Real Riders Never Die 3 (2 page)

“Can you please tell me what we’re doing here?” Taryn interrupted whatever kind of moment she thought she was about to have with Demoto’s son.

She couldn’t stand his father, but thought she was about to spark some loving relationship with him. She had Taryn all messed up. Her loyalty was to her man.

“I just wanted to meet you two, Taryn. I knew Demoto would never have it, so I came when he wasn’t here. He’s my son, but he’s always been a daddy’s boy. He never really gave me a chance. I’m sure he loved me at some point bu—”

“He still does,” Taryn told her.

Ornella looked shocked. “How do you know?”

“Because the things that have happened in his past still bother him. If he didn’t love you then it wouldn’t. He never talks about you, but when he does, I can hear it in his voice.”

“Well, I appreciate you for telling me that because I was almost positive that he hated me.”

Taryn looked around the restaurant because she was over their little meet and greet. All she wanted to do was be cool until it was time to go home.

“I see you finished school last week. You looked lovely in your graduation gown.”

“Thank you.” Taryn wasn’t even shocked that she knew she’d graduated with her Bachelor’s degree last weekend.

She knew everything else, why wouldn’t she? It had been a long time coming, and Taryn was glad it was over. So if her little evil mother-in-law wanted to pretend to be happy for her, then so be it. Taryn was playing in her water with her straw when she felt Ornella’s hand on hers.

“Taryn, please, tell me about you all. I’ve missed so much. I feel like I know nothing. I know the monster Demoto must have painted me to be, but that’s really not me. He and I have been at each other’s throat since he was old enough to think for himself, and it hasn’t been right ever since.”

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you, Ms. Ornella. Maybe this is something you should be talking to Demoto about. I have no problem with you knowing Ayo or myself, but ultimately that decision lies in Demoto’s hands. You’re his mother, and Ayo is his son. I can’t do anything that he wouldn’t be pleased with.” Taryn finally looked at her. “That’s not how he and I do things.”

The smile left Ornella’s face. “So, I guess this dinner is over, then?”

Taryn wasn’t sure if that was a trick question or not, so she didn’t answer. She would allow Ornella to come up with her own conclusion to that question.

“You didn’t hear her speaking to you?” Chauncey asked Taryn.

Taryn looked at him like he was the scum of the earth. “Ms. Ornella, where did you get this ghetto bastard from? He ain’t got no manners, and he talks out of turn.”

The smile that had left Ornella’s face returned when she looked between Taryn and Chauncey. “You two behave now.”

“It’s not me, it's him. He keeps starting with me. I haven’t said two words to this nigga, but he keeps coming for me.”

“You don’t have to say nothing. I’m a grown ass man, I can say whatever the fuck I want.”

Chauncey looked Taryn up and down. She was far from intimidated by him, so she just rolled her eyes and looked back at Demoto’s mother.

“Next time we get together, please leave the help at home.”

“So there will be a next time?”

Damn.

“Yes ma’am, if Demoto agrees to it. I have no problems with it.”

“Very well.” She waved her hand until the waitress came back.

They spoke silently about the bill before Ornella stood. Taryn followed her lead and grabbed Ayo from the wooden highchair he had been sitting in. Being that he was rather large, his leg got stuck as she pulled him out. She maneuvered it around for a second until it was free. Ornella and Chauncey stood nearby waiting for her.

The sun was still out and blazing as they headed to the car. The all got back in the same way that they’d come. The ride was just as quiet as it had been on their way there. Taryn was more than happy when they’d pulled up at the house. Chauncey was getting out to open the door for Taryn at the same time that she was opening it for herself and it hit him in the stomach. He grunted and looked down at Taryn.

“Sit your impatient ass still.”

“Stop cussing around my baby, you fat nigga, before I slap the shit out of you.” Taryn pushed Chauncey out of her way and he grabbed the back of her neck.

The moment his hand connected with her body, Ayo hopped out of the car and kicked him in the leg.

“Leave my mommy anone!” He yelled, mispronouncing alone. He kicked him over and over until he released Taryn’s neck.

Taryn moved back at the same time she raised her hand. It came down hard and fast across the side of Chauncey’s face. “Keep your fucking hands off of me.”

Ayo screamed and began punching and kicking Chauncey’s leg and stomach the way Demoto had taught him. He was giving all he had and was beating the shit out of Chauncey’s fat ass thigh. Had the situation been different, it would have been funny, but all Taryn could concentrate on right then was getting him and her away from those people and into their house.

“Come on, Ayo, it’s okay, baby. Mommy is fine.” She kneeled down and pulled him away from Chauncey just as he was leaning forward to bite him.

“No, baby. Don’t bite. He has germs.” Taryn threw Ayo over her hip as she always did and headed for the stairs to her apartment.

“Taryn, I’ll be in touch, my girl.” Ornella told her as she stood on the side of the car.

Taryn looked over her shoulder and nodded her head. She was in no mood to talk anymore. Chauncey had pissed her off, and she needed to call Demoto. They had been watching her like a hawk at the restaurant, so she hadn’t had the chance to even text him. She trotted up the stairs with Demoto’s mini-me in her arms.

She was so happy and ready to be away from them that she wasn’t paying any attention to the fact that Chauncey still hadn’t gotten back into the car. He had closed all the doors, but he was still standing there. Taryn used her key to turn the locks and push her way inside. She sat Ayo down and kicked the door closed behind her.

This time, she made sure to lock it behind her. She locked both locks before digging into her purse and pulling her phone out. She scrolled through her call log until she saw Demoto’s name with the heart and ring emoji next to it and pressed the call button. She watched Ayo walk down the hall to his room and took a seat on her sofa.

When Demoto didn’t answer, she called Kia. She didn’t answer either. Why none of them were answering their phones, she didn’t know, but she was sure they’d call back. She threw her phone down, only to pick it right back up. She dialed Demoto’s number again. Before she could even put the phone up to her ear her front door flew open.

Chauncey was standing there with some large black thing in his hand. Taryn looked from his hand to her hallway and sprinted from the sofa. She dropped her phone near Ayo’s door on accident in a rush to get to him. When she got into his room, she slammed the door as quick as she could, but Chauncey’s foot caught it.

“Get out and leave me alone!” she yelled.

Taryn couldn’t understand why this was happening, but the bad feeling she’d had earlier was magnified by one hundred now.

“Just get out!” She screamed again.

Startled, Ayo began to cry, but neither of their cries were working because Chauncey eventually overpowered her and kicked the door open. She and Ayo fell backward and onto the floor when he did it. He snarled at her before snatching Ayo. He was kicking and screaming for Taryn, so without thinking, she jumped from the floor to get him. That was all he needed because with both of them kicking and screaming, Chauncey grabbed them and dragged them from the apartment.

Taryn wondered where all of her neighbors were, but for some reason no one was outside. With Ornella now sitting in the front seat, it was easy for him to throw them both onto the backseat. He slammed the door, and they were locked in before she could even sit up straight. Taryn looked from Chauncey to Ornella and pulled her baby into her lap.

In the back of her mind she’d known something like this was going to happen. Never in her life had she wished for Demoto more.

T
he red water swirled down the drain while Demoto stood behind the kitchen sink of the Murdock home. He scrubbed the blood from his hands once more before rinsing them again. There wasn’t much blood on them due to the fact that he’d worn gloves, but his knife was a different story. It had been full of blood, but now that it was washed clean he shut the water off.

He spun around, checking the kitchen for anything that might have been out of place other than the dead body of the older man who’d been molesting his daughter for the past ten years. With a large hole carved into the center of his chest and genitals stuffed into his mouth, he sat leaking blood all over the floor.

The white tile was sure to be stained forever, even long after the body had been removed, but that wasn’t his problem. He’d done what the man’s son had paid him to do. Everything else would be on the family. When he first read over the contract, he’d immediately gained respect for the young fourteen-year-old rich kid. He’d been saving his allowance for the past six months to afford Double O’s service.

The fact that he was too young and too small to protect his sister didn’t stop him. Instead, it pushed him to do better. By doing that, he had not only saved his sister from the continuous rape she’d endured from their father, but saved his own life from prison.

Demoto scooted past the man, still clothed in his full body suit. He wore it whenever he had a dirty request. He didn’t like other people’s blood on him, nor did he want any of his own to be found at the scene. Grabbing his kit from the counter, he walked out of the kitchen. Down the hall in the boy’s room like he’d said it would be, was a large box of black trash bags. Demoto took one and removed all of his clothing.

Once everything was stuffed inside the bag, he pushed it into his backpack, along with his knife kit and got dressed. Clean with not a trace of murder on him, Demoto left the house. He sent confirmation of the kill as he walked out of the back door and down the street. When his red phone dinged with confirmation of his money and clean getaway, Demoto took off in a light jog.

He ran until he reached the train station and rode the train back to the street his hotel was on. On the way to his room, he stopped and grabbed a bite to eat. With his Philly cheesesteak and Gatorade in hand, Demoto made the rest of his walk to the hotel. The lobby was cool and busy, as it had been since he’d gotten there.

It took him a little while to get a ride on the elevator because there were so many people, but he eventually got there. As soon as he got into his room, he tossed his backpack on the bed, kicked his shoes off, and grabbed his personal phone from the dresser. He scrolled through his missed calls and noticed he had two from Taryn, one from an unknown number, and one from Jacko. He also had a voicemail.

He clicked the voicemail first to see who it was from. When he saw
Chocolate Love,
he knew it was from Taryn. He clicked the speakerphone button as he pulled his sweatshirt over his head and pressed play.

“Get out and leave me alone!” Taryn’s voice sounded throughout his small hotel room. There was a lot of scuffling before he heard her again. “Just get out!”

Demoto had leaned all the way down until his head was near his phone, so he could hear. His frowned as he listened to the rest of the voicemail. He heard a man’s grunt before a loud thud. His heart had already begun to beat faster just by hearing Taryn’s voice, but when Ayo’s tiny cries came over the phone, he nearly lost it.

Demoto snatched his phone up and dialed Taryn’s number as quickly as he could. It rang until it went to voicemail.

“Yo, you’ve reached Taryn’s phone. She’s unavailable at the moment. Leave her a voicemail and I’ll see if she can call you back.” Demoto’s voice came through the line followed by Taryn’s laughter.

Demoto felt as though his world was ending as he listened to her voicemail recording that he’d made for her one day. He hung up and called again in hopes that this time she would answer. When he heard his voice again, he balled his fists up and screamed.

“Ahhhhhh!” He turned around and punched the wall. “Fuck man!” He punched it again, and again until he couldn’t take the pain anymore.

Instead of sitting down and finishing his food as he’d planned, Demoto grabbed the large black book bag that he’d brought with his things in it and walked around the room gathering his stuff. He moved so fast, making sure he had everything. He was dressed and back out of the room within minutes.

His flight wasn’t scheduled to leave for another few hours, but fuck that. He would have to go to the airport and pay for anything they had available. Demoto’s mind was all over the place as he dialed Taryn’s number again. This time getting the exact thing he’d gotten the last time. The water building in his eyes was making him lose focus.

He wiped them quickly as his blood began to rush through his veins. He could feel himself getting angrier by the second. It felt as if his body was on fire because of how hot he’d just gotten. The people on the elevator with him tried their best not to look his way, which was good for them. In the state of mind he was in right now, he would kill someone just for breathing too loud.

Everyone filed off the elevator as soon as it dinged, leaving him on there alone. He was the last one off, and walked right out the front door, not even bothering to check out. There were more urgent things to do. At the curb, he caught the first ride to the airport. He didn’t know if it was the cab driver or the traffic, but they were pissing him off. It was taking way too long to get where he needed to be.

Demoto looked out the window and saw the airport up ahead. It was a way away, but he couldn’t think about that right now. Demoto snatched a twenty-dollar bill from his pocket and threw it over the seat at the driver before hopping out of the car. He pulled the straps on his backpack so that it was tight on his back and took off running.

Being that he ran every morning, he was in great shape. He sprinted down the sidewalk. Demoto dodged the people as best he could, barely missing a few of them as he made his way down the street. His hair blew back out of his face as he ran. People stepped out of his way while others stood off to the side watching him. All he could think about was getting to Taryn and his baby.

Less than twenty minutes later, Demoto ran into the front sliding doors of the airport. He stopped at the first attendant desk that he saw. He explained his situation and was disappointed that they couldn’t move his ticket. The only option he had was to buy another ticket and call the airlines later for a refund on the original one.

Of course, that was nothing to him. Demoto bought a ticket for the flight that was leaving in fifteen minutes. That left him nearly no time to make it, but he had to try. The line for the security checkpoint wasn’t long, but it was moving slow. Without thinking about it, Demoto ran in front of everyone. He caught attitude from a few people, but he disregarded them and kept it moving.

When he finally made it to his gate, the man was closing the door. Demoto ran straight to the door and snatched it back open. He handed the man the ticket without waiting for him to check it or anything. He had been so busy moving around, he didn’t even check the seat on his ticket. With that not being very important to him at the moment he took the first vacant seat he saw.

The attendant later came and helped him find his rightful seat. If he could have, Demoto would have gotten in the cockpit and flown the whole plane to Atlanta. Not even his flight was going by fast enough. Demoto practically pulled every single dread loc he had in his head out as he waited for the plane to land. He tried as hard as he could, but he couldn’t make himself sit still. He fidgeted the entire ride.

Moving his hands, stretching his legs out, rubbing his face, anything that kept him from not doing anything. He needed to do something. There was no way he would be sitting still doing nothing while Taryn and Ayo were somewhere going through God knows what. He tried to talk himself into thinking that all of this was a joke and nothing had really happened, but in the back of his mind he knew that wasn’t true.

He just had to see it for himself first. He needed to go to their house or wherever she had been to see if this was real. Demoto leaned his head back on the seat, trying to calm his mind, but the moment his mother’s face popped into his head that became impossible. He sat back up and his eyes popped open. Demoto wanted to punch himself in the face because he knew not to test his mother.

Though he couldn’t prove it, because he hadn’t seen anything yet, he was almost positive that this was her. She’d probably gotten the video of Adisa and brought her low down ass all the way to Georgia to pay him back. When he felt the plane landing, it was like he was able to breathe again. For some reason, while he was in the air, he felt as if he was suffocating.

As always, the Atlanta airport was packed. Demoto did his best to move through there as fast as possible. When he got to the parking garage and to his car, he was out. Though the ride to Columbus from Atlanta was an hour long, he made it there in forty-five minutes. He’d thought about calling Jacko to go over to the house, but he changed his mind.

He needed everything to stay the same way it had been left, so that he could see what happened. When he pulled into the parking lot of their apartments and saw Taryn’s truck still parked in the front of the building, he almost stopped in the middle of the street. It was as if time slowed down as he got out of the car and walked up the stairs.

The first thing that caught his attention was the door was unlocked. It wasn’t open, but it wasn’t locked, and the knob was broken. He pushed the door open and walked in slowly. There were grocery bags on the floor, along with toys. He saw that one of their dining room chairs was flipped over as he made his way to the kitchen and back out again.

He walked down the hallway and saw Taryn’s phone near the wall. He picked it up, and it was still on his name, meaning he was the last call she’d made. He craned his neck to look into Ayo’s room and noticed the large hole in the door near Ayo’s knob. His table was knocked over and so was his Ninja Turtle house.

Demoto screamed again and leaned his forehead against the wall. He screamed, cursed, and growled all kinds of things, until he slid down to the floor. He sat there with his head in his hands for a minute, trying to gather himself enough to make a move. It took him nearly thirty minutes to move from the floor.

He walked into the living room and grabbed his phone from his backpack. He found Jacko’s name and was about to call him, but stopped and called Buck instead. Buck was an OG and he would be able to think for Demoto because he couldn’t even do that for himself right then.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“I need your help,” Demoto almost whispered into the phone. “I need… Mr. Buck, I fucked up… I need you to fix this shit for me.” Demoto did his best to get out what he was saying.

“Where you at?” Buck didn’t hesitate.

“Home.”

“Sit tight. I’m on the way.” Buck hung up and Demoto did exactly what he said.

He sat down on the sofa and laid his head back. For some reason he couldn’t make himself move. He was trying, but for the life of him he just couldn’t make his feet move. His eyes rolled around his living room, making him sicker by the second. Everything was exactly like she’d left it. Food was sitting out, Ayo had blocks and Ninja Turtles all over the place.

It was home, their home. A place she should have been safe in. A home she would have been safe in if she was with another man. Someone who wasn’t involved in the type of shit that he was. Demoto slammed his head backward into the pillows on the back of the sofa. He closed his eyes and released a weak groan. One that sounded more like a cry than anything. He reached up and snatched the rubber band from his hair, allowing it to fall down around his face.

Demoto sat in the same spot on the couch until Buck arrived. Being that the door was already partly opened, Buck walked in and looked around the living room. He looked like he was about to call out Demoto’s name until he saw him sitting on the sofa.

“What’s going on, Youngblood?”

Demoto spoke without opening his eyes. “I fucked up.”

Buck sat on the sofa across from him. “I know, you told me. What did you do?”

Demoto opened his eyes and Buck’s facial expression changed. It softened a little and his body even relaxed some. Maybe he could see the pain in Demoto’s eyes because he didn’t even have to say anything else.

“Where’s Tee-Tee and Ayo?”

Demoto sniffed loud and hard, trying to keep himself from crying, and closed his eyes again. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Somebody took them… I think it was my mom.”

“Got dammit Demoto.” Buck’s voice sounded just as pained as his. He took a few deep breaths before speaking again. “We have to get a hold on this shit, and I mean fast.”

Demoto shook his head. “We have to have a plan going up against my moms. She ain’t no lightweight. She’ll body Taryn just to fuck with me.”

If at all possible, Demoto shrank back into the sofa even more. He leaned his head to the side and covered his face with his hands. “I thought I had everything under control.”

Buck got up from the sofa and sat next to Demoto. “Listen, Demoto, you’re good at what you do. Damn good at that, but your mom has been doing this way longer. I know it’s hard for you to see what’s next right now, but you gon’ have to get your shit together. We’re not going to get either of them back safely with you sitting here in your feelings. Shake that shit off and know that you’re the best possibility they have. I know shit, but that’s your territory. If you can’t get them then none of us can.”