I saw the fist coming and tried to block it, but Burly’s punch was heavy, coming down hard on my cheek. I swear I saw fireflies. My head flopped back as I staggered a pace or two, the man having now released me. The world began to spin as I tried to keep my balance. A wave of nausea and dizziness assailed me as disembodied voices echoed in my head.

  Another punch landed in my gut, bringing me back from the brink of unconsciousness that I knew I would shit myself for sure. As I sank to the pavement in the courtyard, knowing I was about to take my last breath, all I could think of was that I was going to die before getting the justice I needed. Neither would I live to take back my lost freedom, nor would I ever be able to see my elder brother pay for what he did to me.

  Someone once said when you are about to die your life flashes before you. They were right, because all I could think of was my past. One face popped up before me like a ghost. Her hazelnut complexion glowing lustrously in the mid-afternoon sun. Her smile used to make my heart flutter, but now the flutter of my heart was the reality that it was beating its last few beats. She hadn’t listened when her fellow African American friends told her that her relationship with a white man wouldn’t last. A pity they had been right.

  “Rayne,” I whispered her name, seeing her capture my face between her hands and coming to press her sweet brown lips to mine.

  I saw myself cup her head and plunging my tongue into her mouth. My fingers would lace through her dreadlocks as we share a hair-raising kiss. She loved strawberry lip gloss that always left a lingering taste on my tongue. I could taste her lips now. I could smell her sweet lilac perfume and hear her breathe my name.

  When the first boot connected with my side, I took the pain in stride. A second kick to the same spot and I was almost spitting up my lunch. The third, and I felt my rib give way. Trying to rise, I was rendered helpless by the excruciating pain. They were coming at me from all angles now as the darkness which had threatened earlier began to descend. The singing of angels ushered me into the dark abyss.

  2 – Gage

  The sound of Braun’s voice urging me to eat the tofu brought me back to the present. I could almost feel the pain from that fight … or rather beating, as though it was yesterday. Trying to erase past from y mind, I thought of all my plans for the present. I wasn’t sure what the future held, but I was sure going to make sure that the here and now was as it should be.

  Taking a huge bite of the block of bean curd, I winced at the almost tasteless piece of junk. After three more bites, I shoved the rest at my brother.

  “That’s enough,” I grumbled, walking towards an awaiting truck parked a few meters away. “I need three steaks now to get that godawful taste from my mouth.”

  “Stop exaggerating. It has no real taste.”

  “Then I need three steaks to get the taste of nothing off my tongue.”

  “Big wuss,” Braun countered. “What you should be wanting is a nice juicy pussy. You know one with those flappy layers and folds, tasting her sweet juice on your tongue…”

  Coming up short, I slapped his twenty-one year old brother upside the head. “Where the fuck you learn about sucking pussy?”

  “Hey, watch the hair big bro. I’m no longer a kid you know,” Braun declared. “I have tasted some juicy ones. I like ‘em nice and wet. I like it when they squirm and beg for more. You see this,” he stuck his tongue out. “It’s God’s gift to women.”

  “Damn Braun, is that all you know how to do? Are you functioning down yonder?”

  “Brah, that’s just the icing on the cake,” he replied. “You gotta make way for the big guy first, Make sure they’re ready to explode and then you give it to them.”

  “Where’d you learn this shit from?”

  “You.”

  I shook my head, staring at him confused. “I’ve been locked up for five years. You can’t pin this on me.”

  “I used to listen to you and Rayne on the phone all the time. Gave me a fucking hard on,” Braun replied. “And when she used to come over, you two were so loud, how the hell was I supposed to concentrate on anything else?”

  I reached for him again. “You little pervert!”

  Braun ducked away. “This is all your fault. Now the babes won’t leave me alone.”

  “You better not be neglecting your education for some damn pussy.”

  “I got that covered big bro,” Braun stated. “I got that covered, man.”

  “You had better,” I warned. “Now let’s get out of here.”

  I knew that my younger brother was only trying to cheer me up, make me forget about the last five years. But that wasn’t so easy. As I slipped into the front passenger seat of the truck my brother drove, the anger settled heavily in my chest. No, I would never forget what had been done to me. Not until every person involved payed for their sins.

  I could feel Braun’s eyes on me as we travelled towards the apartment I asked him to secure. Later, I’d pay the house a visit, but I needed to prepare first. When I go home, it was to clean house and the moment had to be right.

  “Is everything ready?” I asked.

  Braun nodded. “Yes. I got all you asked me to. But big Bro, Leroy’s got all these goons guarding the mansion and the business. And the people who he calls friends, they’re not to be messed with. But don’t worry, I’m here with you.”

  “You just concentrate on graduating from university and leave the goons and thugs to me.”

  “But, I can help you take them down.”

  “Listen, you will stay away from all this shit, you hear me.”

  “I’m not a kid, Gage, you can’t tell me what to do anymore.”

  I slowly turned his head to meet my brother’s eyes. “Is that so?”

  Braun lifted his chin. “Yeah. I can kick your butt now.”

  Reaching over, I took an ear, giving it a hard squeeze. “Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be from now on?”

  “Ouch,” Braun cried out, hitting the brake. “I didn’t mean it. Ouch, that hurt.”

  The vehicle came to a halt and I release his ear, then unlatch our seatbelts. I then reached for Braun and pulled him into an embrace.

  “I’m glad you’re here, little brother. I’m glad you’re on my side. But I need you to stay safe.”

  “I’m glad you’re home Gage. I missed you,” Braun’s voice cracked. “Let’s kick those asses and take back what’s rightfully yours.”

  I let go of Braun and re-buckled the seatbelt. “You heard what I said. I need you to stay away from this. And what’s mine is yours as well. Father left me in charge in order secure all our futures, not just mine.”

  “That’s what I’m saying. This is our fight.”

  I was adamant that he would not get involved in this mess. “No, Braun.”

  “Man, I never get to have no damn fun.”

  Grittiness seeped into my voice. “This isn’t fun and games Braun.”

  Braun’s face became wooden as his eyes glinted. “I know.”

  It was then I realized that my brother had developed some sort of coping mechanism to joke about things in order to deal with them. It was a trait of my father’s. It was strange that Braun reminded me so much of the old man even though the youth was supposed to be my cousin from my mother’s side.

  Rather than dwell on the impossibility of Braun being my father’s child, I concentrated on the task ahead. The anticipation of what was to come gave me an adrenaline rush. I was pumping to get things started and if he closed his eyes long enough, I could see the outcome and I was darn well pleased about it.

  3 – Gage

  Seven days in the infirmary and another six weeks in isolation resulted from that attack. Being the new guy, I was deemed the trouble maker. No one questioned whether I was the one who started the fight or not. I had been naïve into believing that the attack from The Big G, whom I referred to as Burly, was just a random attack.

  That was a mistake. I quickly learned that in prison, no random attacks ever occur. They were all premeditated or paid hits and if you weren’t smart enough, you’d end up maimed or worse. It was survival of the smartest … and not the fittest as they would have you believe.

  Setting my jaw, I closed my fingers around the grip of the Wilson Combat 92G, a military grade Beretta pistol. The cold steel against my palm reminded me of the night I was arrested. I’d never forget walking into the trap set for me. Shrugging that night aside, I checked the magazine before setting the weapon into my shoulder holster.

  The one thing I hated was getting Braun involved in this mess, but so far, he was the only one I could trust and the only one who could help me from inside the mansion. Taking a glance at my wristwatch I noted that it was near midnight as I sat silently in the car I’d rented.

  There was a blind spot a few meters from the gate. That was where I was parked while I waited for Braun to send me word that it was safe to enter. From the intelligence I’d gathered, I found out that Leroy had several security guards and dogs guarding the property. He also installed a new security system that required a fingerprint to unlock.

  The ping from my cell phone alerted me there was a text message, I lifted it from the dashboard and viewed the message sent by Braun. ‘Guards all asleep, dogs all asleep, including the dog sleeping in your fucking bed.’

  I chuckled at the last part of the message. Since the last five years, I’d build up my immunity to anything my brother Leroy did. I’d built a wall around my heart, caged my soul and vanquished any emotions concerning everything in my past except the love for my brother Braun. He was now my only weakness and nothing else could penetrate the steel bars that guarded my heart.

  I started the engine and made my way up to the gate which was already opened. I parked on the lawn away from the entrance behind the angel fountain which had been my mom’s favorite. It was large enough for me to hide the car in its shadows. The dog crap was pungent in the air as I stepped onto the grass. I took only a few seconds to peruse the area, noticing the overgrown hedges and the barrenness of the gardens.

  Leroy had obviously slackened off on the upkeep of the property. From what I gathered, the gardener had been let go and he hired a company to come in to cut the lawns. Half the household staff were gone, to be replaced by those security guards I kept hearing about.

  Trotting around to the back deck where the swimming pool was supposed to be, I had expected that his guard dogs would rush after me. The place was extremely quiet that I was curious as to what Braun did to get rid of the guards and dogs. When I reached the glass doors that overlooked the pool, I paused to look at a security guard sitting on a chair with his head leaned back against the wall.

  Silently I walked over and clicked my fingers. He didn’t move. Braun was beckoning me from the inside and I slipped through the door.

  “What did you do to them?” I whispered.

  “Nothing, I just offered them some coffee.”

  “What about the dogs?”

  “Don’t worry, those two mutts will be out for a while.”

  At that moment the radio that belonged to the sleeping guard by the deck came on. “Gary, come in.”

  “Who the fuck is that?” I snarled. “I thought you said they were all asleep.”

  “Shit!” Braun exclaimed. “I didn’t know that Cal showed up tonight. He’s not on duty.”

  Again the voice came over the radio. “Gary, come in.”

  I took a chance to glance back at the guard and he was still unmoving. I was about to head up the stairs when I heard a voice. Cal was talking on the radio and coming down the stairs. I grabbed Braun by the arm and pulled him towards the coat closet beneath the stairs.

  This wasn’t going as planned. I was no spy, I didn’t do secret entries. Gritting my teeth, I churned at my first failed attempt at leaving a message for Leroy. But my younger brother was pushing the door of the closet open and I could do nothing when he left the cubbyhole and locked the door.

  “Stay quiet,” he whispered from outside. “I’ll be back in a second.”

  “Hey Braun, you see Gary anywhere?” It the security guard Braun referred to as Cal. His voice sounded uncannily familiar.

  “I don’t know man, I was asleep and I thought I heard a sound. I just came to see that everything is okay,” Braun replied.

  “I’ll go check on the outside, maybe he’s walking the dogs.”

  It was the senior security guard, Calvin who was on duty the night Bainbridge was killed. I knew Leroy was behind the hit, but what I could never figure out was how he managed to do it when he was at dinner with Zoe, his girlfriend.

  It all made sense now. Based on the time of death, the perpetrator could not have left the building that night. I figured out that the gunpowder residue got on my fingers when I opened the door and of course, anyone could transfer fingerprints on a gun with the right technology. But I could never figure out who actually pulled the trigger even though I later found out why Bainbridge was killed.

  A moment later Braun opened the door. “You gotto move fast. Don’t worry, I didn’t kill him, I just put him to sleep.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Sleep lock,” he replied. “Now go before they both wake up. I’ll keep them busy if they should stir.”

  “You did good. Is upstairs clear?”

  “Yeah, go now.”

  I took the stairs two at a time as I wondered where Braun learned to do these things. What the hell was he doing while I was in jail? I had no idea what he did with the dogs and at that time, I didn’t care. I was pushing my old bedroom door within a couple of minutes while pulling my gun from the holster. I slipped inside and locked the door.

  My eyes flitted around the room, adjusting to the dull lighting. Nothing much had changed except for new curtains at the window. The large wooden chest over by the right wall was still there where I left it. The closet was to the left of the room and the doors were ajar, revealing it contents.

  For a minute I stared at the sleeping figures on the bed, their backs turned to each other. Just for a split second, something stirred inside my chest at the sight of my ex-fiancé sleeping peacefully with her night light plugged into the outlet on the wall from her side of the bed. She always hated the dark.

  Something held me in place, rendering me unable to tear my eyes away from her as memories of us in this very bed bombarded my mind. Her hazelnut brown skin always set my loins on fire. While her dark brown eyes conveyed the adoration she felt for me. Where did it all go?

  I stared at her rounded hips in her shorts, her full mounds spilling from the tank top she liked wearing to bed. From what I saw, nothing much had changed except that the man next to her wasn’t me. I gripped the gun tightly as the hatred washed over me like acid rain.

  I moved closer to the bed and raised my arm, aiming the weapon in her direction. I could end it all right this minute and I’d be justified. Rayne stirred, groaned and turned onto her back. I could see the imprint of her fleshy pussy in her shorts and I felt another stir in my belly.

  “No,” I whispered to myself. “I can’t let her get to me.”

  Shifting my eyes, I settled them on Leroy. My elder brother, the one I used to look up to, the one who was supposed to be in charge of the family was now my enemy, sleeping in my bed with the woman who was supposed to marry me. I silently moved over, coming to crouch at the side of the bed. I carried the gun close to his face, my fingers itching to pull the trigger. Instead, I used my other hand to slap his cheek.

  His eyes popped open as he sat up abruptly. “What the fu…?”

  Rayne startled, also sat up, switching on the bedside lamp. Her eyes gorged as they stared at me. “Gage, you’re home!”

  I didn’t know why her husky tone caused my ears to tingle. I ignored the memories of her voice whispering in my ear as well as her moans and groans whenever we made love. I pushed aside all those times I yearned to hear her voice over the phone, the many times I hoped to see her face. All of five years and she only visited during the first three months and then nothing. Then all on a sudden she was married to Leroy.

  I pushed aside any semblance of emotion that threatened to break through my wall of hatred and focused my attention on my brother, who hated me for some unfathomable reason. Leroy quickly regained control of his senses, reaching under his pillow. I was quicker, anticipating that he slept with a weapon there. I pulled the Glock he kept there and stuffed it into the waist of my slacks.

  “There’s another one stuck to the bottom of the drawer on the nightstand,” Rayne declared, to the obvious chagrin of her husband.

  “Shut up Rayne!” he barked at his wife.

  I waved the gun close to my brother’s face, while reaching for the other gun exactly where she said it was. “Where’s the welcome party Leroy?”

  “What are you doing Gage?”

  I smiled, sticking the muzzle of the gun to his temple. “Is that any way to welcome your brother home?”

  “Of course not,” he laughed, his voice becoming sweet. “Welcome home little brother. Now put away the gun and let’s celebrate your home coming ... huh?”

  “First you get the fuck out of my bed and then we talk,” I grated. “Get up and keep your hands where I can see them.”

  I nudged him with the weapon to let him know I wasn’t playing. He rose, his hands up above his head. I beckoned to Rayne to get up as well and she slipped from the bed. After switching on the ceiling light, she stood watching me. Something unreadable registered in her eyes as she stared into mine. But what got my attention was the loathsome look she gave my brother when her eyes crossed over to him. Again I overlooked it as I could afford no distractions.

  “Rayne, get something in which to tie up your husband,” I instructed. When she didn’t move I repeated it, my voice becoming hard. “Do it now.”

  “Yes Gage.”

  “You,” I directed my attention to Leroy. “Sit on the floor over there and put your hands behind your back.”

  Rayne rummaged through the closet and came up with a couple of leather belts. She didn’t wait for me to instruct her to tie Leroy’s hands behind his back. I watched as she did it, a little too eagerly, I must say. What was the deal here?

 

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