In Need of You

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"I gave you specific orders," Jonah said. He glared at Kevin, then back at the dark safe house that was supposed to house his foolish son and the bitch he took to his bed every night. Why was it so difficult for these people to follow simplistic rules? "All you had to fucking do was stay some distance behind them while trailing them."

Kevin rolled his eyes, then focused his attention on Jonah. He scoffed. "Didn't it occur to you that your son happens to think like you."

"That's no excuse."

Kevin chuckled. The smile across his lips shifted into a frown. "Then, you should have been the one who trailed them. That would have solved everything."

"Don't play coy with me, boy."

"The fuck you say to me?"

"You heard me," Jonah said. He eyed Kevin, noticing the frown lines turn into plainness.  He shook his head as he made his way back to his car. Jonah hated incompetence. It drove him up a fucking wall. He didn't understand why he relied on the damn fool. The only effort he could commit was stupidity backed by brawn. At least he was good for that, though, he thought. Still, he needed to find Sabrina. He needed to make her pay for what Rachel had done to him. He needed to--. 

Something cold pressed against the nape of Jonah's neck. He stopped in his trek. Hearing a bullet slide into the chamber of the gun Kevin pressed against made him swallow hard.    

"Call me boy again, and I can't make any promises that I won't shoot you where you stand."

"And shoot the hand that's helping you right now?"

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea right now," Kevin said. He laughed. "If it weren't for the fact that you could pinpoint your son, until now, I wouldn't be fucking with yo' ass. But right now, you stuck with me and I with you. Deal with it."

Jonah slowly turned around. Kevin never lowered his gun. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Kevin was right. Jonah couldn't afford to kill the only person who could get him Sabrina faster. They were both after her but for clearly different reasons. He took a deep breath, remaining still in the same place Kevin held him at gunpoint. "Then, deal with it I will."

Jonah noticed the slight raise in Kevin's eyebrows. So much for keeping cool, calm, and copacetic, he thought. Kevin may have had a slight edge on his every move, but that surely didn't mean Jonah didn't have him where he wanted him to be. It was a shame that the man was just that predictable. 

He glared at the house, then glanced into the street lamp lit sky. Sounds of bats and nightingales lingered in the near distance. The warmth of the summer's night breeze brushed against his arms. He turned his focus back to Kevin and smirked for a moment. "I think it's time I paid Daniel a little visit."

"That's a good start, Mr. Brysen, but isn't he custody?" Kevin replied.

"Like you, Kevin, I've got friends that got me too."

Kevin smiled. "We're more alike than you think we are."

Jonah chuckled. That was so far from the truth. "Like two peas in a pod."

***  

"Oh! Son," Jonah called. Dark shadows covered only half his face. The other half was drenched in a red hue. The grin on his face grew as he neared Elisha. "Run, run as fast as you can. You can never escape me because... I'm... the hangman." 

Elisha rose from the bed, panting. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as he glared around the room. Sabrina and Madeline must have gone downstairs for breakfast he thought. Resting his head back onto the pillow, he closed his eyes, then took a deep breathe.  

It was only a matter of time before they found them again. It was only just a matter of time before Dad and Kevin waltzed their way into this house and destroyed every fiber of happiness he had left. Hell, they had somewhat done that successfully anyway, Elisha thought. No matter what he tried to do to maintain the simplicities of life, that man was there to slap it out of his grasp and slap his knee in laughter about it too. 

He rolled onto his side and took another deep breath. Opening his eyes, Elisha glared at the clock. Nearly half the day was gone. Closing his eyes again, he ran his hands over his face and cursed under his breath. He couldn't afford to be lying on his ass when Kevin and his father--fuck! He was supposed to meet the doctor that he called for Sabrina hours ago.

Elisha jumped from the bed, grabbed his t-shirt from the chair, and pulled it on as he made his way out of the door. Yet before he had the chance to get out of the room, he locked eyes with the love of his life. Her eyes were tinged with red streaks. Remnants of tear trails rested on her brown skin. 

"Sabrina," Elisha pulled her into his embrace. "What's wrong beautiful?"

"Mom." Water welled in her eyes. "She... knew your father. He was her dealer; he was her pimp."

Elisha rested his chin on top of her head and ran his fingers through her hair as he consoled her. It wasn't the best time for Sabrina to know the truth about her mother. With all the bull shit she had been going through in the past few months, she needed a break. But it was better that she knew the truth than not know it at all. Feeling her grab the back of his t-shirt, Elisha held her tighter. 

"I'm sorry you had to learn about your mother like this."

Sabrina exhaled. "Now I understand why she treated us the way she did. It was always her needs over her family's. It was always our fault she couldn't be free. I guess your father put an end to her complaining."

Elisha held her tighter in his arms. Sabrina was right. Dad did put an end to Rachel's complaining, just like he was trying to put an end to his happiness. The time for running had to stop, he thought. The more he ran the more this shit was going to fester. 

"Sabrina," Elisha whispered against her forehead. "I'm so sorry I put you and Madeline in this mess. It's time that I end this shit once and for all."

She glared at him with furrowed eyesbrows. "You've told me this before, Lisha, but why do you sound like you are about to do something stupid?"

"You're right," he replied. "But I don't have any other choices right now."

"You don't have any other choices? Don't be crazy, Elisha. You're making the best choice right now." Sabrina pulled away from his embrace and glared into eyes as she folded her arms. 

Elisha sighed. "The more we keep running the more my father, Kevin, and his band of motley fools will keep at us like we're dogs escaping a dog catcher's net."

"Elisha--"

"Sabrina," Elisha took her hands into his and caressed his thumb over it. "The doctor came today, didn't he not?"

Sabrina nodded. "He did," she replied, caressing her stomach with her hand. "The doctor said that your son is doing well."

Elisha widened his eyes. "My son?"

"Lisha, if that doesn't give you help you understand that we can't lead them to where we are--"

"This is all the reason to protect my family. Our son needs to grow up knowing that his parents face their fears. Our son needs to grow up knowing that running from a problem isn't the best option."

"Grandma Zora told you that, didn't she?"

Elisha pulled a reluctanct Sabrina back into his embrace. He knew this wasn't what she wanted to do, but it had to be done. Shit, he been saying it since the very day his father started fucking with them. Now, the craziness had overgrown into chaos and murderous intentions.  "Trust me, beautiful. I have to do this for our family, or Jonah will never stop hunting us like wild game."