His shoulders slouched and chest deflated. He looked at me as if he’d had some kind of revelation.
“I have to kill you, GD. I have to kill you. I have to make it look like he killed you and then killed himself. That’s the only chance I have to make this work. I might not be able to have you as my daughter, but at least I’ll be able to have Diane as my wife.”
He started pacing again, and I realized just how unstable he was when he yelled, “Fuck! I moved too quick. I should’ve calmed down before I went to go see you.” Chris laughed. “B-but you yelled at me, and that just made it worse. I didn’t plan to snatch you myself. I was going to let him play the hero and kill Wicked. That way I’d have you both. Fuck!” When he grabbed my hair and yanked it, I whimpered and peed a little. “Damnit, Jelai! Why did you have to yell at me?”
“I’m sorry,” I cried, not knowing what the hell else to do.
If he hadn’t tied me up while I was unconscious, I would’ve tried to fight him or get away. I felt so helpless, and I had no idea if or when Wicked would try to find me. My only hope was that he’d seen what happened on the cameras and had already started tracking my location through the choker. I was so grateful I’d never stopped wearing it, even when it looked like things were good between them and The Outlaws.
“Don’t apologize, sweet girl. It’s not your fault,” Chris said softly, wiping my tears with his free hand.
“Can you please just tell me what’s going on?” I begged.
“Dylan had it all,” he muttered, pacing yet again. “Captain, wife, daughter. Everyone loved him and respected him. When I had a chance to have something for myself, I took it. Then he found out and was about to turn me in, so I did what I had to do.”
“I don’t understand,” I almost whispered.
“I ordered the hit on your father. He knew I was into some illegal things and was working to get evidence to put me away. I’m the one who told The Outlaws to take him out. I never wanted you or Diane to find out, and I knew the closer you got to Wicked that there was a chance you would. I’d been trying to edge them into a war but it didn’t work, so I set up a plan to have you kidnapped so he could save you and die in the process. But I fucked it up.” His clipped sob combined with a chuckle. “I can’t do anything fucking right.”
I was stuck between feeling sorry for him and wanting to strangle him with my legs. The man my father trusted more than any other had just confessed to having him killed because of jealousy and his desire not to go to jail. My body swayed. I felt dizzy. Like I was about to pass out and throw up at the same time.
“It’s okay,” I forced out, swallowing down the vomit that wanted to gush out with the words. “Y-you would never hurt me. Not when you’re thinking clearly. You just h-had a lapse in judgment,” I reasoned.
“It’s too late now.” He lifted the gun and pointed it toward me. “I can’t fix this, GD.”
“Yes, you can,” I encouraged. “You already took my daddy from my mom. Are you really going to take me from her too?” The gun lowered slightly. “If you let me go, I promise I won’t tell anyone what happened. I know you snapped because you care about us and want what’s best for us. You want us to be safe. Right?”
“Right,” he echoed softly, lowering the gun a bit more.
“You don’t want to hurt me, Chris. You love me. You want me and my mom to be safe.”
“I do.”
“So lower the gun and untie me. Let me go. We can go see Ma and act like this never happened.”
Finally, the gun lowered completely. As he stepped in my direction, a loud pound beat against the door. It fell back just enough for Wicked to climb through. By the time Chris had lifted his gun, Wicked was already shooting. I closed my eyes and squeezed my arms and legs together, as if I could shrink, hoping none of the bullets hit me. When the bullets stopped flying, Wicked made his way in front of me while Whitaker checked to make sure Chris was dead.
“You good? Did he hurt you?” Wicked asked, pulling out a knife and cutting the rope that was around my ankles.
I nodded then shook my head as tears fell. This time, in relief.
“No, he didn’t,” I answered, voice cracking. “I thought I had talked him down, but I honestly wasn’t sure. I’m just glad you came.”
Wicked’s eyes were watery as he looked up at me with a smile. “You know I’llalwayscome for you.”
It took some convincing, but eventually, everybody left. After word spread about what happened, not only did Jelai’s mom and friends pull up and wait for us to make it home, but the club did too. While I appreciated them all wanting to make sure she was okay, I knew Jelai wanted to be alone so she could process what happened and rest. Though she might have been okay physically, she’d experienced a traumatizing event mentally and emotionally.
Not only had her godfather kidnapped her and planned to kill her, but he’d confessed to having her father killed too. That was a lot for any person to handle. I let her mom and friends visit with her until I saw how tired her eyes looked, then I begged them to let her rest for the night. Unwillingly they agreed andpromised that they’d be back in the morning. I was cool with that.
Once they left, I bathed my baby and got her settled in bed. I made her tea and she asked me to put a shot of Jameson in it. Granting her request, I put a double shot in it and rolled a blunt for her to indulge in as well. Whatever it would take for her to be able to sleep tonight, that was what I would provide.
Chris was dead, but the truth of what he’d done over the years was alive. Finally, her father’s case was closed, and Chris was no longer around using his badge to commit the crimes he was supposed to be stopping. Because of the camera footage and Jelai’s testimony, I wasn’t charged with his murder. Truthfully, I wouldn’t have cared if I was. The only thing I would have been sad about was being away from her and my family, but I’d give up my freedom to save her life with no fucking hesitation.
As we rotated the blunt, I didn’t know if I should try and get her to talk about what happened or let her be. Since I didn’t know, I asked, “Do you want to talk about it, bae?”
Her head shook, and she gave me a soft smile. “No. I haven’t really had time to process it, you know? I appreciate everyone showing up, but I’m glad it’s just me and you now.”
“If you need some space?—”
