Chapter 22
MONICA PIERCE
Jelani walked in and handed Cash a phone. “The footage from the hospital was a dub, but we found her phone.”
I tried not to gawk. Cash’s place was something straight out of one of those fancy home decor magazines. If this was how he lived, I could only imagine what Jelani’s condo looked like.
Cash gave me a curious once-over as he closed the door. “What’s she doing here?”
“Your dumb ass brother refused to take me home ‘cause he thinks I’m finna call my new jumpoff,” I huffed, shooting Jelani a dirty look.
Cash raised a brow at him. Jelani shrugged. “She can stay up here while we’re in the basement.”
“Oh, hell no!” I snaked my head, jabbing a finger in his chest. “You dragged me out here, and I’m supposed to sit upstairs like a kid? You got me fucked up, Lani! I have a right to know what’s going on. Jasmine’s my friend.” I glared, daring him to say something.
Besides, I didn’t even have anyone serious over earlier—just some old work I was debating putting back in rotation.
Cash shook his head and walked off.
“Can you chill?” Jelani whispered as we followed him downstairs.
I elbowed him. “I am chill. But you not about to have me upstairs alone while you do god knows what.”
Cash led us through a maze of a basement. We passed his home gym, a small screening room, and a few other closed doors before stopping at one.
He turned to look at me, his brown eyes cold. “If anything you see tonight leaves this room, that’s your head.”
My stomach dropped. I glanced at Jelani, unsure how to respond.
“Money, she’s not gonna—”
Cash held up his hand and cut him off.
“I don’t care about whatever you got going on with my brother, or that Jasmine’s your friend. It’s my job to protect this family at all costs.”
I swallowed hard and nodded slowly. “I hear you, Money. I get it.”
“Good,” he said, unlocking the door.
The room was bare. Clear tarp covered the floor, and a metal table and chair were in the center. The sharp, sterile scent of industrial cleaner hit me immediately. I felt like I was back at the hospital.
I forced myself to keep my face blank as I looked around. There was a man slumped in the chair with his hands chained to the table. His feet were tied to the chair legs.
A woman with platinum finger waves slid off a deep freezer in the corner. She was bad as hell in her black jumpsuit and heels. She looked a little too put together for whatever the hell was about to go down here.
She smirked as we walked in, looking me up and down. “Really, Jelani? You brought your girlfriend?”
I frowned and started to respond, but Jelani quickly grabbed my elbow and steered me to a folding chair.
“Sit here, Baby Doll,” he said in a low voice.
I resisted the urge to smack him and tell him to kiss my ass, but now wasn’t the time.
The woman turned to Cash and clapped excitedly. “So, we waking his ass up?”
Cash nodded. She crouched next to the man and pulled a syringe from a small black bag on the floor. She jabbed it into his thigh, and seconds later, he jerked upright, eyes flying open with a sharp gasp like someone had poured ice water on him.
“Bambi?” His voice cracked as he looked around wildly. “What the—Where am I?” His chest heaved as he looked around in panic.
“That’s not my name,” she said coolly, patting his head.
Cash stepped up beside her with an icy grin. “Kyree, you’ve never been to my house before,” he said, spreading his arms. “Welcome.”
A chill ran down my spine at the amusement in his voice.
Kyree’s eyes went wide again as he yanked against the chains.
“You can stop all that,” the woman drawled. “There’s no point struggling. You’re not going anywhere.”
“Yo, Money, wh-what the hell? Why you g-got me tied up like this?” Kyree stammered.
Cash’s smile dropped. “You tell me,” he said, keeping his voice even. “What would make me bring you to my house, especially when you’ve been MIA for months?”
I glanced at Jelani. He stood next to me with his arms crossed, watching like this was the most normal thing in the world.
“On everything, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kyree’s voice cracked.
Cash let out a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Kyree, please don’t piss me off. You’re here, so you already know you’re not leaving alive. Cut the shit.”
He picked up a hunting knife from the table, turning it so the light caught the blade’s edge. Tracing a finger down the blade, he locked eyes with Kyree.
“Where’s Jasmine?”
Kyree blinked, his face twisting in confusion. “Who?”
Cash brought the knife down in a fluid motion, slicing clean through Kyree’s pinky.
Time stretched. For a second, Kyree just stared at the blood spurting from his mangled nub like his brain hadn’t caught up yet.
That woman must’ve given him adrenaline because it took another few seconds before a raw, gut-wrenching scream tore from his throat.
I flinched, my heart hammering, but I forced myself not to look away.
This was the Money Banks that niggas feared.
“What the fuck?” I muttered.
Kyree’s voice broke through his sobs. “Who the fuck is Jasmine?!”
“Wrong answer.” Cash stepped back, unfazed by the blood pooling on the table. “Let’s try this again. I don’t have time to waste, and you don’t have much left.”
The room was quiet, save for Kyree’s cries.
I was starting to think that staying upstairs wouldn’t have been so bad.
Jelani said that someone would be getting roughed up on the ride over, but clearly, we had different definitions of what that meant.
I’d seen some things as an ER nurse, but this was some next shit. I shifted uncomfortably as Cash paced.
“I know you been working with Marcus to push his shit down here,” he said. “And apparently, you think I have too much power, and you wanted something for yourself. Ain’t that right, Nairobi?”
He looked over at the woman, who was leaning against a wall, inspecting her nails.
Nairobi glanced up, rolling her eyes. “Now, why would you tell him my government name, Money?” She sucked her teeth. “Kyree, baby, do us all a favor and tell the man what he wants to know. He gets real long-winded when he’s pissed.”
Cash reared back. “Me? Long-winded?”
“Tuh. Nigga, you be giving soliloquies and shit,” Jelani chuckled.
Were they cracking jokes like a man hadn’t just gotten his finger chopped off?
“Man, fuck y’all,” Cash flipped them off, turning back to Kyree. “Point is, you really thought I didn’t know what you were up to, when I’ve known for months. Rahmel snitched you out, you know.” He cocked his head. “You need a better team if you’re going to try and move in on my shit.”
“Money, I was just trying to help the nigga set up shop here,” he blubbered, tears and snot streaking his face. “I was gonna put you on, I swear!”
“Uh huh.” Cash lifted the knife again. “Why would you help some random nigga push shit in my territory, Kyree? And his shit dirty. I don’t need you or anybody putting me on to shit.”
“I don’t—” Kyree started, but the knife came down straight through the middle of his hand.
This time, the scream was instant.
I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped Jelani’s leg as Kyree’s cries echoed off the walls.
Cash pulled out his phone, tapping it to pull up his lock screen.
Oh, he had my girl as his wallpaper? This nigga was gone over her for real.
“You seen her before?” he put the screen in Kyree’s face.
Kyree squinted, blinking weakly as he struggled to focus. His face was pale from the blood loss.
“Yeah,” he mumbled. “I saw her with you at Emerald Lounge a while back.” His voice trailed off as he slumped over.
“Nai, hit this nigga again,” Cash ordered.
Nairobi pulled another syringe from the bag and walked toward them.
My nurse instincts kicked in. “Careful, you don’t want him having a heart attack,” I muttered.
“I got this. Thanks,” she replied dryly as she jabbed the needle into Kyree’s thigh.
He jerked awake, coughing as the adrenaline kicked in again.
Jelani knelt beside me. “They know what they’re doing,” he whispered. “He won’t die before we get what we need.”
“So you’ve never seen Marcus with her?” Cash asked, holding up the phone again.
Kyree shook his head vehemently. “No. He barely paid attention to the girls Bambi brought around.” He winced as Cash yanked the knife out his hand. “He did ask me about your girl once.”
Cash’s face darkened. “What’d he ask?”
Kyree swallowed, struggling to steady himself. “He just wanted to know if I knew anything about her… I told him I didn’t know who she was, just heard she was some nurse bit—”
The metal table clanged as Cash’s fist smashed down on Kyree’s injured hand.
“Watch your fucking mouth,” he growled.
Kyree screamed, his body shaking from the pain. “Aight, aight, I’m sorry!” he panted. “That’s all I know! He just said that maybe she could be… useful. I don’t know nothin’ else!”
Something clicked.
New York.
I don’t know how I knew, but I felt it deep in my gut. It made too much sense.
BC was too deep in Atlanta for Marcus to hide out here. But he could move freely in New York. If he had the money, he could’ve easily chartered a flight with no one knowing.
“They’re in New York,” I blurted, shooting up from my seat. All heads turned to me. Nairobi raised an eyebrow, halfway impressed.
“What makes you say that?” Cash asked.
I shifted closer to Jelani. “Marcus has nobody here, and y'all got too many eyes on the streets,” I said. “Even if it’s not BC, everyone knows the local crews are loyal to you. If I were trying to get her away from you, that’s where I’d go.”
I could see the gears turning in his head.
“Nai, call Fontaine and tell him to check the most recent charter flights out of the city,” he instructed. “Lani, call West. Have him get a plane ready. And take Monica home—she don’t need to see this next part.”
Jelani gave a quick nod, then motioned for me to follow him. I hesitated and glanced back at Kyree. He was shaking now—tears and snot running down his face. My heart twisted despite knowing he’d fucked up royally by betraying Money. Nothing could save him now.
Jelani’s hand closed around mine.“Come on,” he said, pulling me towards the door.
Pop.
My breath caught in my throat at the sound of a single, muffled gunshot. It echoed in my head, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other.
It’s not like I hadn't seen the effects of violence up close. I’d patched up plenty of gunshot wounds and stabbing victims working at Peachtree Memorial. It was wild seeing the shit happen in real-time.
The image of Kyree’s face stayed with me all the way to the car.
I slid into the passenger seat and moved on autopilot as I buckled my seatbelt. “So now what?”
“Now I take you home,” Jelani replied as he pulled out of the driveway.
“And Jasmine?”
His jaw ticked. “You heard Money—we’re going to New York. Even if we gotta burn through the five boroughs, Money ain’t leaving till he gets her back.”
I let out a heavy sigh and leaned back against the headrest. The rush from earlier was quickly wearing off. My limbs felt heavy, and my head was foggy. The adrenaline had faded—the effects of the ten-hour shift I worked before this came crashing down on me like a freight train.
My home girl had gotten snatched up by her psycho-ex, and I just witnessed a man get tortured right before being killed.
What the fuck was my life right now?
“You know I’d do the same for you, right?” Jelani said after a stretch of silence.
I looked over at him, too tired to argue or overthink it.
“Okay,” I mumbled, barely able to keep my eyes open.
When they opened again, Jelani was parked in front of my building.
“We’re here,” he said quietly. I rubbed my eyes, looking at him.
Ugh. I hated how damn fine he was.
“Thanks.” I needed to get out before he said something that would have me rethinking my decision to cut him off.
Jelani’s hand caught mine as I reached for the door handle.
“Mo’ wait…”
I sighed, shaking my head. “Lani, can we not? I’m tired. Tired of fighting you.”
“Nah, listen,” he said, his voice held a sincerity I’d never heard from him before. “When I get back from New York, I need it to be me and you, Baby Doll. That’s all I wanted to say.”
He didn’t let go of my hand, and I didn’t pull away.
“I can’t keep doing this shit with you,” I said. “Today, you want me tomorrow, you’re out doing whatever. You’re all over the place, Jelani.”
“Seeing Money tonight made me think about who I’d go that hard for. And it’s you, Monica. I know I’m a mess, but I don’t want to lose you.”
His lips were on mine before I could process what he said.
This wasn’t one of those other kisses he’d given me in the past—the ones that were usually charged with heat and frustration. This was different. It was softer. Sweeter. Like he was finally putting all his cards on the table.
Jelani’s hand slipped to the back of my neck and eased me forward until there was no space left between us. I moaned as his tongue swept over my mouth and my fingers twisted around his locs.
Everything that pissed me off about him faded away into the background. None of it mattered, and I let myself get lost in him.
When he finally pulled away, he rested his forehead on mine. My lips tingled from his kiss.
“I only want you, Baby Doll,” he murmured.
Part of me wanted to argue, to tell him he was full of shit. But the dampness in my panties said otherwise.
So I just nodded.
He let me go but gave me one last, soft peck. “Go get some rest,” he said.
I almost asked him why he wasn’t coming up with me, but decided it was better this way.
Jelani’s gaze never left me as I got out of the car. I felt it on me as I walked to the lobby door. I didn’t look back.
I was on autopilot until I was back in my apartment. I exhaled deeply as I closed the door behind me. I pressed my back against it and shut my eyes, caught somewhere between relief and hating myself for wanting him all over again.
One thing was for sure—if this nigga broke my heart, I’d kill him.