RedBone (51 page)

“Thanks for holding the elevator for me,” Knox said, trying to get a complete look at her face. He knew it was her, he just had a need to be sure. “It’s cold as shit out there.”

Her eyes remained on her feet when she said, “Huh? She was still thinking about the murder she just witnessed, knowing full well that the hit was in her name.

“Never mind, you look like you in deep thought right now.”

“I am.” Farah continued to look at the dirty floor, as if it could explain to her why Randy wanted her dead so bad. The last thing she needed was to hold a conversation with a complete stranger. “Sorry, I’m having a bad day.”

When the elevator doors opened, they both stepped off on the same floor. Knox wanted to see her face more than he did his own mother’s. Hoping she’d turn around, he didn’t knock on Markee’s door right away. Instead he watched her slog down the hallway and toward her apartment. When she reached her destination, she placed the key in the door, looked at him, and smiled. “Good night.” She waved.

It’s her.

Knox focused on Markee’s door, and pounded heavily. When he opened up, his mouth dropped when he saw who was standing there. “Oh, my God!” Markee said, covering his mouth like the bitch-ass nigga he was. “Are you fucking serious? Do you realize how many mothafuckas are looking for you?”

Knox, remembering why he was so secretive in the first place, checked his surroundings and said, “Are you gonna let me in or what?” He took one last look at Farah’s door. “It’s too hot to be out here.”

Markee backed up and said, “Oh, yeah ... I’m sorry, man. Come in. It’s just that I can’t believe you’re actually here. Markee closed and locked the door. “You want a beer?” He walked toward the kitchen.

“I don’t drink.”

“You want something to eat?”

Knox examined Markee’s robust body and declined. “Where are my brothers?”

He turned back around to the living room. “They went to a club.” He could tell from his attitude that he didn’t fuck with him. “I gave them some cash so they could have a nice time.” He embellished the fact. The true story was that Randy gave him a little money to give to Slade and his brothers for being on the scene when he met his father. He was also trying to seduce them with cash, so he didn’t have to result to violence. Lately he couldn’t trust anybody around him, and although he was sure Slade hated his guts, unlike some of his crew, at least he knew where he was coming from. “Since you been gone they ain’t been right, Knox. Y’all never been without each other, so they been taking it hard. You want me to call Slade on his cell?”

“No ... don’t use the phone to call him about me.” Knox looked at him seriously. “Never use the phone to call a cell phone about me.” He sat on the sofa. “Whenever we talk, I need to make sure it’s in person, especially now. That’s why I’m here.” His mind was still on the girl in the elevator. “Do you know everybody on this floor?”

“Most of them. Why?”

“The girl who lives on the far end of the hall. You know her too?”

“The cute red bone? In 1316?”

Knox wasn’t impressed. “I guess.”

“Yeah ... Slade fucks with her. Why you ask?”

Knox stood up and said, “What you mean he fucks with her? That bitch been around my brother?”

“Yeah. Why? Is something up?”

“Nah ... but, look, I gotta go take care of something. I can’t stay right now.”

“Where you going?” If he left and got lost again in the world, Slade would kill him. So he moved for the phone. “Maybe I should call Slade, man. Just to let him know he needs to come home. And that it’s important.” He picked up the handset. “That nigga hates my guts, and he’d kill me if I don’t say something.”

“I said don’t worry. I’m gonna be back. Now put down the phone.” Markee slowly placed it on the hook. “Don’t say nothing to my brothers ... any of them. I’ll talk to them when I get back. If they get back before I do, and I’m not here, tell them to go see The Clapper. I’ll probably be with her.”

“Wait ... you talking about the white bitch who be on heroin?”

“If you wanna fuck with me, never disrespect her like that again,” he said seriously. “That white bitch you talking about saved my life.”

Chapter 62

“I’m confessing my sins because I want you to give God my message.”

—Farah

Farah was preparing water for a bath when there was a knock at the front door. When she came home, and the apartment was empty, she was excited about having a night to herself. Hoping Slade was stopping by to make up, she looked over herself, stood on her toes, and looked out the peephole. It was the man she met in the elevator, so she thought about her next move, and slowly opened the door. “Farah?” Knox said, standing before her. “Don’t think I’m crazy; my cousin just told me your name.”

Her throat felt like it was about to close, so she swallowed and said, “What do you want with me?”

“You don’t remember me, do you?”

Her jaw flexed. “Should I?”

“Maybe you should or maybe you shouldn’t.” He grinned, and Farah didn’t seem amused. “Let me stop fucking with you. I’m Slade’s Brother.”

A short, uneasy feeling pierced her stomach. “Really? Her face appeared to brighten with understanding. “The brother he’s been looking for?” Knox nodded. “I heard so much about you, it’s like I know you already.”

He raised his arms. “You got me. I’m the one and only Knox Baker.” He looked her over. “Can I come in?”

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea.” If he came in, she didn’t know what would happen. She couldn t judge her actions as they changed from moment to moment.

“Aw, come on. We almost family now.”

She stepped back and said, “Enter at your own risk.”

Knox stepped inside and observed her apartment. “Fly-ass crib.” He looked into her eyes. “You live here alone?”

“No, I have a roommate I can’t stand. My sisters and brother live with me too.” She closed and locked the door. “They aren’t here now though, so we’re alone. So you don’t have to worry about your privacy.”

“Why would I worry?”

“Because your brother made it sound like you’re hiding. Anyway, I was running my bath; give me a second to turn the water off. Okay?” He nodded and she walked into her room before coming back a few minutes later. When she got back she asked, “Can I get you something to drink? Beer? Water?”

“No.” He walked into her space and she felt violated.

“So how can I help you?” She stepped back. “I know Slade is happy to have you home. Your mother too.”

“He told you why I couldn’t connect with them?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Slade doesn’t say much of anything.”

He grinned. “My brothers don’t know I’m back yet. He moved in closer, almost as if he had a strong desire to be sexual with her. “In fact, you’re the first person I came to see. And if I knew you were here, I would’ve been here sooner.”

“You don’t seem too happy to see me now.” She stepped away from him again.

“You
really
don’t remember me, do you? How many people have you killed? Where you can’t even remember my face? Farah was motionless.

“You’re not Slade’s brother, are you?”

“Sure, I am, but I’m also the person you hit and left to die under your Benz. Had it not been for Eleanor, I wouldn’t be alive today. Then again, you don’t give a fuck, do you?”

“You have the wrong person.”

“I’m gonna tell my brother who you are,” he threatened. “I’m gonna make sure that he never bothers himself with you again.” Losing Slade forever made her feel doomed. When he noticed her dismal expression he said, “You love him, don’t you? He laughed, and pointed in her face. “Too bad, because I want you to know how it feels to be alone, and broken. Only to have someone step up to you, and place their dirty hand over your mouth and nose, so you couldn’t breathe. You are a killer, and a manipulative one at that, and you’re going to stay the fuck away from my brother and the rest of my family.” Farah’s husky laugh caught him off guard. She went from exhibiting fear to humor in a second flat. “Glad you’re not playing games anymore.”

He walked up to her, grabbed her jaw and applied extreme pressure. Her mouth flew open and he said, “If I catch you around Slade, I will kill you. If you think I’m a joke—”

The blade entering his stomach, and piercing his liver, halted the rest of his words. When he released her face, she turned the knife clockwise, followed by a quick counterclockwise motion. He tried to squeeze her neck, but she pushed it in deeper before he dropped to the floor. Not wanting blood on her favorite robe, she tossed it to the clean part of the kitchen floor, and crawled on top of him in her white panties and bra set.

With her hand on the handle, she took her fist and hit the top of the knife again. His feet flew up in the air before slamming back to the floor. She bent down, looked into his eyes, and in a soft voice said, “I knew who you were the moment you stepped into the elevator. But I figured you didn’t know me, but I was severely wrong, wasn’t I? I thought you were dead.”She pushed the knife in deeper. “You should’ve never come here, Knox. You should’ve gone on with your life.” She removed the blade, licked the blood, and smiled. “Your blood is sweet; you must be a diabetic.” She placed the knife on the floor and said, “You know, I’ve killed over fifteen people since I’ve been here. I killed the man who tried to rape me, I killed a kid across the hallway from Markee, but this was the first time I ever tried to hold myself back. I warned you about coming in here. Even said enter at your own risk. Yet you came inside anyway.”

“Please ... I need help.”

“I know you do, Knox.” She grinned. “But right now, I’m confessing my sins because I want you to give God my message. My heart was in the right place at one point in my life.” She ran her hand along the side of his face. “My mother made me this way, and that’s why she’s sitting in front of a TV right now alone ... with her throat slit. She was asleep when I walked in, and was wearing this black Muslim shit. She even had a veil over her face. After I stabbed her, I took it off so everybody would see how ugly she really is.” She was tearing up, and quickly wiped them away. “When I took off the veil, her face was so destroyed I didn’t recognize her. This disease ... this awful, fucking disease ate up her skin. And it was then that I knew even more that I’m not gonna look like that. Nobody goes to see her, so I’m sure she’ll be there for days.” She exhaled and her face produced a deranged smile. “I gotta tell you, though, that I’ve never been better. I feel so much more alive, now that I told you all of this. Thank you so much.”

When he tried to speak, she placed her ear next to his mouth to catch his words, “Please ... get ... get me some help.” Red blood started to cover his pink tongue. She placed her lips against his, and sucked some of the blood from his mouth.

“So fucking good!”

Knox couldn’t believe this was happening, but he couldn’t waste his last breaths on asking why. “If ... you say you love my brother ... you have to let me help him. I have evidence ... to keep them out of jail.” He tried to reach into his pocket, but he didn’t have the energy. “I ... promise not to ... say anything.”

Farah rose, dug into his pocket, and pulled out a black phone in a silver case. “So this will save your brother? A cell phone?” She laughed. “Well, unless Slade does me right, he won’t be needing this anyway.”

When someone knocked at the door, she stuffed a dirty dishrag in his mouth and reached under the sink to grab a roll of duct tape. She placed a long strip over his mouth from ear to ear to silence him. When someone began to bang harder, she washed her hands, grabbed her robe, and walked to the door. When she saw a woman she didn’t recognize, she looked behind her to be sure Knox didn’t crawl into view. Finally she reluctantly opened the door.

And older black lady was standing there with a smirk on her face. “Who are you?”

“Is Lesa Carmine here?”

“Not right now, but can I help you with something?”

“Yes. Tell her I know that she killed my son. The day he went missing, he sent a text message with her name. Today, with a little help, I was able to get this address.”

“Well what is your message?”

She looked into her eyes. “Please tell her that I intend on burying her alive.”

Chapter 63

“Plenty of niggas wanted to be with me and I wasted my time on you!”

—Chloe

Chloe was sitting in Farah’s broken-down car, trying to stay warm. She was waiting for Audio to pull up from the club, knowing he’d be home any minute. When one of her friends told her he was with another girl, she made it her business to find out for herself. Audio was her world, and she didn’t want anything or anybody coming in the way of that.

When Slade pulled up, she jumped out of the car and approached the truck. Her hands were folded over her chest, and her eyes were bloody red. “Where the fuck were you, Audio?”

Slade and his brothers looked at her after they closed the doors. “Fuck you mean where was I?” Audio shot back, embarrassed how she was carrying it in front of his family. “You must’ve lost your mind if you think you can talk to me like that.” His brothers nodded in approval for checking the bitch.

“I heard you were with some girl.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Is that true?”

“Y’all go upstairs,” he told his brothers. “I’ma be up in a minute. I gotta holla at Chloe.”

“You sure?”Slade asked, looking at them both. “Because y’all don’t need to be doing all this out here.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “I’m sure. I got this,” Audio replied.

When they walked into the building Chloe said, “Why you cheat on me, Audio?” Warm tears ran down her face, and she wiped them away before they froze onto her skin. “I thought you said you love me.”

“What you talking about, babes? I do love you. All I did was hang out at the club with my brothers. That’s it ... You gotta stop tripping.”