by Kenya Wright
Who cares? I want to fuck this one. I like her smell. I like her voice. I like the way she helps her family. I like the way she cooks.
“I’m sorry we never met before.” I extended my hand. “I’ll be regretting that for a while.”
“That’s fine.” She took mine. “I’m sure you’ve been busy.”
Warmth surrounded my fingers. I could’ve stayed in my kitchen all day and just held her hand.
“Don’t worry about the money.” I kept my hold, not ready to let go. “The restaurant will be closed, but you’ll be paid. In fact, I believe you need a raise.”
“Wow. Thank you.”
“You’ve been getting people in here. You’re the one filling the seats. You’ve done more, than I ever have. You deserve it.” I let go of her hand.
“Thank you so much. That means a lot to me. I really think Shalimar’s is a fun place and can be even better. I’m committed to working with you on your dream.”
“And I’m dedicated to working on yours. Let’s get together soon and discuss them.”
“Rafael!” Louis yelled. “We need your vote in here.”
Goddamn it. Can I have one minute? Now you need my vote? For what? No one asked me to vote on fucking with the Lion this morning?
I almost screamed at them, but she smiled and looked up at me.
“I can’t wait to meet with you then,” she said. “I’ll brainstorm and work on some ideas.”
“That sounds good.” I let out a long breath. “I’ll see you later, Gwen.”
Why the hell did it take me so long to meet her? So stupid.
I rushed to the front.
Louis and Jean-Pierre argued by the window. For some reason that scared me more, than Kazimir or the missing lions from the zoo. Kazimir being psychotic was the norm. Louis and Jean-Pierre not maintaining their calm, terrified me. If they didn’t keep it together and Giorgio sat in the hospital, then I would have to be responsible.
Fuck that. I’ve done enough tonight. They better get it together. I won’t be leading anybody this week.
I held out my hands. “Are we going or not?”
“Kazimir sent Bratva to the hospital. We got Giorgio out in time. We’re sending him down to Nice. It’s too hot in Paris for him right now.” Louis looked my way. “But that’s not the problem. The president called. He’s pulling the military out of this.”
“Well, that’s just great.” I sat down at the table, opened the bag, and pulled out Giorgio’s food.
Louis frowned at me.
“What? Giorgio is heading to Nice. He won’t eat it anyway.” I pulled out a fry and chomped on it.
Dear God. This is the best fry I’ve ever had.
I munched on it with pure joy in my heart. “Why did the President pull the military?”
“He didn’t know that we were going up against Kazimir. Frankly, the President wants no horse in this race.” Louis paced back and forth.
Jean-Pierre gazed out the window. He had his hands in his pocket. Exhaustion covered his face. Still, his gaze searched outside, as if Eden might walk down the street.
Louis continued, “Jean-Pierre wants to talk to Shalimar next.”
Oh yeah. I forgot about that. This day is rocking.
“I think we should wait it out.” Louis went back to pacing. “We’re safe here. The call should come in soon about where Eden’s at.”
“And if the call doesn’t come in?” Jean-Pierre scowled. “We need to move. No matter what. Let’s get to Shalimar. If Kazimir cares for his lover, half as much as I care for Eden, then being safe is an illusion. He’ll be coming from all sides. Just be prepared.”
I ate another fry. “We’ll have to kill Kazimir then. The way things are going. . .we’ll have to kill him regardless.”
Kazimir’s lover, Emily spoke up. I’d forgot she was even in the room. She’d hid herself well in the corner among the shadows.
“Maxwell will call,” she said. “If he hasn’t yet, that means they don’t have the information. But he’ll get it. No one has to die.”
But, sweetheart, someone will die. In fact, many will die before this day is over.
Louis said some more.
Kazimir’s lover kept quiet.
And Jean-Pierre stood there lost, and full of rage by the window. I knew that none of our words had hit him. When Jean-Pierre had his mind set on something, that would be his only focus until he got it.
“I’m not waiting for information. Let’s go.” Jean-Pierre grabbed Emily’s arm and guided them to the back where the driver had parked the limo. He left with his three remaining men. Another two had been added. Louis must’ve pulled men from outside.
“We’ve got to get control of Jean-Pierre.” Louis rubbed his forehead. “We should stay here. It’s safe. I have the place surrounded. Help me, Rafael.”
I dug into the bag, tore off some steak, and took a bite. “Jean-Pierre said safety is an illusion.”
“Jean-Pierre is hungry, sleep-deprived, and heartbroken. You need to take the reign.”
“I don’t want any responsibility tonight. You drive.”
“Fuck.” Louis kicked a table. It banged against a chair but didn’t fall over.
And then a woman screamed from outside.
What was that?
It came from the front, and not in the back where Jean-Pierre was. Also, many of our men were outside, so I relaxed and went back to enjoying Gwen’s food.
Louis hadn’t heard the scream anyway as he kicked the table again. “I should’ve stayed with Eden the whole time. We knew danger was coming our way. It was clear from the murders in Belladonna. And why the hell didn’t we check the necklace?”
“Everything was happening fast.” I stopped eating as more screams came from outside.
“What was that?” Louis scrunched his face in confusion and looked to the front of the restaurant.
An explosion came next.
I jumped up from the table with my gun out.
Another explosion boomed.
The ground trembled.
Goddamn it. Can’t I just get one minute of rest? To eat. To piss. To flirt with the damn chef.
And then the restaurant’s big front window filled with headlights. A V-8 engine roared. Louis spun around in the direction of the noise.
“Louis!” I ran his way.
The truck plowed through the window.
Shit!
I yanked Louis back.
An explosion of glass rained over us.
The truck’s big tires bulldozed the brickwork and then got lodged into the side wall, filling the place with dust. The driver moved the truck back and then tried to launch it forward again, doing his best to knock down the place.
“You motherfucker!” I jumped up and made sure Louis was okay.
Plaster fell from the ceiling.
My brain only had a second to register what had happened. Some ugly, Bratva bastard drove at the helm. Another sat in the passenger seat pulling out a shot gun. The front bumper had crashed into the aquarium, water and koi fish spilled out into the carpet.
Louis tried to pull me away. “Let’s go, Rafael.”
“Fuck this.” I stayed where I was, pointed, and shot the driver in the head. “I’m not running in my own city.”
They spat Russian back and shot at us.
One bullet came close to getting me in the arm.
“Suck my dick!” I pulled the trigger.
Louis shot the other in the head. But more trucks headed our way. And more sirens too.
There was no need to say anything else. Louis and I ran to the back, grabbed Gwen, met Jean-Pierre and everyone else, piled the limo, and sped off.
We should’ve never fucked with the Lion. This might be our downfall.
Mayhem filled the streets around a now crumbling Shalimar’s. Right in front of my restaurant, a battle had ensued—Bratva and Corsican. News helicopters picked up the scene. Police sped by us heading in that direction.
I don�
�t think Paris, or I will survive this. None of us will.
Chapter 18
Sex, Drugs, and Unicorns
Eden
I didn’t know how long I’d been trapped inside the couch.
Time passed in slow motion, when one sat in darkness.
I looked down at the dead body. “How much time has passed?”
Coughing, the dead man rolled his eyes as he often did. “Stop asking me that question. It reminds me of how long we’ve been here.”
“Sometimes it’s good to know how long you’ve been trapped.”
“Why?” The dead man coughed dust into his hand. “There’s no need to know how long you’ve been trapped, just as long as you get free. The days of freedom is what you count.”
“When I’m free, I’ll count them.” I scratched musical notes into the wooden wall.
The dead man didn’t say much, but when he did, he did so with a philosophical flair.
We talked a lot in those hours, or days, or maybe even minutes. Who knew how long I sat in here with him? The dead man had been a painter. He’d been married to his dead wife in the other couch for thirty years.
I was about to ask him about the secret to marriage, when the couch shook.
Oh God yes. Please, get me out of here! I don’t care, if it’s the devil. Anyone.
The top flung up.
The Devil’s face appeared, along with cool wind. “It smells in here.”
No embarrassment came my way. “Where else would I go to the bathroom?”
He yanked me out. “I see the princess still has her attitude.”
Should I be more compliant? You grabbed me, you monster.
He still wore the mask, but this time, red and orange flames spilled out of the sides, outlining his face. I didn’t know how he was able to do it.
Are the flames magic?
The Devil’s eyes glowed red. Long, black horns protruded from his forehead like a ram.
With those glowing red eyes, the Devil studied me. “Why is she looking at me like that?”
I whispered, “You are the Devil, but I’m not scared.”
The creepy guy who’d gave me the water, stood next to the Devil. “I may have put a little something in the water for fun. To warm her up.”
But aren’t they all creepy? I need names for the ones that are creepier than the rest. Demon names!
“What the hell did you give her?” the Devil growled at the other.
“A little plant from the motherland.”
“You put that shit in both bottles?”
“Yeah.” The guy laughed. “Fucking her will be even more fun now.”
The Devil pulled out a gun and shot the guy.
His body fell. Black worms appeared from the carpet in the thousands. They slid over his corpse and almost swallowed him. But, two men grabbed the dead man and hauled him off. And then the worms disappeared.
I didn’t move. It was hard enough to balance on my weak legs. It would be a minute, before I could run.
I’m going to either kill them or run. Shoot. We can all die together. I’ll set the place on fire. Set myself on fire and hug them close to me.
The whole group now wore moving uniforms. The words Proctor and Sons had been written on the backs of their smocks. I counted ten of them today. Only half from whenever they’d taken me.
They didn’t have masks on either. Just horns and flames like the Devil, but theirs were smaller. Their eyes didn’t glow red. Instead, their eyeballs were solid black, almost a mirrored surface.
Those eyes will melt from the fire.
They’d brought another couch in. It sat near me and out of place. This couch was blue and white striped.
“Eden!” My favorite childhood character materialized on the top—Uni the Unicorn. Glitter sprinkled where he appeared. He waved his rainbow tail. “Look. Our friend is here. Everyone say, ‘Hi, Eden!’”
Invisible kids giggled. “Hi, Eden!”
I’m losing my mind.
Still, I waved at the kids that I couldn’t see. “Hi, everybody.”
The Devil’s men looked at the space that I was waving at. They were so evil; they probably couldn’t see the unicorn.
That’s how this works. I see things because I’m good, and the demons can’t see shit.
I laughed at them. Loud and bold.
Someone muttered, “We may have to put her down.”
“I would like to see you try!” I laughed some more and turned to Uni.
“Would you like some ice cream, Eden?” Uni giggled. “I make the best ice cream in Imaginary Land.”
“No, Uni.” I rubbed my eyes. “But do you have a gun?”
“Uh. . .Eden.” Uni frowned. “That question made me sad.”
That question made me sad too, Uni.
A dark cloud appeared above him. Black and silver glitter rained down on Uni. “It’s not nice to play with guns.”
“Yeah. Well, I need a gun right now.” I fisted my hands.
“Jebo screwed us by drugging her. She’s gone in the head.” A man with a beard scowled. “She won’t know where it’s at.”
Uni pulled out a purple guitar with gold stars. “Maybe, we should sing a song to brighten the mood. When I’m sad, I love to sing songs.”
“Or.” My vision blurred a little. I smoothed the air to try and clear it up. “Uni, instead of singing, how about we get some knives and fuck these guys up.”
Uni frowned again. Lightning struck the dark cloud.
“Eh!” The Devil snapped his fingers in front of my face. “I just saved your life.”
Uni disappeared, but the glitter remained.
I blinked. “You saved my life?”
“That was Jebo.” The Devil pointed to the dead man. “He gave you that stuff to fuck you up. He wanted to rape you. He’d planned on coming here and doing it, but I got him.”
“And you shot him?”
“I did.”
“But only because you want to kill me yourself.”
The Devil nodded. The flames rose. “This is true, but one shouldn’t get lost in the details. I saved you in this moment, Eden. Where is Shalimar?”
I glared at him. “If I knew where Shalimar was, I would draw you a fucking map!”
The Devil chuckled.
Because of Shalimar, they’d been led to me. Because of Aunt Celina, they’d been led to Leo and Vibrato. My aunt’s greed and Shalimar’s silence had killed innocent people and trapped me to a bunch of psychos. As far as I was concerned, it was survival of the fittest.
“Rafael would know.” I thought about it. “If you follow Rafael, he could show you. I’ve heard that he goes by her house at night and sleeps in his car.”
And if you follow Rafael, he may know you’re following him. He’ll have Louis check you out. And maybe Jean-Pierre will find me.
The Devil glanced over his shoulder. “Where is Rafael now?”
A man walked up to him and looked down at his iPad screen. “Rafael was in the penthouse hours earlier talking to Jean-Pierre.”
My heart boomed. It took everything in me to not run over there and simply stare at the screen. Could they see Jean-Pierre now? Was he okay? And what about everyone else?
At least Jean-Pierre didn’t get shot. He was above me. He was alive. I may not be safe, but at least he is.
My fingers shook. “What about Giorgio? Is he okay?”
Please, be alive. Please, be alive.
The Devil shot the question away. “Giorgio is none of our concern. Focus on the objective.”
“Okay. We have a tracker on Rafael’s car. I’ll check his past movement.” The guy pressed on the screen. “Rafael went to this location. It’s heavily guarded by Corsican.”
“How many?” the Devil asked.
“I’m getting at least twenty heat readings around the house.”
“Twenty men.” The Devil shrugged. “We can handle it.”
Another man wrote the location down.
“Rafael
stayed at this location for about twenty minutes.” The guy slid his finger across the screen.
“Where did he go after that?” the Devil asked.
“His car went to the hotel after that. Where they had the big shoot out.”
Shootout?
“Okay. So, Rafael was at the hotel shootout early this morning. That makes sense.” The Devil nodded his head. “Jean-Pierre would’ve wanted the best at his side. And with Giorgio in the hospital, Louis and Rafael would’ve been with him, when Jean-Pierre took the Lion’s whore.”
Say what? Giorgio is alive, and Jean-Pierre kidnapped someone from the Lion?
I hugged myself. Jean-Pierre must’ve thought the Lion took me. I turned to the Devil. Maybe he did take me. I didn’t know who this man worked for, or if he was somehow connected to the Russian mafia. All I knew was that I didn’t like Jean-Pierre being in danger.
“This worked out good for us.” The Devil clapped his hands. The flames on his mask rose higher, painting dark monstrous shadows into the ceiling. “With the Corsican and the Bratva fighting throughout Paris, everyone’s busy.”
A couple of the men snickered.
“They’re all tied up in their egos.” The Devil addressed his demons. “The Butcher. The Lion. The cops. Even the damn military is in on this. We can slip in and out. Stick to the plan. We’ll be fine. No more bullshit like Jebo did with drugging the Butcher’s, whore.”
Many of the demons nodded in agreement. Their black eyes bulged and reflected my image back to me.
“Let’s go. Get her in there.” The Devil pointed at a new couch. “We don’t know when they’ll be back at this building. She comes with us from now on.”
Another man lifted the top up, exposing an empty compartment inside big enough for me to be hidden in.
“I’m not going into another couch or box or anything.” I backed up. “I’m walking.”
Out of nowhere, Uni galloped over to me. “Are you going on an adventure, friend?”
I batted at the air. “Uni, if you don’t have a gun or something, then get out of here!”
The Devil snapped his fingers in my direction. “Hey! I’m over here, and you are getting in that couch.”
“Listen.” My heart raced. “I can put on a uniform like you all have. I’ll keep my mouth shut. I know how to move—”
