I turned a corner and?—
WHACK.
Something heavy connected with the back of my skull. The world exploded into white-hot pain and then nothing.
Ice cold water.
That was the first thing I felt. Bone-deep cold, like someone had dumped it straight into my veins.
Then the pain hit, my head throbbing, my shoulders screaming, my wrists burning with a sharp, cutting pressure.
I tried to move and couldn’t.
My eyes flew open.
I was hanging. Literally hanging with my wrists shackled to chains that ran up to a hook in the ceiling, my arms stretched above my head, my feet barely touching the concrete floor. Heavy chains wrapped around my ankles, weighted down by what looked like a kettlebell, keeping my legs locked in place.
What the fuck?
I yanked against the restraints and the chains rattled, the metal biting deeper into my wrists. I couldn’t move more than an inch in any direction. Couldn’t reach my gun—it was gone, probably taken while I was unconscious. Couldn’t do shit except hang here like a piece of meat in a slaughterhouse.
“What the FUCK?!” I screamed, my voice echoing off the concrete walls. “JUSTICE! JUSTICE, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!”
“Right here.”
I whipped my head around—too fast, pain shooting through my skull—and saw Justice emerge from the shadows. He was dressed casual, jeans and a black hoodie, like he was about to grab lunch with the homies. In one hand, he held a pear. In the other, a knife.
He leaned against the wall about ten feet away and took a slow, deliberate bite of the pear. Juice ran down his chin. He wiped it with the back of his hand, unbothered.
“What’s up, Thad.”
“What’s UP?!” I yanked at the chains again, rage and confusion fighting for control. “What the fuck is this, bro? Why you got me chained up like some hoe? This a joke?”
Justice just looked at me. Took another bite of the pear.
“Answer me! Why the fuck am I?—”
“Because you disgust me.”
The words landed like a slap. Quiet. Calm. Final.
I stared at him, trying to read his face, trying to find some hint of what this was about. But Justice’s expression was blank. Not angry. Not emotional. Just… done. Like he was looking at something rotting in a dumpster.
“What are you talking about?” I forced a laugh, trying to regain some footing. “Come on, man. Whatever this is about, we can talk about it. We family. I don’t know what you think I did, but?—”
“You don’t know.” Justice nodded slowly, slicing off another piece of pear with his knife. “That’s interesting.”
“I DON’T. So why don’t you unchain me and we can have a conversation like?—”
“Nah.” He popped the pear slice into his mouth. Chewed. Swallowed. “We’re gonna wait.”
“Wait for what?”
“For Prime.”
Something cold slithered down my spine. Something that had nothing to do with the ice water still dripping from my clothes.
“Prime?” I kept my voice steady. Confused. Innocent. “What’s Prime got to do with this? Come on, J, whatever y’all think I did?—”
