Chapter 27 Kavita Ridley
Kavita Ridley
The throbbing in her head kept pulsating.
Her wrists started to go raw from the tightness of the rope.
She began feeling sick, wondering if Franklin had done this to other women.
Kavita had a feeling in the depths of her gut that maybe this was his way of truly clearing his name with Lucky.
Was this whom she was set to marry? Was Franklin a person who got a thrill from torturing others for fun or survival?
The smell of gasoline wafted to her nose, and her head slammed against the floorboards with every turn. Her eyes started to brim with tears.
She had never imagined dying at the hand of the man she loved.
Blindfolded, Kavita could only see darkness.
Streams of moonlight peeked through, but nothing more.
The men were silent in the car, as if they, too, feared the same fate.
Kavita refused to feel sorry for herself.
She had been playing with fire for so many years.
The heat had finally caught up with her, with nowhere to go.
The car halted with a jerk, sending her head to the back of the seat once more.
As the door swung open, Kavita didn’t put up a fight like she’d been planning to.
Instead, when they grabbed the back of her shoulder, she let them.
The tears falling down her face were real, but she wasn’t going to be a threat to them.
A threat meant more men. More men meant more protection for Lucky.
If she were easy, the threat for her would be lessened.
She hoped this would give her family a chance.
For once, she wished she’d listened to Franklin.
Her heels felt too tight around her swollen feet.
Each toe throbbed with every clumsy step she took.
Kavita limped as one man let go of her, further indicating they didn’t see her as a threat.
She leaned forward, getting too off-balance and falling to the ground.
Although her vision wasn’t clear, she could feel the blood trickling down her knee.
A man’s strong arm wrapped around the backs of her knees, while his other hand held her neck. He carried her the rest of the way.
Kavita moved her head to the side, smelling a familiar scent.
Oil and the fishy smell of the water. She was at the shipping docks.
Fear appeared in her mind. What if they were shipping her away or making her be a slave?
Without her family, she would be nothing.
The blindfold was peeled off, and she saw only Lucky.
The man who’d carried her was long gone.
Her heart held a smile for her because her face surely couldn’t.
Lucky stepped closer, looking into her eyes.
“Franklin sure does know how to pick ’em. It’s a shame you are such a beautiful lady.”
Kavita said nothing. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of her pleading for forgiveness.
She knew how this worked, but to what end, was her only question.
A rat scurried across her feet as the damp, moldy air surrounded them.
She wanted nothing more than to see Lucky wrapped like a pig ready for slaughter.
He was as vile as one, and should be treated as such.
“I can tell you got a million words a minute in that pretty little head of yours. Don’t get any slick ideas just because I am here alone. I will kill you in an instant, you hear me?”
Kavita nodded aggressively, keeping her eyes down.
The old Kavita would have spat in his face a long time ago.
But her constant poor decisions had gotten her this far.
Maybe acting like Amelia was the way to go for now.
Her sister never let anyone know what her next move was.
Kavita, on the other hand, wore her emotions on her sleeve, where they were waiting to roll and pop off on anyone and everyone.
“Speak up, girl, just like your father did,” Lucky said, slamming the palm of his hand on a table, causing an echo inside the warehouse.
Everything was boarded up and covered in white cloths. The only thing she could see was the stars peeping through the broken ceiling panels.
“I don’t let my own son ignore me, and I surely ain’t starting now,” he spat.
Lucky paced in circles before striking her hard on the face.
“That’s the problem with you young women. You forget your place in this world.”
Kavita’s face started to swell from the hit. She still would not give him the satisfaction he wanted. Although she could feel her eyes turning red, that was all he would get from her. Aside from a cough as rough ropes were tied tightly around her chest.
“If your sister comes in here with any funny business, so help me God, your body will be at the bottom of the Hudson River before day breaks. Do you hear me?”
Kavita looked up. He had threatened her, but mentioning her body as if she were no longer in existence scared her more than she wanted to show.
“Oh, there it is. Fear. I can smell it on you. That’s all I need.”
Kavita blinked fast at the thought of her body sinking with weights around her.
Dying alone was her worst fear. Not a lot of things haunted her, but the thought of water slowly filling her lungs pained her.
Lucky was not testing her this time. She prayed to God for the first time in a long time. She whispered to herself, “Amen.”
“Honey, you’re going to need more than God to help you today.” He smirked, reeking of alcohol.
There was something poetic, in a way, for Kavita to arrive here by the same shipping dock, and dying here would be coming full circle. But if she was to die today, she would make sure she wasn’t the only one going.