“Waiting?” Xia questioned, and I nodded. “For what?”
“I don’t know,” I said. I wished I had the answer to her question because I wondered about the same thing. Xoey usually would’ve been in and out of a situation like this. Her hesitation and then getting lost in her thoughts were abnormal for her. We may have joked that she had all those personalities, but she did for a reason. She was protecting herself from her past, and for something to get through meant something, I just wasn’t sure what.
“What did she say when she saw you?”
“I don’t think she ever saw me,” I said, then rubbed the back of my neck. Thinking back, Xoey never actually looked at me. It was like she knew I was there, but she wasn’t. It was like she was reliving something from the past. “It’s hard to explain, Xia.”
“No, I get it,” she said, shaking her head. Her curly hair moved side to side around her face, then she pushed it away. She turned her attention to Ta’lon, then slowly approached her. There was no caution in her steps, only calculation. I wasn’t looking at Xia St. Thomas, the lawyer and humanitarian; instead, I was looking at Xia St. Thomas, mother and absolute badass, who would do whatever it took to protect hers. She grabbed Ta’lon by the jaw and forced her face up. “I’m going to ask you one time and one time only, what the fuck did my daughter walk in on you doing?”
“Xia--”
“Shut up, Amethyst,” she said to me, but didn’t take her eyes off Ta’lon. Her grip tightened on Ta’lon’s face, and her nails dug into her skin. “Start talking before I forget that I have a press conference in a few hours and wrap your colon around your neck.”
“I showed her my secret power,” Ta’lon laughed as she looked up at Xia.
“And exactly what is that?”
“Showing her how many times an unwanted child can handle being stabbed,” Ta’lon answered.
Xia moved faster than I expected and pulled her gun from behind her back and shoved it into Ta’lon’s mouth. “Do you know how badly you fucked up?” Xia yelled at her. “Do you?”
“Xia, I need her alive,” I said, approaching her. Xia looked up at me, and the emptiness in her eyes trumped Ta’lons. “Please, Xia.” I was damn near begging, but I didn’t give a fuck. “Ta’lon is married to Quincy Kilmore. I need her alive to get answers so I can bring Yale back. Please.”
“You’re married to Quincy?” Xia pulled her gun from Ta’lon’s mouth and laughed. “You’re married to that nigga? That was his baby you stabbed?”
“Yes and no,” Ta’lon answered and dropped her head back against the chair. She smiled sweetly with her eyes closed. “I married him, but that wasn’t his baby.” Ta’lon didn’t open her eyes, but tears fell from them anyway. “He wasn’t Quincy’s son!” She thrashed against the chair and shook her head. “I saved him from a fate worse than death because Quincy wasn’t his fucking father!”
“Then who’s his daddy?” I asked her. “And why didn’t you take him to his people if it wasn’t the fucking Kilmores?”
“Because I called and begged them to take him, and he said no!” Ta’lon opened her eyes to stare at me. “He said no!”
“Bitch, that’s no excuse to kill a kid!” Xia yelled. “Kill the nigga that said no instead! As a matter of fact, kill the entire family since they raised a deadbeat!”
Ta’lon laughed loudly and shook her head. “You’re saying that now, but would you say the same thing if you knew that it’s your son who told me no?” Ta’lon stared at Xia so hard that Xia had to step back. She lifted her brow and smirked. “That’s right, Xia St. Thomas, that dead baby in the bathroom is your family. Xion didn’t want him—not now, not six years ago, when I told him. Not when I came to his house two years ago, black and blue. Not even when I called him and told him Quincy knew the truth. Xion knew and didn’t give a fuck!” Ta’lon thrashed again. “He didn’t want him and then sent his sister here to kill me because of it!”
“Amethyst!” Citrine came out of the bathroom covered in blood and holding the little boy. “Amethyst, he’s still fucking breathing!” I closed the distance between my brother and me and took the little boy from him. He had cuts all over his body and was soaking wet. “I thought he was dead and was just stuck. I wasn’t ready to see him like that, just floating in the tub.” I walked over to the bed and gently set him down to examine him. Time was of the essence, but I needed to know what the fuck I was dealing with. Most of his wounds were shallow, but he’d lost a lot of blood, and his pulse was weak as shit. Not only had Ta’lon stabbed him, but it looked like she’d beat him, too.
“Let him die!” Ta’lon yelled. “Let him fucking die!”
“Shut her up!” I yelled as I pulled the pillowcase off the pillow and started to apply pressure on the wound on his neck. That was the stab wound I was most worried about. She may have nicked an artery from the way it was bleeding. “Pyrite, get the fucking car!”
My brother took off running as I picked up the little boy and turned to face Ta’lon. She was crying, but her eyes held so muchhatred in them that I wasn’t sure if the tears were for her son or from anger.
“You better fucking hope he makes it because if he doesn’t, it won't just be them you have to deal with,” I yelled at her. “Every fucking woman that’s locked in with Xoey will come after you, and they’re worse than any nigga could ever be.”
“Fuck you and them.”
“What’s his name?” I questioned her. Ta’lon rolled her eyes, and Xia grabbed her by the jaw again and turned her face to her with so much force I was surprised she didn’t break her neck.
“What’s his fucking name!” Xia yelled. Her nail broke skin, and blood rolled down her fingers.
“Xaire,” she mumbled, then pulled her face from Xia’s grip. “His fucking name is Xaire!”
“Alright, Xaire, I got you, big man. Just hold on,” I said as I rushed from the room. I didn’t give a fuck what Xia did to Ta’lon. My focus was on the little boy in my arms. When I walked out of the room, the elevator door opened, and Cross, Mercy, Legacy, Psalms, and Corinthians stepped off. “She’s inside.”
“Pyrite told us already,” Cross said, nodding. The elevator doors closed just as they walked into the room.
Pyrite had the car waiting at the hotel’s front door, and I jumped in, still holding Xaire. He rushed to the hospital, and the entire time I prayed we could get them there in time. Pyrite ran a red light, and I cut my eyes to him. I had a thing for cars, but this nigga was driving like he had a few secrets. He pulled up to the ER entrance, and I jumped out of the vehicle with Xaire in my arms.
