Thug-ish (Book 1)

21:Missing

West

I pull up to the address that Patrick gave and for a doctor he is sure living rough. I mean damn aren't doctors suppose to be rolling in dough.

He lucky I have soft spot for kids because if he didn't have a son I would have smoked him. It's not because he slept with Leti, but because he....no it's because he slept with Leti. I know he kind of didn't have a choice, but he slept with Leti and I want him dead.

I knock on the door and some little thot answers the door. "What you want?" She demands.

"I'm here to pick up my nephew. My brother had to stay late at the hospital."

"Oh, okay then. Let me grab my stuff and I'll be out of your way." She says. "Tell your brother he owe me fifty extra bucks."

"Will do."

Once the girl is gone I head to the back of the house. I walk into the first room and see a little boy asleep in his bed. Sitting on his nightstand is a picture of Patrick, some other man, a woman, and a baby. I take the picture out of the frame and fold it up and put it my pocket. Something tells me they won't be coming back here.

I grab a backpack from the floor and start packing up clothes and a few toys for the kid. Once I'm done I shake the little boy's leg to wake him.

He stirs awake and rolls over on his back. "Are you one of the bad men?" He Asks.

"What bad men?" I ask him.

"The ones that hurt uncle Russel." He sighs.

"No, I'm a friend of your daddy's. I'm here to take you to a safe place, so the bad men can't get you." I explain to him.

"Okay." He nods.

*
*
*

I carry the sleeping toddler along with the bags I packed inside the house all at once. I don't know how parents do this shit and not drop the kid.

"Leti!" I shout as I lay the kid down in the bedroom down stairs. "Leti! Baby where you at?!"

Nicole, Malo's mom, sshs me as she runs down the stairs. "Westley is sleeping keep your voice down." She demands.

"I'm sorry mom, but where is Leti?"

"She left a while ago. Something about Jamiya, but I promised to watch my grandson until she came back."

The hospital? Did Yaya wake up? No, she would've called me for that. "Did she say when-"

"West!" Leti screams as she walks in the house.

"Do y'all not understand that it is past midnight?" Nicole demands before walking off upstairs.

I grab Leti and kiss her passionately. She pulls away and gives me a confused look. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Malo? Did-"

"Where's my daddy?" The little boy asks as he walks out of the room.

"Who's that?" Leti wonders.

"I'm P.J." The boy smiles.

"Patrick Jr." I sigh.

*
*
*

Leticia

"We have to help him." I tell West and Malo.

"No, I don't know what we do, but keeping them here isn't the answer." West claims.

"This is the safest place to be for all of us. There are guards surrounding the entire house." I tell her.

"Keeping them here is asking for trouble." Malo says.

"The boy is four years old. I can't let anything happen to him. He's my daughter's brother and Patrick is-"

"Don't you fucking say it!" West screams. "He is not her father."

"He's her sperm donor."

"How do you see this playing out, Leticia? We keep the baby during the week and he gets her on weekends?" West asks. "I mean that is only after we take down your father."

"Of course not, my baby can't spend the night without me."

"So you want to spend the night at his house now?"

"I don't want to spend the night anywhere, but-"

Buzz. Buzz.

"Hello." I answer the phone.

"Ms.Atkins, this is Dr.Zelmer down at memorial."

"Hi, Dr.Zelmer is my sister alright? Did she wake up?"

Malo looks at me waiting for an answer. "No, she didn't wake up." I shake my head and Malo frowns. "She's missing."

"She's what?"