“Yesterday he called me over.” Jackie’s eyes widened.
“He told me to come here.” Now she was crying too.
“What happened next, baby?” Max looked down at his hands.
“I started walking over there.” Jackie pulled him tighter. “Then what?”
“I saw MJ.” That snapped Najee’s full attention. Jackie froze.
“You saw your brother?” Max nodded. “He told me to run.”
“They was in a black van. Like the kind Uncle Monty got.”
“So he was in a Sprinter,” Najee said aloud.
Najee was already reaching for his phone when the pieces slammed together. But first he needed the answer to one question. He looked directly at Jackie, voice low, controlled, and dangerously calm. “Jackie.” She wiped tears from her face.
“Who the fuck is the monster?” Jackie closed her eyes.
When she opened them, the fear was raw and naked. “Marcus.”
For a second nobody moved. The only sound was Max crying softly against Jackies chest. Najee moved first. He stood, crossed the kitchen in three strides, and grabbed his phone. “How long has he been seeing him?” Max answered before she could. “Every day this week.”
The words landed like a punch.
Najee’s jaw tightened. “Every day?” Max nodded.Fuck.
Najee ran a hand over his beard and dialed his aunt. She picked up on the second ring. “Nigel?”
“I need you to listen carefully.” Her tone shifted instantly. “What’s wrong?”
“I need the school on lockdown right now.” Jackie looked up sharply. “Najee—”
“No.” His eyes stayed on Max. “If Marcus has been posted outside that school watching him all week, we’re already behind.” The line went quiet. Then his aunt spoke. “Explain.”
Najee walked into the bedroom, phone to his ear, laying it all out.
When he finally finished explaining what Max had disclosed, his aunt wasn’t speaking anymore. She wasmoving.He could hear doors opening and closing. People being called. Instructions being given.
“I’m adding your uncle.” A second later Uncle Amin joined the call. Najee brought him up to speed. The silence that followed felt heavier than any response. “Amin, you there? Brother Hammed is pulling the footage now. Should we alert the parents? Close the school?” his aunt asked, voice tight with urgency. Finally, his uncle spoke. “No—don’t cancel school. Just tell the parents we’re on a two-hour delay.” Najee leaned against the dresser. “I’m deploying my best men as we speak. They’re going to sweep the perimeter and pull every camera angle around that school.”
“And my family?” Najee asked. “I’m sending a security detail.” Najee nodded.
“I want Jackie and Max with us, in Abbington.”
“Done.”
“As for you, proceed with your day.” Najee frowned.
“You can’t be serious?”
“Oh, but I am.” His uncle didn’t sound concerned. He sounded angry. “If Marcus believes nobody sees him, we’re going to let him keep believing that.” Najee understood immediately. They didn’t want Marcus running, they wanted him comfortable and traceable. His uncle let the silence linger for a moment.
“I trust you’ll bring Cassius up to speed in person.”
“Of course.” Najee agreed.
“After that, we reconvene in Abington.” Najee nodded.