Chapter 11
“Kick that shit down,” Caden commanded calmly, palms cupped in the center of him.
With no hesitation, Cezar, his enforcer, kicked Tina’s door down.
Three days had passed since he’d paid Dru’s debt to Galloway.
Instead of risking making her uncomfortable by calling or texting her, he went to the grocery store to check on her and found out she’d been fired for leaving to take care of something at her sister’s school.
That shit broke his heart. If he felt like Dru would take it, he’d hand her seven figures, upgrade her car, and provide a solution to every one of her problems. Since she didn’t trust him to do that, he figured he’d prove he was worthy of her trust by eliminating another enemy out of her life—her mother.
“The hell!” Tina yelled. The sound of her house shoes against tile made Caden smile as he stepped further into the home.
She rushed into the living room, holding a butcher knife.
Relief settled within her at the sight of him and his men, as if that meant she was safe.
“Lorenzo, what are y’all doing here? And who are they? ”
“Your daughters here?” Lorenzo asked, ignoring her questions.
“No. I don’t know where the hell they at, but I can talk business. What’s up?” Tina pointed toward the brown couch for them to sit down, and while Lorenzo and Cezar took a seat, Caden stood. Quite frankly, the energy in the house was off, and he was uncomfortable.
“This is Caden,” Lorenzo introduced, pointing toward Caden. “He’s the boss. I’m simply his right hand. You know the legend of him being a ghost and how he only shows up for something really good or really bad?” Tina nodded. Lorenzo smiled. “You’ve done something really bad.”
“A few bad things, actually,” Caden clarified, unbuttoning his suit jacket.
“Let’s start with you being a horrible fucking mother.
” Tina’s mouth dropped as she weakly sat in the recliner across from the TV.
“Outside of you not taking care of your daughters, you sold their bodies. That’s usually a punishable offense, and death is the only form of justice I provide, but since I know that would hurt Dru regardless of how she feels about you, that’s the only reason I haven’t sent a bullet through your skull yet. ”
He watched her gulp down her fear as her eyes blinked rapidly.
“You lied to my team and told them you were behind on your rent, but we’ve learned your daughter pays that.
Now what you chose to do with the loan is your business.
I make it a point to let people rack up debt with me because I make more by charging interest. I looked into your records, and since the moment you started working for me, you’ve been hot and cold.
Up and down. You buy high and sell quick, or you don’t sell at all. ”
“Mr. Caden, I—”
“During your last pickup, you asked for oxy. Is that correct?” Tina nodded.
“You asked for thirty milligrams, and you were told we didn’t sell that because it was laced with fentanyl, and we can’t make money if our customers are dying.
Instead, you were given a smaller milligram, twenty dollars a pill.
You didn’t pay upfront, but you flipped that shit in two days and came back and got more.
How many did you get the second time you came to reup? ”
Tina cleared her throat. “Two thousand,” she whispered.
“So you owe me how much?” Her mouth opened and closed. “Forty thousand dollars,” Caden answered. “Now, instead of you selling my shit and making a profit that way, or making deliveries to my other suppliers, you came and asked for a loan. How much did we give you?”
“Twenty-five thousand.”
“That’s how much?”
“Sixty-five thousand, sir,” Tina replied.
“Correct. That’s what you owe me, and that’s not including the fifteen percent interest. With interest added to the loan, you owe me twenty-eight thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars plus the forty. Now I want you to add another hundred thousand dollars to that.”
“What!” Tina yelled, sitting up in her seat. “Mr. Caden, I haven’t gotten any other pills. Where did you get another hundred K from?”
Caden smiled, finally taking a seat next to Lorenzo. “I’m glad you asked. You remember the last sicko you let into your house . . . into your daughter . . . Dreya’s her name, right? Well, when he violated her, Dru decided to exact punishment. The price for that was a hundred bands.
“I paid that debt to Galloway, and now, you have to pay me back. So, when you add that hundred to everything else, you owe me one hundred sixty-eight thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars, Ms. Tina.” As Caden’s knees spread and he leaned forward, he asked, “How soon will I be able to collect?”
Tina’s head tilted and mouth opened partially.
She stared at him for seconds on end, as if his words were having difficulty filtering through her brain.
Clearing her throat again, she ran her hand down her neck.
“I-I’m sorry, Mr. Caden. I guess I’m just confused.
You see, I didn’t know Dru had anything to do with Quenton’s death.
You’re saying she paid someone a hundred thousand dollars to kill him? ”
“Yes, and if you share that information with anyone outside of this room, I will kill you myself.”
“I don’t care about people knowing what she did,” Tina snapped. “I care about you trying to make me pay for it.”
“Why shouldn’t you?” he asked sweetly with a syrupy grin. “It’s your fault.”
It appeared the calmer Caden remained, the more frustrated Tina became.
A long, hard breath escaped her.
“It wasn’t my fault, and I should not be held responsible for that.”
“Did you or did you not invite that man into your home?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“And did you ask him for money in exchange for your daughter?”
“Yes, but, I—”
“Then it is your fault. So again, how soon can I expect my payment?”
Tina’s head shook as she stood and began to pace. “What are the other options? There’s no way in hell I’m paying that.”
“I’m not sure what I said that made you think you had a choice.”
“Can I work it off? Or better yet, can Dru work it off? This is her fault anyway. Had she not stuck her nose where it didn’t belong, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
For a while, Caden didn’t respond. It disgusted him to watch a woman take no accountability for the fucked up shit she’d done, the fucked up shit she’d done to her daughters, or the fucked up shit she’d allowed other people to do to them.
The more he looked at her, the more Dru’s actions made sense. He saw why she didn’t want to be in a relationship. He saw why she worked so much. He saw why she didn’t mind losing her job to show up for her sister. Who else would? It was clear neither of them could depend on their mother.
“Why don’t you just take Dru?” Tina offered. “She can work for you, or you can do whatever the hell else you want with her. This was her idea, her debt, so she should pay. Not me.”
With a sigh of disappointment, Caden stood as he saw Lorenzo’s head shaking out of the corner of his eye.
“Instead of taking any responsibility for this, you’re offering your daughter to a man you literally just met, to pay off your debt?” Caden confirmed as Lorenzo and Cezar stood.
“Yes,” Tina agreed, chin jutting in that defiant way he’d seen Dru’s do once or twice.
“I’m going to pay you what I owe you, and that’s it.
Take her the fuck off my hands. She’s always caused more trouble than she was worth.
I should’ve aborted her fucking ass, but I thought she’d be a meal ticket for me.
Bastard ass father did the bare minimum until she was eighteen. Now, he doesn’t even do that.”
Unable to hear her disrespect Dru anymore, Caden decided, “Fine, I’ll take her as collateral. She will come live with me. You still owe me that fucking money, and you have two months to pay up.”
“But, Caden, I—”
“I don’t want to hear no fucking excuses, Tina. Sixty days. Dreya is coming with me too.”
“No! You can’t have her. She’s under eighteen and my child—not Dru’s. Dreya stays here with me, and I promise I’ll get you the money in sixty days. You have my word.”
“Your word means nothing to me,” Caden made clear.
He knew Dru would be sick without Dreya, but since she was a minor, there was nothing he could do.
His plan was simple: get the money from Tina and give it to Dru to do with as she pleased.
After sixty days, she’d be free from her mother and capable of living the life she wanted, the life she deserved.
As simple as it sounded in his head, Caden knew Dru was going to give him hell for it.
She’d likely see it as a betrayal, and Caden would handle that when the time came.