26. Chapter 26
I pick up the phone for once, knowing that it's not going to be Nina on the other line to taunt that she has her fingers inside her, and I don't.
Because I have had them in her… for the past few days.
She’s back at her place today and I’ve just gotten my things packed up.
It's a contact that I have saved. If he's calling me, something bad has happened.
"What's up?" I say as soon as I get on the phone.
Redd’s raspy voice is unmistakable as he says, “Hey, so I got all the stuff you've sent me.
Shit… I didn't want to get Blue into it because, to be honest, I still thought that you were just obsessed.
Didn't really know what to do with these feelings, since we know vampires don't really have workin’ hearts…”
"Can you get to it?” I'm not in the mood for his teasing, and I'm certainly not in the mood for whatever crass comparison he has for me today about my own emotions. Him mentioning what I’ve sent him has my alarm bells ringing loud in my own ears.
"Yea, well, I put everythin’ together and brought it to Blue.
He's gonna have a talk with Racquelle about it. Actually, I wanted to, you know, and it's a good thing you brought it to our attention because she is accruin’ quite a few bodies.” My stomach drops as Redd continues to explain, “I mean, I don't mean to laugh, but I didn't even think a woman that small could be able to accomplish as much. I mean, she is tiny, and just with what you've sent me alone, I'm impressed. Not to mention the fact that once I started tappin’ into a few cameras, I was able to catch the tail end. She's abnormally good at bein’ able to avoid them, though I haven't caught anythin’ that's intentionally incriminatin’. They do put her in a place to where, if somebody does start diggin’, she would be goin’ under.
I could tell you from experience that prison's not where she wants to be, so we've got to put a stop to it. "
"Wait, Redd, I just—"
"And on top of that, I started to think about what you said, and it feels a little bit sexist to say that she couldn't do the things that you accused her of.
Women can be hitters too. Hell, they're probably better hitters than we are, to be fair, because no one expects them.
Am I right? Especially not her, you know… since she's so small."
"Actually, about that—"
He doesn't let me continue saying what I'm going to say. There's some talking in the background I can't make out, but he says, "Oh, well, I gotta go. I just wanted to let you know that we'd be bringin’ that up in the meeting today.”
But I don't get to finish my sentence or really say anything on this phone call at all when he ends the phone conversation before I've had a chance to say my piece.
"Fuck," is all I can say as I run a hand over my head, the sweat beginning to accumulate on my neck.
"I fucked up," I shout into my room, complete frustration. Because what the fuck am I going to do now?
This entire time I've been trying to nail her down for these murders, and I had no idea what the fuck I was talking about. I didn't know what the fuck I was doing.
God damn it.
I can't imagine what this makes me look like—a gigantic asshole—because I'm her ride to the meeting that is maybe her downfall.
There's only a few ways to get rid of a problem in a crime family like either of ours.
I can't hope that her connection to Liezel and Racquelle will save her alone because I've done a thorough job of compiling all sorts of evidence.
Every single time I caught her doing something, I had documented it as thoroughly as I could manage, and with the time that we've spent together alone...
Oh, it's bad.
I’m already on my way to pick her up for what will be our last meeting before leadership goes back to Louisiana. I don’t have time to rectify this.
She gets into the car just as vibrant as usual, this time in a yellow mini-dress that's got red and black polka dots as the main accent. She looks completely at ease with her yellow heels crossing over my dashboard on the way to the location that has been disclosed.
Fuck, I don't know if I'm bringing her to her death right now. I almost have a mind to drive the other way, but I can't run away from my problems. I have to do something to fix this.
I feel like a complete asshole as she talks to me about who knows what because I can't even focus on a single thing she's saying until something piques my interest.
"…when you go back to your baby mama, and you can go to being a family again, since you seem like the type to need some sort of traditional family structure to be happy."
"What?" I question. "What the hell are you talkin’ about?"
"Well, isn't that what you're doing? As soon as we wrap all this stuff up, you're going back to Louisiana so that you can be with your daughter and your ex-wife or whatever."
"The fuck?”
“Were y'all married?" She asks me, gaze boring in the side of my face as I drive down the highway.
Locking the door, in case she tries something wild, I say, “No, we weren’t.
” She’s somewhat satisfied with my answer if her smirk is anything to go by.
I have no idea what she’s talking about to begin with.
“What are you talkin’ about? I'm not gonna get back with my baby mama. Where is this comin’ from?
” I had spent the past few days with her.
The only time I hadn’t was when I needed to get work done or when I was talking to Gracie.
Her head nods toward my suitcases in the back seat. “You sure? Because it sure seems like it." Why’s she picking this fight? We were good. We’d spent so much more time together that we had in the past and it was nice.
"I don't give a fuck what it sounds like. I'm not gettin’ back with Marissa. She is... we are not a thing. We were never good together, and that's not what I want."
At a light, I can properly see her face. She looks beautiful in her usual look, which is to say there is nothing typical about what she has on, including the yellow that accentuates her round eyes growing rounder with her emotion when she asks, “What do you want, then?"
I want us to not be walking into the shit that I stirred because I didn’t know the reason or purpose for the murders you’d committed.
I want to go back in time and find a way to be more supportive to you all along, knowing what I know now.
None of that comes out of my mouth, instead, “I… I don't see why that's important right now."
"Oh," is all she says, dismissing me and paying more attention to her phone. I wasn’t the right thing to say and I know it. But I’m just a little bit preoccupied.
When we finally get to our meeting spot, I say a silent prayer that I'm not going to end up taking a fucking bullet in this meeting.
I don't know what I was expecting, but the only people in the building are Blue, Redd, Racquelle, and Lidia. Nina stops in the doorway, likely feeling that something's off. "Where's—"
"Come and sit," Racquelle says.
Nina obeys immediately, going to sit in the empty chair across from her. There's one other open spot beside her and I take it.
"We called you in a little earlier than the main meeting today because of some actions that have been brought to the forefront," Racquelle says.
Nina looks around and then back to her Queen. "What actions?" she asks.
Then Blue speaks up. "Vert has brought to our attention that you have been actin’ against orders and potentially makin’ problems for the families that cannot stand."
Racquelle looks at her partner, saying, "Though I understand the intentions of what you've been doing, it appears that the unprofessional way in which you have been going about the hits could bring unwanted attention to the family that would be detrimental."
"What?" Nina questions, blinking rapidly before squeaking out. "I've always told you what I'm up to, Racquelle. I've never kept anything from you."
"I understand that, but once it starts to fuck with the money, it becomes a problem."
"But I haven’t,” Nina looks around, hoping to catch someone’s support. No one can offer her a thing. “Nothing has affected the money,” she reasons.
"If we're put under question, or if we have to scale back because we're under scrutiny, that cuts into our bottom line.
I didn't care what you did before because, to be fair, I found it acceptable for you to clean up the scum, but at the end of the day we're not a nonprofit, and there's plenty of horrible shit happening in the world. All our efforts should be productive toward that bottom line.”
Nina looks chastised. Her posture slumping forward to rest on her elbows, asking, “So, what does that mean?"
"You've taken your last life. You couldn't do it discreetly, and so it ends today."
Nina pushes off from her chair. "You don't understand."
Racquelle’s voice booms in the space. “Oh, I do. I understand that I've given you an order, and you either follow it or you take your last breath, too."
Nina's eyes shine with hurt at the coarse words from her Queen.
"Is that understood?"
The heavy wood door opens and Liezel comes into the room. "What is this?"
Lidia immediately stands to give Liezel her seat.
"I'm pulling Nina," Racquelle says.
“Pulling Nina for what?” The woman asks, taking her seat beside her leader.
“She had been taking out those pedophiles and predators for long enough. Protecting women is always important to me. I understand her motivation, and I get that we can all benefit from having less of them walking among us. I can't let it cut into the main purpose of our business while she’s playing vigilante.”
Here we are at the moment, months ago, I’d been proud to see happen. But Nina’s dejected look and drooping shoulders do nothing but tear me up inside.
I’ve seen many sides to the woman before me. Each new thing I lear about her only makes me more and more feral about protecting her from the things that have made her feel small and insignificant. I’d strike down anything that came to harm her.
She tried to do something good with what was bad about her life. Tried to be the savior that she wanted to find her when that fucking piece of shit took her. Her heart was in the right place and she was doing the best she could with what she had.
Because of me, she’s losing this small outlet to calm the turmoil inside her.
I’ve got her right where I wanted her and now…
I have to make it right and find a way to save her from herself.