Bayou Stix Series: Bayou Stix Limited Edition Box Set (145 page)

A truck belonging to Senator Bellaforte was found on the street behind Corrin Edwards’ residence. It’s reported that the daughter of Senator Bellaforte is romantically involved with Cruz Edwards. Stay tuned to our station for the latest news. We’re on scene and will closely follow and report on the story.”

I can’t breathe. Lucian is at my momma’s house?! With her and Tifanie? That’s why they aren’t back.

Dade jumps up and stares at me with horror on his face. It’s mirrored on the expressions around the room. Clove has tears running down her face and is kissing the baby’s head repeatedly.

Dade takes out his keys. “Come on. I’m taking you to Corrin’s. Jude, you come too. The rest of you stay here and keep us updated on any information.” He kisses Melonie and points at Liam. “Try to keep everyone calm here and if you hear anything at all…
Call me!
” He looks at Jessie as the phone starts ringing. “Jessie, you man the phone. Do
not
give out any info. In fact, take it off the hook.”

Everyone hops into action and I mindlessly follow them out of the house and into Dade’s Hummer. He looks over and mutters as he backs out of the driveway, “They’re going to be ok. You need to call the cops though and see why you weren’t informed of this shit. You need to call them
now
!”

Jude takes my phone out of my limp hand and dials the number before handing it back to me. As it rings, another call comes in on my cell. “Tifanie.”

My breath catches as I race to answer it. “Tifanie. Are you ok? Where’s my momma? Are y’all together? The news says Lucian has you both in the house!”

A cold chuckle comes across the line and I drop the phone. Jude grabs it and puts it on speaker. “Well, well, maybe the media is not as ignorant as we make them out to be. Sorry, son, Tifanie can’t talk right now.

“This is your father and you are going to do something for me.”

My palms are sweaty and my heart is palpitating. “What the fuck did you do to them? Let me talk to one of them. Right now.”

He laughs again. “I think not. Besides, even if I wanted to let you talk to them, you can’t. They’re both…
napping
.”

My blood goes cold and my head is light. I seriously can’t breathe. “What did you do?”

“It’s not about what I did. It’s about what I’m going to do if you don’t give me what I want. What you owe me. I need money. A lot of it. I have none thanks to your bitch of a mother and I need some. I need money to get out of here and you’re going to give it to me. Either you pay up, or your mother and lover will both cease to exist. I’ll kill them both. But first, I’ll sample them. It’s been a long time since I’ve sunk into the softness of a woman.”

Oh my God… Focus, Cruz. You cannot freak the fuck out right now. Stay calm.
My head drops back. I have money. I’ll give it to him, but how does he think he’s going to get out of that house?!

“Fine. Tell me exactly what you need. Don’t touch either one of them. Don’t touch them or you won’t get a dime.”

“I want ten million dollars. I know you have it. I want it and I want it by today. You’re also going to help me get a clear passage out of here. I won’t savor them both if you give me what I want.”

“I can get you the money. I can’t do the rest. I’m a rock star, not a magician. I don’t have those kinds of connections, Lucian.”

“You don’t… but Tifanie’s
family
does. You’ll make it happen. Had you just stayed in your own pool none of this would be possible. Thanks for dreaming big and succeeding where I failed,
son
.”

Jesus.

Before I can form a thought, he chuckles. “Oh, looks like one of them is waking up. I’ll be in touch. My money and my transportation… you’ll make it happen. On second thought… your girlfriend is so very lovely…”

He hangs up. I punch the dashboard and Dade and Jude both cuss in frustration. Dade looks at me with fear in his eyes. “Cruz, that man is insane. There’s no way anyone is just going to let him walk out of there after all of this. He won’t touch them. He will never have the chance to get that close. Not with both of them.” He grips the steering wheel as we turn onto my momma’s street… on two wheels.

Authorities and news crews are everywhere. How are we going to get to her house?!

A cop stops us and says we can’t get through and we’ll have to turn around due to a dangerous hostage situation. Dade explains that I’m Cruz Edwards and that it’s my momma and girlfriend being held hostage. He gets on his radio and a detective soon walks over. He motions for the barricades to be moved and waves us through. As we park, he meets us at the truck. He asks if Lucian has made contact and with Jude and Dade’s help, I go over the entire conversation in the Hummer.

The detective cusses as he listens and jots down notes. When we’re done, he looks up. “Ok son, I’m going to need you to help us. I want you to call him back. Tell him you’re getting the money and that you’re working on the way out for him. I need you to keep him engaged as long as possible so we can glean as much information as we possibly can. We know he’s in there with two hostages and we think he’s in the front room, but we need as many details as we can get. We also need to know their statuses. Are they hurt? Has he harmed them? If we can, we need you to talk to at least one of them. Are you up for that?”

I nod. I’m up for anything if it gets them out of there alive.

He directs us to a black van and ushers us into the back. He tells Jude and Dade to be completely quiet and then hooks my phone up to a device so the team in the van can also hear the conversation. Once he’s got headphones on and a pad at the ready, he asks, “Are you ready?”

“I’m ready.” He motions for me to make the call. It rings once and then Lucian answers, “Hello, son. Fancy you calling me here.” He laughs.

“Lucian. I’ll have the money shortly. It’s a lot of money to round up in a short time. I’m also working on a way to get you out of there, but I need to talk to either Momma or Tifanie first. I need to know they’re both alive.”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to tell me to do a thing, Cruz.”

I look at the detective and he motions for me to keep the conversation going. “No, I’m not. But I’m working with you. I’m doing what you want. I just need to know that both of the women in there are ok. I’m cooperating, Lucian. Give me this. I need to know.”

He mutters and we can hear him drag something then a weak, “Cruz? Cruz, is that you?” comes over the line.

My heart is pounding out of my chest at her voice. “Hey, Tifanie. Yes, it’s me. Working on getting you out of there. Are you and Momma ok?”

“We’re both alive. He’s…”

A loud clatter is heard and then a crash. We can hear Lucian’s roar and Tifanie curses. Another crash is heard and then grunting. We don’t know what’s happening. All we hear is noise and the sound of someone being hit. Dear God, please let Tifanie and Momma be ok.

A painful groan comes over the line, along with a large weight hitting something and then silence.

What just happened?

I holler into the phone. “
Tifanie!
What’s going on? What’s happening? Dear God…
TIFANIE!!”

A breathless curse and then heavy breathing is on the line. “I’m ok. Well, no, I’m probably not. But Lucian, yeah, not so much. His head is angled funny, but I can’t get across the room to check for a pulse. Send them in. Send the team in. Corrin is hurt. We need assistance in here.”

Before she’s done talking, I’m racing across the street and through neighboring yards. Cops and SWAT are heavy on my heels, screaming at me to stay back and that a team has gone in through the back. I ignore them and race for the front door. When I get there, I don’t stop to think, I just kick it in. Before I can enter, strong arms pull me back. Willis, the cop from yesterday that Tifanie knows, is there breathing hard with sweat dripping down his face. “Stop, man. I know you want to get in there, but stop. Let them go first. They’re trained.”

Shaking his arm off, I duck under it and shove him with a quick, “Sorry, man,” and run into the house.
Fuck that. That’s my family. I’m going in.

As I enter the living room, my eyes scan the room. A paramedic has an oxygen mask on my momma and she has blood trickling down her cheek from a large knot and cut on her forehead. They’re loading her onto a stretcher. More paramedics are hovering over someone on the ground. I gasp when I see her. Her arm is hanging at a weird angle and her face is busted up. There’s blood everywhere and her face is black and blue. The paramedics are fighting with her to lie down, but she’s refusing and trying to sit up. Finally one of them helps her and she almost falls over. He catches her. “Tifanie, your arm is broken, your shoulder is dislocated, your freaking leg is at least fractured, blood is running freely out of your broken nose, and you have a concussion. You did all you could! You probably saved both of your lives, now sit your stubborn ass down!”

Oh my God. What did he do to them? She’s hurt like that. Those are some serious injuries.

The rage is racing through my veins and I just want to kill him. I want to torture him for what he’s put these two women who mean the most to me through. How could he do this to the women I love?!

Roaring, I cross the room to the other side, near the fireplace where a large crowd is gathered around someone on the ground. It has to be Lucian.
Get away from him! I’m going to kill him.

As I approach, ready to strangle Lucian Wormer after I plan on beating him unconscious, I see them place the white sheet over his face as his blue eyes stare unseeingly at the popcorn on my momma’s ceiling.

WHAT?! He’s dead?

The detective looks up. “He’s dead.”

My eyes bug out and my mouth refuses to function. He’s dead?! How can he be dead?

Responding to my silent question, he inclines his head to Tifanie who’s being fastened onto a stretcher. “Miss Jeffries. She fought with him over the phone and apparently is a black belt. She hit him in the throat to halt his attack and then kicked him in the chest making him lose his balance and fly into the brick fireplace. He broke his neck on the mantle on impact.”

What the fuck?! My momma and girlfriend are being loaded into ambulances after being held hostage and assaulted by my rapist sperm donor who is now dead on the floor of my momma’s living room after my girlfriend fought with him.

My vision goes black as Dade and Jude race through the door, calling my name.

Tifanie

T
wo weeks. He’s been avoiding me for two weeks. My arm is in a sling, my leg is in a cast, I’m surly as a bear, and I want to see Cruz. But no, he’s avoiding me. In fact, he changed his phone number and sent a message through Melonie that I shouldn’t contact him and he wishes me well and a full recovery.

WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF BULLSHIT IS THAT?! I’m going to kill him. Of course I can’t drive because of my damn, stupid injuries, but I’m going to kill him.

I’m so mad I could breathe fire and I want to kill him, but I miss him and I love him.

Today is the day. I’m tired of this. No more games. No more avoidances. Today is the day.

I’m going to kill Cruz Edwards today!

I take extra time getting ready. It takes me four times as long anyway with only having one hand and arm and it being my left and I’m right-handed, but I’m determined. Everything is going to be perfect today.

As I add my perfume, I send a text.

“Tif:

Today is the day. No risk, no reward. Today it goes down.”

I get dressed and slip on my shoes and a reply comes through.

“Ty:

No white flags.”

I chuckle. “No White Flags” is Steve Gleason’s motto and Ty and I absolutely love him. He’s so strong and inspirational. Thinking about everything he deals with on a daily basis makes me think…
Damn right, no white flags. Everything worth something costs something and it’s not about the hand you’re dealt, it’s how you choose to play the cards.

And dammit, I’m taking the house tonight.

My “Team Gleason” shirt is my uniform for this mission.

Once I’m ready, I make my call. Melonie has been expecting it and she’s been checking in on me, so she answers on the first ring. “Hey, babe. Ready?”

Smiling, I reply, “Hey, babe. Today. It’s today. Can you come pick me up?”

I hear laughter and then she says, “On it. I’ll bring you back here.”

While I wait, I decide to listen to some music to pump myself up. Mel is blowing the horn in ten minutes and as I slowly navigate the steps on the porch, I see blue highlights on the second head in the car. Blue is with her. She gets out and helps me in before slipping into the backseat. Leaning forward, she smiles at me. “Hey, girl. Sorry to invite myself, but we were at Java and Sweeties and when I heard what was happening, I decided to tag along.”

I smile back. “No worries. Is he there?”

Mel shakes her head as she turns around in the yard. “No, he’s at home. He’s becoming a hermit.”

I mutter, “Not after today.” They both laugh as we head back toward campus to ambush Dade. I ask, “Does Dade know what he’s about to do, Mel?”