The woman turned to Cash and clapped excitedly. “So, we waking his ass up?”
Cash nodded. She crouched next to the man and pulled a syringe from a small black bag on the floor. She jabbed it into his thigh, and seconds later, he jerked upright, eyes flying open with a sharp gasp like someone had poured ice water on him.
“Bambi?” His voice cracked as he looked around wildly. “What the—Where am I?” His chest heaved as he looked around in panic.
“That’s not my name,” she said coolly, patting his head.
Cash stepped up beside her with an icy grin. “Kyree, you’ve never been to my house before,” he said, spreading his arms. “Welcome.”
A chill ran down my spine at the amusement in his voice.
Kyree’s eyes went wide again as he yanked against the chains.
“You can stop all that,” the woman drawled. “There’s no point struggling. You’re not going anywhere.”
“Yo, Money, wh-what the hell? Why you g-got me tied up like this?” Kyree stammered.
Cash’s smile dropped. “You tell me,” he said, keeping his voice even. “What would make me bring you to my house, especially when you’ve been MIA for months?”
I glanced at Jelani. He stood next to me with his arms crossed, watching like this was the most normal thing in the world.
“On everything, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kyree’s voice cracked.
Cash let out a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Kyree, please don’t piss me off. You’re here, so you already know you’re not leaving alive. Cut the shit.”
He picked up a hunting knife from the table, turning it so the light caught the blade’s edge. Tracing a finger down the blade, he locked eyes with Kyree.
“Where’s Jasmine?”
Kyree blinked, his face twisting in confusion. “Who?”
Cash brought the knife down in a fluid motion, slicing clean through Kyree’s pinky.
Time stretched. For a second, Kyree just stared at the blood spurting from his mangled nub like his brain hadn’t caught up yet.
That woman must’ve given him adrenaline because it took another few seconds before a raw, gut-wrenching scream tore from his throat.
I flinched, my heart hammering, but I forced myself not to look away.
This was the Money Banks that niggas feared.
“What the fuck?” I muttered.
Kyree’s voice broke through his sobs. “Who the fuck is Jasmine?!”
“Wrong answer.” Cash stepped back, unfazed by the blood pooling on the table. “Let’s try this again. I don’t have time to waste, and you don’t have much left.”
The room was quiet, save for Kyree’s cries. I was starting to think that staying upstairs wouldn’t have been so bad. Jelani said that someone would be getting roughed up on the ride over, but clearly, we had different definitions of what that meant. I’d seen some things as an ER nurse, but this was some next shit. I shifted uncomfortably as Cash paced.
“I know you been working with Marcus to push his shit down here,” he said. “And apparently, you think I have too much power, and you wanted something for yourself. Ain’t that right, Nairobi?”
He looked over at the woman, who was leaning against a wall, inspecting her nails.
Nairobi glanced up, rolling her eyes. “Now, why would you tell him my government name, Money?” She sucked her teeth. “Kyree, baby, do us all a favor and tell the man what he wants to know. He gets real long-winded when he’s pissed.”
Cash reared back. “Me? Long-winded?”
“Tuh. Nigga, you be giving soliloquies and shit,” Jelani chuckled.
