by T. Styles
Nine looked at one of the naked men. He quickly untied Alice’s arms and took off the mouth tie. “Come here, Alice.” Alice stood up and Nine said, “You know the rules, Alice.” She pointed to the floor. “Always approach me on your knees.”
Huge tears rolled down her cheek as she crawled to her cousin. Just like she had done to her.
“Remove my boot,” Nine ordered.
Alice obeyed, freeing Nine’s foot. “Now lick it clean.”
****
Nine sat in the backseat of a limousine as she prepared to meet Gates. She was taken on a drive, along a road covered with gravel that swept around in an S-shaped curve. When the limo stopped in front of a mansion, the door was opened and a handsome gentleman extended his hand to help Nine out. After Gates’ young daughter was murdered, he moved to a more secure compound.
“Ms. Prophet, right this way.”
Nine placed her hand into his and was led up huge steps leading to a large porch. Large marble columns stood powerfully on each end and the windows sparkled like diamonds. She was led to a door dazzled with gold streaks and into a dining room with comfortable burgundy furniture accented in black wood. A sparkling fire danced and she felt comfortable.
“Mr. Gates will be right with you,” the man said before exiting.
Now alone, Nine observed the obscure painting on the wall as she waited to meet her host. It looked like a bleeding vagina. Two minutes later, Gates walked up behind her and observed the painting she was admiring.
“It was done by a young artist named Antoinette Bateau. She was a young whore who was decapitated by her pimp for leaving him. She fell in love with one of her many johns and he was beside himself with jealousy. So he snuffed her life.”
Nine turned around and observed Gates who was standing so closely she had no room to move. She smiled seductively and took a seat. He sat next to her. “Who are you?” he asked as if they hadn’t conversed already.
“Nine Prophet,” she said coyly. “Have you forgotten me already?”
“How could I? You have done something I have been trying to do for most of my life. Rid the world of Kerrick Prophet. But you are also the scavenger who I saw that night in the kitchen.”
“Then if you know me,” she crossed her legs and the black dress she wore slid back revealing her garter belt, “why must you continue to ask?”
“Because I don’t know your motive.”
“You shouldn’t worry about motives, Mr. Gates. They are so troublesome. Just know that I am a woman of my word and I have proven it to you.”
“A young woman,” he interrupted.
“But a woman all the same.”
He grinned. “Can I ask you how you did it? They say he wasn’t poisoned. He wasn’t shot or stabbed. How did you eliminate the man who killed one of my daughters and changed my life forever?”
“If that story interests you so much, I will tell you. But first I need to talk business. My grandfather had been trying to tap into the Baltimore market all of his life. He was not a man of his word but I am. So I’m asking, will you partner with me and allow my family to continue to supply your needs?”
“You’re so young. Can’t be more than seventeen or eighteen, if my guess is correct. What do you possibly know about the drug business?”
“I am young but I’m smart. While most girls my age busied themselves with trivial thoughts of boys, clothes and makeup, I sat in a room day after day and was forced to use my mind,” she responded. “Yes, Sir Gates, I am young. But I am king. And I have a council that is loyal to me and will tell me everything I need to know.”
He shook his head and grinned. If nothing else, doing business with her would be entertaining. “You have a deal.”
“What about Leaf Prophet? You still agree to leave him alone?”
He bit his tongue but he knew it was time to let that chapter of his life go. “I agree.” He exhaled. “Now please, will you tell me how you killed him?”
Nine stood up and brushed the back of her dress. “My grandfather loved plants. All of his life. So I bought him a beautiful one. It was speckled with purple and white flowers. There was no way he could resist it. But, the plant was also poisonous, and sat next to his bed every day as he breathed in its fatal fumes. When he finally touched it, he was killed.”
“What kind of plant was it?”
“An aconite.”
Gates was stunned at her calculating manner but was also turned on. “You are dangerous,” he admitted.
“One man’s danger is another man’s peace.”
CHAPTER 34
NINE
SOME MONTHS LATER
“Delays have dangerous ends.”
-William Shakespeare
Nine eased out of her extra large king bed and waddled toward the window. She pushed the thick, brown velvet curtain aside just enough for the sunshine to spill inside. The bright rays temporarily blinded her.
She smiled and rubbed her eight-months-pregnant belly. Her life was so different and she feared that things would change for the worse. After all, she lived a life frowned upon by society and her heart said her unborn child would pay for her sins.
“You okay?” Leaf asked as he yawned and looked over at his girlfriend.
Nine pressed a button and the curtains pulled back completely automatically, dousing the room with light.
She strolled toward him and sat on the edge of the bed. She placed her hand on his face and her fingertips brushed against his smooth five o’clock shadow. “I’m happy. That’s it and that’s all.”
“Be real with me, baby. What you thinking about?”
She removed her hand and rubbed her belly. “If I’m being honest, I will say that I’m afraid. I wake up every day worried that we will never get married or be happy. We’re cousins and yet we have sex and are in love.”
Leaf threw his head back into the fluffy pillows. “Nine, why do we have to go over this every week? When you stayed in the basement, you never cared about what others thought. Don’t be like grandfather who hated who he was when he migrated from Africa. You free, you different. We are in love and you’re carrying my baby. Or are you saying you don’t want to marry me?”
Nine’s head drooped. “I’m not saying that. It’s just that…well…what if our baby is…deformed?”
“That won’t happen.”
“But how do you know?”
“Even if it does, we will take care of it and love it like we are supposed to, Nine. Are you sure you aren’t worried about the beef brewing with the Alvarez Cartel?”
Nine’s entire demeanor changed. Her shoulders hardened and her eyes lowered. “Have I ever given you any reason to believe that I scare easily?”
“Never.”
“Then why would you disrespect me like that?” She walked into the middle of the room. “I am worried about our child, Leaf. If it were different, I would’ve said it. After grandfather died, I stopped being scared of anything that breathes. And that includes the Cartel. All I’m asking is that you take me seriously. Please.”
Leaf eased out of bed and walked toward Nine. He rubbed her shoulders and kissed her softly. “We are cousins and we are in love. If that’s wrong, that’s the cross you have to bear. But I’m holding it with you. I’m asking you not to forget that.” He brushed her face with his hand. “My only question is, are you strong enough to be my wife?”
He pulled her head toward him and his tongue snaked into her mouth. He led her to the bed with a kiss. Nine was lying on the bed on her side with her knees bent for comfort in her condition. He eased her gown over her belly and it draped along the side of her waist. He pushed her leg open and revealed her pink center. It glistened like it always did whenever she was aroused.
Turned on, he released himself from his pajama pants, lay on his side behind Nine and pushed into her tightness. Nine moaned and bit down on her bottom lip as he stroked inside of her body softly. “I love you, Nine,” he whispered in her ear. “More than anything. I need
you to know that.”
“And I will die for you.”
“You may have to.”
****
Nine was in the car with her cousin Bethany on the way to the mall. Over the months, she had become a confidant. Unlike some of the other cousins who only called on Nine when they wanted a larger amount of money deposited into their accounts than what was already distributed to them each month, Bethany sincerely cared about how Nine was doing. It bothered her that during her many visits to the Prophet mansion, she never knew Nine existed.
Bethany was in the passenger seat of Nine’s silver Maserati and she was applying blush. She was just as beautiful as the other Prophets but she was also fun loving and honest. “I think you’re worried too much about what other people think.”
“That’s not it, I just don’t know about marrying him,” Nine admitted. “It just seems so wrong.”
Bethany exhaled and put down her brush. “Nine, this is our life. We grew up like this and we don’t know anything else. You fell in love with the person who made you smile and he just happens to be your cousin. The only reason you feel some kind of way is because of all of the death threats we’ve been receiving lately.” She shrugged. “I guess that’s why grandfather kept it a secret so long.”
“Yeah, I don’t like people calling us inbreeders and shit like that.”
“But we are.”
“So why is it so bad?” Nine asked seriously.
“You’re asking the wrong person.”
Nine exhaled. She didn’t get the answer she wanted but at the end of the day, she knew her cousin was right. As weird as their world was, it was still their world. If she was going to hell, she prepared herself to fry. “On another note, have you spoken to Alice?” Nine asked.
“Nope. Ever since you cut her out of the family fortune, nobody has seen or heard from her.”
True to Nine’s promise, she kept Alice in that building for sixteen weeks. She didn’t tell a soul. She was raped without condoms and abused and only then was she released.
“Do you think she has anything to do with the threats we’ve been receiving?” Nine asked.
“Could be the Alvarez Cartel. Or it could be her. She was granddaddy’s favorite and to know that she was cut out of the fortune fucks with her head.”
Nine considered what Bethany said when a number she didn’t recognize appeared on her cell phone. She hit the button on the Bluetooth, which allowed the call to come over the airwaves. “Is this Nine Prophet?” someone asked.
“Yes.”
“You need to get down to Baltimore Central Booking right away. Leaf has been arrested.”
Nine’s heart rate increased. “For what?”
“Transporting cocaine.”
CHAPTER 35
NINE
“Unbidden guests are often welcomest when they are gone.”
-William Shakespeare
Nine was looking at her fiancé through Plexiglas in jail. Her hands were sweaty because she didn’t understand what was going on. Not only was he arrested, but his face was also battered. His right eye was huge and black.
What was he even doing in prison? She built her operation so that she and anybody close to her never had to touch drugs. They had mules and other men for those types of jobs. So where did Leaf go wrong?
“I’m telling you, baby,” he paused, “I didn’t do this shit. I was set up.”
“By who?”’
“I don’t know,” he said. “And that’s all I can say right now.” They realized that anything they said could be used against them in court so the conversation was kept at a minimum.
“So what happened to your face,” she asked softly.
“It’s nothing,” he lied. “I don’t want you worrying because you still carrying my baby.”
“Leaf, I’m asking you a question. What happened?”
“Somebody said something fucked up about the family. Saying we fuck our own people and shit like that. Like I said, I don’t want you worrying about those things. I just want you to be careful. Somebody is obviously trying to tear us down and I don’t know why.”
Nine’s face was calm but her mind was racing. Whoever was trying to break her had better come prepared for the fight. Because she had intentions on battling to the death.
****
Nine just returned home after a long day. First, she saw an attorney to get Leaf out of jail but he admitted that it would be easier said than done. Besides, Leaf was caught with bricks of cocaine with a street value of 1.3 million dollars. By all accounts, he was federally fucked.
After taking a shower, she decided to take a nap before doing some more research on what it would take to get him released. She had already met with members of the Prophet family about her drug operation and they tightened security.
Exhausted, she drew the blinds so that her room was pitch black, the way she liked it. Like it was when she lived in the basement. She was in bed and her eyes were closed for one minute before a sheet was placed over her head. Suddenly she was struck repeatedly about the face and belly with a blunt object. Nine tried to fight but she was no match for whoever was trying to kill her.
When the blows slowed, the sheet was ripped off of her face and for a second she saw the glimpse of a tiny gold butterfly pendent moments before a pillow was pressed over her head. Her assailant was a woman.
This gave Nine the few spurts of energy she needed to fight harder but it was in vain. She had suddenly become lightheaded and before she knew it she blacked out.
When the beating was over, Nine was lying on her side, on the marble floor in her bedroom. She was covered in blood and she felt something lodged between her legs. When she moved her hand to feel what was there, she felt the head of her baby.
Terrified, Nine crawled to the phone on the dresser because she was unable to walk. With the little stamina she had left, she raised her hand, knocked the phone off of her dresser and called 911.
CHAPTER 36
PRESENT DAY
Winter, Baltimore, MD
Penn Station
“Fight till the last gasp.”
-William Shakespeare
The train rocked as it sped down the track on the way to North Carolina. Six months ago, Nine lost her baby and after some investigation Nine had found her perpetrator. Butterfly sat across the table from Nine, clutching her own baby on the train. Bulky tears cruised down her face and rolled to her neck.
The Predator gazed out of the window at the acres of greenery. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she said. “It really showcases God’s grace.” Slowly she turned and eyed Butterfly.
“So there’s nothing I can say to convince you to let me go,” she twittered. “All I want to do is be with my baby, Nine. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” the Predator smiled. “The road for you ends here.” She seemed self-possessed and this frightened Butterfly even more. “I always wanted to know the answer to this question. Why did you try to kill me? You were my sister, Paige. I had no beef with you; I never met you. Here you sit, asking me to let you keep your child yet you took the life of mine.”
Paige’s , also known as Butterfly, bottom lip trembled. “I’ll tell you but first I have to know. How did you know it was me?”
“The butterfly necklace you’re wearing. I saw it in a picture in the sitting room at the Prophet mansion.”
“A picture of me?” she laughed. “Kerrick never spoke to me or my sister. Why would he have a picture?”
“It was there. I remember clearly looking at the necklace and wanting one for myself. I always wondered where you were, sister. I always wondered if you were okay but I never imagined that you would try to kill me. Why, Paige? I would’ve thought Alice would do something like this, not you.”
Butterfly sighed. “I did it because you had it all!” she yelled.
Nine looked at her as if she were someone new. “Had it all?” she repeated. “I was tortured, raped and
humiliated for sixteen years of my life. How could I have it all?”
“You were tortured but at least someone touched you,” she responded. “I would’ve given the world to be abused just to be seen. No one saw me, Nine. Ever! And when Lydia died I lost the only other person who cared.”
“So you blamed me for that?”
“I despised that you had mother’s love.”
“Mother’s love? She didn’t speak to me. Ever!”
“You’re foolish,” Butterfly laughed. “You think she didn’t love you just because she didn’t talk to you? Don’t you realize that she gave up the little life she had with grandfather to save yours? She loved you the only way she knew how. By sacrifice. Which is more than I can say she did for me.”
“But where were you? I was told you ran away, but how did you survive?” the Predator asked.
“I wandered down the road distraught and some neighbors took me in. I never spoke of or mentioned my family and after awhile, they were able to adopt me. But it doesn’t take away how much I wanted mother’s love.” Butterfly said.
Nine’s mind felt cluttered. There were so many questions and so little time. “Did you have anything to do with the cocaine that was placed into Leaf’s car? Because he would’ve still been in jail if it wasn’t for our attorney.”
“No,” she answered truthfully. “That probably was Alice.”
Nine exhaled. She had to find that bitch before she struck again. Remembering the present, The Predator said, “My life will never be the same because of you. Ever.”
“And I’m sorry,” Butterfly replied. “I truly am.” Realizing all was lost, she lowered her head and brushed the sleeping baby’s face with her index finger. “I never thought we’d have this short of a time together,” she whispered to her son. “My mistakes,” her voice choked, “your mama’s mistakes have brought us to this end. And I’m so sorry.” When she was done talking to her baby, she looked at the Predator and said, “I’m ready.”