Without Faith by Leslie J. Sherrod Read Free Book Online Page A

wished right then that I had taken Leon up on his offer of picking me up for our non-date. How was I to ever drive while not knowing where my son was?
    Our non-date.
    Leon had wanted to meet for a reason, I remembered.
    â€œLeon, I’m sorry about—”
    â€œNot right now, Sienna. We’ll talk, but this is not the time. We’ve got to find Roman first. And we will.”
    Roman was AWOL on the other side of the country, and yet Leon, who was standing right beside me, felt even further away.
    I was losing all the men in my life.
    I knew it.
    Felt it.
    But I still did not want to believe.

Chapter 8
    My wedding ring from RiChard had been a simple one: a white, ivory-like rugged circle he said was crafted in the tradition of some indigenous village he visited during one of his many trips to South America. He put it on my finger as we stood in the marriage ceremony room at the Baltimore County Courthouse. There were no witnesses present as my parents were infuriated that I was taking this step, and his parents, he said, were “in their own worlds” in other parts of the world.
    I found out later that the ring that symbolized our hasty commitment was actually made out of bone: a piece of a vertebra from a small rodent-like mammal that ran through the floors of the rainforest, feasting on even smaller animals. This crude bit of jewelry was in stark contrast from the lion’s head ring, the heavy golden orb with eyes made out of rubies and sapphires and a mane edged with diamonds. The lion’s head ring had belonged to the son of an African chief whom RiChard had befriended when both were studying abroad in Europe.
    Kisu.
    RiChard was gifted with the heavy ornament after he avenged Kisu’s murder during a political rally effort he planned in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
    That was years ago.
    The last trip I took with him.
    To my parents’ dismay, I’d given up my full ride to college to follow him on his social justice mission around the world. What could I say? I was eighteen and in love, as I thought it to be, and that bull carried me for a while.
    But something in me changed when I saw the blood on his hands.
    He said he’d killed a man for killing Kisu.
    I couldn’t put my finger on it then, but I practically ran from his side, packed my bags, got on the first plane out of there, and landed in my mother’s living room, not knowing I was pregnant with RiChard’s son.
    Random gifts through the years, inconsistent phone calls.
    Roman.
    The only three proofs that a man named RiChard St. James had loved me.
    I guess.
    â€œSienna, did you try the church number again?” My mother’s sharp voice cut through my thoughts. She was a highly respected principal at what was once a struggling Baltimore City elementary school, and although we were all sitting in the basement of my parents’ Randallstown home, she was in full authoritarian mode.
    â€œMom, I’ve called the church secretary, Pastor McKinney’s wife, Elder Nance, and Sister Henry, who heads up the church’s crisis line. Like I said before, nobody has any additional information. We only need to let the authorities do their job.”
    â€œAuthorities?” My sister yelled from the dark brown leather loveseat across the room. “I thought we all agreed to let Minister Howard handle this.”
    â€œMinister Howard doesn’t even want the rental car company to know the boys took the car, although I’m sure the company would be able to track down the car’s GPS.”
    â€œMinister Howard is trying to avoid getting the authorities involved, remember?” Yvette snapped back. “The boys left on their own accord, so it’s not like they’re in some kind of trouble, kidnapped, or something like that. They’ll resurface when they’re ready. We just need to wait it out, that’s all.”
    Yvette glared at me and I glared at her, knowing that the only