Page 12 of Search My Soul (Taylor Family Saga #3)

My phone rang, so I stepped out to answer it.

I made sure to send Kamesha a text to let her know where I was.

My eyebrows furrowed when I saw the name that flashed across my screen.

My father called me every now and then, but never this late.

When I scrolled through my notifications, I noticed eight other missed calls from him.

My heart dropped as I waited for the line to connect.

“H-Hello?” I held the phone tightly, waiting for someone to speak on the other end.

“Neeya, this is your mother calling. Your father has been rushed to Grant Hospital. You need to get here right now!” My mouth hung open in disbelief.

How could she drop a bomb like that and then hang up the phone?

I swear that lady’s existence plagued me daily.

I hadn’t seen her since I dropped Riya and West off, and I still owed her an ass whupping for being a trifling parent.

As much as I loved my father, I hated the way he always made excuses for her. Everyone did.

My family would preach about how you only got one mother and how I needed to forgive her.

Meanwhile, she didn’t believe there was anything to be forgiven for.

If you let her tell it, I was ungrateful and entitled.

Entitled from what I’d never know. However, that was the narrative she painted about me.

I never bothered to tell my side because nothing would change.

When I was seventeen, she kicked me out of the house claiming that I was disrespectful and that I put my hands on her.

Of course, no one bothered to listen to me, so I was out on the streets with no support.

My father was in prison at the time so there wasn’t anything he could do.

Plus, my mother was the one who put money on his books, so he wasn’t about to bite the hand that fed him.

“Aye, are you good?” I heard a deep voice question from behind me. I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn’t pay it any mind because my main concern was getting to my father.

“Are you deaf, dumb, or on that shit? You don’t hear me talking to you?” This time, I turned to give him a piece of my mind. Only no words came out once I realized who it was. Soul Taylor. Damn, he seemed to get finer and finer each time I laid eyes on him.

“You don’t have to be so fucking rude.” I scoffed.

“Well, you were standing out here pacing like a mass shooter. I had to make sure you weren’t out here plotting on the diner. They have the best cheesy grits in the city,” he joked, showing his pearly white teeth. Everything about this man screamed perfection with minimum effort on his part.

“Who the hell eats savory grits? You’re supposed to eat them with butter and sugar,” I sassed. I’d had this debate with way more people than I cared to admit.

“See, now I’m convinced you must be a little touched in the mind because sugar does not belong in grits.

You must have been one of those kids who ate Play-Doh and Elmer’s Glue straight from the containers,” he jested, causing me to giggle involuntarily.

I always wondered what he and Murk had in common, but now I knew. Neither of them had any sense.

“I don’t have time for your bullshit right now.” I rushed back into the diner to find Kamesha. When I walked inside, I saw her sitting on some man’s lap. His hands roamed her thigh, but she seemed to be enjoying his touch. I walked up and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hey, are you ready to go? I need to get home right away,” I stated.

“Girl, what’s the rush? Don’t you see all these fine men sitting here?

Why don’t you join us and loosen up a bit?

” she slurred. We had been drinking, but I didn’t recall her being this wasted.

She took a sip from the glass in front of her, and I wondered what was in it.

On the outside, it appeared to be some type of juice, but the way Kamesha was behaving made me think it may have been something else.

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You said you wanted to go home after you ordered your food.

Why don’t we grab our things and head back to the car?

I’m sure the driver is ready to get home too.

” I insisted. There was a funny feeling in my gut, and I wanted to get away from these men as soon as possible.

One of them was burning a hole through me with how intensely he was staring.

We made eye contact, and I shivered in fear.

Darkness surrounded him. His eyes were black, and his aura screamed danger.

“You heard the lady. She wants to stay right where she is. Why don’t you have a seat and grab yourself a drink? My boys don’t bite. Unless you’re into that kind of thing.” The mystery man Kamesha was sitting on spoke up.

“I have a family emergency that I need to tend to. All I’m trying to do is get my cousin to leave so we can get home safely.”

“Well, you can leave and go handle your business. Your cousin is safe with me.” He waved his hand as if he was trying to dismiss me. I tried to be nice, but it was obvious he wanted to see a different side of me.

“I wasn’t asking for your permission. I came here with her, and I’m leaving with her. Kamesha, let’s go.” I grabbed her arm to pull her up, and she could barely stand up.

“What’s wrong, cousin? Smile sometimes.” Her hands cupped my face as she attempted to stand up straight. Whatever was in that drink must have been potent because I had only left her alone for ten minutes, and she was a staggering mess.

“I see you’re one of those loud-mouthed, fat bitches, who don’t know their place. I’m not someone you want to fuck with.” He seethed.

“Call me whatever you want, but we’re out of here.” I yanked Kamesha by the arm and dragged her out of the building. I cursed under my breath because my food was still on the table, but I wasn’t going back in there.

“Hey, where the fuck do you think you’re taking her!” I heard from behind me. I attempted to move faster toward the car, but Kamesha halted her steps.

“Come on, girl! We need to get home!”

“What if I don’t want to go! He seems like a really nice guy.

Maybe I should go with him.” I wanted to smack her across the head for being so silly.

I hated going out with people who required you to babysit them.

This was a prime example of what I meant.

If I was a grimy bitch, I’d leave her here to fend for herself, but I wasn’t built like that.

I felt us both being pulled back, and when I looked, he had a hold on her other hand.

“It would be in your best interest to let her go,” he warned.

“Am I supposed to be afraid of you? I already told you I’m not leaving here without her.”

“You should definitely be afraid, lil mama. You’re no match for a nigga like me.” I froze when I saw the gun in his hand. Whatever part of me that was drunk before quickly sobered up as I wondered if this would be the last day of my life.

“Do we have a problem here?” The sound of his voice brought instant comfort to my heart, even though I barely knew him.

“Naw, we’re dealing with a bit of a misunderstanding. Nothing for you to worry about.” The mystery man’s tone changed once Soul emerged, standing behind me with his hand resting on his own weapon. My heart beat loudly as I stood there in complete shock. This was not how I imagined my night going.

“Perhaps we need to get some understanding because I would hate to have to kill a mothafucka on an empty stomach, and if my food gets cold, then I’m really gonna be pissed the fuck off. Now, what seems to be the problem?” His eyes peered at me while his gun was aimed at the creep.

“My cousin and I came together, and I’m trying to go home. I have a family emergency that I need to deal with, so I’m trying to get her home and then go take care of my business,” I informed him. He nodded his head in understanding.

“As much pussy as there is out there, why would you want to fuck a drunk broad? I’ve heard plenty of rumors, but I never took you for a rapist. That shit is weird as hell.” Soul’s words struck a nerve because the veins in the man’s forehead began to pulsate.

“With all due respect, this has nothing to do with you, Grim. This fat, aggressive, b?—”

“I would choose your next words carefully if I were you. I’ll turn your ass into Swiss cheese, then walk back in there and smash my food as if you never existed.”

“What’s going on out here?” By now, both Soul’s crew and the other guy’s crew had come outside to see what was going on. Pure stood on the other side of Soul with his gun resting by his side.

“Go get in my car,” Soul instructed.

“You don’t have to take me home. We rode with a?—”

“I don’t make a habit of repeating myself.

Take your cousin and get in my car.” He removed his keys from his pocket before handing them to me.

As much as I wanted to protest, I needed to get to my father.

I made a mental note to never go anywhere alone with Kamesha again.

The fact that she was blissfully unaware while our lives were hanging in the balance pissed me off.

“Come on, girl!” I hissed as I attempted to hold Kamesha up.

One of Soul’s people saw me struggling and decided to offer their assistance.

He picked Kamesha up while I followed him to the car.

By the time we had gotten settled, Soul and everyone else had begun to disperse.

I was anxious to ask him what happened because the stoic expression on his face left me guessing.

His friend got into the back seat as he sauntered over to the driver’s side.

The way he walked turned me on because confidence radiated off of him, and you could tell he carried something heavy between his legs.

You would have never known that he was almost in a shootout as he walked as if he didn’t have a care in the world.