“Dad—”
“Do not come out,” he demanded. I nodded as the first set of tears rushed down my face. My dad smiled at me, caressed my face, then closed the closet door.
I crouched down and covered my mouth as I sobbed hard.
“The hell y’all doing in my house?!”Daddy snapped. I held my breath, trying my hardest to hear.
“Where is she?”
I froze when I realized the voice was coming from Viper. He was the right-hand man of Orlando Sanchez—a very dangerous man—and he was looking for me!
“She’s not here, so I’m gonna need y’all to get the fuck outta my house. Now!”
I suddenly heard a loud thump—like a body hit the ground or something.
“Arggghhhhh!”
Then my daddy screamed, making me jump. I could hear sounds of grunting and my dad’s moans.
They were going to kill him.
Without even thinking, I burst out of my closet and rushed out of my room. I ran into the living room and screamed when I saw five men beating the hell out of my dad.
“Stop it!”
I dropped to the ground, to cover my father’s body with mine, and the attack stopped.
“Daddy? Daddy, are you okay?” I grabbed his face that was starting to swell. He coughed up a little blood and nodded at me.
“Why are you doing this?!” I turned to Viper to ask, and that was when I noticed his son, Sony, standing beside him with a smile on his face. Sony’s wife, River, stood beside him, mean mugging me along with her sister, Ocean.
I looked back at my dad, feeling the guilt weigh down on me. I should have known better than to go to the police.
My father was a low-ranked worker in The Society. So, I’d heard rumors about how powerful they were, even going as far as having cops in their pockets, but I still took my chances, thinking the cops would protect us.
But the fact that Viper was standing in our living room, I knew my statement had gone from the cops’ hands to his.
“This world doesn’t have a place for snitches,” Viper whispered. My palms shook, fear gripping me until I couldn’t utter a word. A bitter, metallic taste bubbled up from my stomach that was starting to turn. I then looked over at Sony, my eyes pleading with him to stop this. To tell the truth, but I knew that he wasn’t there to help me.
I then looked to my father, remorse hitting me hard. He was suddenly pulled away from me. Those men started kicking him again right in front of me while Viper and Sony just watched.
“Stop!” I begged.
My attempt to get in between them again was thwarted by one of Viper’s men grabbing me, holding me in place to watch.
One of the men then kicked my dad in the face, making his nose sprout blood, and I spoke up without thinking.
“I lied! I lied! I came onto him!”
The room fell silent for a few seconds, and then thankfully, they stopped attacking him. The man let me go, and I rushed back to my father’s side. He was bloody all over and could barely open his eyes.
“Daddy, I’m sorry,” I whispered, trying to help him sit up.
I was suddenly yanked up by my right arm by River. She just stood there, breathing heavily, staring at my face.
“This hoe, she thinks she’s so pretty,” Ocean snorted. I looked at her, wondering why she would say that when I’d neveracted like that. “You’re not even all that and think my sister’s husband would try to rape you!” Ocean said.
“Bitch, my husband wouldn’t touch you even if someone paid him!” River snapped. “Why would he, when he’s got me?” Her voice slightly broke.
