Wounded Love (G Street Chronicles Presents From Love to Loathe Series) (17 page)

When I made it down, Jyme was feeding the baby. Cinnamon sat two pillows down on the couch and helped me sit down gently. I was in so much fuckin’ pain, but I hid it well. I had to grin and bear it because I couldn’t take any more pain medicine if we were leaving soon. Cinnamon slowly, but surely, collected all the items we would need from the house. Anyone looking at her would think she was just straightening up. Chyna knew something was up, but we hadn’t had a chance to fill her in yet.

All of sudden, Jyme handed me the baby. “I’m going to go take a shower,” he told me with a small smile. I looked down at her, and she looked exactly same. I smelled her, and she smelled like babies were supposed to smell. Jyme had never given her directly to me before, and everyone watched us. I guess he thought since he was taking her from me, the least he could do was let her spend some time with me alone. He went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him, and we all listened for the water in the shower.

I whispered to Chyna, “We gotta go. Now!”

She nodded, and looked at Michael with her pointy finger pressed against her lips. He nodded and grinned wide; he loved secrets. Chyna went upstairs and came back down with the bags. Then I heard the water from the shower come on.

“Get the extra phone and three thousand in cash and leave it for him on the table,” I told Cinnamon.

“Chyna, come get the baby.”

She took her and went straight to the truck with Michael on her heels. Cinnamon helped me to the truck. There was a pillow on the seat. I dreaded the climb in, but we had to leave and we had to leave now. I got in and laid over the seat, I wasn’t able to sit up straight yet.

“Go!” I yelled at Cinnamon.

She started the truck and slammed it into reverse. She put it in drive and floored the gas. I sat up slowly and put my seatbelt on.

“Where’s the phone?” I asked. Chyna handed me the other non-traceable phone. I held it in my hand because I knew he would call. We had just made it to the main road when the phone rang. I let it ring three times and then answered.

“Jyme.”

“Cricket, bring me the baby,” he said in broken sobs.

“I can’t do that.”

“Bring me my baby back!”

“Jyme, you’re not thinking straight. You rented a car in your name and gave them the address. Troy and Trey will be at that house by in the morning. I suggest you take the money, call a cab, and get the hell out of there.”

“Cricket, do you know what you’ve just done?” he asked in a dull voice.

I sat there in silence waiting for him to enlighten me.

“I’m going to kill you the next time I see you.”

I hung the phone up and wrapped my arms around myself. I started rocking and crying with my face toward the passenger window. Chyna put her hands on my shoulders, and that made me cry worst. She unbuckled her seat belt and wrapped her arms around my seat and me, and I cried and cried.

About an hour later, we made it to Knoxville. I decided Georgia would be our best bet right now, so we headed that way. I told them we could stop and stretch our legs in a few hours. I never once told any of them where we were going. By the time we had gotten an hour away from Knoxville, Jyme had called over a dozen times; but I couldn’t hear any more of his threats, so I stopped answering.

“Do you think I should take her back to Aunt Nan?” I whispered to Cinnamon while everyone was sleeping.

“‘No, Cricket! She’s yours, and you have sacrificed so much for her. Don’t you listen to Jyme. Don’t you do it! You’re a great mother to that baby. I will help you, and so will Chyna. Yes, we’re a little dysfunctional, but we know how to stick together.” The phone rang, and it wasn’t a number I recognized, so I answered it.

“Hello?” I said into the phone.

“I’m not sure what you did, but they have a lead on you,” Aunt Nan said.

“I know. It was Jyme, but we’re already gone,” I told her. “How did you know?”

“They’ve been sitting out on the main road for two days, and about thirty minutes ago, they all hauled ass out of here like something was on fire.”

“Ok.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Yes.”

“Get rid of him. He’s going to get you caught,” she warned me.

“Already done.”

“Good girl. The streets aren’t for everybody.”

“I know.”

“All is well?”

“Yes, ma’am; all is well.”

“Good.” And then she was gone.

I hung the phone up and told Cinnamon we were going to be alright and that I was keeping the baby with me for now. I pulled the phone out and sent a text to the other phone.

“They know where you are. GET OUT!”

Chapter 9

Atlanta

W
e made it to Atlanta a little after 3:00 a.m. Everyone was sleeping, and I had nothing but my thoughts keeping me company now. The pain helped me stay awake; I had to keep going and the pain was my motivation. I had to protect my family, and I’d do it by any means necessary. I pulled into a Marriot and got us two connecting rooms. Chyna took both of the kids in and got them into bed; Cinnamon and I unpacked the truck. I checked the phone; Jyme hadn’t text me back. I started to get worried and prayed he got out in time.

The next day, I decided Chyna and I needed a new identity. Well, we needed our
old
identity. We had to come up with a whopper of a story. We told the Social Security Department we had been living on a compound and that we had finally escaped. We told them we wanted everything kept private because we wanted to start a new life. It actually worked. We both got a license and social security cards. We had to make up an address to give them. Chyna went ahead, and changed Michael’s last name to match ours. Then we went and got a P.O. Box and forwarded our fake address to the P.O. Box.

We went out to eat that night, Michael insisted on spaghetti so we went to Buco Di Beppo. We sat at The Pope table. That table was normally reserved for a big party, but Michael liked the Pope’s head and he insisted. I paid a little extra for the table, but everyone was pleased for the extra room.

The baby started getting a little fussy, and I clammed up. Jyme had always comforted and held her when she got like that, so it felt weird without him being there. Chyna and Cinnamon watched me while she fussed and kicked in her car seat. I realized I was the only parent she had now and I needed to step it up. I unhooked her from her car seat and picked her up. She stopped fussing at once. I pulled her to my chest and smiled at her. She had a chunk of my long extensions balled up in her little fist. It reminded me of her and Jyme together, and I felt sad. I didn’t intend to keep her from him long. But he wasn’t thinking straight right now, and I could never put her in any kind of danger. I looked down at her and told her she was such a pretty baby.

We were a dysfunctional bunch, but we were together and I could honestly call us a family. The next morning I left the hotel early before anyone woke. I went to a few of the towns I’d searched online for the lowest rates in the vicinity. There was Alpharetta, which was twenty miles from Atlanta. Cumming was just thirty-three miles from Atlanta, and then there was Buford, which was thirty-eight miles from Atlanta. I checked out all of the rental houses with two-car garages that caught my eye. I wanted something that was semi-secluded and with a fenced-in yard for the kids. I looked at three properties in Alpharetta, four in Cumming, and one in Buford.

The one in Buford was perfect. It was a four-bedroom and four-bath house with a closed-in backyard that already included a trampoline, swing set, and sand box. The owner said he could have the entire outside and inside furniture moved out in the next week or so, but I told him we had just moved to town and would love to rent the furniture from him. He was delighted, and I signed a six-month lease on the property.

The phone hadn’t rung since I sent the text; so when I got back to the hotel, I sat in the parking lot and dialed the only number that was stored in the phone. It rang six times, and then a generic message said to leave a message after the beep. I hung the phone up and sent a text.

“Please let me know that you’re okay.”

I pressed send. I pulled out the address book in my purse and found the number I wanted to dial. The phone rang twice.

“This is D’Artagnan.”

“Hi.”

We sat there in silence for a minute or so.

“Are you safe?”

“Yes, I am. Thanks to you.”

“I love you.”

“I know you do.”

“Cricket, I need to see you.”

“That’s why I was calling you.”

“Where are you?”

“When can you get away for a few days?” I asked him.

“Now!”

“I will book you a flight tomorrow and email you the confirmation number.”

“I’ll be there, Cricket.”

I hung up the phone and got out of the truck. I used my keycard and walked into the room. Chyna and Cinnamon watched me carefully and then seemed to relax a little. Neither one of them said a word to me. Michael was running around and Babe was goo goo and gah gahing on the bed.

“Pack up everything, I found us a house and it looks pretty safe.”

They stared at me and then smiled at each other. They started packing at once, and Michael even seemed to be rushing to get out of the hotel. I checked us out, and we headed to our new residence for the next six months…hopefully.

We pulled into the garage, and all three of the people that were able to walk on their own jumped out and ran into the house. I pulled Babe from her car seat and held her for a moment. She looked into my eyes, and I looked right back into hers.

“I promise you’ll see him again, I would never keep you away from him. He loves you so much, and he’s in so much pain without you right now.”

At that very moment, the phone buzzed in my pocket. It was the only number that was stored in the phone.

“Hello.”

“Cricket,” he said.

I’d never longed this much to hear someone’s voice in my life. “Jyme, I’m here.”

“Where is she?”

“I have her right here in my arms. I’m holding her right now and she’s perfectly fine.”

“Cricket, give me my daughter back.”

“I swear I won’t keep her from you long. It’s just not safe right now, and you’re not thinking straight.”

“Please, Cricket.”

“Jyme, I love you so much, and I know you would never hurt her intentionally, but you’re not thinking straight.”

“Cricket, you’re the one who has her in an unsafe place. You’re a dirty whore, and you have her around those other druggy whores. There’s no telling what she’s being exposed to with you three!” he spit out through his teeth.

I sat there in silence. I wasn’t prepared to hear this from him…not now, not ever I don’t think.

“You’re disgusting, and so is that little dysfunctional, so-called family you’ve created. There is no way in hell I’m letting my daughter be exposed to your lifestyle. She will not be a stripper, druggy, whore like you three. I will get her away from you or die trying.”

“Call anytime to check on her.”

“Don’t you hang up this fuckin’ phone, Cricket!”

“I have to go now.”

“You dirty waste of a good nut; you better not hang up on me. You fuckin’ bitch!”

I disconnected the line and slid the phone back into my pocket. I held on to Babe tight and got out of the truck. That night, I gave Babe a bath; she loved the water. Cinnamon came in and sat on the bathroom sink. I knew she wanted to talk. It must have been heavy because she shut the bathroom door.

“What’s up?”

“How long do you think we can keep this up?” she asked.

“For a while, as long as we’re careful.”

“I don’t like being here without a car. What if something happens while you’re gone?”

“We’ll get a second car tomorrow. You guys pick something you both like that we can all fit into.”

“Have you talked to him?”

I nodded, not wanting to talk about the subject right now.

“Is he still making threats?”

I nodded again; we sat there in silence for a moment.

“We need guns, Cricket.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“What do you need me to do?” she asked.

“Help me keep this ship afloat.”

“I can do that.”

“How is she doing?”

“Good actually, with all things considered. I think he helps her a lot.” I was referring to Michael. “We have to get him in some kind of school. I promised, Nan.”

“I will research tomorrow.”

“Cinnamon, he needs an advanced school. Aunt Nan said he’s gifted, and we don’t need or want him to lose that. Something good has to come out of this dysfunctional family.” She nodded.

The next morning they decided on a Nissan Armada. Cinnamon said Chyna fell in love with it online, so they both agreed on it. I ordered it from a local Nissan dealership, and it was to be delivered by the afternoon.