Page 30 of Still Forever
He threw his hands up in surrender. Over the years, especially after what happened with Storm, Jaxon and Trouble had us get firearm training to make sure we were comfortable using them. Despite us always having armed security, they still thought that we should know how to defend ourselves. Their work paid off, because I was fully prepared to lay Taj to rest on this curb.
Everything happened so fast, I didn’t even see Zo approaching us. I should have known that he would intervene. Zo put Taj in some sort of pressure point chokehold, and he was out in less than five seconds and slumped against Zo’s body. I watched, eyes wide, as he dragged Taj over to his car, popped his trunk, and stuffed him inside of it.
I scanned the area quickly, hoping that none of the neighbors were outside walking their dogs. Not like having an audience would stop Zo, but I was grateful that no one seemed to be here to witness it.
“You good?” Zo asked as he came back around to Taj’s car door and opened it. I cleared my throat and nodded as I straightened my clothes.
“Aight, go in the house,” He ordered. I did as I was told and spun on my heels to unlock my door. I went over to the windowand watched as he disappeared from the community in Taj’s car. As soon as he was out of my eyesight, I knew in my gut that I would never see him again. If Jaxon was involved, Taj’s chapter in my life had just been closed. Permanently.
CHAPTER 12
Jax
I paced the warehouse floor, waiting for Zo to bring back what I’d asked for. Taj sat tied to a chair in the middle of the room. His face was swollen, one eye shut, his nose leaking blood, and his teeth broken and rattling around his mouth like loose change. And that was just light work. I already owed this nigga for even thinking that he would have a chance at dating my girl, but the fact that he thought he could disrespect her sped up his death date.
He groaned with his head swaying from side to side.
“Hurry the fuck up and kill this nigga before I shoot him, Jax. All this moaning like Jodeci, getting on my nerves,” Judah snapped, tossing me a towel for my busted knuckles. I chuckled and wiped the blood from my hand.
Trouble and Judah had been here since they heard what happened at Kennedy’s house. That’s just how we moved; no one handled missions alone. It didn’t matter if we could handle it ourselves. We are our brother’s keeper, always.
The warehouse door opened. Zo walked in with a briefcase and tilted his head toward the room, signaling for us to follow him. Once we were all there, he set the case on the table andcracked it open. A small bomb sat in the center, connected to wires, and a timer could be heard ticking.
Trouble stepped back fast. Judah damn near threw himself against the back wall.
“Jax, what the fuck are you doing?” Trouble grilled, with his eyes narrowing.
“Man, mama said it was me, but y’all the niggas that need the therapy,” Judah said as he put more space between us and threw his hand over his face. Like his arm could shield him from a damn explosion.
I chuckled as I looked at the expressions on their faces.
“It’s a mouth bomb,” Zo said casually. “Small enough not to take the building but powerful enough to erase him.” He shut the case and then handed me some gloves and a roll of duct tape.
Slipping on the gloves, I whistled and popped the case open again. I lifted the bomb and removed the green and yellow wires like the seller had taught me. Trouble went to the back of the room to stand beside Judah. Glancing through the window of the office, I could see the rise and fall of Taj’s chest. If he wasn’t already, he was definitely about to regret the moment he put his hands on Kennedy.
Going back onto the main floor, his one good eye followed me. The footprint of my boot on his chest from when I stomped him out earlier was still there, resting on his white shirt.
“Open your mouth bitch boy,” I said as I walked toward him with the bomb in my hand. As soon as he saw what it was, I could see the panic all over his face.
Just as I neared him, he spat blood on my pants. I smirked as I switched the device to my left hand and backhanded him so hard that the sound of his jaw cracking echoed off the walls.
“Gah damn!” Judah said as he came from the room, now that he had some entertainment.
Taj’s head dropped, and tears spilled down his face. Roughly, I reached into his mouth and grabbed his bottom teeth, forcing it open. The scream he let out told me that either his jaw was dislocated or broken, but it didn’t matter. I was about to put him out of his misery in a second anyway.
“How the fuck you gone protect my girl if you fold this easy? Soft ass nigga.” I stuffed the bomb in his mouth and clamped my palm over it as I got the duct tape from my back pocket.
I wrapped layer after layer around his head until nothing but the muffled sounds of his cries were coming through. He shook violently against the chair, like the chains that I had on his chest, wrists, and legs could be broken by his body strength.
Then I turned and walked back into the room. With every step I took, his screams got louder underneath the tape. I don’t know if he thought I planned to let him go after I beat his ass earlier, but it wasn’t a chance in hell that he would live to say he ever disrespected Kennedy.
“You niggas got your raincoats?” I asked them lowly as I pulled the remote from the case and held it in my hand. I didn’t press the button for a while as I stared out the glass. Not because I was rethinking the decision, but because I was enjoying watching him cry and scream like the bitch he is.
I meant what I said, any nigga touches a hair on her head, it was their last day on Earth.
“You know I don’t fuck with bombs,” Trouble warned. I chuckled.
They all sat and watched as my finger hovered over the button. Judah drew a cross across his chest. I hesitated on pressing it and glared at him.
