They found Timothy quickly. He was a large black man who looked like he could take down a battalion single-handedly but also who had very kind eyes.
“Weh yuh ah seh?” Timothy asked in Jamaican Patois. “How are you?”
“We’re doing as well as can be expected, Timothy.” Zane shook the man’s hand. “I’m Zane. This is my brother Maddox. And this is Toni and her son Joel.”
“Hail up. Hello. The ride is this way.”
They followed Timothy to a white van. Dark, ominous clouds swirled overhead. It looked like it was about to storm.
Timothy turned to Zane and Maddox. “I have the equipment in the back for you.”
Maddox opened the side door for her. “How about you sit in the middle, sweetheart, between me and Zane?”
“Sure thing.” She had little doubt what the equipment was that Timothy had mentioned. Weapons.
“Joel, you ride shotgun, next to Timothy, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
Zane and Maddox walked to the back of the van with Timothy. She didn’t want Joel to know about the guns, but she was very glad that Zane and Maddox would be armed. She wasn’t sure if having the guns was illegal or not in Jamaica, but if something went south and the authorities showed up, Joel would be innocent.
Zane and Maddox got in the van and slid in next to her. She liked being between them. It made her feel safe. The bulges in the side of their jackets told her what she already knew—they were armed.
Timothy jumped in behind the wheel and started the engine.
“How long before we get to my father’s compound?” Joel clearly was anxious about his brother.
“Thirty-five to forty minutes, depending on how long it takes to get out of the city.”
The rain began to fall and Timothy turned on the windshield wipers.
Chapter Ten
Listening to the pounding of the rain on the van, Toni felt her heart beating rapidly during the entire drive. Everyone was unusually quiet. No doubt each of them was wondering what was going to happen.
Zane and Maddox held her hands.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl, each mile they drove taking so very long. But it was her own anxiety that was warping her sense of the clock.
Montego Bay was quite modern and filled with beautiful resorts, but as they drove out of the city it started looking like a rainforest sparsely populated with shanties and small trailers.
As the rain began to let up, finally, they arrived at Maroon Town, the place her ex lived. It was a very small town that looked quite poor.
Tim
othy parked the van a block away from Peter’s compound. “That’s the place.”
It was massive. The building behind the twelve-foot wall was four-stories. Large double iron gates looked to be the only way in from the street. What the hell did Peter need this compound for? What was he keeping out? Or in? She already knew firsthand that he was a criminal. Apparently, nothing had changed since she’d last seen him.
She clenched her fist. Restin was inside that compound. How are we going to get him out of there?
“This is where we part, my friends,” Timothy said in perfect English, which shocked her. “You go to those gates. There’s a call box next to them. Tell them who you are. I believe they will let you in.”
“What happened to your accent we heard back at the airport?” she asked.
“That was for anyone who might have been nearby as a precaution, ma’am. I wanted everyone to think I was just a local picking up some American tourists.”
“What about you?” Joel asked him. “Why are you leaving? What are you going to do?”