Page 175 of Shâhzâdeh

“Dinna we blow ‘at shyte up yesterday with all yoor other worldly possessions? I ken we watched it fall so what congregation do yoo mean?” Liam was questioning him like the man was going to answer. I didn’t watch the news so things having been blown up around town hadn’t reached me.

“Your abrupt drop from zhe public eye will only raise questions about your character, which will have people looking into your background. It will take a few missed payments before people truly get concerned and then zhey will discover your connection to the church that was blown up.”Did he just say he blew up a church? “Every asset you had has been destroyed. The money that was in your investments? Gone. Not zhat zhere was money zhere to speak of. Business really has been bad since you all lost Vanya.”

“This is some diabolically brilliant shit, Xerxes.” Yacouba had finished smoking and was grinning his approval as the Kennedys sat in shock. His grin revealed the flash of the diamond fangs in his mouth.

“Zhey are so codependent the human centipede seemed the most appropriate punishment but zhat wouldn’t work. I knew people as weak as zhis wouldn’t have strong stomachs. Zhey would probably vomit at zhe first taste of shit on zheir tongue and zhen someone wouldn’t feel the pain I wanted. Zhis way, wiz it being injected intravenously, zhey have to feel zhe same helplessness my love felt. To wonder which bite will be zhe one zhat will send zhem to hell. As zhe filz invades zheir system zhey will rot from zhe inside out. I could zhink of no better way for zhem to die zhan zhis: slowly and agonizing.”

“You have destroyed our church. Our business is nothing. Our home was burned to the ground. Before that you had us questioned so thoroughly by our case worker that all potential placements were halted.” Mrs. Kennedy was sobbing more for herself than for the people she’d harmed over the years. I realized that Xerxes had been working behind the scenes to set up their downfall for weeks.

“About zhat, why did you target my wife and her family?” Xerxes’ hands went behind his back and I needed this information so badly.

“What?” Their faces ranged from looks of guilt to confusion.

“My wife and her family. Why did you target her?” He kept saying that word like it was accurate: target. As though there was something he knew that we didn’t. The suspense in the room increased and I looked and saw Ahmad’s face twisted angrily.

“She’s an orphan, how would we know? She was found wandering around the city and we took her in. You’re doing this to good people. That girl has been nothing but trouble. A jezebel spirit!”

Ahmad was on Mr. Kennedy beating his ass and again, nobody moved to stop him. I guess he wanted the revenge Xerxes spoke of to come true because, after a few hits, he calmed himself down and backed up. My eyes wandered to where Navi was standing and she wore a look of wonder on her face.

“See, I don’t believe zhat. Not based on zhe way you treated her. I have zhis zheory. Jonazan here? His mama probably was exactly what you said she was. A junkie zhat was doing anyzing for some change and she wound up with him. She was still worthy of protection and being treated like a human. But it is clear zhat my wife and my brother-in-law weren’t abandoned. See, her brother here, her actual brother, remembers when she was born.”

“And I remember that night all too well. I had just learned to read and our mother let me read Vanya’s bedtime story to her that night. I woke up hearing my mother screaming about the door and the windows and the kids. I’ve read the fire reports, they’d somehow gotten barricaded in their room and couldn’t get out. I’d heard her scream and gone to look for her before I got too scared to stay.” His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath and continued. “In the confusion I ran to the front porch and the neighbors had already called for help. It was too late to save them but my father was found under a sheet with his body wrapped around our mother. The smoke inhalation got them before they could get out.”

I wiped at my face because that was the first time I’d heard the details of what they’d gone through.

“What are you talking about? She doesn’t have any family just like I don’t. Nobody wanted Vanya. We’re her only family.” I wasn’t sure if Johnathan was delirious or delusional but he kept spouting out lies like they were the truth.

“You’re her abuser you sick piece of shit. I wish I had gotten into town sooner so I could’ve been one of the people chronically whooping your ass. But it’s okay. I took my frustrations out when I blew your shit up yesterday and broke your wrist today.”

My tears ebbed slightly hearing the confidence back in Ahmad’s voice and now I wanted the details of what they’d blown up.

“Tell me, Johnathan, has your dick been malfunctioning lately?” Maman was smiling as she held out her hand and a little bundle of something in a plastic bag was in her palm.

“It was you! What did you do to me?” Johnathan’s face was tight with anger and maman just grinned harder. “You said her parents didn’t want her. Because she looked cursed. That we saved her.” Johnathan really looked confused as to why their story wasn’t adding up.

“You think the mayonasian that wanted to tell you what to do with your dick was gonna be honest with you? You wanted so badly to believe the lie that you ignored the truth as it slapped you in the face. You ain’t a man. You ain’t even a bitch because bitches at least get some type of clout for what they do. You just bowed down to supremacy, Uncle Ruckus, muthafucka. I can’t wait until you’re dead so that I can rubberize your head and use it like a fucking basketball.”

“Aye, this nigga is rowdy as hell I like him.” Yacouba was rubbing his hands at the thought of playing a game of pickup with my brother and my brusband’s head had just made his day.

“You will never get into heaven—”

“And you zhink you will? According to zhem your brown skin keeps you from God’s glory, but zhat’s zhe religion you choose to follow. One that tells you your very existence is enough to damn you to hell. How weak do you have to be to be so self-loazing?” Xerxes’ disgust was clear and I felt like there was very little holding him back.

“Everyone that you used to help you will die. Your death is a given

“How is it fair that I die when I’m a victim.”

“You were a victim. But once you started to abuse my wife, my sympathy with you died. When you made fun of her looks and stole her money. When you used her body for pleasure wizout providing her any and zhen degraded her. To telling her that she was worthless and trying to damage her self-esteem. That is something that can never earn you a spot on my good side. She conquered zhe nightmare of her marriage with you all on her own. And what lingers I will use my considerable wealth to get her whatever she needs to continue to heal. But what I won’t do is allow you to continue to breaze. You are a weak man who has let zhese two control him his entire life. Down to what you say and how you feel. What man lets anozer dictate how he sleeps wiz his wife on his wedding night?”

“She’s proof. She’s proof I can be cured. I never touched her. I deserve a second chance.”

“It’s not proof of shit. Because despite never doing zhe wrong thing in your eyes, you killed her parents and made her brother an orphan because your ass was obsessed. No one could understand how someone got the drop on the Zhorntons but zhey didn’t look hard enough. Because of his business, zhey assumed it was because of Tony’s enemies. No one ever zhought it was about his kid.”

“I really want to put a bullet in their heads.” Ahmad was breathing hard and I hated that meeting me meant he was reliving pain that probably kept him traumatized for years. I hope he wouldn’t regret having found me when it was all said and done.

Xerxes patted my brother on the shoulder playfully his grin so broad his dimple was showing. “I understand. But right now, you need to focus on your sister. Zhey’re going to be here, like zhe leeches zhey are literally feeding off of one anozer until it kills zhem. But don’t worry, I have plenty more people you can choke out to make yourself feel better.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

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