by T. Styles
With the pill in her system, killing any hopes of Bones’ offspring, she sat on the toilet and cried. Remembering the last day she saw Slade, and the vow they both made to stay apart.
****
TWO YEARS EARLIER
A cool stream of water poured down Farah’s face and awakened her roughly. She moaned a little until Bones grabbed a clump of her hair and positioned her gaze so that she could see directly out of the window. Bones had found Slade and wanted to hurt Farah by making her kill him. All because she didn’t love him.
“Wake up, beautiful,” Bones whispered in her ear. “Because I want you to see this shit.”
When Farah opened her eyes she saw Carlton and Mayoni across the way at a park. Mayoni held a gun aimed at Slade, looked at the van and fired twice at his abdomen causing Slade to drop to the ground.
She fainted.
****
LATER THAT DAY
Farah lie face down on the bed in a mansion sobbing uncontrollably. Thoughts of when she first met Slade rushed to her mind and she missed him already. He was the love of her life and she would never get to see what they could’ve been together. To make matters worse Bones had dug his claws in her so deeply that to refuse him meant her brother and sister would also die.
What could she do but live in misery?
When she heard the door unlock she sat up in bed, afraid Bones was entering to rape her again. Instead it was Mayoni. “How you holding up?”
She frowned and rolled her eyes. “You killed the one man in the world I would’ve given my life for and you ask me that shit?” Her anger was bubbling at the surface and she thought about murder. “You tell me, how would you feel if I took Carlton’s life? Because I’m plotting as we speak.”
“Farah, you need to—”
“I need to what?” She yelled. “I spent months in this bitch being somebody I’m not. I pretended to be meek so that Bones would feel stronger. And look where it got me! I will never, ever, love Bones after what he did! EVER. And if he plans on keeping me in this mansion I will tell him daily how much I hate him just to break his fucking heart.”
“You would do that even though it will kill him? Because there’s nobody he wants more than you.”
“Especially because he wants me.”
Mayoni sighed. “Come with me, Farah. I have to show you something.”
“Do I have a choice?” She sighed.
“No, but trust me.”
****
LATER THAT DAY
Mayoni and Farah walked toward room 568 of a run down motel on the outskirts of Baltimore City. Before going inside Mayoni looked around to make sure no one was watching their moves. When the door opened Farah almost fainted when she saw Carlton inside, holding a gun aimed at Slade.
Slade was alive!
The love of her life was breathing.
Overcome with joy she rushed up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him passionately. “But I saw you.” She kissed him again. “You were shot.” She looked at Mayoni. “What’s going on? I’m confused.”
Was she dreaming?
Only to be reawakened in a nightmare?
“He’ll explain everything,” Mayoni said nodding at Slade. “You have thirty minutes to enjoy each other and not a second more.”
She waited and Slade told her what happened.
He exhaled. “The Asian chick said when she fired I had to drop. At first I was going to try and overpower her and take the gun but she and that dude with the chewed up nose begged me to go along with the plan. I figured she had the weapon so if she wanted me dead I’d be gone already. So I played the part.” He paused. “The next thing I know the van pulled off and they brought me here.”
Farah was still confused but she didn’t care. At least he was alive.
Afterwards they made love and he even allowed Farah to drink of his blood. At that moment he finally accepted who she was.
A vampire.
And they continued to explore each other until Mayoni knocked on the door and separated them.
Ending their time together.
CHAPTER FOUR
SLADE
“Because we blood. And I wanted to eye you face to face like a man.”
Red lights. Green lights. Yellow Lights.
They all highlighted the skin of the beautiful women in all shapes and tones dancing around Slade, Killa and Audio as they sat in the VIP section of the bar that Major owned. Simply called THE BAKERS, it brought the finest of dope boys and athletes from everywhere around these United States.
And after the night Slade had with Memory fussing about him not coming straight back with the ice cream she acted like she didn’t want, something she never did, he could use the break. The way she carried on he was starting to believe she laid a trap with that sweet girl routine she gave him when they first started fucking. Now that she was pregnant, and wanted to control him, he figured she was free to let her chicken head shine.
Flashing boobs and pussy aside from the strippers, there was another reason Slade had for visiting Major and after two rounds of beer accompanied by tequila shots, it was time to get to the point of the night. “Major, we leaving for D.C. I gotta go get my bitch.”
Major sat his beer on the table, looked at Audio, Killa and then Slade as if they were crazy. Perhaps they were. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him. Besides, he was just about to choose one of the flavors around him to fuck when he heard something about D.C. It just wasn’t adding up. “Say that again.”
“You heard me, man.”
Major took a deep breath and rested his arms on his thighs, his hands clutched tightly in front of him. “So after everything we went through, with losing ma and—”
“That’s not fair, man,” Killa said pointing at him. “We didn’t lose ma due to the beef with The Fold. You know that.”
“Are you fucking serious?” He frowned at Killa. “It broke her heart when Knox died and all this shit happened in D.C.!” Major yelled causing the strippers to scurry. “And we broke her heart again when she lost her nephews! Now say that didn’t have anything to do with The Fold and watch me crash your jaw.” He pointed at him.
Slade wiped his hand down his face and sighed. He was trying to be understanding and yet the guilt bullet Major just dealt had him feeling like a creep.
Still, the facts were a little off.
True. He missed his mother and never got over losing her. True. Her face, loving hugs and the hope she had for their futures stuck with him always. But he would not be the man he knew he could be if he didn’t go after the love of his life. And as crazy as she was, Farah Cotton was it for Slade.
“Before that cancer took ma’s life, you heard what she said to me, Major.” Slade looked into his eyes, trying to appeal to his heart. “To live my life, man. And I’m not doing that without Farah. Can’t you see that?”
“Bullshit! You a traitor, nigga!”
There was no getting through to him.
Slade swatted at the air. “Well I’m going anyway and I’m just letting you know.” He sat back. “I can’t think of Farah being there all this time, around them, without my help.”
“What about Knox?” Major asked. “You ain’t got no loyalty to him? Even though you know that bitch took his life?”
“I believe it was an accident.”
“Then you a fucking fool.”
“If ever the day comes where I feel like she sincerely lied to me, make no mistake I will—”
“What?” Major interjected. “Kiss her to death? Fuck her brains out? Exactly what will you do to avenge our brother’s death you turn coat ass, nigga?”
Slade groaned. “Nothing you can say will rattle me, man. My mind is made up.”
“Then why the fuck you tell me?” He roared. “Why not just bounce and save some fucking time?”
“Because we blood. And I wanted to eye you face to face like a man.”
Major shook his head. “And Memory? Your kid’s mot
her?” He paused. “Guess you don’t give a fuck about her though. ‘Cause she ain’t sucking blood like that red bitch back in the city.”
“We were hoping you’d look after her,” Killa said. “To make sure she good.”
“Just until we get back,” Audio added.
Major looked at the two of them and laughed. “Wow, this nigga really convinced ya’ll to go hunting for this blood sucking, scandalous bitch. At least he fucking her. What’s in it for ya’ll, niggas?”
“Easy, bruh!” Slade roared before taking a deep breath. “You may not like her but she’s mine all the same.”
Major peered in his direction before standing up slowly. “If the three of you go back to D.C. every last one of ya’ll dead to me. That’s on mama’s grave.”
Audio leaped up and tried to touch him, to reason with him like family. “Come on, man! We brothers.”
Major pushed him with a flat palm to the chest and shook his head. “Have you ever stopped to think that these mothafuckas might be crazier than you think?” He paused. “Nobody knows who they really are, Slade. Or where they came from. And you really ready to risk it all?’
Slade looked un-phased. “Fuck it. It’s your life. Have at it playa, playa.” He stormed off.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE FOLD
THE PAST
“He killing innocent bystanders. And I’m not about to catch a bullet because of you.”
The men were made large with the kind of muscularity you get from sustained effort in prison. And now in charge of a few patients, they were also partially responsible for raping some of the women, which was bound to put a dark light on the mental institution the bosses weren’t willing to suffer. And now under the cover of night, on their knees in the soft dirt behind Crescent Falls, the patients were waiting on the call for their lives to be snuffed out.
It was winter.
And the cold air ripped through the thin hospital gowns they wore as if they were naked. Adding to their discomfort the orderlies had instructed them to keep their fingers on their heads causing their muscles to buckle.
“Can I stand up?” Laverne asked, her body trembling from discomfort and the icy weather. “I’m a little older than the rest and my knees are throbbing.”
“Oh…so you want to get up huh?” Inmate O asked. “You’re having a hard time?”
She nodded, believing he understood. “Yes…the pain is unbearable.”
He smiled. “You poor, poor baby.” Slowly he walked up to her and struck her on the side of the face with the butt of the gun. Lewis leapt up, preparing to charge him when Inmate O shot one of the other patients who were kneeling in the head, in a show of defiance. This murder stopped Lewis cold and also dropped their numbers to twenty-two.
“Now, I could’ve killed you but I wanted you to see what happens when you disobey the rules.” Inmate O smiled at Lewis. “You still wanna step to me? Or are you coming to your senses?”
Lewis glared and lowered himself to the ground slowly, between Morton and Porter. Laverne looked on in disbelief. “Happy now, nigga?” Porter asked through clenched teeth while the three inmates talked amongst themselves. “You getting niggas off’d. Fuck wrong with you, kid?”
“At least I tried,” Lewis whispered. “That’s better than I can say for you.”
“Except now you got somebody killed.”
“Don’t be a punk. They gonna kill us anyway if we do nothing.”
“They gonna rape me again,” Courtney wept, each heavy breath making it obvious that she was on the verge of a panic attack. “I can feel it! Please…please. I…I’m gonna be sick. I’m…I’m gonna throw up.”
“Shut…up…bitch,” Morton whispered. “You saw what just happened. He ain’t killing the niggas that act up.” He looked over at the corpse on the ground, her blood seeping into the earth. “He killing innocent bystanders. And I’m not about to catch a bullet because of you.”
The back door suddenly opened and the director, a pale white woman with carrot orange hair walked out, her yellowing smile exposing her ugly personality. She was all evil, no love. “Don’t be afraid people,” Dr. Mistral said to the patients. “All of this will be over soon. Trust me.”
“What’s going on?” Lewis asked her. “I mean, why…why are we out here? We got rights you know! It’s freezing and ya’ll won’t even give us coats.”
She smiled again. “You’re out here because you’re waiting.”
“On what?”
“An eighteen wheeler.”
He looked at everyone in confusion and then back at her. “What’s that for?”
“Your bodies,” She grinned before walking back inside.
CHAPTER SIX
BONES
“Say it! Who is more powerful?
Bones walked toward the bar within the mansion with Zashay along his side. Moments earlier Dr. Weil met with each member to go over their health plan and summoned Bones too.
“I know you have a lot going on but we have to do something about that little girl,” Zashay told him. “Gregory and Swanson are looking at her differently. I’m afraid for her body and her life.” Zashay scratched her scalp.
“Don’t worry, they know how to hold back.”
“Bones, before Gregory was in Crescent Falls he raped twenty women. Sadistically. You know that! And now with Dr. Weil being low on medication I’m afraid they may do something worse to her.”
He laughed. “She should’ve thought about that before she came here.” He looked over at her. “Did you know Mooney wrote in the book about how we hunt? And how we get money?”
“You read the entire thing?”
“No.”
“Is there anything in there about Farah?”
He frowned. “Not a lot. Just that she loved dude. But I knew that already. And the nigga dead anyway so who cares.” He sighed. “I mean, what is it about me? Why doesn’t she look at me like she looked at him?” He paused. “I mean sometimes I feel like cracking her neck to make her love me. It’s just that I can’t live without her.”
Zashay saw the look in his eyes before and knew he was on the verge of losing his mind. Immediately she realized he probably hadn’t taken his medicine either because Dr. Weil said the prescriptions were dwindling lately. The meetings for the day were to come up with a new plan for treating their mental health issues and everyone had attended but Bones, who was still salty about how he treated him earlier in his office.
“You can’t avoid him forever,” Zashay warned, ignoring his question about Farah.
They walked into the bar where a 27-year-old topless Giver/bartender with skin the color of caramel was waiting to serve eagerly. Her titties bounced every time she moved. They vetted her when hunt season was on some years back and she loved giving blood and servicing so much that she begged them to stay. After a unanimous vote she was invited for a trial period and so far so good.
“Two shots of vodka,” Zashay told the pretty girl as she quickly fetched the order. Turning her attention back to Bones Zashay said, “But did you hear me earlier? You can’t avoid him forever? Dr. Weil makes sure we don’t all go mad and—”
“How has Farah been acting in your opinion?”
Zashay’s jaw twitched with slight irritation.
Over the years she had grown to love Farah but there was no denying that Zashay’s heart had been and would always belong to Bones. So talking about another woman was the last thing she wanted, even if it was about somebody she respected. “I don’t follow your question.”
“If you never knew me, and met me later, would you want me?”
Zashay laughed. “You’re asking the woman who has been hopelessly in love with you forever? Are you serious?”
Silence.
Zashay grabbed one of the shots of vodka that had been colored blood red due to dye the bartender placed inside the glass. It was the way The Fold liked it and she aimed to please.
“When are you gonna answer my question?” he continued.
>
She sighed. “You’re weak.” She blurted out trying to keep it one hundred.
She moved to swallow her drink and he smacked it out of her hand. The shot glass shattered on the floor, cutting her lip lightly. The bartender swept it up expeditiously. “Fuck you just say to me?” He roared. “Because I must be hearing things.”
Heavy breaths tightened her chest. “I’m…I’m sorry.”
The Bartender placed another drink on the counter for Zashay.
“I might be many things.” He paused, taking her drink. “But weak was never one of them.” He swallowed it and slammed the glass down. “Never forget that!”
She adjusted in her seat. “I misspoke so let me answer you properly. I didn’t know Farah before she came to stay with us but I do know she’s accustomed to men who can, well, get what they want when they want.”
“And I don’t?” His nostrils flared.
“Yes…but she hasn’t seen that recently.” She paused. “She’s bored. And we don’t hunt anymore which means we’re drinking from the same Givers and—”
“Another!” Bones yelled to the bartender, interrupting Zashay all together. His rage was bubbling at the surface and it was a further example about how not having treatment could make them all lose reason.
“S…sure. Right away.” The bartender quickly fetched his order.
“She has never met a man more powerful than me,” Bones said pointing at Zashay with his index finger. “Not even that nigga Slade Mayoni and Carlton killed. I’m not even understanding how she could still be in love with a dead man.”
“True, but you can’t tell her you’re powerful. You must show her.”
“You know what…you’re right.” Suddenly he popped up and rushed down the hall with Zashay on his heels. “Wait, what you ‘bout to do?” She asked.