Caught Up. Shannon Holmes

      Chapter One

      A light rain began to fall upon the Washington, DC metropolitan area, ruining what had been an unseasonably warm spring day. The National Weather Service had issued a storm advisory for the area. Quickly the precipitation went from a random shower to a steadier downpour, which led to torrential rain and high winds that battered everything in their path: highways, homes, pedestrians, cars, and whatever else was not shielded from the elements. The fury that Mother Nature had suddenly unleashed caused many drivers to panic and pull over to the side of the road and wait out the storm. Only a few dared to keep driving in such horrible conditions.

      The HID lights from the pearl-white Range Rover Sport shone brightly into the ominously darkened skies, slicing through rain, giving its driver decent visibility—much more than the average vehicle on the road. The Range Rover cruised along the flooded downtown streets of the nation’s capital, finally making its way onto Interstate 95. At the wheel of the luxury SUV was Bryce Winters, a transplanted native New Yorker, along with his girlfriend Dixyn Greene.

      “I told you it was gonna rain,” Bryce said calmly without taking his eyes off the road.

      “You did,” his girlfriend admitted meekly. She knew this was coming. From the time the first raindrop had hit the windshield, Dixyn Greene knew he was going to say something. This was a pet peeve of his. When Bryce was right and she was wrong, Dixyn was going to hear about it.

      “I said let’s do this tomorrow or on the weekend, but no. We could have turned up this weekend instead of havin’ one funky-ass rainy day.”

      Dixyn peered through the passenger window onto the soaked highway; everything was a blur. She was focusing on nothing in particular; Dixyn just wished to avoid the mean stare that surely accompanied Bryce’s lecture.

      “How many times have I told you when it’s goin’ to rain?”

      “A lot,” Dixyn mumbled.

      “And how many times have I been wrong?”

      “Never.”

      “Well, until I lie to you about that, believe me! I got a muthafuckin’ bullet in my body. You know I can tell when it’s goin’ to rain before the weatherman can.”

      Dixyn had heard enough. She turned to face him. “Well, what gives you such mystical powers that you can forecast the weather?”

      “Oh, you tryin’ to be funny? What gives you such mystical powers that you can forecast the weather?” he mimicked. “This lead in my shoulder! That’s what.”

      “Bryce, why you yellin’? It’s not that serious.”

      “To who? Speak for ya’self.”

      Fuming, Dixyn went silent again and resumed looking out the window. She noticed that the vehicle was crossing the bridge into Virginia, which meant they would be home in a matter of minutes. Finally she said, “Bryce, you really know how to break a bitch down. You know that, don’t you? Babe, today is my birthday. Could this please not be one of them times? Let’s just drop it.”

      Up until this point, Dixyn had been enjoying her birthday with her significant other. It was a date filled with good food, good music, and good company. It wasn’t often that she got a chance to spend time with her man outside of the house. Bryce’s lifestyle, much like his mood, was unpredictable. Such was the life of a hustler. His late-night runs and trips to New York to re-up were the norm in his line of work.

      Nonetheless, Dixyn knew the benefits outweighed the drawbacks by far. Going without seeing her man for days on end was a small sacrifice to pay to live in the lap of luxury. Bryce was a good provider. Dixyn didn’t want for anything while he was around. All she had to do was ask, and the item in question usually came into her possession. Dixyn had a brand-new black BMW X6 parked in her garage, courtesy of Bryce. The couple also had a beautiful town house in the suburbs of Alexandria, Virginia. Several prominent members of the government were rumored to live in their development. Bryce’s dirty money had introduced Dixyn to a lifestyle that she had previously known little to nothing about. And now she had grown accustomed to it.

      Aside from his covert drug dealings, Bryce was usually a good father and a good man, though was not without fault. He had