Cameron 6 (19 page)

38

Jude barely made it to ground transportation before his cellphone started blowing up. He had just powered it on after being in airplane mode. This time the caller was not Michael. In fact it was his protégée, Magyc.

As soon as Jude answered, Magyc started talking a mile a minute. The young cat was so frantic that Jude could barely make out a word he was saying. “Hol’ up, slow down. What happened?”

“I need you to get to Emory Hospital.” Magyc’s voice cracked as he spoke. He was so upset that he wanted to murder someone — anyone.

“A'ight. I’m on my way, man.” Jude hung up the phone and put a little more pep in his step. He knew something was wrong by the sound of Magyc’s voice. This night couldn’t get any more worse.

“Is everything okay?” Cameron asked in concern.

“Yes, everything’s fine,” Jude lied. “Just got a lil’ business to handle and then I promise I’ll come back to you.”

Cameron didn’t like the sound of that. For some reason, hearing him say it made her feel like she would never see him again. Jude was telling her everything was okay, but she had a feeling it wasn’t.

When Cam and Jude finally made it back to his home, he made sure she was comfortable, left her with a loaded 9mm, kissed her on the forehead, and told her he loved her more than himself.

“I love you too, Jude. Please be careful… and please try to hurry back.”

“I’ll do my best,” he assured her.

Jude left the house around 4:30 in the morning and headed downtown to
Emory
. He found Magyc, Michael, and a few of their men in a hospital room. Jude was shocked to see Roxie hooked up to a breathing machine. A heart monitor positioned beside the bed was the only proof she was still living. She looked bad — really bad. Now Jag had gone too fucking far.

“I’ma kill the mothafucka,” Magyc said with tears in his eyes. “I’ma kill him.”

Jude stood in the doorway in silence. Jag was supposed to be his. But seeing Roxie lying there helpless made him feel like Magyc deserved to off him.

“She lost the baby…” Magyc’s voice trembled with anger. “A nigga ain’t even know she was pregnant. She didn’t tell me…” He shook his head. “And now I gotta explain to Briana’s family why their daughter’s dead. This shit’s all bad. It’s fucked up, bruh. I should’ve been there. I should’ve fuckin’ been there. If she doesn’t make it, I—”

“Don’t put that shit out there in the universe,” Jude said. “She’s gonna pull through. Roxie’s strong and you know it.”

Guilt consumed Magyc. He hated that he hadn’t given a hundred percent of himself to her. He hated that he’d ever lied to and hurt her. Roxie was his baby; his everything. He couldn’t lose her. Not like this.

Magyc promised himself that when she finally woke up from her coma, he would marry her. He didn’t care that he was only twenty-two. He wanted to spend his life with her. But first and foremost, he had to put Jag in a casket.

“I’ma get at that nigga,” Magyc said. “On life. I’ma end that nigga’s existence.”

***

Jude left the hospital around 5 in the morning. With everything going on, he wanted to get back to Cameron as fast as he could. He ran a couple red lights in order to make it home in haste.

Jude was surprised when he noticed the gates to his house opened. Sadly, he had never fixed the system. “Shit!” Jude punched the steering wheel after remembering that Jag knew about the glitch. All he had to do was push 0 to mosey inside. “This is not happening!”

Jude parked his car crookedly before hopping out. His heart thumped wildly inside his chest. He knew shit was real the minute he saw his front door cracked open.

Jude snatched his gun out and ran through the home. As expected, Cameron and the children were nowhere to be found. They were gone. Just like that. Jude wasn’t even away a full two hours and they were gone. His heart broke when he saw the 9mm on the hallway floor. A few furniture pieces were overturned, which indicated a struggle.

“FUCK!” Jude punched a hole in the nearby wall. His knuckles tore open and bled but he didn’t notice or care. The only thing on his mind was the fact that Jag had gained the upper hand.
How the hell I let this motherfucker catch me slipping?
he asked himself.

All of a sudden, Jude’s cellphone rang. He recognized the number immediately. “Bitch nigga, I made you! I could break you too,” Jude threatened.

Jag laughed, clearly amused. “I won.”

Jude finally calmed down after remembering he had his wife and son. “Jag? Jag, listen to me. Our beef ain’t got shit to do with Cameron. Leave her out of this, man.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? It’s got everything to do with Cameron,” Jag reminded him. “My mother… Lark… my little sister. You don’t recall that? It was all for Cam, am I right?”

“Jag, look, I never hurt Alessia. That’s on everything I love. She got away, dawg. She’s still out there.”

“You’re lying,” Jag denied. Due to his mental disassociation, he didn’t know what was real and what was fake. His sister could’ve been alive, but he had a feeling Jude was bullshitting.

“I’m not lying! She’s alive!”

“I may be a killer, but at least I take responsibility for the fucked up things I’ve done,” Jag said. “You took my family away from me… now I’m taking yours…”

Click.

Jag disconnected the call, and Jude launched his phone in anger. “Dammit!” His hands trembled uncontrollably. He didn’t know what to do.

Suddenly, Jude remembered the test results on his office’s desk. A part of him still wasn’t ready to learn the truth, but at the very least he deserved to know.

Jude walked inside the spacious room and stopped in front of his desk. Now that the answer was at his fingertips, he was anxious to find out. With shaky hands, he grabbed the envelope, tore it open, and read the letter.

Journee was 99.6% Jude’s daughter. Tears fell from his eyes as he read the results over and over.

That mothafucka has to be stopped,
he convinced himself. One way or another, Jag was going in the ground.

Jude cocked his gun, tucked it in his waistline, and left the room on a mission…

TO BE CONTINUED…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jade Jones discovered her passion for creative writing in elementary school. Born in 1989, she began writing short stories and poetry as an outlet. Later on, as a teen, she led a troubled life, which later resulted in her becoming a ward of the court. Jade fell in love with the art and used storytelling as a means of venting during her tumultuous times. Aging out of the system two years later, she was thrust into the dismal world of homelessness. Desperate, and with limited income, Jade began dancing full time at the tender age of eighteen. It wasn't until fall of 2008 when she finally caught her break after being accepted into Cleveland State University. There, Jade lived on campus and majored in Film and Television. Now, six years later, she flourishes from her childhood dream of becoming a bestselling author. Since then she has written the best-selling "Cameron" series and the highly rated "Schemin'" trilogy.

Quite suitably, she uses her life's experiences to create captivating characters and story lines. Jade currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia. With no children, she spends her leisure shopping and traveling. She says that seeing new faces, meeting new people, and experiencing diverse cultures fuels her creativity. The stories are generated in her heart, the craft is practiced in her mind, and she expresses her passion through ink.