Power

by Kenya Wright

  I would never be the same.

  And in the middle,

  Noah stood,

  his coat swinging from side-to-side as people ran and screamed around him.

  Both hands held guns.

  Blood garnished his face.

  And his eyes.

  So cold.

  Full of danger.

  Scaring the shit out of me.

  “Mary Jane!” he screamed over the chaos. “Mary Jane!”

  “Noah!” I swung my body back and forth, clinking the chains and knocking my table over to gain his attention. “Noah! I’m right here!”

  He turned my way. Our eyes met and my body froze when he hit me with his cold, fixed stare. How the hell had he even heard me over the chaos? How in the hell had he found me so easily in the center of this death-drunk inferno?

  The whole place was a battle ground. Piles of dead bodies. Turned-over tables. Broken glass and discarded chairs. Pools of blood everywhere. Women and men on the ground begging for their lives.

  Noah never blink when he stepped over all of them and raced my way. “Mary Jane!”

  Oh, my God! Oh, my God! It’s going to be okay? Is it really going to be okay?

  My heart beat fast in my chest. “Be careful!

  His face twisted in confusion wondering what I meant. Clearly, his ego thought he could kill anyone and survive everything. A guy jumped in front of him. Noah didn’t blink or step away. He simply raised his gun, pointed, and shot the man in the head.

  All words left me in those seconds. Before these weeks, I’d never seen a dead person. Now, I’d seen too many corpses. I could probably get a funeral director’s license with no problem. My stomach turned. I didn’t look at the dead man that Noah stepped over to get to me. I couldn’t focus on the crazy around me. I knew if I did, I’d go insane. And I couldn’t go mad. My baby had saved me from Butterfly and this disgusting brothel.

  Everything is going to be okay.

  Noah stepped to me. Fury pulsed from him once he realized I was naked and spread for the any in the club to see. Pain laced his voice. “Mary Jane.”

  “I’m okay, baby.”

  He put one of the guns away and took off his coat. “Did they fucking touch you!?”

  “No.” I shook. “No.”

  He covered me with his coat. “Did they fucking put their nasty little hands on you?”

  “No, baby.” My body was an earthquake of shivers and tears. “They took off my clothes, that’s it.”

  “Who?” He shot each chain holding up my wrists, making me jump.

  “These triplets—”

  “They’ll be dead before dawn.”

  “Umm—”

  “Cover your ears.”

  I did and he shot the chains on my leg and swooped the coat and me up like I weighed nothing.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I’m fine.” I held onto him tightly and kissed his face and neck, going crazy that I was finally free. “I’m fine.”

  “Let’s go.” He twisted and rushed us toward the exit. Shooting continued. 305 arrived at his other side.

  I gripped Noah hard, entirely sure that I would never let go. The scene behind him came into view. Most were dead, even the piano player on the stage. And then I spotted the singer, crouching on the ground and still covering her head. “Oh, wait!”

  “What?” Noah looked at me.

  “The singer! Can we save her?”

  “Who?” That cold expression had never left Noah’s face. “What singer?”

  “Over there.” I pointed behind him.

  “305, go get her.” Noah’s gaze never leaving me.

  I turned to the black guy he’d been talking to.

  Annoyed, 305 turned toward the stage and when he caught sight of her, his expression changed. “Damn.”

  Damn?

  He said nothing else, rushing her way. I looked back to the stage and realized that Crusher had beat 305 to her. Fear permeated her face when she peeked up at him.

  “She’ll be fine.” Noah moved us forward fast—getting us past the dead bodies and screaming blood-soaked women, kicking chairs out of the way and pushing us through the door. Cold air hit my bare legs, but I didn’t care. I was finally free.

  Twenty men stood outside with their guns pointed at the street waiting for Butterfly or anyone else to come. As we walked by, they looked away from me.

  “Any show of that bitch?” Noah growled.

  Everyone shook their head.

  “Good.” He kept us moving forward. “Make sure everyone’s out of there and then burn the plant to the ground.”

  “Okay, boss.”

  Flames covered the neon butterflies above us. The light posts looked like fire torches. Smoke thickened in the air. More bodies littered the street.

  I made a special mental note to never fuck with Noah while he opened the limo door and gently placed me in the back. As soon as the door closed, he picked up a white wash cloth from the seat and wiped the blood from his face and hands. He almost looked like he would vomit, but that couldn’t be true. The man I watched destroy a roomful of people could not be squeamish around blood.

  Once he cleaned himself and me, he wrapped his arms around my body and buried his face into my neck. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “You didn’t—”

  He raised his head. Tears fell from his eyes.

  I parted my lips, but had nothing to say. He’d just killed someone in front of me. He’d stormed into a packed building with an army of men. He’d saved my life. And now, he cried.

  “I love you.” He pressed his mouth against mine drowning out any thoughts, but those of him.

  “I—”

  “Are you okay?” Being as tender as ever, he pulled me away, studying my body with his hands not believing what I’d told him.

  “I’m okay.” I moved his hands away. “Baby. . .” I wiped his tears away. “I love you, too.”

  At least, I think I do. Almost dying, sort of changed my whole idea of life. Do I love him? I feel like my heart will shatter into nothing if he isn’t around me.

  “I didn’t think I could love any woman besides my mother.” He pulled me back into his arms and trembled against me.

  Noah was scared. This man who had taken down at least a hundred people either by his own gun or by shouting out orders. Terror had blazed all over his face. But in the limo, Noah transformed into a version of himself who I’d never met—tears in his eyes and fear radiating all around him. “I used to love this city.”

  He shook his head and corrected himself, “No. I used to love having power over this city.”

  He let out a long breath. “But now, this city and all my power could go down in flames and I’d be alright, as long as you were alive and by my side.”

  I tried to ignore the panic creeping into my heart. I had strong feelings for him. That couldn’t be denied. I was also pretty fucking scared of him. If I wanted to walk away, could I? If there was a moment where I didn’t love him anymore or we’d somehow grown apart, what would happen to me?

  He’d taken down an entire room of men and women. I wasn’t even ready to address the murder and crime in his life. That was a whole other bag of crazy.

  Am I doing the right thing? Can I even love him without getting killed by someone else?

  “Baby,” he whispered.

  There was something in his voice that shut away my thoughts. Need ran through it. Sadness laced it. Love flowed along the tone.

  “I. . .we have to take this slow,” I said.

  “No. I love your quirky little ass too much to take my time.”

  Although shocked, I couldn’t let that comment go by. “I’m not quirky and there’s nothing little about my ass.”

  I pushed his coat away, chains dangling around me. My body exposed to him. “I’m sorry that I disobeyed your order and left the loft.”

  He drank my image in and licked his lips. “Mary Jane. M
ary Jane.”

  “And Fuji—”

  He frowned. “Don’t hurt him?”

  Stunned, I nodded.

  “I’m a fast learner too, my queen.”

  The door opened and he hurried to shield my nakedness and me. Noah roared, “What the fuck, Crusher?”

  “Sorry, boss, but I didn’t know where to put her.” He’d slung the singer over his shoulder like a barbarian. When he placed her in front of the limo, she rushed into the back. Her silky rainbow gown dragged along the floor. Blood drops dotted the bottom. Silent, she widened her eyes while taking everything in all around her. I’d thought I was shaking earlier, but she was a fucking spasm of tremors.

  “And she won’t say shit.” Crusher tried to hand her his dwarf. But she stared at the other hand that he’d crushed the guy with. Blood soaked his huge fingers.

  “Why is she in here? And stop trying to give her your dwarf.” Noah ran his fingers through my hair.

  “She won’t talk.” Crusher gave up on trying to give her his dwarf. “But I know she can sing just like a Disney princess. Even better than Bell or Jasmine.”

  I couldn’t let that comment go by. “Frankly, Tiana sings better than all of them. Even as a frog, she could blow them away.”

  “No.” Crusher appeared very much pissed at that comment. I was glad Noah sat on my side. Crusher hissed, “Tiana has soul, but—”

  “Crusher, get this girl and you the fuck out of here!” Noah began caressing my thighs.

  Crusher continued, “But, boss, I don’t want to leave her with any of the guys.”

  “Me either. She’s already been through enough.” I nodded. “Put her in the seat over there.” I pointed across from us. “She’s all bruised up. We’ll need a doctor. I don’t know what happened, but she’s been abused. She probably won’t be happy to talk to anyone until she feels safe.”

  Crusher didn’t move. Noah looked at me and raised his eyebrows.

  Oh, that’s right. I’m not the boss. What am I doing?

  “Um. . .I’m sorry.” I cleared my throat.

  “No.” Noah smirked. “Go ahead and listen to Queen Mary, Crusher. Let her stay in the limo until we get home. I’ll figure out what to do with her, later.”

  The whole time, the singer glanced at each of our faces trying to figure us out. I couldn’t believe that she’d said nothing, when earlier the most beautiful notes flowed out of her mouth.

  I whispered in a half-joking way, “Oh, daddy, can we keep her?”

  The smirk left Noah’s face. “You’re joking, right?”

  “No.”

  “Keep her?” He squinted.

  “She’s so hurt and if she goes to the hospital or somewhere else, who’s to say Butterfly won’t hurt her. She’ll need to heal and something happened to her. Her voice was so pretty and so sad that I know she’s a good person that’s just been really abused so—”

  “Dear God.”

  “I’m just saying.”

  “Apparently, I’m going to have another house guest this week.” He began rubbing his temples as Crusher left the dwarf on the limo floor, waved goodbye at her, and closed the door.

  She still didn’t say anything.

  Noah stared at the dwarf and shook his head. “We can keep her right now, but if she shits on the carpet, you’re cleaning it up.”

  I saluted and almost hit my mouth with a link from one of the chains. “What’s up with Crusher and the dwarf?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “I’ve seen enough stuff to give me nightmares forever. You might as well tell me about the dwarf.”

  “Trust me. You don’t want to know.”

  So instead of kissing and making out, I laid in his arms and tried to get our guest to speak. After about fifteen minutes, I gave up. All she did was shake and bite at her nails as we headed home.

  Chapter 24

  Mary Jane

  A man with bad breath

  decided to take his own life.

  So he wrapped his head

  and asphyxiated himself.

  –Philogelos (The Laughter Lover)

  Fuji surprised us when we came back. The big guy had created a romantic ambience. Candle light flickered around Noah’s bedroom and delivered an ocean-rich fragrance. Silk petals decorated the carpet. Shadows danced as jazz played. Moonlight spilled into the open windows. A tray of yummy smelling food sat on his dresser—steak, loaded potatoes, grilled asparagus, and two large slices of chocolate glazed cheesecake. Champagne and two glasses stood on the other.

  My baby mumbled a thank you to the big guy, closed the door, tore off his clothes and had me on his bed, before I could blink my eyes and say another word.

  God I love him.

  So hungry, Noah licked and lapped at the center of my sex, my ankles digging into his back, my moans echoing along our naked bodies.

  Holy! Something. . .bible!

  He gorged on my pussy.

  . . .can’t get enough!

  Gripping the sheets, my teeth rattled. The bed rocked. My breasts bounced. Heat and fire blazed through me. His tongue worked my body, branding his name on my pussy.

  Jesus! He has a long name.

  I almost told him to make sure he didn’t wolf it all down, just leave a little something between my thighs.

  But,

  I had no words

  or no sense of time.

  I had only his body and mine,

  slipping warm flesh

  against a hard chest.

  A skilled tongue

  with a slow grind.

  Oh god. I’ll never leave him!

  And then he fucked me like it was my first time.

  His deep moans carried throughout the room and vibrated against the walls. “This is my pussy.”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Goddamn you, Mary Jane.” He pumped, but slow and gentle.

  A perfect tempo.

  That thick cock stretching me wide.

  So wet.

  A slick glide.

  My climax threatened to drown him and me.

  He’d just maimed, killed, and sprayed blood on these cold streets.

  And now it was just heart beats and wet sheets and I couldn’t get enough!

  “Oh, Noah!” I panted. “You fucking. . .”

  “What?” He thrust into me so slowly that I lost my train of thought. “What baby?”

  “You fucking animal!”

  He nibbled at my bottom lip. “Tell me you love me.”

  “I love you.” I met his rocking and kept my gaze on him.

  Those cold blue eyes bore into my fucking soul as he whispered, “Say it again.”

  “I love you,” I groaned in ecstasy.

  And then we came together. It was raw and wild, hot and ripping into me. I was sure we merged together. Bodies blending into one. I was sure a wound opened or something broke inside of him and me. I didn’t care. There was nothing but us. Blind with passion, I rocked into that dick and mumbled stupid shit.

  After I came, I fell asleep. Exhausted. Covered in sweat, sex, and his scent, hoping that every night could be exactly this way. But knowing deep within my heart that it wouldn’t be true. He was a gangster, feared by many. He had enemies on every block—people lurking in the shadows hoping to take him down.

  And I was just a college girl who told a few good jokes among many bad ones.

  What’s going to happen to us?

  Chapter 25

  Noah

  A moron hears that fair judgments are made in Hades.

  Since he has a case in court, he hangs himself.

  –Philogelos (The Laughter Lover)

  The next day, I took off from being the Beast of Din City and didn’t touch a notebook. I didn’t need to make a list. I knew who had to die. Butterfly’s face dwelled in my head more than I would ever admit. In these visions, I choked until mucous and blood squirted out of her eyes.

  In the bathtub, Mary Jane kissed me. “This is so relaxing.”
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  Warm water caressed my skin. “Yes. It is.”

  In the background, music played.

  In that moment, a female reggae singer bragged over a rugged beat, “Me wine the waist pon him like so. Yeah, mon. Me tell you, he don’t ever go. Yeah, mon. Even when the night glow. Yeah, mon. Me tell you, he don’t ever go. Yeah, mon.”

  Rays of sun streamed into my spacious bathroom. It was a symphony of simplicity—no clutter or color, just empty space and white walls with spotless wood flooring instead of carpet. My massive tub was in the floor. It could fit a three-hundred-pound man and even more. Crusher had tested that out when he oversaw installing it. No shelves or pictures cluttered the wall. There was one sink and an oval mirror that hung above it.

  “Me wine the waist pon him like so. Yeah, mon.”

  In front of the tub, a floor-to-ceiling window served as the wall and presented a view of Din City’s downtown. Remarkably elevated, no one could see me, but the sparkle of the lights and movement below kept me connected.

  “Me give him dat real love. Me give him dat real love. He grip me so hard, when me give him dat real love.”

  I needed to approach the war from another angle and had to admit that Vinese’s cards had shaken me. Had me thinking differently about it all. According to Vinese’s reading, I couldn’t battle Butterfly with death. I had to dig deeper and figure out this love thing that Vinese talked about.

  So, I stayed home and spent time with my queen.

  I could get used to this.

  On a darker note, Mary Jane had woken up screaming that morning, mumbling about dead bodies and vomiting chains. Tears had streaked her face. She’d done her best to wipe them away and pretend like everything was okay, but I knew that my life and these weeks had changed her. She’d told less jokes. Throughout the morning, she was jumpy and her hands shook when she thought I wasn’t looking.

  She must have had nightmares last night. I need to remove her from this shit.

  Ignoring the city, my men, and Butterfly’s antics, I stayed with Mary Jane all day and took care of her. Sometimes when a person went through shit, they just needed someone by their side, holding and loving on them. I’d never done it for anyone else, but Mom would always say that.