RedBone 2 (15 page)

After the wild evening Farah had, all she wanted was to go in the house, but the first people she saw when she exited the elevator leading to her floor were Judge and Grant. They faced her door, and chills ran up her spine. There was no way on earth she was walking into that fire, so she backed into the elevator and left the scene.

 

 

The windows were wide open as The Vet cruised down the road with Lollipop in the passenger seat. They were on the way to meet Randy at an undisclosed location. After a group of Randy’s men, with Lollipop in the lead, attempted to murder the Baker Boys and were spotted, Randy went deeper into hiding. At the moment the only thing on his mind was talking to Lollipop about his reckless behavior.

Cloud-shaped puffs of smoke filled the truck, and two half-empty cups of Hennessy rested in the cup holders. Choosing to support Randy was proving to be more than it was worth for both men.

“I can’t believe how fat that bitch was,” Lollipop said, pulling on the sweet blunt between his fingertips. “Bet money if we put her near Coco, she would make her ass look like a sandwich. That bitch got the kind of ass you can eat off. It’s all real, too, none of that fake shit them bitches be pumping into their cheeks.”

“First off, are you talking about Coco? Ice-T’s wife?” The Vet looked over at him as he steered the vehicle smoothly.

Lollipop blew out a puff of smoke. “Who the fuck you think I’m talking about?”

“Nigga, that bitch you talking about back there is fifteen years old, which means she’s a child and incapable of being sexy in any kind of way. Second of all, she’s black, so even if she was a woman, which she isn’t, there’s still no resemblance.” He eyed him. “You so busy thinking about stupid shit that you don’t have your head in business. Because of you them niggas spotted us and been firing the few corners Randy had left. Do you understand what that means?” He paused. “Randy ain’t able to do business at all. Nothing is coming in, nigga.”

Lollipop set the blunt in the ashtray and grabbed his cup of Hennessy. “My head is in business. Niggas make slip-ups all the time, and I made one, but it ain’t ’cause of me Randy not making paper. With or without the slip-up, he’s at war with the Bakers.” He sipped his drink. “But what I really want to know is this: Do you have a problem with me or something? Because lately you been coming at me sideways.”

The Vet shook his head. “If you just realizing that I got a problem with you, there really is no hope for you.” He laughed. “I been had a problem with you, nigga.”

“What did I do?”

“For starters you’re sloppy and a fucking child molester. I don’t trust people like you.”

“I never t . . . touched a kid once in my life.” He squirmed in his seat. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear, man.”

The Vet laughed, although he could feel his blood boiling under the surface of his skin. Here he was getting all worked up by someone he didn’t even respect. “Let’s just say you have your ideas and I have mine.”

Lollipop was fixing to spread his lips to say something sideways when The Vet’s cell phone rang. He observed the number.

“I think you got the wrong—”

“Hold that shit you about to say,” The Vet said. He threw his hand up in Lollipop’s face. “I gotta take this call.” He focused his attention on the phone and answered. “What’s up?”

“We waiting on you to deliver that package. Where is it?” asked Musty, one of Randy’s men. “It’s like you taking all day.”

“It’s under control,” The Vet said, looking over at Lollipop. “And it shouldn’t be much longer.”

“Well, hurry up. Randy trying to see that nigga like yesterday.”

“I can’t work no faster with you in my ear.” He frowned, not taking lightly to people telling him what to do. “We en route though.”

“I get that.... Oh, before you leave, I wanted to tell you that when we had my daughter’s party yesterday, the nigga Lollipop had your little girl hemmed up in the corner crying. I don’t know what it was about, but it didn’t look too good.”

The Vet was so taken aback that he almost hit the car in front of him.

“What the fuck, man!” Lollipop yelled. “You almost killed me. I know you on that call, but don’t forget you not alone in this bitch. Be careful.”

The Vet was about to steal him in the jaw, but Musty’s voice brought him back to reality. “Everything cool over there, man? You ain’t about to do something that can wait, are you?”

The Vet took control of the car and gave Lollipop a look that shook his soul. Focusing back on the call he said through clenched teeth, “Why you just telling me this shit now?”

“Number one, I handled the situation immediately. The moment I saw what was going on, I asked him why she was crying. I had the nigga off his feet on the wall, V. As a matter of fact, I didn’t let him down until Elena promised me that he didn’t hurt her. Beyond that there wasn’t much I could do because the nigga swore to God and all the moons that he wasn’t fucking with her.”

“Why wait until now to say something?” His fingers squeezed the steering wheel so tight it left indentations in it.

“Because I haven’t talked to you until now to put you on to what happened. I figured you could use a little inspiration anyway to bring him to us.” When silence met him, Musty said, “You okay, man?”

“I’ma holla at you later.” He hung up and looked over at Lollipop, who felt the tension.

“You all right, man?” Lollipop asked, moving closer to the window.

The Vet remained silent.

“Who was that on the phone? Randy?”

“What happened yesterday at Musty’s son’s party?” He drove so slowly his speed was under the limit. “I’m hearing some things I want clarification on.”

Lollipop’s facial expression immediately looked guilty. “Aw, man, I hope this not about me disciplining little Elena.” He laughed. “The kids were playing too rough, and I went over there to say something to her. She probably took it the wrong way. You know how kids are when they have too much sugar and shit like that.”

“Since when do you feel like you can discipline my kids? Or anybody’s kids, for that matter? You don’t even have kids of your own.”

He swallowed everything but his tongue. “V, I know you not mad about that shit, man. For real, it ain’t even that deep. If I thought it was more I would’ve put you on to it right away, but you were kicking it with Musty and them and I honestly forgot to say something.”

The Vet continued down the street in silence. Besides, he wasn’t going to get anything near the truth from Lollipop. He was a liar and couldn’t be honest if someone spoke it for him. Instead of holding trivial conversations, he detoured and continued down the street in the opposite direction. When he finally parked, they were in front of the Platinum Lofts apartments.

Lollipop looked around the dark streets. “Wait . . . why are we here?” He searched out of his windows. “Don’t them niggas live in this building?”

“Yeah, but I gotta take care of something right quick.”

Lollipop moved to exit the car. “I’m going with you.”

“No, you not. Stay here. It’ll only take a minute.”

“You gonna be quick, right?”

He didn’t respond.

“V, you coming back, right?” Lollipop asked.

The Vet eased out of the car without responding, leaving Lollipop alone. The silence he received from The Vet on the way over there tugged at him, mainly because he knew he was dead wrong in more ways than one.

The truth was, Lollipop was totally in the wrong when he hugged little Elena too tightly at the party. When she sobbed and threatened to tell her father, he said he would sneak in her room every night and beat her until she was dead. When Musty walked up on the scene and caught him, at first he thought he heard too much. When it turned out he was only reacting to what he saw, he was slightly relieved. Now he knew it was foolish to assume so.

When The Vet hadn’t returned, Lollipop turned his head to the right, only to see an angry face staring at him. When he turned to the left, he saw the same thing. Every direction he turned revealed a member of the Baker family.

“Oh, no . . . please . . . please don’t.” His neck snapped from left to right as he scanned all of the glares, hoping to see The Vet. His fear went to another level when he looked ahead and saw Slade grinning at him.

 

 

Farah stood in front of the mirror with her short one-piece black dress and observed her figure. She puckered her lips, which she saturated with red lipstick. She was ready. Ready to be among her own. Among people like her. Vampires. In Washington, DC. Before she could participate in any events, they had sent her to one of their doctors, and she was given the clean bill of health. She was actually happy they did it, because at least she knew her status.

When her phone rang, she broke her stare. She’d been waiting for a call back from Coconut about Eleanor, but her calls went unanswered. She hoped she finally received her messages from the voicemail and was returning her call. “Hello?”

“Farah, it’s Coconut.”

Farah grinned. She had plans that night but would drop everything for a chance to kill Eleanor and put the situation behind her.

“I’m sorry I’m just getting back to you. Are you busy?”

“Coconut, what happened? I thought we were meeting Eleanor today, but I haven’t heard from you.”

“I don’t know what happened. She called back to confirm. I told her I was bringing you with me and she hung up.”

Farah sat on the edge of the bed. Coconut ruined all of her plans, and she didn’t even know it.

“What’s going on with y’all? Why would she hang up? She seemed like she was scared of you or something.”

Irritated, she said, “I have to go, Coconut.”

“Hold up. Are you mad with me now?” Silence. “Farah, what’s going on?”

Farah ended the call. She was frustrated with Coconut’s dumb ass. She’d come so close to getting rid of this woman, only for Coconut to fuck it all up. She lay face up on the bed and looked at the ceiling. “Where are you, Eleanor? Why don’t you just die or disappear forever?”

When her phone rang again, she answered in full attitude mode. “What?”

“Wow, somebody doesn’t seem too happy to hear from me,” Mayoni said in a seductive voice. “Considering all of the great things we have planned for you this evening, I’d think you’d be nicer to me, Farah.”

Farah sat up. “I’m sorry, girl.” She giggled. “It’s been a long day. To be honest, I’m kinda looking forward to hanging out.”

“Well, let us make your evening better.” She paused. “You ready to go out and have some fun?”

“Y . . . yes . . . I think so,” she stuttered. “I don’t know what we’re going to do though. I’ve been nervous all day just thinking about how things will go down.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, Farah. I promise you won’t be disappointed. It’s time to start enjoying the rest of your life. We’re just happy you’re doing it with us.” She paused. “Now hurry up and get ready;. We’re downstairs waiting on you. Be careful though. You have some admirers still trying to follow you.”

“How can we get rid of them?”

“Carlton has been shaking people off for years.”

“Don’t worry. They won’t be able to catch up.”

Farah hung up, grabbed her coat and large red Celine bag, and strolled downstairs. On her way down the hall, she saw Slade walking into his apartment. His cologne was light and it didn’t make her nauseated or sick like it usually did. Was she getting better? She exited her apartment and moved toward the elevator.

“I gotta talk to you,” he said, eye-fucking the revealing dress she had under her coat. His dick hardened, and he wanted to push her to the floor and slide into her tightness. Instead he said, “You got a minute?”

She walked past him like he wasn’t even on earth. Since he wanted to treat her like she was nonessential, she would return the favor.

“Farah, can I talk to you? It’ll only take a few moments. My cousins said they saw you crawling out of some window. You know anything about that?”

Farah felt faint. She knew at that moment she could no longer avoid them. She needed to see how much they knew. She pressed the button on the elevator and lightly tapped her foot. It seemed like it took forever for the door to finally open. When it did, she stepped inside and waited for the doors to close. It wasn’t until then that she sobbed long and hard. She cried because she missed him and she cried because she loved him.

Slade was the missing component in her life, and there was nothing she could do to change it. She loved Slade more than her heart could stand, but she would no longer be his sucker. She could still feel the rawness of her knees from the last time she begged for his love, only to be rejected. In her mind it would never happen again. She was done. Fuck Slade, fuck his family, and anybody else who tried to get in her way.

The moment the elevator dinged indicating that she had reached her floor, she wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and got ready for the world. A smile spread across her face when she stepped out in front of the building and saw Mayoni and Carlton waiting for her. They were dressed in all black with a tinge of red. In her mind it meant one thing. There was a blood party at tonight’s event too.

“You look ravishing,” Mayoni said, looking Farah over. “Good enough to taste.”

Farah’s pussy tingled. “Yes, she does,” Carlton said, licking his lips. “I don’t know, babes. With the exception of you, I think Farah is going to be the most beautiful girl in the room.”

Farah blushed at Carlton’s comment.

“I’m going to have to agree, honey,” Mayoni responded.

The way they admired her reminded her of Coconut and her boyfriend. The difference was, she welcomed their advances. The attention was refreshing considering everything she’d lost in the months past. With all of the excitement, she couldn’t help but consider that at some point she’d discover what they really wanted from her.

 

 

Farah followed Mayoni and Carlton to the same room she’d previously run from. The same people were present, and they all seemed friendly, putting her at complete ease. She was introduced to everyone and tried to appear relaxed. As nice as everyone was, she was looking for one person—Bones, the man she’d seen with the woman behind the glass window. Although her heart was with Slade, he was a welcome distraction.

“Where is Bones?” Farah asked them. “He’s coming tonight, right?”

Carlton grinned at her. “He’ll be here later. For now, just enjoy the show.”

When the curtains opened, it revealed a bed in the middle of the floor, covered in black pillows and sheets. “What’s this?” Farah asked.

“This is what’s required for you to join us. This step is pleasurable, but it’s also for your protection and ours. Consider it an initiation.”

She frowned. “I agreed to be here. What more do you want from me now?”

“We are very cautious about the people we bring into our fold. Very cautious. We’ve watched you ever since you got blood from Grand Mike, and we’ve followed the stories about what’s been happening in the news. We know you are the perfect match, but we must be sure.”

“What do you mean, what’s happening in the news?”

“The missing people,” Mayoni responded quietly. “The slayings and slices to the jugular vein. The cops following you. The strange people in front of the building who can’t let you out of their sights. We are down for you, but we need to know you feel the same.”

“Did you say Grand Mike?” Farah thought about her first encounter with him a while back. Everything about him spelled trouble, including his missing teeth, yet she elected to do business with him anyway. For $1,600, his asking price, he gave her the fresh taste of blood. It wasn’t until she spoke with her cousin Cosmo, who was in prison for multiple murders, that she discovered she was overcharged. Cosmo set the meeting up with him after realizing that Farah would never believe she alone had the power to slow down the rate of her illness. He hated himself to that day for getting her involved with him. After Cosmo learned that she killed him, he felt he got exactly what he deserved.

“How do you know him?” Farah inquired. “Grand Mike?”

“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” Carlton said. “He’s an anything-ass nigga who would sell you New York if you let him. Even though most of the time his antics were a lie, every now and again he would come through for us when we needed small jobs.”

“Of course that was when he was alive,” Mayoni responded, looking into her eyes.

Nervous, Farah said, “Well, what did he tell you about me?”

“He didn’t tell us a whole lot. When you first came to him about your illness, he mentioned how he was going to get money out of some sucker. Asked us if we ever heard of porphyria,” he said, looking at Mayoni. “We told him yes and that we were aware of a few people with the same illness. We even verified the urban legend with him.”

“What do you mean?”

“That the entire vampire legend was started as a result of people with porphyria, believing if they drank blood, they would be better.” Mayoni touched her softly. “Not to worry though. He’s dead anyhow.”

Farah felt off balance. She wanted to deny the accusations, but figured they had their opinions about it anyway. Then she had a thought. They knew so much about her, could they be responsible for the picture she received recently? “I have a question.” She swallowed. “Someone sent me a picture about something I did. Was it you?” She looked at them.

“Pictures?” Carlton frowned. “We don’t know nothing about no pictures.”

She wanted to ask a few more questions, but decided to put the matter out of her mind. She came to the mansion to satisfy her cravings, not defend herself. “Earlier you said whatever was going on behind the glass window was an initiation. What do you mean?”

“Trust me when I say it’ll be effortless. Look now.” They pointed to the room, and in walked a beautiful girl with red braids hanging down her back, in a red bathing suit. Her brown skin sparkled under the dim light as she eased on top of the bed. When her eyes met Farah’s she smiled, although there was a hint of apprehension in her eyes. She seemed willing to do what was required.

“That’s Sparkle,” Mayoni said, nudging Farah. “Go inside. She knows what she has to do.”

Farah slowly strolled toward the room. On her way there, the people present touched her softly on the shoulder. She was comforted as she opened the door and closed it softly behind her.

“Hi,” Farah said, feeling out of place. She remained close to the door. “I’m Farah.”

“Hello, Farah,” Sparkle replied.

Farah strutted up to the bed and looked her over. She looked like a model, and the entire scene felt like she was in a movie. “What’s your name?” she asked, although she knew the answer already. She didn’t know what to say and was trying to strike up some conversation.

“In the real world I’m called Sparkle,” she said with a half smile. “But in here, I’m called Slave or Giver.”

Farah’s eyebrows rose. “Okay, Slave.” She cleared her throat. “I’m new at this, so what do we do now?”

“Anything you’d like.” She looked at where she stood. “For starters, you can move closer. I’m not the one who bites.”

Farah swallowed and stepped closer to the bed. “But I’ve never done this before.”

“If that’s the game you want to play, I’m with it.” She smiled. “I’m great at role playing.”

Farah lowered her head. “What do you mean, if that’s the game I want to play? I’m serious. This is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this. I don’t even know where to start.”

Sparkle grinned. “They never invite anyone into the Fold unless they’re sure you’re ready. So if you’re here, that means they’re positive that you know exactly what is to be done. But the longer you delay, the more time we’re wasting.”

“Look, I’m not a part of anything or any fold. I’m just here to check things out.”

“If that’s the game you want to play, I’m with that too.” She repeated what she had said earlier.

Now that Farah was closer to her, she observed her brown skin, which was covered with tiny slashes. Her body had been used many times in this fashion, and yet she was still alive. “Why do you do this?” She nodded at her body. “Let people cut you up while you just take it?”

“There are many reasons. For starters, I do it because I like to serve. Some of us are Takers and others are Givers, also known as Slaves. But the main reason I do it is because I love the pain and I love to please. We all do.” She paused. “In the end, in exchange for giving, we are redeemed.”

Farah looked confused.

“You’re thinking too much into it.” She touched her hand softly. The Slave lay flat on her back and spread her arms and legs. “All I want to do right now is make your first night here memorable.” She flicked a gold razor and handed it to Farah, who softly released it from her hand. “Enjoy me.”

As if they were lovers, Farah crawled on top of her. While straddling her, she looked down at her passive body. For some reason she felt powerful at the moment, and in charge. A small volt of electricity sparked between her legs, causing her to get wetter. She began searching for the perfect place on her body to draw blood. A place free from scars. After some time, she discovered a small spot on her inner thigh.

“I’m about to cut you.” Farah pointed at her leg. “Right there.”

She grinned. “When are you going to understand? You don’t have to tell me what you want to do. Just do it. I am yours for the taking.”

Emboldened, Farah raised the blade and ripped into the flesh of her thigh. The Slave whimpered softly but didn’t fight an ounce. When a puddle of red blood popped up on her skin, Farah lowered her head and slid her tongue onto it. Then she sucked until the roof of her mouth ached. She did this again and again, until the Slave was sliced over ten times all over her body.

Farah was so far in her mind that she didn’t see the Slave with her nipples in her mouth. She heard her soft moans, and that only turned her on even more. This was different from the past experiences. Normally Farah would have to get her rocks off before she drank their blood. With this experience, the act of drinking blood itself made her aroused.