Page 37 of I Heard It All Before

“I guess he’s dumber than we thought he was. I’m good either way,” another one of the men replied before he slammed the gun across Demi’s forehead, causing her to scream out in agony.

“The fuck man! You don’t have to do her like that!” Kamari yelled as he tried to get to his wife.

A gun being smashed across the back of his head halted his movements and sent him and the bags in his hands crashing to the floor. Demi held her bloody forehead and used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away some of the blood. She had a throbbing headache and she felt a knot forming in a matter of seconds.

“Please, I swear, we don’t have anything in here. You can search the entire house and you won’t find anything. The only money that we have is on us right now. Aspirin is the only drugs that you’ll find and that’s the truth,” Demi swore.

“Fuck it. She ain’t the first and she won’t be the last. Shoot that bitch,” the man who appeared to be the mastermind behind everything ordered.

Demi closed her eyes and waited for the blast from the gun that would end her young life. No kids, only a grieving mother and sisters would be left behind. Cam had just come into her life, but she was sure that her death would devastate him all the same. She had never had a male best friend and she had grown to love their morning talks over breakfast.

“Wait! No, please don’t kill my wife,” Kamari pleaded.

“Last chance nigga! Give it up or bury your bitch!” the man who had the gun trained on Demi roared.

It was much more than a threat at that point. He was making promises to end her life, and she believed him. That was exactly why she wanted Kamari to stop doing what he was doing. The risk was too great, no matter how careful he thought he was.

“Okay, I’ll go get it,” Kamari said, making Demi’s head snap around in his direction.

She must have been hearing him wrong. He couldn’t possibly be telling them that he had something in their house. That explained why the men were there to begin with. Demi watched as two of the men accompanied her husband to the spare bedroom down the hall. The third man stayed with her, his gun pointed at her the entire time. Demi prayed and asked God to spare her life, especially since she had no knowledge of what was going on. Kamari had lied to her for the last time. She swore that if she made it out alive, she was done with him and she meant it. He didn’t give a damn about her and she saw that for herself.

“It’s good my nigga,” one of the gunman said as he came from the back carrying three large duffel bags a few minutes later.

The second man came jogging out holding a fourth bag, but Kamari wasn’t behind him. They instructed Demi to lie on the floor and count to one hundred. They told her that if she got up before she was done counting, they would kill her. She knew that it was an idle threat because they ran out of her house at top speed. Still, Demi stayed on the floor and got to sixty-eight before she found the courage to get up. When she did, she immediately locked her door and reset her alarm. Kamari still hadn’t emerged from the back of the house, and Demi was both frightened and nervous. She tiptoed down the hall to the bedroom that they’d just come out of, hoping that she didn’t walk in on anything that would scar her for life. She exhaled a sigh of relief when she heard Kamari’s muffled voice calling her name. Demi rushed into the room to see where he was. One of the men took the chair that was in the room and jammed it under the closet door, after locking Kamari inside. Demi moved the chair and her husband hurriedly rushed out and up to her.

“Are you okay baby?” Kamari asked as he looked over at the huge knot on her forehead.

“No, I’m not okay. I’m calling the police,” Demi said as she grabbed her phone.

“Baby no, you can’t call the police. That’s not how this works,” Kamari replied, feeling bad about what happened.

He felt like a punk who couldn’t even defend his own wife. The gun that he’d taken from the car was still on him, but he didn’t want to risk their lives by pulling it out.

“Exactly how does it work then Kamari? I might need stiches and you don’t want me to get the police involved.”

“We can get you checked out at the hospital, but we’ll have to make something up about what happened,” Kamari said as he pulled her in for a hug.

“Don’t touch me!” Demi screamed as she fell to the floor and cried.

“I’m so sorry baby. I swear, I didn’t mean for this to happen. On God, I’m gonna find out who those niggas were,” Kamari swore.

“Fuck you, Kamari! You lied to me and put my fucking life in jeopardy. I thought I was gonna die and all you can say is you’re sorry. Fuck your apology,” Demi sobbed as she jumped up from the floor in a fit of rage. She rushed down the hall to their bedroom, with her husband following close behind.

“You act like I planned this shit or something. My life was in jeopardy, right along with yours. I would never put you in harm’s way and you should know that.”

“I don’t know anything anymore. You swore that you got rid of everything, but that was an obvious lie. You probably got rid of it all and got some more. Hell, maybe you never got rid of it in the first place. Either way, I’m done,” Demi said as she began to pack a bag.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean? And where are you going?” Kamari asked her.

“I hope you didn’t think that I was sleeping in here after what just happened. I’m never sleeping in here again,” Demi said as she sent a text to both her sisters.

She gave them a brief rundown of what happened and her phone was ringing like crazy a few seconds later. Demi wanted to talk, but she really didn’t have time. She needed to book her a room for a few nights until she came up with a solid plan. It was crazy how she could now hate the man that she had just felt so much love for not too long ago.

“I can get us a room for a few nights, but this is still our home. Them nigga caught me slippin’ this time, but it’ll never happen again,” Kamari swore.

“You sound like a damn fool Kamari. You claimed that nobody knew where we lived, but look at what happened. You can have your drugs, this house, and this marriage. I’m done with it all,” Demi said as she grabbed her bag and attempted to leave.

“I know you’re mad, but stop saying shit that you don’t mean,” Kamari warned.

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