Chapter 25 Ayanna
twenty-five
Ayanna
The pain wasn’t unbearable, but it was sharp.
And persistent. It lingered just long enough to remind me that every second counted.
The longer I spent in this hell hole, the more danger I was in.
When I looked around, I realized I couldn’t have been here long, since it was still daytime and a small sliver of sunlight filtered in through the glass windows.
Gathering what little strength I had left, I took one shallow breath, trying to ignore the throb beneath my ribs, and the sting pulsing from my wrists.
Hell, there was even pain radiating from the tips of my fingers.
I tried to push it out of my mind. But I couldn’t since each breath sent a wave of discomfort through my entire body, and movement irritated my skin.
But I had to push the pain away if I wanted to survive.
Willing myself to focus on something other than pain, my other senses decided to kick in and I wish it hadn’t.
The stench of the stale and pungent warehouse was far from pleasant.
The nasty smell of rotten eggs, paired with the stench of stale water, engulfed the air.
It was enough to make me want to vomit. Then there was the stillness of the room that made me uneasy.
It was practically dark. Minimal windows, one lone light bulb hanging from the ceiling, and a few stray beams of light filtering in from the adjacent room where I remembered three familiar figures standing around whispering about my fate like I wasn’t even there.
“I vote we kill her now,” Corey had said, his voice cold in a way I hadn’t known it could be.
This was nothing like the man I met in the cereal aisle at the grocery store a year ago. The one who offered to grab the last box of cereal from the top shelf when I couldn’t reach it. Back then, his kindness seemed genuine, but now I couldn’t tell how much was real, and what was fake.
“Hell no,” Isabella snapped, her whisper harsh. “That was never the fucking plan. We use her! She’s leverage. He’ll never negotiate without her.”
“If it’s revenge you want,” Orlando chimed in, his tone calm but clipped, “then killing her now won’t satisfy you.
Not in the way you think. If you really want to make the Donatelli’s suffer…
we do it slow. Public. Let her husband feel it.
Let her family watch. Let the hood watch.
It’s the only way we all get what we want. ”
There was a pause. Then Corey again, quieter this time, almost reverent.
“You’re right, Unk. Aunt Bianca and my Ma would want it public.”
The memory of their earlier conversation threatened to knock the wind out of me.
Corey was Orlando’s and Bianca’s nephew. No way.
He’d been vetted thoroughly. There’s no way my brother, or even Teo would have overlooked his relationship with the Moccasins.
How was this missed?
Corey was intelligent, but not street-savvy. Which meant he was not the mastermind behind any of this.
Looking down at my bound feet, and then my wrists, the panic I was trying not to succumb to began to rise. This place and the thought of what they may do to me was beginning to make my stomach turn.
Violently I fought against the restraints, attempting any maneuver that would allow me to break free.
Fuck... fuck... fuck.
It would not budge.
The knots on the ropes were so tight, tied like they were knotted by a professional hostage taker.
I couldn’t even squeeze my hands through the loops without feeling the rough fibers tear at my skin.
Panic almost overtook me, but instead of freaking completely out like I wanted, I took slow steady breaths.
Looking around the room once more, I searched for anything. Something I could use to free myself and escape. Nothing stood out. Not a loose screw, an unattended tool, or a broken piece of furniture. It was mind numbingly frustrating.
The minute my eyes landed on the singular door across the room, it snapped open revealing the man I once called my boyfriend.
“Yanna... Yanna... Yanna,” he tsked, taking long overly confident steps toward me while I tried to ignore the lingering pain in my face, neck, and shoulders.
And the disgust I now felt toward him. “I bet you think that nigga is gonna save you. Swoop in and be captain save a hoe.” The smugness in his tone was cold.
My fingers curled into a fist, my hand clamping together so tightly I lost all feeling in my fingertips. Every time I twitched against the restraints, his grin widened. My pain was his entertainment.
Once he reached me, he stood over me with a twisted smile. “Let me be clear. He’s not coming to save you, darling. No one is.” He laughed bitterly, and I swallowed hard trying to determine how I felt.
A part of me was sorry for my part I played in hurting his feelings, but then I remembered… he had to have been playing me from the beginning. Because there was no way he knew who my family was, dated me, and was related to enemies of both my family and Teo’s and never mentioned it.
While I had no business trying to build something with a man who never really satisfied me emotionally, I genuinely liked him and wanted to keep him safe.
“So, us meeting… wasn’t happenstance, huh?” I chuckled bitterly, wincing at the sharp throb pounding at my temple. “I should’ve known.”
The mumble was more to myself, but he heard it.
He shrugged nonchalantly. “I knew who you were… your people... you were the entry point. But you would never let me get close. I have to give your father that. You knew how to keep me at arm’s length."
I wasn’t scared of Corey. Not even a little. But this sudden shift into someone he’d never been? Raised so many more questions.
“So, what now? You gave your little speech. You gonna try to break me?” A snort of air escaped me. “Make me fear you.” I tilted my head toward him.
“If you were the last nigga on earth, I would never be afraid of you.”
“You did always have a mouth on you,” he chuckled, but there wasn’t an ounce of humor in his tone. “You know... I tolerated a lot of shit for a long time.”
His fingers crept up my arm with a touch that was anything but gentle.
“Let’s review. There was the way you blew me off for your family and boutique at the drop of a dime.
Then there was your mouth.” He sucked his teeth.
“Yeah, that shit could be brutal. And reckless. But the thing that was the most flagrant.” His eyes dropped to my finger, and chuckled.
This time I didn’t sense any bitterness. It was more like he genuinely found the situation amusing.
“Whole time yo ass was in love with another nigga. But it’s all good.
That’s what got you here. Your inability to let go.
” His gaze moved to my wrist and lingered on the bracelet that hung for a moment too long before snatching off the jewelry Teo had given me when we were only kids and somehow returned to me on our wedding day.
The tightness formed in my chest faster than the tears that stung the corner of my eyes.
That bracelet had been through a lot, but it was a perfect reminder of how long Teo and my love had been brewing.
“Give it the fuck back.” My voice broke, while my body thrashed against the ropes that bound me to the chair.
I damn near worked up a sweat trying to break free.
“Nothing lost is ever truly forgotten,” Corey read the inscription out loud, talking completely over me, and ignoring the commotion I was causing.
“It was a message to you. Because you were never lost... and I damn sure never forgot. I knew this would come in handy.” He tossed the small trinket across the room, watching as it clattered against the concrete floor into the darkness.
“Crazy, right?” One of his brows lifted, and that sinister grin covered his face.
“How something so small could put everything in motion. You probably wore that shit every day since your wedding. Whole time, it was doing exactly what I needed it to do. Tracking your every move. I knew your ass was gullible.”
I stared at him, breathing heavy, disbelief clouding my thoughts. All this time, I thought I had a leak in my detail but in reality, he had planted a tracking device in something that was so dear to me.
“That’s right, piece it together.”
“You stole the bracelet,” I muttered. “That night after you saw Teo with me for the first time.”
He stood there, arms crossed and an expression on his face that relished his cleverness.
“You’re gonna wish you moved on...instead of trying to be him.” I shook my head.
“Be who?”
“Teo, of course.” I giggled.
In one swift motion, Corey fisted a handful of my hair, yanking my head back, and forcing my eyes to meet his. The pain shot through my scalp, making me gasp, while my neck craned.
“And what makes you think I want to be anything like him? Hmm?”
I didn’t answer. Just stared at him.
Maybe it was the way I didn’t flinch. Or the way I smiled, even with his hand in my hair. When the silence lingered beyond the point of comfort, something in him snapped.
“You know what it’s like sleeping with the enemy every night? Pretending to laugh at your corny ass jokes? Pretending to give a fuck about your bullshit ass business. Acting like I was actually interested in anything other than fucking you.”
He leaned in close, his face mere inches from mine. He was so close I could see the reflection of the light bouncing off his brown eyes. There was an untold story in his gaze. And most of it was rage.
Anger was an understatement; he resented me. This, I was sure.
“Yeah... that had to be the silver lining in all of this.” He continued, his voice reeking of disdain. “You were nothing more than a means to an end. And a nice piece of ass.”
For once, I had nothing to say as my mouth opened to respond. Did I see a future with Corey? Not really. But I never thought it would come to this.