Page 40 of Enzo

"I was hoping to find you with your boyfriend. You're going to regret that, Deja."

"Don, what I regret is Matt."

Well, at least she wouldn't be sleeping in the dog park, but there was no guarantee she would make it through the night. She settled back in the car for the ride. Matt lived in Mount Lebanon, one of the richer, more affluent neighborhoods.

Don pulled up to his house. It was a new construction with a large porch with columns on either side of it. The first time Deja saw this house, she'd been blinded by the splendor of it. She gave herself a pass when she thought of her past with Matt. He loved her, or so she thought. Her dreams were of them having a family together and living in splendor.

It took her a while to come to her senses. She'd rather live with Enzo and Ven in a garage apartment than be with Matt. Don parked the car and motioned for her to get out with the end of his gun. He left the car and placed the gun inside his coat where he could still access it. They kept things on the down-low here so their neighbors wouldn't know that one of the biggest drug lords in the city lived next door to them.

Don followed her up the porch. Stepping in front of her, he rang the doorbell, then stepped back and waited for the door to open.

"You found her. You always seem to be the lucky one," Jim said as he opened the door.

"I think his luck may have run out, Jim, and yours too," she said before she crossed the threshold.

The house was so regal on the outside, but it was gaudy on the inside. She had overlooked that in the beginning, thinking it was just furnishings; they could be changed. What couldn't be changed was the man who owned the house.

"This way, he's in the theater room."

She stepped in front of Jim. "I know the way."

She walked down the hallway that led to the back of the house. It skirted the kitchen and came to a door on the left that led to the theater room. Matt loved this room. He had a chair in it that made him feel like a king.

Matt was lounging in the chair, one leg hanging over the arm. His long blonde hair was flowing behind him. He turned to face Deja. His blue eyes lit up when he saw her. His lips, a little on the thin side, curled into a smile. His sharp cheekbones made her wonder what she saw in him. The one thing in his favor was that his body was thick. It used to be with muscle, but over the year, he'd let himself go.

The room was done in red because it needed to remind him of going to the theater. He had oversized chairs in there so his friends could sit in comfort. There was a bar at the back and a large screen in the front. The walls were painted black.

"Have a seat, baby. I missed you." He gave her his patented smile, the one she used to think was sexy.

"Your goon abducted me at gunpoint because you put a bounty on my head." She was furious and trying to rein it in.

"Don't be like that, baby. I was giving them some incentive, that's all. When someone loves you like I do... well, I'm sure you understand how much I've been missing you."

"You're delusional, Matt. You and I have been over for a year or longer."

"Deja," He stood up and came to her, which was quite a concession on his part. "It was a misunderstanding. I know Iwasn't completely honest with you, but that's no reason for you to throw what we had away."

No, he wasn't completely honest with her. He forgot to tell her he was a drug dealer. If that wasn't enough, he sold drugs in her neighborhood and used young children to move his product. She accidently wandered into a drop site. Don was giving an eleven-year-old hell about not moving enough product. She walked in when he was hitting the kid. He called it motivation. She'd be dead right now if it weren't for her connection to Matt.

Matt bought her silence with the lives of the child and his parents. He said he would kill them, and she believed him. Besides, what good would it do? It was her word against his. He thought it was over, and they would go on as usual. When he came home the next day, her things were gone, and she was back in her little apartment. The place she wished she’d never left.

He threatened her and everyone she knew, but on this, she refused to budge. They were over. In the end, he left her alone, only threatening her now and then until lately.

"Why, Matt? What do I have that you want?"

"I want that family with a respectable girl. You're that respectable girl. We'll have children and live here and grow old together."

"Will our children be out on the street selling drugs for you when they're eleven? Will Don rough them up if they don't sell enough? Is that how you'll introduce them to the family business? Get one of the women you've been flaunting to be your baby momma. I'm not interested."

"You don't have a choice, Deja. I picked you, and you're going to do what I want, including dropping your thong and opening your legs so I can get my dick wet. Just so we're clear, there will be no one else but me. Of course, I'll hit whatever turns me on. Take her upstairs. You know what to do."

Chapter Sixteen

Enzo was sitting onthe side of the couch he considered his. There was space for each of them. Ven sat on the other side of the couch, and Deja sat in the middle. She was the glue that held them together, and she was missing. It was after eight am and as far as he was concerned, she was late.

The door opened, and Ven walked in. He shook his head no while his shoulders slumped. Ven had gone to look for her while Enzo waited at home; they didn't want the apartment to be empty if she showed up.

"I went up to the dog park where she threatened to move. There was no sign of her. I combed the neighborhood, went to the all-night spots she showed me on our walks, nothing. It's like she never existed." Ven walked into the room and slumped onto his side of the couch.

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