Page 33 of Beneath Submission
~Twenty-three~
It had been nearly a month since we had heard from Mr. Colin and Mr. Sakai. The detectives were certain than they had left the country and didn’t see any need for the added protection. Xavier, of course, felt differently and so did my father. When I complained of feeling like I couldn’t breathe, Xavier finally agreed to move us back into his condo. There was one stipulation: he insisted that there was someone outside of the building as well as on the inside. If I wanted to stay at the condo, I had no other choice but agree.
Xavier unfortunately still had things to do at the club, which left me to entertain myself. There were only so many movies I could watch on Netflix, and my Kindle now had over one thousand books, all of which I had read. Thinking there must be something that I could do to keep myself busy, I decided that I could do a little bit of online shopping. Xavier was kind enough to let me use his laptop, which was much better than shopping from my phone.
Taking a seat on the couch, I was just about ready to boot up the computer when there was a knock at the door. I wasn’t sure who it could be and hoped it wasn’t a surprise like the last time someone came to the condo. Placing the laptop on the couch, I stood up and walked over to the door. Looking through the peephole, a brunette with bright red lipstick was standing on the other side. Opening the door, we stood eye to eye before I asked, “Can I help you?”
“Is Xavier here?” she asked, trying to see inside the condo.
“I’m afraid not. Is there something I can help you with?” I asked again, taking a better look at her and seeing that she was everything I wasn’t. Curvy, beautiful, and sexy.
“Tell him Ginger came by. Can you also let him know that I miss our get-togethers?”
There was no way that I was going to tell him any such thing. Smiling sarcastically at her, I nodded my head and closed the door. Who did that bimbo think she was?I bet my life that the only way she ever got anywhere was with that body of hers, because she certainly didn’t seem like she knew much of anything else. Get-togethers, my ass.
~*~*~*~
The minute Xavier walked through the door, I was on him like stink on shit. I wanted to know who the hell ‘Ginger’ was, and I wanted to know everything. Just as I was ready to lay into him, something halted my interrogation. I could tell by the way he looked something happened. Instead of asking him about Ginger, I said, “Something is wrong.”
He acted like he didn’t hear me as he walked over to the kitchen, threw his phone on the counter and grabbed his favorite bottle of scotch. Pouring more than I felt he needed, I was at his side, pulling the bottle from his grasp. His eyes met mine and he cursed, “Don’t start with me, Tessa.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and asked, this time more forcefully. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
“Direction 96 was broken in to. There is nothing left of it except the shell of what used to be my dream,” he choked as he tipped the glass back, drinking the scotch in one gulp.
He didn’t have to tell me who was responsible for it. I already knew. Mr. Colin hadn’t disappeared at all. He was close by and he was leaving his mark on everything and everyone that rubbed him the wrong way. Giving Xavier back the bottle, I watched him pour another glass. Before he could take a swallow, I took it from his hand and drank about half of it myself.
We were staring at each other with nothing to say. There was a knock on the door. I was pretty sure that it was the bimbo brunette and the way I felt, I could have ripped her head off. That didn’t happen though, because the minute I opened the door, I was faced with a 9mm staring back at me.
Forcing me backwards, her heels clacked against the hardwood floor. Her voice, no longer sappy, was harsh as she said, “Get your ass over here, baby, and join your little princess.”
Unless Xavier wanted me to get shot, he had no other choice but to come over to where I was, taking his place beside me. Ginger began waving her gun, barking orders, “On the couch. There are a few things I need to discuss with you.”
I didn’t give a rat’s ass what she had to discuss with us. All I wanted to do was flatten her ass. Evidently Xavier wasn’t on the same page as he asked, “What do you want, Ginger?”
“Ha-ha,” she laughed as she stood in front of us. “You think I want something. I couldn’t care less about you, honey pot. You’re not even a real man, at least not like Colin Gates. Now that’s a man.”
“You know Colin Gates?” Xavier questioned.
“Know him, are you kidding? I love the man,” she confessed.
“Wait a minute. It was you. It all makes sense,” Xavier exclaimed. “The cameras, the microphones. You were the only one who knew my condo.”
A big smile appeared on her face and as she looked away from us, I thought for sure that Xavier was going to tackle her down and get the gun, only that didn’t happen. A voice behind us shouted, “I wouldn’t do that, London.”
As we both turned around, Mr. Colin was standing with Simon by his side, holding a gun on us. “Hey, big guy. I told you I could keep them entertained until you got here,” Ginger bragged.
“You did good, Ginger baby. Daddy is going to reward you big when we get home,” Mr. Colin responded as Ginger moved around the couch to be by his side.
I could have thrown up the way these two were going at it. As disgusting as they were, they were definitely made for each other. With two guns on us, I had no idea how we were going to get out of this. Xavier took hold of my hand and squeezed it tightly. Lowering my head to our hands, he lifted his thumb as though he was telling me that everything was going to be okay.
My gaze was broken when Mr. Colin said, “Stand up. We need to get out of here.”
I practically jumped off of the couch when Simon yelled, “Now!”
Turning to face our fate, there standing in the doorway was my father with Detective Wallace and Detective Sloan standing in front of him with their guns pulled. We were the only ones who knew they were behind them since Ginger took her place beside her so-called man. Holding his gun high, he gestured with the other hand for us to lower our bodies.
Just as we fell to the floor, Detective Sloan said, “You have nowhere to go, Gates.”
As the bullets began to fly, Xavier had his body over mine shielding me from the gunfire. I only heard five shots before a pause of silence filled the room. The next sound was a loud crash indicating that someone got shot. Unable to stay down out of harm’s way any longer, I pushed to my knees while Xavier helped me up the rest of the way. Rounding the couch with Xavier at my side, I saw Ginger, Mr. Colin, and Simon were motionless on the floor draped over a pool of blood.
There were five shots and I knew where three of them went. Looking over to the door, my father was no longer standing behind the two detectives. Matter of fact, he wasn’t in the condo. Yelling at the top of my voice I screamed, “Papa, Papa.”
When he came into view, from the hallway, he was holding his shoulder and blood was dripping from between his fingers. Running over to him, I held him in my arms. It must have been the thought of losing him again that caused my legs to collapse and my body to go limp. The last thing I heard before my mind went blank was Xavier calling my name.
