“I came for my child!”
“You’re too late. My grandson figured you’d try something, so he took his son to the Bahamas.”
“He what?” Latonya’s stomach lurched and a sharp pain darted across her chest. “I have a lawyer. I will fight for my child. Neither you nor Carlton will be able to stop me!”
“You want to bet that I can’t stop you? I can and I will. My grandson is done with you, girl. You’ve outstayed your welcome. Couldn’t keep your hands off the other men and now he sees you for the slut you are. You will not be allowed to ruin the lives of my grandson or my great-grandson.” He glared at her.
“That boy is a Harrington and you are nothing. You will never be allowed to keep him now that my grandson is through with you. So cut your losses and get as far away from here as possible. I will provide you with the money you no doubt think you will miss out on if you leave. But I promise you this, if you come back here after today you’ll live to regret it.”
Her breath caught and her chest pounded so loud she could feel it in her toes and the tips of her fingers. A cold fear washed over her. The old man had threatened her life, and in doing so, he also threatened the life of her unborn baby.
“Why do you hate me so much? Is it because I’m African-American? Is that a good enough reason to want me gone?”
“I want you gone because you are no good for my grandson. He needs someone who understands where he comes from. Who won’t make him leave his home because she’s having trouble fitting in. Do I wish that he’d married a nice Bahamian girl from his own class? Yes!” The older man shot her a disparaging look. “You being a black American is only part of it. You being a poor social-climbing slut is the biggest problem I have with you!”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a large envelope that appeared to be stuffed with cash. Handing it to her, he sneered. “Here. I had a feeling that you would come back sniffing around here after a while. Take this and stay the hell away from my boys.”
Gasping as he shoved the envelope in her hand, she took the envelope and threw it in his face.
“You can keep your money, old man. I can’t be bought. And I am not selling my child to you. I will get my child back.”
“Really?” He pretended to consider her words before turning a cold gaze on her. “If you don’t care about your own life, what about your sister? Hmm? Your grandmother? It would be a shame for her to make such a strong recovery only to have an unfortunate accident. And college campuses aren’t as safe as they used to be. Anything could happen to a pretty young lady like your sister. I know people who would do unbelievable things for just a small part of the money you just foolishly threw in my face. Don’t test me, young lady. You get out of here and stay away from my grandson and his son. If you don’t, you are not only risking your life, but the lives of everyone you claim to care about. Do the smart thing. Leave and don’t come back!”
The icy stare that he gave her left her shivering. She realized that if she didn’t want to have another child snatched away from her, or worse, murdered along with her before it even got a chance to draw a breath, she had better disappear for good. The coldness in his eyes told her that the elder Harrington would have no problem carrying out his threats on her family. He might even enjoy it.
She picked up her cell phone once she got back into her car and made three phone calls before tossing it. The first two were to her grandmother and sister, telling them that she would be going away and they probably wouldn’t hear from her again. The second call went to a friend asking for help to make herself disappear. She knew that if she did this she had to do it all the way. She could never contact her family again, because if anyone found out about the child she carried, then the Harringtons wouldn’t waste any time trying to take it away from her. She would miss her baby boy terribly. If the old man were only threatening her, then nothing would make her leave. But the child inside of her deserved a chance to live.
The elder Harrington watched the girl leave and hoped that he’d done enough to scare her off. The fact that Carlton went off that morning looking for her and took the child with him was reason enough to get rid of the girl for good.
He’d tried to talk Carlton out of going after her. The same way he’d tried to talk his son out of going after that other tramp, time after time after time. He wasn’t going to lose Carlton, too. He loved his grandson. He loved his great-grandson. He only wanted what was best for them.
In a few years, once Carlton realized that the slut wasn’t coming back, he’d be able to find a suitable woman, a nice Bahamian woman to be a wife and mother. It was for the best.
Carlton buckled little Carl into the car seat. They’d spent the day at Gran’s house waiting for Latonya to return. At first he didn’t think Gran was going to let him in. Luckily she took pity on him and did. He didn’t know what he’d hoped. He just knew that little Carl wanted to see his mother and he wanted to see his wife.
His grandfather tried to talk him out of going, but he knew he had to try to make things right. He’d let a week pass and that was too long. When Gran got up to answer the phone, he had no idea it was Latonya on the other end. Gran came back into the living room shaking. Latonya said she was going away and she wouldn’t be in contact again.
He’d made a huge mistake and he couldn’t find her to rectify it. He turned and glanced at his son. He was happy that little Carl ended up falling asleep while they were at Gran’s. It would have been hell trying to get the boy out of there after promising that he was going to see his mother.
As he drove, he pounded the steering wheel. He’d turned into his father, for Christ’s sake, chasing a woman who didn’t seem to want to be found. He didn’t want to turn into his father. No good could come of that kind of dogged determination to hold on to a woman.
He sighed. If she didn’t come back on her own, he would just have to let her go, no matter how much it hurt. He wouldn’t chase her. He wouldn’t repeat the doomed legacy of the past.
Chapter 16
Three years later
“I don’t understand why you feel like you have to run after her. She’s been gone for three years. If she really gave a damn about you or the boy, she wouldn’t have stayed away so long.”
Carlton looked up from the desk in his study and stared at his grandfather. The old man had a point. Carlton had waited and waited for Latonya to return. When it seemed like she would never return, he resigned himself to a life without her. He’d stayed in contact with her family and made sure that they saw little Carl on a regular basis. He’d hoped that one day she would return and little Carl would have his mother again, if nothing else.
“Little Carl wants his mother and I need—”
Grandfather cut Carlton off in an angry rant. “You need what! To go running after her like a lovesick puppy? No good can come from it. Stay here. Let her stay wherever the hell she is. Throw the envelope away.” He gripped the front of the desk and spat out his words. “Forget that you know where she is. I can’t believe you went and hired a private detective without consulting me, anyway!”
Carlton narrowed his eyes. His grandfather was overstepping his boundaries. Carlton had shared his plans with his grandfather out of courtesy, not for feedback or to be told what to do. No one told him what to do. “I don’t need to consult you on my private affairs, Grandfather. I’m going to get my wife and bring her home.”
“Why?” Grandfather sneered. “She cheated on you. God knows how many men she’s been with in the past three years.”
“I told you she hadn’t had sex with Weatherby. Her story checked out. He had an allergic—” Carlton started.
“Just because she didn’t have sex with him that day doesn’t mean she didn’t have sex with him ever. If they were having an affair, then they could have had sex numerous times. They could have even been planning to have sex that day. I told you what I saw!”
Carlton gritted his teeth. He wouldn’t continue to let his grandfather cut him off so rudely. Even if he meant well, the man was out of line.
In a way his Grandfather was correct. He had no real proof that she had never slept with Weatherby. That she hadn’t had plans to have an affair. However, something in Carlton’s gut now told him that Latonya wouldn’t do that to him. He wished he could have trusted in that back then. He narrowed his eyes on his grandfather. There was nothing that Grandfather could say that would stop Carlton from going to his wife and trying to get her to come home.
“I’m going to get my wife.” Carlton slid a picture that the private detective took across the desk. “She has a child.”
“So! How do you even know the child is yours?”
“Look at the picture, Grandfather.”
His grandfather studied the picture. He pursed his lips in consideration. “You still don’t have to go. We can have someone take the child—”
Carlton shook his head in disbelief. He had no idea his grandfather could be so vindictive. He was actually advocating kidnapping! Carlton snapped, “I’m going to get my wife!”
“Fine! Fine! I’m going with you!”
