“You can’t blame her for this.”
“She is to fucking blame.”
Scooter cursed heavily at him, the words burning on his tongue as he continued to scream. He was taken out of character due to his pain, but soon regained his composure and flung an even worse set of curses and explicit words. He needed to blame someone. He needed his pain to be noticed.
“You need to chill out,” Cole advised him.
Scooter turned around to face his brother, his hands trembling. Rage boiled inside his heart, and he clenched his hands, nails digging into his skin. Cole took a step toward him. Scooter held his ground firmly. He could see it in his eyes, he meant no harm, yet his anger made him perceive it wrongly. He could feel his blood pounding in his ears, and his jaw clamped shut.
Scooter unleashed his fury. His arm pulled back, his lips drew back into a snarl as he brought his fist down on Cole, hard enough to draw blood. He didn’t know why, but hitting him gave him cold joy, a cruel, merciless mirth. He hit him again, and again, his knuckles breaking his skin. He fell back, and Scooter wiped his blood off his hands, disgusted with it.
“Do you feel better?” Cole spit blood out of his mouth.
Scooter didn’t say a word as he paced back and forth in front of Money’s body. The door to the private room swung open as Detective Gomez and Detective Stead walked in with their guns ready. They looked around the room as they pointed their guns at Cole and Scooter. Scooter got down on the ground, pulling Cole down with him.
“What do we have here?” Detective Gomez stood over Money’s body and spat on his corpse. “You dirty motherfucker. Good riddance.”
“You two clowns again.” Scooter pressed his knees into the floor as he put his hands behind his head. “Don’t spit on my fucking pop again, you stupid bitch.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Detective Stead pushed the back of his head.
“This is police brutality.” Cole put his hands behind his head.
“You haven’t seen police brutality.” Detective Gomez pushed Cole’s hands away from his head. “Get the fuck out of here.”
“What?” Cole turned his head to look at him.
“You heard me. Get the fuck out of here,” Detective Gomez repeated as Cole stood up. “Don’t thank me. Thank your friend Aphtan.”
“Aphtan?” Cole looked at the detectives’ faces.
“Get the fuck out of here.” Detective Stead pulled Scooter to his feet while she looked at Cole. “Don’t make us tell you again.”
“What about my brother?” Cole took a couple steps toward the door.
“Murder, drug trafficking charges are coming your brother’s way.” Detective Gomez put his gun inside the holster.
“You can come see about bailing him out later.” Detective Stead put handcuffs on Scooter’s hands. “Call backup.” She looked at Detective Gomez. “I’m taking him down to the station.”
“I got it.” He pulled his cell phone out as Detective Stead rushed out of the door with Scooter handcuffed in front of her.
Everything slowed down as Cole walked through the door to leave. He left the cleared out restaurant as Scooter was being put in the back of a van. He eased down the street. With what had just happened, there was a war about to break out in the streets. With Money gone, his part of the block was up for grabs. Getting far away with Aphtan was the goal. This was another valid reason to get out of the game.
* * *
“Mila,” Levi screamed as he opened up the door to their home. “Mila,” he yelled again before he fell to the ground.
The shock hit him hard. He felt it, but it wasn’t painful. He couldn’t believe what was happening. He looked down at his stomach and then his arm, watching as blood began to flood his belly and stain his t-shirt. I have to get better, I’ll make it through this, he thought to himself. Soon doubt began to flood into his thoughts as his mind began to weave in and out of consciousness. Fear ran through his veins, turning his blood cold.
He crawled through the foyer. He had used the last of his strength to drive there; he was so weak. He tried to apply pressure to the two gunshot wounds, but the blood kept flowing like a faucet. He tried to yell again, but his energy was null. The pain was so intense that just a simple blink made him want to express his emotion with sobbing.
As blood flowed, it came down in tears of red, dripping down his jaw, and the feeling of it was hot and tingly against his neck. It was ecstasy as it spilled down involuntarily. The taste of it was fragile and familiar against his tongue, rasping down his throat like momentous pleasures. Contrary to the usual effect, he became crazy with it, driven mad by the feelings of delirious fantasies.
He made it to the kitchen. The lights in the house were cut off. He fought through the darkness, looking for anything to make a sound to alert Mila that he was there. There was nothing. He closed his eyes. The feeling of his soul leaving his body made him more anxious than he already was.
He reflected on his mortal life, knowing that it would all be gone soon. His eyes bled with pain. His son’s face was all he could see. Soft visions of Mila came into his mind as well. Thoughts of him not knowing the child that she was carrying hurt him even more.
He gasped for air, blood continuing to rush out of him. His chin rested on the dark wood and he tried to breathe slowly, hoping it would help. But it didn’t. His lungs were abandoning the will to live. His heart couldn’t pump properly; the massive amount of blood lost wouldn’t allow it to.
The world seemed to go darker as he submitted to his fate. He felt the last breath of air escape his lungs as he desperately grasped any remaining life he had in him. Finally, he felt every ounce of emotion drain from him, as death took his hand and guided him away from the world.
CHAPTER 33
Aphtan gripped the chains that held up the swing set as a cool breeze sent her hair fluttering back. The touch of the metal became icy and strange . . . cold, but not the type associated with weather. She stuck her hands in her pockets, trying to feel secure in the dusk. Even the stars seemed cruel, gleaming like blades against the blackness of the sky.
Suddenly, she jolted back. She spun around in defense, but between the mist and shadowed playground equipment, there was nothing. She steadied her breath and tried to calm the panic she felt rising in her chest. The silence got too eerie, so she started humming a song—though where she’d first heard it, she wasn’t sure. But the melody was comforting, and soon she forgot the coldness as warmth enveloped her the way a lullaby does a child.
She sprung up from the swing, another voice whispering the song into her ear. Just settle down, she told herself, it’s probably anxiety; I’ve always been prone to panic anyway. Too slowly the other voice died out, leaving her with a haunting feeling. She held her arms hard against herself, snuggling their way to safety in her dress. She couldn’t even sit outside on a swing set without her mind playing tricks on her. Crazy. That’s what she decided to call herself.
“Hey,” Cole greeted her.
“You scared me.” Aphtan hugged him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good.” He pulled away and examined her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” Aphtan grabbed his face and caressed it. “I love that you care.”
“I do care.” Cole sat down on the swing. “I care enough to get you out of here.”
“Out of where?”
“Here.” He used his arms to sway around. “Dallas. We need to get out of Texas altogether.”
“Why?”
“Money is dead and Scooter blames you for it. Besides that, they took him to jail and let me go. They told me to thank you. Now he’s going to think you set him up.”
“I’m not running from Scooter.” Aphtan leaned into the chains of the swing. “I’m not leaving my home.”
“Aphtan, it’s not about being a tough guy. You don’t have shit to prove. Scooter will kill you.”
“I don’t think he will.”
He grabbed her waist. “He will kill you. Trust me,
I know my brother.”
Aphtan thought about her marriage with Scooter; their ups and downs. Wondering how their hearts turned so cold, she couldn’t believe how two lovers could turn into enemies so quickly. A month ago things were good, and now he was ready to take her life.
Getting out of town didn’t sound like a bad idea to Aphtan. She had no family, her marriage was over, and the only thing that would keep her in town was Mila. She weighed her options and decided that phone calls and video chat would have to work to communicate with Mila and her godbaby. Her mind was made up to leave.
“We can go.” Aphtan fell on top of him.
“Are you serious?” Cole put his head into her stomach.
“Yes.” She grabbed his face and turned it to the side as the night sky illuminated it perfectly. “What happen to your face?”
“Don’t worry about it.” He rose up.
“So what’s the plan?”
“Do whatever you have to do, Aphtan. To be honest, you don’t have to buy anything. We can replace whatever you have when we get there.”
“What are you going to do?” Aphtan put her hand in his.
“Clear out accounts, get money together, and tie up loose ends.”
“Where are we going to go?”
“Wherever the wind blows us.”
“Okay.” Aphtan looked at the street as Verna had her driver flash the headlights. “I’m going to go and tie up my loose ends.” She kissed him.
He kissed her back. “I’ll meet up with you tomorrow before we head out.”
“Okay, baby.”
“I love you, Aphtan,” Cole called out after she walked up the steep hill.
“I love you, too.” Aphtan waved before she made it up the arch of the hill.
“You two must have something special.” Verna scooted over as Aphtan got inside of the car and closed the door behind her.
“You can say that.” She smiled as big as she could while the car drove off.
“Where to now?” the driver turned around and asked.
“The police station,” Aphtan blurted out, the words running like a wild stream.
“The police station?” Verna grabbed her shoulder.
“Scooter is in jail.” She rolled down the window, inviting the chill breeze in. “I need to talk to him one last time.”
* * *
Aphtan walked into the police station as the door closed behind her. Her heart raced in quickening speed as she approached the small window. The glass in front of her was full of fingerprints. Her mouth went dry as the woman with a buzz cut stared at her, waiting on her to speak. The woman snapped her fingers, yet Aphtan was in a daze.
“How may I help you?” the woman asked with an attitude.
“I need to speak to Detective Gomez or Stead.” Aphtan rested her hands on the separator between her, the glass, and the clerk.
“Aphtan?” the woman asked as she nodded her head. “Go through the door, and it will be the last door on your left.” She hit the buzzer as the door opened. “Detective Stead is expecting you.”
Every step, every breath she breathed, seemed to echo through the halls. Pictures of past and present captains followed her with their eyes. Hallways that ended without a door forced her to retrace her steps. She had no sense of direction. It seemed as if she were going in circles. Some doors were locked, and some doors opened into dark, seemingly empty rooms, but she was unsure and afraid to proceed into the room in case she became trapped.
“Aphtan?” Detective Stead stuck her head out of her office. “I’m in here.”
Aphtan’s hands went numb when she walked into the daunting office. She opened and closed her hands repeatedly. She even squeezed them to try to get blood flowing back through them as she took a seat. She observed the small office as she waited for Detective Stead to finish writing down something on a piece of paper.
“I need to get Scooter out of jail,” Aphtan pleaded as she looked at her.
“I thought you said you didn’t give a fuck about him?” Detective Stead leaned back in her chair.
“I don’t.” She paused. “I just need to talk to him.”
“I’m sorry, Aphtan.” She continued to write. “I can’t help you with that.”
“I’ve done everything that you’ve asked of me. Everything.” her voice grew louder. “You mean to tell me I can’t get any information to get him out of jail.”
“That’s the thing.” She continued writing. “Scooter isn’t in jail.”
“I thought he got locked up?” Aphtan was confused. “Cole told me he got arrested.”
“Cole must have gotten his information crossed.” She looked at her phone. “I think if you go outside, you’ll have your answers.”
Aphtan opened her mouth, but Detective Stead held her hand up to stop her.
“Just go outside,” she repeated. “That’s all the information I have.”
Aphtan got up from the chair and walked through the door as Detective Stead’s eyes followed her. Her arms hung loosely, swaying with every step she took. She hit the buzzer on the door to be let out and walked through the main entrance to go outside.
Immediately, she saw Scooter’s car parked on the street as the sound of crickets made her aware of their presence. She walked toward the car as she looked for the car that Verna and her driver had brought her there in, yet it was nowhere to be found. The window on the passenger side of Scooter’s car was rolled down as she bent down to look inside.
“Get in.” Scooter looked at her and then at the open road.
“Where’s Verna?” she asked.
“I convinced her and her driver to take a ride.” He reached over to the door and opened it. “Get in.”
“What If I don’t?” Aphtan gripped the top of the door, her fingers playing with the rubber lining.
“I wasn’t asking,” Scooter yelled. “Now get in the fucking car.”
Aphtan got inside the car, the small dress still holding her body prisoner. The heat rushed from the vents onto her silky skin. She wanted to ask questions as Scooter zoomed off, but she was afraid it would come off as pretentious. She decided to let Scooter initiate all conversation.
In spite of what Cole told her, she wasn’t afraid. Knowing what Scooter was capable of never escaped her mind, but she didn’t think she had anything to fear. Regardless of how they felt at that moment, the love they once had could move mountains. With that fact, no fear consumed her.
“You don’t have anything to say to me?” Scooter squeezed the steering wheel.
“What am I supposed to say?” Aphtan closed the vent, the heat becoming too much for her bare skin. “Or rather, what do you want me to say?”
“How about ‘I’m sorry for killing your pop, Scooter’? How about ‘I’m sorry for working with the feds behind your back.’” He talked with his hands.
“I’ll give you one when I get one.” She cut the radio completely off.
He bit his bottom lip before he took the fitted cap off and tossed it in the backseat. “You want an apology, and your ass done way more foul shit.”
“Like what, Scooter?”
“Fucking my brother, for starters.”
“You made me do it.”
“I made you?” He cut the heat off and rolled the windows down a little. “Did I open your pussy and wait for him to slide inside of you?”
“You might as well have,” Aphtan said softly.
“Are we over?” he asked as he turned into their subdivision. “Tell me now if you want this to be over.”
“There’s nowhere to go from here, Scooter. I don’t trust you. You don’t trust me. We’ve both done things that the other one will never forgive or forget.”
Scooter entered the code to the gate of their home before driving up the driveway. He couldn’t deny the words that rolled off Aphtan’s tongue. Staying together would cause a dangerous case of resentment and problems that he didn’t want to deal with. He loved her enough to let her go. It hurt him, but it was
something he had to do.
Aphtan couldn’t help but look at their beautiful home when they pulled up and parked. She removed her wedding ring as the memories they shared together played in her mind like an old movie. She would never sleep another night within those walls, and the thought of it made her queasy.
“I agree with you, Aphtan.” Scooter opened the door as the sensor beeped. Light filled the car as his left leg hung out of the door. “I don’t trust you.”
“What is a relationship without trust, Scooter?” She set the wedding ring in the middle console.
“Nothing.” He got out of the car and closed the door behind him.
Aphtan sat in the now dark car as she watched Scooter sit on the hood of the car and lean back. His eyes gazed into the night sky. She could feel the pain rushing through his body, for the same pain was running through her own. To her it seemed Scooter was more sad than angry. Even though they were over, it still bothered her.
Aphtan got out of the car and joined him on the hood. She leaned back as he scooted over to make room for her. She put her hands behind her head and used them to separate her head and the dirty windshield.
“When did you fall out of love with me?” Scooter leaned on her a little.
“I didn’t.” She welcomed his touch. “I just fell in love with someone else.”
Scooter put space between them. “Are you in love with Cole?”
She closed her eyes. “I absolutely am.”
“Why did you choose my blood, Aphtan?”
“It should have always been him,” Aphtan answered. “My feelings for you have always been pure and real. Still, it should have been Cole.”
“I can’t take seeing you with another man. Let alone my brother.”
“I get it.”
“If you’re going to be with him, you need to leave the city. It’s taking everything in me not to kill both of you. I figure, out of sight, out of mind.” He hopped down from the hood.
“We’re planning on it.”
“You can come get all of your shit tonight out of the house. Anything I’ve ever bought you, take it.”
“Scooter.” Aphtan eased off of the car as he walked toward the door. “Scooter, stop.”
Pearl Tongue Page 22