Chapter 24 #2
Lauren’s eyes met mine and something in my stomach twisted. Like me, she knew not to wear her reaction on her face. Of course. My baby is smart. Her dark eyes were depthless, almost soulless. Was that an act? Or did someone really break her? Did they do that?
Or was it me?
My eyes scanned over the rest of her body, settling at her upper arm where the hand of some nigga was clutching her way too fucking tight. It was a territorial type of hold, like he really thought he owned her. My jaw clenched.
Keep a straight face, I reminded, just before promising myself that I was gonna break that hand before the night was over.
“Yo, you Kain, right?” I was asked this question by the man who didn’t have his hands on my girl. I squinted at the stupid question. Who the fuck else would I be? “Yeah, yeah…” he answered his own question. “I thought you were.”
Both men were about my age, if not two or three years older. I guess that’s why the one who was digging his nails into Lauren thought he could call me—
“Bruh,” he exclaimed. “The state attorney’s daughter—we got her.”
I didn’t like the way he said that shit. Lauren is a person, not a sports fish.
Rather harshly, he shoved my girl further into the light.
Lauren winced ever so slightly, pained by the roughness of his movements.
I could feel the muscle between my eyebrows twitch involuntarily.
Once she was in the light adequately enough, he finally let her arm go, inviting me to take a look for myself.
All I could see was the disregard he had for her body.
The indents of his fingernails had settled into her skin.
There would be bruises and scabs tomorrow morning.
I reached out, my hand brushing against the superficial cuts.
Under the feel of my touch, I could sense her body grow a little less tense.
That’s right, baby. You’re safe.
Tucking a finger under her chin, I raised her head to bring her eyes to mine. I searched for answers in them. Baby, what did they do to you?
It was almost painful to have to look away. They didn’t catch the true meaning of my actions. The last thing anyone would expect was that Lauren Alyssa Caplan was mine. The last thing anyone would expect was that I was hers, too. I didn’t even think she fully realized that second truth herself.
“I’m Jerome,” the handsy one introduced himself, and then pointed to the man behind him. “This is my partner, Grip.”
When I finally spoke, my tone was natural. I had learned to not let my emotions affect my exterior a long time ago.
“And?”
He puffed out his chest, not liking my dismissive tone.
“And we the niggas that got her, know what I’m sayin’?
” he asserted as if to say until I paid the bounty, Lauren still belonged to them.
To further drive his point, he reached out to grab her.
As a reflex, she cringed away from his hands, crashing into my chest. My arm came around and swiveled her behind me.
With Lauren out of his reach, Jerome pointed at her and shouted, “You ain’t paid for her yet!”
Who the fuck does this nigga think he’s shouting at?
I straightened up at the sound of that disrespectful ass tone, my eyes daring him to rethink his approach.
If he wanted to make power moves, he’d better be able to back that shit up.
Jerome took a step back, patting his waistband as a reflex.
I recognized the impulse well—he was feeling for his gun.
Bitch made individuals always feel for their guns before they need to, thinking that it comes off as hard when they let niggas know they’re carrying.
The gesture didn’t disturb me in the slightest. “Try me.”
His partner tried to cut into the tension. “Look, we don’t want no problems, Kain. We’d just like to speak to Silas about that money we ‘posed to get for her.”
“Silas ain’t here.”
“Then we can come back with her when he is,” Jerome remarked. He extended a hand, beckoning for Lauren to come back. When she didn’t move, he promised, “I swear I won’t let Grip touch you again.”
Again.
My eyes darted to the lanky nigga standing behind Jerome. I must’ve forgotten to keep a straight face because he took one look at my expression and moved three steps back. Nodding to myself, I broke the silence.
“What was it—two hundred thousand?”
Jerome relaxed, solaced by the promise of money, hope in his tone when he replied, “Yeah. Two hundred Gs.”
“I’ve got your money,” I disclosed.
Over my shoulder, I glanced at Lauren and motioned for her to take several paces back.
Once she was sufficiently out of the way, I stepped aside and nodded the two men inside.
I watched them think about it for maybe a second, ignoring the warning signs, blinded by money.
They didn’t even hesitate as they crossed the threshold, and into the house.
In truth, I had no intention of shelling out any kind of money for Lauren. Like I said, she’s a person. You don’t pay for people. At least—I don’t.
Instead, I had other plans.
Earlier, when Vance had pulled the security camera footage onto the living room TV, I saw Lauren—and two other people that I was gonna have to kill.
Even in the best of circumstances, even if these two men were the kindest kidnappers in the game—I couldn’t just buy her off them.
If that were the case, they’d get their money, but Silas would never get her.
And soon they would begin to wonder why Silas was still after a girl that they, by all accounts, had already sold to him. I could never be that sloppy.
From the moment I opened the door, I knew that I was looking at two dead bodies. I knew I was going to kill them.
I had to. I didn’t really have much of a choice.
However, after seeing the way they’d manhandled her, after seeing her tear-stained cheeks, after seeing her cuts and bruises, and after hearing the words, ‘I swear I won’t let Grip touch you again.’—I didn’t just have to kill them.
I wanted to.