“I guess I wasn’t scared to die at the time. Or maybe I needed the distraction, and I didn’t mind death,” she said with a shrug, and Harry realized that it was around the time after her fiance died.
“So if you won the case already, why are you on it again?” Harry asked, returning her attention to the subject as he didn’t want her to think about the past.
“The first case was about getting justice for the family of the dead kids, and the only person who was sentenced was Jero. He took the fall for the gang as he was the one who gave the kid the hard drug even though it was on the orders of the kingpin.” Jade explained.
“I see.”
“Yeah. The case I’m working on at the moment involves the kingpin of the cartel. Three members of the gang defaulted in making their payments, and two among them were killed in cold blood. The third escaped but not without getting evidence against the gang. He reached out to me some days ago but has now gone missing. As if that’s not enough I went to the correctional facility where Jero was being held a few days ago, and I found out that he’s no longer there,” Jade explained, and Harry’s brows creased with a frown.
“Perhaps the cartel got him out?” Harry asked thoughtfully.
“They didn’t. I suspect they tried to get rid of him, but he escaped,” Jade with a sigh.
“Isn’t all of this too dangerous for you? I understand that you wanted to die three years ago, but what about now? Why are you risking your life?” Harry asked, turning to spare her a glance.
“I handled it the first time, so it’s only fitting that I take care of it again. This has nothing to do with me wanting to die,” Jade explained, and Harry gave her a nod.
“What would be your plan B if we find out that your only witness is dead?” Harry asked her thoughtfully with his gaze fixed on the road.
Jade looked at him with a worried frown, “Why are you asking me that? Do you know something? Is he dead?”
Harry turned to spare her a glance, “I’m just asking. You need to always prepare your mind for the worst-case scenario,” he reminded her.
“Sure. I hope he’s still alive… But if he isn’t, then I would have to try out my other options,” Jade said thoughtfully.
“And what are the other options? Maybe we could start checking those out while still searching for him,” Harry suggested.
“I need to find Jero’s baby mama. She testified against him at his last trial, and I know that if he escaped from prison, he is likely going to be looking for her. To find Jero, I need to find her first, and maybe I can convince Jero to testify against the gang,” Jade said thoughtfully.
“What is the name of this baby mama you want to find?” Harry asked curiously.
“Her name is Candace.. Candace Roberts.”
“So?” Brandy asked when she opened the door to the dressing room and saw Candy who was humming a tune as she sat in front of the mirror dressing up for the evening.
Brandy was fond of starting conversations with such weird questions, so Candy wasn’t surprised by it. Instead, she asked the only question she knew that Brandy expected from her, “So what?” Candy asked as she touched up the red lipstick on her lips and then adjusted the orange afro wig on her head.
Brandy walked further into the room and sat down beside Candy. She had just finished her first performance for the evening and wanted to have a word with Candy who was alone in the dressing room, “Have you heard from him since Sunday?” Brandy asked as she eyed Candy with interest.
“Heard from who?” Candy asked even though she knew who her sister was referring to. The only guy they had seen on Sunday was Matt who had come to her house uninvited.
Brandy smiled since she knew that Candy was trying to frustrate her with her pretense not to know who she was talking about so that she would get frustrated and give up questioning her, “It’s not going to work, Candace. Have you heard from Matt since he left the house?”
“Am I supposed to hear from him after I clearly asked him to stay away from me? I told him that I’m not interested in him and I don’t want any sort of relationship with him, remember?” Candy asked with a stubborn lift of her brow as she fished inside her makeup bag for her false lashes and started to fix them on.
“So are you going to tell me that you don’t miss him? You don’t miss the chats and phone calls you used to exchange with him?” Brandy asked, and Candy turned to look at her in irritation, “Don’t even deny it, I’ve caught you staring at your phone several times like you’re expecting a call or text from him,”
“You still don’t get it, do you? This has nothing to do with me missing him. I may like him as you believe, but I have to put Jamal’s safety before my emotions. If any of you-know-who’s men find out where we are…”
“It has been two years already since he went to jail. I’m sure his boys must have forgotten about us, and have stopped searching for you by now. How much longer do you intend to hide? You’ve put your life on hold long enough because of something we both know you needed to do for us to be free!” Brandy pointed out, and Candy shook her head.
“We both know him. He takes betrayal to heart, and he never lets go of a grudge. He is never going to forgive me for testifying against him, and he is going to want to have his revenge and take Jamal away from me,” Candy said with worried eyes, as she thought about the crazy man she had been involved with in the past.
It had taken all of her courage to approach the lawyer in charge of the case with evidence of most of the shady deals that could keep him in prison for the rest of his life. She hadn’t wanted to kill him…
Or maybe she had wanted to do so but she had been too scared to do it.
Hence she had taken the only other option she knew how to get rid of him, and that was by sending him away to jail.
“Did he honestly expect any of us to be loyal to him? After everything he did to you? After the way he treated us? After the verbal and emotional abuse we passed through in his hands? That bastard should have seen it coming from the start!” Brandy spat out angrily, as her blood boiled in anger when she remembered how Jero had constantly insulted and abused them. How he would sometimes force her to go out with his boss and other men while he kept the money. How he emptied hers and Candace’s savings without their knowledge and used it for God knows what.
“Get a grip on yourself, Andy. That’s not the point. I’m just saying I can’t get involved with Matt, so quit asking me about him,” Candy pleaded, lowering her voice when the door opened and a stripper walked in.
“And I’m saying, who else to protect you rather than someone as wealthy as he is? Someone who has got the fame? Besides, I think Jamal is old enough to know what his mother and aunty do for a living. We are not whores. We are exotic dancers, and it is a legal profession! We need to explain what we do to him now that we can, that way he won’t be confused or embarrassed when he hears about it elsewhere,” Brandy insisted stubbornly, and Candy sighed.
“Fine. I’m going to think about it,” Candy said and Brandy shook her head.
“There is nothing to think about…”
“What do you expect me to do? Call Matt and tell him that I’ve changed my mind?” Candy snapped at Brandy who wasn’t willing to drop the subject.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.