“Who are these guys?” Jackie asked.
“I don’t know. They just showed up at Me’shelle’s door,” Travis said as he went back to the car to help Me’shelle. She crawled out from under the car.
“We gotta get outta here before the cops come,” Jackie said as she got back in the car.
“That might not be for another half an hour,” Ronnie said.
Travis helped Me’shelle get to her feet. “Are you all right?” he asked as they rushed toward the car.
“I’m all right,” Me’shelle answered in a quivering voice.
They got in the car. Jackie drove away quickly, leaving the two dead bodies in the street.
“Thanks for coming when y’all did. You saved our lives, ’cause I was damn sure out of bullets,” Travis told them.
“Ain’t that what friends do for friends?” Jackie said.
Chapter Forty-two
Once they were safely back at Travis’s house, each began to speculate about who the gunmen were. Me’shelle, who had been silent during the ride back to the house, finally said, “I think that it was the same people who killed my brother and raped my niece.”
Everybody stopped talking and looked at her. “You think so?” Travis asked.
“It could be, Travis,” Ronnie said.
“You did go after them,” Jackie added. “They could have known where Me’shelle lived and been waiting there for her to come back.”
“Brandy did tell the police that there were four of them. And the detective said they found one dead at the house,” Me’shelle said.
“I think you’re right,” Travis agreed and walked to the phone. He called Freeze and told him what had happened.
“I haven’t heard anything about it, but I’ll see what I can find out. You all right?” Freeze asked.
“Yeah, we’re all cool.”
“Who’s there with you?” Freeze asked and Travis wondered why he would want to know who was there with him.
“Me’shelle, Jackie and Ronnie.”
“Okay, you stay there. I’ll get back to you when I know something.” Freeze hung up the phone knowing what he was going to do next.
“Freeze said he’d call back,” Travis informed them.
“I need a drink,” Jackie said as she went to the bar.
“I need a drink and a blunt,” Ronnie said.
“It’s in the usual place, Ronnie. You want a drink?” Travis asked Me’shelle.
“Maybe later. Right now I just need to lay down for a minute,” she said and got up.
“Okay. I’ll be back there in a little while. But leave the door open and yell if you need me.”
“You drinkin’, Travis?” Jackie asked.
“Shit, yeah. Hook me up.”
“I got you one ready. Now, you go on and relax. I’ll check on Me’shelle,” Jackie said with a sly laugh.
“Yeah, I just bet you will.”
“I’m only kidding. You don’t have to worry. I promise not to seduce your woman,” Jackie said. At least not without you.
* * * *
Warren Miller stayed in the area long enough to see Jordan and Blue taken away in body bags. With nowhere else to go, he went to The Spot to see Rocky about that job in Philly. Miller thought that the way things were going, Philly would be the best place for him for a while. He could lay low for a few months then come back to the city a brand new man.
As soon as he hit the door, the room got quiet. He knew then that coming there had been a bad idea. It was too late. As Miller turned to get out of there, he walked right into Derrick and two other very large thugs.
“Miller, where you been? Everybody’s been looking for you.” They grabbed his arms and led him into the back room. It wasn’t long before Chilly entered.
“Where’s the other two that was with you?” Chilly asked.
“Dead,” Miller answered.
“Let him go,” Chilly said. Once they released his arms, Chilly looked at Rocky and demanded, “Give me your gun.”
Rocky handed his gun to Chilly, and without another word, Chilly emptied the clip into Miller’s body. He handed the gun back to Rocky. “Get him outta here.”
Chilly went back to Rocky’s office and called Freeze. “I just wanted you to know that I took care of that matter we discussed.”
“I knew you would,” Freeze said and hung up the phone. He would call Travis with the news later.
* * * *
For the rest of the night, they smoked and drank and tried to put the evening’s events behind them. After a while, Ronnie stood up and said that he needed some air. Travis got up too. “I’ll go with you.”
“I’m a big boy now, Travis. I’ll be all right out there by myself. And besides, I’m takin’ mister sixteen-shot glock with me.”
Ronnie stood outside of the house and took deep breaths, trying to calm himself after their wild night. A truck moving slowly down the street with no lights caught his attention. He took out his gun and moved to get a better angle on it. As the truck got closer and stopped in front of the house, Ronnie recognized the vehicle. He put his gun away and began walking toward the truck.
As the window went down, Ronnie approached and said, “What’s up, Freeze?” He looked inside and was surprised to see Paulleen in the back seat.
“Nothing personal,” Freeze said calmly and raised his nine.
He shot Ronnie twice in the head and sped away. “Strictly business,” Paulleen said and smiled at Freeze.
Travis and Jackie heard the shots and jumped up. “Stay here!” he yelled at Me’shelle when she called out to him from the bedroom.
They grabbed their guns and ran outside, but it was too late. They got to the street in time to see a truck round the corner. Ronnie’s body lay dead in street.
Jackie dropped to her knees and held Ronnie’s head as she cried. Travis ran back inside. “Call an ambulance! Ronnie’s been shot!” he yelled.
When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics pronounced Ronnie dead at the scene.
Chapter Forty-three
On the night before Ronnie’s funeral, Me’shelle waited until Brandy had fallen asleep before leaving the room to call Travis. She asked him if she could come over. Naturally, Travis said yes. He hadn’t seen Me’shelle since Ronnie’s murder. In those three days, she had called once to see how he was doing, but the conversation was a short one.
“You had a lot going on, Travis. I just went through all that with my family. To be honest with you, I didn’t feel up to it again,” Me’shelle explained.
“You don’t have to explain, Me’shelle. I understand completely,” Travis asserted, but he really was disappointed that she hadn’t called more often. After the way he treated her when she needed him, though, Travis felt like he had it coming. It hurt, but like most men, he tried not to show it. “I’ll see you when you get here.”
When Me’shelle arrived, she tried to get right to the reason for her visit that evening. “Wow, where do I start? You know, it’s funny when you have something to say and you go over it and over it in your mind, and you know exactly what you wanna say, then when it comes time to say it, you just can’t get it out.”
“Just say what’s on your mind, Me’shelle,” Travis encouraged, but he was uncertain. Just like she felt the day he admitted he was a robber, he was afraid of what she might be about to say.
“Okay.” Me’shelle took a deep breath. “You know that I’ve been through a lot these last few weeks, and I understand that you have too. My family has been through a lot and-what I’m trying to say is that I’m not going to the funeral with you tomorrow.”
“I understa-”
“Please, Travis, let me finish. I came here to tell you that I can’t see you anymore.”
“What are you sayin’?”
“I came here to say goodbye,” she answered.
“Why?”
“That night, lying under that car listening to the shooting, I thought I was going to die. And then to see the bodies drop when you killed them-I know that I never want to go through anything like that again.”