FREDDY PRINCE

chapter seventeen

"Who was that?"

Skylar and Kalani were on the edge of their seats when Freddy got back to the table. His breathing was heavier and his eyes showed signs of fury. He was pissed and wanted to hunt Shonnie down and make her pay for the damage she caused, and he was tired of playing it safe.

"Shonnie," he said. "She called about Mom's diary."

Skylar looked at him with a million questions in her eyes. She didn't know what her grandmother had stored in her diary but knew it must have been important if someone else wanted it.

"Freddy, you need to meet with her," Kalani said. "When your friend from the FBI gets here, let him take her in. Until then, you can meet with her and get her on record incriminating herself."

"Yeah, and what about the deal I made with your father?"

Kalani went silent. She forgot all about the deal he made but wondered if the deal alone was enough to hold against him.

"This is all fucked up," he sighed. "Either way it goes, my name will get drug through the mud. My center won't ever happen with this shit hanging over my head. I might as well get back on the block and start slanging."

"No. We'll figure this out," Kalani said. "There has to be a way to clear your name."

After dinner, Skylar went up to her room to be alone while Freddy and Kalani waited to hear from Lance again. Thoughts of putting a hit on Shonnie crossed his mind, but he feared it would've interfered with getting justice for his mom and sister. Naomi too.

It would've been easy for him to take Shonnie out. Her blood on his hands would've been the end of everything for him though. He knew Kalani would've immediately known it was him, and he wasn't sure if she would keep the secret, so he had no choice but to wait.

On the other side of the city, Shonnie, Mack, and Mayor Montgomery got together to get their plan in order. Montgomery knew once the cat got out of the bag, he would have a fight on his hands with Freddy. And he expected nothing less.

"Maybe you should come clean to him about being his dad," he told Mack. "That might buy us some time or give him a change of heart about going to the police."

"Wait," Shonnie cut in. "What the fuck? You're Freddy's father?"

Mack lowered his head. He was ashamed of himself for holding that secret for so long and even more so for not being active in Freddy's life.

"Well, I'll be damned," she smirked. "There are too many secrets for me to keep up with."

Mack gave her a chilling look. He'd always told Montgomery there would be a time when they needed to get rid of Shonnie and her trifling ways, and to him, that time seemed to have gotten closer even before Elm's diary was found.

"If he has the diary, I'm sure he already knows everything," Mack said.

"Yeah, you're right." Shonnie agreed. "If Kalani's with him, I'm sure she made sure he read it. Even if she isn't, I'm sure he still read it."

They sat silently in Montgomery's office trying to think their way out of the mess they made. The more Montgomery thought about how his life turned to shit after he started his affair with Shonnie, the more he wanted her gone. She was the reason his wife was dead, and she was the reason his hands were dirty because of it. He blamed her for everything. Even Elm's death.

"So, the diary's pointless," she said. "Now what?"

"You need to go talk to him."

Mack spoke to Shonnie, but his eyes stayed on Montgomery; a tactic formed between them while they were on active duty. It was a way to let each other know there was a plan being cooked up without the third party knowing.