White Lines III (34 page)

As the house came alive with the family waking up, Born was in a reflective mood. He didn't have much energy for idle conversation. So after saying good morning to Jada, her sister, and Sheldon, he withdrew to Jada's bedroom for some much-needed time alone.

He sat on the bed, his nerves on edge. It was just after eight a.m. and he was anxious for Elliot to call him with instructions on where to meet him. Born had already secured the money for Ethan's release. He and Jada had pooled their resources, and DJ had contributed a large amount as well. Born had called in every favor he was owed and scraped together every penny of the one million dollar ransom. But he had no intention of giving Elliot anything. The cash was just a guise to get him in the door. Born had every intention of killing him today. Either he would free Ethan and kill his captor, or he would die trying.

Born had spoken to his mother briefly that morning. She told him that Anisa had been up all night, alternating between fits of crying and cursing. Born knew how she felt, and wished that she would talk to him and find solace in their shared anguish. But Miss Ingrid let him know that Anisa had made her refusal to speak to Born very clear.

“Marquis, she's upset right now. This is her son, too. All she can see right now is that he's gone, that it's Jada's fault, and that you don't hold her accountable. Right now, she wants no part of you. You can understand that, right?”

Born did understand. He couldn't even explain it if he tried. His love for Jada overshadowed the fact that this whole situation stemmed from her checkered past. He realized that to Anisa, Jada and her son were nothing but trouble. But Born loved Jada so much that he couldn't blame her for this. Still, he understood how Anisa was feeling.

Jada entered the bedroom, bringing Born a plate of breakfast. Born had no appetite, though. He thanked her, and set the plate down on the bedside table.

Jada sat next to him on the bed. “Have you heard anything yet?”

Born shook his head. “Still waiting.”

Jada glanced again at her own cell phone, hoping that it would ring so that they could get this whole thing over with. Elliot was taking his time, and making them suffer with each passing moment. “When are the guys getting here?”

Born stared at her, confused. “What guys?”

Jada frowned. “Well … who is going with you?” Jada had assumed that Born would be bringing some of his boys as backup.

Born knew that she wouldn't like what he was about to say. “I'm going by myself.”

Jada jumped up, pissed. “No, you're not!”

Born held up his hands defensively. “Calm down,” he said.

“Calm down, my ass. You're not walking into a damn ambush by yourself. Why would you even think that was a good idea?”

Born looked exhausted. “Jada, listen. This is my battle.”

“No!” She was adamant. “It's
my
battle. It's bad enough that your son is involved. Now you want me to just sit here while you go off
by yourself
to deal with Elliot? You must think I'm crazy.”

“I don't think you're crazy,” he said, wearily.

“What about Dorian's brothers? Zion? Tremaine? Damnit, even DJ! Why can't any of them go with you?”

Born pulled Jada close and held her tenderly. “Listen,” he said calmly. “Those guys have enough problems on their hands with their criminal cases. And how would I look bringing DJ with me to do some shit like this? He's a kid as far as I'm concerned. A kid with a big career and an international spotlight on him.” Born kissed Jada softly, which seemed to calm her. “This is something I have to do by myself. Ethan is my son. You're gonna be my wife. It's nobody else's responsibility but mine to protect you guys.”

Jada was crying now. “I'm scared, Born. What if he hurts you? Or if he hurts both of you? I couldn't handle that.” Jada had never been more afraid of anything in her life.

“Don't think like that.” Born knew it was futile to try to convince her not to think of the worst-case scenario, but he said it anyway. Truthfully, he had spent much of the night coming to grips with the fact that he could very well be walking directly into his own demise. But he had no reservations about it. He had to get his son back, and he was determined to make sure that Elliot never terrorized anyone again. He kissed Jada one more time, even more passionately. When he pulled away, he held her face in his hands and looked deep into her pretty brown eyes.

“I need you to know how much I love you, Jada. I don't care what you did years ago. It don't matter to me. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy, raising our kids, and making up for every time I hurt you or let you down. I want you to be my wife. There's nobody else I want but you.” He thought about Anisa, how she hated him now, and rightfully so. “I played a lot of games, and I shouldn't have. No matter what I did, or who I was with, there was never anybody else in my heart but you.” He wiped the tears that fell from her eyes. “After all this is over, I want you to promise me that we'll go and get married. No more games, no more delaying. Just me, you, and our kids. We can move away if you want or we can stay right here. It don't matter. I just want us to have our happily ever after. Promise me that.”

Jada nodded. “Yeah,” she said, softly. “I promise.”

Born drew her close, and she clung to him tightly. This felt too much like good-bye, and she cried out of her deep love for him and out of fear that their happy ending might never be.

Born's phone buzzed, and they both jumped anxiously. He looked at the screen and saw a text from a private number. With his heart racing, he looked at the picture that popped up on the screen. Ethan was tied to a chair in an otherwise empty room. He was bound to the chair with thick rope, his eyes and mouth covered with grey duct tape. The walls around him were gray, and there was no other visible furniture or people. Born and Jada searched the picture for clues, their hearts breaking at the thought of the horror that Ethan must have been enduring at that moment.

While they stared at the picture in silence, Jada's phone rang. With trembling hands and an equally shaky voice, she answered. “Hello?”

“Good morning, dear Jada.”

Elliot's tone sent chills up her spine. She activated the speakerphone so that Born could hear what was said.

“I assume that Born is there with you?”

“Yeah,” she said tersely. Bile rose in her throat at the sound of his voice.

“Good,” he said. “I want both of you to bring the money together. Just the two of you. Nobody else. If you show up with any police or anyone else, I will blow this kid's brains out on sight.” Elliot chuckled slightly. “He's a real pussy, you know? He cried all night, and then he wet himself right after I tied him to this chair. Not at all what I would expect from the son of a so-called hustler.”

Born squeezed his eyes closed, painfully. He knew that Ethan had to be petrified, but to hear about it in such detail broke his heart into a million pieces.

“Anyway, I trust that you have the money?” Elliot asked.

“We got your money.” Born fought to keep his emotions under control. He was afraid that if he berated Elliot the way that he wanted to, Ethan might be hurt. Born willed himself to save all of his rage for when he faced this coward in person.

“Very good. Bring it to West Farms Road and East 174
th
Street in the Bronx. This is a warehouse that I use from time to time for situations like this.” Elliot chuckled again. He was giddy at the thought of all of the money he was about to get. He was also quite eager to exact revenge against Jada at last. “When you get here, park your car behind the silver minivan. Take your keys out of the ignition and leave them on your dashboard. Take only the money with you and nothing else. Then, walk through the alleyway with your hands where I can see them at all times. Walk slowly, and do not make any sudden moves or you will be sorry. Once I have the cash, you will have your son, and we can all get on with our lives. You have until noon. If you are not here by then…” The sound of a gunshot pierced the air, echoing in the emptiness of the room Elliot was in. Jada gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth in horror. Born jumped to his feet, panicking.

“Yo, what the fuck!” he roared. “You better not hurt my son!”

Ethan's muffled yet anguished cries could be heard despite the duct tape over his mouth. Born's eyes welled up with tears as Elliot's laughter filled his ears.

“Relax,” he said. “The kid is okay. For now. Clock's ticking.”

Elliot hung up. Born turned away from Jada and held his head in his hands. His fury was evident so she gave him space. For several minutes, neither of them spoke. Finally, Born turned and looked at her. His tone left no room for debate.

“You're gonna stay here. You, Ava, and Sheldon do not leave this house for any reason. Don't open the door at all. Stay put until I get back.”

Born made a move toward the door and Jada grabbed his arm. He turned to her and Jada threw herself into his arms, weeping.

“It's okay,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. He held her tightly and inhaled her scent, aware that it might be for the last time. “I'm coming back to you. Just remember what I said. I love you, Jada.”

“I love you, too.” She wiped her eyes, determined to be strong for him. “Be careful.”

Born nodded. He kissed her on her forehead, then grabbed the duffel bag that sat beside the bedroom door. Without looking back, he headed for the Bronx to bring his son back home.

 

20

BANG! BANG!

Miss Ingrid hung up the phone and started praying. Anisa stepped into the room and found Born's mother on her knees facing the sofa, praying so hard that beads of sweat formed on her brow. A sense of dread overtook Anisa, and she braced herself against the wall.

“What's wrong?” she asked.

Miss Ingrid looked up at Anisa with eyes full of worry. She had never particularly cared for Anisa. Over the years, Ingrid's allegiance had always belonged to Jada. But in this situation, as a mother whose child's life was in limbo, her heart went out to her.

“Marquis is on his way to meet with the man now. He says he has the money and it should all go smoothly.” Ingrid shook her head. “But I know Marquis. He's not gonna pay that man a dime.” Ingrid shut her eyes as she thought of all the things that could possibly go wrong. “God, please don't let nothing bad happen.”

Anisa stood there for a moment deep in thought. She was furious with Born, but she still loved him. She certainly didn't want to see any harm come to him or to Ethan. Without another moment's hesitation, she dropped to her knees beside Miss Ingrid, each mother praying desperately for the safe return of her son.

*   *   *

Born pulled up on West Farms Road and slowly canvassed the block. It was a virtually deserted stretch of industrial real estate, with little thru traffic. Several cars were parked along the street, but there was no one walking about. He saw the silver minivan that Elliot had referred to during the phone call earlier. The vehicle had no license plates, and Born looked around for any clue as to where Elliot might be, or where he was hiding his son. He saw a self-storage facility a couple of doors down from the warehouse, and an auto body shop that appeared to be abandoned on the corner.

Born parked behind the minivan and turned the car off. He took the key out of the ignition and laid it on the dashboard as he had been instructed. He reached over and touched the picture of Ethan that he kept taped to his windshield near his inspection sticker. If he didn't make it out of this alive, he promised himself that he would make sure that Ethan did. He took a deep breath, grabbed the duffel bag sitting on the passenger seat beside him, and climbed out of the car.

Born stood near his car for a few moments before heading toward the alleyway. The walls were all splattered with graffiti, and the warehouse itself looked desolate and abandoned. He walked slowly, with both of his hands visible, struggling with the heavy duffel bag, which was packed with all the cash. As he walked, he kept his eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary. With his senses heightened, his heart raced in his chest. He jumped slightly when he saw a man emerge through a gray metal door, which was covered in graffiti. It wasn't the same man he'd met in the McDonald's bathroom. This guy looked a lot younger, somewhere in his twenties—and he stared at Born, icily. With a gun in his hand, the man motioned Born over and held the door open wide enough for Born to peer inside. It looked dark in there, and Born couldn't tell if Ethan was in there or not. But without a word, he walked toward the open door, and made eye contact with the man standing there.

“Where's my son?” Born asked, getting right to the point.

The guy didn't answer him. Instead, he just held the door wider as Born walked past. Born stepped across the threshold and was immediately knocked to the floor from behind. As he tried to get up, he was hit in the back of the head with something heavy and it hurt like hell. He moved to push himself up and was hit again. This time, he lay there on the floor, looking around with his head pounding relentlessly. He recognized Elliot's voice before he saw him.

“You don't ask the fucking questions around here.” Elliot kicked him hard in his side. Born groaned in pain. Elliot turned to his nephew and told him to go out to Born's car and bring him the keys from the dashboard. Then he turned back to Born, sneering. “I'm the one that asks the questions. You want to know what my first question is?” He didn't wait for Born to respond. “Where the fuck is Jada?”

Born peered up at Elliot from his awkward vantage point. “She couldn't make it,” he said, facetiously. “I'm here. The money's here. Now where the fuck is my son?”

Elliot laughed, looking at Born incredulously. Elliot's amused expression belied his fury. He kicked Born hard in the face, and spat on him as he writhed in pain.