After Meech hit another dead-end, he went looking for Kennedy's mama. She had been evicted from her house, so he got word that she was now living on the streets and jumping from dick to dick in exchange for money. Meech ain't know if she had something to do with Imani's disappearance, but he was gonna find out today.

"We found her ass. Where you want her at?"

"Meet me in the alley outside the barbershop," Meech said before hanging up. He then drove to the barbershop and parked in the alley behind the building. Not long after, his people pulled up and quickly got out. Meech himself got out the car, zipping his jacket up. He observed the half-naked woman as his men dragged her out the back and pushed her down to her knees. They took her blindfold off and she squinted, straining her neck to look up at Meech.

"Wassup Bitch," he smiled down at her. She obviously didn't know who Meech was, but his presence was enough to make her bite her tongue and stay quiet at the fear of accidentally saying the wrong thing.

Meech eyed her exposed body in disgust; she had bruises all over her. And it was cold as fuck out here and she barely had any clothes on. He shook his head. This was the same bitch that gave birth to Asha, and the same bitch that gave her hell growing up. He couldn't fathom how a mother could be so nasty to her own child, but look at her now—on the streets selling pussy like the broke bitch she is. Dumb ass hoe.

"What happened to your face?" He asked, genuinely wanting to know who fucked her up so good. When she didn't answer, he bent down close to her.

"Did you not hear me?" She flinched back at his close proximity.

"It was some dude I fucked. He short-changed me, so when I asked for the rest of my money, he beat me until I passed out," she said licking her busted lip.

Meech hummed in response and stood straight up.

"I'll make this quick then. Where is Kennedy?"

"K-Kennedy? I don't know who you're talking about."

"You don't?" He laughed. "That's alright, but I bet you will when I'm done with you."

"No...please. Whatever she did, I'll fix it." She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and tensed as a bat came into her line of sight. She couldn't take another beating, especially since the man in front of her was twice the size as the one that beat her yesterday. She wouldn't survive this one.

"You can tell me where she is," Meech stated.

"I-I don't know. Please! I haven't talked to her in over two years. She just up and left one day and never came back. I didn't even know she was alive until recently."

"Recently? What happened recently?"

"The streets talk. I heard she's working with some nigga called Red," she confessed.

"Red?" Meech looked to Tony. Meech ain't know a nigga by the name of Red, which means he must be new to the streets. It's always them new niggas that think they can come stir up some shit with no consequences.

"That must be a street name. Ain't no Red around here. He's covering his tracks," Tony responded. Meech then pulled out his gun and aimed it at her head.

"That's all I know! I tried to get in contact with Kennedy but it's like she's a ghost. I swear I don't know anything else!"

It took everything in Meech not to pop her ass. She was useless, and would only cause him problems if he let her go and she started running her mouth. They had an advantage, but that advantage would be ruined if people started talking and that nigga Red found out they were onto them.

"I can help you!" Her voice made Meech even more irate. There wasn't shit she could do for him. And Meech was far from stupid. Sure, this bitch would do anything to save her own ass, but not at the expense of her favorite daughter. He scoffed to himself. Meech didn't have time for her antics and would rather do everyone a favor and put a bullet between her eyes.

"What the fuck you think you can do for me?" He pressed the barrel further into her skull.

"I-I remember this one dude I was talking to a month ago. I swear I heard him mention the name Red once when he was on the phone. I know I—"

Her voice became background noise as Meech's attention turned towards his phone that was buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw the No caller ID pop up. He instantly knew who it was and cursed.

"I can help you. I can really help." Meech cringed as he then focused back in on whatever the fuck she was talking about.

"Take her back to the warehouse. If there's some truth to her words, we need to meet this nigga." Meech didn't wait for them to respond and stormed back over to his car.

"Fuck," he cursed, jumping into the passenger seat and slamming the door shut. Tony was quick to hop in on the driver's side. Meech answered the call and a loud angry voice boomed through the speakers.

"So we dodging calls now? I thought we had an agreement!" They did indeed have an agreement where Meech was supposed to call everyday, but he got swamped yesterday and didn't have time. He also had nothing but bad news to tell, so what was the point.

"It's been four days and still no progress. I can't do shit on my end, and I'm tired of waiting."

"I need more time," Meech said.

"The fuck you do! A nigga's done waiting. I'm on my way."

Meech cursed again, trying to control himself. "All that shit we did to get you where you at and you just gone throw it all away."

"What else am I supposed to do!"

"Let me handle this!" Meech yelled back, getting frustrated. He took a quick breath before continuing, "The cops gone be all over this place once bodies start dropping. I told you I got this. You know I got this, but this ain't no regular hit, these niggas covering their tracks like pros. If you show your face here, we gone be right back where we started."

"I don't give a fuck," he spat. "My time is up. I'll be there soon," he said before hanging up. Meech wanted to call back, but knew the burner was already destroyed.

"Drive to the warehouse," he gritted out. Meech was now even more on edge, his anger damn near blinding him. He needed to release some of the tension before he exploded on any and everyone.

.....

"You should eat something," Robyn sat at the edge of the bed trying to console Asha.

"I'm not hungry," she mumbled. Robyn then turned to Briana and Penny who stood by the door.

"Babe, you should really eat something," Penny spoke up.

"I want to talk to Meech," was all Asha could say. She's been constantly asking for Meech, but he never shows. The pain of not knowing what was going on made her physically sick. Every time she would ask for an update, no one would answer, not even to say whether or not Imani was still alive. And even Penny wouldn't disclose any information to her no matter how much she begged, which made Asha resent her a little bit.

"I can talk to him for you—let him know you're asking for him again, but I have to go. I'll be back later." Penny wanted to be there for Asha as much as she could, but she had other obligations with Meech. He had called fifteen minutes ago and demanded everyone come to the warehouse. Penny needed to leave soon before people started asking for her.

"Where are you going?" Briana asked, oblivious to what Penny did for a living besides stripping.

"I'll be back. Try to get her to eat." Penny then left, rushing out the door and eventually out of the safe-house. Briana walked further into the room, her own emotions running high. She had just found out that Imani was taken and that Asha was moved into the house that they were currently in. It was big and spacious, but Briana didn't know who it belonged to. She didn't dare ask either, seeing as that particular piece of information wasn't important.

She sat close to Robyn, who mirrored her somber mood. The only thing they could do now was listen quietly as Asha cried herself into a deep slumber.

"You should get some rest as well," Briana said to Robyn. Robyn nodded, too tired to protest. Unfortunately, someone had to constantly watch over Asha throughout the day because they were all afraid that she would try to hurt herself if left alone for too long. Robyn did most of the watching, Briana only some since she just found out about the whole situation, and Penny was too busy to stay in one place for too long. Meech wanted to minimize the amount of people at the house, so only they had access for the time being. And, of course he had a few of his people stationed outside the house at all times, but that was about it. Briana, Robyn, and Asha had to physically stay inside the house, but Penny could come and go as she pleased. Other family members and close friends could call, but Asha was never in the mood to talk.

Briana watched as Robyn wobbled to her feet, her belly swollen with twins.

"I'll only take a nap," Robyn said stretching her back.

"It's fine. I got it. Take all the time you need," she said running her hand over Robyn's stomach. Robyn nodded, walking out and closing the door behind her. Briana took her shoes off and climbed into the bed with Asha. She had to find some way to get Asha to eat or Asha would starve herself to death. Briana could clearly remember the last time she saw Asha like this, and it wasn't pretty. All these years of therapy, starting over in a new town, finding a good job to support her family, and finally practicing self love seemed to go down the drain in just a few days. Now, Asha was just a mirror image of the same broken girl from high school.

Briana knew that Asha desperately needed some type of hope; she needed Meech to deny her biggest fear and reassure her that there was still hope for Imani's safe return. Even if it was only false hope, Asha needed something.

If only Meech would take a moment to come visit her.

Briana sighed, closing her eyes. It wasn't long until she also fell asleep.

.....

😉🤔

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