“I keep my enemies close,” was Jordan’s response.
With the exception of Snake’s tongue darting out and breaking a crispy slice of bacon in half before dragging back inside of his mouth, he was quiet regarding the Sledge issue. It made me wonder what was really going on with this entire operation. Who was really who and better yet, what had I really gotten myself into? It didn’t take long for me to find out part of my question.
“The motorbikes should be ready to go by six this evening,” Pierre acknowledged. I was trying to figure out what he was talking about, but Snake’s response cleared things up.
“Melting all of that gold down was work, but I can’t wait to see it all come together in the form of a Ducati Diavel.”
Pierre placed his hand on his chest. “It’s not going to take Easter long to know of your betrayal, Snake, and that, my friend, worries me.”
“Leave Easter to me. I left him a little present, courtesy of our Spanish compadres, Antonio and Vincente, in his vault to deflect Snake’s involvement,” Jordan said.
Seven seemed to be nervous. “I sure hope he takes the bait.”
Snake kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry about me, my love. It’s going to take a lot more than a little man like Easter to get me riled up.”
“Enough about Easter.” Jordan looked at Pierre. “Are we set up?”
Étienne spoke up. “Everything including the jet will be ready by six, but there’s still the matter of the paintings.”
Jordan cackled. “Is that how it is now, Pierre? You have Étienne conducting business?”
“I give you my resources. I want to be properly compensated,” he explained.
Before Jordan and Pierre could continue, there was a lot of racket going on inside of the house. Out of instinct, I screamed and jumped up to run for cover. Jordan caught me when I almost toppled over into the pool. Sledge hurried out with another man on his heels.
“Sledge, what’s going on?” Snake asked just as alarmed as me.
When I looked over at Seven, she had her gun drawn and showing no fear. Her chair had been kicked back and she looked like she was ready for whatever was coming her way. While I looked like I was ready to get away. Unlike her, this wasn’t an everyday occurrence for me.
Sledge caught his breath long enough to speak. “The safe house! It’s on the news!”
Pierre hit a button on the panel next to him. What I thought was a window on the house powered on. Pierre flipped through the channels until he found the news and there it was. Ambulances, fire trucks and police cars were everywhere. Jordan repeated what was scrolling across the screen.
“Quatre Quatre ont été retrouvé tué par balles après que la police a reçu des informations d’un corps à corps au sixième étage.” (Four were found shot to death after police received reports of a melee on the eighth floor.) He read slowly.
“He knows,” Snake whispered. “I bet the four that were murdered were the guards that were on duty last night.”
Sledge’s skin was flushed and looked as though he was ready to vomit. “He’s coming for us.” He started fidgeting with his pockets making me even more nervous.
“Enough!” Jordan yelled and Sledge stopped his ruckus immediately. “Panicking isn’t going to do you any good.”
Sledge took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one while he paced waiting to see what the instructions were going to be.
Pierre came over to Jordan’s side. “I can have the plane ready a lot sooner, but I’m not so sure about the bikes.”
Jordan’s demeanor made him back up. “Those bikes had better be ready within the next couple of hours. No exceptions.” He signaled to Snake and Sledge to follow him. Pierre did the same although he wasn’t invited.
Seven finally lowered her weapon and walked over to where I was. “I know we have our differences, but now is not the time for any of that high-end drama that you like giving us. As you see by the gruesome news reports, Easter is a little ruthless motherfucker. That’s why Jordan became so upset when you thought of him as not being a threat.”
I didn’t know what to do, except let bygones be bygones until we were back on familiar grounds. “You’re right, Seven, and you’ll have no problems out of me for the rest of this trip.”
“The rest of the trip, huh?” She sauntered off shaking her head.
There was a series of loud claps stopping Seven in her tracks. “Ladies, even when facing uncertainty, we must always look our best. Let the men do what is needed while we get ourselves together. In case you’re worried, Bianca, the man who is out for blood knows nothing of this place nor does he know anything about Pierre and I.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks for clearing that up, Étienne.”
• • •
Meanwhile, in the garage, Snake watched as Sledge paced back and forth while he and Jordan were overseeing the completion of the bikes. “Sledge’s trouble with the mafia is going to have him going rogue. I was on hiatus, but I still kept my ears to the street.”
Jordan stomped the cigarette he’d been smoking into the concrete floor. “You’re not the only one who keeps abreast of what’s going on. I know all about his debt, so relax.”
“A desperate man will do anything. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was working us with Easter.”
“He’s not!” Jordan spoke sharply to Snake.
Snake looked at him not believing his ears and walked off. “All right, it’s your funeral,” he said over his shoulder.
Chapter 25
A few hours later, Pierre joined Jordan in the garage’s lounging area to inform him of the progress. “Never know when you’re going to need eighteen-hundred degrees of heat, a shit load of boric acid, and a nice-sized crucible to melt and turn gold into something of a bad ass. Those sexy bitches are finally ready for you to see them.” He threw what was left of his cigar into the ashtray on a nearby table and led the way.
Jordan signaled for Snake and Sledge, as they followed Pierre. The bikes were true beauties and bad asses indeed. Jordan had known Pierre for the better part of ten years, but he learned early on in this line of business not to trust anyone but himself. He inspected the chromed-out, black and red bikes before taking his pocket knife out and scratching a part of the rim that wouldn’t be so obvious. When he saw the gold behind the color, he was almost satisfied.
“After all of this time, you don’t trust me?” Pierre asked, as Jordan repeated the process numerous times on both bikes.
He only stopped to answer his host. “Don’t take this personally, Pierre, but you especially should know that much like honor, there is no trust among thieves.”
Two hours later at the Paris-Le Bourget airport, after seeing that everything was accounted for, we boarded a private jet. Pierre was satisfied with his portion of the take, and was on his way back to the chauffeured Lincoln Navigator where Étienne was waiting for him. I eased back into the seat and closed my eyes after seeing him off. I couldn’t wait to step through the front door of my home.
“Would you like something to drink after takeoff, beautiful?” the attendant asked.
My eyes fluttered open to a lovely brunette with a heavy accent that I couldn’t place. “No thanks,” I mumbled. She gave a weak sneer before walking off. There was something familiar about her eyes that made me take a longer look after her.
The plane began to taxi down the runway. A smile crept onto my face at the thought of finally heading home. Then without warning, a loud explosion occurred. I jerked out of my resting position as my eyes flew wide open to see a roaring fire engulfing the SUVs that had brought us to the airport.
“Oh my God! Étienne! Pierre!” A bloodcurdling scream soon followed when I saw Seven pointing her gun in my direction and pulling the trigger. The gun went off without hesitation. I closed my eyes and braced for impact, but it never came. I turned around to see the attendant who had just asked me if I wanted a drink. She was on the floor, and her white shirt had a red spot that was get
ting bigger by the second.
I looked in the direction of Seven and her smoking gun. My eyes went back to the attendant, and for the first time, I noticed the gun in her hand. My head immediately swung back around where my eyes made contact with Seven’s. No words were needed. Our eyes said everything that our mouths didn’t. Our moment was interrupted when the plane began to swerve and more gunshots rang out. Entourages of black SUVs tried to keep us grounded by shooting at the plane. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. Tears slid down my face as my life flashed before my eyes. “Oh God, please!”
A bullet went through the window across from Seven. “Argh!” She went down clutching her abdomen.
“Baby?!” Snake screamed out as he tried to make his way to her.
Seven wiped the sweat off of her brow before giving him her attention. “I’m . . . I’m fine,” she assured him.
I was harshly pushed forward by Jordan. “Get down now!” he screamed. “Pull up! Pull the fuck up!” he ordered the pilot. “Get this plane in the air, now!”
“I’ll do my best, sir, but we may have to land soon. If we try to fly any longer than ten minutes or so, we’re going to lose cabin pressure with the window being shot out,” the pilot said in panic.
“That’s fine with me; just get us out of here,” Jordan ordered.
The plane started lifting off of the ground. A few bullets struck the window across from me cracking it. Everything was going in slow motion, but moving so fast at the same time. Snake and Jordan were ready for combat. Seven took cover, but was still in battle mode with her gun poised and ready to unload, all while clutching her abdomen with her other hand. Sledge, on the other hand, was another story. He was still sitting in his seat as if he were in a daze. I couldn’t understand why Jordan even had him with us in the first place. Sledge was a coward, simply useless. A sad excuse of a human being, let alone a man.
The gunshots became distant as we ascended further into the sky. I continued to pray for God to save us all. I even promised to leave Jordan and his lifestyle if He allowed me to make it back to the States in one piece, and more importantly, alive.
I slowly rose and eased back into my seat. Tears clouded my vision, but Sledge was still sitting there like nothing had just occurred. “What is wrong with you?” I hollered in his direction. Still there was no response from him. Before I knew what was happening, I was on him swinging and clawing. It took Snake and Jordan to get me off of that fool, but no sooner than they let me go, I was on him again.
“Bianca!” Jordan yelled when he grabbed me from behind. I didn’t know why I was so angry with Sledge, but the entire time in Paris, something about him had rubbed me the wrong way. I guessed the shootout and his reaction to it was the last straw. I kept trying to get at him despite being firmly held against my will.
“Get her off of me!” He sprung from his seat like a jack-in-the-box. His fist was about to connect with my face until Snake caught him in midswing.
Jordan pushed me to the side before coldcocking him. Sledge fell back against the window bumping his head. “How the fuck did they know who we were and where to find us? Answer me!” He stared menacingly at Sledge waiting for an answer.
“How the fuck do I know?” He struggled to get up. “After all that we have been through, you’re screwing me for this bitch?” He pointed in my direction.
When Sledge was standing upright again, he got in Jordan’s face. Neither man was backing down and dared the other to make a move. Snake finally stepped between the two while Seven covered him. “I told you, Jordan. I told you.”
“Told him what?” Sledge attempted to jump bad, but backed down just as quickly.
Snake stared at Sledge instead of fanning the flames. They were hot now and cool heads were needed, if they wanted to prevail. “Come on, fellows. We have to be ready when we land, or we may as well sign our own death certificates.”
“Sledge, for as long as you have breath in your body—” Jordan stopped when he saw the let-it-slide-for-now look that Snake gave him. “Okay.” He held up his hands. “I’m good.” Jordan patted Sledge’s shoulder. “We good?”
Sledge pushed his hand off. “Yeah, we good.”
Jordan went to check with the pilot while Snake checked the girl’s body for information before dragging her toward the back of the plane. Sledge was back in his seat giving me dirty looks, but I couldn’t be bothered with him. I had something that I needed to say.
“Seven, I want to thank you.” I was about to reach over and hug her, but she stopped me.
She unbuttoned her shirt revealing a bulletproof vest. There was a bullet lodged in it close to her navel. “Good thing I decided to wear this, huh?”
My eyes were glued to the bullet. “I’m glad you did. Does that hurt?”
“Burns like hell, but hey, I’d rather the hole to be in the vest than in me. I told you I wasn’t the enemy, and neither is Sledge. He’s just been through a lot,” she said, aiming her attention over to her teammate when Snake came over to tend to her.
I looked over at Sledge who was still giving me the stink eye. “Sledge, look, I overreacted due to the situation. This is all new to me. So, why don’t we just let bygones be bygones . . . Okay?”
He took out a packet of cigarettes and thumped it against his hand to release one, lit it, and took a long drag before blowing the smoke out in my direction. “No apologies needed. Just don’t let it happen again.”
He had better been lucky that Jordan had just taken his seat next to me because there would’ve been another body—for sure. “I have a question.”
“What’s that?” Jordan asked.
I didn’t know what to ask first, so I just went for it. “They could’ve blown up the plane or at the very least, shot us down. What was that all about?”
“You’re right. They could’ve done all of that, but then the merchandise would have been destroyed. Good thing we were already onboard and going down the strip.”
Seven grunted as she adjusted herself in her seat. “Too bad you can’t say the same for Pierre and Étienne.” She signed the cross over her chest. “May they rest in peace.”
Jordan’s jaw clenched tightly. “Don’t worry; Easter will pay—and dearly. Mark my words.”
Chapter 26
A week later, my life had returned to normal. Jordan unloaded the gold motorcycles without a problem to an anonymous multibillionaire who was also a collector of fine and rare things. The paintings were still in his possession, but personally, I didn’t care what became of them. The money I’d gotten from the sale of the bikes was payment enough for my troubles in Paris.
It was early in the morning and I was enjoying the comforts of my bed, when I heard someone beating my door down. Deciding to let them knock, I snuggled deeper under the covers, but the insistent knocker wasn’t going anywhere. I snatched the covers back and swung my legs to the side to get up and answer. I stuffed my feet into my slippers and put on the housecoat that was draped lazily across the bed.
“Coming!” I yelled, but the knocking wasn’t letting up. My footsteps quickened as I ran down the stairs to see who I was about to cuss out. I grabbed my bat in case it was some trouble before peeking through the peephole.
“Ugh!” I groaned when I saw Shelia, Cody and Reggie. I put the bat down and opened the door to let them in.
“Rise and shine, you ole elusive bitch!” Cody sang, prancing through the door uninvited wearing the tightest jeans known to man and a powder-blue blouse that I knew belonged on a woman. His hair was flowing as usual, even though there wasn’t any wind to help it along.
I stepped to the side letting them in, and out of habit, looked both ways before shutting the door behind us. “Well, come on in, why don’t cha!” Besides, Shelia’s big Diana Ross hair hitting me in the face on her way through the door, I shook my head when I saw that she was dressed like she was on her way to the club in a mini-skirt, six-inch stilettos, and a halter top this early in the day. Reggie had his grown man look on in
his Polo shirt, and a pair of loose-fitting jeans.
Reggie put a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts on the table and turned to face me as I walked in. “Girl, bye with all that ’tude and don’t be giving us the evil eye, either! You owe us an explanation, hunty, and we ain’t leaving until we get one.”
“Sure in the hell do,” Shelia cosigned while putting the coffees down and pulling out a chair to sit her gigantic video vixen booty on.
I ignored them and went to brush my teeth and wash my face. I grabbed saucers, sugar and creamer before rejoining them at the table. Thank God they’d brought coffee; I had a feeling that it was going to be a long morning. “I hope you got some panties on up under that too-little-ass skirt while you’re hoisted all up on my chair, Shelia,” I said to deflect the attention from me.
Cody and Reggie fell out, pointing and making fun of Shelia.
“Woo, she read you down, chile!” Reggie snickered even louder.
“To hell with y’all and anyway, I have on a thong; thank you very much.” She snapped her fingers at me like she’d put me in my place. “And don’t be trying to wiggle your way out of the discussion at hand, which is you and that mofo you been neglecting us for.”
Cody turned his chair so that it was facing me. “Yeah, she’s really trying to pull it, but too bad she didn’t get up early enough. Now, spill it because you got a lot of nerve, hunty.”
Taking a huge bite from one of the doughnuts, I answered with my mouth full. “Why you say that?”
Cody crossed his legs and shook his finger in my direction. “Girl, don’t play. You know exactly what this is about.”
After stirring some creamer in her coffee, Shelia threw in her two cents. “Mm-hmm, I knew the night we met him that he was nothing but trouble. Arrogant son of a bastard.”
I swallowed my food and laughed out loud. “You’re just mad because he wasn’t checking for you.”
Shelia reached over to get a glazed doughnut out of the box. “Mad?” She licked her fingers. “Honey, please, he only chose you because he saw the caution sign warning him about these dangerous curves of mine.” She ran her hands over her hourglass figure before popping the side of her big ass that was hanging off of the chair.
Sexpionage Page 15