9. The Dark Moment
Chapter nine
The Dark Moment
Lei
Monique was now another victim of my father. She was just lucky enough to be alive. Unfortunately, she would also have to deal with the aftermath of his bloodshed. She would have to swim in the horror and pain that I’d been experiencing these past days.
What happened to you, Father? How did you become such a monster?
It took us several minutes to get Monique to let her dad go.
By then Glory police and medical units took over the space. They walked around the penthouse, getting fingerprints, and carrying away bodies.
Next, several hotel maids came, slowly cleaning up the mess my father and his men had caused. They were so unfazed by the blood that I was certain death had been to this penthouse many times before.
Hu monitored them and our men, making sure no details of my father’s presence was missed. He also dealt with the manager, Bill who was red-faced and shaking after seeing Dutch and Snow dead.
This will be a problem.
I stood in the center of the massacre and was facing the direction of the balcony.
To get her some fresh air, Duck took Monique outside on the penthouse’s large balcony. It must’ve been twenty feet wide and thirty feet long. Several glass tables and chairs were sprawled around a few potted plants. Cigarette butts were scattered around the ground along with crushed beer cans.
Duck leaned against the glass door and watched Monique.
I put my focus on her too.
What will happen to her now?
Monique just stood in the center of the balcony, staring at her bloody hands. Every few seconds, she blinked. Had she not, I would have thought she was frozen.
What’s going through her mind?
My heart broke for her. The small bit of it that was still in existence inside my chest. It twisted and shattered.
I have to fix this. It’s my fault.
Had I went straight to Glory once I realized my father was the murderer, then he would have been dead and her father would still have been alive.
Her father probably would have still stolen the money, but I believe Monique was right. He was bringing it back to Dutch and Snow.
I bet my father arrived right when Monique’s dad was handing over the money.
You knew it was her dad. And you killed him because of it.
There was no doubt in my mind. In those few minutes my father had spent with Monique, he’d decided to be her psychotic guardian angel. He hoped to heal her life. Unfortunately, healing to him always meant death. His solutions always dripped with blood.
He was always trying to help.
You killed Chanel because you thought she wasn’t good enough for me. You knew there wouldn’t be anyone else for me as long as Chanel was alive.
I dove my hands into my pockets and gripped both items—the blood-stained cloth from Chanel’s shirt in my left and the holy cross locket in my right. Guilt ripped through more of my heart.
You killed Monique’s father because you thought he wasn’t good for her either. You thought her life would be better without him.
I squeezed the cross, thinking of my mother’s smiling picture inside of it.
And you think you work for God. No. God didn’t tell you to do any of this. The devil did.
Heading over to me, Chen shut his phone, put it in his pocket, and got to my side. “So, Aunt Min and Aunt Suzi are now in Glory. They checked into the only luxury hotel in the area. It’s called the Royal Palm. They’ve brought weapons and men.”
“We’ll deal with them later.”
“Not with brutal force I hope.” Chen widened his eyes.
“No force.”
“Good. Just be nice, listen to our aunts’ pleas. Uncle Leo is their brother. They’ll want you to keep him alive.”
“They won’t get that wish. But I will talk with them.”
“And absolutely do not sip their tea. I’m sure they’re going to try and make you go to sleep for a while.” Chen moved his view to where I was looking. “What do we do with the woman now?”
“I wish I could bring her father back.”
Chen ran his fingers through his hair. “Lei, if I had resurrection capabilities, I would have unleashed them a long time ago.”
“She’ll need money for the funeral and anything that comes. It’s my fault so—”
“It’s not your fault.” Chen shook his head. “Don’t do that.”
“Regardless, make sure all expenses are covered by us.”
“I will.” Chen gazed at the floor. “Then, we’ll take his body with us?”
I nodded.
“We can put it in the van with Chanel’s body.” Chen sighed. “Which is another topic we should discuss—”
“Leave it alone.” I returned my view to Monique.
“Alright. We’ll just drive around with two dead bodies.” Chen shook his head. “Because that’s normal.”
I gritted my teeth.
He continued, “Luckily, the cops are on our side. Two dead bodies can be hard to explain.”
I looked at him. “This town is called Glory, but there’s none here.”
A worried expression covered his face. “You need to rest, cousin.”
“Not until Leo is dead.”
“So, it’s a first name basis now?”
“After this, I’ll never consider him my father again. He knew that was her dad and he did it anyway. He hurt Monique for no reason at all.”
“I believe Uncle Leo thought he was helping her.”
“Leo will die.” I frowned and went back to watching Monique. At this point, my worry for her was the only thing keeping me from screaming.
Chen sighed. “We should take Monique back to wherever she lives and have several guards posted outside her door. Leo would want to check on her.”
I don’t want him near her again.
On the balcony, Monique wiped tears from her eyes. The movement got her father’s blood on her cheeks. When she realized what she was doing, she fisted her hands at her side and screamed.
I tensed.
Thankfully, the noise didn’t carry into the inside of the penthouse.
It might’ve broken me more.
Duck left the glass door, went over to her, and hugged Monique. In that moment, I realized that I’d never seen Duck do that to anyone besides our aunts or my mother.
Chen spoke, “What do you want to do next, Lei?”
You’re working for the devil. No one else.
Chen stepped in front of me and blocked my view. “What do you want to do with her, Lei?”
My frown deepened. “There’s no God.”
Chen cleared his throat. “It’s going to start getting dark soon and. . .we’ve had a rough day. Perhaps we should follow our aunts’ strategy and check in at the Royal Palm too. It could be our headquarters. We can start back up in the morning—”
“There’s nothing but us animals on this planet.” I shook my head. “No God. Just vile creatures roaming and preying, fucking and killing.”
“Lei.”
I looked at him.
“You need a break, cousin.”
“I can’t rest.” I gritted my teeth. “I have to finish this before he hurts more—”
“You’re not a machine.” Chen placed his hand on my shoulder. “A robot could keep going without having to deal with emotion, without needing rest or food.”
“I don’t rest until—”
“You need to sleep!” Chen moved his hand and then brushed down his jacket as if raising his voice wrinkled his clothes. His next words were calm. “You need food. Something you have not considered for days.”
“I slept on the way here and I had a bowl of rice this morning.”
“You slept for barely thirty minutes, and that bowl of rice was yesterday morning. And you didn’t eat the whole bowl, you had two spoonfuls of rice and pushed the bowl away.” Chen held out his hands. “I’m concerned.”
“Put your concern somewhere else.” I looked over his shoulder and gazed at Monique on the balcony. “If there was a God, then why would He take Chanel away from me? And why would He take Monique’s father away from her? She seems like a good person.”
“Everything happens for a reason, Lei.”
“Meanwhile, God let my father live. That’s bullshit.” I fisted my hands. “He let him run around and kill everyone in his path.”
“Later in our life, death makes sense.”
“Fuck making sense.” I clenched my teeth. “Fuck God.”
On the balcony, Monique left Duck’s hug and stepped back. Her mouth moved. I couldn’t tell if Duck was responding to her, since his back was to me. But she began frantically talking to him.
I quirked my brows. “Chen, tell me what Monique is saying to Duck on the balcony.”
He turned around. “You want me to read her lips?”
“Yes.”
Sighing, he squinted his eyes. “Okay. She’s saying. . .something about a sister. No. Several sisters.”
Monique pointed in our direction.
“Okay.” Chen nodded his head. “She is telling Duck to give the money to her sisters.”
I raised my eyebrows.
Chen squinted. “They’re in the South of Paradise.”
That’s right. She has family in the South.
On the balcony, Duck bobbed his head.
Monique stepped back. Relief covered her face. She gave him a sad smile and said something else.
“What did she say?”
Chen frowned. “She said, ‘thank you, Duck.’”
My body tensed.
Monique turned around and then she ran in the wrong direction.
What is she doing?!
Instead of heading to the penthouse, she raced toward the balcony’s edge.
Duck sped after Monique.
No!
“Stop her!” Frantic, I rushed forward too, leaping over dead bodies and shoving cops out the way.
Chen hurried with me. “She’s trying to kill herself!”
No shit.
Each step Monique made forward my heartbeat increased. Duck was so close to her. He reached out to grab her and missed by an inch.
I slid the glass door open so fast my fingers burned. “Get her, Duck!”
“Don’t do it, Monique!” Duck reached for her arm.
Three feet from the ledge, she leaped in the air.
“Get her!” I roared. The words vibrated through my whole chest. My soul ached as I pushed myself to go faster. I was almost there.
But her body propelled forward.
God, no!
She rose higher, soaring ahead. Her feet touched the top of the railing.
“No!” My throat burned.
Fast, Duck leaped after her and grabbed her waist.
Watch out!
For a second, I thought they both would fall over the balcony. In mid-air, Duck whipped his feet in the opposite direction, twisting him and Monique backward. They both crashed to the ground.
I got to them and fell to my knees.
Duck let Monique go and spun away.
I grabbed her hard by the arms and yanked her up to me. Rage blazed through my blood. My eyes must’ve been wild and crazy.
Monique shook in fear.
“Is that what I needed to see today?!” I reared my face in her view. Barely two inches separated our noses. She trembled. I tightened my grip. “You think I needed to see another beautiful woman’s dead body this month?”
“No,” she cried.
“Is that what you thought?!”
More tears left her eyes. “N-no.”
“Kill yourself in front of someone else!”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Okay, Lei. She’s fine.” Chen tried to move me away from her. “Calm down.”
I didn’t let her go. I kept my grip. Frantic, I assessed her body. I lifted her arms, checked her hands, and turned over her palms. I went to her legs next, making sure she didn’t break a bone or sprain an ankle.
She blinked. “I’m not. . .hurt.”
Dried blood smeared her face. She was shaken and distraught. More tears spilled from her eyes.
Police rushed onto the balcony.
“You!” I pointed to one of the cops. “Give me your handcuffs.”
Monique raised her eyebrows.
Chen held his hands out. “I’m not sure where this is going, Lei, but I would like you to rethink—”
“Hurry up!” I yelled at the cop.
The cop scurried forward with handcuffs dangling in his hands.
I let go of Monique, rose, and snatched the handcuffs from him. “Stand up.”
The cop straightened his posture. Others stood too.
“Not any of you,” I growled and looked at her. “You, stand up.”
Monique touched her chest with her bloody hand. “M-me.”
“No. The other maniac trying to jump to her death!”
Sniffling, she stood and wiped tears away. “It’s been. . .a rough day.”
“No.” I opened one cuff and latched it to her wrist in one fast, crisp motion. “It’s been a rough month .”
I shut the cuff closed.
Monique wildly gazed at it. “W-what are you doing?”
Chen crossed his arms over his chest. “Is Monique now under arrest, Lei?”
I secured the other cuff to my wrist and closed it. “She stays close to me!”
“Okay then.” Chen stomped over to the cop. “Give me the keys.”
The cop scratched his head. “I think the keys are down in my car, but—”
“Then, get them!” Chen fisted his hands. This was the most I’d ever seen my cousin raise his voice in one day.
The cop rushed off.
Chen brushed down his clothes again.
Monique gazed at the balcony’s ledge and murmured to herself, “Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.”
I sneered. “Holy shit is right. That’s a twenty-floor drop.”
“The cop isn’t sure if the keys are in the car. Did you hear that?” Chen came over and held out his hands. “Lei, I don’t think handcuffing her to you is the best option.”
I snarled at him, “Oh really?”
“Yes. Really.” Chen glared. “We’re kind of busy doing a whole manhunt thing.”
I frowned. “Can you think of another solution besides the handcuffs?”
“Yes!” Chen shook his hands. “There are hundreds of much better solutions coming to my mind in this exact moment than you handcuffing her to yourself.”
“Then, I’ll hear them later.” I stormed off. The cuffs dragged Monique with me.
She hurried to my side. “I-I’m b-better now.”
Chen called back, “Lei!”
“What?” I barked back.
“Come back.” Chen hurried my way. “We need to figure out the next moves, like where should we track Leo and what we’re going to do with Monique?”
I stopped. “We will check-in to that hotel you talked about.”
“Oh.” Relief came on his face. “Okay. That’s good.”
“However, I’m not dealing with our aunts today.”
“Fine. I’ll deal with them.” Chen took two steps forward as if he thought I might run away. “And what do you think about taking Monique to wherever she lives and putting guards on her?”
The little bit of calm I had shattered. “I already put a guard on her and she tried to leap over the ledge!”
Chen rubbed his head.
Monique shook hers. “That wasn’t Duck’s fault. It was mine.”
“No. Lei is right. I should’ve been closer,” Duck spoke. “I knew you were losing it.”
“There we go.” Chen held out his hands. “Duck understands the situation. Monique does too. I think we can uncuff her wrist and take her somewhere—”
“She stays with us!” I walked off.
Monique stumbled into the penthouse with me. “I-I can’t just stay with you all. I’ve got—”
“Plans?” I spun her way and stopped. “You’ve got plans?”
“No. Responsibilities.”
“Oh!” I bobbed my head. “Is that why you were flying over the ledge like you were goddamn Spiderman? You were clearly leaping to your responsibilities?”
She gave me an odd look. “You mean. . .Superman?”
Sneering, I leaned forward. “What did you say?”
She stumbled back. “S-superman can fly. Spiderman can’t.”
“Are you trying to be funny?!”
“No. I’m just. . .” Her eyes watered. “I can’t go with you, Lei. I have to take care of my sisters.”
“I heard what you told Duck before you ran. Don’t worry. I will get my men in Paradise to deliver money to your sisters in the South. Give me the address later.”
Confusion spread over her face. “How did you hear what I said on the balcony?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“I still can’t stay with you for long. I need to take care of my sisters.”
“Who’s watching them now?”
“My Aunt Betty and my cousin Banks are with them now, but that’s just temporary.”
Banks? Jesus. She’s directly connected to Rowe Street Mob.
I hoped Chen didn’t hear that. He would freak out. When we stole Chanel’s body, Chen thought we should wear green. That way it would keep the Killer Crows off her scent for a while, until I figured out why I needed her body in the first place.
The next day, Chanel’s sister, Kashmere broke into the leader of Rowe Street Mob’s condo—Marcelo. And Kashmere put a gun to Marcelo’s head.
It’ll be a long time before Marcelo lets that go.
Until then, East-South relations and West-South relations would be tense.
Why did Monique have to be connected to Rowe Street Mob?
My head throbbed. I rubbed the temples with my free hand. “You stay with me until I’ve killed my father.”
Shocked, she muttered, “What?”
“It won’t be long until that happens.”
Monique looked down at the bloody carpet and then she stared at the handcuffs. “Will I be attached to you the whole time?”
“That depends.”
“On what?” She looked up.
“Are you done trying to kill yourself?”
She nodded. “It was a dark moment. I just lost it on the balcony. I just wanted to give up. I just. . .”
“And now?”
“I’m. . .okay.”
“We’ll see.” I dragged her away.