The Hearts of the Killers

by Niecy P

  “Why did you stop writing and calling?” I asked. Truth looked at me, stunned by the question.

  “Where did that come from?” he asked while sitting up, putting his self on guard.

  “You asked me to be open with you, but that shit has to go both ways, Truth. I wrote you hundreds of letters, and I can say that half of them you didn’t respond to. I have the right to know why.” I told him. Truth took his drink down and got up from the floor altogether. He brought his glass to the kitchen and stood at the couch as if he was ready to leave. I didn’t beg him or ask the question again. I got up from the floor and went to the door to open it.

  “Good night, Truth,” I told him. Truth thought about not walking out the door until he saw that I was holding on to my anger. He didn’t want to battle with Smoke tonight, or he was going to lose. Truth picked his jacket up and walked out the door without a word. I put the fire out and grabbed my keys to go back to the other house. If I had slept there, I would have woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

  I didn’t see Truth until we all met up at my parents’ house to see my family. I was surprised to see him there after our last conversation. With all the empty seating space in my parents' family room, he decided to sit his big ass on my hip. I moved over and was ready to get up. Truth grabbed my waist and sat me down. I looked at him, and he was staring at me. His eyes were easy to read. He wasn’t closed off or on guard.

  “Can we go somewhere and talk after this?” he asked me. I was ready to give him a hard time, but there was no telling if I was going to get the opportunity again. I nodded my head and sighed with relief. The front door opened causing me to turn away from him, but I didn’t miss the looks that we got from my parents. Mom was smiling, of course, because she knew how I felt about Truth. We didn’t have any secrets with each other, and she was my go-to person for relationship advice. I mean she was the one that got into a killer’s heart. Daddy wasn’t smiling though. He wanted to rip Truth’s head off. Truth didn’t shy away at all. He stared my father in the eye with respect and didn’t budge from him or Mason. I thought for sure that they were going to go at it in front of my parents’ house. Truth didn’t care if we were Smoke or Ghost. In his mind, he was just as dangerous as we were.

  We got into his car and drove up the street to my single-story home. I didn’t want to climb all those stairs, but I did want it wide enough for my family to come and visit. Truth pulled up and turned the car off. He glanced over at me and smirked.

  “You told Mason that we weren’t official yet. What needs to happen for that statement to be reversed?” he asked.

  “Well,” I cleared my throat. “You need to talk to me, Truth.” He nodded his head and turned his gaze from me.

  “I couldn’t allow myself to feel shit when I was out there, Madison. I had to be that gutta ass nigga that didn’t give two fucks about the next person. Your letters weren’t helping the situation. I caught myself thinking about you during the missions, and that shit almost got my people and me killed. I had no choice but to cut you off,” he answered.

  “Because you thought it was best for only you,” I felt myself getting pissed. Truth frowned and grabbed the steering wheel.

  “No, Madison. I did that shit for you too, ma. If we would have created something while I was away, what would have happened to you if I didn’t come back home? Huh? You would have gone fucking crazy out here. You think that I wanted to be the reason for you to lose and drown yourself in misery. It would have been harder for you to change back into that Madison that gives people light with her smile. I couldn’t handle that, girl,” he answered. He was right. I would have been lost if anything had happened to him. I thought about him surprising me with a visit like the ones that the soldiers recorded on social media, but I didn’t get that. Shit, I couldn’t get a fucking phone call.

  “You still could have told me how you felt, Truth. It would have been easier for me to know that you cared enough to put thought in your decision. You shutting down didn’t do anything but made things complicated.” I told him.

  “And what would have happen if I told you how I felt, Madison?” Truth asked.

  “I would have fought harder for you or waited,” I whispered.

  “You did wait. In your heart, you knew that I was the one for you,” Truth’s voice dropped at that.

  “You think so,” I asked, and he nodded, “What if you came here and I had a boyfriend?” He snorted and brushed that question off.

  “Madison, please. There is no other nigga out there for you that your brother or father is going to like. You know that just as well as I do. But, if you did have one, he would have become your ex-one for real. The both of y’all would have got the fucking business playing with me,” Truth was getting angry like I really did have a boyfriend.

  “Calm down, boy. It was just a question,” I said.

  “Well just don’t ask questions like that. Come on and let me get you inside,” he said and jumped out of the car. He walked around to get my door and walked me up the stairs. I was a bit nervous at that point because I didn’t know what to expect or do. He talked to me like I asked. I didn’t know if it was time for us to say that we were official. I opened the door and turned towards him.

  “Do you want to come in?” I asked him. Truth leaned onto the door frame and smiled at me.

  “Damn girl. I would’ve never thought that I would see you unsure about anything,” he said.

  “I’m not unsure about us, Truth. I just don’t know what is supposed to happen now,” I was honest.

  “What’s now?” Truth wanted to be clear before making the decision for the both of us.

  “Us being official,” I answered. Truth took a step toward me and palmed my face. His lips were three inches away from mine. I leaned and felt the softness of his lips. The kiss was chastised, but the feel of his lips held promises of what he could do. All that back and forth was nothing but fourplay. The tip of Truth’s tongue flicked my lips. I opened up my mouth and allowed our tongues to get acquainted. Once we were used to the taste and the heat of each other, Truth walked me into the house from prying eyes and closed the door. I found my back pressed against one of the two round poles. Truth deepened the kiss and cradled the back of my head. I felt my knees wobble and didn’t know if I was able to withstand his torture. I knew I talk a good game, but Lord knows I never been with a man before.

  Truth felt me losing the tongue battle and bent down slightly. He clasped the back of my thighs to lift me up before I collapsed on the floor. I gasped against his lips, which gave him the access he needed for his tongue to go deeper down my throat. Truth sat on one of the stools near the bar and sat me on his lap. The monster print that I had seen through his joggers was pressed against my heat. I moaned in his mouth from the feel of it. I moved my hips back and forward as if I was riding a horse. The stool that we sat on couldn’t take the pressure, but I didn’t let up. I was chasing that fantastic feeling that had my toes curling and me gripping the back of the stool.

  Truth got up and I almost slapped him. “No,” I moaned angrily. He carried me to the couch and placed me on it despite my protesting.

  “Lay back, Madison. I gotcha you, ma,” he told me. I laid back with my head on the armrest of the couch. The pretty strapless black dress I had on made it easy for him to reach his target. Truth caressed my legs with his rough hands. He opened my legs and planted butterfly kisses on the inside part of my thigh. Fuck. I began to thrash, not knowing that I was that sensitive there. Truth’s head popped up, and he licked his smiling lips.

  “You going to have to be still for this to work, Madison. Don’t make me tie yo ass up,” he threatened. I took it as a promise. I wondered what it would have felt like to be tied down to endure that type of torture. He bit the inside of my thigh, and I promised that feeling came back stronger.

  “Shit, T. What the hell was that?” I asked him. Truth ignored me and continued his assault up my leg and dress. I pulled it up to see what he was d
oing. I was wearing black lace boy shorts. Truth’s thumb pressed gently on my hard nub that was seen through my panties. I hissed and threw my head back. He rubbed and massaged my shit. I threw my leg over the couch while the other was on the coffee table. I wanted him to have all the room he needed.

  “Uh-uh,” he mumbled and pulled my panties completely off. Without the teasing or hesitation, the lips and tongue that almost took me out of the chair were latched onto my clit. He let it go and licked me from my entrance to my clit, repeatedly. “The fuck,” he groaned. “You are so fucking sweet, girl.”

  I didn't hear that, though. I wanted him to continue doing what he was doing because if he stopped that time, I was going to kill him. Truth didn’t disappoint. He flicked his tongue with a tempo that I didn’t think possible. Truth used his skillful mouth and tongue to push me over the edge for the first time ever. I screamed out incoherent things in different languages. Truth groaned as if he wasn’t done and began to feast on my wanton pussy more. I thought for sure that the nigga saved his appetite for our moment. I rocked my hips and grabbed his head to keep him in place. Truth’s arms went underneath my legs and held on tightly. He must have known that my next orgasm was going to be an explosion. It rocked me so hard that the couch moved across the room.

  My body fell back from exhaustion. I was shaking and breathing hard, trying to come down from my high. Truth took my dress and pulled it down to cover my nudeness. He laid on the side of me and wrapped his arms around me. I felt his lips on my ears and I shivered. “We official,” he told me. He didn’t have to say that shit. Once his tongue entered my mouth, it was over for him. He was mine, and I didn’t want to have it any other way.

  The next morning my grandfather called me in for a job. Truth was already on his way to meet my dad about our relationship status. I walked in Papa’s home and smelled coffee brewing. Papa couldn’t get on with his morning without his first cup of coffee. I walked past the rooms to get to the kitchen. He was sitting by the kitchen island, watching the coffee pot as if it was going to go faster than it was.

  “Papa, why didn’t you use the new coffee maker Momma bought for you. It makes a single cup at a time,” I asked him.

  “You know I don’t want all that new shit, Maddie,” he said and slid an envelope to me. I caught it before it fell off the counter and opened it. It was pictures of a middle-class couple. I read their backgrounds, and nothing stood out.

  “What’s the reason?” I asked him. Papa took out another envelope and held it out for me to take. I knew that it had to be big for him to request me. He knew that they were going to die without mercy given. It was a picture of two Black girls chained in a basement dressed in rags.

  “They are not up to date with the Era that we are in. Carl and Marsha Bean have six slave girls working for them. They went to a village in South Africa and promised them schooling. When the girls got to their homes in Europe, they beat them and placed them in the basement with three other girls. They are supposed to be visiting Portugal to pick up more girls. I want that to be their last trip,” he answered without moving his eyes off the coffee pot. I nodded my head and accepted my assignment.

  “Done,” I told him and pulled out a lighter to set the papers on fire. I threw the burning items in the kitchen sink and went to kiss Papa. He was pouring his cup of coffee when I kissed him on his cheek.

  “Do you need someone with you Madison?” he asked before I was out his sight. I turned and shook my head. He stared at me over his mug. “Are you sure, baby?” he asked again.

  “I’m sure Papa, but if you don’t think so, you can send the boys,” I told him.

  “No. It a fi yuh. Be careful, angel,” he told me. I saluted him and walked out the door. I was going to Ponta Delgada. It was going to take fifteen to sixteen hours to get there. I needed to pack up quickly and leave right away. I took out my phone and called the pilot.

  “What time?” The pilot answered.

  “Thirty minutes. Ponta Delgada,” I responded and hung up the phone. I walked down to my parents’ house and thought of the weapons that I was going to take on the trip. Kareem got me a few new items as well, and it was time for me to break them in. As I was walking up to the house, Jeremiah was walking out in a three-piece black suit. It fit him perfectly, with the shining cufflinks blinging on his wrist.

  “Oh, shit. Look at you, looking all smooth and shit,” I complimented and gave him a hug. “And you smell good too.”

  Jeremiah gave me that boyish smile that could have gotten him the moon if he asked for it. “Thank you, Maddie. You know when I do it, I does it,” he smirked at me. We laughed at the statement he stole from Papa.

  “Where are you going?” I asked and fixed his tie.

  “I have my first meeting today. JoJo said that he was going to come with me, but I don’t think he trusts me enough to handle this on my own. I have been doing everything they asked me to do, Maddie, and I still can’t get the respect they are showing Marley,” he voiced.

  “I know it may seem hard right now, but you have to understand that they are not doing this to hurt you. We love you and don’t want you to make a mistake that can cause the family their lives, Jeremiah. You have to know that. We love you and want you to be the very best. In order for you to do that, you have to listen to the people that done it before you,” I told him and brushed my hand on his neat waves in his hair.

  “I understand, Maddie. I just want my voice to be heard in the meeting. I know that if something is wrong, JoJo is going to close shop right then and there. I want to be able to correct that shit before he does, so I won’t look incompetent, you know,” he had his concerns. I thought of a way to fit his meeting in before my trip.

  “I would come with you, but I gotta go to Ponta Delgada for a hit. If you want to reschedule it, I will be home no later than Friday,” I suggested.

  “Nah, I don’t want to cancel. It’s too short of a notice, but I can schedule one on Friday. They are in town until the weekend,” Jeremiah smiled.

  “Perfect. I will talk to JoJo and make sure he gives you a chance to work things out. If you want, I can get Mason and Truth in there too,” I offered.

  “That will be perfect,” he hugged and kissed me on the cheek. “You are the best,” he said and jumped in his awaiting car. I blew kisses to him and went into my parents’ house.

  “Momma,” I called out. She didn’t respond. I walked in the kitchen and didn’t see anyone there. I went into the backyard and saw my dad and his brothers sitting on the lawn furniture with a large breakfast spread.

  “Hey, my luvs.” I greeted them all with a kiss on the top of their heads.

  “Aye, don’t be giving my kisses away to those bums,” Daddy complained.

  “Nigga, I ain’t no bum.” Uncle JJ said and continued eating. Uncle Jo couldn’t respond because his mouth was filled.

  “Where is Momma?” I asked Daddy.

  “She went to the mall with Lily and Tyja. They should be back before night falls,” he joked. “Why?” he looked up at me.

  “Well, I got this mission that I am about to leave for, and I wanted to say see you later, but I can call her on the plane,” I answered Daddy. He thought that I was going to talk about Truth. I needed to speak to Mom first.

  “Yeah, he told me about that. Be careful and come straight home. We need to talk about some stuff?” Papa said. And out of pure curiosity, I asked what type of stuff that he wanted to talk about.

  “Boys,” he answered quickly. My uncles looked up from their plates and dropped their fork.

  “The fuck you mean boys. Madison ain’t ready for a boy right now.” Uncle Jo grilled me.

  “Oh, but she is. One boy in particular,” Dad said while staring up at me. I wanted to correct him calling Truth a boy because I knew that it was impossible for a boy to handle me the way that he did.

  “Who?” Uncle JJ got tough and asked.

  “You know what? You are right, Dad. We can talk about this when I get back.
Tell mom that I will call her on the plane. Love you, bye,” I rushed back into the house and carried my ass home. They weren’t going to tag team me in that bitch. No, ma’am. I was the only girl that was up to age and close to them all. I knew that they were going to have problems with me seeing anyone. It didn’t matter that I was twenty-two. They didn’t want to hear that shit.

  I got to my house and packed my shit up quick to arrive at the airstrip. My pilot, Alvin was waiting for me by the stairs. I walked up the stairs and got situated before taking off. Alvin came through and announced if I was ready to go. I pressed the intercom button and told him yes. When we were in the air, I picked up the phone and called Mom as I promised.

  “Hey, baby girl. Are you up yet?” she asked me.

  “Yes, ma’am. Hopefully, I will get back in time late Thursday or early Friday morning. I will take care of this matter as soon as I land,” I told her.

  “That’s fine, baby. I would ask why you in a rush to get back, but the visit from Truth answered that.” I heard her smiling over the phone. My smile matched hers.

  “What you think?” I asked her.

  “It doesn’t matter what your father or I think. If you love this man, you love him with your whole heart, Madison. You always had,” my mother explained. There was no use in denying my feelings for him. That was why I was so angry when he cut me off. It was another reason I couldn’t move on to be with someone else. My heart yearned for the man that wrote the warm words on paper to me every week.

  “Yeah, but I still want to know what you think, Ma,” I said.

  “Ok, I want to Facetime you,” she said and hung up. My phone rung and I accepted the call. My mother’s beautiful face covered up my phone screen. I saw pictures of her when she was younger, and she hasn’t changed a bit. Some people referred to me as Lil Gage, because of how dangerous I looked. I was fine with being compared to such a fucking lady. Who wouldn’t be?