Shivers and a strong release of fluids shot out of Glitter, the imagery spellbinding and mesmerizing. Russell fell on his back, inches from missing the bed, and Emerald’s lips fell into his lap. The drug’s control over her increased her strength and released the beast. Her teeth remained in attendance and, after seconds of slurps, scraped deep and hard into his flesh. The pain pushed Russell to sit up. However, the drugs numbed the pain and soothed it before he could truly experience the damage.
Once the shock wore off, Emerald showed her bloodstained teeth during her fit of laughter, the deep red bouncing off the room’s light colors. Russell’s groin was covered in blood, and although the sight alone was traumatizing to the average eye, these drug-induced individuals saw no harm in the wound. They saw it as them taking their antics to a new level. Common sense and human instincts were kicked to the side and an animalistic nature brought to the surface by the pills. Their eyes were clouded, and constant sweat adorned their foreheads, personalities shifted and consideration halted. They were no longer themselves, no longer on earth.
Savage tendencies took over, scenes from a vampire television show script were set in motion and gruesome at heart. Emerald continued what she started and seconds into it was interrupted by Glitter, who insisted on taking over. The room was moving. Russell’s vision was contorted, yet he imagined himself on a quiet island while listening to the ocean, a world far from reality. After two minutes on the beach, Russell came back to the present. The present where all four girls he was hired to infect were now in the bed. Each woman catered to him orally, one after the other. When they were bored, they allowed his virus-filled erected tool inside their healthy interiors. It was a weapon no metal detector could discover, but it could still kill with one shot.
Renee watched, swishing around the untouched liquor in her glass. No head came up for air. No body disconnected from Russell’s. It was another world they visited far, far from ours. Renee had her concerns. She wondered if the ploy she planned would succeed, or if luck would be with the women and keep them from catching Russell’s illness. But as she watched the sexual acts continue, Whisper, who was now happy and carefree, and Windy, no longer territorial but willing to share, positioned themselves in such a compromising way that blood acted as their lubrication. Renee shifted her head in an uncomfortable position, determined to see where their positions ended and started. It was then, when a cramp in her neck started to form, she knew her goal had been accomplished.
Chapter 30
After watching people commit to sex for hours, it would be a long time before Renee watched another porno again. Whatever pills they absorbed turned them into never-ending freaks and boosted their energy by ten. No one noticed Renee leave the room, and no one heard the large bang when she opened and closed the door. Russell had fulfilled his job requirements, and now it was time she left. The club was back in full swing and more crowded than she remembered. Girls Renee didn’t select to attend her special party watched her walk across the floor. Behind her, they searched for the girls who were considered the cream of the crop. Renee saw their looks and knew their questionable thoughts, but she continued to walk unbothered until one of them stopped her.
“Hi, excuse me, miss?”
Renee turned around, a small, timid, respectful voice calling for her attention.
“If you need someone else for another one of your parties, I’m available,” she offered.
Renee looked at the girl. She was no older than 22, life still in her eyes and her innocence still intact. She smiled at her, the ugly side of this life not yet a reality to her.
“The party I had you don’t want no part of, and by the looks of you, you don’t belong here.”
Renee walked away from the girl, leaving her words to settle in her mind and rethink whether the week she had been working at the club was really worth it. Reaching for the club’s door, Renee’s ears picked up on a conversation between two men who sat beside the exit, their table smothered with beers.
“Yo, you heard about Jared?”
“Jared . . . that name sounds familiar,” said the old-school gangster whose tattoos told the story of his life on his neck. He tried to put a face to the name, and when he finally did, he looked back at the young stockbroker in shock.
“You talking about that hothead who works for Jordan?”
The young man nodded his head. “Dude’s dead. On my way here I heard he committed suicide.”
“Fuck outta here!” the OG screamed. He sat forward, his eyes wide. He was no longer interested in his drink.
Renee stood in the center of the doorway, her skin flushed with color. She looked at the men talking about Jared and told herself it was not true, that they had the wrong man in mind. But the more she listened to them speak, the more they confirmed they had the right person and that the pain she felt was justified.
* * *
Red, white, and blue beacon lights outlined the sky while sadness filled its interior. Mobs of civilians gathered around the tragedy-stricken home while uniformed individuals performed their duties. Discomfort stuck itself to the stale air, catering to the tinted windows of the vehicle Renee sat in, her clear brown skin now pale and saturated with horror. Voices seeping inside the cracked passenger’s window became her informants.
Jared committed suicide. Beside his corpse sat a photo of an attractive woman no one had ever seen or at least remembered. For an hour, her seating arrangement had not changed, and although the chaos slowly dwindled away, Renee’s thoughts remained in place along with her behind the wheel. Curious bystanders left the crime scene, their heads swaying from left to right and their mouths repeating details given by police. Finally, Renee was given a clear view of Jared’s home, its firm-standing architecture overwhelming her. She had never been to his home, and now that it was in her sight, she didn’t know how to feel. Her hand slid down the window, her last effort at having a connection with Jared. She was lost in the moment, and a knock against the window startled Renee. Pulling herself together, she rid herself of any emotions and looked out the window at Officer Reynolds.
Reynolds squinted, struggling to peer through the tint. He was shocked to see Renee’s car at the scene and automatically approached the vehicle. Renee wiggled herself out of the driver’s seat and, once secure, unlocked the doors with a push of a button, the clicking noise inviting Reynolds inside.
Reynolds flopped down in the seat. A defeated and agitated look was sprawled across his face. “Didn’t expect to see you here, but since you are, know that you’ll be receiving your up-front money back tomorrow morning. I just have to get it from my safe deposit box in Staten Island.” Reynolds’ tone was sour. Renee was paying him big money to lock Jared up, and now that Jared had disposed of himself, Reynolds would never see the additional $300,000 promised once the job was complete. And what made it worse was that Reynolds had spent the money that hadn’t even touched his palms yet.
“Keep it,” Renee mumbled.
Reynolds’ eyebrows quickly rose in confusion. “Keep it?”
Changing the subject, Renee inquired, “The picture everyone’s talking about, is it of me?” She never looked at Reynolds. Instead, she dedicated her stare to the world outside of the window.
“Yup.” Reynolds stuffed his hands inside of his pockets. Never had he been so uncomfortable around a woman in his entire life. She was allowing him to keep $300,000 for starting a job he had not completed. This did not sit well with him and only made him question her ulterior motives.
“Besides you, does anyone else know or suspect that photo is of me?”
“Not at all, and if they do, it means shit now.”
Dirty cops did dirty things, and stealing items from a crime scene was one of them. From his jeans pocket, Reynolds pulled out the photo and put it on the armrest between them. Slowly, he placed his hand inside his coat pocket instead of his jeans.
Snatching the picture, Renee folded it in two and stuffed it in her pocket.
“
So, you’re fuckin’ Carmen?” This was the first time Renee looked at Reynolds. She had to, because she wanted to see the expression on his face when she questioned him and he forced lies to exit his mouth.
“I don’t know a Carmen.”
Renee nodded her head. “Really? Because a little birdie told me she was a witness in the Gibson murder.”
Reynolds sat quietly. Questioning and catching criminals was what he was paid to do, but when it came to doing dirt, everything changed, including power being lost.
“With all due respect, what does my personal life have to do with you?”
“Everything, when that’s the reason why the job couldn’t get done.”
Anger and guilt plagued Renee’s soul. Unbeknownst to Jared, after he killed Zeke, he was supposed to not only take the fall for Zeke’s murder, but also be thrown in jail for past crimes committed while working for Renee. Renee had fallen in too deep when it came to Jared, and when she thought of how life would be once she went back to Julian, she saw nothing but turmoil. Jared would never let Renee go easily, so she had to put him away. He was a menace to society. Jared needed to be locked away like the animal he was and dwell in his element where the prison bars could act as a barrier between him and Renee.
However, nothing turned out that way. Things changed because of Carmen’s presence at the crime scene, and although her finger pointing at Jared did nothing to derail Renee’s plans, Reynolds’ sudden infatuation with her threw things off course. Reynolds’ inability to remain focused and move fast gave Jared the opportunity to slip between the cracks. The last thing she intended was for Jared not to be on this earth. She wondered what was on his mind and if he felt the shift in her feelings when she gave in to her heart and decided to venture back to Julian.
Although jail was a depressing fate on its own, Jared would have survived. To have thrown him in there replicated throwing a fish into water. He would have swum and become the king of his jungle. His separation from Renee would have given him strength, his anger would have fueled his survival, and now he could not even have that. Now the reason for his death sat beside Renee.
“You think I’m pussy whipped. You think I was busy concentrating on her instead of the task at hand. Whatever snitch you got feeding you this shit is a liar!”
“No, you’re the liar.”
Like Renee expected, Reynolds automatically became defensive. His eyes turned into a mixture of fear and anger—fear of the unknown and anger over getting caught. Quickly, he tore his gun out of his pocket and pointed it her way. However, the moment the barrel stared at her, bullets from her own gun tore into his face. Renee never blinked when skin, blood, and fragments of his face landed on hers. Her free hand never set out to move and wipe away the liquids and muscles. Instead, she just sat with her firearm still pointing his way. Reynolds’ body fell into the window the moment a car drove by Renee’s.
Outside movements barely existed. Only a few officers invaded Jared’s lawn while others occupied his home. The silencer attached to the gun spit out whispers that easily went unheard. However, the orders being screamed from outside of the car were as loud as a stereo.
Renee pocketed her gun and pushed the body aside. Reynolds plummeted against the dashboard, no longer blocking her view of the police on Jared’s lawn. Renee saw Day calling officers outside of the house in, and soon after, he told lingering bystanders to find their way home. Minutes later, when the night eased itself still and few people were around, Renee texted him. Moments after reading the message, Day walked over to Renee’s car and signaled others near. It wasn’t until he opened the car door that an undercover vehicle parked alongside Renee’s car, blocking anyone’s view of them. Stripping himself of his jacket and hat, Day threw them at Renee.
“Get out of here,” he demanded, his attention everywhere.
In haste, Renee put on the oversized police jacket and hat, blood now hidden under law enforcement threads. With her hands jammed inside the pockets, she walked up the street, her head hung low. Once Renee was hidden in the dark, Day rushed to the car, blocking his deceased partner’s body with his own. Giving him one last look, Day shook his head. I tried to warn you. Turning around, Day poked his head inside the undercover vehicle’s rolled-down window and gave out instructions to the two men inside.
“Get rid of this shit,” Day ordered, glancing over at Renee’s car. “And after you do, go to Staten Island. There’s three hundred thousand dollars in a safe deposit box for you to split. Here’s everything you need to access it.” Day took a notepad out of his back pocket and scribbled down an address and name capable of granting the officer access to Reynolds’ cash. Ripping the page out of the miniature pad, he handed the rookie officer fresh out of the academy the information. He then watched as his retired comrade jumped inside the driver’s seat of Renee’s car and took off without looking back. The moment the tires drove into the night, the rookie was right on his tail, his second illegal activity within the last three days.
Day stood in the middle of the street, smiling and planning how he’d spend the money he gained from Reynolds’ screw up.
Chapter 31
Renee’s text message hitting Julian’s phone pulled him from out of his sleep. It vibrated against the wood and forced his eyes to open and stare at it in annoyance. After a few minutes of trying to wake himself up, he reached for the phone and read her text sent to him hours ago.
It’s done.
Without responding, Julian dropped the phone on the bed and turned around. He wasn’t too sure how he felt about Renee eliminating Madison’s problems. Renee was moving at the same quick speed she had moved when she met Carmen. She was using her power to better the lives of the sisters she had just met and knew nothing about. However, the conversation that took place between him, Renee, and Madison was enough for him to have a pinch of hope that Madison was different. She was now the light Renee had lacked and the motivation for her to believe in family.
Leaving his bed, Julian walked to the mirror and looked at his reflection. The stress that once filled his face was gone. Life now made sense, and he was complete now that Renee was back in his life. Curious as to when Madison would learn of the deed Renee had done for her, Julian stepped away from the mirror, his phone left behind. Time was winding down, and the sun was due to rise, so Julian headed downstairs, where he would wait for Renee. Her wanting to handle business on her own had him on pins and needles, but inside he knew all was well. Watching the idiot box, his mind drifted and relaxed.
A half-hour into a sitcom, the doorbell rang. He questioned who it was. Renee’s house keys came into sight, and Julian smiled. Renee always managed to forget her keys. It was the exact reason he suggested she separate her car keys. The doorbell sent a loud echo to radiate throughout the house, summoning Julian to the door. Before he could open the door fully and get a look at his visitor, Julian was punched in the face.
Stumbling backward into the house, Julian moved his feet faster than need be, buying time until he could focus on the person in front of him. Dropping his hand from his face, he watched a drunk, wide-eyed Roy march in his direction. Julian’s leaking lip splashed blood on the floor, and the feel of the thick liquid oozing from his flesh increased his temper and forced him to meet Roy halfway. The second Julian was within arm’s length of Roy, Roy quickly swung. The first few swings missed, but when Roy increased his speed, he struck Julian in the side of his face.
Roy wouldn’t stop swinging. Although he was intoxicated and struggled to remain balanced, his aim was accurate and unable to be stopped. Dodging every hit that he could, Julian was becoming restless. His bobbing and weaving and blocking whatever hits he could were slowly failing him. Roy’s glossy, dull eyes remained fixated on Julian. When Julian caught the look of a man who would never stop until he was dead, he stopped avoiding his blows and rammed right into him, tackling him down. Roy flew off his feet, his back slamming against the floor.
By the shirt, Julian pulled Roy up and pr
oceeded to repeatedly punch him in the face. After the first hit, blood erupted from Roy’s nose. Crimson red splattered itself on Julian’s hands, withdrawing himself from reality. Julian allowed his fists to do the thinking and his survival skills to take the lead. With the tables now in Julian’s favor, he ignored his surroundings and sank his fists deeper into Roy’s face with every hit. His right fist was seconds from meeting Roy’s face again when the shovel slapped him in his head. Falling backward, Julian’s eyes shot open. All he remembered seeing was a rag coming toward him before knocking him out.
* * *
“You’re moving in with someone you don’t even know, and you’re going now?” Nancy’s face was scrunched up, and she fought to understand what she was hearing. One second Madison was out of work, and the next, she was moving in with her long-lost, rich sister. The information was head-scratching.
“She’s my sister, and that’s all I need to know.”
Three hours had passed, and more than 50 percent of Madison’s apartment had been boxed up. Sitting on the living room floor, she wrapped up vases and crystal knickknacks in bubble wrap. Her move was happening faster than she expected, and although she had no idea where this road would take her, she’d still get in the car.
Nancy watched the knickknacks her eyes always zeroed in on when visiting Madison’s home become covered. Nancy had a lot she wanted to ask, but for some reason, while watching what she thought were permanent fixtures in Madison’s home move off their shelves, she only asked a few.
“What about work? Do you need me to put a good word in for you at the places I’ma try to get into?”
Madison shook her head. “I’m done. I’m throwing my G-string away. Getting fired was the best thing that could have happened. It pushed me out since I couldn’t build up the nerve to walk out.”
Nancy smiled. Finally, Madison’s life was taking a turn for the better. She understood nothing about what was going on. Madison gave her limited details, but if it meant Madison leaving stripping alone for good and no longer tripping back into a world she didn’t belong in from the beginning, then this move was the right choice and long overdue.
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