Wounded Love (G Street Chronicles Presents From Love to Loathe Series) (24 page)

“Unfortunately, Troy’s in love with you, and he hasn’t given up on you yet. That means he will do any and everything to get you back. He doesn’t care about Chyna or Michael, and that is so sad. Unfortunately, your boss is in love with you too. I’m sure he’s a good man, and he doesn’t deserve this, Cricket. And last and should be least…Jyme is going to get the both of you killed. I’ve taught you better than this, Cricket. I know he’s your first love. You gave him your all, and you know better than that. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for you and your sister. And I will help you girls out until the day that I die, and then after that, I have a plan. But Cricket, you’re smarter than this, and you know this story can’t have a happy ending. You love that baby girl of yours too much to put her in this kind of danger. You either have to take Troy and his crew out, or you have to run.”

I nodded because I knew Nan was right, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

“How’s Chyna and her meds going?” Nan asked.

I gasped with wide eyes. I dug into my purse, pulling the non-traceable phone out. I dialed Chyna’s number, and she answered on the second ring.

“Cricket!”

“Chyna, how many days have you been out of your meds? I asked in a rush.

“Four,” she whispered.

“Chyna, I’m so sorry. I will get it taken care of today. I swear to you.”

“Okay, Cricket.”

“I’ll call Cinnamon back with the instructions.”

“Okay, love you, sis.”

“Love you, too, sissy.”

We hung up, and Nan told me she would be right back. Nan came back with a complete list of doctors in the US and Canada. I knew any doctor on this list would help us. I texted Cinnamon two of the doctors’ names—both in Atlanta.

I stayed at Nan’s for another two days setting up a serious emergency plan. I had an A, B, and C plan; just in case. I texted D’Artagnan and told him I needed a few days off. He insisted on speaking with me, but I refused. Nan got me a car to drive and told me not to worry about getting it back to her if I couldn’t.

As I drove to back to Atlanta, Jyme came to mind. I hadn’t heard from him in almost three days and neither had Cinnamon. It wasn’t like him not to communicate with Babe. He always called her just to hear her sleeping if nothing else.

Four hours later, I made it back to the house. I parked the car up the street and walked down to the house. I unlocked the door, and Michael ran to me and wrapped himself around my legs. I went straight to Babe and scooped her up into my arms. Michael didn’t let go for a good ten minutes.

“Cinnamon, he hasn’t called for Babe?”

“No, not a thing.”

I took out my non-traceable phone and dialed his number. The phone rang six times before the generic voice mail came on. Chyna brought me a jar of baby food and a small bottle. I fed Babe, and she ate it all. Dear GOD, I don’t know how she ate vegetable medley when it looked so much like mush. I gave her the small bottle, and she drunk it all too. She baby talked and baby talked; I could tell she was totally entertaining herself. The non-traceable phone rang, I didn’t recognize the number, but I knew it was a California area code.

“Hello?”

“You’ve been hiding from me, you sexy bitch.”

I walked over to Babe and picked her up from her swing. I held her close to my chest. I looked all around the room, for what I wasn’t sure. Chyna and Cinnamon watched me carefully and then Chyna went and picked Michael up and held on to him tight. Michael was watching me the whole time, so he knew something was wrong and knew not to ask any questions. Cinnamon started turning out all of the lights, and then she ran into the garage and came back with two guns.

“Are you there, you sexy being? I’ve missed you, Cricket.”

“What do you want, Troy?”

Chyna closed her eyes and held on to Michael tight. Cinnamon was looking out the windows with a pair of binoculars. She saw nothing and kept looking at me and shaking her head.

“Oh, Cricket; I actually have something that belongs to you. How about you name the one precious thing that you don’t have in your little cozy possession right now. I’ll give you a hint, it’s big, and it’s an Indian.”

I closed my eyes and tried to pull all of my thoughts together. I walked over to the downstairs closet and took out the already packed bags. Chyna started crying silently, and Michael wiped her face with his little hands. I handed the baby to Chyna and she got herself together at once. I went out to the garage, opened the safe on the top shelf, took out the money, put it inside one of Cinnamon’s purses, and placed it in the trunk of their car.

Cinnamon watched me and knew immediately that we wouldn’t be traveling together. She placed her hand into mine and stared at me. I shook my head; we didn’t have time for this right now.

“Cricket, I assure you that I have something here that you desperately want,” Troy said.

I shut my eyes. Chyna put a bag in the trunk of the car, and Michael did the same. Cinnamon whispered something in his ear, and he ran back into the house. I gestured for Cinnamon to give me the other non-traceable phone. I dialed his number, and of course, I heard his phone ringing on Troy’s line. Jyme answered, and I heard the echo from Troy’s phone on the other line. I hung up at once.

“What do you want, Troy?” I asked him.

“You know what I want.”

“I’ll be there in four days.”

“You will get your ass on a plane tonight, and you will be here by tomorrow morning.”

The first set of tears started falling from my eyes and the rest followed.

“Alright,” I choked out.

“Oh, Cricket…don’t cry, baby. I won’t hurt him. I promise.”

Troy had no idea why these tears were falling from my eyes.

Chyna gave me Babe, and I handed her the other cell phone. I went back into the house and sat down onto the couch.

“I’ll call you back with the flight details.”

“I can’t wait to smell you, Cricket.”

I hung up and dropped the phone on the couch. I cried out toward the ceiling. “Why?”

Chyna ran back into the house and was crying at my side. She wrapped her arms around me, and we both rocked slowly. Babe was holding two fists fulls of my hair, and she didn’t blink for a long time.

“I love you so much little girl, and so does your daddy. He just doesn’t understand how these people work. I’m going to fix this, and I will save him just for you. I promise you. I will send him to come and get you. I know you love him, and you miss him, and you deserve a good daddy. He will be the best daddy ever to you. I’m sorry I brought you into this mess; but you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“No, Cricket. Why are you talking to her like you’ll never see her again?” Chyna cried.

I hugged Babe tight and kissed her forehead. I looked into her big brown eyes, and then I handed her to Chyna.

“Take care of her for me. He’ll come and get her, I promise.”

“Cricket!”

I stood up and walked back to the garage. I passed a now crying Cinnamon and went straight for Michael. I picked him up, and he hugged me tightly.

“I can’t come with you guys, and I’m sorry. But I need you to take care of the girls for me. You are the man of the house and you know what you have to do. Be a good boy for me. You know I love you; right?”

He nodded, big tears in his eyes.

“Don’t cry. You have to be strong for them. You’re a big boy now; remember?”

He nodded and gave me a kiss on my cheek. I sat him down and told him to go buckle up. I walked over to Cinnamon. She was a mess. I smiled and pulled her into a hug.

“I need another favor from you. Take care of them. Please stay with them as long as you can. I know you want and need your own life, but I’d just feel better if you were with them.”

“Cricket, you guys are the only family I’ve ever had. I ain’t going anywhere. I will keep them safe until you come back. Then, you’re in charge again.”

“Now, you and I both know, we’ve never been in charge.”

We looked over at Michael and laughed. We all knew who was in charge. I gave Cinnamon another tight hug, and Chyna came out with her medicine bag and Babe. I pulled Babe out of her arms and put her in her car seat. Michael put one of her little hands into his, and she held on to him. I bent down and kissed her on both cheeks, and then I took a big whiff of her. I pulled back, but Babe had a fist full of my hair. I tried to take her hand away, but she started screaming. I tried three different times, and all she did was wail.

I asked Chyna to go and get the kitchen scissors and a small rubber band. We cut a big chunk of my hair and braided it up as best as we could. We tied four small rubber bands around the ends, and then put the hair into Babe’s hand. I kissed her forehead again. She whined a little, but she held on to the hair. I shut the door and Chyna wrapped her arms around me.

“I’m sorry I fucked everything up in Seattle,” she said.

“I’m glad you found me again. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Cric-kat.”

She got into the car and buckled up. The garage door opened, and they pulled out and drove away. I closed the garage door, walked back into the house and collapsed on the kitchen floor.

Chapter 12

Back to the Pits of HELL

I
stepped down into the limo; Walt shut the door for me. I turned to face all three occupants. Troy was sitting on the seat next to me, Trey sat on the long seat across from Troy, and a new bodyguard sat next to him. Troy clearly had some work done to his now smooth-as-a-baby’s-bottom face. Trey must have had some work done to his eye, but I couldn’t tell in this lighting. I stared out the window and stayed silent. About an hour later, we pulled up at the Casino. I hated everything about this place. We walked in, and almost every employee stared. The majority of them had sad looks on their faces and then the others just stood there with their mouths wide open. We walked past the cash cage, and Misty stood when she saw me.

We stepped into the elevators and got off at the penthouse. Troy opened the door and I stepped into the suite. The scene looked very familiar with a dozen bodyguards milling around. Jyme stood up when I walked into the room, and I turned my eyes away from him quickly. He looked fine. Troy had kept his promise, and I was thankful. I walked down the steps and stood in the middle of the floor. I knew Troy had some type of punishment for me, and I had an eerie feeling that I would have more than one partner tonight. I only knew two of these bodyguards, and they were all looking at me as if they wanted to get to know me. I took my jacket off, pulled my hair up in a ponytail, and kneeled to the floor.

“Now, that’s a mother fuckin’ solder, right there. Cricket, this is why I love you so much. You are my absolute fuckin’ favorite. They don’t make them like you anymore, girl. I don’t know how you do it, but you do it every time. I mean this big stupid fuckin’ Indian right here doesn’t give a fuck about you, and you came running to be his hero. He tried to take your baby from you…your baby that you put your life on the line for. Then if it wasn’t for this mother fucker right here, you wouldn’t even be here. All this shit is his fuckin’ fault and he hates you; but you love this mother fucker’s dirty drawers. You’re giving your life for this mother fucker, and he can’t stand the sight of you. And they call me a monster. Cricket, I haven’t ever done you that bad. I have never put my hands on you, or fucked you so hard out of hate that you couldn’t walk or shit for three days. This mother fucker did that to you, and you came to give your life for his. Cricket, I love you, but, baby…you a dumb Bitch!!”

I wondered why in God’s name Jyme had told him all of our business like that. I was starting to wonder if the man wasn’t a little mentally challenged. I just kneeled there, not saying anything and watching Troy with no expression on my face.

“Cricket, where do you go when you shut down like this?” he asked.

I just looked at Troy. I said nothing; there was no use.

“I got you a brand new suite, a closet full of clothes and shoes, and a new red convertible BMW.”

“Thank you.”

Troy stepped over to me and handed me a BMW key and a suite key card. I stood from the floor, picking up my jacket.

“Go clean yourself up. I need you in the club tonight.”

“He’s free to go right? That’s what you promised me.”

“He’s free to go. I got what I wanted from him.”

I turned around, headed up the stairs, and went out the door. I looked down at the key; Troy had me up in the penthouse this time, down the hall from him. I slid the key into the door and walked in. I walked out to the balcony, and I looked up at the stars. I went to the very edge of the railing and looked down. I gripped the railing with all my might and then loosened my hands. I slid both shoes off and looked up at the sky one more time. I prayed to God that Jyme would take care of our baby; I prayed he would keep her safe. I prayed he would tell her nice things about me and leave the bad for when she was older and let her decide how she feels about me. I prayed that Chyna wouldn’t feel guilty about her past and that she would be the best mom she could be to Michael. I prayed that Michael would stay just the same and I prayed that Cinnamon would find a great man who would love her unconditionally. I prayed for Chelle and Ayashe, for God to keep them safe. Then, I prayed for myself and asked for God to spare me. I knew I’d never end up in heaven, but I didn’t think I was bad enough for hell either. Maybe He could put me somewhere in between.