"Is that him?" Meech asked.

"Yes, that's the dude I was fucking last month—the one I was telling you about. He picked me up at my corner and drove to that location I gave you, the trap house. We fucked, and when we was done, he stepped out the car and made a phone call. That's when I heard him mention the name Red. When he finally got back in the car, he was so heated that he kicked me out. I only remembered the address because I had to call someone to come get me," she confessed, unknowingly helping Meech put all the pieces together. This nigga was the one that handled all of the dirty work for Red. He was the one that recruited those kids, and also the nigga doing the exchanges.

Meech continued to compose himself, trying not to give away the fact that he was now feeling optimistic. With all the dead-ends lately, the cards were now starting to align in his favor.

"So...umm, you got some money?" She asked.

"I ain't giving you shit," Meech frowned.

"Why not? I did everything you asked. You owe me," she boldly stated. Meech quickly turned on her, furious that she had the audacity to demand something from him.

"Whatchu say?" He asked, making her flinch back. She closed her mouth and looked away.

"I'll let Asha deal with your stupid ass," Meech sneered in disgust, turning back to face the front.

"Asha?" She inhaled sharply.

"Boss, he just dropped the bag," Tony said trying to cut through some of the tension. They originally arrived early, waiting to see who was behind the exchanges. Now knowing the correlations, Meech couldn't let this nigga out of his sight. They had to make a move soon before he realized that Kash wasn't gonna show with the money this time around, or ever again.

"We been sitting around all day waiting on this nigga, go get him before he reaches his car," Meech said. Two of his men jumped out the back seat and made a beeline for their target. As expected, he quickly noticed what was about to go down and took off running, but so did Meech's men.

"It won't be long now," Meech mumbled. He needed to handle this shit quickly so that he could go check on Asha before another full day passed.

.....

Asha laid in the tub, soaking her body. She said very little, still shaken up by the dream she had yesterday. Meech still hadn't come, and now she was scared that Imani was dead.

Robyn went into the cabinet and pulled out a clean rag and a new bar of soap.

"I heard Meech is coming soon," she said while carefully lowering herself down onto the edge of the tub. Asha's ears perked up at hearing such news. She thought he would never come. And even though it was getting dark out, Robyn still had hope that he would show.

Robyn then opened the box and emptied the bar into her hand. "Here you go," she handed both the soap and the rag to Asha.

"Thank you." Asha took both items and started washing. Robyn stood, leaving out the bathroom but keeping the door wide open. When Asha was done, she unplugged the drain and grabbed the large towel from off the counter. She dried herself off and wrapped the towel tightly around her body.

In a daze, she stepped in front of the sink and grabbed her toothbrush. She brushed, cleaning her teeth and scrubbing her tongue. She nearly laughed, remembering how Imani used to hate brushing her tongue because it made her gag. The little dramatic heaving sounds that she would make always made Asha laugh.

The sudden unlocking of this memory caused tears to form in Asha's eyes. She quickly finished brushing and turned away from the mirror, catching Robyn standing in the doorway. Asha avoided her gaze before maneuvering out of the bathroom. She spotted the fresh clothes on the bed and quickly put them on. She then scrambled back under the comforter where she let out all of her emotions.

Robyn was at a loss for words. She hated seeing Asha like this, and for some reason, she didn't know how to make her feel better. And looking down at her protruding belly, Robyn felt like she was now hurting Asha more than she was helping, seeing as her babies were snuggled safely in her womb while Imani was god knows where.

When it was time for her to get some rest, she switched places with Briana, who was almost just as quiet as Asha. She didn't know what had happened between them last night, only that they were both shaken up by it.

An hour went by, and it only got darker. Feeling like Meech would be a no-show again, Asha fell asleep. Briana on the other hand, had purposely slept most of the day so that she could stay up and watch Asha for any signs of another nightmare.

Not long into the night, there was a knock at the door. Expecting to see Robyn or at the least, Penny, Briana didn't make a move to get up. It was only when Meech stepped through the door that she shuffled off the bed. He grabbed her as she tried to leave the room.

"You can stay," he said.

"She'll be excited to see you. And I don't want to be in the way of y'all's conversation, so I'll just go to my room."

Meech let her go and she walked out the room, closing the door behind her. He then zeroed in on Asha's covered frame. He made his way over to her and peeled the covers from her body, noticing that she actually looked kinda peaceful. But, he could also see the dried tears sticking to her face which meant that she had cried herself to sleep.

He couldn't help himself—he reached out and caressed her cheek, but stopped when her eyes fluttered open.

"Did you find her?" She jerked up, getting straight to the point.

"I'll fill you in on what I know after you eat," he stated. Asha nodded eagerly and held out her hand as Meech pulled her from the bed. She followed him down into the kitchen where he had an assortment of food. She looked around the familiar kitchen and took a seat at the table.

Asha still wasn't sure why they called this a safe house when it was only Dashawn's crib, which also brought back memories that made her heart clench in pain.

"Why did y'all bring me here of all places?"

Meech had an answer as to why she was stashed away in Dashawn's house, but it wasn't his place to tell so he just shrugged in indifference. Instead, he started pulling out food. He took a seat across from her, unzipping his jacket and setting his gun on the table.

"Eat," he instructed, getting comfortable.

Wanting to appease Meech, she unwrapped a Five Guys burger and took a bite.

"When was the last time you ate?" He asked her.

"I had some soup yesterday. It wasn't bad, and it went down easily," she said taking another bite despite how queasy it made her feel. She fully intended on eating if it meant that she could finally get some answers. She'd rather eat now and then puke it all up later if need be. It's not that Asha was trying to starve herself or make herself sick, she just couldn't eat knowing that there was a possibility that Imani didn't have such luxuries—if Imani was even still alive.

Asha frowned, a new wave of guilt washing over her and causing her to drop the burger on the table.

"Asha—"

"Just please tell me what's going on." Meech only nodded, not wanting to upset Asha any further. He then started from the beginning, telling Asha everything. He gave her the full details of everything that had transpired these last few days, even bringing up the fact that he sent Remi back to her dad's. He only left out small unnecessary details.

"Is there anything that I can do?" Asha asked.

"Eat," he said pointing to the food. "You need to be feeling your best when Imani comes home."

"What if she doesn't?"

"She will. I'll make sure of it." Asha said nothing after that. She ate her food, trying hard not to think about the what ifs. Meech watched her for awhile, and even though she mostly picked over the food, he was satisfied that she at least tried.

Asha looked up as Meech's phone started going off.

"What?" He answered.

"Ok, I'm on my way." He abruptly stood up, grabbing his stuff.

"Where are you going?" Asha stood up as well.

"I got business to take care of."

"Can I help?" Her question came out weak. And even though she already knew his answer, it was still worth a shot.

"No Asha." He left after that, barely acknowledging her. Meech had to be stern with her. She needed to know that this shit was beyond her, and that she was way in over her head if she thought that he would even consider putting her in danger. Her helping in any way was completely out of the question, and his answer would not change no matter how many times she asked.

Meech got in his car and drove to the warehouse. He got out and made his way into the building, bypassing security and all the workers. He stalked towards the back of the warehouse and pushed open the door to the office. Meech was greeted by the people he trusted the most, but the one nigga he actually wanted to see stood in the center of the room with his eyes locked on a recent shipment. Meech smirked to himself. He wanted to be angry, but seeing his brother brought back a sense of nostalgia.

"Took you long enough."

.....

😘