“Do they have my daughter? Delilah?”
“I didn’t know she was missing.”
Yvonna felt a lump in her throat. She would willingly give herself up for a chance to save Delilah, but since that was not the case, she had to get out of the situation to find her.
“Bitch, I’m not going anywhere with you.” Swoopes yelled. “And I’m leaving here with Yvonna, too.”
While they were occupied with each other, Yvonna ran over to the light switch next to the door and flipped it off. Everything went black and a shot rang out in the room. Knowing her way around the suite, Yvonna moved for the door. She figured it was her only chance to get away from them both.
“Who was hit?” Swoopes yelled out into the dark. Silence. “Who the fuck was hit?!!!” He repeated.
Silence.
Instead of responding, Yvonna opened the front door and was preparing to escape but the moment she did, four armed men were standing on the other side. “We got her!” one of them said before striking her in the neck with a taser, knocking her out cold.
Sin City
Bricks
Bricks and Kelsi followed members of the YBM for thirty minutes hoping they’d lead them to Swoopes. In the end they found nothing. After all these years Bricks almost had him and it fucked him up that once again, he had gotten away.
Walking back to his room he was surprised to see Ming rush up to him with Boy. She was wearing a raincoat and looked frazzled and out of character. “Ming thinks somebody got her,” Ming cried. “Ming thinks somebody kidnapped Yvonna.”
Bricks felt his body fail him as he leaned up against the wall for support. Who could have done this? The first person he thought about was Swoopes. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t find him, this nigga took my girl. He thought.
Standing up straight he said, “How you know?” He stepped closer and looked into her eyes. “
“Boy go over there.” Ming said pointing to a place away from earshot. When he was gone she said, “When Ming went to our room Ming saw some dead girl laying on the floor, but Yvonna was nowhere to be found.”
“Who is the bitch dead?”
“Ming doesn’t know!”
Bricks felt helpless in Vegas. He didn’t have his guns with him. And outside of going with the hands, there was nothing he could do to defend Yvonna. He was just about to kick a few asses and worry about that later when Melvin called.
“Where are you?” Melvin asked.
“Nigga where the fuck are you? We got beef! They fucking took my girl, slim! They got her!!”
“Calm down.” He said. “Because that’s exactly what I’m calling you about.”
Sunday
Nevada
Yvonna
The room was pitch black and Yvonna couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. But she could feel the presence of other people in the room with her.
“Awww,” Yvonna cried out holding her bruised neck.
When she placed her hand in front of her face, she couldn’t even see her fingers wiggle.
Dropping her hand to her side she said, “Where am I?” Someone in the world wanted her dealt with and had ceased an opportunity to catch her ass slipping. “I need to get out of here! I need to leave! Please! Let me out!!!”
Silence.
“You know if it was that easy…we’d be gone already.” A female voice said.
“Who is that?”
Silence.
Yvonna outstretched her arms trying to touch the person who had just spoken. But the pitch-blackness provided no direction.
“I said who the fuck are you?”
“It’s me. Gabriella.”
“So they got your ass too, huh? After everything, you right in here with me.”
“If that’s what you want to call it.”
“That’s exactly what I call it.”
Loud rumbling outside of the room caused them to swallow any upcoming words.
“Are you there?” She whispered into the darkness. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“I wanna ask you something, and this time I want you to be honest. After all, what do we have to lose? Right?”
“We’re both about to die, so what is it, Yvonna?”
“Why did you leave the home when we were kids? I mean, why did you leave us knowing we needed you? And why didn’t you take me with you? I was being raped and tortured too. It ain’t like I didn’t need an escape. You were all I had.”
“We are about to die, and you want that question to be your last?”
“Yes.” She paused. “I guess I gotta know.”
Irritation sounded off in her tone. “Yvonna, I can’t remember that far back. We were kids, and all I wanna do now is make it out of here alive. And that should be all you’re worried about, too.”
“I’m worried about a lot more than that. I can’t help but believe that if you took me with you, that I would’ve had a chance at a real life.”
“Whatever, Yvonna. I’m thinking about my life right now. All that other shit you saying don’t make a difference to me anymore. We adults, get over it!”
Her words hurt. “Well it should matter to you. Because for each day you were gone, during that time in my life, your absence mattered to me.”
“Well it doesn’t matter to me.” She was cold.
“It should.” She insisted.
“Why?”
“Because if we are able to get out of here, alive, I’m going to kill you myself.”
“Is that right?”
“That’s mothafuckin’ right.”
“Well what if we don’t make it out of here alive?”
“Then I’m gonna meet you in hell.”
Silence.
“Whatever,” she said brushing her threats off, “We’ll worry about that bridge if we get there.” She paused. “Do you have any idea who would want you this bad?”
“You mean other than you? And them?”
“Yes.”
Yvonna searched her memory and unlike some folks who didn’t have enemies, there were too many people who wanted nothing more than to see her ass dead, but most of them were in their graves and unable to do anything about it. After all, she’d seen to it herself. “Could be anybody, but it’s probably Swoopes. I mean, he was in the room with us, too. Why isn’t he here?”
“Naw…bitch. Wrong again. ‘Cause whoever wanted your ass dead got me wrapped into this shit, too.”
“Swoopes?”
“What you think?”
“Wow, so after all the time we’ve been beefing, we are really gonna die together.” Yvonna laughed.
“I guess so. And when we go to hell, we gonna be beefing there, too.”
Yvonna laughed again. “I don’t doubt it one bit.”
“So, Gabriella, since we are about to die, keep it real with us. Tell us who these people are.”
“I guess it doesn’t make a difference now anyway.” She sighed. “So here goes. I don’t need to tell ya’ll what we went through as kids. We were raped almost every day. And when some of us got out of line, like the three of us, we were beaten.” She paused. “And you probably know already that the older ones, who were rebellious, were forced to have sex with church officials just to breed more kids. And if those older children got out of line, they were killed. But what you don’t know, until now is that no child who was kept for breeding purposes was able to live over eighteen.”
“Why?” Swoopes asked. “They still got pussies and can still make babies.”
“You’s about a stupid ass nigga!” Yvonna yelled within the dark.
“Bitch, fuck you!”
“Both of you be quiet. You’re bringing unwanted attention.” Silence. “Now, the children over eighteen, weren’t allowed to live because they were legal,” Gabriella continued, “and many of them knew they could live on their own. I don’t know if you remember, Yvonna, but there was a lot of talk amongst the kids that, ‘when I turn eighteen I’ma do this, or when I turn eighteen I’
ma do that’.”
“I can’t remember a lot of things in my life at that time.”
“That’s because after I left you were heavily drugged. It’s a wonder you remember anything.”
Remembering her meds had gone missing in Vegas she said, “Before you finish, why did you dump my meds?”
“I didn’t.”
“If you didn’t who did?”
“Terrell,” Yvonna was hurt by her words.
“Why would he do that? I mean… he was the one wanting me to take them.”
“He wanted you to need him. And when you didn’t need him he decided to make you sick again. I caught him doing it and that’s when we had sex. I guess that small secret brought us together.”
“So you saying he’s in on all of this?”
“No.” she paused. “He didn’t know my real reasons for trying to get you alone which I was never able to do. The fool was really hoping you’d love him back.” She continued. “Now I had plans to try to be serious about him before all of this. I guess now it doesn’t matter,”
“That’s so fucking stupid.” Yvonna yelled. “Everybody knows Terrell will fuck anybody in and around me just to stay connected. He would’ve used you to make me jealous and just like the last bitch, kill her the moment I make time for him.”
Knowing she spoke truth Gabriella said, “Anyway,” then she exhaled, “When the kids turned eighteen they were murdered. But the ones who were sold to parents got to keep their lives. That’s how they kept so many kids in line. ‘Be good and live, be bad and you won’t make it to see your eighteenth birthday.’
“That was then,” she paused, “Now there are hubs in every state in America. Small churches fronted off as houses of worship. And in these places you can buy any child of any age group you want, and although most are African American children, I’m told that they just started breeding white kids, too.”
“They really ‘bout to make some serious cash now!” Swoopes yelled.
“Are you that fucking stupid? I mean, can you really be that crass?” Gabriella asked.
“Yeah, he can.” Yvonna said. “Bilal told me how Tamal “Tree” Green and his own father Poris use to rape him. It’s no wonder he’s still living, especially after I put a hit on that butthole in jail.”
“I’ma kill you, bitch.”
“Fuck you, you one eye having mothafucka!”
“It’s funny. The two of you hate each other so much, when in actuality, considering that you’re lone survivors, you should be best friends. What a waste.”
Silence.
“I can’t stand that bitch and she can’t stand me.”
“You got that right.” Yvonna paused before turning her attention back to Gabriella. “So, if all this is true, how come we still alive?”
“Because they wanted to see what you knew first, that’s why. There’s no use in killing you if you’ve told everybody about the operation. So the main person in charge, a man named Ernest Backer ordered to have you brought to him.”
“Thought you said you didn’t know who was in charge. When I asked you back in the suite.”
“I lied. But now since I’m about to die I don’t give a fuck no more.”
“So you know where he lives and everything?”
“Yes. When he took my daughter I made it my business to know more about him than he does me. I kept all of their secrets in a lock box in a town called St. Augustine in Florida. I have the names of the kids who are now adults, and their addresses.”
“So you haven’t been taking down these houses? I mean, the churches. You haven’t been responsible for shutting the operation down like you told me?”
“That much was true, but they caught up with me and took my only child. I had to stop fighting against them and start working with them instead.”
“If I could get out of this mothafucka, I would find each one of them bastards and kill them.” Swoopes said. “After all the shit they did to me.”
“What they do to you?” Yvonna asked. “You lost that raggedy ass eye and those fingers on the street.”
“Bitch, you never know what the fuck to say out of your mouth do you? Now shut the fuck up before I…”
“Before you what? Make me mad? Nigga, sit the fuck back before I unleash on your ass.” Just when she said that a garage door opened and in rolled a man in a wheel chair with two armed men behind him. At first her eyes adjusted to the darkness before he became clear. Then they flicked on the lights and she recognized them immediately. It was Bradshaw Hughes who before she ran him over in a truck, use to stand five feet eleven inches tall and looks like Idris Alba. He was also both Delilah and Boy’s father. What was odd was that the men with him were the same ones who fucked Ming the night she saw them sleeping on her suite floor. Niggas were always trying to get to her through Ming. And if they made it out of the situation alive, she would have to school her better.
“Did you like the note I sent you at breakfast?”
“It was you?” She said. “Bradshaw…how…did you find me?”
“Don’t worry about all that,” he rolled his chair into the room which they could now see was a garage. The windows, were all sealed with concrete and a used Ford truck sat toward the right. “Just know that I never forgot how you ruined my life resulting in me getting paralyzed. Just because you found out about some movie shit!”
“So you sold the people who are making that movie my story anyway?”
“Yep, and because of it I’m paid. I guess you should have finished me off after all.” Yvonna laughed. “What’s funny, bitch?!”
“I thought you couldn’t talk.” She laughed. “The last I heard you had to blink to respond to people.”
“Well with the right money, and the right doctors, anything is possible. And now, after all of this time, I’ll finally get to kill you.”
Yvonna thought back on the day she ran over him in a truck as he was taking a jog. All because she discovered he was selling the rights to her story. Now she wished she succeeded in killing him. “So these two niggas were fucking my friend trying to get at me?”
Bradshaw looked at them and said, “You fucked her friend?”
They both shrugged. “It didn’t start out like that. We were trying to wait on her. Her friend kept saying she was coming right back. One thing led to another and…”
“You fucked the bitch!” Bradshaw yelled from his seat. “You realize she’s my son’s mother don’t you?” He paused. “You told me you couldn’t find her or Yvonna.”
“Sorry, boss.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He said shaking his head. “We got her now.” He focused his attention on Yvonna and rolled his chair closer to her.
“Do whatever you fucking want to me,” Yvonna said. “I’m not scared anymore and I’m damn sure not about to kiss your ass. I lost everything and everybody I’ve ever loved.” Her thoughts went to Delilah and she prayed she would be okay, and that the small lessons she learned from her, would be enough to keep her strong.
“Don’t worry, I’m gonna deal with you soon enough. But before that, MY daughter wants to see you one last time before I kill you.” He grinned. “So I’m gonna honor that request.”
When he said that Delilah ran into the room and wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck. “Mommy, I love you! I’m so scared, mommy! What’s happening?”
Yvonna’s eyes widened as she held on to her daughter with the one arm that was free. “Baby, I’m soooo sorry. I love you sooo much!”
Yvonna held on to her tightly slightly relieved that the people who were responsible for her illness didn’t have her. Sure, she didn’t know what kind of man Bradshaw was, but at least he was her own flesh and blood. She only hoped he would do right by her.
“Listen,” Yvonna said pushing her back slightly while maintaining her hold on her arm, “I want you to know, that no matter what, your mother loves you.”
“I know, mommy, but I don’t want to leave you. Please don’t let him take me w
ith him.” She cried. “His rolly chair makes the scary lines.”
“What?” Delilah pointed at the floor and sure enough, behind Bradshaw’s chair was the two track marks whenever he moved. “Those are the scary lines?”
“Yes, mommy. I told you I wasn’t crazy.” She hugged her mother again.
“I’m so sorry for doubting you,” Yvonna cried hugging her tighter. “Even after everything I’ve been through I doubted you and I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
Bradshaw, angry that the expensive chair he bought left track marks said, “She saw my tire tracks?”
“Yes, stupid ass nigga!”
Bradshaw kept his chair serviced by a local technician and whenever he would finish the work, he would apply too much black oil, which left marks. He didn’t even go into his own home with his chair because of it, but it was motorized and his favorite. “Let’s go, Delilah. Your mother has somewhere to be.”
“I don’t want to leave,” Delilah held on to her mother’s neck tighter.
“Please do right by her, Bradshaw. She’s your daughter. Look into her eyes she’s your daughter.”
Shyt List 4: Children of the Wronged (The Cartel Publications Presents) Page 21
