Manhattan, page 15
“Now you know what true agony feels like. You killed my friend’s child and tried to kill his last living one. You’ll live with this pain forever knowing that your decisions led to your lover’s death.” Caesar spoke with no emotion. “Louisa Alverez, you are in the territory of the five families, where you will never show your face again. If you do, you’ll be punished in ways that are much worse than death. You are now and forever exiled.”
Face your fears.
Chapter 26
Roz wished she could blame her lack of sleep on Boogie’s light snoring, but she couldn’t. It was one of those sounds she had grown accustomed to, and she always slept like a baby when she was next to him. However, that night was different, and she knew exactly why that was. The thought of Adam being locked away in the cellar below them gnawed at the back of her mind. Three days had passed since anyone had gone down there. He hadn’t been given any food or water and hadn’t been allowed to use their restroom facilities. She had hoped that he would just die, but he was still holding on.
She glanced over at Boogie and then at Amber, who was snuggled underneath him. Careful not to wake them, she climbed out of bed and slid on a pair of jeans over her underwear. After throwing a hoodie on, she reached under the pillow, where Boogie always kept his gun. Since Amber often slept with them, he kept the magazine separate but next to the firearm, and she grabbed that, too.
Her footsteps were quiet on her way out of the room, and she looked quickly back at the bed before shutting the door behind her. She walked down the dimly lit hall and couldn’t help admiring it. The floors were marble, and the lantern-style lights illuminated her way to the winding stairwell. Since her stay, she had fallen in love with the home and wished they could live there. However, she knew it was a safe house for all five families, not just her and Boogie. That was why he had it built so big. Still, she hoped as much detail would be put into their house.
Roz crept down the stairs and heard the sounds of a television coming from one of the sitting rooms closest to the foyer. Although there were people watching the exterior of the house, Boogie’s cousin Tazz had made it his business to stay with them while Boogie was recovering. Once Roz reached the main level of the house, she inched alongside a wall and peeked around the corner to see into the sitting room. Tazz was there, but his consciousness wasn’t. He was sound asleep on the couch in front of the television. An old episode of Martin was playing, and Roz saw Sheneneh pointing all in Gina’s face.
Knowing the coast was clear, Roz went the rest of the way to the door that led to the cellar. It was biometric, and only a handful of people could get the door to open. She was one of them. Roz pressed her thumb against the keypad, and there was a low clicking sound when the door unlocked. When she swung it open, she flicked on the lights and took a deep breath. On her way down the stairs, she placed the loaded magazine in the pistol and tucked it away in the pocket of her hoodie. It was time to face her demons.
She stepped off the final stair and went directly to the cellar. There he was, still bound to the chair, staring at her as she approached. She began inhaling the strong stench of pee with every breath and turned her nose up in disgust when she stopped in front of him.
“You stink,” Roz said and peeled the duct tape back from his lips.
“You would too if you were left in a cellar for this long,” he said weakly. “Have you come to finally take me out of my misery?”
“Misery? I wanted you to be in despair. No . . . torment. Maybe I should leave you down here a few more days.”
“No! Please. I’m begging you, just kill me.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.”
She looked at him in his frail state. She found it hard to believe the man before her was the same one who used to evoke such fear in her heart. He was just a mere shadow of him and barely even that. Still, Roz didn’t feel sorry for him. In fact, she didn’t feel like she’d put him through enough pain yet. To the right of her, there was a long counter against one of the walls. The cabinet had drawers filled with utensils. Knives to be exact. She walked over to one of the drawers and pulled a paring knife from it.
“Tell me something, Adam,” she said with her back to him. “What was going through your head when you were about to smother my daughter to death?”
“I just wanted her to stop crying.”
“Did it ever cross your mind that was because she didn’t know you? That she wanted to come home to her mother?”
“I know that’s exactly why she was crying.”
“But you just couldn’t bring her back to me, could you? Not the bitch who left you hanging while you were locked up, huh? Go ahead. You can let it all out. Speak your piece before I send you to hell.”
“What happened to the two weeks?”
“I thought you were ready to die now,” Roz taunted, turning to face him. “Plus, I just don’t like the thought of you being this close to me.”
“There was a time when you loved me being close to you.”
“That was before the evil in you showed its ugly face. You getting locked away was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Hmm.” Adam gave a weak chuckle. “You know why I used to hurt you? It was just so easy. You were so weak, and I can tell nothing has changed. The only difference now is that you have a little knight in shining armor who makes you feel strong. But where is he now? Not here, and that’s why you haven’t done what you want to do with that knife yet. You’re scared.”
“I’m not scared of you.”
“You’ll always be scared of me. I’ll always haunt your dreams. No matter what you do, I’ll always be with you, and that’s why you don’t have it in you to kill me. Because you know it won’t do a thing.”
“It will. You’ll be out of my and Amber’s lives for good.”
“Then do it! Do it, you stupid bitch! You’ve always been a stupid-ass cunt. You could never do anything right. And pretty soon Boogie is going to see that you aren’t worth a damn thing! Just like I did.”
His words made her angry. No, they infuriated her, so much that she charged at him with the knife aimed for his chest. Her hatred for him had such a hold of her that she hadn’t seen him snap his wrists apart and break the zip tie binding them together. When she was close enough, he swung his fist with power and precision, locking in on her jaw and sending her flying backward. The knife in her hand went flying across the room, and while she was in a daze, Adam finished untying himself from the chair.
“A little trick I learned while I was in prison. Patience.”
He stood up from the chair in his soiled clothes and took a step toward her. A slow, mischievous smile spread across his face, and she noticed a difference in him. Adam wasn’t the feeble man he was when she had first come into the cellar. And by the way her jaw felt, he wasn’t weak either.
“You were playing me,” she said when the realization hit.
“Bingo. In jail there were times where I went whole weeks without food. And in doing so, I had to learn how to conserve my strength.”
“You were waiting for me to come down here, weren’t you?” Roz asked and tried to scoot away from him.
“Yes. I prayed every day that when you finally came back down here you would be alone. And it looks like my prayer was answered. Ironic, isn’t it? You thought you were breaking me. But really it’s me who’s going to break you for good!”
He lunged at her and wrapped his hands around her throat. She felt her airway closing, and all she could see was the hatred in his red eyes. He bared his teeth, and she could see he was trying to use all his strength. Adam was going to kill her.
“N . . . no.” She clawed at his hands, but there was no point.
“When I’m done with you, I’m going to go wake lover boy up and kill him, too. But not before he can see little Amber’s dead body lying next to him. I can start over with a new family. One that appreciates me!”
He meant every word, and tears rolled down Roz’s face as she choked for air. She fought, but he was just too strong for her body, especially with her energy waning by the second. She thought of the ones she loved the most in the world dying because of her mistakes and pushed them fast from her mind because she wasn’t going to let it happen. She remembered the gun she had in her hoodie pocket and grabbed it with a shaky hand. When the room started to turn black, she used her remaining strength to put the gun to his temple. By the time Adam realized what was happening, Roz pulled the trigger.
The close range of the bullet entering his skull snapped his head to the side violently. His blood splattered on her face, and she shrieked. She felt his body grow limp on top of her, and she summoned any strength she had left to push him off. She made the mistake of looking into his dead eyes as he lay next to her, and she hurried to crawl away, gasping for air.
“Yo, Roz!” a voice shouted.
Shortly after, she felt someone’s arms around her. She looked up and saw Tazz looking down at her. He had a stupid look of concern mixed with confusion on his face, and it almost made her laugh.
“He’s dead,” she said in a hoarse voice.
“Yeah, I see that.” Tazz widened his eyes as he looked at Adam’s dead body. “Why didn’t you let me know you were comin’ down here?”
“You were asleep.”
Tazz looked at Adam and then at his bindings strewn on the floor. “How did he get free?”
“He preserved his strength and broke free. He . . . he was waiting for me. This whole time.”
“Damn. Yo, Boogie would have killed me if somethin’ happened to you!”
“Well, it didn’t, and now the devil can get out of this house.”
“Hell yeah. I’ma get that nigga out of here ASAP. We don’t need that pissy motherfucka’s blood fuckin’ up the wine!” Tazz helped her to her feet and led her to the stairs.
She was able to lean her shaking body against him as they walked up the stairs. Roz didn’t know if she was shaking because she had come so close to death, or because she had caused it. Maybe it was because her body was still regaining its strength. But either way, she was glad Adam was really gone.
Roz tried to think of a story she could tell Boogie as to why she had gone to the cellar alone, and so late at night for that matter. She would have to wake up early and put some makeup on her face because she was sure it would bruise up by the morning. But it looked like luck wasn’t on her side with that.
The moment she and Tazz emerged from the cellar, the hall was brightly lit, and Boogie was standing at the door. He took one look at Roz and knew what had happened. Tazz instantly let her go and stepped to the side.
“Ay, I ain’t have shit to do with this. I was in there asleep and watchin’ Martin in my dreams. Gotta go!”
Roz stared in disbelief as Tazz made his quick getaway, leaving her to deal with Boogie’s disappointment. They stared at each other for a short while, and she was waiting to hear whatever speech was about to come from his mouth. But he did something that surprised her in the moment. He embraced her tightly.
“Is it done?” he asked when he leaned back and looked down at her.
“Yes,” she said into his chest.
“Then let it out.”
He didn’t need to ask her again. She clenched the back of his nightshirt in her hands and cried until she couldn’t anymore. She cried for her past, for the present, and for the future she still got to have.
A wounded heart is always more dangerous than a wounded ego.
Chapter 27
While Boogie was out of commission, the last thing he needed to worry about was the money or the businesses. And Bentley was making sure of that. He always thought his job as the right-hand man was stressful, but filling in for the king surpassed the stresses of his regular duties. It wasn’t just making sure that everybody paid their dues. It was keeping in contact with those who hired them for major heists and assigning the best people for the job, and then making sure those people paid their dues. It was guaranteeing that each of the businesses was running flawlessly and that the employees were taken care of. When a day was all said and done, he was beat. It gave Bentley a newfound respect for his friend.
That day was collection day. Before he could head over to Staten Island, he had one more stop in Brooklyn. He pulled in front of the apartment building and parked on the street. He instantly recognized the two guys standing by the stairs. Shotta and Deuce were Boogie’s younger cousins and a fresh 20 years old. They were brothers but not twins. Shotta and Deuce’s father was who some would call a rolling stone all the way up until he was paralyzed in a shoot-out gone wrong. Deuce was brown skinned while Shotta was light, and they both inherited their father’s silky-smooth hair. Shotta wore his in a braided man bun on top of his head, and Deuce rocked long straight backs.
They were handsome young men and dressed like they were always ready to pose for the Gram. But the worst thing a person could do was judge them based on their exterior. They were hungry and would be the first to let anyone know that love and notoriety were the last things on their mind. Boogie recognized this in them and put them in position to eat. Not only did they watch one of Boogie’s biggest stash spots, but they also reported the comings and goings on the block.
“Wassup, Bentley.” Deuce was the first to greet Bentley when he approached them.
“Y’all good?” Bentley asked and slapped hands with both young men.
“Just bein’ cool how we be cool. You know how it is.”
“Fa sho. What’s the word?”
“Everything is straight up there. Everybody been puttin’ in that work on their jobs. Droppin’ off that paper on time. Apartment 220 today.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
“Ay, Bentley man,” Shotta said, rubbing his hands together, “when is my cuz gon’ put us in on the real action?”
“Y’all not eatin’ good standin’ right here?”
“I mean, this shit is cool, but a nigga is ready for some real work. You know what I mean? Send me on a mission.”
“You think you’re ready for a big heist?”
“Is my last name Tolliver?”
“I don’t know, nigga, is it?” Bentley asked and laughed. “You niggas could have your mama’s last name or some shit.”
“Chill yo!” Deuce laughed too. “But for real, son, I’m with my bro on this one. We’re ready to make some real paper. Put in a good word for us to Boog.”
“A’ight, little niggas. I’ll think about it.”
“Man, come on.”
“That’s the best I can do right now. Plus, everybody is a little tied up right now.”
“Everything straight with cuz? We ain’t seen him on the block in a little second.” Shotta didn’t try to hide the curiosity in his tone.
“Yeah, everything is good with bro. He’s just tied up like I said. That’s why I’m here handlin’ business. I’m finna go up and safety the stash. All that shit better be there, too.”
“‘All that shit better be there, too,’ head-ass nigga,” Deuce mocked him.
“Ay, I’m the same head-ass nigga you’re askin’ for favors,” Bentley reminded him before walking past them and into the complex.
He went up the stairs to the second floor and to apartment 220. Boogie’s system with that stash spot was flawless. The apartment that the money was placed in rotated among four apartments inside the building. One was on top of the other on either side of the building. Hidden in the walls of each apartments was a chute in which money and guns could be sent up or down in case of a raid. When he walked in, the money was already waiting to be moved on the table in the dining room. He nodded his head in greeting to the men sitting on the couch smoking out of a back wood. Not having time to count the contents of the bag, he just scooped it up and left. He trusted Deuce and Shotta, so he was positive there wouldn’t be an issue. They were loyal.
“I’ma see y’all next week,” Bentley said to them when he reemerged from the building and headed to his car.
“Ay, Bentley! I almost forgot,” Deuce called out when Bentley was tossing the money in the trunk.
“Wassup?”
“There was a motherfucka who came by here a few days ago lookin’ for Boogie.”
“He came here?” Bentley made a face. Nobody knew about the stash spot except the people who were supposed to know about it. “You knew him?”
“Hell nah. I ain’t never seen the nigga before. He was just askin’ about Boog.”
“Did this nigga have a name?”
“Nazareth or some different kind of shit.”
“Did he say what he wanted with Boogie?”
“Just that he needed to talk to him and get some business squared away.”
“A’ight, well, you let me know if he comes back around here.”
“No doubt.”
Bentley got into his vehicle and drove away. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He didn’t like what he had heard one bit. Who was in Brooklyn asking for Boogie? It couldn’t have been Louisa. Zo and Caesar had already handled that problem. But if not, then who? He had to push the thought out of his head for the time being or else it would drive him crazy. Plus, he was a firm believer that what was done in the dark would inevitably come to the light.
Bentley’s last stop was on Staten Island. The meeting place was an old coat factory that was still in business. It was built in the sixties and was owned by Bosco’s family. Some could call it the heart of the operation. It was the first business to ever wash their money. Now that Bosco was dead as well as his brother Eduardo, appointed to fill their shoes was Matteo, their younger brother.
Bentley didn’t mind doing business with him. He wasn’t power hungry like Bosco, stupid like Eduardo, or annoying like Stefano. He just liked business to run smoothly and stay running smoothly. Matteo had been trying to get in contact with Bentley for a couple of days, but he just had so much on his plate. They were finally able to set up a meeting time, and Bentley was just there to see what was so urgent.
