Finally Us (Next Generation Book 5)

by J. M. Walker

  I had no idea where she could hear that from. It wasn’t like we hung out with the same people.

  “Sit,” she said, nodding to the empty chair across from her. “Eat. Now!” She landed a fist on top of the table.

  I jumped, did as I was told, and sat in the chair opposite her. “What do you want?”

  “Right now, I want you to eat.” She placed her hand on the pistol, waiting.

  When she didn’t say anything and only watched me, I picked up the fork and began eating, but I couldn’t enjoy the food. Not with her watching me. Not with the pistol beneath her hand.

  Once I finished, I went to stand when she lifted the pistol.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I was going to put my dishes in the sink,” I told her, my eyes flicking to the gun.

  “But you’re not done.” She pushed the second plate of food toward me. “Eat up.”

  I slowly lowered back to the chair. I could have said that I wasn’t hungry, but truth was, the pregnancy had upped my appetite. A lot.

  “Babe, you should really be nicer.”

  My back stiffened at the deep voice coming from the hallway. With my fork halfway to my mouth, I watched as Mason came farther into the apartment.

  Tenise only grinned.

  “Surprised?” He chuckled, stepping up behind her and cupping her shoulders.

  “W-What’s going on?” I whispered, unable to believe what I was seeing. Mason and Tenise, together, working as one. The pieces suddenly started falling into place.

  The crank phone calls. The fire. There was no way that Tenise could have done it alone. She was probably the one who called Luna too just to throw us off her trail.

  “How did you get in?” I asked, taking another mouthful of pasta.

  “Rory had a key from when he stayed here a while ago. I was never given one, so I stole it and had a copy cut for me. I had Rory’s key back on his set of keys before he even noticed it was gone.” She laughed. “He was so oblivious.” The way she spoke, it was like she was talking about the weather and not the fact that both her and Mason came into the apartment unannounced.

  “What do you want?” Maybe if I could get them talking, she would forget about the gun and doing whatever it was she had intended to do with it.

  “What do I want?” Tenise sat back in the chair, watching me. “What do I want, Mason?”

  He moved to the end of the table between us, picking up a dinner roll off a plate, and began breaking off pieces. He popped one into his mouth before looking at me. “Did you know that we had a pact that we wouldn’t let a woman come between us?”

  “Looks like you broke that pact,” I mumbled.

  Mason’s grin grew. “I guess I did.” He leaned over Tenise, cupping her cheek and placing a hard peck on her mouth. “But honestly, it’s been worth it.”

  She giggled.

  “I thought you were with Rory,” I said. “And I thought you wanted Vince.”

  “I was with Rory, but he was only a ruse to get me closer to Vince and yes, I wanted Vince. Still do.”

  “And you’re fine with this?” I asked Mason.

  He shrugged. “As long as I get her, I don’t give a shit.”

  Tenise sat forward. “I want them both. I want them all.”

  “Vince will never go for that. He doesn’t share,” I told her, still unable to believe what I was hearing.

  A dark shadow passed over Tenise’s face. “You see, that’s where you’re wrong. Vince will want me when he has nothing left. When you die, he’ll be all alone and I’ll be there to pick up the pieces.”

  “Why?” None of this made sense. “What’s in this for you?”

  “Something was taken from me. Because of his family, I lost everything. I tried getting through to his sister, but her boyfriend is too damn protective.” Tenise looked up at Mason. “You should have broken into their home like I suggested.”

  “I tried.” Mason huffed. “But they were always together. I couldn’t get Luna alone.”

  Tenise scowled. “No matter. This is actually better.”

  “I don’t understand what’s going on. Why are you doing this?” I wanted answers but at the same time, I feared what they would be and how this would play out.

  “Vince’s parents took something from me and now I’m going to take something from them.” Tenise lifted her arm. “Oh look at the time, Vince should be home soon.”

  I swallowed hard when I realized that she wasn’t actually wearing a watch. She was unstable. “What did his parents do?” I needed to keep her talking, hoping that Vince would come home soon before she did anything else.

  Tenise’s brows narrowed in the center. “They took my father from me.”

  My stomach sunk. Shit. “How?” I was vaguely aware of Mason pulling up a chair.

  “My father was Vince’s Uncle,” Tenise said, waiting. For what I wasn’t sure but when she didn’t get the reaction she wanted from me, she continued. “His mother had him killed. I was just a baby but because I never got to know him, my life was hell.”

  “So, now you’re avenging him?” I asked, trying to process the information she was giving me. “That would make you and Vince cousins.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “My father and Vince’s mom weren’t blood related. Her family took mine. Her father had my grandparents killed and raised my father as his own. He was supposed to be heir to everything, but Vince’s bitch of a mother was a greedy whore and took that from him.”

  “Why are you in on this?” I asked Mason.

  “Because I’m in love with Tenise,” he said like I should have known. Like it was the most obvious answer.

  “Now what?” I whispered, wishing I could go back in time. Wishing that none of this had happened. Wishing that Vince and I had moved and not told anyone. But with the way things were going, Tenise and Mason probably would have found us no matter where we were. This was going to destroy both him and Rory. Just when you thought you truly knew someone and find out they are not as they seem. My heart ached for Vince. For both of them.

  A knowing look passed between Mason and Tenise.

  “I want to know why you took Vince from me.” Tenise placed her hand on the gun. “I want to know why you messed everything up.”

  “I didn’t know he was yours. You were with Rory.” I took a chance and glanced at Mason. His face was impassive, almost like he was waiting for Tenise’s next instructions.

  She scoffed, waving her hand in front of her face. “Please. Rory was just a reason for me to get closer to Vince. That’s the only reason I stayed with him. It was all a ruse anyway. I never loved Rory.”

  “You want Rory and Mason? As well as Vince?” I asked, looking between them both.

  “I haven’t decided yet.” She looked up at Mason. “What do you think?”

  Mason smiled. “Whatever you want, baby.”

  I gaped at him. He was seriously delusional. They both were but to stand there and listen to her wanting to be with Vince when he was clearly in love with her, didn’t make sense to me.

  “I wanted a threesome with him and Rory, but Rory was all about his friendship and shit.” She scowled. “What guy turns down a chance to have a threesome?” She grabbed the gun and brought it under the table.

  My heart started racing. I didn’t know if she was aiming it at me, but I could only assume that she was. “Please, Tenise. I don’t know what you want but you don’t have to do this.”

  “I told you what I want.” She sat forward, the sound of a click erupting through the quiet of the room. “I want Vince. I want to avenge my father. I can’t take out Vince’s parents. I could try but this is actually better. I already tried getting rid of you, but you’re determined to make things difficult for me. So now, this is the only way.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, my voice shaking.

  “How’s that house of yours?” She laughed. “I also heard you fell off a ladder. That must have been scary.”

>   My eyes widened. “That was you? But how?”

  “The ladder was all Mason.” She sat up straighter.

  Mason only grinned.

  “But it was simple really. I stole your phones when you were sleeping and Googled how to make a Molotov cocktail, threw one down the hall so you couldn’t escape your room the easy way and then threw one in your living room.” She shrugged. “And you know the rest.”

  “Why would you set my house on fire and risk killing Vince when you clearly want him?”

  She tilted her head, a slow grin spreading on her face. “Because, silly. If I can’t have him. No one can. And that means you.”

  My throat went dry. “Please, you don’t want to do this.”

  “Yes, I do. Rory didn’t want me.” The smile fell from her face. “And Vince doesn’t want me, but he will. I’ll make him see that we are meant to be together. I’ll give him proper babies. Not that diseased thing you’re carrying. And if he refuses, then I’ll take him out. I have Mason to spend the rest of my life with anyway. So either way, I’ll be happy but Vince’s parents won’t be. They’ll be sad that they lost their little boy because his mom took out someone who didn’t deserve it.”

  I didn’t know much about Vince’s uncle, but I had heard that he wasn’t exactly stable. Obviously that trait was passed down to his damn kid.

  “What are you going to do to me?” I whispered.

  Tenise’s gaze dropped to the plate in front of me. “I want you to finish eating the fucking food.”

  Mason chuckled.

  I lifted the fork and went to grab another forkful of food when a loud pop sounded. It made my ears ring. It had been so damn loud; I wasn’t expecting it.

  I could see Tenise’s lips moving but was unable to make out what she was saying.

  My head suddenly felt light, a sharp pain hitting my abdomen. “I…I need to lay down,” I heard myself say. I went to stand but fell to my knees. The pain became worse. I clutched my stomach, the agony enveloping me in a blanket of fear that something was wrong.

  A dark shadow loomed over me.

  When I pulled my hand back, it was coated in a red liquid. My eyes widened even more. “Help me.”

  Tenise’s shoes stepped into my line of sight.

  I fell to my side, holding my stomach and begging with everything in me that my baby was unharmed.

  “You should have eaten faster.” Tenise looked down at me, a wicked grin spreading on her face. Mason stepped up beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He grabbed the gun from her and aimed it directly at me when footsteps sounded in the apartment.

  He jerked his arm back, another pop sounding at the sudden movement.

  Their heads whipped around but I couldn’t follow their line of sight. Everything was heavy. I couldn’t move, even though I wanted to.

  I tried pushing onto shaky arms to get away from them, but I wasn’t strong enough. The agony ripping through my lower stomach forced all of the breath from my lungs.

  The last thing I saw was Tenise blowing me a kiss before everything went dark.

  Vince

  When I had finally reached my apartment building, my body stirred, knowing I would see Gigi in a matter of minutes. I had been working so much and so often over the past few weeks that I only got to see her later into the evening. But she never complained. She greeted me with open arms, sometimes it turning into unexpected sex. Truth was, I always wanted her. Every inch. Every breath. Every moan.

  I was running late this evening thanks to a pipe bursting at the center. It just went downhill from there, but I finally got out of there and home to my girl. Rory and Mason were still helping me with my surprise for Gigi and I couldn’t wait to reveal it to her, but I still had a few weeks left before I could do that. I just hoped the baby wouldn’t come first.

  When I reached our floor, I moved the bouquet of flowers and box of donuts to my other hand and fished for the keys in my pocket. I had taken Angel’s advice to heart and picked flowers up for Gigi as often as I could. It was the little things he had said, and I would spend the rest of my life doing just that.

  Once I neared the door leading to the home I was now sharing with the woman I loved, my heart suddenly jumped to my throat.

  The door was ajar.

  Slowly opening it, I stepped inside and shut it behind me. “Babe?”

  No response.

  “Queenie?” I called out, the scent of pasta hitting me.

  When I rounded the corner, I was stopped short by the bundled heap on the floor by the dining room table. The flowers and box of donuts fell from my fingertips. The very reason I lived was unmoving.

  It was like I was having an out-of-body experience as I rushed to Gigi’s side. Dropping to my knees, I checked her over. A red splotch was seeping through her white shirt in the side of her stomach while another sat on her upper thigh.

  “Gigi!” I yelled, lightly tapping her cheeks. “Please wake up, baby. Wake up.”

  But her eyes remained closed.

  “No.” A sob broke free, agony hitting me somewhere deep in the chest. “Please, Gigi. I can’t lose you.” Fishing out my cell, I called 911. Police were on their way and that was all I heard as I threw the phone on the floor. “Please, Gigi.” I kissed her mouth. Turning my head, I listened for a sign that she was breathing. Checking her pulse, I felt a faint heartbeat. I wasn’t a medical professional but even I knew that it wasn’t strong enough.

  I rained kisses on her face, cupped the wound in her lower abdomen to try and stop the bleeding, and just held her.

  “I got you, baby. I’m here. I’m always here. Don’t give up. Please keep fighting. For our daughter and for me. I can’t live without you.”

  Tears rolled down my cheeks, sobs breaking through me.

  I was vaguely aware that we were no longer alone.

  EMTs came in with a stretcher, lifting Gigi onto it. One was asking me questions, but I couldn’t focus on anything other than seeing them work on my girlfriend.

  I was suddenly surrounded by police officers, each of them trying to ask me questions, but I couldn’t hear them. “Gigi,” I finally got out. I took a step toward her as she was wheeled out of our apartment.

  “Sir.”

  My head whipped around, finding a woman in a suit looking at me with sympathy. I didn’t need fucking sympathy. I needed to find out who shot my girl. “I need to go with her.”

  “I’m Detective Baldwin.” She stuck her hand out. “But you can call me Jessica.”

  “Vince.” I returned the handshake because my parents raised me to be polite but as soon as I pulled my hand back, I turned and headed in the direction that the EMS workers took Gigi.

  “I’m sorry, Vince. But you can’t go with them.”

  “Why the fuck not?” I demanded, my voice raising.

  “I need to ask you some questions, but I promise you that a police officer is going with your girlfriend and will be in the back of the ambulance with her for her protection.” Jessica gave me a small smile. “Let’s sit and get this done and over with so you can go to her.”

  I looked between her and the door and back to her. “Fine.”

  “Now.” Jessica pulled a notepad and a small stick out of the inside of her suit jacket. “I’m going to write down everything you say but also record it just in case I miss something.”

  I nodded, slumping onto the couch and dropped my head in my hands.

  “Now, Vince.”

  I looked up then.

  Jessica’s gaze was hard and determined. “Start from the beginning and tell me everything.”

  ***

  I was pacing back and forth waiting for my parents and Gigi’s parents. I had called them once the detective let me leave after I answered all of her questions. She didn’t know anything more than what I told her. Or she didn’t act like she did. But something wasn’t right. Besides the fact that my girlfriend and baby were fighting for their lives, there was something else. Something that I couldn�
�t put my finger on.

  Detective Baldwin was a hardhead, but reasonable, and finally let me go once she was satisfied I didn’t try to kill my girlfriend and unborn child.

  An hour after she started questioning me, she finally got everything she needed. At that point in time, she told me to go to my girlfriend and baby.

  I rushed over to the hospital and called both Gigi’s and my parents on the way. It was the hardest phone call I ever had to make and one that I didn’t want to make again. Ever.

  “Vince.”

  I stopped suddenly, spinning around and seeing my mom and dad rushing toward me. I ran up to them, throwing myself around my mother and right into her arms.

  “God, my sweet boy.” She held me as I shook against her.

  “Vince.” Dad cupped my nape, wrapping his big body around us both. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

  “Vince?”

  I lifted my head, seeing Gigi’s mom and dad coming down the hall.

  Mom cupped my cheek, giving me a small smile.

  I squeezed her hand before releasing her and went up to Jay but stopped in front of her.

  She held her arms out, her eyes welling.

  Stepping into her embrace, I hugged her.

  “How’s my girl?” she asked, her voice trembling.

  “I don’t know anything yet,” I told her, my voice thick. “But it doesn’t look…it doesn’t…” My throat burned. I couldn’t even get the words out.

  “Gigi’s strong,” Angel said, his voice morose.

  She was but she was shot twice. I wasn’t sure if her or our baby would make it out of this. A fresh set of tears filled my eyes.

  Pulling away from Jay, I wiped my face as Meadow and Shade came down the hall. I looked between my parents and Gigi’s.

  “Gigi and your baby need all the love, support and prayers they can get right now.” Jay went up to her husband’s side. “We called everyone.”

  Angel kissed the top of her head.

  “Have you heard anything?” Meadow asked, giving me a hug.

  “Not yet,” I murmured, returning the embrace.

  Shade cupped my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Whatever you need, we’re here.”