Chapter 6

6

Ahmad

A fter getting them settled on the jet, I told Carl to get us in the air expeditiously. I felt like I hadn't slept in days, and I was very fucking irritable. I needed a shower badly because now I was dirty and sweaty from chasing after this girl. I was starting to second guess all this shit. None of this was really worth it as I looked at her and she was giving me that death stare again.

"Usually I don't do this, but I think it befits the moment to extend an apolo—"

"Fuck your apology!" she screamed.

"Hey, watch your mouth around the baby."

"Kari, cover your ears, baby." She did as she was told then Nala looked back at me and whispered, "Fuck your apology. If you were really sorry, you'd let us go."

"You want me to throw y'all off this plane? Trust me, with the way I'm feeling, I just might do the shit."

"You ain't gon' do shit but sell wolf tickets. I know you care. I can see it in your eyes. What are you gaining from this? Huh? If it's money, I can get you whatever you need."

"You got a million dollars to pay me?" She got quiet and looked away from me. I smirked as I sat back in my chair. "Right, you don't."

"That cheap bastard offered you a million dollars? I can't even begin to believe that shit. I know he hasn't paid you yet, so why are you doing all of this? What if he gets us and never pays you?"

"Then he's as good as dead."

"Well, I hope he doesn't pay you, so you can take me out of my misery."

I sighed as I looked at Kari who still held her little palms over her ears. She was a replica of her mother. Even the little scowl on her face matched hers as I shook my head and looked at her mother again.

"Mommy, can I take my hands down now?"

"Sure, baby. Mommy's so sorry, okay? I promised you that I'd always keep you safe, and I failed. What I will promise and keep is that no matter what happens, I'll always do my best to protect you."

Kari nodded and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist. "I'm hungry."

"There's food in the kitchen," I said, pointing to the front of the plane. "I can make y'all something if you want."

Usually there would be a flight attendant, but since it was such short notice, I had to be the one to do it without involving too many people in this bullshit I was doing.

"No, thank you. I can make it myself. I don't trust you around our food."

She slowly stood as her daughter clung to her side. I chuckled lightly watching her hobble toward the front. Now she really looked like a bunny.

"What the hell is so funny?"

"Nothing. Go feed the baby. I'll be right back," I told her, moving to the captain's cabin to check on Carl.

I was almost sure that nigga was pissed about his nose. I knocked three times, and a few seconds later, he opened the cabin with a scowl on his face then walked back to his seat. I closed the door and sat next to him.

"Yo, you good?"

"Fuck no, man. She broke my fucking nose. If I had known it was going to go like this, I would have been much better prepared. Why'd you leave her loose?"

"I didn't. I forgot to put the tape back over her mouth, so she must have bit into the tape. Don't worry, with the money you're getting you can get corrective surgery. It's too big for your face anyway."

"Fuck you, Play. I hope she's worth all this damn trouble."

"Maybe not, but what are you complaining for? Ya broke ass could use the money. Now where's the first aid kit?"

"Next to the cabinet in the kitchen."

I walked back out of the cabin, and as soon as I closed the door and turned around, I saw a broken bottle coming toward my head. On instinct, I ducked and twisted her wrist behind her back prompting her to drop the broken bottle. Pushing her against the wall, I sneered against her ear.

"Are you fucking crazy? Are you really trying to make me kill your ass?"

"Death is better than going back to a controlling, manipulative, arrogant asshole! I'd rather be dead than go back to him! Don't you get it?" she asked then broke into a fit of tears.

I released her and turned her around. The pain in her eyes let me know that this really wasn't what I initially thought it was. The storms brewing in her orbs told me the story of how all this came to be. It took me a minute, but I understood the severity of releasing her to the man she desperately wanted to stay away from. I mean, for her to take his money and create a whole other identity to protect her and her child, it had to be something more to this.

"A'ight, Bunny. Just calm down. Let me help you," I told her, pushing her hair out of her face. "Where's lil mama?"

She wiped the snot and tears from her face with the back of her hand. "In the bathroom, hiding."

"So you were going to kill me, and then what?"

"Wait until this plane landed and escape. What the hell else do you think I was going to do?"

I chuckled lightly and shook my head. Her feistiness and determination to get away from me had me more intrigued than I wanted to be. I walked over to the door and knocked lightly. No answer.

"Kari, open the door, baby." The lock disengaged and she came out, rushing to her mother and hugging her around her waist. Nala winced, I'm sure from the pain in her arm.

"Mommy, I want to go home!"

"I know, Kari. We'll be home soon. I promise."

I swiped a hand down my face. "Can I trust you to just have a seat? I promise I'm not out to hurt y'all. I'll make y'all a snack and get your arm and ankle wrapped up. Can you at least let me do that?"

She didn't speak. She guided her daughter back to their seats as I prepared them something to snack on. It only took me a second to put together a smorgasbord of three different meats, some cheeses, crackers, little chocolates, nuts, and fruits. After that was complete, I turned her seat around and pulled the table from the compartment in the wall, then placed the board in front of them. I walked back to the kitchen to grab some waters and hand sanitizer when I overheard baby girl praying.

"God, please bless this food and bless all these bad people in the world. Please allow the bad man to let us go back home. I'm really scared and so is Mommy. Please touch his heart to let us go. In Your name we pray. Amen."

I watched as Nala leaned over and kissed her forehead, telling her that everything was going to be okay. I walked up and placed the bottles on the table with the labels facing them then left them to it. I had to go meditate because all this shit was really taking a toll on me. The last thing I wanted was to have this shit on my conscience. Once we landed, I had no choice but to let her be free.

The jet landed around 12:00 p.m. I didn't close my eyes until I saw that they had finally closed theirs, and even still, I was on high alert. Once the jet stopped, the car service I ordered was already in place when Carl opened up the doors to let us out. For a moment, I just stared at them both, contemplating if I should hand them over immediately, or wait a few days since that nigga had me going through this shit for a measly six figures. I had that ten times over, so this wasn't about the money anymore. I was a cold nigga… Always had been.

I never cared about anyone's feelings, because growing up, I'd always felt like no one cared about mine. However, Bunny and lil Rabbit had done something to me to make all this shit seem as if I was doing a bad deed. I got out of the hitter's game because I wanted to start over and turn over a new leaf. I told myself that doing the shit that I did would one day come back to haunt me. Although I wasn't going to hurt them, the fact of it all was that the man I was handing them over to could possibly kill them, and I would be the cause of it all.

I shook her gently, she jumped and put her fists up in fighting mode.

"Come on."

She shook her daughter awake then stood, limping toward the open door.

"I need to go to the hospital."

"I'm going to take care of it. Just walk."

"I can't damnit! Can't you see that?" she yelled.

I knew she was irritable, but so the fuck was I. I sighed heavily as I scooped her up and nodded for baby girl to follow. She took hold of her mother's hand as we descended the stairs. Carrying her over to the car, I felt her shivering from the cool weather. I placed her in the car and helped Kari in as well. I turned to the driver.

"Give me your jacket."

"Sir?" he questioned, looking confused.

"I know I didn't stutter. Take it off and give it here."

He unbuttoned his jacket and slipped it off, handing it to me. I slid inside then draped it over her shoulders.

"I'm going to take you to my safe house, get you looked at, and you and lil mama fed."

"You're from here?"

"No, but anywhere I go, I make sure I cop somewhere to lay my head. I don't do hotels or motels."

"Mm, good for you."

"I know this shit is unorthodox as hell, but I'm only doing what I'm paid to do."

"Mmhmm."

Her disconnection from all this was really fucking with me. I was sure she was tired of fighting her way out of this—especially since she crippled her damn self in the process. She knew she couldn't run from me anymore, so disconnecting from the situation was her way of coping with her fate.

Two hours later, we pulled into the circular driveway of my property. I made it a habit to cop a spot anywhere I frequented to never leave a paper trail by getting hotel rooms where I did my dirt, and because I had to have my own space. I didn't like people, so I stayed away from them.

As the car came to a stop, I got out and helped Nala out as lil Rabbit reclaimed her mother's hand. I could tell she was very protective over her and stayed stuck to her side. She had to be touching her in some kind of way and that let me know that her mother was all she knew. As I unlocked the door to get inside, I walked them to the living room and placed her on the couch.

"This house is beautiful. Who lives here?"

"I told you I do."

"I forgot. I'm really in a lot of pain. Do you have anything I can take?"

"Yeah, I'll be right back," I told her, walking toward the main bathroom. "Oh, just in case you try to escape, you can't. You'll need the code to disengage the locks on the doors and windows."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "I could just break the window."

I smirked at her. "They're shatter proof."

"I think you're enjoying torturing me."

"I'm really not, though. I'm just ready to deliver you to your destination and go the fu—go back home."

"Take me now then! But can you please just do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Can you please take my daughter to my parents? I can accept what's going to happen to me, but I can't let him know about her. Please?"

Kari frantically shook her head. "Mommy, no! I want to stay with you!"

"Kari, you can't, baby. Grandma and Grandpa are going to take care of you, okay?"

"No, please! You can't leave me. You said you wouldn't leave me!"

I couldn't take the dramatics much longer. "Okay, enough. No one is going anywhere. Just relax while I go get you something for your pain. Food and clothes are being delivered, so everybody just chill!"

I wasn't trying to be rude, but all this crying and sentimental shit was getting on my nerves. I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to fucking care either, but here I was conflicted about all this shit. Leaving the room, I decided to take a smoke break to calm the fuck down. This shit was fucking with me in the worst way. I had to call my brother to voice my concerns and to let him know not to tell whoever her baby daddy was that I had them just yet. I needed a minute to fucking think and reconsider my decision.