“My shit?” She chuckled as she took slow steps my way. “You’re going to hear everything I have to say, being as though you almost got me raped and possibly trafficked!” she shouted as her voice cracked. “How could you do that to me? I am your sister!”
“You’re not shit to me!” I roared, jumping to my feet. “I hate you, Blossom!” I frowned as she walked over toward the stoveand picked up a piece of chicken her mother was removing from the grease. “You think you’re so perfect and so much better than me! I don’t know how you made it out of that fire with your life, but I swear—Ahhhh!”
Before I knew what was happening, hot cooking oil was being splashed all over my face. I grabbed at the scorching feeling and screamed in agony from the pain of my skin splitting and blistering. Stumbling into the kitchen table, no one said anything or came to my aid while I was fighting for my life.
“No matter how you treated me, I loved you!” I heard her shout behind me as I stumbled through the house. My face felt like it was falling off, and I needed medical help immediately. “No matter what we went through or how you treated me, I had your back, Row! I loved you through it all because you were my big brother! You’re nothing to me now! If you ever come near me again, I will make sure you suffer the most painful death you’ve ever imagined!”
Barely able to see the path before me, I screamed in pain as I fumbled my way through the mansion. I could hear the staff run past me as they all ran to Blossom’s aid. I could hear our parents coddle her while she broke down crying, telling her everything would be okay. How did she even make it out that night? What did she mean when she said I’d die a painful death? Did she mean TJ? I didn’t know, and I wouldn’t be around to find out because I was out of here.
Stepping outside, I was thankful that the rain was still pouring down. I threw my head back and allowed it to splash all over my burning face. Still barely able to see, I bypassed the cars and made my way toward the end of the driveway. The main road wasn’t far, and I was hoping someone would take pity on me and drive me to the hospital.
“I-I can’t breathe.” I stumbled before tripping over something and falling to the ground. From the sound of the cars,I knew I was closer to the road. “Someone please…” I crawled as best as I could, waving my hand around, hoping to flag down a car. “Help me.”
Collapsing to the ground, my breathing grew ragged as I lay on the wet ground. My heart felt as if it was about to explode in my chest, and I just knew I was about to die in the middle of the street. Consciousness was slowly slipping away from me, and right before I passed out, I felt a presence hover over me. His low, eerie tone was the last thing I heard.
“Well, this must be my lucky day. I’ve been looking for you, Rowan.”
“So, you mean to tell me, you can make a nigga moo by the snap of your fingers?”
Hearing voices and the sounds of animals around me, I groaned as I slowly regained consciousness. My body was on fire, and I felt as if I was getting pricked by a thousand needles. On top of that, I was struggling to breathe and felt as if someone was sitting on my chest.
“Wakey, wakey, nigga.” The voice of an unknown man caused me to snap my neck in his direction. That was the wrong move on my part because it seemed to intensify the pain I was in. “Boy, you’re out here looking like a fresh batch of fried pork skins.”
“W-Who’s there? Where am I?” I tried to open my eyes, but something was covering them. When I went to remove it, it was then that I realized I couldn’t move my arms or even my body, for that matter. “What’s wrong with me? P-Please, let me go.”
“Good evening, Mr. Reid,” another eerie voice spoke as the sound of heavy footprints echoed in the now silent room. “I hope your stay here is unpleasant and as painful as possible.”
I jumped as he began to unravel the bandages over my eyes. I winced as I pried them open. They were sensitive to the light that shone from above, making it hard to focus on the men in the room. I was still trying to will myself to move, but nothing was happening.
“I’m Zoo.” He smiled as he walked back around the table I was on and stood in front of me. “The nigga dressed like a witch is my brother, Boko, and that there is my new friend, Slash.” Taking the cool metal of his Glock, he turned my head to look back at him. “Welcome to our world. Welcome to The Zoo.”
“My father is Governor Carlton Reid,” I cried hysterically. The last thing I remembered was my bitch of a sister throwing hot cooking oil on me. I had no idea how I ended up with these people. “He will come look for me if you hurt me!”
Hearing the sound of laughter, I snaked my head around Zoo and saw one of the other men with his head thrown back. The one deemed Slash pushed off the far wall before walking over my way. His eyes were dark and intense, a frightening sight for my sore eyes. His jaw clenched as he peered at me with pure hatred.
“You think I give a fuck about your daddy, nigga? I swear, you and that bitch, TJ, need to let your pappy’s nuts go and be your own men.” He stopped in front of me with a smirk on his face as he looked me over. “Bloss Baby did a number on you.”
Hearing him mention a name similar to my sister’s gave me pause. The fear began to dissipate as anger set in. It was because of her that I was here right now. If she had died in the fire with Dame, none of this would be happening.
“You want Blossom? I can arrange that.” I looked at him as best as I could and tried to bargain. “She’s single now, and with TJ going to prison soon, no one will be in your way. For a small fee?—”
Wham!
Sending a punch to my jaw, I felt it crack instantly from the impact. Loose teeth dangled and blood oozed from my mouth as I howled in pain.
“I’ve been wondering what I was going to do to you for a while now.” He stepped back, fists clenched at his side. “I was thinking we could have a little fun. You know… The same fun Damien intended for Blossom.”
At the mention of Dame’s name, I froze. I knew his death wasn’t an accident! Someone had found out what I’d done and killed him. Blossom knew what I’d done, and I had the burnt flesh to prove it. Who else could have known didn’t matter because of my current predicament. But if I were able to get out of this mess, the same man who killed Damien would be out to get me.
“I’m sorry!” I shook my head profusely, still unable to move anything below my neck. “I will apologize to her! Please don’t kill me! Why can’t I move?!”
“Before we begin, let me formally introduce myself.” He smirked as he placed his hands in his pockets, rocking on his heels. “I’m your sister’s new man, JJ McKnight.”
“M-McKnight?” I stammered as I shook from fear. “Y-You sent Chris’s head to my office! You killed him!”
“My intentions were to kill you, too, nigga.” JJ sneered, brandishing a small blade from his back. “You stole from my father, which was fucked up, by the way. You had a very profitable business until you lost your mind, snorting and gambling like the junky-ass nigga you are.” His eyes looked me over as he twirled the knife between his fingers. “You got in way over your head and had the bright idea to place your sister in the hands of a man who would have done God knows what to her.”
Eyeing me intently, he dragged the blade of the dagger across my chest, causing the few blisters there from the burn to splitopen. I cried out at the excruciating pain, wishing I could offer the man something to stop cutting me.
