Chapter 34
34
The sound of the gun going off was almost deafening, Dice was so close.
Dice had shot into the wall, placing a bullet-sized hole in it.
With his eyes on me, he lowered his weapon.
“I needed that,” he let out. “I fucking hate seeing women cry.”
I couldn’t see Kennedy when she’d broken down, but it tore my heart up hearing her beg and plead to die instead of me. Hearing how she was willing to take my place.
I’d sooner die twice than let that happen.
Dice— Cain came closer and kneeled down before me. His wrath hadn’t lessened and his next move was questionable.
“I had her on her back, open for me,” he said, holding his palm out for emphasis. “But she was crying for you.” His eyes trailed to the necklace hanging around my neck. He took the tip of his Sig P226 and tapped the pendant.“That’s when I knew I was going to kill you.”
He was lucky I was tied to this chair, or else he’d be eating those words.
I had no choice but to keep my cool and bide my time as I glared into his eyes. One of his men had snuck me from behind at 7 Corners. When I’d come to, it was from a fierce blow to the head, courtesy of who Dice referred to as Vino .
I didn’t recognize him.
Nothing made sense as I became coherent and found myself back at the garage with Dice pacing back and forth. Beans had been leaning against the trunk of the Civic. And I found that pretty looking son of a bitch eating my sandwich as he stood a few feet away. He’d even offered me some with a smirk I wanted to knock off.
“This shit is dry,” Vino complained as he helped himself to another big ass bite.
Dice looked to me. “Got any condiments inside?”
Blinking, I began to nod.
Vino clicked his tongue. “See, now you say somethin’. Shoot ’im in the knee, D.”
I had no clue what was going on, until Dice said her name.
Kennedy .
Never in a million years would I have drawn the connection from Kennedy’s Cain to Dice. Fucked-up Dice from Bedford Heights. Emotionless, unremorseful, no-conscience-having Dice.
It still didn’t make sense. Kennedy said Dice had business with her father, and if the rumors I’d heard about Dice were true, it wasn’t adding up.
Dice sighed. “Ungag him.”
Beans ripped the tape from my mouth, leaving behind a stinging sensation.
Fuuuck .
“Did you know about me?” Dice asked.
“I knew she was being forced to marry some weirdo,” I answered.
Dice took this information and sat with it.
“I never knew your real name,” I spoke up some more. “She said you had a business you inherited from your father and even that doesn’t make sense from what I remember about you.”
Dice peered at Beans before focusing back on me. “My late father was a billionaire casino owner in Vegas. He was a ‘happily married’ man when he preyed on my young mother and I was conceived. Despite his immense wealth, he threw her a few scraps when she decided to keep me.
“When my mother’s heart couldn’t take the rejection and pain, and she died, I was left a ward of the state when daddy dearest didn’t come to my rescue.” A tight smile tugged on Dice’s lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I won’t bore you with the rest.” He tapped my knee with his Sig. “That’s not what this is about. Now, is it?”
My legs were tied to the chair as well, making me unable to kick this motherfucker in his face like I wanted.
“No, I guess not,” I responded.
“I thought I recognized you from the pictures. Seeing you up close, that’s when it really dawned on me,” Dice said with a shake of his head. “I remember you from around the neighborhood. You never really bothered anyone. You seemed like a good guy.”
He knew of me as I knew of him. The world was way too small, because I still couldn’t believe he was the guy Kennedy was being forced to marry.
“Have anything to say for yourself?” Dice taunted, watching me.
“If you kill me, leave her alone. Walk away and don’t bother her ever again,” I wagered.
A smirk crossed Dice’s face. “He’s willing to die for her, and she’s willing to die for him. What do you make of that, Beans?”
“How romantic,” he said in a bored manner.
That remark got Dice to smile as he stared into my eyes. “Nah, don’t knock it. Passion happens to the best of us. I’d never let a woman die for me, but I’d kill for that type of loyalty. That type of devotion .”
He dug into his pocket and pulled out two clear red dice. He rolled them in his palm, causing them to clack against each other, before releasing them onto the floor. While I didn’t see what came up, he angled his head to read the outcome.
“Huh.” He collected his dice and put them back into his pocket.
My brows furrowed in confusion, trying to make sense of whatever was going on.
Dice stood up, towering over me in my position bound to my chair. “Untie him.”
Beans did as told. He took a bowie knife and cut me free, first my legs, and finally my arms and hands. The weight of the ropes slipping away gave me a sense of freedom, but there was still one problem standing in front of me.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“It’s your lucky day, Keith. You get to live.”
That seemed too easy. “Just like that?”
Dice shrugged, as if it were that simple. “I’m a man of principle. When I take a life, I look at a few simple things: will they be missed, if the world is a better place without them, and if they deserve to die. And as much as I’d love to put a bullet in you for fucking what was mine, you don’t meet the criteria.” He rattled the dice in his pocket. “They were in your favor.”
It sounded like bullshit, but I’d go with it.
He was tucking his gun away, and that was all I needed as I took a step forward.
Dice regarded me, tracking my movement.“At best, you only get in a cheap shot. And then Beans gets in a kill shot.”
I didn’t like those odds, but fuck it.
I swung on him, punching him dead in his face, sending his head snapping to the side.
Dice chuckled, his shoulders shaking as he leaned over and spit blood onto the plastic sheeting on the floor. He wiped at his lip and peered past me. “A little late on the draw there, huh Beans?”
“You had that coming,” Beans said as he kept his distance.
Dice made a face and came back to me. “If it’s any consolation?—”
“Fuck you,” I said loud and clear.
Dice appeared amused by me. I’d never seen him like this and it made me that much more on my toes. “She’s willing to die for you ,” he said, getting serious. “Never take that shit for granted.”
I wouldn’t, not for as long as I lived. Right after I shook some sense into her.
“What now?” I asked, needing confirmation on what Dice was up to.
He shrugged, standing back. “If you break her heart I’ll kill you, Keith. Understood?”
In some sick twisted way, he was giving up, and letting Kennedy go.
We were not about to shake hands and go grab a beer. I wanted him gone, back to wherever the fuck he came from.
“Stay away from her,” I warned.
Dice shook his head. “I’m going to be around. Not all ties will be cut.”
Her father.
Feeling bold, I had to address a rumor I was beginning to believe was true. “Does her father know he was about to marry his daughter off to the biggest coke dealer in the West?”
Slowly, a broad smile stretched across Dice’s face. “No, and I’d appreciate it if that stayed in this room. Matter of fact, I’d like it if you acted like we don’t know each other.”
So, word on the street had been true. He had gone off to become a well-connected coke dealer. I’d once heard this from either Gavin or DreSean in passing when I’d wondered whatever happened to Dice, but I never was too sure. When we were kids, he’d sold a dime bag here and there from what I could remember. Now, he’d apparently graduated to higher endeavors.
Kennedy had dodged a bullet.
I didn’t too much like the idea of keeping the fact that I knew Dice, if barely, from her, but if it meant he’d stay away, I would. There was no going to the police about this. That wasn’t how things worked in Bedford Heights. If he was as high level as I’d heard, he more than likely had a few contacts at the local precinct.
I took a step closer. “How much say do you have in Bedford Heights?”
Dice narrowed his eyes. “Enough.”
“Do me a favor?”
“Because I’m in such a favor-giving mood,” he said sardonically.
“Tell whoever you run, to leave Dominique Ferguson the fuck alone,” I demanded. We’d squared away his debt, but you could never be too sure.
Dice smoothed out the arm of his dress shirt, uninspired to even reply. He walked over to the Honda Civic and grabbed his jacket he’d laid aside. He shrugged into it and once again wiped at his mouth.
Nothing had felt better than punching that fucker in the face.
Dice turned toward Beans. “Let her in.”
I guessed we were done negotiating.