CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Mia
I’d been in a funk since we found Bundy’s beaten and battered body in his house. The only person I could think of who would’ve done something so horrible to him was Cash. I wasn’t concerned about the shit, but now I was, which was why being back in Chicago wasn’t such a good idea for me.
After sitting in the same spot that I had been in since I walked through the door, I decided that it was best I leave. I didn’t care what Kane had to say. I wasn’t trying to lose my life and leave my child behind. I was now on the phone, calling up my cousin Brittney. She was the only person I could think of who could actually help me. Then once I was out of here, I was going back to Tennessee to get my son and leave there as well. The best thing for me to do was to get far away from everybody who had some kind of dealing with Cash, Keyon included. I didn’t have anything against her, but I needed to stay alive, and as long as she had Cash’s daughter and I was around them, I would always be in danger. So the best thing for me to do was get myself out of each and every situation altogether.
“Hello,” she said, answering the phone.
“Hey, Brit, where are you?” I asked her.
“I’m home. What’s up with you?”
“I need you to come and get me,” I said, walking over to the window. Pulling back the curtains carefully, I looked out of them.
“Come and get you? Where you at?” she asked.
“I’m in Chicago,” I said as my heart began beating. I was more scared now than I ever was in my whole entire life.
“Chicago? Why didn’t you tell me that you were here?”
“I just got here, and now I need to leave. Please come and get me,” I said, practically begging her.
“All right. Where are you at?” she asked. I told her where I was as I got up and began to pack the few bags that I did have.
“Okay, I’ll be waiting. Call me when you get here, and I’ll come right out,” I told her.
“Okay.”
“Don’t go parking now. Just pull up in front of the hotel because I’ll be right out,” I specifically told her. I didn’t need a reason for her to park. That shit there was bound to get us caught up and shit.
“Girl, all right, damn,” she said, laughing. “You sound like you’re running for your damn life or something.”
“That’s because I am,” I said, hanging up the phone. Just as I finished packing my bags, someone started knocking on the door. Placing the bags on the side of the bed, I went to answer the door. Looking through the peephole, I noticed that it was Ant standing there.
“What’s up?” I asked him once I opened the door.
“We were about to go and get something to eat. We were wondering if you wanted anything.”
“Nah, I’m good. I don’t really have much of an appetite,” I told him honestly. “I don’t think I will have one for the next couple of days, in fact.”
“All right. Get some rest,” he suggested. “Kane’s going to go over there and break the news to his auntie. We’ll most likely be leaving tomorrow and heading back to Tennessee until it’s time for the funeral.”
“Okay, cool,” I said just as my phone started to ring. I looked down and noticed that it was Brittney calling. The bitch must have flown down here or something. Ignoring her call, I looked back up at Ant. “That’s all you need?”
“Yes. I’ll holler at you later.”
“All right,” I said, closing the door. I immediately went around to the bed and got my bags and then headed for the door. Opening the door slightly, I peeked out of it. Once I was sure that Kane and Ant were nowhere around, I made a run for the elevators. I must have pushed the button at least eight times, and the elevator had yet to show up. Getting impatient, I turned in time to see Kane walking out of his room. I ducked into the stairway and made a run down the stairs. I didn’t look back as I almost tripped and fell, but I kept on going. I was pretty sure the few people sitting in the lobby thought I was a crazy woman, but I didn’t care one way or another. I kept on going as I reached the door and ran out the exit. Just like I asked her to, Brittney was waiting for me right by the door. I didn’t waste one second as I opened the door and hopped in.
“Drive,” I yelled. I ducked down in the seat right as I spotted Kane and Ant walking through the lobby. It was a good thing that her tints were a bit dark and that practically no one could see inside of her car.
“All right, bitch, damn,” she replied, speeding out of the hotel’s parking lot. It wasn’t until she was on the highway that I got up. “You all right?”
“I’m good. I’ll be even better when I get the hell out of Chicago,” I said more to myself than to her.
“Well, where are you going?”
“When I leave here, I’m going to pick up my son, and I’m getting the hell out of Dodge. I can’t take this shit no more,” I said on the verge of tears. I never knew that doing this would come back to bite me in the ass, and boy, did it bite me hard. “I already booked a flight. Just drop me off at the airport. I’ll take it from there.”
“All right, but first I gotta make a stop at my house.”
“Bitch, really?” I asked, pissed. I didn’t need her to be doing shit like that when I was literally on the run.
“Girl, yes, chill. We won’t be nothing but a few minutes,” she replied. I rolled my eyes as I sat there trying to calm myself down. Since I was straight for now, I decided to rest my eyes a little.
After a little while, something told me to get up. I could sense I was in trouble, but I didn’t know for sure. When I opened my eyes, I noticed her going in a direction that was nowhere near her house. In fact, the bitch wasn’t even on the road anymore. All I saw were dirt and trees.
“Where the fuck are we going?” I asked nervously. I then looked over to her and noticed that she was pointing a gun my way. “Fuck me, Lord.”
“That’s the right person to call on,” a voice that almost made me shit my pants said. I turned around and looked right into Cash’s eyes.
“So this is how you’re doing it?” I asked her, but my eyes were still on him.
“I’m sorry, Mia,” she said softly.
“Bitch, I don’t want to hear all that. If you were so sorry, you wouldn’t be doing this shit,” I told her.
“Pull over right here,” Cash told her. My heart began beating loudly as I felt the car come to a complete stop. “Turn around and get out of the car.”
“Cash, don’t do this,” I said, beginning to beg.
“Mia, right now the only thing I want you to do is get the fuck out of the car. There’s nothing in the world you can say to make me want to change my mind.”
“Well, what about our son?” I asked, trying to play the only card that was left.
“He’ll be fine right where he’s at. I’m sure Keyon is taking good care of him,” he replied.
“How do you know where my baby is?” I asked, spooked.
“I’m Cash, darling. I know just about everything,” he said, flashing me this evil grin. “I also know that you had Bundy, his punk-ass cousin, and some other dumb nigga rob me for my money. Then ya had the nerve to act like you ain’t know about the shit. Yeah, that’s right. That nigga Bundy gave you up. The way he saw it, you wasn’t loyal to him, so why should he be loyal to you? Now get the fuck out of the car.”
“Ca—” I began to say, but his fist connected with my mouth and silenced me.
“Drag this bitch out of the fucking car,” he yelled. The next thing I knew, the car door swung open, and I was being pulled out. “Oh, get that other bitch too.”
“What?” I heard Brittney yell as someone else pulled her out. “I did what you asked me to. Why are you doing this?”
“Bitch, do you really think that I would just kill her in front of you and let you go?” he asked her. She looked at me before she put her head down.
“Cash, you don’t have to kill her,” I said, but what I said went through one ear and out the other as he raised his gun and shot her right in the head, killing her instantly.
“Oh, my God,” I yelled, trying to run, but I was stopped when one of the dude’s fists connected with the side of my face. I was pretty sure that my jaw was broken when I heard that loud crack followed by my jaw dropping.
“I wanted you to suffer, but I figured that it would be best for me just to end ya life. Say hey to that nigga Bundy for me,” he said right before he pulled the trigger.