Page 83 of Search My Soul
“Right, give me one moment.” Duke and I watched as he walked out of the room before we reclaimed our seats.
Neither of us said much in the office because we weren’t sure if they were recording us or not. My leg bounced in frustration as we waited for this idiot to come back into the room. I planned to hit up Salvador the moment we got to a secure location. Everything about this situation seemed suspect, and I couldn’t afford to get caught up in any bullshit.
“Sorry for the wait.” Mr. Welsh walked back into the room with a TV on a rolling cart. It reminded me of when the teachers used to bring in a TV when we watched movies.
“It’s pretty dark and there are moments where the footage isn’t clear. However, there is a clear image of the license plate of one of the getaway cars and you can see the culprits as well.”
He pressed play on the video, and we all watched in silence. I recognized the girl with the purple wig the moment she got out of the car because it was the same girl who was there when I confronted Remi’s ass about slacking on the job. When the second car pulled up, I couldn’t get a good view of the girl because of where she was parked. We watched as the two women stepped into the house and closed the door. He fast-forwarded the video until we saw them come back outside. The other girl inthe video appeared to be frantic as she paced back and forth. The two women appeared to be arguing before the thick one walked to her car with a duffel bag of our money.
An eerie feeling took over as I continued to watch the video. It started to become pixelated, and with it already being dark, it made things difficult to see. One of the women walked back into the house, but the other one lingered in her car for a while. It made me wish there was some kind of audio so I could hear what was being said.
Eventually, the second woman headed back into the house, and within a few minutes, we heard the sound of a gun going off. My heart rate sped up as I realized this was the moment Remi must have been shot. I couldn’t believe two women orchestrated this. Not to say that women weren’t grimy because I knew that was not the case. I guess I expected there to be something deeper than a bitch hitting a lick.
The two women rushed out of the house again, and this time you could tell the second woman wasn’t okay with what took place. Her hands were waving in the air as the two argued. The two of them got into their cars and then the thicker woman left the scene. At some point, another car pulled up, blocking the view of the video. From what I could make out, two men came to help the purple haired woman. They loaded the rest of our money into their trunk and then went back inside with her.
The next moment was when rage filled my body. Seeing my cousins’ limp body being tossed into the back seat like a piece of meat. The purple haired girl hugged one of the men before getting into her car.
“Pause it,” I instructed, reaching for my phone so I could save the license plate number of the girl.
“I already have the information including who the car is registered to and their address. Now, I don’t have an issue givingyou the information, however, I need to know that you will not cause any harm to anyone. I can’t be an accomplice to a murder.”
“What kind of person do you take me for? Does this look like the face of a killer?” I pretended to be offended, but I could see the skepticism in his eyes. Clearly, he knew more about me than I thought, but I liked fucking with him.
“Mr. Taylor, I’m begging you. I have only shown you this to let you know that I’m on your side. You cannot go after these people. It would compromise my investigation, especially since I haven’t submitted this information to the police.”
“So basically, you’re telling me that you fucked up and now you want me to keep quiet? Do you understand how silly that sounds? My cousin nearly died due to the recklessness of the people who robbed him. You claim you want justice, but who are you actually seeking justice for?” I could tell by his mannerisms that this went beyond him wanting to do the right thing. There was something else going on and I fully intended to get to the bottom of it.
“You have every right to have your doubts. However, I can assure you that I am only trying to take Salvador down. If you help me, I’ll make sure your cousin receives the justice he deserves.” His body language indicated that he was hiding something. There had to be more to this story than what he was saying.
“Well, I appreciate your concerns. Thank you for showing me the video.”
“Do we have a deal?”
“I have your contact information, so I’ll be in touch,” I replied. I needed to get to the bottom of this shit, and I wasn’t using his help to do it. I adjusted my suit jacket as I headed out of the office. Once we made it to the elevator, Duke and I both stood there in our thoughts. The entire interaction seemed off, and the eerie feeling persisted. I needed to play it smart in casethis was all a setup. If he had the video of Remi being robbed, there was no telling what other information he had on us. I shot a text to one of my tech guys to see if he could hack into the investigator’s computer. Before I made a move, I had to verify what he had on us. I also sent him the license plate number so he could run those plates. I had already killed her family, and I was sure she was probably in hiding. As soon as I got a solid address on her, I was going to put an end to all of this.
“Something about him isn’t right. He claims you aren’t the person he was after, but if that were true, why would he be staking out Remi’s place?” Duke questioned. His thoughts mirrored mine as well. Remi handled the pickups, but we didn’t conduct any real business at his house. None of the drugs or guns were stashed at his house. Hell, Remi wasn’t even privy to where we kept most of our shit.
“Yeah, I picked up on that too. Either he’s a really shitty PI or he’s playing games. Either way, he’s about to be in for a rude awakening.” Mothafuckas were about to unlock a version of me the streets have never seen, and once I got started, no one would be able to stop me.
“When areyou going to take the test? I don’t know why you’re sitting here playing.” Puma fussed as I sat on her couch with dried tears on my face. Last week had been hell for me, and I had no idea what to do. Now, Puma was trying to push me to confirm some news I had been putting off for the last month. Too much was going on, and I wasn’t ready to face the truth.
“Puma, please. I can’t deal with this right now. Do you not see my life is falling apart at the seams right now?” I came over to her house as soon as Soul left to handle business. Since I got sick at the party, he had been watching me like a hawk. I had to force him to leave the house today because he was worried about me. I assured him that there was nothing wrong and he could go handle business.
“I understand you’re worried, but it doesn’t change the fact that we need to know what’s going on with you. If you are pregnant, then the two of you have more than one thing to discuss.”
“I don’t even know how any of this will turn out. Soul isn’t going to give me a pat on the back when I tell him the truth. What if I tell him about the baby, and he tells me to get rid of it? I mean, I couldn’t blame him if he did.”
“I wish I could give you a real answer, but I can’t. When you first told me about the situation, I thought you would be able to take it to the grave. However, I think his grandmother was on to something. Men dislike finding out things from an outside source. While I’m sure this won’t be easy for him to digest, it may be easier for him to understand if you break down everything that happened. From Kamesha stealing your savings, Riya being kidnapped and Majesty lying to you. As bad as it may seem, you weren’t the one who pulled the trigger, and you never meant for any of that to happen.” Puma’s words did absolutely nothing to calm my nerves. At the end of the day, I made a mistake, and it could cost me the person I loved. Hell, knowing the type of man Soul is, it may cost me more than I even realized.
“Soul isn’t the forgiving type. I don’t even know what it would be like trying to co-parent with him after all of this. Maybe I shouldn’t keep the baby.” To be honest, a pregnancy test was nothing more than a formality. I haven’t seen my period since I moved in with Soul, and my body was already going through changes. I had been putting off finding out because there were so many other things going on.
Ever since I met Remi at the birthday party, I haven’t been able to sleep through the night. His face kept recurring in my dreams, and I would jump out of my sleep covered in sweat. Soul kept asking me what was wrong, but I couldn’t give him a solid answer. I overheard him on the phone with Remi the otherday and damn near pissed my pants when he told him that he needed to meet with him. While I was aware they did business together, I wondered when my secret would be exposed. Remi may not have said much, but it was clear that he recognized me.
I hated feeling like I had to walk on pins and needles, which was why I decided to come clean to Soul. Even if he broke up with me, it would be better than having this secret hanging over my head.
“Now you’re talking crazy. Normally, I would be in complete support of a woman’s right to choose what she wants to do with her body, but you are making irrational decisions based on your emotions.”
“What else am I supposed to do? I don’t want to be a single mother, and you and I both know that Soul isn’t going to want anything to do with me once this is over. What am I gonna do with a baby? I know nothing about being a mother.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want my baby, but I was terrified of what the future would look like. My support system was already small, and without Soul, I would be completely lost as it is. The timing could not have been worse.
