Caught Up (Indigo Vibe) by Deatri King-Bey Read Free Book Online Page A

child on his own as a legitimate businessman. He’d have the guts to be Ernesto.
    Samson touched the drawings. “Rosa needs you.”
    He handed over Samson’s ink pen, certain Samson didn’t know about the visit from Harriet yet and that Harriet had covered her tracks. She’d never risk losing the money he promised. “I’m tired and ready to die.”
    “Okay, I’ll drop it. Think about what I’ve said. Officer,” he called.
    David watched Samson as he waited by the cell door. He and Rosa would make a good couple. Maybe he should make another call and set up meetings between the two for after he died. He dismissed the idea as insane.
    The officer escorted Samson out. At times, David didn’t know what to think. All he knew was he couldn’t stand being caged much longer. The sound of Samson’s long stride faded. He did look forward to their visits. They helped maintain his sanity.
    * * *
    Samson stared out the window of their cramped office onto the parking lot a few floors below. It was raining outside and people darted to and from their cars.
    What is David running from?
    The terror in David’s black eyes when he mentioned Rosa threw Samson. He’d caught him off-guard on purpose, but David’s reaction was past shocked. Core-shaking fear had gripped him.
    Alton drew his hands through his brown hair. “Are you out your damned mind? You want me to waste the little time we have finding Rosa Shields? You’ve gotten too buddy-buddy with him. I’m trying to bring down a cartel, and you want to play matchmaker.”
    “You didn’t see him. When I mentioned her name, he turned from a black man to a white ghost. He’s protecting her. Finding Rosa is our only chance.”
    Alton knocked a stack of folders off his laptop onto his messy desk. “Fine. I’ll do it.” He pushed piles of papers about. “Have you seen the adapter to my laptop?”
    “Clean your desk.” He unplugged the power adapter from his laptop and handed it to Alton. “How long do you think it’ll take you to find her?”
    “Too long. But we don’t have anything else. Ernesta Wells covered her tracks too well.”
    “I can’t believe I didn’t think of Rosa before. David’s been acting strange for the past few weeks. He’s been obsessed with flowers.”
    “If she’s alive, I’ll find her. Hell, you’re probably right. I’ll lay odds she knows who his partner is.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    Rosa jumped at the chance to leave Chicago for Miami. Ever since Harriet acted up at the party, Rosa had needed a break from her mother. She unzipped her garment bag and hung its contents in the hotel closet. She would have stayed at Ernesto’s, but the hotel was only a few blocks away from the work site. Opening a second office in Miami looked better every day. In the past three months, she’d picked up nine new clients in the area, and traveling expenses were climbing. She usually sent a technician to conduct estimates, but she would take this opportunity to visit Anna.
    She might need to crawl on the floor to see portions of the current computer network configuration, so she kept a pair of dark brown twill slacks and a gold cotton blouse to wear.
    Hackers had attacked this client’s network three times. Word of her firewall protection had spread like wildfire, and this customer contacted her firm.
    On the flight, she’d read through the list of software the company presently used and discovered an incompatibility that made the company’s network vulnerable. As she organized the closet, she organized her day’s schedule.
    Thoughts of cramming a two-day job into one tired her out. The day being Friday made matters worse. No one wanted to work on Friday, including Rosa. But if she finished early, she could spend the weekend with Anna until Ernesto finished working, then they could all enjoy a family outing. After the way Harriet had shown her butt, she thought her and Anna could use some special time. Recollections of Ernesto telling her that women needed