City Culprits (Book 1)

by Brittany Nicole Allen

  “He finally told me what his enemies what.”

  “And what is that?”

  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell him.

  “You can trust me.” Que said noticing her silence.

  “I know.” She said. “He told me they want a locator device called The Eye.”

  Que grinned like it was something he had been waiting to hear. He had Zamora on speaker. He was with Tyson and the others. Tyson had the same look on his face.

  “What that hell does that do?”

  “It’s like a hacker. It can hack into anything. He showed it to me.”

  “You have seen it?”

  “I used it. Hurts like a bitch, but it works.”

  Tyson’s facial expression changed.

  “That’s…interesting.” Que said.

  “I don’t want anything to do with that thing, but I have to protect it. It can’t slip into the wrong hands.”

  “I agree.”

  Zamora sighed again.

  “I also changed my last name. To Rivera.”

  “Really? Why did you do that?”

  “You know the real reason why.”

  Que thought.

  “Paco.”

  “Yeah. Paco. I told my father that only my brother and Magnum knew about that.”

  “I would never reveal that to anyone. Paco would kill you. Your secrets are always safe with me Zamora. You know that.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  Tyson held up a note to Que asking about Nikkya.

  “So what about Nikkya? What is going on with her? Is she okay?”

  “Yeah she’s okay. She’s going back to school tomorrow. I tried to convince her to do online schooling but…she insists that she’d rather be in school. She doesn’t want to be locked up in the house all day. I don’t blame her.”

  “I hope she won’t be alone. That isn’t safe.” Que tried to get information on her.

  “My father gave her two bodyguards. They go anywhere she does. And the same goes for me.”

  “That must be really annoying.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “Well I’m glad to hear you both are doing okay. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “I will. Thanks for being there.” She said before hanging up.

  “Well there you have it.” Que said to Tyson.

  “That was very useful information.” Said Tyson.

  “So she has seen The Eye.” Cassius said.

  Tyson looked at Jamarco and Deandre.

  “The girl will be going back to school tomorrow. I don’t care what you have to do to get the girl. Just don’t attract too much attention. We don’t need too many questions.” He told them.

  “We got it Boss.” Jamarco reassured him.

  “Yeah won’t be a problem.” Said Deandre.

  “Good. I know I can always count on the two of you.”

  “So in other news…” Tyson looked at Que.

  “What?” He wondered.

  “What did she do to Paco?” He was curious.

  Que looked as if he didn’t want to tell him.

  “Tell me what she did. I need to know what she’s capable of. I want to know her secrets.”

  Que gave in. “Zamora was with Magnum. He’s the leader of the Vice Lords.”

  “I know who he is. What about it?”

  “She killed 5 of Paco’s men, to protect Magnum and the crew. She was very active with them. She killed them to keep them away from their territory.”

  “She killed 5 men?”

  “I told you not to underestimate her. She knows how to play the game. She’s very skillful. She’s not going to give in to you. She will push your limits. Zamora will fight you.”

  “That is the reason why we are taking her friend as well.” Tyson reminded him.

  “I’m just warning you. Zamora will not break. She will test each and every one of you.”

  The next evening, Axel was playing around with his little sister. He loved to spend time with her whenever he could. He tickled her, listening to her laugh. Braydon wanted to join in on the fun. He jumped on Axel’s back. Axel quickly grabbed him off, putting on the floor to tickle them both. Salena came in the room. She laughed at the fun.

  “Okay little rugrats.” She laughed. “Go clean up the playroom before bath and bed.”

  Axel stopped playing with them hearing his mother’s voice. He helped them both off the floor.

  “Okay mommy.” Annabeth said with a laugh. “Come on Braydon.”

  Braydon followed Annabeth upstairs.

  “I’m about to head off to school soon. Do you know where my people are?” Nikkya was referring to her bodyguards.

  “I’ll radio them in for you. They’re probably around the yard someplace.” Carlos replied.

  “You know where Zamora’s at?” She asked him.

  “I think she’s upstairs in her room. At least she better be.”

  Carlos left the room while radioing in Nikkya’s bodyguards.

  Nikkya went upstairs to check on Zamora. She knocked on the door.

  “It’s open.” She said.

  Nikkya opened the door but didn’t move past it.

  “Hey girl. I’m ‘bout to head off back to school. Are you gonna be okay?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to give Braydon a bath and tuck him into bed. I’ll probably just be up here. Come in when ya get home.” She told her.

  “Okay Hun. I’ll see ya later.” She started to leave.

  “Nikkya?” Zamora called her back. “Be careful.”

  “I will.” She smiled back.

  Jamarco and Deandre prepared for the kidnapping. They gathered the things they were going to need into a black bag. They dressed in all black and took a black vehicle. The windows were darkly tinted. Jamarco drove.

  Nikkya was in the middle of her last class of the night. Her bodyguards, Joel and Drew, waited outside for her return. They parked close to the main entrance. They were listening to Spanish music on the radio.

  Jamarco and Deandre arrived. They drove slowly into the parking lot looking for their targets.

  “There’s the car.” Deandre pointed out to his brother.

  Joel looked at the clock. “She should be out soon.”

  “Good.” Drew said getting bored.

  Someone knocked on the driver window of the car.

  “Can I help you?” Joel yelled through the car window without rolling it down. Both he and Drew had their hands on their guns.

  “Are you with Nikkya? She told me where to find you!” Jamarco yelled through the window. His hands were in his hoodie.

  “Why? What has happened?” Joel panicked.

  “She refuses to come outside. She thinks someone is following her.”

  “Who are you?!” Drew yelled.

  “I’m a good friend of hers. I don’t know what she’s talking about but she just asked me to come get one of you.”

  Joel and Drew looked at each other.

  “Step away from the car sir!” Joel demanded.

  Jamarco did so.

  “I will go get her.” Joel told Drew.

  He opened the door. Jamarco quickly reacted as soon as the door opened, shooting Joel in the side of his head with his silencer. Drew tried pulling out his gun, but Jamarco was too quick for him. He shot Drew in the neck and then in the head. Jamarco looked around to see if anyone was watching. He then proceeded to return Joel back in his seat. He shut the doors and returned to his brother nearby.

  Nikkya hadn’t brought any belongings in with her, except the makeup homework her teachers gave to her. She had a light conversation with a student next to her before proceeding to leave. She headed toward the doors outside, making her way back to her bodyguards. She hadn’t noticed anything was wrong until she got up close. Her face grew with fear.

  She looked around trying not to panic. Someone came from around the corner.

  “Something the matter?” Jamarco grinned.


  Nikkya’s face was full of horror. She remembered his face. She turned around trying to make a run for it, but ended up bumping into someone else.

  “Where ya goin’ sweetheart?” Deandre grabbed her wrists.

  “Let me go.” Nikkya told him.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “What do you want?” She asked him.

  “Just you.”

  He forced her toward their car which was sitting right next to them. She tried to scream for help so he covered her mouth with his gloved hand.

  Jamarco lifted up the trunk which was cracked open. They both forced her inside. She fought them to get out but they were too strong. Deandre covered her mouth with a chloroformed filled cloth. Her body got weak.

  “Don’t fight it sweetheart. Just breathe it in.”

  Nikkya’s eyes drifted off to sleep.

  “They always want to fight.” Jamarco said looking at Nikkya’s unconscious body.

  “You know you like it. It makes it more fun.” Deandre joked to his brother.

  He shut the trunk. They got back into the car, with Nikkya locked inside.

  Carlos was in his warehouse with his men, taking care of last minute details. The children were in bed. The rest of the house was fairly quiet. Zamora kept checking the clock on her phone. She began to notice that it was getting way past Nikkya’s time to be back, and if she was ever late Nikkya would always send her a text. She decided to give her phone a call.

  She let it ring. Someone answered. “Nikkya? Where the hell are you?”

  No one spoke. “Nikkya?” Zamora’s voice got panicky.

  A man’s voice spoke. “Hello sweet pea.”

  Zamora recognized it.

  “Tyson. What did you do with Nikkya?” Zamora got up from her bed closing her bedroom door after checking the dark hallway. She kept her voice low.

  “Don’t worry she’s okay…for now.”

  “What do you want?”

  “You know what we want Zamora.”

  Zamora didn’t know what to say. She was quiet.

  “Sweet pea? Are you still there?”

  “Where is she?”

  “She’s right here next to me.”

  “Let me talk to her. I want to know she’s okay.” She demanded.

  Tyson sighed. “Okay.” He said.

  Nikkya’s ankles and hands were chained up. Her mouth was gagged with black tape. She was drugged up.

  “You should be wise. Don’t say anything stupid.” He warned Nikkya.

  He took the tape off her mouth only enough so she could speak. He set the phone on speaker so he could hear.

  “Speak.” He told her.

  “Zamora.” Her voice was limp.

  “Nikkya? Are you okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did they hurt you?”

  “No.”

  Zamora wanted to make sure it wasn’t a recording. She tested her.

  “Our favorite place as a child Nikkya. What was it?”

  There was a short pause.

  “The tree house.” She answered faintly.

  Tyson quickly returned the tape over her mouth.

  “I assure you that she is alive and well…unless you don’t cooperate.”

  “You son of a bitch.” Zamora was pissed.

  “I would be careful with your words. I am the one in control now. I control her fate. Do you understand?” He raised his voice, angered.

  “What…do you want?”

  “I want you to turn yourself over. And I’d appreciate if you brought The Eye with you.”

  “I can’t do that. I can’t give you The Eye.”

  “If you don’t do as I say…Nikkya will pay the price for your mistake.”

  “Why do you want The Eye?” She was curious.

  “That is my concern.”

  “Well since I’m the only one who can make it work…I deserve to know why.”

  Tyson smirked.

  “The Eye is of use to us. There is someone that we are looking for. Someone that we need to find.”

  “And what happens when you don’t need it anymore?”

  “The Eye will always be of use. I guess that means you will be to.”

  “You think I’m just going to volunteer as your lifetime prisoner?”

  “I don’t think you really have a choice. Don’t worry though sweet pea…you won’t be alone remember? Nikkya is the only way that I can control you, but if I have to kill her...we will find your other loved ones…like that…sweet little boy. Don’t think I can’t get my hands on him.”

  Zamora didn’t take kindly to the threat against her nephew.

  “You think you can manipulate me?”

  “I think that I can get you do to whatever we want.”

  “I can’t just take The Eye. My father’s home is heavily guarded.”

  “I’m sure that you can find a way to sneak away. You’ve done it before.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I told you. I’m always watching.”

  “If you knew I was alone, why didn’t you just take me?” She wondered.

  “Because we needed Nikkya first. As a way to get your attention. And you are the only one who can get your hands on The Eye.”

  “So you expect me to just hand myself over to you?”

  “I expect you to do just that. Don’t test me sweet pea. You know that I will do whatever it takes to get what I want. Nikkya will get hurt if you don’t cooperate. Maybe I’ll start by cutting something off.” He threatened.

  Zamora took let out a deep breath.

  “Fine. So what do you want me to do?” She gave in.

  “That’s more like it. I want you to steal The Eye and sneak out of your luxury home. After you have gotten away…you will send a text and let me know. And then I will send you the location of where to go. If you don’t cooperate with whom I send to retrieve you or if I even think for a second….that you told anyone about this…especially your father…I will slit Nikkya’s throat and send you the picture of her bleeding to death.” He warned.

  Zamora was breathing hard.

  “Do you understand?” Tyson asked.

  “Yes. I understand.” Zamora replied.

  “Good. I will give you an hour to get back to me. If I don’t hear from you then…she will die. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.” He taunted.

  Zamora took a long pause like she was frozen. She tried to calm herself down. After she was calm, she prepared herself. Then she made her bed look as if she were sleeping in it.

  She made her way into her father’s office without making any noise. Zamora did not know the numbers to open the safe. She tried her own birthday first but it failed. She tried her mother’s birthday but still was not successful. She tried whatever she could think of.

  “What the hell is it?” She asked herself.

  She thought long and hard about what it might be. Zamora searched through her father’s desk for something. Looking through all his files and folders. On the very bottom there was a newspaper article that had been cut out about her brother’s death. She read through it hoping to find what she was looking for. Finally his birthday was revealed. She entered the numbers. It worked. Zamora pulled out The Eye from the safe. She opened it up again to make sure everything was still inside, before closing back up the safe.

  It had taken her longer to get away from the house this time after her father had upped the security. She tried to hide from the cameras. She escaped with The Eye. Zamora got far enough away from the home. She knew what had to come next. She hesitated for a while to tell Tyson that she’d gotten away not knowing what his plan was. He had sent her a location to go. It was a place that was fairly empty and quiet. She waited cautiously.

  Zamora seen a black vehicle driving up to her. It stopped, pulling over close to her. The driver window rolled down. She rolled her eyes when she saw the face.

  “Get in the car.” Jamarco ordered.

  Zamora hesitated not wanting to give up The Eye
to them.

  “Do we need to remind you what’s at stake?” Deandre warned.

  She slowly walked up to the car. She hesitated a moment before opening the back door to get inside. Someone immediately grabbed The Eye from her. Cassius had been in the back seat. The doors locked when she shut the door. Cassius grabbed a hold Zamora forcing her hands behind her back cuffing them.

  “What is the pass code?” He demanded.

  She didn’t want to tell him.

  “Don’t make me ask again.” He warned.

  Zamora revealed the code to him.

  “Good girl.” He said.

  Cassius entered the code to unlock the case. He opened it, revealing The Eye.

  “So this is what it looks like.” He said admiring it.

  Zamora had a look of anger on her face. The same one as the first time they met.

  He handed off the case to Deandre.

  “Happy now?” Zamora said sarcastically.

  Cassius didn’t take well to her tone of voice. He forcefully grabbed a hold of her throat.

  “I’d watch who you’re talking to.”

  “You don’t intimidate me.” She told him.

  “No? I guess we’re going to have to work on that.” He smirked.

  “Good luck.” She looked into his eyes.

  He seemed amused by her attitude. He let go of her neck. Cassius pulled out a bandana and a bottle from his pocket. Zamora knew what it was for.

  “Sorry sweetheart. But we can’t risk you knowing where we are by any means.” He said putting the chloroform onto the bandana. He put the bottle back in his pocket.

  “Do not fight me. It will not be good for you.” He warned her.

  Cassius tightly held the cloth over her mouth. She couldn’t help but to breathe it in.

  Zamora had awakened hours later. Her eyes slowly opened. She quickly realized she was unable to move. Her wrists and ankles were chained together to the floor. Black duct tape covered her mouth as a gag. She saw Nikkya nearby. Shackled the same way as her. She had not been awake. Many of Tyson’s posse was in the same room.

  “Hello sweet pea.” Tyson laughed. “Did you have a nice nap?”

  Zamora looked away from him.

  “Awe baby girl. Don’t be rude.” He said walking over to her.

  He kneeled down to her level.

  “Look at me.” He demanded.

  She slowly moved her face toward him.

  “Thank you for being so cooperative. And for bringing me The Eye.”