keep her fucking mouth shut, especially when it came to talking to “Jake.”
Something the fuck ain’t right! Tasha thought, but she just couldn’t figure out what it was. She knew that she had to speak to both Halleigh and Malek to see if she could make sense out of Malek’s name being in the police’s mouth. She knew that if they had suspicions about Malek having something to do with Mimi’s murder, then they also had to have suspicions about him being in on Maury’s murder.
What the fuck? Tasha couldn’t help but notice how things seemed like they were quickly going from bad to worse.
Chapter Two
After she helped Malek into the backseat of the cab, Halleigh turned back toward the hospital.
Malek could see her hesitation. “What we waiting on, Hal? Let’s get out of here.” Malek held out his hand for her.
“Tasha is in there, Malek. Her brother was killed last night. I have to go check on her,” Halleigh stated. “Just wait five minutes for me.”
Malek shook his head and replied, “Nah, ma, you’ve got to leave that life alone. All those chicks you were rolling with are dead to you now. I don’t want you around anything or anyone that links you to that nigga Manolo, understand?”
“But, Malek, she’s my friend and she needs me,” Halleigh pleaded as she looked back at the hospital doors.
“So do I, Hal. I need you, and you can’t have both worlds. You either with me, or you not. If you choose me, all that Manolo Mami shit and all the drugs you was fucking with got to be a thing of the past.”
Halleigh looked back one last time at the hospital and then got into the cab with Malek. Her heart ached as the cab pulled away from the hospital. Malek was putting her between a rock and a hard place. Tasha was her closest friend, and now she was abandoning her.
She needs me, Hal thought as a tear slid down her face.
Malek quickly wiped it away. “This is a new beginning, Hal,” he whispered as he pulled her head near and kissed the side of her face.
Halleigh gave him a weak smile as she reached out for his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. The warmth that generated between them was something that she’d been wanting to feel for the past two years, and now that she had found her way back to him, she was never letting go. She told herself that she had to sacrifice her friendship with Tasha in order to save her relationship with Malek.
He’s worth it, she thought.
Against Malek’s better judgment, they pulled up to his one-bedroom apartment, and she helped him out of the cab and up the steps to the third floor. Malek didn’t let Halleigh know it, but he was feeling a bit paranoid. He wanted to avoid his South Side enemies, and at the same time, he wanted to avoid any questions from the police, so he knew that going to his crib wasn’t the best idea. But in the condition that he was in, he really wanted to avoid moving around too much.
When they entered the apartment, Halleigh helped him to the bedroom and sat him down on the edge of the bed. Malek looked up at her, and for the first time, he noticed a change in her, a sexy matureness. She seemed to have lost her girlhood innocence in a way that made her look and come across more mature, more sexy.
“You look good, Hal,” he commented.
The two years that they had been separated had matured her, but they had also hardened her. She put her head down as she thought of all that she’d been through.
Malek immediately noticed
her embarrassment, but didn’t comment on it. He didn’t want to make her feel worse than she already did. He was aware that she would have to rebuild her self-confidence. He only hoped that she would eventually be the same girl that he had known before her life was turned upside down.
Malek pulled her down onto the bed and she lay directly underneath him. The smell of her was intoxicating, and for the first time in two years, he felt whole. Halleigh was the missing piece to his life puzzle, and now that she was back, he was determined to never let her go.
“Hold up,” he said as he eased out of the bed and went into a safe in his closet. He pulled out a .45 automatic and went to make sure that his apartment door was locked. After taking shots to the chest, he was paranoid. He knew that somebody wanted him dead and that he had to be on point until he got to the bottom of it.
He went back to the room, lay down next to Hal, and put the handgun beside his pillow as a precaution.
Hal snuggled closed to him, and he held her in his arms. It hurt like hell, but in spite of the physical pain he was feeling, he had to hold Halleigh just to have her close to him. The silence between them was a comfortable one, and eventually it transformed into the first comfortable sleep that either of them had experienced in more than two years.
The next morning Malek awoke to excruciating pain shooting up and down the left side of his body. He knew that his arm would hurt, but he had no idea how badly. He was careful not to disturb Halleigh as he got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He opened the medicine cabinet and retrieved some Tylenol. Taking five at a time, he hoped that the mild over-the-counter drug would relieve his pain.
His thoughts drifted to Jamaica Joe, and he gripped the sink in agony over the thought of losing his mentor. Now it was his time to step up to the plate, but it didn’t feel right without Jamaica Joe by his side. Jamaica Joe had ensured that he’d learned all that he needed to know regarding the streets, but Malek knew that he had some big shoes to fill.
Resurrection Page 2
