Chapter 10 #2
“At one point in time, I did. I thought he was saving me,” La’Nova stated truthfully. “He ended up damaging me more.”
“Is that why you chain smoke?” Luca’s deep baritone raspy voice cut through in the middle of his whispered words.
La’Nova raised her brows, she looked at Luca with wonderment before licking her lips and answering.
“I think if you try to talk more… your real voice will continue to show up. But no.” She shook her head regretfully. “Someone introduced me to cigarettes when I was nine… It was a grown man. He offered me one the day my parents were murdered,” she stated flatly.
“A doctor…” Luca cut into La’Nova’s painful memories. “The twins and you… make me want to see a doctor for my voice.” He picked up his cup and took a big sip of tea.
Seconds later he was done with what was left in the cup.
Luca motioned to his glove compartment. La’Nova opened it and pulled out a box of gloves without being instructed on what to do.
Luca was done talking for now, he had to save his voice for later.
A tap at the window made La’Nova roll her eyes.
She looked at Roy through the heavy tinted windows and wanted to punch his cocky ass right in the face.
“You know that asshole?” She spat out in disgust.
“He’s my righthand.” Luca smirked.
Luca saw firsthand how Roy was with women.
His handsome looks was always a disguise to most of them.
They thought he was the type to wine and dine when majority of the time, Roy was always looking for a good time.
He had no patience and no quality time to spend with a woman.
The most a woman was good for in Roy’s eyes was a good time and emptying his nuts.
La’Nova got plenty of complaints from the women at House of Angels. He talked major shit to most of the women and hardly paid if Roy deemed them as a weak lay. To La’Nova, Roy was nothing more but a shallow man. He threw fits whenever he couldn’t get what he wanted.
“Damn, roll the window down!” Roy’s breath fogged up the window.
Instead of listening to Roy, Luca calmly put on his black plastic gloves and made La’Nova do the same. When he was fully satisfied and ready to step out of the car, he made his way to La’Nova’s side.
“Who else you got in there?” Roy cocked his head to the side.
“My Nova baby, be nice.” Luca signed the words.
“Nova baby?” Roy bellowed out in disbelief. “Nova baby, as in La’Nova? Mannnnnnn,” he drawled dramatically. “I should have known yo ass—”
“Not now, we will talk later.” Luca signed the words sharply.
“Later? We had plenty of times to talk about what it is with you and this chick since Food 4 Less parking lot. I gotta admit—” Roy carefully scratched the top of his waves, frowning. “We pose to be like brothers! I should be knowing this type of shit!” Roy complained dramatically.
“We will talk later.” Luca signed, turning toward the passenger door.
He opened La’Nova’s door then stepped behind it like a gentleman for her to have enough space to get out. The cold night air caressed La’Nova’s face as she glared at Roy.
To La’Nova’s surprise Roy was dressed as sharp as Luca, wearing his own tailored three-piece suit.
Roy’s suit was almost as black as his milk chocolate complexion.
He had a fresh tapered fade, his waves were just as seasick as Luca’s.
Roy tugged at the bottom of his goatee beard and balled his face up.
“We’ve both been busy, me with the boys and handling unfinished business…I’ll catch you up on everything later.” Luca quickly signed the words to Roy.
He knew he didn’t have to explain anything to Roy but didn’t want his brother to feel slighted. Since kids they confided in each other. Roy was more than just a friend, he was family. The only brother he considered having that didn’t pump the same blood as him.
“Shit, we need to talk. Asap. She not a good look for you—” Roy’s sign language was cut off by La’Nova smacking her lips and rolling her eyes hard at both men.
“Sign language is another language that I don’t know. It’s hell of rude to be speaking that shit while I’m standing here. I know you have some kind of manners, Luca…” She paused, snapping her eyes over to Roy. “I know yo freaked out ass has none at all.” She rolled her eyes hard at Roy.
“See what I mean by her not being a good fucking look? She got the mouth of a fucking toddler.” Roy spat.
Luca ignored them both as he calmly swaggered away from the arguing pair and set his focus on the run-down house in front of him.
Tracy hadn’t paid for her lawn in months, and it showed.
The grass weeds were knee high, covering the narrow walkway that led to her front door.
The porch steps were cracked and in desperate need of a power wash.
The house had a pungent odor; you could smell the mold and rust from the outside. One of Luca’s men stepped out the shadows of the porch with a hot cup of tea at his earlier request. Luca nodded his head, accepted the hot foam cup then stepped back, waiting for the guy to pick and open the lock.
“The house is clear; three men are already posted inside. The woman has been identified; she has male company.” The guy spoke in a hushed tone as he focused on getting the worn-down wooden door to open.
Luca was satisfied in hearing that Tracy had a male guest inside. His plans weren’t to kill her because he knew it would hurt the twins. A lesson would be taught tonight to her and La’Nova.
The front door made a clicking sound. On cue, Roy got into capo mode. He stepped into the dimly lit living room and almost jumped out of his skin when a roach scurried over the top of his red bottom dress shoes.
“Shit! This bitch is nasty as fuck.” Roy gritted with his gun drawn.
“Stay behind me,” Luca whispered to La’Nova without turning to look over at her.
The inside of the house looked just as bad as the outside. The smell was the first thing that damn near knocked them all out. It smelled like mildew and old water that got trapped in the walls and never dried. Dirty clothes that looked crusty was left in the corner of the room.
La’Nova’s nose twitched, but she clamped her lips shut, not wanting to comment on the obvious.
I can’t believe Kentrell would sleep with such a nasty bitch like this.
She thought. The floor creaked beneath their shoes; roaches continued to roam openly along the baseboards, up the walls, fearless in a space they clearly owned.
The living room furniture looked like it had been inherited through generations of poverty.
The couch cushions sunk so deep with the fabric as dirty as the floor.
La’Nova frowned at the coffee table, it sat crooked on one broken leg, propped up by a folded magazine.
An ashtray sat in the center of it almost overflowing with cigarette butts and lord knows what else.
La’Nova’s hands started to shake. Out of habit she reached in her sweatpants pocket and pulled out a pack of Newport’s long.
She quickly lit one, inhaled then swallowed the smoke.
Luca turned to glance at her. Saying nothing, he continued his long strides behind Roy who didn’t stop once to take in the pathetic scene of the house.
Soon as they hit the hallway, the stench grew stronger. Luca’s expression didn’t change, but something dark settled behind his eyes. They passed a doorway on the left with no door, just a hanging sheet. Luca glanced in and noticed two twin mattresses lined beside each other.
The twin’s room. Luca noted with fury swirling around in his chest. The twins gave his staff and newly hired nanny a hard time the first two days at his home.
After the third day, they adjusted and hadn’t asked about Tracy.
The boys started to go with the flow of the sudden good change in their life.
Sudden relief flushed over Luca. Realizing how bad the boys’ living arrangement had only fueled him to give Kentrell a torturous death.
Roy stopped at the end of the hall. They all heard the soft sounds of moans coming from behind the door.
“That bitch needs her ass whooped,” La’Nova uttered lowly.
She took another drag from her cigarette as she eyed Luca’s back. Luca smirked evilly before turning almost mechanically to La’Nova just as Roy grabbed the handle to the door.
“You’re going to whoop… her ass,” Luca whispered to her before he gave his attention to the view in front of him.
Once Roy’s abrupt presence was made known to Tracy and her male friend, Luca tuned out Tracy’s screaming and pleading.
He gave the party of three his back once more to talk directly to La’Nova.
He ignored the cigarette smoke that exhaled from her nose and cautiously reached for the side of La’Nova’s face.
La’Nova’s body reacted to the warmth of Luca’s hand. She stopped herself from moaning lowly as he leaned his tall frame down to kiss the center of her forehead. He pecked the start of her scar down to the bridge before pulling back a tad to speak to her.
“This,” he whispered lowly. “Is what they been coming home to.”
La’Nova’s mouth dropped open, no words escaping as disbelief overtook her.
She nodded her head in understanding; seconds later, her hand reached up to stroke the center of Luca’s neck.
Her fingertips softly grazed the start of his scar then glided down to the middle.
She didn’t understand why she felt such a strong urge to touch his scar like he did with her.
Like a moth attracted to fire, they both couldn’t resist.
Roy cleared his throat, snapping both of them back to reality.
“I can’t believe this shit,” he mumbled, keeping his eyes trained on Tracy and the short, chubby male whose dick she was riding.
Luca stepped calmly away from La’Nova and took in the sight before him.
Tracy was a beautiful light skinned woman with long wavy hair covering her perky breasts.
Her stomach was flat, hips wide, she had no blemishes on her skin that were visible.
In fact, Tracy looked like she hadn’t birthed twin boys at all.
The guy sitting behind her was short, fat and round with a receding hair line.
All the color drained from his blotchy, high yellow complexion.
He was drenched in sweat with a now flaccid dick.
“You up in here getting dicked the fuck down—” Roy was cut off by Luca.
Luca stepped into the room, his presence sending chills down Tracy’s spine.
“It’s been five days, Tracy,” Luca said quietly.
“F-five d-days?” She stuttered out, confused.
Her eyes grew wide as she flicked her eyes between Luca and Roy. Both men looked like beautiful demons that she wouldn’t have minded sampling if one of them didn’t have a gun drawn down on her.
“Five days bitch!” Roy exclaimed, tilting his gun to the left to bypass Tracy. He shot her friend in the center of his forehead.
“Five days,” Luca whispered coldly as he stepped next to Roy.
Tracy sobbed lowly, covering her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She didn’t have to turn around to witness her fuck buddy Wiley sprawled out and dead behind her.
“No missing kids reports…” Luca continued.
“Where the fuck your kids at, Tracy?” Roy asked calmly.
This was the part where he would take over the conversation. Luca and Roy never had to pre rehearse any conversations. They both already knew what the other was thinking.
Tracy’s breath caught before the words even finished forming.
“My… my boys?” She asked, the question barely held together as if re-asking the question would buy her time to form a lie.
“Bitch I ain’t the mutha fuckin’ one to be playing games with!” Roy cocked his head to the side and frowned.
Luca bit down on his bottom lip to keep from chuckling at Roy’s theatrics.
“I ain’t come in this roach infested, nasty ass house to be fuckin’ toyed with. You got my nose burning something terrible in this bitch! It smells like ass, pussy, and mold!” Roy yelled.
“Where the fuck is Cain and Abel, bitch? You better stop all that shaking and crying fore I light yo ass up!” Roy warned.
“I don’t know,” Tracy’s words were laced with shame.
She looked away from Roy’s intense glare, hugging herself like she was going to freeze to death.
“The twins are with their uncle; he found them late at night in a grocery store parking lot, panhandling for money… It’s just even more fucked up that you haven’t even notified the police that they’ve been missing.
Ya lil funky pussy getting stabbed up by some greasy mutha fucka while your kids missing. ” Roy spat.
The dynamics in the room shifted as La’Nova stepped fully into the room with another cigarette tucked between the corner of her lips.
“What kind of mother gets fucked on when her kids have been missing for five days?” La’Nova frowned, asking a question that she wanted the answer to. ,
Luca raised a brow at Roy. He licked his lips at La’Nova, taking a couple steps back to allow her the floor. Roy stepped back as well out of amusement wondering where this conversation would go.
“You can’t hear me talking to you, hoe?” La’Nova gritted each word out.
Tracy was at loss for words, she didn’t know none of the three people that stood inside of her small room. Wiley was dead behind her, murdered in cold blood. She wanted to be cautious with her words so she wouldn’t be next to Wiley when it was all said and done.
“The boys sometimes like to go to their friends house.” Tracy rushed the words out.
“Bullshit!” La’Nova shook her head. “Bitch put on some clothes,” she demanded, pointing her finger in Tracy’s direction.