Page 49 of Emani's Way

“Give me a call if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll see you in two days.”

Saul nods, and I leave the club through the rear entrance. I have extra guys on duty tonight because of our recent security breach. These guys blend in so well that only Niro and I know who they are.

After I found out who was behind the break-in at our firm, my dad thought it was best we outsource our security until we knew just how many snakes we had in our house. I’m still raw from the betrayal, but once we take out the trash, I’ll be able to calm down.

I nod to the VIP valet and hand him a twenty before sliding behind the driver’s side. I was supposed to meet Emani at my house tonight. She has a key, but I wanted to be home when she got there. I go to hit the call button, but my Bluetooth connects with an incoming call.

“Hey, baby. I was just about to call you. Are you at the house yet?” I ask Emani.

“Uh, hey Maddox. It’s Amari.”

“Amari? Where’s Emani? Is she okay? What happened?” I can hear the slight rise in my tone.

“Emani needs you. She’s physically okay, but… she needs you.” The quiver in Amari’s voice has me pressing the gas pedal to the floor.

“Where are you?”

“We’re on our way to Emani’s?”

“I’m on my way. Tell Emani that I love her. I’ll be there shortly.”

“Okay. See you when you get here.”

I make it to Emani’s house in no time at all. I barely shift my into park before I’m out of the car and on the porch. I unlock the door and as soon as I open it, I can hear sobbing coming from the main room.

“Emani? Sugar?” I call out as I rush to the front room, where Amari, Kayla, and Shelby are all gathered around her.

The girls move so I can gather my woman into my arms. I rub her back and whisper that I love her. I have no idea what’s going on, but the sound of Emani’s devastation is wrecking my soul.

“Sugar, no matter what happened, I’m here.” I rock her from side to side until she’s ready to talk.

I brace myself because I have no idea what could’ve made Emani so upset. She was fine when I talked to her earlier. She didn’t want to go to her parent’s house because of the tension between her and her mom. But damn… what really went on?

Once Emani calms down a little, she takes a deep breath and begins to tell me what happened. “Darrius showed up at my parent’s house for dinner tonight.”

“What the fuck! I know that asshole isn’t the reason you’re bawling your eyes out. I swear to God, Emani, I will kill his ass.” My rage takes over before I can even think about what I’m saying.

I’m not a killer as long as I’m not pushed. I never had to be a killer because I know so many, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do what needs to be done to protect Emani. And that includes killing a motherfucker.

“No, I handled him just fine. He tried to show me pictures of you going in a strip club to make me break up with you. But when I didn’t react the way they wanted me to, Zuri had a meltdown and told me that I wasn’t my Mama’s child.”

“Wait. What?” I look at Amari for confirmation, and she nods her head.

“Apparently, Daddy had a mistress—Emani’s birth mother. Our parents told everyone Emani was Mama’s, and they covered it up since they were ‘upstanding’ leaders of the church,” Amari explains.

“Wow. That’s a lot. Why would… how could… damn, I don’t even know what to say to that.” I shake my head. I pull Emani closer and hold her tighter.

“Yeah, it was a lot. Zuri and D.C. want to be the next power couple of the church. They were planning to push Daddy out by exposing his infidelity. Mama was behind it all.”

I continue to shake my head at the news. I can’t believe Dr. Jackson had an affair and a child. That explains why Mrs. Jackson treated Emani so bad.

“So, why did the asshole start dating Emani if he wanted Zuri. It doesn’t make sense.”

“It was part of the master plan. I was supposed to fall in line so that I could be paraded around as evidence that Mama is a saint for raising a side baby. Darrius and I were supposed to usher in a new era for Mount Zion with my mother as the pastor and him as her underling. Except Zuri wanted the light for herself and exposed it all.”

“Well, I’ll be gotdamned! That’s some crazy shit right there. Your Mama was just gonna out your Daddy after thirty years of silence. Vengeance is strong in that one.”

“I’ve always been afraid of that lady,” Shelby mumbles, shaking her head.