Motown Takedown (Motown Down Book 3) (23 page)

If I had to give my young self advice it would be; stay away from men who think that your attempts on his life is ‘cute’.

My urges to kill him came and went. Some days the urge was a steady humming through my body and others, it just seemed a pointless endeavor. Then there were those days I wanted to do it out of boredom. Whether I allowed myself to act out on it, wasn’t the point. The point was, I always wanted to kill him and had yet to succeed. I did not like trying and failing. Not at death, not at anything. Every day he lived, his obsession worsened.

Wear this, eat that, ride me, talk dirty, help me get up, I own you, locked inside, can’t breathe, kill kill kill…

Instead of taking him out, maybe I should do myself a favor and take myself out.

I despised feeling like this.

With Ares at my feet while I blew my hair out, this unsettling feeling wouldn’t go away. I felt insignificant. Like there was a running joke everyone knew about but me because it was at my expense. I still felt powerless regardless of what Monarch said. So I decided to get my hair done now since it took forever. I was hoping since my hands weren’t idle, this feeling would pass. It didn’t.

When Pope called to let me know what was happening in my God damn den, I tossed my hair up, commanded Ares to follow and went in search of Monarch.

He was out near the garage planning something and halted what he was doing to stop me from what I was about to do. Which was lose it. “Step to me,
”
He orders and wanting to, I did. “Talk to me.”

So I told him what Pope told me. His response was, “You want to make a point,
”
he nods and I nod back. “Then my queen makes her point.
”
Over his shoulder he calls for Ransom to follow with four men. At any given time, fifteen to twenty work on the grounds. Outside of Ransom, I’ve spoken with only Pookie. The men’s routines are so sporadic, I haven’t had time to remember their faces yet but I knew to be a good queen, I needed to. “We should have a party,
”
I tell him climbing in.

“Why?”

“So I can get to know the men better,
”
I shrug. “Improve relations, inspire loyalty and all that shit.”

“You’re here,
”
he says touching my chin. “Trust me, Mo chuisle, they’re inspired.”

“Oh.”

“What’s your plan?
”
he asks leading the pack.

“I don’t have one,
”
I admit. “I work best on the fly.”

“Not the safest way to go, Cinn.”

“Fine. Walk in and shoot people, better?”

“Stop being a bitch.”

“Pardon?”

“I did not whisper it,
”
he says turning right. “You heard me. But I’ll repeat, stop being a bitch. Whatever issues you have, bring them to me and I’ll take the weight. But do not,
”
he warns. “Put your shit on me because you can’t get a handle on it.”

“You’re on my list,
”
I mumble.

“He allowed you to lead him by his, I won’t.”

“Lead him by his what?
”
I ask and he would do well to answer cautiously. He didn’t.

“His dick, Cinn.”

Sucking in a breath, I grabbed my chest wondering if he’d stabbed me in it. Looking down I saw with my own eyes I was blood free. Pulling in, I don’t wait for him or Ares. Nope. I stormed that motherfucker with fire in my veins and murder in my eyes. If he so much as looked at me funny, I’d make an example out of him and enjoy it. Someone was dying today and I was open to suggestions.

“If you’re going to jack someone you need to untuck your thumb so you don’t break it.
”
I instruct pulling it from the balled fist she made. Teaching her to defend herself was priority one. Since she had a penchant for losing her temper and attacking with cutlery and Savage seeing this had switched it all over to plastic; I was going to teach her how to use a different weapon. One no one could hide from her.

Her hands.

Wrapping it over her middle finger, I step back holding a hand up as a target. “Bring your fist back toward your shoulder and let it fly, Cinn.”

Narrowing her eyes on the target she does as she’s told and throws a punch. “Balance on your back foot, distribute your weight evenly and put it behind the next one, go.”

Again, she adjusts and strikes. “Better.
”
I praise her. “Again.”

It felt like hours we did this and for every strike her fury grew. Clearly this was an outlet for her and I was going to let her have it for as long as she needed it. When one of our men came into the garage, she backs away from me and zeroed in on him. “Cinn,
”
I warn seeing what she intended to do. Not even sparing me a glance, she strides over to him, rears back and smashes his face sending him to the floor.

“I think I’ve got the hang of it,
”
she grins.

Fuck yeah, she did. I also realized with me, she’d been holding back.

We weren’t here ten minutes before Cinn looks at our man, Shady, and says, “Your gun, hand it to me.”

In an effort to calm her down, I shook my head no and that was another step towards setting her off. Not that I blamed her for being riled up. The men occupying the den were not following orders. Case in point: the hooker dead from an over dose on the couch.

But Pope, the traitor, walks up to her smiling handing her his. Taking it, she releases the slide and says, “I’m going to ask one time. Who the fuck brought her here?”

Cautiously, a guy maybe twenty-one steps forward. “It was me.”

“And who the fuck are
you
?”

“Cliff, ma’am.”

At that, everyone tensed up. Never, and I repeat never, call a woman in this business, ma’am. Hell, even Cinn knew that one. “Your name is Cliff on purpose?
”
she asks with death clear in her voice.

“Yes ma’am, it is.
”
Gunner could not stop his laugh. This kid was begging for a bullet. Honestly, I was trying not to laugh myself. Pope, the asshole, was currently biting down on his fist holding his back. Ten years from now, this shit would go from funny to epically hilarious.

“I see,
”
she says looking at the dead slut. “Did you miss the memo that said no skin? That means, no selling it, buying it, or letting it OD on my pottery barn furniture.”

“I’m new, ma’am, I didn’t know.
”
Pope barked so loud half the room jumped.

“Who brought you in?
”
she asks. “I asked you a question, Cliff. Who brought you into my den?”

“His name was Smooth, ma’am. But he’s dead, last I heard.”

“Yes Cliff, he is dead,
”
she steps forward. “Because I killed him. Three strikes.”

“Huh?
”
he asks looking around.

“Three strikes,
”
she repeats raising the pistol. “You’re out.”

The first round probably killed him, but she fired two more. One for each strike. I wanted to correct her that he’d actually said ma’am four times but she was on the edge as it was. Standing over his body she screams, “Ma’am, ma’am, ma’am!
”
Before kicking him upside the head. “Put this idiot with the dead talent.”

“Cinn,
”
I warn.

“You’re still on my list, Monarch.”

Then addressing the room, she takes a second to aim that pistol on each man, save Pope and Gunner. “You motherfuckers seriously test my patience.
”
Coming up to her side, I pry the piece from her hand and cross my arms over my chest. She had a decision to make, I was letting her make it before she killed all of us. She chose right by ignoring the loss of her pistol to address the room. “I gave you a job, a roof, and a purpose. You gave me heartburn. Pope,
”
she says motioning him over. “Make a list of every man of ours that is not in attendance this evening. I want it sent to me within the hour.”

“On it, Cinn.”

“Gunner,
”
she says calling him forward. “When I walk out that door lock this place down.”

“Done.”

“Tonight we merge,
”
she says and I got hard watching her work her shit. If her voice was sexy when she was happy, it had me close to coming when she was pissed. “Those of you in this for what it is, have a choice. Either swear loyalty to Monarch now or don’t and what happens to you after that depends on my mood. And boys, I am in a
mood
.”

Every last one of them swore loyalty, not just to me but to her. Every last one of them looked at her as if seeing her for the first time and liking what they saw. These men needed a leader, she was that leader even if they worked under my name and we all knew it. “You chose well,
”
she praises the group. “Pack your shit and Gunner will give you instructions.”

Turning to leave, she pulls Pope to the side but loud enough for all to hear, “I changed my mind. Kill everyone on that list tonight and in the morning burn this place down. I hated this place anyway.
”
Leaning further in, she whispers. “My boys are coming home.”

“Fucking A, Cinn,
”
he smiles big. “Fucking A.”

Taking her hand, she looks up at me but does not smile. “Like I said, on the fly.”

Walking out with Ransom up front, Cinn and me side by side with our men flanking I decided my queen made one helluva statement. When we got home a half hour later, she was gearing up to go out with the girls but I had something for her to do first. If this didn’t improve her mood, nothing would. She didn’t even question me or demand time to get ready first. She simply followed me, held my hand and stood out back on the concrete with every last one of our men in attendance.

Nodding to Ransom and Pookie, they assign another six men gas cans and we watched the eight of them soaking every last inch. Gripping my hand tight, I felt her shaking. That’s because she saw the offering. Understood what it meant. Pulling the Zippo out of my pocket, I slide it in her hand. Staring at it, she bites her lip and flicks it twice when a flame sparks. With all eyes on her she takes a deep breath, takes one step forward and tosses it at the base. The heat, I imagined, could be felt for miles. And without a doubt, her roar of release was heard all over the fucking world. No one moved. Not me, not them, and not her. We all watched that evil burn. For her part, she stood there like royalty. Head held high, showing no fear. But I felt it burning around her and gave her the time she needed to let that flame die out. I also felt the exact moment  an hour later when it did. Losing the anger that she kept inside for so long, Cinn wrapped her arms around me holding me tight. Anyone watching would think she was simply showing me affection, when in actuality I was holding her upright. With Ares standing guard, she looks up and whispers. “I’m sorry for being a bitch.”

Taking her mouth in front of all, I nip her lip and tell her true. “My queen is allowed to be whatever she needs to be as long as she gets back to happy.”

With a smile that burned brighter than the flames, she kissed my chest right over my heart and then went inside to get ready for a night out with her girls. She did not look back at the flames and mourn what they represented. Instead, she gave me the most sinful grin I’d ever seen. My woman loved a good death.

Fuck, but she was magnificent.