by Ashley
“Because too much has happened. Some things are meant to remain secrets of the past. Don’t tell him about me, about her; give me your word,” Breeze said.
Kai was silent for a long time and Breeze gave her a few moments to weigh her options in her head. Breeze knew what decision she would come to. Kai did not want to lose the possibility of a life with Zyir. Self-gain always won out in the end.
“I won’t say anything,” Kai said.
“Of course, you won’t,” Breeze said. She walked away with sadness rising with each step she took. Breeze had lost a lot in her lifetime. It seemed that she could never truly find a happiness to call her own. There was always a piece missing, but she told herself that no one could have it all. She had Zyir’s seed and that meant she would always have a piece of him. So, when the days grew long and her heart grew weary, she would be able to look into Aurora’s eyes and know that once upon a time she had been loved and in return had loved someone. She had walking, talking proof, and as Breeze placed her baby in the car seat and walked around to enter the driver’s side she took one last look up at the building. Zyir was right inside. All she had to do was go back for her man, but she knew that she couldn’t. She knew that she shouldn’t. It was just she and her daughter, and she realized that was enough.
Breeze was tired. She was ready to live a whole new life. She had made plans to go find Estes and reunite with her family, but she just couldn’t. She didn’t want any reminders of the tumultuous past. Breeze decided right then and there, as she pulled away, that Zyir, the Cartel, and even her last living brother, Carter, would remain in her rear view. She had her daughter and she had the future ahead of her. It was all she needed.
CHAPTER 18
Carter sat stoically as he looked out the window of the private plane. The trip had taken sixteen straight hours and Carter hoped it would be worth their while. He looked over to Anari. She was sleeping, which was a compliment to his character because she didn’t trust anyone enough to close her eyes around them. Trust had been established between them. Carter admired her beauty. Her light skin and brown hair that had been highlighted blond and was cut short fit her perfectly. Faces like hers didn’t usually run empires and Carter would be lying if he said he hadn’t underestimated her. She was a natural born hustler and Carter knew that if she had brought them all this far, it was for good reason. The flight concierge came by and nudged Anari out of her rest.
“I’m sorry to wake you, but the captain would like to begin his initial descent. Could you please buckle up?” the woman asked.
Anari nodded and cleared her throat as she fingered her short pixie cut before putting on her seat belt.
“How long was I out?” she asked.
“A few hours,” Carter replied. “I’m anxious to hear what your people here have to say.”
“There is a round table. The same families have dominated the D.R. for decades. We’ll meet them all informally tonight at the pits,” Anari informed. “Tomorrow, we will discuss business.”
“The pits?” Carter inquired, with a raised brow.
“It’s quite brutal,” Anari responded. “But it’s a tradition here. Men put boys in a gladiator’s battle and let them fight. No rules, no holds barred, just the survival of the fittest.”
“What type of shit is that?” Carter asked with a frown. “They fight people like dogs?”
“Yeah, the right man gets the right fighter and he can make a lot of money. We aren’t talking friendly wagers. I’m talking about quarter-million-dollar fights. They train these kids like professionals,” Anari said.
“That’s fucked up,” Carter said.
“It’s the way of the land,” Anari responded with a shrug. The plane hit the tarmac with unexpected ease and Carter looked out his window. He wanted to make sure that their entry into this country was undetected. The last thing he needed was for anyone to determine his whereabouts. He had taken great precautions to live out of the scope of the feds’ radar and he wanted to keep it that way.
“Relax. I don’t move sloppy. It’s a private airstrip,” Anari said, easing some of the tension in his chest.
“I’m getting too old for this shit,” he said with a laugh as he shook his head. The amount of anxiety and turmoil he felt in his heart kept him up at night. Being away from his family was weighing on him but the only way to get to them and make things right was to go through Anari. He had to play things her way if he wanted to free his wife and find his son.
Anari chuckled softly as she made her way to the exit. A bulletproof, black-on-black truck waited for them at the end of a red carpet.
Carter looked around, his neck on a swivel, as he entered the vehicle. The dirt roads kicked up dust as they drove through the city streets. Barefoot children ran after the car excitedly, waving and laughing as they sped by.
“Such a beautiful country with such poverty,” Anari said more to herself than anyone else.
“Pull over,” Carter stated.
“Señor?” the driver frowned as if he hadn’t heard him right.
“Right up here, pull over,” Carter instructed.
“We don’t have time—”
“We’ll make time,” Carter said sternly. He got out of the car, the warm humidity causing sweat to form instantly on his forehead. He removed his suit jacket and tossed it inside as he watched the kids catch up to him.
He pulled a wad of money out of his pocket and the children cheered as he began passing out hundred-dollar bills. You would have thought they were meeting Santa Claus himself the way they jumped for joy. The beautiful faces of these kids touched him as he thought of his own son. He would want someone to do the same if God forbid his son ever needed it. The more bills he passed out the more kids accumulated and Carter gave freely until he was out of money to give.
He was swarmed with hugs and Carter could barely walk as he made his way back to the car. They clung to him as if he had saved their lives. He waved goodbye and retreated to the air-conditioned temperatures of the truck.
“You can’t save them all,” Anari said.
“No, but those few won’t go hungry tonight,” he answered.
Anari nodded and a rare smile graced her face as the driver slowly rolled away.
Carter was a man of character and he believed there was no point in getting money if you weren’t going to give a little of it back. He’d done enough wrongdoings in his attempt to acquire wealth that he had to balance it out somehow. It was what made him sleep easy at night. Lately, that had been a lost privilege anyway. With his son’s whereabouts unknown and the love of his life behind bars, rest hadn’t come easy and the bags under his eyes showed it. Carter had never wanted to retire from the game as much as he did now. He remembered a time when he had hung on to his throne with no thought of ever coming off it, but now he craved normalcy. He used to clown the average Joe with the average job. He had never understood the mentality of working a nine to five, but now he envied the man who lived that simple life. Living check to check meant a man didn’t have to live bullet to bullet. It may not have been a grand life but it wasn’t a dangerous one either. Joe ain’t never had to watch his wife take a bid, Carter thought.
His reverie was interrupted when he noticed they were pulling into the gates of an old factory. Expensive cars lined the sides of the road as men in suits made their way inside.
Carter and Anari exited the vehicle.
“Matias will meet us at the entrance inside,” Anari said. “Leave your pistol. There are no guns allowed inside.”
“I bring my gun everywhere,” Carter insisted.
“We are on their territory. Your one gun won’t do much against the hundred men that will be inside. Just trust me. I wouldn’t lead you into the darkness,” Anari pushed.
Carter reluctantly left his weapon and then made his way inside.
“Anari, welcome beautiful lady.” She was greeted warmly as soon as she stepped foot in the building.
“Matias.” Anari beamed. �
��Thank you for having us. This is my associate, Carter.”
Carter nodded in acknowledgment.
“First we play and tomorrow we talk business. I’ve got the best seat in the house for you. Will you be placing wagers this evening?” Matias asked.
“No, we’re just here to observe,” Carter answered sternly.
Carter and Anari would have been seated ringside, if a ring existed at all. They were front and center as they watched the crowd slowly filter in. It was like a real sport and Carter couldn’t believe that these people had the stomach for this. He was all for professional boxing and could even deal with the MMA stuff, but when he saw a young boy walk out into the ring it instantly enraged him. This shit ain’t sport, Carter thought. He felt Anari place a calming hand on his forearm and he took a deep breath.
“Their house, their rules,” she leaned into him and said. “Remember the bigger picture. We can’t save them all.”
Carter’s jaw was tense as he watched the crowd react to the vicious fight between youths.
Grown men hooted and hollered around him. It was savagery in its rawest form.
Carter stood to his feet when his eyes fell on the next fighter.
C.J.? he thought. His mind was playing tricks on him and he squeezed his eyes closed and opened them, hoping that the picture before him would be different. That’s not my son. That can’t be my son. He’s in the States, back home, somewhere in foster care. Suddenly the idea of him being in the system seemed so much more comforting than this reality.
A mixture of anger and pride filled him as C.J. moved around the pit with skilled athleticism, taking no prisoners as he delivered blow after devastating blow. He was taller than Carter remembered. The years had crept by and at almost thirteen he was coming into his mannish looks and clearly, he had been conditioned for this fight.
“C.J.!” Carter shouted. His voice caused a momentary lapse in focus as they locked in on each other. A flicker of recognition reflected in C.J.’s eyes and his opponent didn’t waste the opportunity to send a crashing jab to C.J.’s jaw. It staggered him and before he could recover he was hit again with an uppercut that rocked him. Carter was on the floor in an instant but Anari pulled him back.
“Let him finish. He’s been trained for this,” Anari said.
“That’s my son out there,” Carter protested, livid as pure rage coursed through his veins.
“And he was winning before you distracted him,” Anari commented.
Carter shrugged her off and rushed over to the fight, pulling the boy off his son and flinging him across the pit.
The crowd erupted in protest and Carter pulled C.J. to his feet. “Get off me!” C.J. shouted. “I’m the best fighter here. I got this. I don’t need your help!” Carter was taken aback as C.J. snatched his arm away from him.
“Boo!” the crowd antagonized as Carter looked on in utter confusion. “How are you here? Who the fuck got you into this shit?” Carter had so many questions. He had sent people to the Dominican Republic in search of his son and they had come back short of information. How had he missed this?
When Estes stepped into the pit, suddenly it all made sense. Carter met Estes halfway across the circular arena and before Estes could speak one word Carter leveled him with one blow. The old man was no match for Carter, not where hands were concerned. Carter pulled his backup piece. He had warned Anari that he never went anywhere without being armed. He may have left one gun in the car, but the one holstered on his ankle was readily accessible. He pointed it on Estes. Within seconds another gun was pointed at the back of his head. This was Estes’s house, Estes’s territory. Carter had let his temper get the best of him, but when it came to his son there were no limits.
“Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn’t do it.” Anari came out of nowhere, with her own small-caliber pistol aimed at the man who was threatening Carter. The entire arena was silent as everyone tried to guess how this would pan out.
“Carter, be smart,” Estes said as he rolled over on his side to spit blood from his mouth. “You shoot me and what then? C.J. witnesses his father gunned down and then fed to the pigs. No harm has come to him in my care. This is just a hobby.”
Carter pulled back the hammer on his gun. “You’ve been hiding my son from me? For what? So he could represent you in this fight? You breeding my boy like he’s a slave? Putting him to work for you? Training him like an animal? Tell me why I shouldn’t blow your top, old man, because I’m feeling real trigger happy right now.” The threat was real. The tone of his voice said it all. Estes would die tonight if Carter had anything to say about it.
“Stop!” C.J. yelled, enraged as he stormed over to help Estes off the ground. “Nobody forced me to do nothing! I want to fight! I’m the best and you coming here messed up everything we worked for. I didn’t ask you to show up here! Just go back to where you came from cuz I don’t need you anymore! You’re too late! I’ve been waiting for you to come back for years and now you want to come in like I need saving! I like it here and I’m not going with you! This is my home now! I’m a man, I can take care of myself.”
Estes motioned for his goon to lower his weapon and Anari slowly lowered hers as well. Carter stormed after C.J. The amount of resentment he heard from his son was wounding.
“C.J.!” Carter shouted. He grabbed him by the elbow and turned him around. “Don’t turn your back to me. I’m your—”
Before he could finish his sentence, his chest throbbed with excruciation. It felt like someone was squeezing his heart, trying to stop it from beating, and Carter’s face twisted in agony. Spittle flew from his mouth as he pursed his lips and blew out a sharp breath as he gripped the left side of his pectoral.
“Carter?” He heard Anari’s voice.
“Dad?!” C.J. called out, his tone going from anger to worry as Carter fell forward into his son’s arms. The weight of Carter sent them both to the ground and C.J. held his father, leaning Carter’s back against his chest as Carter gasped for air. His eyes were wide in desperation. He just couldn’t get enough air in.
Breathe, he told himself. Fucking breathe.
A slow burn spread through the entire front of his body and Carter kicked his feet as he attempted to stand. He never left the ground. He just kept scooting C.J. back, farther and farther.
“Somebody help me! Dad?! Dad?!” C.J. was crying. Carter could hear his son wailing in his ears and for the first time in his life Carter was afraid. He gripped his son’s hand as he tried to concentrate on the beat of C.J.’s racing heart.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
He could feel C.J.’s heartbeat as he leaned against his son. The rapid pace matched the panic and commotion around him but it didn’t match his own heart that was slowing down by the second. With each beat, agony struck like lightning, and he knew his beats were numbered.
“Just breathe, Carter,” Anari said as she knelt in front of him.
He knew he was in trouble from the look in her eyes. The woman who let nothing rattle her feared what was happening.
I’m dying, he thought. The intense pain never let up and he gripped C.J.’s hand, wanting his son to be the last person he felt before he took his last breath. He closed his eyes and saw Miamor’s beauty behind his lids. It made him want to keep them closed forever.
“Dad! Open your eyes! Keep your eyes open! Help is coming.” It was C.J.’s cries that forced him to pop his lids back open but it was so hard. Fighting this feeling, resisting this transition was impossible. He squinted his eyes in panic when he saw his brother, Mecca, standing across the pit. He just stood there, still, among the crowd and Carter blinked away the image.
Carter couldn’t keep fighting for much longer and when his grip around C.J.’s hand went limp, C.J. knew that his father was gone.
“No! Man, no!” C.J. cried, not caring who witnessed his weakness.
Anari put both hands over her mouth in shock as she knelt and touched Carter’s neck. There was no pulse. There was no … well, there was nothin
g. Carter was gone. C.J. looked up at her with hope in his stare, but she shook her head letting him know that his father was no more.
C.J. hugged Carter so tightly that it brought tears to Anari’s eyes. Finally, the ambulance arrived but it was too little too late. Unless they were raising the dead, they couldn’t help. Carter had passed and if her eyes hadn’t deceived her, Anari was sure that he had felt every tortuous second of it. Estes and Anari looked down at C.J. in sympathy.
“Come on kid, let’s allow the people to do their jobs,” Estes said.
C.J. stood, reluctantly releasing his father. His rage boiled over as he kicked at the dirt and flipped over the rectangular table where men placed their bets. He just wanted to hurt someone, anyone would do, even if it was himself. He sat in one of the chairs and brought his elbows to his knees as his hands rested on top of his head.
I don’t know what to do, he thought. He had never thought he would lose his father at such a young age, but now that he had, C.J. was devastated.
Estes could see the steam boiling off C.J. More and more, Estes was understanding C.J. Every pain in his life was transformed into aggression. Anger and hurt went together like beans and rice in his mind. C.J. wouldn’t heal from this. No one had taught him how to take the hard stuff so that it didn’t fester and turn into a bigger problem later. This would be another source of rage for him. It would be what he drew on to help him win his fights. C.J. watched as they loaded up his father’s body. He was underneath a white sheet and the beautiful woman he hadn’t been formally introduced to was at his father’s side, giving directions to the paramedics.
C.J. sat there for a long while. Even after every man in attendance had cleared the place, C.J. couldn’t bring himself to leave. He could feel his father there and he knew once he walked out their connection would be severed. Estes didn’t rush him. He just gave him space to feel whatever emotion he had assigned as appropriate. C.J. often got emotions mixed up in his head. He was so full of so many things that had gone unresolved that when things happened to him it was often a mystery as to how he would respond.
