Motown Takedown (Motown Down Book 3) (39 page)

“Taking the boys with me,
”
I tell Pookie while he oils his gun. “Gotta see a man about a ring.”

“A big ring I hope?
”
His grin had some gold in it but not as much as mine.

“Biggest motherfucker he’s got,
”
I smile. “Making sure she thinks of me every time she reaches in her bag, pets the mutt, and jerks me off.”

“Proud of you, son,
”
he says slapping my shoulder. “Go on now, I’ve got shit under control here.”

Ransom wasn’t showing and the boys still weren’t back. Twice my calls have went to voicemail and my battery was about to die. Now I’m pissed and fucking stuck. Casper’s place wasn’t far with wheels but it would take me twenty on foot.  I dialed Pookie and when he didn’t answer either that’s when I felt a chill run over my skin.

Before the juice ran out, I called Pope and Gunner. Neither answered.

Dialing Cinn, it rang twice before she picked up. “Cinn can’t talk right now,
”
Ransom says with humor. “Her stomach is troubling her. I guess finding out your man is a lying piece of shit will do that to you. But don’t worry, boss, I’ll take care of my queen.”

“You’ll die for this,
”
I vow.

“Tried helping you out, Monarch,
”
he says and I can hear her getting sick in the background. This is what I got for lying to her. This was my fucking punishment.
I wasn’t there
…
“You never listen. Listen to me now. She leaves with me and considering those delinquents have your ride, you won’t make it here in time to stop me. You can call them but they won’t answer. I’m surprised you didn’t hear the explosion…
”
he laughs. “And by the way, Pookie died with honor and I didn’t let the dog suffer
much
. She knows everything now. She and I will have nothing but truth between us. Because unlike you,
I won’t lie to her
.”

When Cinn let out a scream of fury, I ran for the door at the same time my phone died.
Every stain on my soul burned against my skin
. Our boys were gone, Pookie was gone and fuck…Ares. I encouraged her to enjoy time to herself knowing she wanted me close. Now she’s alone with a traitor, a monster.

All my fault.

Running full tilt and getting nowhere, for the first time in my life I needed help. Rounding the corner, a piece of shit car cut me off and inside was Demo who threw the door open ordering me to get in. “Ransom has Cinn,
”
I roar. “Get me to her!”

“On it,
”
he says flooring it and another time I’d be impressed a junker went this fast. But that moment was not now. “Tried getting inside to Cinn,
”
he says clipping a parked car then running a red light. “Don’t have a code.”

“How’d you find me?”

“Guessed.”

“Phone,
”
I order and he hands it over. Scrolling down to her number, I hit call and it rang once going straight to voicemail. “Fuck! Faster Demo. Kill whoever gets in the way.”

“I like the way you think, Monarch.”

For the next few minutes, I held on while Demo nearly killed two bums, totaled several trash cans and side swiped a Porsche. Screeching to a halt out front, I haul ass to the garage entering my code. When it didn’t work I yelled to Demo, “Ram it.”

Smiling big he put it in reverse, threw it in drive and blew the bay door folding it in half. Pushing my way in, I hit the hall and punched in my code and was denied again. Pushing me out of the way, Demo pulls his piece out and demolishes the lock giving us access. My first glimpse at the horror that happened here was finding Pookie face down on the concrete.  It was clear Ransom shot him in the back like a fucking coward. Since he wasn’t going anywhere I had to focus on locating Cinn.

Hooking a left, ready to hit the kitchen
I wasn’t ten yards in when I saw my woman on the ground with her body covering another. Coming to a halt I see a paw and my heart fucking broke right then and there. Immediately the anger filled me, guilt beat at me and I let it out.

My fury was not silent.

A calm came over me which I found odd considering when I lost my shit I tended to red line it not think in slow motion. But that’s what happened. One minute I was puking my guts up then everything went quiet, became white noise. I could hear Ransom’s breathing, his boots on the tile and his presence behind me. Reaching out to touch me, his hand on my lower back actually burned my skin. It was so foul that it took everything I had not to recoil from it.

Refusing to face him, I run my hands over my mouth to wipe it clean before speaking. “I trusted you,
”
I rasp because I had no voice, this was it. Raw emotion stole my ability to speak above a strained whisper.

“Cinn,
”
he says softly. “This is war. You know strategy better than anyone, you had to see this coming.”

Turning on the faucet to rinse my mouth, I spit several times before snagging a towel. I needed a weapon and because I was creative, the corkscrew next to the towel would be just fine. Tossing the towel next to it, I grip it between my fingers keeping the base in my palm. Slowly facing Ransom, I look up and almost mourn the man I thought him to be. Then I remembered Ares, Pookie and my boys.

With a lethal strike I bury it in the side of his neck and watch him stumble back. Roaring in pain he attempts to remove it but I lunged myself at him taking us both to the floor. Wrapping my fingers around the knob, I pull it straight out wasting no time plunging it back in. Screaming in agony he bucks me off, but I dropped an elbow to his nuts and go right back to killing the bastard with a calmness Monarch would be proud of.

When he begins to gurgle and lose his fight, I grab his chin and whisper, “You’re right, Ransom, this is war and no one strategizes better than I do.
”
Yanking the corkscrew loose one last time, I bury it in his throat and when he took his last breath I stood up and shrugged. “You had to see this coming.
”

My father used to say fate was a cruel mistress. The first few weeks after my mother left, he’d sit by the door piss drunk rambling on about wanting her to love him back. She never did because she was a selfish bitch who not only left her husband but her only kid behind for a better life. For a while we were okay. He worked a lot, I spent all my time at school or in the library but when my looks started to change, so did he. I didn’t have a kid’s body anymore. Nothing about me, except maybe my eyes and posture, spoke of my age. But he didn’t care about that. For him I knew that if he couldn’t have her, I was the next best thing.

Her name was Apple.

She named me Cinnamon.

Apple and Cinnamon, fucking stupid.

He was a shit father but I understood what he meant when he said there was a price to pay when you wanted too much. That one person wasn’t meant to have everything. Because just as quickly as you acquired it, it could be taken away. As Ares took his last breath in my arms, I agreed with the asshole.

I had wanted too much.

The universe was taking it back.

It was my due because I was no better than he was.

I lost my dog, Pookie and my boys. The only thing left to lose now was Monarch. And I would because I deserved none of it. I never gave back, I took and then I took some more. Human life wasn’t special to me until I felt loss. In my life I’ve never felt loss like this. The universe took and now I had nothing, I lost too much. Monarch wanted a queen not a weakling.

As far as punishment goes, it worked.

Throwing myself on top of Ares, I couldn’t even cry. Here I had a dog, a loyal companion who, until us, knew nothing of kindness and love. How did I repay him? By surrounding him with violence just like Savage did to me. Ares died trying to protect me and was filled with bullets for his efforts. From the start he knew Ransom was wrong and only wanted to protect me. God dammit, I knew better and I should have paid attention. Gripping him tight, willing him to take just one more breath that wouldn’t come, I wondered why he never went for
my
throat. Because I was no better than Ransom. No better than my father, Savage, Casper or the countless lives I’ve taken.

Yet, he loved me.

“Cinn,
”
Monarch yells from behind me but I was too numb to move. Me, a queen, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, was broken over a fucking dog. Falling next to me, he takes my face in his hands and chokes out, “I wasn’t here.
”
To this I had nothing. This wasn’t his fault, it was mine. “Ares,
”
he growls looking down at him in my arms. “Fuck!”

I hear Demo nearby but ignored him. Monarch told him to check inside and knowing what he’d find, I stayed silent. Keeping me close while I held a vigil over my dead dog, Monarch petted me, kissed my forehead and continued to apologize. Demo came back out, saw the three of us on the ground and spoke directly to Monarch. Until I failed, Demo had always come to me first, always. But he knew a useless ruler when he saw one and acted accordingly.

“Dead,
”
he says flat because dead was dead wasn’t it?

“Mo chuisle,
”
he says leaning in. “Are you hurt?”

Hurt no. Heartbroken most assuredly. When he asked again, I shook my head.

“Take care of it,
”
he orders Demo but then to me he whispers, “That mutt died protecting his queen. It was an honorable way to go out. Give him that respect, he earned it.
”
When I had nothing to add, he gently moved my hands from Ares
’
fur and whispers, “You have to let him go now, Cinn.”

Knowing he was right, I watched him lift Ares like the precious gift he was. And for the next hour, I sat completely still while he arranged my baby on a pallet, covered him up and lit the wood on fire. There was beauty in watching my dog being sent off this way, knowing he would be cleansed. At least it was until a flip switched inside of me and it wasn’t beautiful anymore.

Until I thought of my Ares being burnt, wondering if it hurt him and rushing forward to stop it only to be held back. To fight with everything I had but still gain no ground, unable to save him from the flames. Until I fell apart so completely Monarch himself could no longer take it and knocked me out. It tortured him to do it. It tortured me that it had to be done.

A queen wouldn’t fall apart like this.

I wasn’t a queen, I was the God damn joker.

She was all over the place. She’d start off screaming for her boys, then she’d sob over Pookie and then went fucking nuclear over Ares. After hauling a dozen garbage bags out to the dumpster from her latest meltdown I came back inside only to find the sadness gone and in its place was fury.

“You left me with him for home training?
”
she asks casually but her fists were closed and who the fuck knew what she was hiding in them. Unlike Savage, I didn’t Cinn-proof our place. She had hundreds of weapons at her disposal.

“We’ve been over this, Cinn,
”
I try. “You know about the fucking deal, how shit went down and you sure as fuck know that I had no God damn idea what was happening to you.”

“Yes, Monarch,
”
she says grinding her jaw. “I know about the fucking deal, but you didn’t answer my question. Did you leave me with him to be fucked and abused while you were out fucking whores?”

“Enough,
”
I growl. “I told you the fucking truth. You’re working through some shit, I’m giving you that, but this is the last time I’m saying it, Cinn. Get your fucking head straight and quit looking for reasons to leave me.”

“Fine.”

“You believe me?
”
I ask gently.

In return she gave me a nod. But I didn’t buy it and I was right not to. Cinn didn’t believe a word I’d said and that night she’d try breaking from me again.

The next few days with Cinn were brutal. It worried me enough that on day four I called in reinforcements. Because if I took my eyes off her for a second, she’d try leaving me. As in straight up made a fucking run for it. She continued to mutter some bullshit about the universe, taking too much and not wanting her for being weak. I tried pointing out that leaving me was, in fact, losing me but she’d just get pissed off telling me I didn’t understand.

My woman was grieving, I understood that. I just didn’t know how to make it better. People like us
…
we don’t grieve. We don’t allow ourselves to get close enough to others for this very reason. In this game it was rare to care about someone enough to grieve them. This situation had us both grieving not one loss, but several. This situation also had my woman switching gears from remorse to full on rage.

During one of her rages
she told me what Ransom had said to her,
in detail
. I almost went out back to piss on his ashes I was so furious.
That lying mother fucker
…
But I couldn’t leave the room to let it out because she’d bolt. To clear the air, I admitted to torturing her father, but
none
of the other shit. She claimed to believe me which was good, but she was so grief stricken about the boys, Pookie, and Ares that her moods were all over the place. As in she had thousands of them.

So while Camo and Kandace were in our room with her, I was stuck with Gage and Rome. Neither were bad guys, in fact, they were almost too good. Well, Rome was. Gage killed for money, which I could appreciate, but it still didn’t make him a bad guy. He rid the world of scum, of men like me.

“A corkscrew?
”
Rome asked with wide eyes. “A motherfucking corkscrew?”

“In the jugular,
”
I confirm. “
Twice
.”

“That’s some next level shit,
”
he whistles loud.

“She’s resourceful,
”
I shrug hoping he’d drop it. Reliving Demo confirming his death and then actually seeing Ransom sprawled out on the floor with a corkscrew sticking out of his throat was a stark reminder of how lucky she was. How lucky we both were. The fact was Ransom was a bad motherfucker. I would not have kept a pussy in my employ. He hadn’t come to hurt her and she managed to surprise him, at least I’m assuming that’s how it went. Then again, when she went off, she went
off.
Until she felt like getting specific I was left to wonder.

“Heard you gave Pookie a nice send off,
”
Gage says raising his glass. “Sorry I didn’t get a chance to know him.
”
Clinking glasses, I nod my head because one simply couldn’t help but like Pookie. However, it was Cinn who arranged his funeral and the large amount of cash I hand delivered to his woman. She needed some closure so I gave it to her however she wanted it. In Pookie’s case, Cinn wanted his woman to be compensated and told by me personally, how appreciated he was.

“She’s going to be fine,
”
Gage says quietly. “She’s a God damn queen, they handle shit.”

“But if she goes off the deep end again, Kandace will knock her out so at least you can get some sleep.
”
Rome offers.

“Tact brother,
”
Gage says slapping him upside the head.

“The man is dead on his feet,
”
he argues. “He looks even scarier than usual.”

Just then, the women walk out each offering me a big smile before signaling their men to leave. But it was Camo who approached and I held my breath. “She worries for you,
”
she says patting my shoulder. “Word of advice?”

“Give it.”

“Quit babying her. She feels like a pussy, her words not mine. Remind her of who she
is
, what she runs, and who she belongs to. And come clean, Monarch. She knows you’re full of shit.”

And with that they left.

Not sure if I should bother her, I sat in the library where all exits were visible. Fortunately an hour later, when I spotted her it wasn’t because she was running for the door. For the first time since I found her covering Ares, when I looked her in her eyes I saw Cinn again.

I saw my queen.

“I won’t run again,
”
she says leaning against the wall. “But I want the truth. If you won’t give it to me or if I can’t handle it, I will walk out that door and I will not be coming back.”

“I wasn’t lying about my celibacy,
”
I say standing. Fuck, I couldn’t sit for this shit. “I saw you and other women ceased to matter. However, Savage noticed this and offered me a shot to go out on my own. I wanted you with me, tried negotiating that very thing but he gave me two choices. Kill you and save us both the blue balls or let him keep you until your twenty first birthday.”

“Unbelievable,
”
she mumbles. “You said I had an out at eighteen, Monarch. You lied to me, for what?”

“The original agreement was when you turned eighteen. Then he argued that even though you had a strong business sense, you weren’t old enough to make the decision on your own. He promised when you reached twenty one, if you still wanted me, you’d be allowed to call on me. Fuck, I knew he did it to buy himself more time but at that time he held something priceless and called the shots. He saw your knack for strategy,
”
I remind her gently. “He was reaping the benefits of it. And had I not agreed, he’d have killed us both that fucking day, Cinn. I trusted he’d follow through. Until your twenty first came, I showed and he reneged. That’s when everything went to shit, that’s when the battle began.”

“Did you ever try and get me back?”

“All the fucking time, Cinn,
”
I promise her. “All that training bullshit was exactly that, bullshit. I wasn’t aware he hurt you until recently and I reacted. I had two men on the inside who said the opposite for years. They said you were thriving, happy. I thought I had time…”

“Those two men didn’t want me to leave, Monarch.”

“Had I known…
”

“How could you leave me at all?
”
she asks quietly. Too quietly.

Tagging her neck and pressing our foreheads together I tell her the Gods honest. “A week later, I came back for you. Planned to kill every motherfucker in my way to get to you. He was waiting and ordered me up to your bedroom. He stood next to your bed with a pistol at your temple while you slept.
Don’t think I won’t do it, Monarch. I’ll take her from us both to teach you a lesson. Tonight you leave. No contact with her and if I find out otherwise, she dies. A few years is nothing, no time at all. Fight, fuck, and forget about her until then
.
”
When she closes her eyes, I knew I was losing her so I shared the last secret I held. “I was afraid, Cinn.”

Opening her eyes, she raises her head up and whispers, “You were?”

“Wouldn’t lie about that.”

“You aren’t afraid of anything.”

“Not true. I was afraid of losing you forever,
”
I say pulling her to the couch. “I couldn’t risk you then any more than I could risk you now. But the guilt I feel for leaving you, lying to you, weighs heavy. If you still want to walk away,
”
I whisper. “I won’t stop you. But
…
until the day that I die, I won’t stop trying to win you back.”

“I was afraid too,
”
she says looking away. “He would make threats about my father and you. I knew one day odds were good he’d follow through. After a while the fear of my father finding me faded, but the fear of losing you never did.”

“Cinn,
”
I say kissing her once, twice. “That fear saved us both.”

Curling into my lap, she rests her head on my shoulder and twines my hair over her fingers. This comforted her, grounded her as much as it did me. Kissing my neck she says, “I’m sorry, Eros.”

“For what, Mo chuisle?”

“Being weak and doubting you.”

“Grieving isn’t a weakness, Cinn. We don’t lead easy lives, we don’t see a whole lot of good. We also aren’t accustomed to loss. Losing something good cuts. Seeing you grieve cuts real fucking deep, Mo chuisle because I can’t fix it. And you were right to doubt me. I should not have lied to you but you gotta know, I only wanted to spare you pain. I fucked up agreeing with him
twice
, I know that now. I didn’t know that then. Back then, I just wanted to get clean for you.”

“I thought the universe was punishing me for having too much,
”
she whispers. “But the only thing I’ve ever wanted was you so I said fuck the universe.”

“Your girls have anything to do with that?”

“No,
”
she says softly. “Camo is big on tough love and Kandace just hugs it out. I came up with this on my own after they left.”

“I came up with something too,
”
I tell her.

“Yeah?
”
she asks sitting up and I swear to God, I’d never get used to her beauty.

“We’re out,
”
I say kissing her once. “Got enough money to travel, buy a place and have a fuck ton of offspring if that’s what you want. If you don’t, I’d settle for you marrying me and fucking all over the world.”

“But what if I want expensive things?”

“I’ll find a way to make it happen.”

“What if I have more money than you do?”

“Do you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Mind sharing?”

“Nope,
”
she grins. “I’m Savage’s beneficiary. My name is on
everything
. I may be great at strategy but I’m even better with numbers and forgery.
”

“When we’re married I get half,
”
I smile.

“Actually Michigan is a Curtesy state. Meaning the wife has what is called dower rights and husbands have what is called curtesy. Loosely translated, women get more because we have vaginas and we’re superior.”

“My woman is too fucking smart,
”
I laugh loud. “Still want to be my queen?”

“Queen of what exactly?”

“My heart?
”
I grin showcasing my grill.

“That works for me.”

Kissing her hard, I hear the alarm sound letting me know someone entered a code but also got inside. One man living was given a code and I wasn’t expecting Demo. “Wait here,
”
I say quickly and she did not argue. Grabbing my gun, I hit the hallway ready to drop any threat to my woman. I just came clean, told her we were out of the game, I was not about to lie to her or bring more hurt into her eyes.