Page 51

“To hell with them all!” I huffed as I finally made it to the main highway. Thank God for Waze because I had the slightest clue where I was. “I should call Skip and sell his ass out!”

No later than the words left my mouth, a slow grin began to form on my face. Looking from the highway at my phone, I went to my contacts app, unblocked Skip’s number, and prayed he picked up. It rang so long that I started to give up hope until his raspy voice flowed through my speakers.

“Who the fuck is this?” he all but growled as he answered. “Talk fast before you piss me off.”

“Damn, baby daddy! I figured after all of this time… you would be happy to hear from me.” I chuckled, knowing I was the last person he wanted to hear from. “I was hoping that after all of this time, you would be a little less angry. I heard you were in an accident, and I wanted to check on you.”

Hearing my low-fuel sensor ding, I cursed myself for not checking it sooner. My car was an older model and making it to the nearest station before it cut off was not likely. Pulling over, I decided to search for a gas station on my GPS before I continued to drive aimlessly.

“Where the fuck is my daughter, Gia?” he shouted, snapping me from my thoughts once I parked on the side of the country road.

When I thought of Florida, I thought of palm trees and sunshine.

It was gloomy as fuck here, and the mosquitoes were bigger than I was.

I needed to get the hell away from here. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine…” I waved him off, placing the phone on speaker so I could search for a gas station.

“She’s a fuckin’ brat that cries for her daddy every day.

The old broad has been taking care of her, but that’s the one who’s really on borrowed time.

Chandler—” Snapping my mouth and eyes shut, I cursed myself for talking so much.

I didn’t know if Chandler had made himself known to them or not, and I could have just ruined it for everyone.

“Tell me where you are, Gia, and I might think about killing you quickly,” he spoke eerily as his background grew quiet. “You shot at me and my girl, then you snatched my daughter. Tell me where the fuck Gianna and Noemi’s mother are and?—”

“How dare you have that bitch around my child, Skip?” I got out of the car and slammed the door behind me. “Did that whore tell you she’s married?”

I didn’t know what it was, but his calling her “his girl” did something to me.

No one deserved to have his heart the way I did.

I’d been following them from afar since the night they left Club Honey, and the way he handled and cared for her let me know he liked her.

Skip was never affectionate with women; it had taken him months to even show me an ounce of tenderness, but the way he catered to her told it all.

“Who the fuck are you calling a hoe, you deadbeat-ass bitch?” a female’s voice blared in my ear suddenly.

“When I get my hands on you, I’m going to dog walk you before I put a bullet between your eyes.

I’m going to show you just what this whore can do.

You better ask Chandler about his so-called wife and what she did to the last bitch that pissed her off. ”

Hearing Skip tell her to chill before a slapping sound echoed angered me. This nigga was flirting with her while I was on the phone instead of looking for my child and his daughter.

“How dare you parley with her when you need to be worried about your child? Maybe she is better off with me and my family instead of you.” Walking back over to get into my car, I decided to head back to the house until the fellas came back.

I changed my mind that quickly, and now I wanted Skip and his bitch gone again.

“Maybe I’m the better parent since it’s obvious your concern lies with getting your dick wet. ”

Turning the ignition, I could scream at the car not cranking. I knew it was about to storm from the dark clouds that suddenly appeared in the sky, and my car had either broken down or run out of gas. Tears of frustration streamed down my face as I hit the steering wheel repeatedly.

Forgetting that Skip was still to my ear, his menacing chuckle startled me.

“Gia, I’m not sure what type of inclination I gave you that I was a simp-ass nigga, but I apologize.

When I get my hands on you, you better hope the devil in Hell steps in and swoops you away because I have plans for you, baby.

By the way… check your phone. You said Gianna is better off with you and your family? Imagine that.”

Hearing the beep signifying the call was disconnected, I noticed I had several attachments from Skip.

Opening them, I gulped as tears ran down my cheeks.

Multiple photos and links to news articles showed how my cousins and aunt were killed in a house fire.

What made me physically sick were the images of their unrecognizable charred bodies.

“Argh!” I opened the car door, throwing up everything I had on my stomach. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!”

Locking up the car doors, I had no choice but to leave it and walk back to the house.

I wrapped my arms around myself and cried for the family I had lost. They didn’t deserve what Skip did to them, and I knew when he got his hands on me, it would be way worse.

I shouldn’t have ever reached out to him about Gianna.

I should have aborted her and saved myself the drama I was going through right now.

I was feeling like shit when thunder clapped in the distance, and rain began to pour down on me.

Feeling defeated, I slumped my shoulders and trekked toward the house in the storm.

With the relentless downpour, I could barely see where I was going, but I felt hopeful when I saw two headlights approaching.

I ran over as the outline of a SUV stopped in the middle of the road.

I was praying they would give me a ride and was ready to do whatever to get out of the rain.

Hearing the passenger door open, I was ready to plead until the voice I heard sent chills down my body.

“Now… can you tell me exactly who you were calling a hoe? I want to make sure I heard you correctly, love.”

Leaning forward into view, Skip smiled from the driver's seat as I looked into the face of Noemi.

Shaking my head profusely, I sobbed, knowing my luck had run out.

It was going to take a miracle for me to make it out of this predicament alive.

The way karma had been tearing me up in just the last few weeks, I was aware that the chances of staying alive were slim to none.