9. Chapter 9
Queen Adanna
Opening that cage door turned into a true pit of joy. Dame had emptied half a can of bear spray into the guard partner's face while yelling like a madman. The man was writhing on the concrete, choking on the chemical fumes.
Meanwhile, I swept Guard Obo’s legs out from under him.
I pinned him to the floor and drove my blade straight through his chest plate—anchoring his ass to the concrete.
I wanted him to feel every second of his heart stopping.
I stood back up and wiped my hands on my sweats.
Looking across the dim container, my husband kept his gun aimed on her victim’s twitching forehead.
I gave him an approving nod since my poor baby looked thoroughly traumatized. He had blood splatter dotted across his cheek, and his hands were shaking enough to rattle the frame of his piece.
I pulled a wipe out of my pocket, walked over, and gently cleaned the blood off his face.
"You're doing a great job," I said softly.
His eyebrows shot up, but he kept his eyes glued to the floor. "For real?"
A faint smirk tugged at my mouth. "Yeah, baby. You really doing your thing. Keep it up."
I stepped back, fighting a laugh.
It was hilarious to me how simple men really were at their core.
You could throw a man into the middle of a war zone, and all it took was a little praise and a stroke of his ego to make him forget the whole world around him.
Give a man a little validation, and he’d run straight through a brick wall for you.
And my husband was no damn exception.
It was wild how Dame turned into a slut over a simple compliment. I bet if I told him to come out those boxers right now, he’d do it without hesitation.
In a life as complicated as mine, it was nice for at least one thing to be light work.
I turned on my heel and walked back over to Guard Obo, who was gasping for air as blood pooled beneath his back.
"She... she told me I had no choice since you were firing us anyway," Obo whimpered, his eyes rolling back as the truth serum forced the words out of his throat.
I cocked my head, looking down at him. "And you just went along with that? That sounded smart to you?"
"No... no, no, Queen—"
"No?" I interrupted. "I’ll tell you what you were doing... you were trying to trick me out my damn spot!"
I reeled back and kicked him in the stomach. His body spasmed.
"Ain't nobody gonna trick me out my spot, ever!"
I bent back down, pulled my backup blade from my ankle holster, and slashed a deep line across his ribs. Obo howled in agony as his fingers clawed uselessly at the concrete floor.
“What did she do to Dame that night?”
"She fucked him!" Obo shrieked, weeping uncontrollably. "Brooklyn fucked him without a condom while he was out!”
“What else?”
“His dad paid us all in advance! King Eze wired the crypto months ago!"
Obo’s partner guard started weeping on his side of the floor too, holding his hands up toward Dame. "Please! We begging you to let us live! Brooklyn got more shit up her sleeve, we can tell you more if—"
Before he could finish his sentence, I leaned over Obo and drove my knife through his thigh, pinning his muscle to the floorboards.
“Ahh!”
"Adanna! That's enough!" Dame hollered loudly from his side of the container, holding his hands out. "Wrap this shit up, I'm ready to go! Please wrap it up! Please!"
"Fine."
I let out an annoyed sigh, pouting as I conceded. I pulled my blade free, stepped over Obo, and drove the steel through his throat. It ended his twitching immediately.
I wiped my blade clean on his shirt and turned around, fully expecting to see my man wrapping his task up so we could keep the ball rolling.
Instead, he was standing in the exact same spot, staring down at the guard. Meanwhile, the guard was still hyperventilating on the concrete beneath him, alive and well.
I rolled my eyes hard, practicing my patience. I knew I should’ve let his soft ass sit in the car. Now he was up in here taking all my damn fun away, rushing me to speed up just to be over here slacking off.
"You rushing me, but you not even ready to go," I noted, crossing my arms over my chest and staring at him, real unimpressed with hesitation.
Dame finally looked up at me, horrified, and stressed the fuck out. His eyes bucked like quarters.
"Excuse me?!" he barked back, wiping his sweaty forehead with his arm. "I already sprayed him!"
Down on the floor, the man started losing his mind, sobbing uncontrollably as his tear-soaked eyes caught sight of Guard Obo’s fresh corpse across the container. He let out a pathetic, snotty wail, thrashing around on the concrete. "Please! Oh God, please don't kill me! I got a family! Please!"
I clicked my tongue and rolled my eyes again.
"Stop all that damn yelling," I snapped, stepping closer. "You couldn't have seriously thought you were making it out of this alive."
The man choked on his own spit, gasping for air, trembling under Dame’s barrel.
"Your first mistake was giving your life to someone who couldn't even back her shit up," I told him. "Brooklyn led us straight to y'all. I ain't even have to do much. If she hadn't dragged her own family into her messy-ass scheme, you wouldn't be down here begging for your lives right now."
I turned my head toward Dame, tilting my chin up. "Finish him so we can go."
Dame stared at me. His jaw dropped open as he appeared appalled. He looked between me and the crying man on the floor.
“I can’t.”
“You can and you will. We not leaving until you wrap this shit up. I held my end, now it’s time to hold up yours. Wrap this shit up, please.”
“Adanna.” He was pleading with his eyes.
I shook my head as I leaned close to his ear. Then, I said,”My mother always taught me, 'Pity for a wolf is murder to the sheep.' They took your kindness for weakness, Dame, and repaid you with deceit. Who’s to say they didn’t watch her violate you?"
I pressed my hand against his back, feeling the tension rise and fall with his breathing.
"Do not allow your good heart to make you soft. Handle your damn business... and meet me outside when you're done."
I didn't even make it to the exit door before three sharp pops echoed through the metal container.
POP.
POP.
POP.
I paused at the threshold, waiting a few moments until Dame walked out. He stepped out and stared into my eyes.
"Why did you just make me do that?" he asked, his voice raw, frustrated, and thick with conflict.
I looked up into his face, keeping my expression calm. "I need you to understand that anyone... any motherfucka that tries you, deserves death. You are a King, Dame. You are in the right, and you deserve to be standing here just like I do. Don't ever let nobody trick you out of your spot."
Dame shook his head, running a hand over his face as his frustration boiled right over. "But this was unnecessary! We didn't have to do all this!"
I watched the conflict playing out across his features, realizing how deeply this was fucking with him. Dame was street-raised, but he didn't kill the way I killed. To me, taking a life was as casual as eating lunch, but I knew this was a lot for his soft heart to process.
I bit back an eye roll, softening my posture.
"Would you like a hug?" I asked smooth.
Dame squinted down at me suspiciously, searching my face for a sign that I was playing with him. After a long second, he gave a quiet nod.
I stepped in and wrapped my arms around him, and held him tight. I felt his tall frame slowly relaxing as he leaned his weight into me.
While I held him, a truth settled in my mind: he needed to learn that I was never going to be his peace, but I was always going to be his protector.
I really just wanted to have some fun today, but I also needed to show him how far I was willing to go to cover his back.
I knew he didn't want to talk about what had been done to him in that house, but I hoped my little tribute of vindication would suffice while he worked through it.
After a long moment, we pulled apart. I walked over to the shipping container, slammed the heavy metal door shut, locked the industrial latch tight, and slid the key right back into my pocket.
Then, I casually took my husband's hand, locked our fingers together, and walked us back through the maze of cargo boxes.
"Don't worry, I'll drive," I said smoothly. "You still hungry?"
Dame just shook his head, staring off into space as we walked.
"Well, I'm starving," I replied. "So we can pick up something to eat before we head home and we need some new furniture in the house. That couch is the first thing to go.”
We reached the truck and slid inside.
As I adjusted the rearview mirror, I caught Dame out of the corner of my eye. His head was tilted down, and his chin rested against his collarbone while he stared at the rubber floorboards.
I reached across the center console, placing my fingers under his chin, and forced his head up.
"Keep your head up, King," I murmured. "We about to go back in front of people, so tighten up."
Dame let out a low grumble, shifting his tall frame in the passenger seat. "I am tightened up..."
I hit the dashboard, put on some Anita Baker to smooth out the energy in the cab, and pulled off into the afternoon heat.
As we rolled past the security gate, I caught Nyah’s attention through the tinted glass. I gave her a sharp nod. She repeated the signal back to me, and turned on her heel. She was headed toward the container maze to clean up our mess.