Chapter Three
Three months had passed, and things were going great between Keilah and Ramsey, as was their business. On this day, she twirled in her chair and stared out the window of her office. As Keilah sat in her office, her thoughts were interrupted by the buzz of her telephone. She reached over and answered it. “Stone Chance Protection Agency. K.C. speaking. How may I help you?”
“K.C.? When did you start calling yourself K.C.?” the deep, male voiced asked.
Keilah smiled hearing her brother, Genesis's voice. There was a ten-year difference between Keilah's age and her brother's. At thirty-seven years old, he was the gentle and compassionate one. He was also the one who fell in love the easiest and usually the hardest. Most of the women he came in contact with considered him a heartthrob because of his gentle and loving nature. Being very tall and handsome didn't hurt either. When Keilah was a little girl, a lot of the women would try to befriend her in an attempt to get closer to him; however, Genesis always saw through them. He had dark, wavy hair and smooth, cinnamon skin. He had a pair of dimples that showed up even when he wasn't smiling.
“I just started trying K.C. out for business purposes. What's up, bro?”
“Nothing much. I'm at the office, so I thought I would check in with you and see how you're doing. Luke told me he talked to you not too long ago.”
“Yeah, we talked, but first he got onto me for taking two days to return his telephone call, then we had a nice conversation. I'm doing great though. How's everyone there?” she asked.
“We're all good, just busy. Other than that, we're cool.”
Keilah turned back around to her window and said, “That's good to hear. I'm also glad business is doing well, too. Has anybody hit a big jackpot lately?”
“Since you mention it, a sixty-two-year-old lady hit for three hundred thousand two weeks ago.”
“That's nice.”
“Yeah, she just retired too. So, when are you coming home for a visit?” he asked.
“I don't know. Things are pretty busy right now, so I probably won't be able to see you guys until sometime after the holidays.”
“Do you realize how far off that is, Keilah?” Genesis pointed out.
“Yes, I'm aware of it, and I'm sorry, Genesis, but it can't be helped.”
“What happened to your âfamily first' motto?”
Keilah's blood pressure instantly shot up. “Stop trying to put a guilt trip on me. You know I wish I could see you guys more often, but I can't, so you're going to have to deal with it.”
Genesis chuckled and said, “That's cold, Keilah.”
“No, it's not. It would be nice if you guys would fly here to see me sometime instead of always expecting me to come out there.”
Genesis knew he had struck a nerve with Keilah. She was known to have a quick temper and saying she was angry was an understatement.
“Keilah, I didn't call to fight with you. I was just calling to see how you were doing and to see if you needed anything. We miss you.”
Keilah took a breath to calm her nerves. “I miss you guys too, Genesis, but you have to understand I have a business to run just like you guys and I'm needed here.”
“I know. Seriously, though, we have some family business we need to take care of on the twelfth of September, and all of us have to be here and accounted for in order for it to be settled.”
“Does it have anything to do with the opening of the second casino?”
“Yes, but there's some other stuff we have to take care of as well.”
“I'm sorry, Genesis, I can't. That's not going to work into our schedule here, so you guys are going to have to postpone it for a while,” she explained.
“It can't be postponed, Keilah. You have to come, and that's all it is to it.”
“I can't, so if there's some paperwork that I need to sign, you guys need to FedEx it to me so I can sign it and get it back to you. That's the only option I can offer you right now.”
Genesis looked at his watch and said, “Look, I have to run. I'll give Luke your message. Be safe and I'll call you this weekend. I love you. Tell Ramsey I said hello.”
“I'll tell him, and I love you too. Tell everyone I said hello.”
“Good-bye, Keilah.”
“Good-bye, Genesis.”
After hanging up with Genesis, Keilah thought about what it was like growing up in the Los Angeles suburb of Dennison, California. She also remembered just how much pain and suffering her family had endured over the years. It all began a little over seventeen years earlier, but to Keilah it seemed like it was only yesterday.
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Seventeen Years Earlier ...
Ten-year-old Keilah had lost count of how many times her brothers had had to pull her down on the floor to prevent her from being hit by flying bullets. This night was no different in Dennison, California, a small but booming suburb outside of Los Angeles. Broken glass fell on her small body. She screamed as her twenty-seven-year-old brother, Roman, grabbed her and threw her down the laundry chute, which led deep into the basement. Keilah screamed all the way down until she fell into the large laundry cart at the bottom of the chute. She quickly climbed out and hid inside the special room her brothers had made for her under the stairs. She used to think it was a game, but as she grew older, she began to understand that this was just a hazard of the environment, as always.
She kept a portable CD player in the small opening so when the bullets started flying, she could drown out some of the noise with her favorite CD. Unfortunately, things got even more intense when the neighbors started shooting back at the perpetrators. That's when she started praying extra hard. She prayed for the madness to stop, for her brothers, and lastly, she prayed to finally get away from it all. Keilah knew she wasn't allowed to come out of the special room until one of the brothers came to get her, and if things ever went bad and no one came for her, they had a Plan B so she would know exactly what to do. Keilah prayed that she wouldn't have to sneak out of the basement and run down the block to Mrs. Mattie's house so she could call the police and their aunt in Virginia. Mrs. Mattie was a retired school teacher who had befriended the family after their mother passed away. She took a special liking to Keilah, which made her the obvious choice.
It was only minutes, but it seemed like hours before Roman came and pulled her from the small space under the stairs. Keilah hugged him tightly as a trail of tears ran down her face.
“Is it over, Roman?”
He inspected her small body to make sure she was not injured before picking her up in his arms.
“Yes, it's over. Are you hurt?” he asked.
“No, just scared. Why does this keep happening?”
Roman pinched her cheek lovingly. “It's just some stupid people who don't have anything better to do than shoot up other people's houses.”
She looked at him with her tear-streaked face. “But why?”
Roman quietly sat Keilah down on the stairs next to him.
He sighed and said, “Baby, there are some people in this world who would rather take what they want instead of working for it, and then there are others who try to intimidate people to make them afraid.”
“What does âintimidate' mean?”
Roman smiled and said, “It's like being a bully.”
“Oh,” Keilah replied.
Roman was the most serious out of all of the brothers. He rarely smiled, but he had a soft side that he revealed on certain occasions. Keilah was very good at putting a smile on her brother's face, and she was thankful he shared her love for reading. They would go to the bookstore and library and spend hours reading mysteries and adventure novels. They inherited that trait from their mother, who never went to bed without reading a few pages from some type of book.
Roman stood nearly six foot three inches, and appeared to be all legs. He wore a short Afro and had a neatly trimmed goatee to match. His dark brown skin tone matched his dark brown eyes and he always smelled wonderful. One of his habits was to never leave the house without making sure he was neatly groomed and had applied one of the expensive colognes he owned.
Genesis opened the door to the basement and saw the two standing on the stairs.
“Keilah, are you okay?”
Smiling up at him, she answered, “I'm fine, but I'm hungry.”
“Come on up so I can fix you something to eat.”
“OK,” Keilah replied.
After Genesis closed the door, Roman looked down at her. “Things are a little hot around here right now, Keilah. Somebody's shooting or robbing somebody almost every night. It might be a good idea if you go stay with Aunt Rosa in Virginia for a while.”
“No, Roman. I don't want to leave. Momma wanted me to stay with you guys.”
Roman ran his hand over his head in frustration. “I know what Momma said, but she's not here anymore, so it's our decision, and I say it's not safe for you to be here. You remember what happened to that four-year-old boy who lived down the street, don't you?”
“Yes. He got shot and died,” Keilah said solemnly.
Roman leaned down closer to her. “I will not let that happen to you, and if I can prevent it, I will. Going to live with Aunt Rosa is the only option until we can get another house and move away from here.”
“I'll be careful, Roman, I promise,” she pleaded. “Please don't send me to live with Aunt Rosa. She lives too far away.”
He stood there staring at his sister. Yes, their Aunt Rosa lived across the country, but it was the only thing for them to do to keep her safe.
“Let's get you upstairs because it's past your bedtime. I'll talk to our brothers and see what they think about it, but I believe they're going to agree with me, Keilah.”
They climbed the stairs and joined the rest of the family in the kitchen. After Keilah received hugs all around from her brothers, Genesis handed her a grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of milk. While she ate her sandwich, Malachi and Luke swept up broken glass and inspected damage to their house. Malachi looked over at Keilah and whispered to Luke.
“Man, that was close this time. We can't stay here. We could've been killed.”
Luke scooped up the glass and dumped it inside the garbage can. “Yeah, and if Keilah had gotten so much as a scratch I would be out looking for their asses right now.”
Malachi stopped sweeping for a minute. “Things have gotten out of control. We need to look for another house.”
Luke thought for a second. “I guess you're right, especially since we can't watch Keilah twenty-four seven.”
They looked over at Keilah as she enjoyed her grilled cheese sandwich. Roman joined them and Genesis followed close behind, keeping within sight of their sister. Roman folded his arms and looked his brothers in the eyes.
“This thing is getting out of hand. This is about the fourth time in two weeks that somebody decided to be ignorant and start shooting around here. I think we need to send Keilah to live with Aunt Rosa for a while.
Malachi replied, “I'm all for it.”
Younger brother Malachi had the quickest temper of the brothers. At twenty-five years old, he was also the only one who wasn't in a relationship with anyone special. He wasn't able to stay with a woman too long because he suffered with trust issues. He was very jealous of the women he dated, which usually ran them off after a few weeks. He was handsome and was the sibling who looked most like their father. With his light complexion and gray eyes, he favored Motown singer Smokey Robinson, which made him draw a lot of attention from the ladies. Brothers Roman and Genesis did their best to help Malachi overcome his insecurities with women, but they had been unsuccessful.
Genesis, on the other hand, was in a serious relationship with a college senior at a nearby college. His brothers hoped things would work out with the relationship, but tried to prepare him for the worst case scenario.
Genesis looked his brother square in the eyes as they continued to talk about Keilah's well-being.
“I disagree. I don't think Keilah should be shipped off across the country. She's our responsibility and that should be the last resort.”
“You're crazy, Genesis,” Malachi yelled.
Luke looked over at Keilah, who was watching her brothers have their little meeting. She figured they were discussing her and prayed they would let her stay with them.
Genesis shook his head. “I'm not crazy, and I seem to be the only one thinking sensibly. Do you have any idea what it will do to her if she's that far from us?”
Luke raised his hands to calm the brothers. “Calm down you two. We're all under a lot of stress, but fighting amongst each other is not going to help anything.”