Page 64 of Typa
I didn’t tell her Treasure was talking now, so I couldn’t wait to see her response. My dad had gotten home earlier, so he hugged Maui on his way back in here. When he sat, Maui came over to where Treasure and I were. She’d been glued to me all day, not wanting me to move. When I had to go to the bathroom, she literally sat by the door until I came out. That shit broke my heart, but at the same time, it let me know she trusted me to protect her.
It seemed since she started talking, she’d clung to me even more. It was like she thought talking would help them find her again. She probably felt like I was the only one who could protect her from them, especially since I was the one who’d found her.
Maui kissed my lips. “Hey, baby,” she said and sat next to me.
“Hey, baby girl. How was the rest of your day?”
She smiled. “It was okay. It’s better now. You seem to be, umm, I don’t know . . . lighter?”
“I am. Thank you for holding me down when I could barely hold myself together.”
She rubbed my cheek in a soothing manner, then looked over at Treasure. “Hi, Treasure. I hope you’re feeling better today.”
“Hey, Maui.”
My baby hopped out of her seat next to me, causing us all to laugh. “Treasure!”
Treasure laughed as Maui sat next to her, pulling her in her arms. She hugged Maui back as she laughed. Everyone smiled as they watched them. Epic walked in with a smile on his face, so I was sure he heard the commotion. We’d called Cachet earlier for Treasure to talk to her as well. Carter was the only one who didn’t know, but he wouldn’t find out today because he was at a rodeo out of town. Dad stayed home to be close to Treasure. I could count how many of Carter’s rodeos he’d missed.
“Oh my God. This is such a pleasant surprise!” Maui sat next to me and pushed me. “You knew she was talking when I texted you earlier, didn’t you?”
I laughed and nodded. “I did, but we wanted to surprise you. So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
I’d been thinking about that shit all day, so I didn’t want to waste any time getting to it. Her face turned completely red. That couldn’t have been a good thing.Fuck!I didn’t want to hear no more fucked up shit. She lowered her head, so I grabbed her by her chin. “Somebody fucking with you?”
“No. Can we talk in private?”
“I know what she has to tell you,” Treasure said. “You can say it here, Maui.”
My mama and Epic took seats, joining us for whatever bullshit Maui was about to reveal. She glanced around the room and said, “Yesterday morning, Seven came to the office with my mama. He told me that he knew who the missing DNA was for. When I asked how he knew, he wouldn’t tell me at first. But then he said she was seen with Eric, one of the guys that was found dead. I got Ali to check into it, because I didn’t want to come here with any misinformation. He verified it today and turned that information in to the police.”
I sat up and stared at her, waiting for her to continue. Apparently, it was someone we knew, and she knew that revelation would upset everyone. Treasure had her head down as Maui grabbed her hand. “Who was it?” I asked, getting extremely impatient and irritable.
“Vanessa.”
I frowned so hard blood vessels should have exploded in my face. “What the fuck you say?” I asked as I stood from the sofa. “Vanessa was in on this? They found her fucking DNA on Treasure?”
I was livid and at the point of no return. I went to the kitchen, looking for my keys. “Where are my fucking keys! I’m gon’ get to her ass before the police do. Fuck that! I’m gon’ kill that bitch!”
They had to have hidden my keys because I couldn’t find those muthafuckas. “Where the fuck are my keys!” I yelled.
Epic and Dad practically tackled me and dragged me back to the couch where Treasure was crying her eyes out. That softened me enough to calm me down, because all I could see was red. I closed my eyes and pulled her in my arms. “I’m so fucking sorry. Fuck!”
My adrenaline was pumping hard. I couldn’t hold Treasure too long, because I was squeezing her way too tight. I’d mess around and break her fucking arms. When I pulled away, I asked, “She shitted on you?”
“No. She gagged herself and vomited on me.” She took deep breaths. “She said that was how she felt when you denied your son.”
I ran my hand down my face. “She was just at this fucking house four days ago with Caleb. She gotta be a sick muthafucka to still show up here after that. I swear, y’all better keep me in this house until they lock her ass up, because one thang for certain and another thang for sho’, I’m gon’ find that bitch and send her ass to hell.”
I glanced over at Maui to see her tears. That made me even softer. I grabbed her hand and caressed it between my trembling ones. Restraining myself had my entire body trembling. I brought it to my lips and kissed it. “Thank you, Maui, for going the extra mile to confirm it. Have you heard if a warrant has been issued?”
“No, I haven’t, but I can find out. I haven’t spoken to Ali since right before you messaged me this morning.”
I nodded and turned my attention back to Treasure. She was fiddling with her broken nails. My sister was always so put together, like Mama. I had to get her back to normal. Before I could ask if she wanted me to take her to get them done, she said, “I was so scared. I didn’t know why they’d taken me. I was just trying to get some sticks for my glue gun. They caught up with me before I could even walk into Michaels. I’d seen them before, but I didn’t know their names.”
“How many of them were there?” I asked.
“Two had walked up on me and another one was driving the black SUV.”
