FREDDY PRINCE

chapter thirteen

Freddy tried calling Fantasia after Kalani left but got no answer. He figured she was at work or busy with her no-good baby daddy, so he left a message and went on with his day.

The thought of Mack and his mom dating wouldn't leave his mind all afternoon and he wanted to ask her about it, but every time he tried to remember if he ever saw Mack in the past, his mind went blank.

"Hey Unc, are you busy right now?"

It surprised him when Skylar called him. He knew she was out of school and probably wanted to hang out, but when he noticed her tone was off, he grew worried.

"Nah. Nah, I'm not busy. What's up? Everything good?"

"Have you heard from Mom? She was supposed to pick me up today and I've been calling her, but she's not answering."

A lump grew in Freddy's throat.

"I've been calling her too. Did she work today? Maybe she's still clocked in."

"Nah. She said she was off today and would be here early."

Immediately, Freddy threw on his shoes, grabbed his keys, and headed for the door. After what happened to him and Kalani the night before and Dahlia being found dead, he didn't want to waste a second getting to his niece and finding his sister.

"I'm on my way. Go in the office and stay there until I get to you."

"What's going on?" Skylar asked, her nerves tying themselves in knots. "Is Mom okay?"

"Do what I said, Skylar. Right now. I'm on my way."

He hung up the phone and sped out of his driveway like a bat out of hell. All he thought about on his way to Skylar's school was what if something happened to Fantasia? He loved his niece, but he didn't know if he'd be able to take care of her if his sister wasn't around. They were all he had left and if he lost either of them he knew it would've been hard for him to bear life.

He tried calling Fantasia again and again until her phone started going directly to voicemail. When he called her job to see if she was on the clock or if anyone had heard from her, he was met with the same agony he felt the day he found out his mom had been murdered.

"Fuck!" he shouted at her voicemail again. "Tasia! Where are you? Call me back!"

Speeding toward Skylar's school, he noticed a truck that looked familiar. It was the same blacked-out Tahoe that was parked at his office the night before. Freddy was so frantic about finding his sister and getting to his niece in time, he didn't realize the truck had been following him the entire time.

"Mothafucka," he spat, sitting up straighter in his seat. "You wanna fuck with me and my family? I got something for your ass."

He sped up slightly to see if the Tahoe would do the same. When it did, he slowed down and switched lanes to see if the driver would pass. Lo-and-behold, the Tahoe got behind him again and started to cruise.

"Who the fuck are you?" Freddy whispered, trying to get a look at the driver through his rearview mirror. "Fucking tints too dark."

He thought long and hard about who could've been following him. Doing the kind of work he did, he had enemies everywhere, but none who were stupid enough to make a move on him.

When it came to his business in the drug game, he ran a tight ship and kept everything low-key. So, unless the person driving that Tahoe was someone who wanted to rob him, he felt like it had something to do with what was going on between him and Kalani.

Instead of taking the usual route to Skylar's school, Freddy veered off the highway an exit early and took toward the back streets. He had a connect that way who owed him a favor and with the Tahoe hot on his trail, he felt like it was time to call it in.