Chapter 28
I sat across from Indigo Rogers, in the back room of the bar he owned. He was a long-time friend of my father and somewhat of an uncle to me… Just one I didn’t fuck with like that. I wasn’t happy about being here because I just had this feeling he was about to be on some bullshit. Yet and still, I put business on hold and entrusted my team to act like they knew what the fuck they were being paid for, to come see him.
“How are you, Quinn?” he asked, taking a sip of his beer.
“Cut the small talk, Indigo. Why am I here?”
He chuckled. “Still feisty, I see.”
“And very much impatient. What do you want?”
“I’m sorry to hear about your father and your brother.”
“We’re not doing that. Get to the reason you called me. I hate repeating myself, so I’m not gonna ask you again.”
He sighed. “Fine. There is no easy way to say this. Quame asked me to visit him after you came to see him.”
“Okay, and?”
“We had a long talk, and he felt like you have been being reckless over the last year. Under you and Blane, he lost a lot of money with shipments being detained before pickup. Clients have lost all faith in you two as his suppliers and threatened to look elsewhere. After your little temper tantrum at the prison, he was sure you would seek to remove Blane as the middleman and take his company for yourself. Seeing as Blane isn’t here, I can only assume the worst for his fate.”
“Indigo… you know as well as I do that all of this should have been mine. I’ve been doing this shit since I was fifteen. It’s because of me that he was even touching the kind of money he was making. It was me that made sure he was living comfortably behind bars. I did that.”
“I won’t take that from you, but this is what he wanted.”
“What he wanted? The fuck are you talking about?”
“You’re done. The clients have agreed to cut all ties with you.”
I sat there staring at him, unblinking. What did he just say? I could feel the blood rushing through my veins. All of a sudden, I felt heat spread throughout my body. That son of a bitch! After everything I’d done for him, this was how he repaid me! By cutting me off?
“In addition, I will be taking over,” Indigo added.
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
He pulled out an envelope and slid it across the table to me. I looked from it to him before picking it up. Opening the flap, I pulled out a handwritten letter from my father.
Quinn,
I know you’re probably livid, but I did what was best for business. With the way things have been going, I can’t risk losing more money than I already have. If I leave it to you, I’ll have nothing to come home to. You and Blane have been moving recklessly. I gave you all the tools to move underground, as safely as possible, yet you somehow managed to get caught. Before it’s all said and done, one or both of you are going to end up in jail or dead. Changes have been made. Since I’m sure you will follow through on your threat to take things from Blane, Indigo is taking over. That’s an order, not a request.
Quame
I read the letter at least five times before I looked up at Indigo. Balling the paper up, I threw it at him.
“This is bullshit. You’re smoking hot crack if you think I’m handing over the business I helped build, to you. Quame is dead. Quinton is dead. Blane is dead. This is mine, so fuck you. Fuck this letter, and fuck whatever my father was talking about contracts being ended.”
Indigo chuckled. “I was sure you were going to say that.” He stood from his seat and circled the table to stand behind me. “Here’s the thing, Quinn. I had to cash in a lot of favors to make this work in my favor.”
I sprang from the table to my feet. “Favors for what?”
He laughed then abruptly stopped. When he snapped his fingers, I felt the hands of Snake, his security, grab me. He twisted my arms behind my back and pushed me face first onto the table.
“Let me let you in on a little secret, Quinn,” Indigo said, leaning against the table. He gently stroked my face.
“Get your fucking hands off me,” I demanded.
“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna hurt you… yet. I want you to be aware of something though. It was Quinton who came up with the idea to get you out of the game.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
“Yeah. Baby boy was tired of being a lapdog. I mean, imagine running the whole operation from a technical standpoint and getting bird fed. You can’t fuck over people that are smarter than you, Quinn. Quinton was very connected to the underground world. Some, thanks to your father, but mostly on his own. The little fucker was into some deep, dark shit. I’m talking sick and twisted shit, but hey. We all have our vices.”
“You’re lying. Quinton would never have turned on me.”
He chuckled as he grabbed a handful of my hair and wrapped it around his hand.
“That was before he found out you were skimping him on his cut of the profit. Boy did that piss him off. Your brother vented to me about you all the time. He couldn’t wait to teach you a lesson. You know the group that’s been snatching up your shipments? All Quinton.
“You see, just like there are many black-market buyers, there are just as many who want to shut down the black-market trading all together. Maceo Dillinger is the son of one of the wealthiest crime families this side of the US. When he came up on Quinton’s radar, he thought it was the perfect opportunity to get back at you. He’d already been working for an agency and bringing victims to justice.
“All Quinton had to do was infiltrate their supposedly secure system. He practically handed you over to him. Once he had them on your trail long enough to get the clients on his side, he called them off. That’s why you have to do right by the people that work with and for you, baby. You never learned that. You’ve always been about yourself. You’re greedy and selfish as fuck. That’s the real reason your father put Blane in charge. Somebody had to keep you in line.”
I laughed. “And look how that worked out for him. Watching him bleed out after cutting his throat made my pussy wet. And you know what? I’m gonna do the same thing to you.”
“I’m sure you would like that,” Indigo said, standing tall with a grip still on my hair as he pulled me upright. “I heard you and your brother shared some of the same vices. You’re a nasty little thing, aren’t you? Makes me wonder if I should have a little fun with you before I kill you.”
I smirked. “We can have all the fun you want. Just know that only one of us is making it out of here alive.”
I knew the moment he had someone grab me that I was going to have to fight my way out of this one. Luckily, I was a bitch that loved to fight dirty. Mustering all my strength, I used Snake for leverage as I kicked Indigo in the chest with both of my custom-made spiked heeled boots. He stumbled backward, clutching his chest from being impaled.
I threw my head back with every bit of force I could muster, hitting Snake in the face. His grip loosened enough for me to free myself. I removed the switchblade from my bra and flicked it open. Swiftly, I shoved the blade right into Snake’s neck and twisted it as I pulled it out. He stumbled backward, grabbing his throat as the blood gushed from between his fingers. His body hit the floor with a hard thud.
I turned to Indigo, who was wheezing and struggling to breathe. My guess, my heel had impaled a lung. Slowly, I walked toward him and gave him another kick to the stomach, sending him to his knees.
“Rule number one when having a sit down with someone you intend to kill: Always check them for weapons. Just because I showed up alone doesn’t mean I won’t be protected.” I looked down at the switchblade in my hand. “Now. Didn’t I say you would suffer the same fate as Blane?” I moaned as I touched myself. “My pussy is wet just thinking about the amount of blood you’re about to shed.”
I grabbed him by his shirt and drove the knife into him repeatedly. The more I stabbed him, the more my hand was coated in his blood.
“You bleed so good, Indigo…” I said, pulling the knife out to examine my work.
He looked up at me with blood pouring from his mouth. I smiled.
“This didn’t work out the way you thought it would, huh? Don’t worry. I’ll put you out of your misery. Besides, I have a business to run and a nigga I need to body. I don’t have time for this shit.”
Without another word, I slid the knife across his throat. Blood poured from the gash as he fell forward and slumped to the floor. Stooping down, I wiped the blade off on his shirt before closing it and placing it back in my bra. Stepping over his body, I left the building the same way I came in.
Settled in my car, I backed out of the parking lot and drove out of the city. I knew there was no way I’d ever come back to Johnsville. There was nothing left here for me at this point anyway. Once I took care of Maceo and his bitch, I would get back on track in a new location far the fuck away from here.
Pulling out my phone, I sent a message to one of my guys to make sure they had my shipment. I was coming back a day early, and we had to make moves. Minutes went by, and I got no response. I sent another, only to have the same result.
“I know these bastards aren’t ignoring me,” I mumbled, pressing the call button.
All I got was a voicemail notification. That pissed me off. If there was one thing I hated more than anything, it was being ignored. Tossing the phone in the passenger seat, I merged onto the interstate and floored the gas. There was going to be hell to pay when I got back.
Three hours later
I turned down the long road that led to the farmhouse.
Something felt off. Reaching into my glove compartment, I grabbed my gun and placed it on my lap as I neared the clearing. What I saw made my brows furrow. There was nothing but yellow caution tape, indicating a crime scene. The front door was kicked in, and windows were shot out.
“What the fuck…” I mumbled, coming to a stop.
I climbed out of the car with my gun and headed inside. Flipping the light switch, I was greeted with nothing but blood stains, bullet holes, and overturned furniture all over the place. It looked like a fucking massacre had occurred. I walked through the house and out the back door. Taking the trail, I made my way to the old storm shelter only to find it empty.
“Fuck!” I screamed.
Just then, my phone rang. It was the same number I’d sent a text to one of my men. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were all dead, so who the fuck was calling me. Had Indigo gotten to them before he planned to kill me? Had they been stupid enough to get caught?
I stared down at the phone in my hand as it continued to ring. Finally, I swiped the button to answer but didn’t say anything. What I heard was laughter followed by the voice of Maceo in my ear.
“Checkmate, bitch.”