The place smelled like shit.
Literally.
The smell instantly began to haunt me.
Barr opened the second door landing.
There was one more set of steps.
Barr threw his arms out and stopped us from walking.
He looked back at me, his eyes wide.
I looked forward and shut my eyes.
There was a young woman on her side, on the steps… her eyes shut.
* * *
“Fuck, she’s dead,” Kip said.
Barr jumped up the steps and stuck his fingers to the girl’s neck.
“There’s a pulse,” he said.
“Leave her be,” I said. “We have to find Ruby.”
Barr looked back at me. “How many girls are here, man? What the fuck is this?”
I shook my head.
I had no idea what it was.
What had I gotten myself into here.
Trying to help Tinsley.
Kip stepped over the girl and looked up the steps. “What are we doing?”
“I’ll go,” I said. “This is my thing. You two can see if this girl is okay or not. Call an ambulance or something. I don’t know.”
There was a loud squeak from a door and Kip crouched down.
“Hey Ruby!” a voice yelled. “Where the fuck did you go? You down there, bitch?”
Barr looked at me again.
I looked at the girl on the steps.
I bent my knees and touched her cheek.
“Hey, Ruby,” I whispered. “Can you open your eyes?”
“You down there, cunt?” the same voice yelled.
Kip looked back at me, his lip curled.
I put my finger to my lips.
“Yo, Garcia, she down there?” another voice asked.
Barr held up two fingers.
At least two guys were up there.
I nodded.
I kept gently shaking the girl’s shoulder.
I needed to know if it was definitely Ruby or not.
“I’m going to kill that whore,” Garcia’s voice said.
“Nah. She’ll be back. Can’t live without you.”
They laughed.
“True,” Garcia said. “If she runs out to Hoppy again and tries ratting me out…”
“She won’t,” the other voice said. “Come on. Let’s get shit in order. Party soon. You’ll find someone tonight.”
The door squeaked again.
Then it was silent.
“I think it’s just them,” Kip said. “We can take them.”
“If there’s drugs there’s weapons,” Barr said.
“First things first,” I said. I touched the girl’s face again. “You have to wake up. Or else Garcia will kill you.”
The girl’s eyes popped open and she sat up.
Her mouth opened to scream but Barr put his hand to her mouth.
She burst into tears and kicked her feet.
I felt like an asshole as I grabbed her legs to keep her from hurting me.
“Listen, girl,” Kip said as he crouched next to her. “We’re here to save you. Tinsley is outside waiting.”
She turned her head.
Barr took his hand from her mouth.
“Tinsley?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Kip said.
“Hey, are you Ruby?” I asked.
She looked at me and nodded. “Yeah.”
Barr let out a long breath. “Fuck. Okay…”
“Listen to me,” I said to her. “Tinsley found out you were in trouble. We’re here to get you out of here.”
“How can I believe you? Garcia has tried this before. Tricking me.”
“No tricks here, love,” Barr said. “But there’s no time.”
“I can’t leave… I can’t…”
“Yes you can,” I said. “Whatever he’s doing up there, you can get out of it. Get away from it.”
“Who’s up there right now?” Barr asked.
“Just Garcia and Polk,” Ruby said.
“What the fuck kind of name is Polk?” Kip asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “Do they have guns? Drugs? What’s up there?”
“This is Garcia’s hideout,” Ruby said. “There’s stuff there but nothing… not like his other place. But he has people coming over. Soon.”
“That’s why we have to leave,” Barr said. “Get you out of here. Get you to safety.”
“Can’t,” Ruby said. Tears fell from her eyes. “He’ll come for me. He’ll send people.”
“The fuck he will,” Kip said.
He stood and went up two steps.
“Kip,” I growled. “Wait a second.”
“Maybe we should,” Barr said to me.
I looked at Ruby. I touched her cheek. “Listen to me, Ruby. You’re going to wait for us at the door. I have a big SUV out there. Parked. Tinsley is in there waiting. If you feel safe, run like hell. If not, wait.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked me.
I stood and nodded to Barr and Kip.
“We’re going make sure nothing happens to you.”
* * *
“I’ll do it,” Barr said.
He made a fist and pounded on the door.
“Who is it?” Garcia’s voice yelled.
“We found Ruby,” Barr said. “Brought her back to you.”
The lock popped open and when the door opened, Barr kicked the door. He dove forward and had his hands on Garcia. Once again, seeing Barr act like that reminded me of what he had done in his life.
Kip looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.
He ran into the apartment.
I ran after him.
As Garcia yelled in pain, Polk dove for the dining room table, which was full of bottles of booze. He had a gun sitting on the table.
Fuck.
Kip grabbed Polk and pulled him away. I got my hands on Polk and threw him against the wall.
I put my forearm to his throat.
I looked at Barr. “Get him up too.”
Garcia’s nose was bloody as he picked him up.
“Who the fuck are you guys?” Garcia asked.
“We’re the ones telling you the truth,” I said.
Barr held his arm to Garcia’s throat.
“We know everything,” Kip said. “Every fucking thing you do. Your hideout here. Your main place. All the streets.”
“Shit,” Polk said. “Who sent you?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. I pushed away from Polk. He kept his hands against the wall. “We’re from above.”
“High above,” Barr said. “Hired. Got that?”
“Is this because of Hoppy?” Garcia asked.
“You tell me,” I said. “Your work is sloppy. Fucking messy as shit. You’re going to bring all of us down.”
Polk looked at Garcia.
They were both afraid.
“I wanted to kill you,” Barr said.
“But we were told not to,” Kip said.
“So here’s the deal,” I said. “We found Ruby on the steps. She was quick to talk. Too quick.”
“I hate that cunt,” Garcia said. “She got hooked on the supply. I didn’t want her to rat. You know?”
“I know,” I said. “That’s smart. But she’s a problem.”
“We’ll fix it,” Polk said. “I swear, man, we’ll fix it.”
“No, you won’t,” Barr said.
“We will,” Kip said. “We’re taking her.”
“Shit,” Garcia said.
“We have to figure out how much she knows and then make it so she’s gone,” I said. “Understand me?”
“Yeah, man,” Garcia said. “Fuck that bitch, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Fuck that bitch…”
I nodded to Barr.
He backed away from Garcia and then threw what had to be the hardest punch I’d ever seen in my life.
Garcia was knocked out before he hit the floor.
“Jesus Christ
!” Polk yelled.
Kip charged at Polk and pinned him to the wall. “You touch that gun on the table or even think about following us, we’ll make one call. And you know who is going to show up then. And you know it won’t be a fucking punch to the face.”
“Got it,” Polk said. “Oh, fuck, I’m going to throw up.”
“Go,” I said.
Kip let Polk go and he ran to the bathroom.
We heard him gagging as he threw up.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said to Barr and Kip.
We left the apartment with Polk puking and Garcia still out cold.
“That was fucking crazy,” Kip said like an excited kid on Christmas morning.
Barr was quiet, taken back.
I followed them down the stairs to the door.
“She’s gone,” Barr said.
“Fuck,” I growled.
Kip tore open the door and started to jog toward the SUV.
I grabbed for Barr’s shoulder. “Hey.”
He shook me away. “Fuck off, Pres. Not now.”
Barr fumbled to get a cigarette and light it.
I rubbed my jaw and walked to the SUV.
“Got her!” Kip shouted when he opened the backdoor.
Ruby had listened and went to the SUV.
She was curled up in Tinsley’s arms, crying.
She had tears streaming down her cheeks.
She looked at me. “Thank you.”
I reached into the SUV and touched Tinsley’s hand. “Anything for you, sugar.”
“We better get out of here,” Barr said as he slammed the front passenger door.
I nodded in agreement.
I got into the driver’s seat and drove away.
Never wanting to see that apartment building again.
Never wanting to see where Tinsley used to live ever again.
I barely made it two blocks before Kip pulled himself up in between myself and Barr.
“Hey,” he said.
“She okay back there?” I whispered.
“Yeah,” he said. “She’s not all that fucked up. But she’s going to feel it if she’s not going to find anything to take.”
“That’s her problem,” Barr said in a cold voice.
Kip looked at me.
I nodded, saying let it go.
Kip nudged my arm and grinned.
“What?” I asked.
“Ruby… she’s pretty hot."
Chapter 15
Barr stayed in the SUV while Kip and I went into the pizza place. Again.
When Joanie saw us, she dropped the mop she was using to clean up the blood from before and studied us. Then she pulled out a long knife from her apron. The poor woman was too old to be living this way. But for me, I could only save one person at a time.
“Pizza,” Kip said. “That’s it. Lots of it. All you’ve got made.”
I whispered to Kip to give her all the cash he had on him.
When Kip did, Joanie put the knife away and reached up for his face and started to kiss his cheeks.
Of all the damn things Ruby wanted… pizza.
It was annoying but it was worth doing. Whatever it took to get her to calm down, eat real food, and then we could figure out what in the hell we were going to do next.
The first step (after pizza, of course) was to get the fuck out of this town and stay gone for good.
Kip slid into the backseat and I got into the front seat and drove off.
“I’m going to miss Joanie,” Ruby said.
“Me too,” I said through gritted teeth.
I didn’t ask where to yet because I wasn’t some fucking junkie chauffeur.
I got out of that town and was about halfway to BFH when I found a side road that was safe enough to pull over at.
My SUV smelled like junkie tears and greasy pizza. I made a note to myself to get a new SUV when this was all said and done. That note went along with about ten thousand others.
I opened the driver’s door, jumped out and walked to the back of the SUV.
I stood there alone, sorting through those ten thousand thoughts.
Until Tinsley joined me.
She bit on her bottom lip as she inched toward me.
“Sugar,” I whispered.
“Pres,” she whispered.
I put my hand out and she slid her hand into mine.
“I don’t even know what to say right now,” she whispered.
“I do,” I said.
Tinsley got close enough to touch my face. “Listen to me quick. While we’re alone.” She swallowed hard. “Ruby was my best friend for like… forever. I can’t even begin to tell you the stories…”
“You can begin at the beginning,” I said.
Tinsley laughed. “Yeah. Right. That’s a good place. She’s just… everything. I mean, even if I never talked to her again after today I would still be okay with everything. She was there with my mother, Pres. So many times. And I was there with her mother. The things her mother used to do. And even Garcia. He was just the boy that lived across the street. I had no idea what he had become. I feel… guilty.”
“Guilty? How can you feel guilty, sugar?”
“I wasn’t there, Pres. For any of it. I was swept away. Claire picked me up that day at the hospital and that was it. I promised myself I wouldn’t let anything change, but it did. I met you. And Barr. And Kip. And everything ended up changing. She got lost. She probably had nobody to turn to. I mean, look at Amelia. That stupid fucking bitch.”
I rubbed my thumb along her hand and her fingers.
My head continued to spin.
Tinsley brought me comfort and a sense of peace.
But that didn’t mean I could just let certain things go.
“Pres?” Tinsley asked.
I looked at her. “What?”
“What do you have to say? You said you knew what to say right now. Please. Say something right now.”
I touched her chin and then held it like I always did.
I offered my lips to her lips.
“That was good,” she whispered after the kiss.
“Yeah it was, sugar,” I whispered. “But this next part you won’t like at all.”
* * *
I ripped open the back of the SUV.
I dove into the back and flipped down the third row of seats.
Kip and Ruby turned to look at me.
Barr leaned to the middle of the front seat, a cigarette in his mouth.
“The Rulz,” I said. “Out here. Now.” I pointed to Ruby. “You. Back here. Now.”
“You said you weren’t going to hurt me,” Ruby said.
“I never fucking said that,” I said. “And if I did, oh well. You’re used to being lied to. Used up. Right?”
“Pres!” Tinsley yelled as she punched at my arm.
I looked at her and curled my lip. “Don’t.”
“Do what he says, girl,” Kip warned Ruby.
Barr was already out of the SUV, coming to my side, his stinky cigarette smoke floating all around us.
Ruby showed her hands as she started to climb into the back of the SUV.
Her clothes were oversized and ragged. Her black shirt hung off her body, showing me for a split second that she wasn’t even wearing a bra. I turned my head out of respect as I shook my head. Her jeans were filthy. Dirty. Stained. And I didn’t even want to know what some of the stains were.
She sat at the back of the SUV with her feet dangling off.
Her once white shoes were beat to hell. The left shoe had a hole in the side, showing that she was wearing pinks socks.
She was a mess.
Part of me wanted to scream at her and ask how the fuck she let this happen to herself and her life. But that wasn’t my business.
“What are you going to do?” Ruby asked.
I had Kip on my left. Barr on my right.
Tinsley was on the other side of Kip.
I stepped toward Ruby and she flinched.
“What do you think we should do?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I didn’t do anything to you. I didn’t hurt you. I don’t even know who you are.”
“We’re the Rulz,” I said. “Any questions about that you can throw at Tinsley. I want to know more about Garcia. And that fucking moron he was with.”
“Of course,” Ruby said. “I’ll tell you anything.”
“That’s a problem,” Barr said.
“It is?” I asked.
Barr side eyed me and nodded. He smoked his cigarette so calm and cool as he closed in on Ruby.
“Look at me, Ruby,” he said. “That right there… so quick to tell anyone everything… that won’t work. That’s how you’ll end up getting hurt.”
“You work for them?” Ruby asked.
“No, love,” Barr said. “We don’t work for anyone.” He reached out and tucked some of Ruby’s hair behind her ear. “Just be careful with that. Rats can hide but they’re easy to find.”
“Except with us,” I said. “You have to tell us everything we want to know. So we can keep you safe. All I want to know right now is this… will Garcia come looking for you?”
Ruby shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”
Kip took his turn and sat next to Ruby. He put his left arm around her. “Hey. Listen to me, girl. Do you owe Garcia anything?”
“No,” she said.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Positive,” she said.
“Could be anything,” Barr said. “Money. Stuff. Favors. Sex…”
“Shit, Barr,” Kip said.
It looked like there was a flash of jealousy in Kip’s eyes.
“He’s right,” I said.
“No,” Ruby said. She jumped down from the SUV. She looked ready to cry again. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Okay? Everything got out of hand.”
“Now you’re a junkie,” I said.
“Pres!” Tinsley yelled.
A second later she was right in front of me, blocking my way to Ruby.
She looked ready to kill me.
Which was fine.
It was needed.
She was protecting her friend.
“It’s okay, Ti,” Ruby said. “He’s right.”
Tinsley stepped back and stood next to Ruby and grabbed her hand. “What are you trying to do to her?”
“Getting everything in order,” I said.
PRES: a bay falls high novel Page 13