Page 116 of Maceo

All I could see was red as I flew down the road toward the compound. I passed by Amp’s car, but I couldn’t stop to check on him. I wasn’t sure if Charity had taken Shar or left her somewhere to die. When I saw the skid marks on the road followed by my brothers, I quickly pulled over and jumped out. Ignoring them calling my name, I sprinted down the hill through the obvious crash site to find my Escalade upside down and smashed into a tree.

“Shar!” I yelled, immediately dropping to the ground to search the car.

When I found nothing, I jumped up and started searching the surrounding wooded area. In the distance, I could hear my brothers still calling me. They got closer, and the next thing I felt was who I knew was Smoke, grabbing me up in a bear hug.

“She’s not here, Maceo. We already searched the area.”

“Get the fuck off me!” I demanded, pushing off of him.

“We’re gonna get her back, man. On everything I love, we’ll get her back.”

“I’ma kill that bitch, Smoke. I don’t put my hands on women, but that muthafucka is gon’ see me.”

“I feel you on that,” he said as the rest of our brothers caught up.

Deuce walked up to me with a frown on his face. “You know we’re gonna handle this shit.” He dug in his pocket and handed me something. “She put a tracker on your car.”

I shook my head. “She planned this shit, man. The fucking tracker proves she was hoping it was me in the car, not Shar. The bitch was driving a whole police car when she did this shit. Nobody would suspect a cop chasing a car on the road. Whichone of them muthafuckas is in on this with her? Or better yet, how many?”

“I can’t answer that right now, but we’ll get to the bottom of it. Right now, we need to get back to the house?—”

“I ain’t going no fucking where. I’m going to find my wife.”

“Wife!” Smoke and Steel exclaimed as I walked past them.

I ignored their question while Deuce explained that Shar was indeed my wife. I knew we’d have this conversation later, but right now, fuck that. Right now, I had to find Shar. I didn’t know where to begin to even look for her. Charity had been such a fucking ghost around here. She’d been slipping in and out without leaving a paper or digital trail. I hated to think that I wouldn’t find Shar until that bitch wanted me to find her.

Back in my car, I cranked up but couldn’t bring myself to pull off. My chest felt tight. Tears were stinging my eyes. I had to admit that this shit hurt like a muthafucka. I’d never felt anger and pain like this. Resting my head against the steering wheel, I fought back the urge to cry.

“You gon’ get her back, man…” I coached myself. “You gon’ get her back.”

As I sat there, trying to get a hold on myself, I heard my driver’s side door open. Looking up, I saw Deuce standing there. For the first time in my life, the man looked sympathetic.

“Come here, bruh,” he said, motioning for me to get out of the car.

Reluctantly, I got out, and he pulled me into a strong, brotherly hug. I didn’t know how bad I needed that shit until the first tear fell.

“I got you, just like you had me with Salima. We’re gonna get Shar back and put that crazy bitch to rest.”

“I can’t lose her, man. That shit would kill me.”

“Don’t even think like that. Pops ain’t raise us to accept defeat. Cry this shit out and boss the fuck up so we can get your wife.”

I couldn’t even say anything because he was right. I just had to suck it up and get my head together. I couldn’t afford to think the worst, because Shar’s life depended on it.

Pulling myself together, I separated from my brother and wiped my face.

“Come on back to the house,” Deuce said, slapping my shoulder. “I grabbed your dashcam from the car. Maybe Jae can find something. I’ll get one of our guys to come tow your car out of here. You good to drive?”

I nodded. We slapped hands, then he walked off.

“Aye,” I called after him. He turned back. “She got Amp. I drove past the scene to get here. There was too much blood for him to not be dead.”

Deuce nodded. “Amp was a good dude, and he was loyal. I’ll make arrangements and make sure his people are straight.”

“Bet.”

Sliding back in the driver’s seat, I put the car in drive and headed for the compound. We had to figure this shit out before the day ended.

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