24. Chapter 23 #3
"Yeah and Allure was definitely right, you are a coldhearted mothafucka." She shook her head while pacing around him in a circle. "No wonder Armani treated your ass the way she did."
Marcus stared at her trying to understand what the fuck was happening.
"June." His brain was flooding with questions. "Why the fuck am I tied up?"
She smiled without answering.
"What's done in the dark always come to light, Marcus."
The music from upstairs boomed faintly overhead while June kept circling him.
"All these years…." she said softly, "I waited for the perfect moment to finally have your ass exactly where I wanted you."
Marcus thought maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him at first. There was just no way that June, his baby, his number one lady would have him tied up talking to him all crazy like this.
He stared at her a little harder and then something about her face suddenly felt unfamiliar.
Then June stopped directly in front of him. "Don't you remember me baby?"
Marcus' upper lip started sweating. "What?"
"You thought you was gon wreak havoc on innocent people lives and that shit wasn't gonna catch up to you one day?"
Marcus made direct eye contact with June. "J, seriously yo… what the fuck are you talking about? You not making any sense right now."
He chucked as he thought this was a big joke that she was playing on him since it was New Years and his birthday was about to come in soon.
"Oh, I get it.. this a lil jokey joke right?" He chuckled nervously. "You funny as shit babe… You can untie me now June, I done caught on to ya lil joke. Come on babe, I figured it out."
Her expression changed completely. Her light brown eyes looked cold and deadly.
That wiped the smile right off of Marcus' face.
"November 21st, 2012." June began,
Marcus went still.
"Kensington and Cumberland."
His face crumpled a bit.
"You and ya mans Damon walked inside Park's Mini Mart acting tough demanding money from the register."
Marcus stared at her without blinking.
"You took the money." June scrunched her upper lip.
June then grabbed his face, holding him roughly. "And then you killed the owner Min-Soo."
All the color drained from Marcus' face as he swallowed hard. Then June squatted down to meet him at eye level. She blew smoke straight into his face.
"You know what the worst part was?"
Her eyes started to water. "That was my mothafucking father you killed, nigga!!!!!"
Marcus stared at her like the air had been punched out of his chest. For the first time in his life, real fear crept into his face as he suddenly realized he had been set up from the very beginning.
June stood back up maintaining a blank expression. The people above them screamed and laughed, they were completely unaware of what was happening underneath their feet.
Marcus refused to accept what June just revealed to him. "Nah.."
His voice sounded weak now. "Nah, man.."
June laughed quietly to herself before taking another pull from the blunt. "Yeah, nigga."
Marcus stared at her face harder now like he was trying to force himself to remember. Then suddenly, he did.
He remembered the Asian man's face and realized that June looked just like him. And he also remembered that night how him and Damon was tryna hit a lick so that they could have something to eat that night. He remembered pulling the trigger and watching the old man fall to the floor.
Marcus suddenly felt nauseous. "Oh shit…."
June's face glowed. "Ahhh, there you go. That memory done came back huh? I figured it would take you a little minute, you are getting older so I know your brain's not how it used to be when you were younger."
"Wait, you were in the store?" Marcus looked physically sick.
"Uh yeah nigga, I was hiding behind the chip racks doing my homework."
Marcus tried to reason with her." June, baby listen—"
"NO." Her voice boomed through the room like thunder. "You listen mothafucka."
June jabbed her finger into his chest. "Do you know what kind of hell I went through after that?"
Marcus licked his dry lips and remained quiet.
"CPS threw me into foster home and I went through all kinds of shit."
Her eyes darkened and Marcus looked down at the floor briefly.
"I got bounced around like luggage. I got moved from one nasty house to another. And my foster mother's boyfriend even raped me one night."
June broke down crying. Marcus closed his eyes tightly trying not to picture what June went through a small child.
June kept going. "Then came Miss Loretta's funky ass."
She leered at Marcus. "Everybody thought she was some sweet church lady.
That bitch used to lock her food cabinets so we couldn't eat after certain hours.
She took the money that the state gave her and didn't spend a dime on us.
She used to make us clean her nasty ass house.
She used to tell us that nobody would ever love kids like us.
She wiped her tears. "Do you know what it feels like being eleven years old and watching your whole life get ripped apart because two dusty ass niggas wanted some fast money?"
Marcus finally spoke in a low whisper. "June…."
"Nah." She pointed the gun toward him. "Don't fucking June me now mothafucka. I ain't done. Let me cook, nigga."
She grabbed a metal chair from the corner, placed the gun on top of the boxes and walked back over to Marcus and opened it up in front of him. She sat down and crossed her legs. Then she began speaking again.
"You know what's crazy?" She asked
Marcus opened his mouth to speak, but he decided to just let her finish. Besides, she obviously had some shit to get off her chest so he just didn't say anything.
She tapped her temple with a careful finger. "For years I saw your face in my dreams damn near every night."
Marcus started breathing hard.
"But I remembered that tattoo even more."
June pointed to the side of his neck and poked it hard. "That ugly ass tattoo haunted me for thirteen years. I replayed the night you killed my father over and over in my head. I remembered your voice and the way my daddy sounded choking on his own blood."
Marcus scrunched his eyelids close to block out the mental image June was trying to paint. "I ain't mean for that shit to happen June."
June jumped up out the chair and started laughing hysterically. "Ain't mean for it to happen?"
She kicked the chair out the way and crouched down low in front of him again. "Nigga, you killed a man in front of his child."
"And the fucked up part about everything." June twisted up her face. "Is that you moved on with your life while mine took a turn for the worst."
She gestured around them. "You got ya big ass house witcha fancy clothes. Bitches at your disposal. Money out the ass. Ya little clubs and shit."
She pulled a pair of brass knuckles out of her pocket and placed them on her left hand. She punched him viciously in the mouth. "Meanwhile my daddy became maggot food."
Blood poured from Marcus' mouth and seeped onto his clothes. "June, baby I'm sorry. I didn't know he was your father."
"Awww, you want to apologize to me?" June asked in a mocking voice. She made a fake pouty face like she felt sorry for him.
"Too late mothafucka, my daddy already dead!!!"
She punched him hard in the stomach and he threw up the food he ate earlier during the party onto the floor. She grabbed the back of his chair and pulled him away from the mess. She grabbed a napkin from her pocket and wiped him off.
"Oooooh baby, I got a confession to make," June said playfully with her eyes glistening. She sat on Marcus' lap and smiled. She began rubbing his shoulders. "Remember when life was life-ing? Well, I was the mastermind behind all that, sweetie." She blew a kiss at him.
Marcus felt like he was having a heart attack.
June spoke in a baby voice. "Come on baby, you ain't think I just sat around for thirteen years just fantasizing about getting revenge did you?"
June then stood back up and walked over to the storage shelves and grabbed something then made her way back over to him. "Remember them little financial problems at the club?"
Marcus' mouth dropped open in shock.
She pointed toward herself proudly. "That was me."
Marcus' eyes widened in disbelief. Then the smile slowly returned to June's face.
"Ooooh shit babe.." She laughed. "Look at your face right now."
Marcus couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How the fuck?—"
Her answer came instantly. "You trusted me, that's how."
Marcus heart felt like it was about to explode inside his chest.
"You had all your paperwork around me, all your passwords, all your office access." She smiled wider. "And your dumb ass never questioned none of it because you was too busy thinking I was falling in love with you.
Marcus' face showed a look of horror. June pointed at him like he won a prize. "There go the look I was waiting for."
"What look?" She snapped in irritation.
She lowered her voice. "That 'oh shit' look when a nigga realize he been sleeping next to the fuckin' devil."
Marcus' chest tightened.
June started laughing louder this time like a psychotic bitch.
"Remember the missing liquor shipments? The cash discrepancies and the fake invoices?" she asked with a lop-sided grin.
Marcus said nothing.
June nodded. "Yeah."
She smiled wickedly. "I had your accountants chasing ghosts."
"But…" Marcus stammered.
"I rerouted money through fake vendor accountants," June continued. "I made it look like employees was stealing from you. I had managers accusing each other. I had you stressed the fuck out every damn week."
She stuffed an old sock into his mouth and then struck him hard on the legs with a small metal bat. Marcus screamed but the sound came out muffled due to the sock.
June went on with her confession. "And the rumors online? Them little anonymous blog pages talking about drugs, prostitution, dirty money, and health obligations?"
She placed one hand against her chest. "Yep, it was yours truly baby."
Marcus shook his head like his brain his brain refused to accept it.