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and it was too late.
    She securely locked the front door and checked every window before she staked out on the couch with her son lying on her chest, and waited for her man to make it home.
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    The next day Halleigh didn’t even mention what had happened because she knew no matter what she said, Malek would simply brush her comments under the rug. She could feel him watching her with worry in his eyes.
    â€œI’m fine, Malek,” she said.
    He stood and walked over to her, shirtless and sexy. “You’ve got to stop thinking that everyone is out to get you, ma. This is a new start for us, Hal. Nobody’s gon’ find us, and ain’t nobody gon’ touch you or my seed. I’ll die first. I know Mitch fucked up your head when he took you, but I handled that. The nigga’s a memory, but I can’t fight your ghosts for you, ma.”
    Halleigh nodded as she rose out of their bed. “I’ve got to go to the bookstore today, baby. I’m working until close.”
    Halleigh left the baby with Malek and then dressed quickly before exiting the house.

    Detective Rodriguez watched Halleigh emerge from her house. Today she was eager to follow the young woman. Whatever was going to go down with Halleigh, the detective didn’t plan on missing it.
    She followed Halleigh to Security Square Mall. She knew she was in store for a long day of waiting.
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    Work couldn’t go by quickly enough for Halleigh, and as the mall closed down, she prepared to leave. The parking lot was dark when she stepped outside, and as she sped up her pace to hurry to her car, she didn’t notice she had company.
    Toy and Tasha sat watching Halleigh, but they in turn didn’t realize that Detective Rodriguez sat at the south end of the parking lot watching them too.
    Halleigh clutched her shoulder bag tightly, feeling the security of the .45 tucked inside. Her stiletto heels clicked against the pavement as she hightailed it to her car.
    Feeling uneasy, she decided to make sure no one was following her before she headed home, so she pulled out of the parking lot and took the long way to her house, stopping to run a few errands on the way, all the while keeping her eyes on the same black car with Toy and Tasha.
    â€œFuck is this bitch doing? I’m getting real tired of playing cat and mouse,” Toy stated.
    Halleigh had pulled her card and was tired of playing games as well. She was done running and being the victim. It was time for her to find out who was behind the black tint. Her loaded courage was in her purse, and she figured that whatever they wanted, it was going to be handled tonight because she refused to bring the devil to her front door. She had a son to think about; it wasn’t just about her. And whatever beef was looming in the air, she was about to cook it.
    Her pounding heartbeat drowned out the sound of everything around her as she pulled into the deserted lot of a closed convenience store. Just as she predicted, the black car was not too far behind. Tired of being prey to this unknown shark, she got out of the car, clutching the gun from inside her purse.
    The black car parked at the other end of the lot in an attempt to be discreet, but Halleigh had already peeped game. There was no use in pretending. She wanted to know who was inside the car.
    She began to walk across the parking lot, and when she was halfway to the car, she yelled, “Why the fuck are you following me?” She attempted to put some bass in her tone, but the quivering of her voice revealed her fear.
    As she stood her ground, she watched as the car before her turned off its headlights, and a car door opened.
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    â€œGet out of the car,” Toy said.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œShe trusts you. Get her to come over to the car.”
    Tasha watched as Halleigh held her ground in the middle of the deserted lot. “And then what?”
    â€œThen we make her take us to