Chapter 5
The dull headache squeezing what was left of my brain should have been a red flag.
I probably needed to be in the hospital just as much as Carteay after rushing into that building and not finding her where I thought she would be.
That nigga really drugged my baby. I was going to fucking kill him.
Death was too easy for him. I had to make him suffer first.
Ceasar wasn’t exempt either. Both of them would burn in hell before I actually sent them there. As much as it hurt for Carteay to leave me, I was even more worried about her going back to those monsters who saw her as nothing more than a business and a brand.
I knew she was probably terrified when she ran, but I wasn’t in the business of making excuses for anyone.
She chose to leave me. I told her that I could protect her, and she still went back to them on her own.
That didn’t mean she deserved to be mishandled.
That nigga wasn’t a pharmacist. He could have killed her putting something in her drink or whatever he had done. In my eyes, he was trying to kill her.
I took all threats seriously. I couldn’t afford not to.
The last time I let a threat slide, it cost my brother the love of his life.
I wasn’t taking this shit lightly. If I would have gone to Kross instead of listening to Audrey when she said she had everything under control, she might still be here.
I had never even told my best friend in the world that two weeks before she was murdered, his wife told me somebody had been threatening her.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I knew somebody was after her.
The secret burden I carried changed the way I did everything.
I wasn’t letting Carteay out of my sight again.
I had already made that mistake once. With that in mind, I hit the phone screen to open my home security app and tuned into the cameras in my living room.
The sound of Carteay screaming my name made me smile.
They’d discharged her from the hospital after all her tests came back clear. She was so tired that she barely woke up when we left and had been in my bedroom knocked out for almost sixteen hours.
“Good, she’s awake,” I mumbled.
“You ain’t worried about her leaving again?” Kross asked, causing me to look up from my screen.
I shook my head. “Nah, she can’t.”
“She can walk on a sprained ankle if she wanted to.”
“She can’t leave because she’s tied up,” I explained, picking up my cup of lemon spearmint tea.
“Nigga, what?” Keywan chimed in.
“You holding her hostage, Bro? That’s some shit I would expect from this nigga,” Kross said, pointing at our younger brother.
“Ditto.” Keywan agreed with a chuckle.
“She’s not a hostage. I just don’t want her walking on that ankle. She was sleep, and I didn’t want her waking up and forgetting the doctor’s orders.”
“Yeah, right! You just pussy whipped, nigga. You trying to keep that thang in place while you’re gone.” Key grinned.
“You heard the man. She has a sprained ankle. The doctor said she needs to stay off her feet for at least three days,” I explained.
“So, your first instinct was to tie her up?” Kross asked.
“Well, yeah.” I shrugged, not understanding what the question was.
I already told him that I tied her up to keep her off her sprained ankle. So what if those same ropes were keeping my pussy in its rightful place. That was just a plus.
“So, you got that girl tied up at your house, and your ass is over here with us drinking tea like an old ass man?” Keywan asked.
Kross shook his head. “She gon’ kill you, Bro. I hope you got your affairs in order. Leave me that smoker in your will. That bighead joker right there don’t need it. Pastor Cook gon’ preach a good one over you.”
“You might be scared of Janelle, and Key, we know your ass is scared of Iyla, but I got this under control.”
“Aight,” Kross said with a simple shoulder shrug before picking up his cup.
“Nah, I have more questions,” Keywan said, still shaking his bighead.
I sighed and shook my head. “What is it?”
“How the hell did you manage to tie her up in the first place? You mean to tell me she just sat there and let you do it?” My response was a smile that caused him to smile too. Then that oblong head of his was shaking again. “Nah, you know what? Don’t even answer that with your freaky ass.”
“Y’all some freaky ass frogs. That girl just got out of the hospital,” Kross tossed in.
“She was sleep, man.” I chuckled.
When Kross threw his head back, I started to consider that I had gone too far. This nigga did anything that came to mind. His disapproval came as a slight shock.
“Oh Lord, you tied her up in her sleep?” he fussed.
“What y’all just want me to do? Let her go out in the world and get hurt again? I’m not doing that. I could have lost her, Bro.”
“But you didn’t,” Kross reminded me.
“She gon’ kill you, dog. It was nice knowing you. You were an OK brother,” Key teased.
“How she gon’ kill me when she tied up, man? You gotta think.” I tapped my temple.
He was still grinning like a fool when he replied, “I think she gon’ fuck you up.”
“I’ll worry about making up later. Right now, we have to talk business,” I told them.
Kross leaned forward and put his elbows on the table. “You need to be absolutely sure how you want to handle this. I have a pregnant wife that is going to kill me if she ever finds out I got involved in this shit, Bro. We have to move strategically.”
“You know I’m expecting my first child in less than three months, ten weeks to be exact,” Keywan said, looking down at his watch. “I need to be here to see her face. I promised Moonie that I would always be here for them. That don’t mean I’m not gon’ ride for your big, ugly ass.”
“Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about either of you not being here for your wives and children. It’s a money move.”
Kross nodded his head eagerly. “Oh, well you know that’s what I love to hear.”
“I want to buy a company. Kross, I need you to find out where the bodies are buried so I can leverage the sell. I’ve already started the process for the other pieces of the puzzle. I’m not leaving anything up to chance. When I get ready to buy the company, I’m gon’ need y’all’s help.”
“Oh well, shit, I thought I had to get my hands dirty,” Keywan noted.
“I’ll be the only one getting dirty for now. I just want to do shit the right way when it comes to her contract. Since I can’t find out how deep the shit goes, I’m going all the way to the bottom of it.”
“I feel you. Do what you gotta do to protect your lady,” Kross interjected. “Oh, your dog has had some training somewhere.”
“So, she’ll be ready soon?” I asked him.
“First, I need you to answer my question about where the hell you got a dog from.”
“I told you I got her from a business associate. The less you know, the better.”
He laughed. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
Standing from the table, I finished my tea before looking between them. “I love y’all boys. Let me get back home to see if this girl is ready to eat and take her medicine. I’ll be in touch about that move.”
“Make sure your cameras are on so they can catch that ass whupping live and in color,” Keywan suggested.
Since I’d had my brothers meet me at The Little Brew, I was only a ten-minute walk from home.
I liked my little neighborhood because you could walk everywhere.
It had a small-town feel, but I didn’t know a soul that didn’t work in the spots I frequented.
Actually, I didn’t know them either. I preferred it that way.
In a time like this, when I needed to keep my girl safe and sound, I appreciated everything about this little walkable suburb that was an hour from the downtown area.
As I walked back to my house, I considered taking the scenic route. After opening my camera app on my phone again and hearing Carteay scream as soon as the sound kicked in, I knew she was already livid. I didn’t have much more room to push her.
I walked into my house to almost an eerie silence.
I knew she was awake and waiting to let me have it as soon as I walked into the room.
Instead of going straight to her, I went to the kitchen to make sure the breakfast I grabbed for her was still hot.
Everything looked good as I transferred it from the bag to a plate.
With a hot cup of honey mint tea for Carteay’s throat, and nerves in tow, I headed to my bedroom to see my baby girl.
Balancing everything in one hand, I knocked on the door softly before opening it and letting myself in.
“How’s your head, C?” I asked.
“Kannon, if you don’t get these fucking ropes off me!” She was still pretty as hell, wild eyed and pissed off.
“Good morning, sleepy head. You hungry?”
“Kannon, stop playing and untie me,” Carteay warned.
“I got chicken sausage, a veggie omelet, and a honey butter biscuit. Plus, we got some hot tea for your throat,” I revealed as I placed the plate on the nightstand.
“What are you even talking about? Why the hell did you tie me up, Kannon? Get this shit off me and stop playing.”
I walked to my closet and pulled out one of the chairs I used when I walked down to the lake to fish and lugged it back over to the bed. Finally, I put my eyes on her. Man was she a sight to behold! Even with red eyes and her hair matted, my baby was beautiful.
“You look so pretty all tied up like that, Carrie. I really want to keep you like this.”
“I will kill you. Get these fucking ropes off me, Kannon. This shit is hurting my wrist.”
I shook my head. “Stop fighting the ropes, C. You know it just makes them tighter.”
“I know I hate the day your psychotic ass went to boy scouts. Get these ropes off me right the fuck now, Kannon.”
“Relax so you can eat your breakfast while it’s hot.”
“I can’t exactly eat while I’m hog tied, Kannon.”
That made me laugh. “You’re not hog tied, Carteay. For future reference, would you like to be hog-tied?” I asked, lifting my brows.