Abrianna sighed and then gave up the ghost. “Yeah. There’s truth to it.”
“Shit.” Tomi pulled away from the phone for a long moment and then asked, “Are you sure you still want to do this?”
Abrianna’s thoughts drifted to Kadir. “I really don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“Wrong,” Tomi corrected. “You always have a choice.”
Abrianna nodded. “I’m not changing my mind. I’m doing the interviews.” She disconnected the call and then tossed the phone across the bed.
“Are you all right?” Shawn asked.
“I’m fine.”
Shawn wheeled over to her. “Hang in there. You’re stronger than you know.”
“Humph.” She shook her head. “Is this what we’re reduced to, cheap sympathy clichés?”
“Would you rather I find you a Hallmark card? I’m sure there’s a ‘Sorry your father is a sadist fuck’ section.”
Abrianna chuckled despite there being nothing funny about the situation.
“Get some sleep.” He kissed the side of her head and then wheeled off to his guest bedroom.
Abrianna stood and walked over to one of the long windows, thinking. She’d worked hard to put the past behind her. I hope they give his ass the needle.
A light rain drizzled across the windowpane. The chill from the glass seeped into her bones. When she closed her eyes, her brother’s screams echoed across time and built into a crescendo in her ears. Before she knew it, she was back in that House of Horrors, hiding in her closet and praying . . .
“Stop! Stop! Stop! Please God, make it stop,” nine-year-old Abrianna prayed.
But Samuel wouldn’t stop screaming. It was different this time. There was more than pain in his voice. It was torture, and she wanted it to stop. Why wouldn’t anyone make him stop?
She had to do it.
That thought frightened her. What the hell could she do? She could never fight Cargill when it was her turn.
But Samuel was smaller.
Tears streamed down her face. She resented the half of herself that argued that she do something. If she crawled out of that closet, she was putting herself at risk. Why was she such a coward?
Where is Marion? Why didn’t she ever help?
Her mother was likely passed out drunk or snorting that stuff that made her sleep all the time. She never did a damn thing to help either one of them. Why would she do so tonight?
Whack!
Samuel’s voice hit a note that made Abrianna’s head snap up. Then there was the steady banging of Samuel’s headboard against their shared bedroom wall.
Unable to take it anymore, Abrianna rolled onto her knees and reached for the closet’s doorknob. Once it was opened, she stuffed her fear down as far as it could go and rushed out with her heart in her throat to her father’s downstairs study. She’d seen him show off his gun to a number of his friends and knew where he kept it. She also knew the passcode to open the safe. He always said it aloud when punching it in. After removing the gun, a power surged through her. It was amazing what a weapon could do, the confidence it instilled. She climbed back up the stairs, her heart hammering to get out of her chest. At his bedroom door, tears poured to the point she could barely see.
Abrianna reached for the knob, but the master suite’s door swung open behind her and Marion gasped, “Bree!”
She ignored Marion and threw open Samuel’s bedroom door. Cargill’s head jerked up. His sweaty, naked body hovered behind little Samuel. Abrianna stood frozen, staring.
“Come and join the party, Abrianna,” Cargill said.
Sobbing, Abrianna aimed the gun.
“Bree, no!” Marion yelled.
Cargill stood and Samuel scrambled to get out of the way.
“I hate you,” Bree cried, firing the gun until it ran out of bullets . . .
Abrianna pulled out of the memory, sobbing. She tossed herself across the bed and cried until her head throbbed and desperation filled her. She needed something; something to make her forget, something to numb the pain. Climbing out of bed, Abrianna dressed, crept through the apartment, and slithered out the front door in search of a fix.
32
Zeke folded Angel over like a taco and deep-stroked his way to paradise. He needed something to work out his frustrations. Abrianna had vanished like a fucking ghost. He’d interrogated every bitch at the Stallion Gentlemen’s Club and even her neighbors at her apartment building. Nobody knew, heard, or had seen shit. He learned that Shawn White had been released from the hospital and tracked down his home address, but when he kicked in the door, the apartment was empty. This bitch and her friends stayed two steps ahead, and that crawled underneath his skin.
The heat was on after he promised Cargill Parker that he would find his daughter. But he caught a break. Parker had been arrested tonight. The news was a shocker. Nowadays, old money never got so much as a traffic ticket. The arrest meant Parker had some powerful enemies.
One of the three cell phones by his bed rang.
Annoyed, Zeke stopped in mid-stroke, twisted toward the nightstand, and grabbed the phone. “Hey.” He reclaimed one of Angel’s legs and resumed stroking and banging her head into the headboard.
“Yo, boss, uh. It’s Flash here. Are those five stacks still up for that chick that used to dance down at the Stallion?”
Zeke stopped. “Why? You’ve seen her?”
“Not me. But my nigga Socks was talking shit about seeing her down her at the trap house on Benning. My man sold her an eight ball of that Cotton Candy. He said that it looked like she was partying solo. If you want, I can go back there and keep an eyeball on her until your crew swings through.”
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
“You’re coming yourself?”
“Yeah. Sit on that bitch until I get there.” Zeke ended the call.
Disappointed, Angel groaned when Zeke pulled out and bolted from the bed. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah.” Dick wet, he threw on some clothes. “Keep that pussy ready for when I get back.”
“You got it, baby,” she cooed, pulling up the sheets over her body while he snatched open the nightstand drawer and grabbed his gun.
“This shouldn’t take long,” he said. “Be back in about an hour.” He strolled out of the bedroom and then raced out of the house. He signaled Spider and Defoe, who patrolled the estate, to get the car. Within minutes, they peeled out of the property and rocketed to D.C.
* * *
“Bree? Can you hear me?” Draya asked, cradling her face in between her hands. “Bree?”
Abrianna ignored the voice while zooming across the vast galaxy inside her mind. The freedom was exhilarating and orgasmic. Every cell in her body burst with energy. She never felt so alive. If only she could stay in this pain-free zone forever.
“She’s not waking up,” Draya said.
“Guys,” Ghost said. “I can’t find a pulse.”
“She’s all right. Help me get her up.”
Ghost shook his head. “How do I keep getting myself into this shit?” He lifted Abrianna from a corner of the dingy trap house, hoisted her over his shoulder, and proceeded to carry her.
Two menacing-looking men filled the doorway. “Sorry, man. But she’s not leaving.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Ghost barked. “Get the hell out of the way.”
The guns came out, but before the dealers could take aim, Draya and Ghost had their weapons pointed at them.
“I said get the fuck out of the way,” Ghost repeated.
The guys held their ground; but one could almost hear the rusted gears in their head grind against one another.
Ghost spoke up, “Are you boys hard of hearing?”
“We got strict orders to keep her here until the boss man shows up. So the bitch ain’t leaving.”
Two sliders racked before gun barrels were dug into the back of the dealers’ heads and finalized the conversation.
“You were
saying?” Shawn asked calmly.
The dealers’ hands flew up in surrender.
“We’ll take those,” Julian said. He and Shawn seized the men’s weapons. “Thank you.”
“Man, you’re going to fuck us up if that bitch ain’t here when Zeke arrives.”
“Zeke?” Shawn double-checked.
“Yeah. He wants that chick bad. We were guaranteed five stacks.”
Julian said. “Tell you what. We’ll do you a solid.” He brought the butt of his gun down on the back of one guy’s head. He dropped like a stone.
The other guy’s eyes bulged and he swore, “Oh, shit.”
Shawn cracked the back of the second dealer’s head, and he collapsed next to his friend. “C’mon. Let’s get the fuck out of here.” He turned and strolled with his cane like a pimp.
Ghost shook his head. “I swear you muthafuckas stay mixed up in some shit.”
Draya’s gaze sliced toward him. “All right. I got your muthafucka in my left pocket.”
“I didn’t mean . . . uh . . .” Realizing that he’d shoved his foot into his mouth, Ghost put a cork in it. However, when they reached the van, a revved engine in the distance caught everyone’s attention. “Let me guess . . . Zeke?” Ghost asked.
“Hurry,” Draya ordered. “We got to get the hell out of here.”
Ghost hustled to place Abrianna into the back of the van and hopped inside. Tivonté, already behind the wheel, cranked the engine. Once everyone was inside, he floored it.
* * *
Zeke spotted the black van as it took off in the opposite direction from the trap house. Instinct kicked in. “Follow that van!”
Spider floored it, but the van had a good jump on them.
Anxious and fearful that the van would get away, Zeke powered down his window, leaned out and started firing. Not to be outdone by the boss, Spider and Defoe followed suit. However, when the van’s back door burst open, they were unprepared for the artillery fire that flew back at them.
“Holy shit,” the three men yelled.
Spider yanked on the steering wheel.
Bullets punched across the windshield, sawing both Defoe and Spider in half. The SUV veered off the road as Zeke leaped for the wheel before the van plowed head-on into a utility pole.
Bam!
The impact sounded like an explosion, and the entire block went black.
33
Slap! Slap!
Abrianna felt sting after sting of someone’s open palm across her face. But she’d be damned if she could rouse herself enough to care. In fact, she welcomed the pain. The punishment was nothing less than what she deserved . . .
Nine-year-old Abrianna stood in Samuel’s doorway and lowered the weapon. She stared in quiet shock into Cargill’s wide eyes.
Marion wailed as she bolted past Abrianna, bumping her shoulder.
Abrianna dropped the gun, smashing her bare foot. She didn’t feel it or the throb in her wrists. In fact, she didn’t feel anything. Finally, she freed her herself from Cargill’s green stare and swept her gaze across the destruction she’d caused. There was so much blood; splattered on the walls, sprayed across the sheets, and soaking the carpet.
“Nooooo!” Marion sobbed, holding and rocking Samuel. “My baby. Noooo. I’m sorry. Please. Noooo!”
A switch clicked off in Abrianna’s head, disconnecting her emotions from the morose characters as if they were all acting out an old black-and-white movie on a silver screen. She couldn’t process this. Her mind refused.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Marion bawled.
On the floor, Cargill made raspy noises, desperately fighting for oxygen.
Marion’s weepy gaze swept away from Samuel and impaled Abrianna. “Look at what you did,” she shrieked.
Abrianna’s heart dropped as something warm trickled down her legs. Embarrassment scorched her face when she saw the puddle on the floor.
“You did this,” Marion hissed, wrenching Abrianna’s attention back.
Their gazes crashed.
“You, evil, evil little girl. You killed him. It’s all your fault!”
Her mean words burst the protective bubble her mind had formed around herself. The film stopped, and reality returned in vivid color.
“You did this,” Marion accused, her voice echoing in her head and down through the years . . .
* * *
Slap! Slap! Slap!
“Goddamn it. She’s not waking up,” Draya sobbed. “What the fuck did she take?”
“We’ve got to get her to a doctor,” Ghost said.
“No,” her friends thundered.
Abrianna’s eyelashes fluttered as she cranked her lids open an inch. Blurred images moved and argued above her.
“Absolutely no doctors,” Shawn declared.
Ghost tossed up his hands. “What the hell is with her and doctors? The goal is to save her fucking life. I like the chick and everything, but she can’t be dying up in my crib and shit.”
“Doctors ask too many questions,” Draya said.
“You mean like how did she die?”
“She’s not dead! We just have to wake her up.”
“How? Doing a séance or some shit? You’ve been knocking the crap out of her for hours.”
“Shut up,” Draya huffed and returned to Abrianna to smack her around again. “C’mon, Bree. Snap out of it. I know that you can do it.”
Abrianna blinked.
Draya gasped, “Hey! Hey! Did you guys see that?”
Julian, Shawn, Tivonté, and Ghost crowded around and stared. “What? What happened?”
“She blinked,” Draya said. “I saw it.”
“No fucking way,” Ghost countered. “She’s not even breathing. You’re seeing things.”
“No. I’m not! She blinked. I’m telling you. I know what I saw.”
They hushed and resumed staring.
Frustrated, Ghost huffed, “Look. I’m not trying to be an asshole or anything, but your girl is gone, and we need to figure out what to do because she can’t be found here. We have to come up with a damn good story because that reporter chick keeps blowing up that burner. Not to mention, I don’t know what to tell my man Kadir about this shit.”
“She’s not dead,” Draya screamed. “Why can’t you get that shit through your thick, muscled head?”
“She not breathing,” Ghost roared. “She doesn’t even have a pulse. I know dead when I fucking see it!”
Abrianna gasped, rolled over, and vomited. Luckily, she was in a bathtub.
“Bree,” Draya and Shawn shouted.
Thunderstruck, Ghost tumbled backward, his eyes as wide as silver dollars. “How in the fuck?”
Abrianna emptied her belly and then dry-heaved until her stomach locked into a charley horse. She was gasping; her lungs rattled in her chest while her throat felt like she’d been drinking acid in her sleep.
A crying Draya stroked Abrianna’s hair and consoled her, “It’s okay. You’re all right. Everything is going to be all right.”
Tears splashed down Abrianna’s face as she brushed Draya’s hands away. Why was everyone always telling her that? It wasn’t all right. She would never be all right.
Someone turned on the shower and washed most of the gunk off Abrianna’s clothes and hair.
Ghost remained incredulous. “This shit ain’t right. What the fuck am I looking at? Somebody gotta tell me something, goddamn it.”
Draya snapped. “Can you chill the fuck out and help us get her out of this tub?”
“You evil, evil, little girl!” Marion’s voice echoed in Abrianna’s head, damning her.
Ghost swooped in and lifted her out the tub and carried her, still soaking wet, back to her room. The whole way, he grumbled about being out of the loop. However, he was gentle placing her onto the bed.
After that, Abrianna’s clique kicked him out of the room.
Draya stripped off Abrianna’s clothes while repeating the lie about how everything was going to be all righ
t. She needed to get her warm. The next day, Abrianna woke up buried beneath layers of blankets and comforters. She dug herself out, confused as to her whereabouts. Angry voices outside the bedroom door drew her attention.
Groaning, Abrianna climbed out of bed and discovered that she was naked. When she spotted a bag on the floor, she remembered. Fuck. She threw on some clothes and then shuffled out of the room. The moment she opened the door, her friends shushed each other and smiled oddly when she entered the living room.
“Morning,” she grumbled, her throat raw and scratchy.
“How are you feeling?” Draya and Shawn asked in unison.
“Like shit,” she admitted. “Any coffee?”
“I can fix you some,” Draya said, hopping up and rushing to do Abrianna’s bidding.
“Thanks,” Abrianna croaked.
Julian shook his head. She looks like hell.
Abrianna responded, “I look like I just woke up. What’s your excuse, Jules?”
“Excuse me?” he asked.
“If you’re going to talk shit about how I look, then fuck off.”
Julian looked around to the others before addressing her. “I didn’t say anything.”
“I heard you,” she snapped grumpily.
Shawn shook his head. “He didn’t say anything, Bree.” Oh, my God. Now she’s going crazy.
“I’m not going crazy,” she defended. “I heard him plain as day.”
Shawn cocked his head and stared.
Ghost said, What in the hell have I gotten myself into with this crazy group?
“Fuck, Ghost. I’m not begging anybody to help me out. If you don’t want us here, we can go.” She slumped into a chair, swearing and propping her head in her hand. “My head.”
Draya returned with her coffee. “Here you go,”
“Thanks.” She accepted the cup. Then Draya realized that everyone was staring at Abrianna.
“What did I miss?” Draya asked.
Shawn answered. “Nothing. Abrianna is arguing with herself.”
“Whatever,” Abrianna grumbled and sipped her coffee. The hot liquid aggravated her throat, but the caffeine was welcome. Her gaze landed on a book next to Ghost. Telekinesis: Fact or Fiction?
She glanced up, frowning.
“Research,” said Ghost.
Collusion Page 16
