Page 50 of Alpha Bait

"I don't know. But my guess is Jamal and Donnie are together."

Ames squeezed his eyes shut, "Hold on... Tonight... I believe Indie mentioned wanting to avoid the West Side."

"They must be over there. What did Kendrick own in the West?"

"Let's get to the car," I muttered.

"You driving this time?"

"You bet."

My brother and I hastened from Selena's apartment out the door. I'd parked my car on the street and already received a hefty ticket. No matter -- as long as we made it to Selena in one piece. The Valducci family was a large mafia family that had pockets all over the Eastern seaboard. They were known for one thing: their ability to get away with murder.

My father's miserable dealings required contact with them. Since my father had died, they'd been largely out of work. Selena had kept in contact and now she planned on defying the explicit peace agreement we'd come to with Gail Holloway. If she succeeded in harming any of the Holloways, all bets would be off. It would be a summer of bloodshed, espionage, and devastation.

With billions of dollars on the table, there was more than one way to ruin a man. Death might not be certain for all of us, but our resources would be bled dry trying to plug those leaks. The drain of money and of energy could certainly send me to an early grave.

"She couldn't be so stupid..." Ames muttered as I sped down the street.

"She's not stupid -- just drunk."

"Drunk off power," he grumbled.

"Drunk off the power. Drunk off ambition. Drunk off this bloody family feud."

Time is running out. My brother and I rushed to the street into the back of the leather seated town car. Selena was making a mistake. A huge one. If we didn't get to her in time we would both be the ones paying the price.

Gail Holloway had been serious about the consequences she intended to meet out for whoever refused to obey her demands. Peace. Feud or not, we weren't to step outside of her boundaries.

"Can this damn car hurry up..." I muttered.

"Patience brother."

Patience was hard to come by. I had tried to keep what was going on away from Indie but it would only be a matter of time before she found out too. Tempers had bubbled over and I feared my cousin would hurt someone. She had the temperament for it and a fury at the Holloway family that had never subsided.

Selena was rash. While my father was calculated in his rages, Selena was much more unfettered -- an unfortunate family trait.

Through clever and intrusive research we found out that Jamal and Donnie were at a park. This was a place where they usually spent time with a few of their friends, a few blocks away from Jamal's apartment. Once we arrived at the park, we saw Selena's car parked a few blocks down.

"You think she's there?" Ames asked.

I pointed out the car and saw his jaw visibly clench as he noticed it. We had both entertained the naïve hope that Selena wouldn't take her anger too far. Now, we realized that we were wrong. The town car pulled to stop and we swung the doors open, hastening to the park's entrance.

Once we stepped past the greenery at the entrance down a small cobblestone path, the lights in the park illuminated a disturbing scene.

Selena had pulled her hair back into a slick bun and she wore black leggings and a hoodie which did little to obscure her identity. If subtlety had been the goal, she had been unsuccessful.

Standing across from her, a tall dark skinned figure with his palms raised stood -- no words coming out of his mouth. Selena's hand trembled over the trigger. The other Holloway held a gun, pointing it directly at Selena's face.

"Don't you dare pull that trigger. If you shoot, you'll be in deeper shit than you already are," I growled.

"She'd better shoot," Donnie Holloway replied, "If she doesn't shoot, I will."

Who was who became clearer as my brother and I drew closer.

"Donnie," Jamal replied, "She ain't gonna shoot. Her cousins are here. Now put the gun down. If you do this, there's no getting out of it."

So Jamal wasn't crazy. Whatever our cousins had gotten up to had gotten out of hand. They'd pushed their limits and it was up to us, the reluctant patriarchs of our families to set things under control again. My thudding heart steadied as we drew closer.

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