Hardhearted

by Sherrod Tunstall

  “Mmmm,” he groaned and stroked in and out of her.

  King’s eyelids fluttered. She was in sexual heaven but mainly focused her mind on Swag. Blood had no idea as he lifted one of her legs and placed it on his shoulder. He licked and kissed her foot, and his thrusts were faster and deeper.

  “Yes! Yes, papi! Faster!” King screamed and had multiple orgasms as she came all over his dick.

  “You like that shit, don’t you?”

  “Yes, papi!”

  “What’s my name!”

  King almost said Swag’s name but kept her thoughts together. “Blake!”

  Blood loved it when she said his real name. They shared a wet, sloppy kiss as he stroked faster, reaching her G-spot and making her come harder on his jock.

  King moaned and screamed even more. Blood loved it. She was tired of him taking control. Now, it was her turn. She scratched his back until she felt and saw blood oozing out.

  “Shiiiit,” Blood groaned in pleasure and pain.

  King got on top like a cowgirl and licked his blood from her fingers. Blood looked at her with some disgust but hid his feelings because of the pleasure she gave him. She bounced up and down on his dick, going wild. Blood’s eyes rolled back, and his toes curled. He was in total sex heaven, especially when she sucked his nipples. He could barely hold on to her hips because she was moving too fast. He cuffed her bouncing breasts and started to suck them like a hungry newborn.

  Blood felt his juices squirting out. “King! I’m . . . ’bout to come!”

  That was King’s cue to get off of him. The last thing she wanted was a baby to mess up her body and beauty. Plus, she loved watching Blood come. She rolled off him and lay next to him. Blood jerked his manhood, and they both watched his sperm squirt on his stomach and chest. He quivered and continued to breathe heavily.

  King looked at all the sperm on him and smiled. She knew if he’d put that in her, she would’ve gotten pregnant. The main thing was that Blood was happy. He intended for this to happen again every night. He closed his eyes, believing just that.

  Chapter 17

  Nightmare

  Tyler was asleep in his comfortable queen-sized bed. He had just gotten through eating a good meal, tossed back three more shots of vodka, and jacked off twice to get rid of the hard-on that was driving him nuts. He tried to block out Santana from his thoughts, but Santana clouded his thoughts. Tyler had no clue why, and to him, Santana was like a pesky mosquito that wouldn’t go away. Tyler kept telling himself over and over that he wasn’t gay. His father would’ve killed him for thinking or being with another man. But even as a kid, Tyler always had a fascination with the LGBTQ lifestyle. He always played the macho tough guy loving the ladies, but deep inside, he saw men differently.

  * * *

  That evening at the other mansion, Travis was sitting on his bed and looking at his missing finger. He still couldn’t get over what King had done to him. All he could think about was payback. He also thought about how stupid he and the fellas were for falling into this trap. They were supposed to be having fun with their new boss. He remembered how Paco hyped him up as well as the fellas, thinking they’d all be rich. His mother used to tell him and his brother, “If something is too good to be true, it is.”

  But being in the mansion wasn’t so bad. Travis kept to himself and stayed out of Paco’s way, especially since Swag and Tyler had already beaten Paco’s racist ass. Travis knew Paco was going to take his revenge out some way. He just had to keep his guard up, since he had no one watching his back or front. He would come downstairs for food and drink and stay clear of Paco and his gang.

  Travis yawned, removed his clothes, and got in bed. He closed his eyes and said a short prayer. “Lord, protect me and mostly my twin. Amen.”

  * * *

  Downstairs in the mansion’s kitchen, Paco, Ike, Rock, Landon, Miguel, and Nash had a meeting. They were trying to come up with a plan to get revenge against Swag, Tyler, Midnight, and King. It shocked the crew, except Landon, who experienced an earlier ass whooping from Paco.

  “Why Midnight? Why, homes? That’s the homie, man,” Miguel said in his thick Hispanic accent.

  “For the last time, I don’t give a fuck! Midnight is disloyal!” Paco yelled. “He didn’t do shit for me. Look at my face!” He pointed at the black marks on his face. “Fuck Midnight. He let that goon and his sidekick kick my ass! So, no! Midnight is no longer my right-hand man. My new right-hand man is Landon!”

  Landon sat there, smiling as if he had just won the lottery.

  The rest of the crew looked at him with disgust. They knew Landon kissed both Paco’s and PJ’s asses. If Paco told Landon to lick his ass, he’d lick all the color off until there was nothing but bone.

  Nash was a skinny, brown dude with his whole body, including parts of his face, covered in tattoos like a subway in Harlem. He cleared his throat. “Why li’l dude gotta be the fucking sergeant at arms? This li’l bitch ain’t nothin’ but a punk ass!”

  “Yeah, I been with you just as long as Midnight. Not like this gay-ass-looking Diggy,” said an angry Ike. “If anyone should be the sergeant at arms, it should be me. Not this li’l bitch!”

  “Look, I ain’t goin’ be too many of y’all’s bitches. So, watch it!” Landon pointed a knife at Ike and Nash.

  “Oh, I’m scared,” Nash said sarcastically while giggling.

  Ike brushed Landon off, knowing he was all bark and no bite.

  Paco loved the fact that everyone’s true colors were coming out. He loved to see friends turning against friends. But to him, in this lifestyle, you had no friends, just associates. As much as he loved the drama, he had to get the show back in order.

  “Look, all y’all shut the hell up. A’ight?” Paco stood up. “This may be King’s shit, but I’m still the head muthafucka in charge. Hell, maybe if killing my dad and King go right, I’ll be king of the Hernandez Cartel and the Leopard Clit.”

  “Yeah, right,” Rock said softly with a sly look on his face.

  Paco and everyone looked Rock’s way. Paco was stunned at the words that came out of his mouth, especially since he was almost family. Rock was going with Paco’s little sister, who was expecting his child. In his mind, Paco should’ve killed him when he broke the code of messing with the boss’s sister, but he let it slide.

  “What was that, crack baby?” Paco’s brow shot up. He knew that would anger Rock, whose childhood nickname was that.

  Rock winced and shook his head. “Nothin’, man.”

  “Naw. If you got something to say, then say it in my damn face and not no weak-ass shit!” Paco sipped from his glass of alcohol. “Come on, let’s put everything out on the table, crack baby.” He laughed, knowing he had Rock right where he wanted him.

  Rock was livid, and at this moment in his life, he just didn’t give a shit anymore. To him, Paco was no boss of his. He felt like it was time to bring Paco back down to earth.

  “Man, when I first met you, I loved and admired you. Shit, I wanted to be like you and your father. I’m pretty much family with my retarded seed in ya sister’s stomach.” Rock cleared his throat, then chuckled. “Now, look at you. You thought you was on some Michael Corleone, Mafia-type shit with King. In the end, you got punked and played by a female. A female, punk ass!”

  They all wanted to laugh, knowing what Rock said was nothing but the truth. Instead, they remained silent with straight faces. Paco laughed his ass off, trying to soak in what Rock had told him. For years, he saw Rock like a man, friend, a member of the Hernandez Cartel, and soon-to-be brother-in-law that he once loved. Now, all that love was turning to anger and pure hate. Paco took a sip of his beer and cut Rock with the look in his narrowed eyes.

  “Yeah, then you got your ass kicked by Swag and Tyler. Oh, and don’t forget you got your ass kicked out of King’s bed!” Rock laughed to the point of insanity. He really didn’t give a shit anymore about anything. In his world, he was his own boss now.

  “Calling me
weak and slow for years, and yo’ ass can’t even fight without Midnight to fight your battles. You ain’t nothing but a joke. A clown for the Hernandez Cartel. Just like PJ said you were.” Rock’s laughter continued.

  Paco was heated from all the disrespect and venom thrown at him. He saw the real Rock or his government name, Roland Douglass, for the very first time in their almost-a-decade friendship. It was just a pity that his sister was carrying a part of him inside of her.

  Landon had gotten an apple and was cutting it into slices while walking around the kitchen. No one paid him any mind except Paco, who was studying Landon but focused on Rock.

  “So, do you want out of the cartel then?”

  “Yeah. I’m going to turn myself in to the police and confess everything so that I can get a plea bargain. That way, I won’t miss much of my child’s upbringing.”

  Paco’s pressure rose to the edge, hearing that. To him, the last thing you did in the criminal world was snitch out the crew or the family business. Rock knew that he just signed his death certificate, and he bought himself a one-way ticket to hell. At that point, he didn’t care. He was ready to meet his maker.

  Paco kept his cool and smiled like he didn’t have a care in the world. “All right, Rock. If that’s what you want, we’ll miss you.” He shifted his eyes to Landon.

  Rock didn’t know what hit him once Landon took the knife and stabbed him in his neck. Blood squirted on Landon, who got a thrill out of watching Rock scream.

  “Aaaaah!” Rock held his neck and fell to the floor. Landon stabbed him repeatedly, causing chunks of his pink flesh to fly.

  “Stop! Stop! That’s enough, Landon!” Paco yelled.

  Landon backed away from Rock with blood all over his shirt and shoes. The other men looked on in disbelief. They had been wrong about Landon. It seemed like he did have balls after all. No one was more pleased than Paco. He patted Landon on his back and smiled.

  “Good job, man. You passed the test. Now, you have proven your loyalty to me and the new era of the Hernandez Cartel.”

  Landon smiled like a little kid getting a big bonus on his allowance.

  Paco looked down at Rock, who was gasping for air and trying to hold on to the last bit of life he had.

  “Heeelp me, pleeease,” Rock begged, reaching out for Paco’s hand. Paco just stood there, watching Rock die a slow, painful death.

  His eyes fluttered, and when he opened them wide, he was face-to-face with Paco, who was kneeling beside him with no remorse on his face. With his last dying breath, Rock told Paco how he really felt.

  “See you in hell, pussy-ass bitch!” He spat blood on Paco’s chin.

  Paco laughed and wiped the blood with his hand. “Yeah, but I hope you can see when you get there!” He snatched the knife from Landon and stabbed Rock’s eyeballs.

  He screamed in torment as his body flopped on the floor like a fish out of water.

  Paco was tired of his screams, so he sliced open his throat. Rock was finished. He was no longer part of the land of the living.

  The rest of the crew showed no emotion whatsoever. But deep inside, they were scared shitless of Paco. They knew he had his way of handling business, but what he did to Rock was total insanity at best.

  Paco looked back at his remaining crew. “See? That’s what happens when you’re disloyal or show disrespect toward me.” He looked at Rock’s lifeless body and kicked his face. “Enjoy hell, and here’s a little something to cool you off while you’re there.” He laughed as he urinated on Rock’s corpse.

  Once he was done pissing, he got himself in order and looked at everyone. “Now, is there anything anyone needs to put on the table about me as a boss? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

  No one uttered a word.

  “Snap the fuck out of it! All of you. You act if as you’ve never seen a dead body before! Let me ask again. Do any of you have any issues with me or my motives?”

  “Nah, hell nah,” they said in unison.

  Paco smiled wickedly, knowing he was back in control. “Good!”

  He walked back to his seat with the knife he’d killed Rock with and reached for an apple. He sliced it and ate the apple, even though the knife was still dripping with Rock’s blood.

  “Delicious. Now, when I’m the new leader of the Hernandez Cartel along with the Leopard Clit, the new motto will be ‘Take No Prisoners.’ First, I’ma kill that bastard of a father of mine. Then kill Swag, Tyler, Blood, and Midnight. Once I get that bitch, King, alone, I’ma snap that pretty little neck of hers for double-crossing me.” He laughed.

  Landon laughed along with him.

  Paco looked at him. This ass kisser, he thought. He appreciated his loyalty, but he didn’t like ass kissers. Paco looked down at Rock and back at his crew.

  “It’s time for you all to show your loyalty to me again.”

  They all looked at one another, then back at Paco.

  “Paco, man, we’ve always been loyal. Hell, at least I know I’ve been. We’ve known each other since we were kids. Man, we family, homes, on real shit,” Miguel said.

  “Yeah,” Ike and Nash agreed.

  “Loyalty, my ass!” Paco got mad all over again while thinking of the earlier events that took place. “Where were you assholes when I was getting my ass kicked or when I was getting disgraced by that fake-ass Griselda Blanco?”

  Again, the room fell silent. But Ike, Nash, Miguel, and especially Landon knew the consequences if they tried to help. They knew they weren’t in Texas anymore.

  “Yeah, y’all quiet ’cause y’all know y’all was wrong for keeping me hanging. I should’ve killed you all in your sleep, but I still have a somewhat forgiving heart. And like Miguel said, we still fam ’til the end.”

  There was a sigh of relief in the room.

  “Don’t start exhaling yet! You all still have a debt to pay from earlier.”

  Eyebrows shot up. They were curious about what he’d said.

  “I hope y’all didn’t think it was all peaches, milk, and cookies,” Paco laughed. “You all, as of tonight, will have to re-prove your loyalty to the new organization and me.”

  “Re-prove our—” Ike said.

  Paco cut him off. “Yes!”

  “What we gotta do, Paco, to get back in your good graces?” Miguel asked.

  Paco looked up, then back at his crew with a smile.

  “What’s up with that, Paco?” Nash asked, concerned.

  Paco loved the game he was playing with them. “Well, our ‘special’ guest upstairs is a lost little lamb without its shepherd. It’s time to teach the boys from the Lou a lesson. An eye for an eye. It’s time to go hunting, gentlemen.” Paco held up the bloody knife.

  Tyler tossed and turned. He was sweating and breathing heavily.

  “Go get a knife, and let’s go hunting!” Paco stood up from his seat. “Come on. Let’s move.” He looked at Rock’s dead body. “And after we’re done, I need you all to clean up this piece of shit.”

  The guys nodded and started to get knives for themselves. Landon picked up a sharp meat cleaver.

  * * *

  Tyler continued to breathe heavily and talk in his sleep. “No, no.”

  Paco and the crew went upstairs and headed to Travis’s room. Once at the door, Paco quietly opened it. “Idiot wasn’t smart enough to lock the door.”

  “Damn, Paco, this is too easy,” Landon laughed, almost giving them away.

  Paco told him to hush up. They all went inside Travis’s room and formed a circle while looking down at him.

  Tyler turned, flipped, and flopped around in the bed. His breathing got worse. He thought he was having a panic attack. “Travis, Trav . . . is! No! No!” His eyes were shut tightly.

  Travis slept peacefully without a care in the world. He didn’t know a circle of the Hernandez Cartel was watching him. Paco smiled while holding the knife firmly in his hand.

  “No one to protect you now,” he laughed. “Wake your ass up!” Paco kicked his leg.r />
  Travis woke up, surprised, as he looked around. He was outnumbered. His heart pounded against his chest, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

  Tyler sweated a river. His heart started to beat faster. He thought he was going to have a heart attack. He closed his eyes tightly with tears coming down his face.

  * * *

  Everyone had their weapons up.

  “Now, go back to sleep!” Paco shouted.

  Travis tried to get out of the bed, but not before Paco yelled, “Now!”

  He and his crew began to cut, slice, and stab all over Travis’s body.

  He hollered in agony, knowing the Hernandez Cartel outdid him. “Heeelp, somebodeeee, pleeease, Tylerr, help meee!”

  Tyler jumped up. “Travis!” He was hyperventilating. Tyler needed to see his brother. He didn’t know if it were a dream or real. When day hit, Tyler was going to check on his brother. Then his skin got hot, and he started to feel pain in his chest and stomach. “God!” Tyler hadn’t prayed or been in church in years. But he needed God’s help at that moment. His twin was all he had on this crazy ride they were on. “Please take care of my brother. Don’t take him away from me. Protect him.”

  Travis turned his head, closed his eyes, and took his last breath. Paco smiled proudly at the now sliced, diced, and chopped up Travis. Travis’s blood was everywhere—on their clothes and the bedding. The crew looked at Paco.

  “Is that it? Have we proven our loyalty to you?” Nash asked with bass in his voice.

  “Damn, two bodies in one night,” Landon said, high off bloodlust.

  Paco walked over to Nash and laughed. Without warning, he cut Nash on the right side of his face.

  “Fuck!” Nash held the side of his bleeding face. “Shit, man! What the fuck!”