If I don’t do this, I will be back in Marcus’s hands. I could handle that, if only I knew that everyone I cared about would be okay. No one is safe though, I know this deep in my soul. Bowie knows he is in danger from his father, but he doesn’t know about Red. I have to stay alive and make sure he knows that he’s being betrayed.
She immediately starts to walk backwards, but she stops when she sees me hesitate. A cruel smile plays on her lips. “You won’t shoot me; you don’t have it in you.”
Her words shake me from my momentary stupor. Ignoring her taunt, I try to focus on a spot on her shoulder. I may not be able to take her life, but I could wound her bad enough that I would be able to get away. Taking aim, I squeeze the trigger.
She jumps away at the last second, taking the shot in her chest instead of the shoulder. As soon as she hits the ground, I take off running, hoping to get out the back door before Red and Marcus make it into the house. Luck isn’t with me; before I can even make it to the kitchen, the front door slams open and I can hear footsteps rushing my way. I turn and run down the hallway, not sure of where I am going.
My first instinct is to go to mine and Bowie’s room, barricade the door and wait for Bowie to show up. Just as I reach the stairs, I see the door to the basement. My conversation with Tag runs through my mind, go to the safe room if anything happens. Changing directions, I jerk the door open and race down the steps. I can hear them running behind me, but I don’t take time to look back. Instead, I rush to the safe room. 44295, 44295, 44295, I chant as I push the numbers in.
As soon as I hear the clicking sound, I push the door open and step inside. Slamming it behind me, I slam my hand against the red button. The word ARMED flashes across the screen, just before pounding sounds at the door. A second later Red shouts, “Fuck!”
Torture Time
Bowie
Wiping my blood covered hands on my jeans, I look at Lock and shake my head. The man I’ve known for years is gone. He’d be better suited to wear an Outlaw patch than a badge. “You shouldn’t be here for this.”
He arrived about an hour ago, ready for blood. When he was stopped at the gate, he nearly bashed the prospects head in. It took everything me and Tin had in us to pull him off the kid. When we finally did, he came after me. Took me pulling my gun to get him to cool off.
“She’s my sister. I’m gonna find her and anyone that stands in my way will pay,” He says, his eyes filled with fury.
Nodding at his words, I turn back to Cash and send my fist into his face for the third time. “Where the fuck is she?”
The sound of bone crunching drowns out his reply. Finally a slurred,
fuck you
, comes from his lips.
I look down to my father, the man who has made my life a living hell, and have to battle the urge to end him here and now. Tied to a chair, covered in blood, he still looks smug. “Boy, you ain’t ever gonna find that bitch. Her rich husband is gonna hide her away, so she’ll never see you again.”
I stare at him, wondering what fuckin’ game he’s playing now. I’m not stupid enough to think he doesn’t have something planned. If he didn’t, we would’ve never found him. I still can’t believe he was just sitting in bar, his favorite bar, waiting for us to show up. It was all too fuckin’ easy. “I just want to know where Shay is. If you tell me, you just might come out of this still breathing.”
“I’ll never leave this room alive, but I’ll die knowing you’ll never lay eyes on her again. You may have taken my club, but I took your woman.”
Just as I pull my fist back to hit him again, Toke steps in front of me. Without hesitation, he pulls his piece and puts a hole in Cash’s knee. “I’ve learned a lot about torture from your ass. If you don’t give Bowie the answers he needs, I’m gonna put every damn lesson to real use on your ass.”
My father looks up at the man he once called friend, with a snarl on his face. “Are you helping him so you can get you a piece of spic pussy? If you wanted her so bad, I would’ve let you have a taste when she was warming my bed. You know I’m not greedy.”
Toke doesn’t bother answering him. Instead, he lifts a booted foot and grounds it into the bloody mess on Cash’s leg. “Tell him where the woman is.”
A howl leaves his throat as he slumps back into his chair. “Just fucking kill me, because I ain’t telling you shit.”
Tin steps up behind him and grabs him by the hair. Jerking his head back, he sends an elbow into our father’s already broken nose. “I promise you; you’ll talk. The only choice you have is how much pain that you go through before it happens.”
Cash’s body shakes with the force of the blow, but he shakes it off as if it was nothing more than a tap. Jerking his head from Tin’s hold, he spits a mouth full of blood on the floor. “I should’ve worn a damn condom more often, because both of you are nothing more than a waste of jizz.”
“What you should’ve done is acted like a fuckin’ father. Maybe then you wouldn’t have two sons who want to kill you right now,” My words come out in a shout. Knowing this man is the reason I’m walking this earth makes me sick.
He looks over his shoulder at my brother and shakes his head. “You, I can understand. You’ve got your Mama’s tainted blood, but Bowie…”
His words are cut off, when Toke places a bullet in his other knee. “Mention Nina again and I swear I’ll cut your ass apart, piece by piece.”
“If you keep putting holes in him, he’ll die before you get a chance,” Lock adds as he steps up to send his own fist in Cash’s face. “All your talking is only delaying the inevitable. Just tell us where those fuckers took my sister.”
I raise my hand, letting them all know to shut up. “I’m tired of this shit. If you ain’t gonna tell me what I need, I’m gonna do more than put a few bullets into you.”
“Do your worst,” He says with a snarl, before leaning his head back against the back of the chair.
I pull my knife from its case and look to Tin. “Get the torch.”
He stares at my hand for a second before nodding his head. I wait until he steps away to bend down to Cash’s side. I send my knife into his side and whisper, “Let the games begin.”
Locked In
Shay
The sound of my heart beating echoes in my ears as I force myself to take a calming breath. Standing near the door, my body shaking with fear, I listen to Red and Marcus talking. Their voices are muffled, not much more than whispers. Neither one seems at all worried about the fact that Domino is laying in the kitchen, bleeding. In fact, they never mention her at all.
Visions of Domino’s body falling to the floor fill my head. Like a movie, I see it all again. My aim was true; if she hadn’t of moved, I would have hit her in the shoulder. It would’ve hurt, but she would’ve been able to walk away from it. Having had only a quick glance at her, I know that she won’t be walking anywhere for a long time, if ever at all.
Never in my life have I thought of taking another person’s life. Even when Marcus was at his worst, I never considered killing him. Hurting him, yes. Killing him, no. The thought of Domino dying because of me makes my stomach turn. No matter what she did, she didn’t deserve to die.
Shaking away thoughts of her, I look around the room and wonder if there is something I can use to block the door but know, even if there is, there is no way I can pull it over here. Giving up my moment of insanity, I lean against the door and start to pray that Tag was right and there is no way anyone will get in here.
I’m safe. They can’t get to me in here,
I chant to myself in a whisper.
Red’s voice raises, drowning out my prayers. “There isn’t a damn thing we can do. We can blow the fuckin’ house up, and that door would still hold tight and the room would still be standing. The door is locked and there ain’t no way we can get it open. Even with the code, once she armed it from the inside, it’s a done deal until she decides to open it.”
Yes, I can stay in here forever and they won’t ever be able to touch me. The only problem with that is that I have to get to Bowie. I have to let him know that Red is working with Cash.
“Take the door off the hinges.” Marcus orders, sounding frantic.
Panic races through me, until Red responds. “You’re a stupid motherfucker. Do you really think Bowie would put all the money into this room if you could just take the door off the hinges?”
His words send a wave of relief through me, even though my brain knew Marcus’s plan wouldn’t work it still scared me. I lean my head against the door and whisper to myself. I’m not coming out, until Bowie comes and gets me. I just hope he shows up soon.
“Do something. Get the door open now.”
Red’s voice gets even louder. “This is the last fuckin’ time I’m gonna say it. The door is locked. We can’t open it from out here. The bitch isn’t coming out until she’s damn good and ready.”
“She’s mine. We have to get her out so she can come home with me,” Marcus screams, causing me to take a step away from the door.
I can hear the irritation in Red’s voice when he responds. “My advice, get yourself another woman.”
I let out a relieved breath and turn away from the door. Doing my best to ignore the conversation outside of the door, my eyes scan the room. Looking past the crates that line the wall, I see bottles of water sitting on a counter near the back wall. Licking my dry lips, I make my way to the water. Picking up a bottle, a pain shoots through my side. As the adrenaline of the last few minutes start to fade, all of my injuries make themselves known again. Not able to stay on my feet, my body sinks to the floor.
Leaning against the wall, I stretch my legs out in front of me and lick my lips. The taste of dried blood fills my mouth, and a shudder makes its way through my body. I raise my hands and gently touch my split lip. Lifting my hand, I feel blood slowly dripping down the side my face. A large gash runs from my temple to my ear, from what I assume was the second time Red hit me.
Dropping a hand to my waist, I push up my shirt and run a hand over my ribs. Even a gentle touch, causes another wave of pain to shoot from my body. I let out a long moan, gasping for air. With each breath, it’s harder to fill my lungs. I assume my ribs are broken; I can only hope they haven’t punctured a lung. If it is, I know there is nothing I can do to stop from smothering to death. In fact, there is nothing I can do but wait. Bowie will come; I know he will. He’ll save me.
Leaning my head against the wall, my eyes drift shut. I try to force them to stay open, but I can’t. Sleep is coming quickly and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Suddenly, today’s events pop into my head. Red’s fist coming at me; Domino’s hateful voice shouting for him to get me into the car. Visions of me on the ground and Red’s booted foot crushing into my body come next. Then, Tag’s voice plays in my head, followed by the sound of a gunshot.
No, no… How could I have forgotten? A slow tear runs down my face as I think of the boy I’ve grown to love. Just the thought of his body lying on the ground causes bile to race up my throat. He’s just a kid, just a kid. How could they hurt him?
My last thought before the blackness takes over is
Please God, please let Tag be okay
.
Be A Man
Bowie
“I told you what you wanted to know, so what the fuck are you waiting for,” Cash begs, letting his head drop down to his chest. “Please kill me.”
I grab his hair and jerk his head back. It took hours of torture, but he finally broke. Looking down at him, I have to wonder how he still has the strength to talk. His face is so battered that he’s barely recognizable. His clothes are covered in blood, and the overpowering scent of burnt flesh surrounds him. “You’re a liar, Cash. I won’t put you out of your misery until I know you’ve told me the truth.”
“It’s the truth. I promise, she’s at your house. I knew you wouldn’t look for her there; it was the perfect hiding place.” The swagger Cash held onto in the beginning is just a memory; all that’s left is a broken old man.
Before I can tell him what I think of his promises, Toke joins the conversation. “No, he can’t die until we find your woman.”
In the past few hours, I’ve come to realize that Toke is a good man to have by my side. Still, I can’t forget all the years he was Cash’s lap dog. Willingly or not, he followed Cash’s orders even when he knew they could put my life in danger. It’s gonna take some time to learn to trust him completely.
“I’m not stupid, ain’t believing shit that comes out of his mouth. The bastard lives until I have proof she’s where he says she is.”
Tin walks into the room just as the words leave my mouth, shoving his phone into his pocket. “Rollo’s there.”
I pulled Rollo from the hospital and sent him to the house, to check out Cash’s story. If anyone can check the place out un-seen, it’s him. “What’s he saying? Any sign of Shay?”
“I told you she was there,” Cash mumbles as blood leaks down his chin.
Tin ignores his words and answers my question. “He said his gut is telling him that she’s in there somewhere.”
I would trust Rollo’s gut any day. “If he says she’s in there, she’s there.”
“He also said there’s some fancy ass car in the middle of your driveway. The bastard didn’t even worry about hiding it.”
“The bastard’s there,” Lock’s hell bent to save his sister; he’s not gonna let her stay in danger any longer than he has too.
He’s right. There is only one person that car can belong to: Marcus. If he’s there, that means my woman is too. Just the thought of him near her causes my blood to boil. “Anything else?”
“He hasn’t went in yet, but he got a look inside.” Tin explains. “Most of the curtains were drawn, but he got a peek in the kitchen window.”
Toke moves towards him. “Did he see anyone?”
“Yeah, he did. No one breathing though,” Tin says with a nod, before turning his head to look at me. “There’s no movement in the house, but there’s a body on the kitchen floor. He said it’s Domino, but I don’t understand that. She was in on this shit; who would kill her?”