“What’s going on?”
“Belleza. She’s on a rampage, man! Dreaux, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but she set your house on fire!” He roared. My brain stalled as I tried to understand what he was saying. My first thought was that my sisters and my daughter were at my house. I paid good money to have a detail on my house at alltimes, so it made no sense.How the fuck did she even get that close?
“What the fuck are you saying, Tech? Did anyone get hurt? Fuck!” I paced the room as every terrible scenario played through my head.
“The fire department was able to get them all out, but?—”
“But what? Where are you? Is my baby girl straight?”
“Promise is fine. Justice and his wife went with them to the hospital. Your phone was off, so they couldn’t reach you. Ciyani mentioned the hotel’s name, so I decided to call the front desk. The police are here, so I can’t say too much. I got some people tracking her now, but we need to move on this tonight. She’s gonna try to go into hiding, so if we don’t get her now, we’re gonna be looking over our shoulders,” he urged. He spoke nothing but facts. Belleza knew how dangerous I was, and touching my family was her way of getting a reaction out of me. If we didn’t get to her now, who knew how long it would take to find her.
“I’m about to head out there now. Please call me if anything happens before I get there.”
“I got you. I’ll give you some time to check on your family, but I’m gonna hit up the crew so they can be on standby.”
When I stepped back into the room, I saw Peace moving around frantically. She was packing up all our things and talking on the phone. Her eyes were filled with tears, which set off all kinds of alarms.
“Thank you for watching after my baby. Please tell her we love her and we’re on the way. Okay. Thank you. Keep me posted.”
She disconnected the call and wiped the tears from her eyes. When I stepped over to her, she threw her arms around me. When she broke away, I leaned down and kissed her lips.
“Whatever happened, we’re gonna be okay. You hear me?” I reassured her as I held her face in my hands.
“Okay. I trust you.”
We packed all our things and headed to the hospital. The moment we got there, Peace scooped Promise up from Ciyani’s arms. The doctors assured us she was okay and that there was no cause for concern. She received a breathing treatment, but she would be fine. When I asked for an update on my sisters, they informed me of their conditions.
Dana suffered a few first-degree burns. Dominique and Danae suffered minor smoke inhalation, but aside from that, they are doing okay. They were all receiving oxygen to give their lungs a chance to recover. Apparently, Danae carried Promise to safety, and she covered her face with a shirt until they made it out.
“You good, bro?” Justice shook my hand as we stood in the waiting room. Tech stood next to me as we discussed the plans. The police asked me a few questions, but since I wasn’t there, I couldn’t offer them much help. They asked if my cameras were active, but I told them they had been down for maintenance. Belleza was mine, and no one was gonna stand in my way.
“I’m straight. I appreciate y’all for showing up. I should have never turned my phone off.”
“You can’t blame yourself for this. Belleza is unstable, and that isn’t your fault.”
“Where are you going?” Peace questioned as I said my goodbyes to everyone.
“I gotta handle some business. Justice is gonna take you to their house for the night. Once I’m finished, I’ll come get y’all.”
“Wait, what do you mean? Are you seriously about to leave?”
I took a deep breath, not wanting the conversation to turn into an argument.
“Yes. There’s an emergency I need to tend to. I shouldn’t be home too late, but if I am, I’ll call.”
Peace scoffed. “ I can’t believe you right now. What could possibly be more important than being with your family? Your sisters are still being treated. I’m sure whatever it is can wait.”
I had never been in a situation where I needed to explain myself to anyone, but I realized that was part of relationships. I reached for her hand, but she pulled away from me.
“I love you. I’ll see you later.”
Now wasn’t the time to go back and forth, so I decided to revisit the conversation later on. I signaled to Justice to let him know I would hit him up later. My trigger finger was itching, and the only thing on my mind was revenge.
peace graham
. . .
I tossedand turned all night because I was worried about Dreaux. There were a lot of things he didn’t tell me about his life, but I wasn’t stupid by any means. People don’t set houses on fire for no reason, and I had a feeling it had something to do with his street life.
