Jade

Chapter 24

As the jet came to a smooth halt, the door lowered to reveal a waiting matte-black Maybach S680, waiting at the edge of the tarmac. Amar'e emerged slowly, dark Cartier frames masking his face as he emerged from the plane. A fat blunt and a glass of whiskey was waiting on him he got in the back seat, his hand drawing to the blunt first like a moth to a flame. He sparked up as the Maybach glided through the streets of Savannah, passing through the quiet suburban town Amber tucked herself away in for years. The flight to Savannah was no more than an hour, and yet this was his first time there in years.

He was halfway done with his blunt and drink by the time they pulled up to the large brick home seated in a quiet private gated community.

He could tell something was off once he hopped out the car, pulling his shirt over the butt of the gun that was tucked in his waistband.

He crept in through the front door, pulling his gun out once he saw the pool of blood that trailed towards the staircase. From the broken glass on the floor and the shell casings on the floor, he could tell someone tried breaking into the house.

He quickly aimed his gun in the direction of a moving shadow walking through the dark house, but lowered it just as quick once he realized it was his nephew.

"Loyal what the fuck goin on in here? Where's A'mouri?" Amar'e asked.

"He at the hospital wit Amber. I need your help in the basement though, we gotta lil situation."

Before Amar'e could even formulate his first question to ask, he found himself following his nephew down the stairs that led to the basement.

Seeing Eric, Amber's husband, lifeless body lying in a pool of his own blood made him shake his head.

"What happened?" Amar'e asked.

"Mouri pulled up here, said he found Amber unconscious, step pops story wasn't adding up so he handled his business."

His mind was racing with a thousand questions, but he knew in a quiet white ass neighborhood someone had to have heard something and police were probably already on their way.

"Go upstairs and make sure the door locked up. We got work to do."

————

It didn't take long for Jade to find herself back in California, taking the red eye straight from Atlanta after everything went left. Filming for the biggest movie of her career was officially put on pause. Too many questions, too many eyes, and now people were talking. The investigation was threatening to cancel the entire film. She was trying to keep it together, trying to act like everything was normal, but deep down she was spiraling.

The gravel crunched under the Ferrari's tires as Asante pulled into the private drive of Caymus Vineyard. Towering oak trees casted long shadows across the path as the late afternoon sun soaked the air in a golden haze. Jade shifted in her seat, adjusting her oversized Saint Laurent sunglasses as she looked out the window at the rows of vines stretching across the hills.

"You really did your big one," she said, poking her lip out as she nodded in satisfaction. She only mentioned Caymus being her favorite wine once, but that was enough for Asante to make note of.

"Can't have you out here doin no regular shit." He said as Jade chuckled.

Jade was grateful for the week off from filming,
meaning she had a little bit of time to enjoy her trip in the midst of all the chaotic shit going on around her. She had an upcoming work retreat in Joshua Tree on Sunday for Messiah's movie, and even though she knew popping out with Asante amidst all the drama wasn't the best idea, she didn't really care.