“Dy-lan. Dude! You horn-dog. Shit is crazy and you still trying to get some. You weren’t supposed to be with her. I thought two guys would be able to sit you down. Hell, man, I figured that bullet hole would have you sitting anyway. You knocked that MFer’s teeth out. Three of them. Seriously, man, you should be proud. They look like shit.”
Dylan shut the door behind Jake. It wasn’t safe, but it was better than standing in the hall. “Do you think I give a damn about your praise, you sick bastard. Where is Nile?”
“Oh, that P must be golden. Can you not go back now?” Sonny laughed.
“Sonny,” Jake’s tone was stern.
“As far as I know, she’s fine. They’re all fine.”
“They?” the brothers said in unison.
“Yeah, we got them all. Only took about an hour.”
“Who else?” Dylan didn’t want to know who else.
“We grabbed Nile, of course. She has the award-winning cupcake recipe,” Sonny explained the logic. “That little shit, Mackey—”
“Mackey!” Dylan raised his voice. “You went after a kid! You fucking monster!”
Nothing affected Sonny. “That’s why they call it kid-napping. Get off your damned pedestal. He’s the key.”
“What do you mean?” Jake asked.
“King Jordan, himself, said we needed a male, but he wasn’t available. Mackey’s a male.”
Dylan wanted to throw up. He thought grabbing Nile was the worst thing they could have done.
“Who else?” Jake asked.
“Toni.”
Jake and Dylan looked at each other perplexed.
“Why, her?”
“Why not? Can’t call us racists. Once you and Maya get married, I’m going to need some company. They can keep Dylan.” Chuckling at his joke, Sonny said, “Naw, I grabbed her to keep everybody in line. Ain’t nobody going to put her in danger. She’s family.”
“You’re in danger, Sonny,” Dylan said. “Where is Nile?”
“That’s classified, Bro. You’ll find out when the royal darkies are ready to talk.”
“What do you want to talk about, Sonny?” Jordan strode into the room. Into the silence, he said, “The royal darkie is here. Let’s talk.” He offered his phone to Dylan.
Reluctant to take it, but curious, Dylan tapped the screen and saw the three of them live. Sliding the time bar to the left showed him and Jake in the hall. Their conversation was nobody’s secret. Dylan closed his eyes. Jake looked away.
Sonny found his voice. “Do we need to beat around the bush with this?”
“Not my style,” Jordan said. “You want to switch people? Okay. Done.”
“Do you think we’re idiots? It’s not done. We’re leaving here as healthy as when we came.”
“Suit yourself.”
“Are you going to make that happen?”
“You already thought of everything. You know what you need to do. Mackey is a big boy. Go with it.”
Dylan refused to look at anyone. He remembered Nile’s first piece of advice to him. Go against your instincts. His instinct was to speak the truth. He pressed his lips together, keeping his mouth closed.
There was something in Jordan’s tone that threw Sonny off. He wanted a bigger, better reaction. “Are you being straight up?”
“As long as my family is not hurt, all you’re doing is screwing up my afternoon. Let’s make everybody happy and get it over with.”
“How about you get your ass to the Super Eight in Prince Frederick within the hour? If you’re not here by then, I’m selling your family.” When no one responded, he continued, “I know a couple of Federal agents who don’t like you. You get a choice. You can do business with me, or them.”
Jordan laughed without mirth. “You got that wrong. All you mother fuckers are about to deal with me.” He disconnected Sonny and spoke to the brothers. “It’s not too late to get out of this.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Jake didn’t flinch.
“I’m here for Nile.” Dylan gave Jordan his phone back.
“Stay that way.” Jordan left them.
TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES later, a caravan of vehicles pulled into the Super Eight parking lot and lined up along the back railing beside an embankment with a fast-running brook. Dylan and Jake parked their bikes at the far end. Maya’s dad parked beside them. Sidney, Diana, and Maya disembarked and stood around awkwardly. They had to be there, but the Bishops behaved as if they were invisible. Two cars for the Bishops. Jordan and Tigris rode with Ernest in the Bentley, while Ronald and Nick traveled in the Rolls Royce.
Sonny sat on the railing guzzling a soda. He watched the Bishops gather around the Bentley—The Royce was not a leaning post. Their white counterparts stood in a loose semi-circle a little ways off—close enough to hear, but far enough to acknowledge they weren’t invited. Jacob and Dylan formed a bridge between the two groups—Jake on the Harrison side next to Maya; Dylan standing beside Tigris.
Sonny’s power-play was pointless. The Bishops outnumbered him and they weren’t moving. Dylan nudged Jake; Sonny was his pet.
Jake raised his voice. “Are you coming?”
Sonny tossed his can and walked over. “Greetings and salutations. You all could have made this a lot easier for everybody. Too bad it had to come to this.”
“Young man,” Ronald said. “I don’t know you. I don’t give a damn about you. I don’t have anything to say to you or anybody else for that matter until you return my daughter and grandson.”
“Y’all want to go inside?” Sonny aimed his thumb over his shoulder. “They have coffee.”
“My daughter and my grandson.”
“Hey, I’m trying to be polite.”
Ronald stared him down.
Sonny folded his arms. “The FBI will be here soon, I imagine.”
Nobody answered. Nobody moved.
Dylan had the least amount of patience. “At the risk of pointing out the obvious, Jake and Maya are standing here. It’s not too much to ask to see if their family is safe.” If Nile is safe.
“Ain’t nobody asking.” Tigris’ look was enough to shut him up.
“We know what your interest is, Jack-wad.” Sonny scratched his face. “Tell you what, I’ll give you one.” He turned to Jordan. “Did you get your eenie meenie miney mo out of the way?”
Jordan didn’t miss a beat. “I did. If I don’t see my sister, Jake is going to die. If I don’t see my nephew, Maya is going to die. If I don’t see them soon, you are going to die. The longer you hold them, the less time you have.”
Jordan seemed to get bigger with each declaration. He talked with an unnerving assurance that was backed by his family’s non-reaction. The Bishops had the advantage, and they knew it.
“Give them the kid, Sonny.” Jake came forward. Maya’s life wasn’t up for debate.
“You don’t deserve him.” Tigris looked down her nose at Maya. “All you’ve done is lie and endanger him, and he’s still trying to protect you.”