“I love you, Princess.” I said, pressing my forehead to hers.
“I love you too. Come back.”
“Always Princess.” I said with another kiss to her lips.
I sat there with her hand in my hand in my lips on her cheek for what felt like eternity before Blue called my name.
“Crew, you need to see this.” He said, pushing a tablet into my hand.
On the screen was an image of Pops, Del and the Doctor standing outside of the gate. Behind them were armed men aiming automatic weapons at their heads. A large black hummer at the front of a caravan of trucks and SUVs. The angle shifted and I saw an older Hispanic man sitting in the passenger seat of the hummer. When his door opened, I saw that he was a few years older than Pops with a similar build. Pops was an inch or two taller though. He was walking to the front of the truck with a gun in hand. And then his voice came through the speaker of the tablet. His broken English with a heavy Spanish accent was suave and charismatic like a sleazy salesman.
“Mr. Sanderson. It seems that we both have something that the other wants. You give me my shit and I’ll give you yours. How’s that sound?” I said.
“How many guns do we have on them?” I asked Blue. He tapped his laptop before saying.
“We have ten sharp shooters positioned around the top of the gate. They have beads on his vehicles, but his men are blocking a clear shot of him. They’re too close to the gate to get a good shot.”
“Can you patch me into the speaker down there?”
“Of course. Got ahead.” He said after hitting a button.
“I’m on my way.” I said to Valdez and then cut the feed. “Radio Black and tell him to meet me at the gate with Sabrina and the ex-wife.”
“What about the kid?” He asked.
“He stays for now.” I told him. I turned back to Nova and kissed her lips lingering for a moment before I moved to leave the room with a heavy heart. “Take care of my family.” I saidto the girls as they crowded around the bed of an unconscious Janelle.
Black and Blue stood outside a hundred yards from the gate where the brick enclosure met the trees of the forest. A cool mist covered the forest floor as I walked towards them. Each one of them was holding a zip tied woman by the upper arm. Blue held Sabrina in a death grip, like he thought she might run at any given moment. While Black held on to the ex-wife of the man that was holding part of his family hostage right outside. She was dressed in the same type of yoga gear Nova wore when she was working out, with her hair pulled up in a bun that was beginning to unravel from our rough handling.
Sabrina's head lulled to the side as she groaned from the pain, I was sure she was still in. We hadn’t attempted to treat her wounds, only doing the bare minimum to keep her from dying on us before she served her purpose. She was still wearing the dirty gown she had worn the night of the ambush. The closer I got to her the stronger the smell of piss and unwashed ass got.
“Damn did y’all even run a hose over her ass?” I asked, trying to breathe through my mouth.
“Same shit, I said. My nose can’t handle this shit.” Black grumbled, moving further from Blue and Sabrina.
“This shit bout to be in my skin.” Blue said and as I looked closer, I saw that he had a glove on the hand that was holding Sabrina.
“Really nigga.” I said pointing at his hand.
“Damn right she look like she got the impetigo.” He said looking at her dry skin in disgust.
“Nigga, the what? I asked, trying to be serious, you would think there wasn’t an army standing on the other side of this gate that wanted to kill us. “She ain’t a toddler, what grown ass person gets impetigo?”
“It don’t matter. The sooner we get this bitch over the gate the sooner I can breathe fresh air.” He said with his face scrunched up.
“Creeew please. You don’t have to do this. We can still be together.” She said looking at me through puffy eyes, her face red and angry around the buck fifty that Nova had given her.
“Your death is the only thing you can give me. Did you forget I grieved you already. You are nothing but a ghost to me.” I said, with a look of disgust. I couldn’t believe that I once wanted to marry this woman. But like they said, players fucked up too.
The gate loomed ahead of us as a beacon of safety and protection from the army outside. Its height and size drowned out the sound of the vehicles and mercenaries. I took the metal steps two at a time followed closely by the twins to the lookout post at the very top of the steel wall. We had plenty of cover from this position, allowing me to negotiate without the fear of being taken out by one of the snipers that I’m sure Valdez brought with him. Too bad for him we had a high ground advantage. The position of the compound made it impossible for Valdez to position themselves above us on the mountain.
Right before I used the bullhorn to speak to Valdez, his ex-wife grabbed my arm.
“Please, don’t give my son to him. I’ll go if you need me too, but please keep my son safe. I told you Edmond only cares about what EJ can do for him. Why do you think we live in a different city than he does? I don’t want my son to become like his father. I’ll do anything. Please. I know you heard what I told you before.” She said.
When I looked at the hand that she was holding my arm with she flinched back and dropped her hand. I stared at her for a beat longer before nodding. I dropped my gaze from hers and picked up the bullhorn. It was too late to take this out-of-control train off the track, now that it was in motion. The doctor wascrying, while Del and Pops stood strong and stoic even in the face of possible death like they had already accepted their fate. And after what they saw happened to Janelle it just might be.
“Let’s make a deal.” I said into the bullhorn.
