Carl Weber's Kingpins (17 page)

Mango tossed the half stick, then squeezed the handle to the whip. With gritted teeth, he pulled back, then whipped across her upper body, causing her flesh to slice open and bleed. At that point, every ounce of breath was sucked out of me. Pebbles released an eardrum-busting scream that let us both know she was in severe pain. This had definitely taken me back to the ill treatment my mother received at the hands of her lover. I even thought about what my ancestors had been through when the white man pulled this kind of shit. I couldn't get with a black man like Mango taking things to this level. It left a badass taste in my mouth.

He licked across his crusty lips, displaying a smile as he swung out to whip her again. Pebbles's head was slumped to the side as she looked at me.

“He . . . Help me, Bones,” she said in a whisper. “Please don't stand there and let him do this to me.”

For the first time in a long time, I felt pain for another. I was hurt, disappointed and pissed at the same time. I blinked to clear the water filling my eyes, and when Mango lifted the whip again, I grabbed his hand.

“That's enough,” I said. “You ain't got to do all of that to her.”

He snatched the whip away from me, then shot me a devilish gaze that warned me to shut the fuck up.

“
I'll
decide when she's had enough, nigga! This bitch deserves everything she got. She's why I brought you into the fold, and this day was bound to come because she started playing by her rules, not mine. She thought I needed her because she knows how to speak foreign languages and that pussy knows how to make muthafuckas sing. But all hoes can be replaced, and they need to be reminded who the
real
boss is. As soon as I'm done, I want you to break her muthafucking neck and go dig this bitch a grave. If you got a problem with that, you need to speak now or forever hold your peace.”

I didn't respond, but the look on my face said it all. I didn't want to be here. I couldn't bear to see this shit go down, and there wasn't a chance in the devil's lonely hell that I would follow through with his order. Not this time. Not when it came to Pebbles. I didn't say it, but since there was no movement from me, he damn sure knew it.

Mango sucked his teeth while moving his head from side to side. “I'll be damned. You done fucked this bitch, haven't you? She got yo' mind twisted, and that pussy is wrapped around yo' finger, ain't it?”

“No,” I rushed to say. “Ain't nothing like that happened between us—I just don't like what you doing to her. Yeah, she fucked up, but everybody is allowed to make some mistakes. What in the hell you gon' do to me when I'm out there one day and shit don't go according to your plans? Are you gon' do
me
the same way?”

Mango didn't hesitate to answer. “You damn right I will, because nobody . . .” He raised his voice. “I mean,
nobody
fucks me over and betrays me! Now stop showing yo' weakness and get rid of this trick. If you don't break her neck, I'ma keep beating her ass until every ounce of flesh is removed from her bones and she bleeds to death. It's up to you to put her out of her misery before showtime.”

Mango snapped his finger and waited for me to make the next move. My feet felt as if they were buried in cement. I couldn't move. Pebbles's whimpering got louder, and when Mango struck her with the whip again, that's when I stepped forward. I stood in front of Pebbles, gazing into her beautiful doe eyes.

“Do it, Bones,” she whispered. “End this. They done beat me, raped me, and now this. I . . . I can't take no more. I want to die. I
deserve
to die.”

I swallowed the huge lump in my throat. I still couldn't honor her or Mango's wishes. And as I stood there in thought, Mango called out to me.

“Do it, you punk-ass muthafucka! Kill that bitch or else I will kill you!”

Before I could respond, he struck me across my arm with the whip. My skin burned—felt as if someone had poured acid on an opened wound. I quickly turned to him displaying a frown. Sweat beads dotted my forehead—my breathing intensified. I had no time for words. This was done, over for Mango . . . his life was a wrap. I pulled my Glock from my sweats and aimed it right at his chest. His eyes shifted from the gun to me.

“If you point that muthafucka at me,” he said, “you damn sure better use it.”

I cocked my neck to the side, then fired a single shot into his chest, causing him to stagger backward and fall against the concrete wall. His hand trembled over the wound to his chest, and blood seeped from his mouth. Unable to speak, his eyes spoke for him. They confirmed that I too was a dead man. He slowly nodded, and after his eyes shut, his body slumped to the side, hitting the floor.

I could hear Pebbles in the background crying her heart out. In a slight trance, I swung around, then rushed up to untie her. As soon as one of her hands was free, she grabbed my neck and hugged me tight.

“Thank you,” she said. “Oh my God, Bones, thank you soooo much.”

I untied her other hand, and when she was freed, her body was so weak, bruised, and battered that she couldn't walk. She damn near melted in my arms as I scooped her up to carry her. I was in a rush to get the fuck out of there. I wasn't sure if we would make it out alive or not, but thankfully, we did. Less than an hour later, we were at my loft. Pebbles was in the bathroom chilling in the tub. I stood by the huge picture window, looking out at the city of Chicago and thinking real hard about my next move. Staying here wouldn't work. And by the end of the day, it was likely that Pebbles and I would be history. The only option I had was Carmen. Hopefully, her offer was still on the table, and she wouldn't take issue with what I'd done to Mango. Yeah, I'd have to watch my back with her and settle my beef with some of the others, but it was up to me to calm the noise that would swing my way. I truly believed that some doors would shut because of Mango, but many would open and put me in position to become the next real nigga in charge.