Chapter 31
I swiped through the photo album on Shar’s phone as I sat waiting for her to wake up from the concoction I’d given her. Before I left the site of the car crash, I turned off the cellular data and her location services so her exact location couldn’t be found until I wanted it to be. I was sure Maceo was losing his mind with worry while we were sitting in the basement of the last place he’d think to look… his safe house.
When I spoke to him before shutting off the phone features, I could tell he was livid. I imagined he wanted to break my neck about his bitch. It was laughable. When I woke up this morning, nothing was on my mind but murder. Last night, my plan came to me in the form of an off-duty officer flirting with me at the gas station. I was skeptical at first when she approached me, being that I wasn’t sure if the local authorities had my picture or not.
Then I realized she was out of her jurisdiction. She had no clue who I was, and that worked in my favor. I invited her back to my hideout spot, and we had a time before I had to put her to sleep… a casualty of war. I needed her cruiser and her uniform.
When I checked the tracker upon waking up, I was hoping to get Maceo’s ass, but when I saw Shar get out of the car, I had the idea to snatch that bitch up. The guy tailing her was just like the cop, a casualty of war. If I didn’t kill him first, I wouldn’t have gotten to her.
“Nasty asses,” I mumbled as I watched a video of Maceo hitting Shar from the back.
She had a ton of videos of them. Was sex the only thing they did? Too bad I didn’t get a chance to test drive him before I killed him. Then again, it was best that I hadn’t. Just from the way he was tearing her ass up, I might have been tempted to keep him around longer than necessary.
Closing out of the photo album, I tossed the phone aside and stood to my feet. Climbing on the table I had her tied to, I straddled Shar as I looked down at her. She really was a pretty bitch. If I wasn’t set on disposing of her, I could make some real money off of her.
She stirred slightly. I guess the drugs were wearing off.
“Wake up,” I said, slapping the side of her face.
She groaned as she finally came to and looked up at me.
“Welcome back.”
“Get the fuck off of me, you twisted bitch!”
“You haven’t seen twisted yet. I thought you would have liked being strapped down. I’ve seen the videos. Man, you’re a dirty little slut. It’s cool though. I like that.”
“I promise you’re gonna die a violent death.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see how long it takes your boyfriend to find you.”
She gave me a smug look. “I’m not worried about that. My husband will always come for me.”
“Oooo, husband! So I didn’t ruin your wedding after all, huh? You have to be a cold bitch to still get married after your friends were murdered.”
“You have to be a cold bitch to put a bomb in a body.”
I laughed as I hopped off the table. “I outdid myself. I wish I could have seen it in person, but I heard it was glorious. No funeral for that one. You see what happens when you go sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong? There are consequences, baby.”
“Consequences? You don’t think you’ll pay the price for everything you’ve done, Charity? All the innocent lives you helped take? All the families you destroyed?”
I gave her a slow clap. “You feel good up on that soapbox, boo? Save your attempt at making me see the error of my ways.”
“What happened to make you so damn evil and heartless? Like, what are you getting from all of this?”
“ Paid . At least I was until you, your little husband, and his flunkies got in my way. I guess I should say you were put in my way, thanks to my backstabbing brother and my father’s best friend. It’s true that family fucks you over the hardest. I guess it’s fair because I fucked him over first.” I laughed to myself. “I didn’t expect his get back game to be like this. Turns out he infiltrated your organization and put you all on my trail, unbeknownst to me. That’s why you found me with the last group. I wanted to know just who was fucking up my money.
“If it wasn’t for you, I could have easily taken out your man. Maceo didn’t have a clue because, like most men, he’s stupid. They see a pretty face and a fat ass and don’t think about the possibility that a bitch is dangerous. See, the plan was to charm him right out of his boxers. Once I put this pussy on him, I promise I could have gotten whatever I wanted from him. But you? You were on me from the jump, so I had to improvise.”
Shar laughed. “No, you were stupid. You didn’t hide your hand very well. I’m from the hood, and I grew up around real niggas. I’ve been a real bitch since I popped out of my mama’s pussy, and I know when a ho is up to something. I should have beat your ass when you kept asking about my man, but I let you live.”
“Let me live? Girl, you are no match for me.”
“Let me off this table and we can run it.”
I rolled my eyes as I walked over to the table off to the side. “You have heart. I like that. Let’s see how long you can keep that same energy.” I picked up a knife and walked back over to her. “Take your pick. What should I cut off of you first?”
“Get the fuck away from me!” she screamed, trying to free herself from the shackles.
“The more you fight it, the more it’s gonna hurt. How about this pretty little ring finger?”
I grabbed her hand, but she balled her fist up.
“Open it,” I said, putting the knife to her throat.
This bitch spit in my face. “Fuck you!” she screamed.
I slapped her. “You know, I’m tempted to leave you alive and just maim you for the rest of your life. I can tell you take pride in your looks. Imagine waking up every day with permanent reminders of what happens when you don’t mind your business.” I leaned in closer to her, roughly grabbing her face. “It would give me great pleasure to slice this pretty little face up and watch you bleed.”
I trailed the knife from her throat, down between her breasts to her stomach. Though she didn’t show it, I could smell a small hint of fear on her. I wanted her scared. It wouldn’t be gratifying if she wasn’t afraid. Just as I went to cut her, the lights in the basement went out, leaving the space pitch black.
“Shit!” I cursed.
Heaving a heavy sigh, I put the knife down and pulled out my phone and my gun. Turning on the flashlight, I walked over to the door that housed the breaker box and water heater. Inside, I flipped a switch, but nothing happened. I could hear Shar trying to free herself in the background.
“You’re wasting your time!” I called over my shoulder.
I tried flipping the switch again, and this time, the lights came on.
“There we go.”
I walked back into the open area, only to find that Shar was gone and the rope I’d bound her with on the floor. Before I could react, I was met with a hard kick to the back that sent me to the floor and my gun sliding under a shelf.
“Shit!” I hissed as I tried to pull myself up.
A kick to my face put a stop to that. Rolling over onto my back, I looked up into the faces of two of the women I remembered seeing at brunch with Shar.
“Get the fuck up,” one of them said.
I spit out blood as I climbed to my feet and steadied myself.
“You want first, Jaeda?” the little one asked. “I don’t want the bitch to say we jumped her.”
“How kind of you.”
The next thing I knew, there was a foot flying at my head. That kick to the face had me a little discombobulated, and I didn’t have time to react before her foot connected with my temple. My body hit the floor with a thud, and my ears started ringing.
“Get the fuck up, bitch,” Jaeda said, grabbing me by my ponytail.
She yanked me to my feet. I tried to elbow her off me, but the bitch grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. With my face free and clear, the other girl kicked me in it again.
“I know you didn’t just try to hit my sister, ho!” she yelled.
Jaeda freed my hair and pushed me toward her sister, who hit me with two quick jabs to the face and a kick to the stomach.
Jaeda laughed. “I thought we weren’t gonna jump her?”
“We aren’t jumping her. We haven’t hit her at the same time, right, bitch?”
The little one kicked me as I tried to crawl toward my gun.
“This what you looking for?” Jaeda asked, going to snatch it up. “You don’t want a fair fight, Charity? Or should I call you Quinn? Whatever your name is, bitch, you tried to kill my brother and his wife.”
“Your brother should have stayed out of my fucking business,” I spat venomously. “What’s it to him if a few nobodies go missing? Aren’t y’all a fucking crime family?”
“We are far from being the same. You take people to steal their organs. We stop people like you.”
“Oh, please! You’re a glorified hood vigilante. I did my research when I found out who your brother was. Don’t act so high and mighty, princess. How many people had to pay the price for your family to have their status? You and I aren’t so different. We both sacrifice others for money. I just don’t sugarcoat my shit.”
“Please let me murk this bitch right now,” the little one said.
Jaeda shook her head. “No. Maceo wants her, so she’s his.”
Just then, the basement door opened, and Maceo appeared on the first step, dressed in all black from head to toe. His face was void of emotion as he descended the stairs with his eyes trained on me. He crossed the room and stepped toe to toe with me as he towered over my short frame. I smirked as I stared up at him.
“You had to send your sisters to take care of me first?” I asked. “Couldn’t take care of me by yourself?”
Instead of a response, his hand came around my neck, gripping it tightly.
“You gonna kiss me or what?” I choked out.
He chuckled. “The only kiss I have for you is the kiss of death.”
I felt a syringe being jabbed into my arm. It didn’t take long for my body to feel the effects of whatever he’d given me. I felt myself go limp before he picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder.
“I have plans for you,” he said as he carried me out through a door I hadn’t noticed before. “Big plans.”