Chapter Five
Xyleek
Banging against the navy-blue door, I took a small step back and impatiently waited for someone to open up. It was nearly three in the morning, and I was running off fumes and zero patience. Blow was able to get me a name and an address from the only tag that passed by the street where Drek’s shop was. Once I had that, I wasted no time in dropping her off at my crib and bringing my black ass right on over.
The house wasn’t in an area where I expected someone to live that had just committed a deadly crime. I saydeadlybecause that’s exactly how they were gon’ end up for fuckin’ with what was mine. Nonetheless, the house was almost picturesque with its perfectly manicured lawn, nice cars in the driveway, and wind chimes blowing in the summer breeze. It definitely wasn’t the type of place for a nigga like me to be showing up, but there I was anyway.
The porch light turned on before the door cracked and a small statured white woman came into view. Her ginger-colored hair was pulled back into a neat bun, and she was wearing black scrubs with a medical badge clipped on the neckline. She looked scared, and she should’ve been. It always boggled my fuckin’mind that white people just answered the door without asking who it was first. Especially at this time of morning.
“H-hi, can I help you?” She eased her body out of the door a little more.
Giving her the once over, I could tell she wasn’t one of the ones from the video. The people in the video were much thicker and shorty in front of me was thin like a piece of paper.
“Yeah, hopefully you can,” I put Sleep up and tagged in businessman Xy. There was no need to scare snowflake more than she already was. “My wife’s shop was broken into tonight and completely vandalized. When the tapes were pulled, we were able to get a tag number, and it came back to this address.”
Her eyes went wide like I had a gun pointed at her or something. “W-w-what?” She leaned out a little further and glanced at the driveway before looking at me. “What car?”
Pulling up the video and stills that Blow sent me, I showed them to Miss Frizzle. She scratched her scalp, tilting her head slightly as I swiped through the evidence.
“That looks like Mr. Hubert’s old Camry, but he hasn’t had that car for at least two years now,” she gestured to the driveway. “As you can tell, he’s a bit of a car collector, and when he’s done with one, he’ll just give it away.”
I stared at her, trying to figure out if I believed her or not. “Hegivesthem away?”
“Yes. If he’s driving and sees a struggling mother or something like that, he will ask their story, and then just give them the car. He does it with his money, too. That’s how his family figured out that he has dementia,” she finished softly, her bright green eyes meeting mine. “He’s selfless to a fault and will help anyone. That’s why I’m here, to keep an eye on him. He’s not allowed out unless I’m with him,” she offered more information than I needed. “He’s given away at least six or seven cars.”
Dragging my hand down my face, I couldn’t believe this shit. “Basically…what you’re telling me is thatanybodycould have that car right now?”
“Y-yes. His wife used to keep track of it, but then she passed and I’m not sure where the family moved her stuff to or if they even kept it at all.”
“Fuck!” I gritted my teeth, realizing I was at a dead end.
“I can ask his daughters in the morning if they have any ideas,” she quickly extended with slightly wide eyes.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I told her once I picked up on the fear that was running out of her pores. “But yeah, do that,” pocketing my phone, I took my wallet out next and handed her my business card. “Make sure you callme, not the police.”
“Okay,” she nodded feverishly.
“If you can help me solve this crime, there’ll be a big pay day for you.”
Incentives normally lit fires under people’s asses but monetary incentives? Now that made even the biggest nigga light on his feet. Especially if the digits were right, and my money wasalwaysright. She nodded again with a spark in her eye that said she needed that money, so I hoped she transformed into Velma and solved the mystery like Scooby Doo.
Getting back into my car, I shot Blow a text to let him know what I’d found out. Before I pulled off, my gut was telling me to check Drek’s location, so I did. Why was her air head ass on the move? When I called her phone and got her voicemail, I already knew the bullshit she was on. Instead of going to my house, I headed to hers because I knew that’s exactly where she was going.
Arriving just ten minutes later, I killed my engine and checked her location again to see that she was two minutes away. I took my pre-rolled blunt from the console before getting out. Putting a flame to the end of the blunt, I leaned against the backof my car and waited for her to pull-up. Exactly two minutes later, her headlights were blinding me, and she slammed on her brakes because I knew she wasn’t expecting me to be there.
“Dreka,” I walked up to the driver’s side. “Get out of the car.”
She rolled the window down a hair. “How did you know I was here?”
“You think I’m dumb? I know you by now. You’re blaming me for what happened to your shop, so you don’t wanna be around me but that’s too bad, baby. Park the car and get out.”
Drek had no idea I installed a lil’ software on her phone to keep up with her movements. After she declined to share her location with me, I had to do what I had to do to keep my angel safe. Between me and her father, she was heavily protected, whether she liked that shit or not. Even when she called herself being married, I still had eyes on her. I didn’t know her husband from a can of paint, so who’s to say he was actually guarding her with his life? I ain’t trust that nigga with the most precious thing life had to offer me.
With the roll of her eyes, she hopped out, snatched the blunt from me, and switched her thick ass to her front door. Licking my lips and laughing, I shook my head and followed right behind her like a lil’ duckling following its mother.
She tossed her purse on her deep-seated couch then spun around to face me. “Xy, what do you want from me?”
“Your hand in marriage. A baby. But for right now?” I took the blunt back from her. “I’ll settle for this.”
