under no circumstances to be in my daughter’s presence. If you would have followed those instructions, my daughter would not be lying in some hospital bed fighting for her life. Because of your betrayal of my trust, I can no longer offer you my protection. This concludes our business, Mr. Macklin. And my daughter was right. You would have been a great asset to the Li organization. Kon Li told me all of our people immediately showed respect to you and took you seriously.” He hung up.
And just like that, I was left out there.
TASHA
I had been sitting on the porch for the last two hours. When I saw what looked like a limo coming down the street, I jumped and practically ran off the porch. It didn’t pull up into the driveway but stopped at the entrance. My imagination was running wild. I envisioned a shot-up Trae being tossed out of the vehicle onto the ground. So I was extremely relieved when he stepped out of the car, shut the door, and began to trudge up the walkway. I ran and practically jumped into his arms.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I really messed up this time, didn’t I?”
He didn’t answer me. He pushed me away, and we went up the front steps and sat down. I sat next to him and waited as he called his attorney. I listened in as he told him that he might be picked back up on the murder charges and that Benny needed to be prepared for that. He rubbed across his bald head, while listening intently to whatever it was that Benny was saying.
When he finally hung up, all I could say was, “Baby, I really fucked up, didn’t I?”
“You have no idea! Your shit was not thought out, and now everything will eventually point at me.”
“You really think you are going to jail?”
“What the fuck do you think, Tasha? Mr. Li said all of the protection and connections have been revoked.”
“What protection? What connections?”
“Tasha, do you have any idea who you are fucking with? I had an agreement with these people. Charlie Li is a made man, Tasha. He can wipe out me, you, and our entire family right now.”
“That ain’t right, Trae. It wasn’t your fault. Anybody could have done her.”
“We better hope that he doesn’t find out who did. Tasha, what—” He got up and started pacing back and forth. He was so angry he couldn’t even finish his sentence. “And you didn’t even check with me!”
“Check with you for what? So you could tell me not to do it?”
“Fuck, yeah! And if I was going to approve of it, I would have told you how to do it! Tasha, baby. You ain’t no gangster. What’s gotten into y’all? First Jaz, now you. You have to think things through. Calculate shit. When you don’t, serious shit like this happens. Now, look. If he somehow finds out that you are responsible for this, you best believe some serious harm is going to come to this family.” He let out a deep sigh. “The dogs? Whose are they?”
“That dude who came over on fight night with Trina.” I saw the gleam in his eyes and the light bulbs go off. “No, Trae. Oh, my god.”
“What the fuck you mean, no, Trae? Nine times out of ten, they are going to trace the dogs to him. And what do you think he’s going to do when put under pressure? He’s going to rat your ass out. This was so sloppy, Tasha. Damn!”
I thought about what Trae said. What if they did find out Jameer sent the dogs? They would kill him. I didn’t even know if Jameer had a family. Kids? A wife? What if Trina was with him? They would probably kill her, too.
Because of my insecurities, I had just signed Jameer’s death certificate as well. And that bitch was still laying up there breathing.
17
ANGEL
When Jaz called, Kaylin and I came as fast as we could. She refused to say anything over the phone, so we didn’t know what to expect. So there we were in her living room, on the couch, with her seated across from us.
“I just needed to talk to my family. Sorry y’all had to travel so far just to hear me vent, so I’ll reimburse you guys for the expenses.”
“Girl, please,” I said. “Now you talkin’ crazy.”
“Jaz, Faheem would look after my wife the same way. So don’t insult me like that. Now, tell me what’s happening