Читать книгу Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang - Ashley - Страница 7

It seemed like the morning came too quickly because Six was still groggy and exhausted from the night before. She felt the covers being lifted off her and frowned as the draft of cold morning air caused goose bumps to form on her skin. She knew that Free wanted to pick up where they had left off, but she was too tired.

“Baby stop…” she mumbled as she felt him run his finger down her thigh. “Free, your hands are cold…stop,” she whined as she kept her eyes closed, not wanting to awaken fully. It wasn’t until she heard the shower running did Six realize something wasn’t right. The sound of running water sparked confusion in her mind.

“Six! Bring me some soap out of the closet!” she heard Free yell. The hands that were touching her body suddenly felt like tiny knives scratching her skin as she realized that they didn’t belong to Free. She sat up instantly to find three white men standing in the room, one of whom was standing over her tracing the outline of her ass with a black .38.

“Fre—” Six tried to yell out to Free, but before she could even get his name out of her mouth, a sweaty hand covered it, silencing her, and three pistols were aimed in her direction, the .38-caliber pistol pointed directly at her temple.

“Shut up, bitch,” one of them calmly instructed.

Six’s heart felt like it had sunk into her stomach, and fear filled her body. In any other situation she would have known how to react. She would have taken her chances and reached for the nightstand where her .22 pistol was kept. She would have warned Free that someone was in the house. She would have done something, but this situation was different. She had been caught off guard, and the man that had the steel pressed to the side of her head intimidated her. There was something about the way that he looked at her that told her he wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. For the first time in a long time she was afraid. She didn’t know what was going to happen or even why they had come.

The men’s eyes ogled her body, and she wanted to pull up the covers, but was frozen in place. Everyone in the room heard the running water stop. The men cocked their weapons, and Six’s body stiffened when she heard the hammer to the .38-caliber pistol pull back. Six did the only thing that she could do and lifted her eyes to the sky and prayed silently. Please God, don’t let them kill Free…please don’t let him come into this room. Six wasn’t even worried about her well-being; The only thing that she could think of was Free. She didn’t know what she would do if something happened to him.

Free wrapped a towel around his waist and then made his way into the bedroom. He opened the door and the sight of a gun threatening Six’s existence enraged him. He ran toward the bed, but was halted by a tall white man who aimed a .357 Ruger in his direction.

“Free!” Six yelled out, afraid that he would be shot. Her heart was beating like a drum and tears began to swell in her eyes.

Free’s mind was focused on getting to her; he wasn’t thinking about the hole that the Ruger would leave through his chest if fired. He grabbed the wrist of the man and punched him hard in the face causing blood to flood from his nose.

“Aghh, fuck!” He man yelled out in pain as he cupped his face with both hands and dropped to his knees in excruciation. In one swift movement, Free snatched the weapon from his hands and pointed it toward the bed where the infamous Claude Jean, member of the Russian mafia, stood next to a terrified Six. Free was working straight off of emotion and didn’t notice the third Russian intruder until he had his gun pressed against Six’s head. Claude laughed as he jabbed his gun into her skin.

“Free, what the fuck are you doing? What are you, Superman now?” He continued to chuckle and then firmly stated, “Don’t be stupid. Put the gun down.” Free hesitated as he looked at Six, who had closed her eyes.

“What are you going to do?” Claude continued, “Are you going to kill me, Free? Before you even pull the trigger, her brains will be all over the bedspread.” Free dropped the gun and glared at Claude, who now had the gun on Six’s bare breasts, the cold steel making her dark nipples stand at attention and enraging Free even more. Free could see Six trembling, and his jaw clenched as he gritted his teeth.

“What is a woman so beautiful doing with a man like Free?” Claude asked as he continued to fondle Six’s nipples with the gun. She slapped his hand away, and he chuckled. “Someone like you could be living lavishly. If you play your cards right, I might make you my mistress,” Claude said as he lusted after Six’s naked frame. He pulled back the covers so that he could see her entire body.

“Don’t touch me,” Six spoke through clenched teeth in a frightened tone as she roughly snatched the covers to cover herself.

“You black bitches have no manners. Your men don’t know how to train you. I was trying to offer you something more than Free could ever give you, but your eyes tell me you have chosen Free. So fuck it. You’re his whore, so his debt just became your debt too.”

Free was infuriated at the disrespect, but he knew that Claude would not hesitate to kill Six, so he kept his cool.

“She must be the reason why you forgot to contact me and let me know you were released from prison.”

“If you touch her—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… Let’s skip the dramatics, Free. You know how I work. If I wanted to kill the bitch, she’d already be dead. I came here to talk about my money.”

Free remained silent and stared at Six as she stared fright fully back at him.

“You take fifteen kilos of my good, pure, Russian cocaine on consignment, and then you get busted with them. That’s $150,000 worth of product I’m out of. Then you get out of prison and don’t even contact me to make arrangements. That bothers me, Free…. I shouldn’t have to come here looking for you.”

“I’ve only been out a couple hours, Claude. I’ll have the money…. You know I’m good for it,” Free stated defiantly, the apparent anger showing in his voice.

“You used to be good for it! That’s the only reason why you are still breathing. You served your time like a man, and not once did you mention my family’s name. I respect you for that, but I won’t commend you for it. That is what you were supposed to do. We want our money, Free. $150,000 plus interest.”

“How much?” Free asked.

“$250,000…a quarter million. You have six months. If you don’t come up with my money by then, I will murder every body that you have ever loved, beginning with her.”

The Russians walked out of the room, but before Claude exited the apartment he yelled out, “I will be back in six months.”

As soon as they heard the door close, Free rushed to Six’s side as she broke down in his arms. She buried her head in his shoulders, and her body shook uncontrollably as Free rocked back and forth trying to console her. It was the first time that he had ever seen Six so weak, and it hurt him deeply. He didn’t say anything, he just held onto her. He loved her more than he loved himself, and he was determined to keep her safe. He would not let Claude touch her again… Free would be prepared next time, and the consequences would be death.

“Shh, it’s all right…. You’re safe now,” Free comforted her.

“What are we gonna do, Free?” Six asked as the tears flowed down her face. Six was afraid, not only for herself but for Free. She couldn’t live without him by her side, and she was afraid of what was going to happen next.

“Don’t worry about none of this. I’m gon’ handle it,” Free said reassuringly as a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.

“Let’s just leave…. We can leave Detroit tonight,” Six pleaded. She could see the look on Free’s face, and she knew that running from the Russians was not an option. “Free, please. Let’s just pick up and go…. We can go as far away from here as we can. They will never find us. Just say you’ll leave with me.”

As much as Free wanted to give Six her way, he couldn’t, not in this circumstance. “Nah, I owe them those bricks. I’m a man, and I’m gonna pay my debt, but for them touching you, they gon’ die. That’s my word.” Free watched as Six nodded her head. He felt guilty about dragging her into his business with the Russians. It had nothing to do with her, but he knew that she was his weakness. The Russians would use her against him, and he was determined to get her out of it.

For the rest of the day, Six and Free stayed away from each other. They were both consumed by their own thoughts. Free knew that his situation was crucial. He needed money like he needed air in his lungs, and if he didn’t come up with a resolution soon, the Russians would shatter his world. Not only did he need to grind to please Six, he needed to grind to save her life. He knew that Claude would make good on his threat, and Free would die before he let anything happen to her.

Six had so much on her mind she couldn’t think straight. Free was in trouble, and no matter how much he tried to downplay the situation, she knew that it was serious. It was a matter of life and death. Six sat in the middle of their bed with her legs crossed and the monthly bills sitting in front of her. It seemed like her life had been turned upside down, and the only thing that could fix her problems was money. Rent was due tomorrow, and they didn’t have enough to cover everything. Six didn’t know what to do. She knew that Free’s mind was occupied with thoughts of Claude, and she didn’t want to bother him with anything else.

It was crazy how quickly her life had changed. Before Free had been sent to prison, she had everything she could ever want, and there were never any arguments or worries over funds. Now that was all that seemed to matter. How they were going to pay off their debts? Whether it was Claude, bill collectors, or the landlord…they all wanted their money. Six got up and walked into the living room where Free was sitting in deep contemplation.

“I’ma hit the block for a minute,” he said as he stood and wrapped his arms around Six’s waist.

“Okay,” she replied absentmindedly. She knew that he was going to handle some business. She had some business to tend to of her own, and this would give her the opportunity to take care of it. “I think I might go see my dad,” Six said, knowing that he would help her with the bills and be able to calm her soul about the money issues.

Six’s father had been helping her cover her rent since Free had first gone to jail. No matter how long or hard she worked, her pockets always came up short, and she always had to go to her daddy to help pay the extra. Ben Jones didn’t mind, though. Free had helped him out plenty of times before he went in for his three-year stretch. Free always made sure Jones’s pockets were right, and he always took good care of his only daughter, so Jones felt obligated to return the favor. Six was close to her father. Before Free, he was the only person who ever cared about her, and she knew that he would always help her if he could. She knocked on his door lightly and waited anxiously for him to answer.

“Hey, Daddy,” she said when he opened the door. She tried to put on her best smile and sound as normal as possible, but her father knew her too well. He could see right through her.

“Hey, baby girl,” he greeted as he opened the door for her and led her inside. Her father lived in a small house in a modest neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. “I hear Free’s out.”

“Yeah, he’s home. Three years is a long time. I’m just glad that we’re together again,” Six explained with worried eyes.

Jones sensed his daughter’s disposition and asked, “If you’re so happy, why are you sitting here all frowned up, looking like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders?”

Six shrugged her shoulders and responded, “Things are just real tight right now, Daddy. You know I was barely making it while Free was locked up. I guess I never thought about what we would do when he got out. I just assumed that things would go back to how they were before.” Six watched as her daddy pulled out a bag of weed and rolled up a joint. He was an OG and gave the best advice when he was high.

“Six, part of the reason why I gave Free my blessing regarding you is because I knew that he would do anything to give you the world. I knew that he would take care of you, and he has. He just finished doing a bid, so it’s gon’ take him a minute to get back on his feet. Until then, you have to hold him down. You know that I’m gon’ help you in any way that I can, and Free don’t have to know about that. He’s a real man, and you belong to him now. He ain’t gon’ want no other man taking care of his home…. It don’t matter that I’m your daddy. So this can be our secret.”

Jones reached in his pocket and handed Six two thousand dollars, enough to pay her rent, and then continued. “I know Free had quite a bit of change saved up, but he paid that price for his freedom. Those damn lawyers will do that to you. The important thing is that he’s out. You don’t know what it’s like being a young black man with a record, baby girl. Your daddy knows about that, so I can relate to what Free is going through. Don’t sweat him…. Just ride with him. Let him get used to breathing this free air again. Once he gets used to being home, everything will fall into place.” He stopped talking to puff on the joint while Six sat in his old La-Z-Boy, absorbing her father’s words.

“Is that all that’s bothering you?” Jones asked his daughter, noticing her contemplation.

Six nodded her head and replied, “Yeah, Daddy, that’s it. I’m good; I just got a lot on my mind.” Six had decided on the way there not to tell her father about their run-in with the Russians. She didn’t want him worrying, and she also didn’t want her father confronting the Russians. She knew that he didn’t care how big or dangerous Claude’s operation was—her father would kill them or die in the process for laying hands on his little girl. In his day, he was a notorious murder for hire and would put in work if he had to. No, it’s better if I keep that to myself, she thought as she rose from her seat and hugged her father.

“I love you, Daddy. Thanks for everything.”

“I love you too, baby girl,” he said in between tokes. “Tell Free to come see me. He’s been out for a couple days now, and he ain’t come to holla at your old man. I need to talk to him about something.”

“I will,” Six replied as she walked toward the door.

“Six!” Jones called out.

“Yeah, Daddy?” she said as she turned around to face him.

“Word on the street is Free owes the Russians a lot of money. You need to be careful,” he warned her.

“You know how niggas talk in the streets, Daddy. Everybody spreading rumors. Free is good,” Six replied quickly. She didn’t realize that he already knew about Free’s beef with the Russians. For him to know about it meant that it was traveling down the hood grapevine and she knew that couldn’t be a good thing.

“Yeah, I hear you holding your man down, not wanting to put his business out. I already know the deal so there ain’t no need to lie to me. Those Russian mu’fuckas ain’t nothing to play with.”

“I hear you, Daddy.”

“I’m serious, Six. Be careful. The best way to get to a man is through his woman. Always remember that. Do you still have the pistol I bought you for your eighteenth birthday?”

Six lifted her pants leg and revealed the tiny .22 pistol that was strapped to her ankle in a holster.

“That’s my girl. Make sure Free comes to see me and soon.”

He kissed Six on her forehead and she walked out the door. Just as she stepped off of his porch she saw a pearl-white Rolls-Royce pull up in front of her father’s house. Who is driving a Royce through the hood? She asked herself as she made her way to her car. A dark-skinned dude with a five o’clock shadow stepped out of the vehicle. He was clean in a white linen button-down and matching baggy linen shorts. Six silently wondered what the guy was doing there to see her father. She could feel his eyes watching her from behind the designer shades he wore and she turned her head to avoid his gaze as she passed him. He nodded a hello at her as he stepped to the side to watch her walk by, but she disregarded him without acknowledgement. She was too busy thinking about her father’s warning regarding the Russians.

Her father’s words kept playing in her head and Six was grateful for his wisdom. He was always there when she needed him and he always made her feel better when she had a problem. The simple fact that he had warned her about the Russians told her that they were dangerous and made her think about their intrusion that morning. If we can pay off the Russians, everything will be okay.

Six began plotting ways for them to come up. She knew that they needed a hustle, she just didn’t know what it would be. It was clear that Free couldn’t enter the dope game. There was too big of a risk associated with it. Free would need to move some serious weight in order to achieve that goal. The dope game is out. I can’t see my baby get locked up again, so we definitely not fucking with that. We’re in this together. I know Free is gon’ try to carry this by himself, but I’m not taking no for an answer. We have to get this money.