Page 92 of Heart of a Savage
I was heartless when it came to eliminating the opposition, so why was I hesitating to end this man?
I knew why, but I couldn’t allow the heart he thawed to think for me. Whereas I thought he was a corporate boss—that turned out to be misleading. He was just as cold-hearted as I, if not worse.
Those dark eyes penetrated me as he placed the pre-rolled blunt to his lips and lit it. He settled onto the couch, pulling on it until a thick cloud of smoke entered his lungs. “If you’re going to pull it, then bang that bitch, Juicy.”
“Fuck you!” I sneered. “You knew all along, didn’t you?”
He didn’t reply right away, and instead exhaled the smoke, clouding my vision. “I did.”
I scoffed. “So, you were playing me the whole time?”
“No. I didn’t know he was your people?—”
“Bullshit! Your whole goal, whole plan, was to get me to fall for you… to knock me off my square. I was fucking stupid! I knew you weren’t shit. But I fell for you anyway.” A tear slipped from my eye.
“I never lied to you, Juice?—”
“Stop fucking calling me that!”
“A’ight. I’m not going to beg for my life if that’s what you’re aiming for me to do. I love you… ain’t never been a doubt in my mind about that shit. You’re my queen. My morning sun. If I could take back what happened to lessen your pain, I would. However, life is life. Business is business. Your uncle thought he could take something that didn’t belong to him, so that’s how the dice had been rolled, mama. Shoot your shot, though. Just don’t miss.”
“I won’t,” I said, clicking off my safety. “But before you die, I need to tell you one thing…” I wiped the tears from my eyes. “I poisoned your son.”
His eyes ballooned before the gun went off.
Pow!
The bullet lodged into the couch near his arm, and still, he didn’t flinch.
I missed.
On purpose, of course.
I shouldn’t have, but this fucking heart he made beat again clouded my judgment. In that split second of my hesitation, Messiah rushed me, relieving me of the gun and tossing it across the room. He tried wrapping his arms around me, but I punched him in his chest repeatedly.
And he allowed me to.
Tears clouded my vision as I continued my assault on him until he finally gripped me in a bear hug, and I broke down in his arms.
“I hate youuu!” I screamed, trying to get out of the hold he had on me—literally and figuratively.
I didn’t want to love him anymore. He took the only piece of my father I had on the outside away from me. Uncle Lamont may have put me in a bind with him stealing their product, but we all could have negotiated this. I was going to make him give that shit back orsomething.
“I’m sorry, baby. I promise, I am.”
I continued to cry as he held me in his arms. I could hear footsteps rushing down the hall, and Messiah halted whoever it was. I was sure it was his brothers. My back was to whoever it was while Messiah kept an arm around my shoulders and one around my waist.
“Give us a minute,” he insisted.
“Bro, you smoking crack if you think we’re about to leave you alone with her.” That was Moses.
“Her ass just lit up a whole block. Hell nah, we ain’t leaving.” That was Michael.
I didn’t speak. I was too emotional to clap back at their asses, so I remained silent as Messiah sat me down in the chair and looked at his brothers.
“I’m asking y’all to give us a minute.”
They were quiet as I looked over at them, staring at me. “Yeah, okay. But we ain’t too far away… know that,” Moses said, still staring at me.
