Page 112 of Intercept My Heart

“Yeah, alright. You’ll be singing a different tune when you’re visiting your little baby in prison. Folks don’t fight one-on-one like they used to.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get him together.”

“Damn right I will.”

After we finished our dinner, Dinero wasted no time at all. He had my legs over his shoulders while he slurped and sucked my soul from my center. For the rest of the night, he declared his love for me. He promised he would fix everything and that we would be together for the long haul. Through moans of ecstasy, I vowed to be his forever and never allow anyone or anything to come between us. This was where my heart belonged, and this was where it would stay.

“Hey, Unc. How is she doing?”When he called me to the hospital, I automatically assumed the worst. However, once I stepped into the room and I saw her face, my nerves settled.

“What’s up, Tootie? You were tryna check out on us, weren’t you?” I headed over to her side of the bed to give her a hug. When I made contact with her, I let out all of the emotions I had bottled up for the last few months. From finding out about her being my birth mother to her almost dying, everything hit me all at one time. Her hand massaged my back, something she always did whenever I was upset.

When I got myself together, I pulled back to get a good look at her. Her light brown skin seemed paler than I’d grown accustomed to. However, she appeared to be in good spirits.

“I didn’t know if you would come or not,” she croaked with a strained voice.

“Why wouldn’t I? Even if I were mad at you, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re family. I would never truly walk away from you,” I admitted. Although there were still some things we needed to sort through, I couldn’t stay mad if I wanted to. They were a part of me.

“I’m glad to hear it. How are you doing? I feel like I’ve missed so much in your life.”

“How are you in the hospital asking about me? I should be the last thing on your mind,” I teased.

“You’re always on my mind. Where are those handsome boys at? Your father showed me pictures of them. They have their mother’s face, but I see you all through them. Cashynn looks like he gives people hell.” I chuckled, knowing her observation was spot on.

“He acts more like me than I care to admit, but we’re working on it.”

“I’m happy for you. I’ve always believed you and Charae were meant to be together. The fact that you two have children together only solidifies my predictions.” Tootie always told me that Charae was the one, and I agreed. We were supposed to be endgame, but life got in the way.

“Yeah, I’m working on it. My life is complicated right now.”

“Those complications are the reason we called you here. I reached out to a buddy of mine to see if they could look into the accident, and I found out some interesting information. Do you know a Boris Monarch?” My head jerked back when he mentioned the coach’s name.

“Yeah, he’s Harper’s father.” Uncle Ro and Tootie glanced at each other strangely, as if they were communicating without saying a single word.

“What? What does he have to do with this?”

“According to my friend, he owns the vehicle that caused the accident. The driver sped away after the hit, but the cameras at a nearby gas station were able to get an image of the license plate. There is also footage of the driver getting out of the SUV before they were seen fleeing the scene.” The news he revealed took me by surprise as I paced the floor.

“Wait. Are you saying this was intentional? Why would anyone intentionally crash into another vehicle?”

“Those are the questions I was seeking the answers to. I have a few people looking at this, but the woman who caused the accident has her face hidden in most of the footage. We’re trying to blow up a few still shots to see if there are any identifiers that we can use. I don’t know what kind of game those people are playing, but they messed with the wrong one.” Uncle Ro’s eyes were cold and dark as he looked out into the window.

“There is something I haven’t told you about my situation. I don’t understand why they would target Tootie, but it might be helpful later on.”

“I’m listening.” Taking a deep breath, I began to relay the story to the both of them. After I finished, Uncle Ro’s temperament went from bad to worse.

“Why the hell wouldn’t you call me if you were in trouble? What were you thinking?” he hissed, pacing the room.

“We weren’t exactly on speaking terms, and I thought I could handle things on my own.”

“You weren’t thinking. If you were, you would have put your pride to the side and called me. Regardless of what we have going on, I am your family. If someone threatened you, then they threatened me. I’ve killed many for thinking that was a wise thing to do.” Uncle Ro vented in a low tone.

“It sounds as if these people are mentally unstable. How the hell did you get caught up with them? When I ran her background, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.However, your description of her current behavior sounds like someone who may have suffered from mental health issues. I’m gonna call Mason and see if he can dig a little deeper into this family. I’m sure they are moving like this because they have some dirt of their own they don’t want exposed. I’m going to turn over every rock until I find some information we can use against them. In the meantime, I need you to get close to her.”

“What do you mean?” I questioned, narrowing my eyes in his direction.

“Look, this woman is obsessed with you. Right now, she is probably grasping at straws out of fear that their plan won’t work. I need you to get close to her. Reassure her that you are no longer upset and that you can’t wait to marry her. She'll fall for it if she is as unstable as she sounds. Do whatever you have to do in order to regain her trust. The more comfortable you make her, the sloppier she will be.

“Her father may be the brains of the operation, but Harper is the key to dismantling this entire plan.”

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