by Kenya Wright
Or maybe Gwen told Natalie a story.
The Mouse rose.
I whispered to her, “If you kill them, then we’re going to have a problem.”
“I won’t.” The Mouse went off with her guards to the bedroom.
Natalie placed another pot on the stove. The scent of simmering meat filled the air. My stomach growled.
“Wow. You all haven’t eaten in a minute.” She laughed.
No fear came from her. I gazed down taking in my appearance. I looked like I’d been fighting for the past twelve hours.
Haven’t I?
Still, I studied her.
Why isn’t she a little on edge with us?
“Where are you from again Natalie?” I asked.
“New Orleans. I moved to Paris with Gwen.”
“Why?”
“I came on a student visa. I’m studying dance. Gwen came for cooking, as you know.” She piled some more sausages on another pan.
I asked her more questions. She had no problem answering them. But when we got to her life in New Orleans, she avoided them. When I switched to asking her questions about Gwen’s time in New Orleans, she averted those too.
Interesting. It may not be important, but Louis should look into it.
I didn’t think the women were a danger, but they’d seen some things. Enough to not be worried, when a bunch of gangsters stood in their apartment early in the morning.
Natalie went into the bedroom, probably to show the Mouse what she could wear. The guards had left the room for a minute. That put me on edge. Who knew what the Mouse could say to her?
Don’t you do anything to Natalie.
But Natalie was out minutes later. She went to the bathroom, came out with something in her hand, took it to the bedroom, and then came back without it.
What was that?
I gestured to my men to check on what it was.
They went in and came out, shaking their heads and letting me know it wasn’t anything.
Hmmm. I’m still watching you, Mouse.
The rest of the time went by well. Natalie cooked. Louis talked her head off, asking her more and more about herself. Rafael and Gwen remained on the balcony. The Mouse returned in a rainbow t-shirt and jeans.
A baby cried.
We all paused.
Natalie giggled. “That’s my son, Benji. I’ll be right back.”
She rushed away.
I took the space in with this new information and leaned Louis’s way. “Two women and a baby in this tiny place? I’ll give Rafael a week and if this isn’t fixed, then let me know.”
“I’ll keep my eye on it.” Louis gestured to the Mouse who’d been monitoring the conversation. “She’s creepy as fuck. I can’t wait to give her back.”
“It’ll be soon.”
“You saw how fast she killed those men.” Louis whistled. “Why would the Lion want a woman like that in his bed.”
She turned away.
I shrugged. “We love who we love. No matter if they’re a monster or an angel.”
Natalie came back with a little guy on her right hip. Adorable, he had those same big eyes and brown skin. Same candy curls like Gwen’s, but a much shorter afro.
She brought him in front of us. “Say hi, Benji.”
He wagged his tiny little hair and popped his lips, making odd little sounds.
We can’t stay here for too long. If Kazimir knows this location, his destruction will come here. We shouldn’t be with them.
Natalie pulled out a highchair. One of my guards grabbed it for her and tried to help her put Benji in.
“I’ve got it.” Natalie placed Benji down in seconds and strapped him in. “Okay. Back to S.O.S. It’s almost done.”
Louis rose. “How can I help?”
“By sitting your big behind down. You’ll take up the whole kitchen.”
He smirked but lowered back onto his stool.
The smell of eggs cooking filled the air. The Mouse held her stomach. Mine growled again.
Minutes later, Natalie set a plate in front of Louis. It was stacked with eggs next to two fluffy biscuits doused in a crumbling white sauce. “Would you like some coffee too?”
Louis placed his hands together as if he was in prayer. “Please, you beautiful angel.”
She giggled. “Oh my God, Louis. You’re so funny.”
When did he tell her his name? I don’t know. I’m barely awake.
Benji sat in his highchair near the counter.
The Mouse stared at Louis’s plate, studying the eggs.
I leaned her way. “Don’t worry. You’ll get the next plate no matter what.”
Still staring at the eggs, she shook her head.
“You’re not hungry?”
She kept her voice low. “I feel sick.”
“Again?” I studied her. “You already threw up. Do you want water?”
“No.” She held her stomach and turned away from the eggs on Louis’ plate.
What’s wrong with her?
Natalie handed Benji a banana. “You’ll get some eggs soon, but first the fruit.”
Benji frowned and mashed it with his finger a few times.
“Come on. Bananas are yummy and super good for you.”
The boy gave up and stuffed some of the mashed banana in his mouth.
“Good job.” Natalie began making another plate.
“How old is he?” Louis asked.
“Benji is almost two.”
Louis put a mouthful of gravy-soaked biscuit in his mouth and groaned. “You are really an angel.”
“Thanks. I learned a little from Gwen.”
“Is Benji that short for Benjamin?”
“Yep.”
“That’s a pretty name.” Louis took another bite. “If you don’t mind me asking, where is his father?”
She smiled, glanced over her shoulder, and then winked at him. “I do mind you asking.”
He nodded in defeat.
“What would you like with your coffee?” Natalie walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a large cup.
Louis cleared his throat. “I would like some sugar and milk or cream, if you have it. . . please.”
“Sweet and creamy. I can do that.” She poured him a fresh cup and looked at me. “Would you like some?”
“Yes, please.”
Benji threw a piece of banana on the floor and chuckled to himself.
Sighing, she shook her head and was about to stop pouring.
“No.” I walked over, picked it up, and threw it away. “Let me help. Should I get him some more fruit?”
“No.” Natalie smiled. “He’s not hungry anymore, if he’s just playing with it.”
We should get out of here. Just in case Kazimir finds us, I don’t want any of this shit to touch them.
Louis tore into a biscuit and dipped it in gooey eggs. The Mouse stared back at the plate and looked to be close to puking again. He lathered up more of the goo, twisting it around in the white sauce and then stuffing it into his mouth. Egg dripped down his chin.
Natalie looked at the Mouse. “Are you sure you don’t want anything, Emily?”
Blinking, Emily hugged herself and looked queasy as she turned away from Louis’s assault on his food.
Is she going to throw up again?
“Don’t worry.” Natalie’s face brightened at Emily. “I couldn’t eat eggs in my first trimester either.”
Emily shook her head. “I’m not pregnant.”
“Oh.” Natalie raised her hands. “My bad. I was watching you since you’d been here. . .and… girl, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“Yeah. It was just…never mind…Gwen says I’m always assuming crazy stuff, that’s not there. Ignore me.” Natalie grabbed an egg from the tray, cracked it on the frying pan, and put it on the pan. The air filled with the aroma of fried eggs. They sizzled.
Emily jumped up and covered her mouth.
“The bathroom is that way.” Natalie pointed d
own the hallway.
Fuck. I had to ask what else could go wrong. Well, that’s my answer. The woman I kidnapped could be pregnant. Shit! Did the Lion know?
Chapter 22
To Friendship
Jean-Pierre
Emily hurried off.
Her guards followed.
If Natalie found all our security and guns odd, she was smart enough not to comment on it. Natalie stared off in the direction that Emily had left.
Then, she turned to me. “I have some extra pregnancy tests in the medicine cabinet, if your girlfriend wanted to check. Sorry, if I’m imposing.”
“You keep extra pregnancy tests in your bathroom?” Louis interrupted.
“After my buddy over there.” She grinned at Benji. “I’ve got a bit nervous about getting pregnant. Not that I do anything anyway. . .whatever. Long story. I always have a few tests and…a Day After pill or…you know what? Let me stop telling you my business and try to mind your girlfriend’s business too.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” I kept a straight face. “She’s just my best friend’s girlfriend. I’m watching her for him, while he’s in Paris on business.”
“Oh, okay. Well you can tell her about the tests or not. I don’t mind. I’m not doing anything to take a test right now anyway.” She paused and then shook her head. “Pretend I didn’t say that.”
Louis quirked his eyebrows.
She blushed and turned to me. “Anyway, Jean-Pierre, how do you want your coffee?”
“Black.”
“All black. No sugar. No cream.”
“Exactly.”
“I’m the same.” She batted her eyes. “I like my coffee like my men. Hot and all black.”
“Hmmm.” Louis took a sip of his coffee and watched her pour my cup. “That’s the only way you like your men?”
“It’s a joke.” Natalie made her own cup and drank a little.
I was about to leave the kitchen, when Louis tapped the side of his cup and hit her with an intense stare.
What’s wrong with him?
She must have noticed Louis studying her too, because she nervously turned away.
Louis smiled which was not a typical thing to see on his face. “You only date black men?”
“The saying is a joke, but. . .” She shrugged. “Yeah. . .well, it’s not that I only date black men. It’s that black men only date me.”
“False.” Louis wagged his finger. “I doubt that. No man has come your way and tried to seduce you? Not even in Paris, the city of love?”
“No. Not a lot of French guys are chasing after me these days.”
“We could change that.”
“You’re funny and cute.” Natalie set the cup down, grabbed a wet cloth, and wiped the counter.
“Let me help.” Louis rose, towering over Natalie and looking too eager to get closer to her.
“Umm.” She held her cloth in mid-air. “I’ve got it. I have to go anyway. I only wanted to do a quick clean, so Gwen wouldn’t trip. Benji and I are lucky that she lets us stay here.”
Louis frowned. “Breakfast was delicious. Thank you. I have to repay you.”
“It’s all good. Next time you see a sister, help her out.” Giggling, she hurried over to the highchair, lifted Benji up, and carried him away. “Okay, buddy. We’re off to begin our day. Daycare. Ballet. French class. Your doctor’s appointment. Park. Grocery store. Blah blah blah.”
Benji giggled. “Blah blah blah.”
I didn’t know he could talk.
“Natalie?” Louis reached out his hand but didn’t touch her. “Can I say something really quick?”
She held Benji in her arms. “Umm. Not right now. I have to go. We’re already late. I hope I see you again.”
“You will,” Louis muttered under his breath as she rushed away. He looked at me. “You think I came off as creepy?”
“Probably.”
I gestured to where Emily had been sitting by the counter. “It’s usually hard to get a girl’s number, when you’ve got a kidnapped woman with you.”
We watched Natalie.
She stopped at the bathroom, switched her son to the other hip, and knocked on the bathroom door with the other hand.
Emily opened it a few inches.
Both women exchanged rushed words.
Natalie was apparently trying to get Emily to do something.
My men looked at me as if wondering what they should do. I shook my head and let the women have their conversation. Even if Emily was trying to get Natalie’s help, it would be monitored. Louis had put eyes on Gwen, Natalie’s phones, and apartment.
There could be no more surprises.
Natalie said something else, closed the door, and went into her room with Benji.
What was that about?
I checked the bathroom where my men stood outside of it and whispered to Louis, “You think the Mouse is pregnant?”
“Hope not. Then the Lion won’t just kill you, he’ll kill all of us.”
I laughed. “Aww. I see. You were hoping to get out of this by blaming the kidnapping all on me?”
“Yeah. Imagine that.”
I checked my watch. “We should go soon. Kazimir will have the exchange’s address. Plus, I don’t want this shit touching Gwen, Natalie, or Benji.”
“Me either.”
“Where’s Rafael?”
“Out there with Gwen. Let him be for now. Give him a few more minutes.”
I rubbed my eyes and watched the bathroom door.
Louis spoke up, “Have you thought about what’s going to come, after we get Eden?”
“I’m not thinking past getting Eden.” My heart ached to think of the possibility that it wouldn’t happen.
“Kazimir will come for you, if he doesn’t during the exchange.”
“I considered that.”
Louis glared. “I won’t let that happen.”
“What’s your plan? Bomb? Sniper?”
“We may need both.”
“At the exchange?”
Louis nodded. “Yes. If we have time to plan.”
Kill the Lion?
Everything was happening fast. It was almost impossible to keep up with each new situation.
I sighed. “If the Mouse is pregnant, we can’t kill Kazimir.”
“Why not?”
“You know why not.”
Louis had grown up with no father, just like the rest of us.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I don’t care what location he gives us. It’s Paris. He’ll never know a place better than us.”
“But he’ll have time to strategize.”
“We’ll have to be creative.” I headed off to the bathroom. “I’m going to check on the Mouse.”
“Try not to let her get you wet again.”
“Yeah. Yeah.” I headed to the bathroom and whispered to my men, “What’s she doing?”
“I don’t know,” one said. “I heard throwing up early. The toilet flushed a few times. Water came on and off. We’re too high for her to climb out the window.”
“Still, I wouldn’t leave her by herself for too long,” I gestured for them to give me space.
The Mouse had been a slippery little creature to hold onto. I’d come close to hitting her in the bathroom. No matter how many times I grabbed her, she slipped away. She twisted. She turned. She slammed, in the right moments. A good fighter, but not nearly enough to get by me in that bathroom.
Now, we really can’t tussle anymore, Mouse. Are you okay? Are you pregnant?
Uneasy, I leaned my head against the door. The toilet flushed. No other noise came. I knocked. She didn’t respond. I knocked again. Nothing.
Did she somehow find a new sewer hole to crawl through?
I grabbed the knob, quietly turned it, and pushed the door open a few inches.
Good sign. She didn’t lock it.
I peeked inside through the few inches of space the door gave me.
The Mouse sat on the toilet, but
all her clothes were on and the toilet top had been down. She held three white sticks in her hand.
What are those?
I focused some more.
Are those the pregnancy tests? Natalie must’ve told her about the tests, when she went in the back. Or maybe Emily heard.
Tears fell from her eyes.
Good news or bad? What is it?
Silently, I closed the door, leaned against the wall, and ran my fingers through my hair.
Is she pregnant or not? Fuck. I would’ve never taken her, if I knew. . .fuck. I wasn’t Thinking at all.
This was getting more complicated by the minute. Whether the Mouse was pregnant or not, didn’t matter. I hadn’t realized how important she’d been to Kazimir. I’d been glad, but after I got Eden back. . .Kazimir would make us pay. There was love between them. Kazimir didn’t move like a rational man. He’d been acting like a desperate man in love.
The way I’ve been acting. . .
Guilt rose in my gut. I didn’t like causing him pain, even though I wasn’t fond of the man.
The door opened.
Emily stepped out. Shock hit her face, when she saw me. She looked different, from the nauseous woman, that had walked into the bathroom. In fact, she was different from the woman I’d grabbed. While both gave me the survivor vibe, this Emily that stood in front of me had fight in her.
I calmed my voice. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need a doctor?”
She blinked. “N-no.”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Are you sure? You haven’t eaten. You’ve been fighting and killing men all day. Perhaps, you want to check on. . .things.”
“I’m not pregnant.”
“Of course not. That’s why you look like you’ve been hit repeatedly in the jaw by hard truth.”
“No.” She gritted her teeth. “My usual upbeat expression is gone, because I’ve been kidnapped.”
“We’ve treated you fairly.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Really?” I leaned my head to the side. “Do you roll your eyes at the Lion?”
She glared at me.
“Good. I hope you aggravate the shit, out of Kazimir. Does he have as much trouble with holding on to you, like I do?”
She glanced at the guards. Her voice lowered. “Can we talk somewhere private?”
