“Yeah. That would be helpful. She’s a bit on edge, but once I take care of Preston, I think she’ll feel a lot better. Until then, I don’t want her to leaveThe Compound.”
“Makes sense. I don’t think Carl is any closer to knowing Preston’s whereabouts than he was yesterday. I know you’ve thought this through and have a plan to present to the board.”
“I do,” I confirmed.
“I hope it doesn’t entail us going to war. You know we will, but we promised Mayor Harris we’d always avoid bloodshed if at all possible.”
“I’m aware.”
“Good. Looking forward to hearing it. I’m down for whatever, and if they need some ammunition to be convinced, I got something for them.”
I had no idea what ammunition my brother had, but I was grateful for his support. We hopped on our bikes and headed to the clubhouse. When we arrived, everyone was already in place. Rocky and I took our seats, and we got right down to business.
“Carl’s time is running out, and we need to be ready to make a move,” Joe said.
“Preferably something that doesn’t put our members’ lives at risk and have the city’s residents afraid to come outside,” Pastor Marvin added.
“I’m down for whatever the majority decides,” Noel said.
“Same.” Semiyon agreed.
“The nigga broke into my woman’s apartment, put a gun to her head, pistol-whipped her, and had I not gotten to her soon enough, he planned to rape her. I realize everyone wants to solve this as peacefully as possible, but I honestly don’t give a fuck as long as the end result is me taking that nigga’s life.”
“Russ, we all have the same goal, but we have to agree on how. What’s your plan?” Rocky asked.
I wanted to invade their territory with guns blazing, but that was exactly what everyone wanted to avoid.
“We shut down their entire organization until they deliver.”
I looked around the table to see if their expressions revealed their thoughts, but they gave nothing away. Rocky reached into his backpack and pulled out a file folder.
“I got this from Officer Downing this morning. I don’t think you should need any convincing, but if you’re on the fence, this should help.”
He gave the folder to me first, and I wasn’t shocked by the information inside, but it made me angry as hell. Preston’s DNA matched for a few rape cases in the Chicago area.
There was a lot in the folder that I’d have to read later, but I didn’t need another reason to go after him. I passed the folder to Joe, and once everyone had scanned the information, he was the first to speak.
“Let’s do it.”
“It would put the pressure on them,” Rocky added.
“We could put our people on their blocks to make sure they aren’t breaking protocol,” Semiyon suggested.
“I’ve also alerted the chapters in every city to be on the lookout for him. Are we all in agreement?” Rocky asked.
“Yay,” everyone said in unison.
I hoped Preston would be delivered within the next twenty-four hours and that our plan would be unnecessary, but if not, we were ready.
It had been two weeks since Preston had lost his mind, and as far as I knew, he was still on the loose. Russell was adamant that I not leaveThe Compound, including not going to work, and I hadn’t had the desire to leave until today.
I was in no rush to go back to the scene of the crime, formerly known as my apartment. Russell and my sisters went there and packed most of my clothing and other personal items, but I wasn’t ready.
Today, I didn’t feel the heaviness in the pit of my stomach, and I needed a change of scenery. I wanted to surprise Russell with lunch from Onyx City Grill, but he would have a fit if I left alone, so I went to the main house to see if Papa Rush would giveme a ride. I let myself inside and followed the sounds of the TV to the family room.
“Hey, Papa Rush.”
He was in his recliner, remote in hand, flipping through the channels. I leaned down to kiss his cheek, then sat on the couch.
