Redeemed Love

by M. S. Brannon

  I’m angry now. That fucker had a gun to my head and I couldn’t do shit to stop him. I was helpless. Reggie has warned us that getting into the drug game is unforgiving, and now I’m seeing with my own two eyes what Reggie was referring to. Matt has no hesitation about killing me. He will kill me if I don’t sell his entire product within five days.

  After we file out the back door, Ronnie heads to his car, but I can’t get in. I’m furious with myself, therefore sitting in an enclosed space is the last thing I want or need. I have to clear my head and get myself in this game. I’ve committed to it, so now I have to dedicate myself fully to making the money and getting my family out. I’m furious with myself, though. I should have seen his gun coming. I should have known he was going to pull it. I want to go back in there and beat the shit out of Matt and his cronies. I especially want to knock that Carter guy’s teeth out. This is one of a few ways where Jake and I are strikingly similar. We both have a short fuse, however I’m better at keeping mine restrained.

  I storm past the car door and walk toward the street. Ronnie is on my heels, yanking at my arm and pulling me back. “What the fuck, man?” he asks, confused.

  “It’s best for you to get the hell away from me, Ronnie.” My voice is low and laced in anger. “I’m… I’m not in a good place right now. I’ve gotta get my head straight. Here.” I toss him the backpack. “I will meet up with you tomorrow, and we can talk about unloading that shit.”

  Ronnie doesn’t say anything as I walk down to the sidewalk and disappear in the darkness of night. I trudge down the street, allowing my thoughts to take over. There is no other option to get my family out. I have to protect them. There is nothing else I can do. Reggie has always had pure hatred for anyone who sells drugs, considering how our mother died, but if he were doing his job as a big brother, he would have gotten us out years ago. The moment Darcie came into our life, we should have left and never looked back. He is the reason I have to do what I’m doing now.

  My stomach is churning with stress, anger, and frustration with my entire situation. I was seconds away from getting my head blown off. My brains would have been splattered all over the wall, and Matt Ryker would have thought nothing of it.

  My stomach rumbles again, and I can feel it burning in my gut. I round the corner to an alley and lean over, puking my guts out. I vomit a few more times before I’m well enough to keep walking. I pull a piece of gum out of my pocket to get the horrible taste out of my mouth. Then I glance around, taking in my surroundings.

  This alley is a shortcut between two old buildings and should lead me to The Slab where my car is parked. I start heading north down the dark alley when a faint, whimpering sound stops me in my tracks.

  When I turn to my right, I see the familiar liquid chocolate eyes looking back at me. Holy. Shit. Lying on the filthy concrete is the Hispanic girl from the drug house, Matt Ryker’s niece. One of her eyes is swollen shut and her body is beat to hell. I fucking knew I’d see this girl again, and I knew the encounter wouldn’t be good. Shit!

  I glance back down the long alley, looking for Zane Bradshaw, the douche bag she was with at the party. He has to be responsible for this. When I don’t spot him, I fall to my knees and sweep her up in my arms. Matt’s warning flashes in my mind—if you touch her, you die—but she needs help. Her face is beat to hell and she’s bleeding. Therefore, I will deal with the consequences later. The girl twitches and pushes against my chest, fighting to get out of my arms, and begins to cry uncontrollably.

  “P-p-p-p-..lease, don’t hurt me.” Her body is trembling and covered in blood. I can’t really tell where she is injured, but I know I need to get her help fast.

  “Shhhh… I’m not going to hurt you,” I whisper into her ear and find a trail of dried blood coming from a gash on her head. “I’m taking you to the hospital, okay?” As I pull her tighter into my chest, the girl falls in close, pressing her face into my chest as she deeply cries.

  The concrete is unforgiving against my knees as I look around. Surrounding us is discarded trash; dirty needles; broken liquor bottles; and tattered, dirty clothes. I look down and see she was tossed right on top of a pile of garbage bags. I’m furious. She was thrown out like a piece of garbage.

  This is the exact reason we need to get the hell away from Sulfur Heights. The people around here don’t care about anything except themselves. I always knew this is how the south side was, but this is the final nail in the coffin. What’s more, when I figure out what to do with this girl, I’m going to look for Zane. I’m going to beat his ass just as badly as he’s beaten hers.

  I stand with the girl in my arms and walk. I carry her down the rest of the alley and the two blocks to my Challenger. I keep myself in the shadows to avoid anyone seeing me as I approach my car. The last thing I need is someone with the Ryker organization to think I did this to her or have to explain myself to Reggie or Jake.

  I open the passenger door while still holding tightly to her body and then bend forward, laying her on the seat. She rolls to her side and curls up on the leather. Running to the driver side, I open the door and fall in, then quickly fire the car to life.

  I pull away from the parking lot, heading in the direction of the emergency room. “I’m going to take you to the hospital. Your face is really beat up and that cut on your head will probably need stitches.” I push my foot harder on the pedal, driving us even faster. I round the final corner and pull up under the marquee for the ER.

  As she snaps out of her trance and sits up in the seat, our eyes meet and she gives me a look I will never forget. It is sad yet appreciative.

  I move to open my door when her hand grabs my forearm. Her skin is clammy and damp; however her touch is burned into my skin. I recognize this as a moment in time I shall never forget. My choice to break free from this place has been justified even more when I found this beautiful girl lying in a gutter, discarded like trash. Although Darcie and Presley were my main reasons for going to the drug house tonight, this girl is the other reason. She represents so many young people lost, dead, or incarcerated from Sulfur Heights, and I don’t want that for my family. I want us to be free. I want to be free.

  “Thank you, Jeremy,” she whispers through her tears. “I can make it from here.”

  I’m stunned slightly when she speaks my name. I have no idea who she is, but she knows me. Probably from the few races I’ve seen her at. The first one, when I beat the fuck out of Grady, she was standing beside my car as I tried desperately to get ahold of myself. I remember seeing those haunting eyes.

  The girl leans to get out of the car and looks back at me one last time. I will never forget that gaze for as long as I live.

  “What’s your name?” I ask, not wanting to ever forget her.

  “Camilla—Cami,” she whispers back then exits the car. The revolving door of the hospital swings around as she disappears behind it.

  “I’ll never forget you,” I say to no one as I pull my car from the hospital, feeling the branding this remarkable girl has now seared onto my soul.

  Tomorrow, I will embark on a journey that will change the course of my life forever, and because of girls like Darcie, Presley and Camilla, I will commit myself to this journey. I will give my family the glimmer of hope of getting out of this place.

  The sound of his car gets quieter as I watch him drive from the hospital and down the street. My face and body feel like they’ve been put through a heavyweight boxing match. I’m the idiot in this situation because I didn’t even see it coming. In all honesty, I didn’t see anything really happening because I was stoned out of my mind. More than normal.

  It has been a rough two days with my mother, and I have to get away. She hates when I go to my uncle’s house because she loathes him. I’m forbidden and will always be. But I wanted to erase the sight of her from my mind, and that’s why I decided to pop pills tonight. I have no idea what I took, but it subdued me instantly, and then I mixed it with weed. Yeah, I was free and floating in n
o time.

  Zane is not someone I would normally hang out with, and I know my uncle has threatened the lives of everyone who works for him. If they even come close to me, he will destroy them, but that doesn’t stop Zane. I was really high tonight and didn’t really have my wits about me to remind him of my uncle’s threat. Although, I don’t think that would have stopped him. He’s an egotistical idiot and feels holier-than-thou because he’s a part of my uncle’s crew. When I was walking to the bus stop to go home, he trapped me in the alley. I repeatedly told him to leave me alone before he beat me.

  I walk from the registration desk and sit in the waiting room where I pick up a magazine in an attempt to keep my face hidden from the other people around me. I lean back and think of him, the enigmatic Jeremy Evans.

  Growing up in Butler, I’ve heard stories of the Sulfur Heights Evans brothers. The reputation they possess is known around our little slice of Michigan, but I never really believed they were all they’re cracked up to be until one night a few weeks ago at a race.

  Jeremy came out of his racing hiatus to take on my boisterous ex-boyfriend, and after winning the race, Grady and Jeremy fought. Well, Jeremy fought and Grady got his ass handed to him.

  I knew why he was fighting Grady. I overheard Grady talking on the phone to someone and couldn’t believe he was bragging about raping a woman. It’s not surprising with the genes in all the families around here. We’re all worthless trash, nonetheless it still shocked me. Then, to watch Jeremy beat him down was like observing an unlikely hero as he saves someone he loves.

  From the day I saw him at the races, I was immediately sucked into his energy. He didn’t know me and I didn’t know him, but there was a connection made in that instant. The moment is just as vivid today as it was then.

  He was sitting in his car—his black Challenger, which is sleek and sexy—with the motor running, filling the air with pure Detroit muscle. He had just won the race against Grady McGuire and Darcie had exited the passenger side when my eyes connected with him sitting in his car. He didn’t see me, but I only saw him.

  Standing to the side of Old Miller’s Road, my feet began to move. My body was literally being pulled to him. I couldn’t stop it; I had to move closer.

  He was wearing a black t-shirt and his short, brown hair was the exact opposite of his twin brother’s while being long enough to run my fingers through. The perfect just-had-sex hair. Jeremy’s forearms were flexed in anger, the sweat beaded on his skin. And there I stood, just outside his window, begging him to look up, begging him to see me.

  He sat in the driver’s seat, overcome with aggression and adrenaline as I stood just outside his car, staring at him. I was captivated. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know him.

  He released his grip on the steering wheel and took a deep, calming breath. Then he looked up, and in that very second, we bonded. I knew, deep down, I would see him again. I could feel it in every inch of my body—Jeremy had purpose in my life.

  So when I saw him walk into my uncle’s house, I thought my mind was hallucinating. That was, until he and Zane shared hate-filled glances.

  “Camilla Ryker?” my name is announced over the intercom as a nurse stands at the entrance to the ER. When I get up and slowly walk toward her, she ushers me down the hallway and into a room where she starts to clean my skin and assess the wound on my head.

  The doctor doesn’t say much when he puts five stitches in my forehead and prescribes me pain meds. I walk from the room and leave the hospital just as the sun is coming up, continuing down the road to the nearest bus stop.

  As I walk, I can’t get him out of my head. I want to know more about Jeremy Evans. I want to know why he was there to begin with. I have a pretty good idea, but for some reason, I want to know for sure why he was there. I just want to know more about him. Something draws me in, and I can’t shake the feeling.

  I hop on the bus and find a seat. As the bus drives me back to Butler, I think about what my life is and what I will become. There’s not much of a future for me. Once my mother is gone, there will be no one for me to care for. I will be free of my responsibility, and I can honestly say that’s not something I’m looking forward to.

  “The fucker owes me seventy-five hundred or all the product I fronted him. I don’t care which one it is.” Matt’s eyes hold us firm as Carter, Ronnie and myself surround him, sitting at his old, tattered card table.

  Stacks of money cover the table as Matt prepares to have Tank and Victor take it to the casino to clean it. We are awaiting instructions from Matt to tell us what to do with the dealer who is delinquent on his debt. The orders he gives must be followed through—whatever Matt requests, it’s now our job to fulfill, to make sure it gets carried out.

  “I need the money or the product, and if he can’t deliver, it’s his ass. Make sure he understands that, Jeremy.” I connect my eyes with him and nod. Whenever I’m involved, very little talking takes place, the only thing the person can expect is a beat down or worse, and I’ve done it—I’ve evolved into someone even I don’t recognize at times. At the tender age of twenty-one, I have morphed into a drug lord’s assassin. The only good thing about being Ryker’s hit man is the money. I earn a lot more than when I was dealing.

  The direction isn’t unusual nowadays. Since joining the Ryker family three years ago, I’ve quickly moved up the corporate ladder, so to speak. And by corporate, I mean the drug cartel I am now associated with. The three of us are integral cogs in the Ryker’s underworld machine, and each of us has a particular role.

  Ronnie is the negotiator and has the voice of reason with our business associates. If his tactic doesn’t work, then it will be Carter or me who are called in. Carter is the tormenter and will be sent in for specific yet bloody jobs. Me, on the other hand, I will bust a knee cap or two, maybe break an arm, and at times, I will need to snap a neck. When I’m called in, my orders are always to fulfill the demand, but do it as quickly and cleanly as possible. If there’s pain involved, it’s my job to inflict it by whatever means requested from Matt. I don’t injure anyone with a weapon, only my body. Everything Reggie taught me, I do the opposite. I hit them to render them useless, and most times, it’s for good. Their life is in Matt’s hands, and if I’m involved, the outcome is not good for them.

  Six months ago, the Rykers decided the three of us were unstoppable on the streets. Matt’s been in the business since he was teenager and has never seen a trio sell as much product as we do, even moving into the surrounding communities, expanding our reach by gaining new customers. So he offered us a promotion, so to speak.

  We are now the middlemen between the street dealers and the leadership of the Ryker family. We oversee the shipments, train the dealers on how to effectively sell, secure customers on a larger scale, supply the dealers with the product, and complete any miscellaneous requests sent down from the heads. And tonight, my job falls under the miscellaneous category.

  When I started, never in my wildest dreams did I foresee me in the position where I’m moving mass quantities of heroin and beating someone’s ass on a regular basis. I never imagined I’d do worse by taking their lives, but I do. However, the sickest part is I like it. I know the risk is great, yet I love the rush I get. The unspoken beast tormenting me for years can finally be released, and I don’t feel bad about any of it.

  I’ve always held onto this quiet animosity for the people and horrors of this place. It festered and grew inside of me. Then, one rainy night while meeting up with my connections, I was robbed and my backpack was stolen. Knowing the consequence was my life, I pursued the thief, and in a blind rage, I took his life. Now, I get this sick, satisfying enjoyment when I get the opportunity to rid this world of the horrible people who are associated with this business.

  Tonight, we have to tie up a loose end and secure several kilos of heroin or get Matt his money. Ronnie had a conversation with the rogue dealer last night, however he’s failed to comply with the Rykers’ demands. Now it’s m
y turn. The dealers we manage know this very fact about me, yet they continue to be stupid and not deliver, or they steal from the Rykers.

  Typically, if Matt wants blood involved, Carter will be called to finish the job. He likes to torment and torture his targets before he kills them. If the job needs to be quick and streamlined, though, I’m sent in. I will usually snap their necks or choke them between my bicep and forearm to get the job done quickly.

  This is me. It’s my secret life.

  On the surface, I look like your average, everyday guy. I don’t do anything to bring too much attention to myself. Outwardly, you wouldn’t think anything of me. However, my life is anything other than easy going. I chose a path of destruction when I walked into the Rykers’ house for the first time, and since then, I’ve been on a wild journey of drugs, money, and blood. I live a life only one person outside of Ronnie knows about. And it’s not Jake. It’s a life I will do everything within my power to keep separate from my family. Because of this, I’ve had to become someone they wouldn’t recognize.

  I am no longer the passive, quiet brother who follows Jake around and tolerates his antics. I don’t race for the love of fast cars and an adrenaline rush. I race now as a front, to keep up pretenses with my family.

  My only wish is for this life to be just a distant memory. Until that day comes, I will continue to spend my nights stalking the streets of Sulfur Heights, enforcing Matt’s orders and hauling drugs from one place to another. This isn’t exactly what I signed up for, but it has made me more money than I ever dreamed of. So I will endure the unspeakable acts and surround myself with horrible men to make the money that will save my family from this place. This is always in the forefront of my mind.

  My new position in the Ryker family has me doing revolting things at all hours of the day and night. I’m sent a text message with directions to meet up with Ronnie and Carter, and from there, we will be delivering product or beating someone down. That’s how our job works now.