“I’ll be in touch,” Hershel replied. “Very soon.”
I nodded, then left the room. My heart beat so hard against my chest, I felt like I was going to throw up, but I didn’t hurry my steps. There was no doubt that Hershel was watching me from the security cameras. I unlocked my car, got inside, started it, and pulled off. I was halfway back to the house when I remembered that I needed to call my sisters.
“Call Spelman,” I said out loud and waited for the call to connect.
“You on the way back?” she answered.
“Yeah, about halfway there,” I said as I came to a stop.
“Alright, the food is almost done,” she replied. “See you soon.”
“Later,” I hung up and drummed my hands against the wheel. I wanted to tell them everything in person, so I was antsy as hell. The light turned green, and I watched for a few seconds before pulling off, and I’m glad I did. A white Charger pulled into the middle of the street, blocking my path, and a black Honda NSX Type S pulled up behind me. I only knew the Honda because I wanted Am to steal one in college when we saw it.
“What the fuck?”
The passenger door opened, and Quincy got out of the Charger. With no sense of urgency, he walked to the passenger door and pulled the handle.
“Roll down the window, Yale,” he laughed as he knocked twice. I didn’t move, even though I knew he knew I was inside the car. I didn’t move. Quincy laughed, shook his head, and knocked again. “Roll down the window, or I’ll break this muthafucka inand drag you out.” Two more knocks, and again, I didn’t move. “Alright, bet.” Quincy walked to the Charger, tapped on the trunk, and it opened. I watched as he picked up a tire iron and then walked back to the car. When he was close enough, I rolled the window down.
“Oh, you’re driving now?” he chuckled, then lowered the tire iron. “That’s a surprise.”
“What do you want, Quincy?” I questioned him. I was scared out of my damn mind, but I needed to play this cool, too.
“Just wanted to check in on you.” He shrugged like he wasn’t standing in the middle of the road. Cars slowly went around us, but no one stopped to help or make sure I was okay. “I can’t check in on my sister-in-law?”
“We haven’t seen each other in months,” I said, shaking my head.
“I’ve been busy,” he casually replied. “You know, taking over the family business and all.” He licked his lips and smiled. I nodded but didn’t say anything. “I won't keep you long. I just wanted to see your face, that's all.”
“Okay,” I replied. My stomach was turning, and I felt like I had to throw up.
“How’s Amethyst? Hell, the entire Stone family? Everybody good for now?”
“They are good,” I nodded.
“Good, I like hearing that,” he said, nodding. “I can't wait to see them, and I will be seeing them all very soon.”
“Why?” I couldn’t help but ask. The look of anger and hatred in his eyes was almost consuming.
“I’ll be seeing you, Yale,” he said instead of answering my question, then turned to walk away. His stroll was slow and unbothered. He put the tire iron in the trunk, closed it, then went to the passenger door, opened it, and got inside. TheCharger pulled off first, then the Honda behind me slowly went around me and followed.
I didn’t care that my light was red; I turned left and sped all the way home. I parked the car in the garage, got out, and went inside quickly. My sisters were waiting for me in the living room with big smiles on their faces. As soon as they saw me, the smiles dropped.
“What happened?” Berkeley asked.
“We need to leave,” I said, walking past them and heading to my room to start packing.
“What happened, Yale?” Berkeley asked again as they followed me.
“I saw Quincy,” I answered as I took my bag from the closet. “I was coming back from the jeweler, which was a shit show within itself, and he pulled up in the middle of the road when I was at a stoplight.”
“Why didn’t you say something when you called?” Spelman questioned with an attitude.
“I’d just hung up with you.” I put my suitcase on the bed and opened it.
“What did he say?” Berkeley asked. She stepped in front of me to block me from going back to the closet. “I need you to slow down for a second and tell us what the hell is going on.”
I gave them a Cliff Notes version of the situation with Quincy, then stepped around her to grab my clothes. When I walked out of the closet, they were still standing there. “Y’all need to pack. We are leaving as soon as I’m done packing and can contact the pilot to let him know there’s been a change of plans.” None of them moved, and I felt myself getting mad. “Look, I know y’all have never dealt with Quincy, but I have, and I know what kind of man he is. If he’s asking about the Stones, it’s for a reason. I need to talk to them in person. I need to go home and talk tothem.” I slammed my clothes into my suitcase. “I need to find out what the fuck that sorry excuse of a husband was up to.”
