CHAPTER 22
ATLAS
“You have been a busy little bee.”
I watched Fabian Mathias walk through the door. He was bigger than I thought up close and personal, which I’d been with him at the Donovan house. He’d stood directly in front of me like some type of god with his wrestler’s physique and evil glare. If nothing else, we had that in common. I was pissed the fuck off too.
Closing the door behind him, he walked with that confident swagger I’d seen when watching him at the press conference for the opening of the automotive company. He talked about creating all these jobs for the citizens of Alexandria that day like he was some type of savior. He was a good ass bullshitter. My mother could probably attest to that, if the bitch still had her lying ass tongue.
He’d changed his clothes. That made sense. I couldn’t remember how long I’d been locked in this room. There were no clocks, no television and no windows. Just a twin-size bed in one corner and a toilet and sink in the other. The place was bigger than a jail cell and there were clean sheets on the bed when Iarrived. A woman brought me food, and I was given a rag and soap. So, I guess I could call the accommodations mediocre. But it probably could’ve been worse. He could’ve killed me on sight.
I sat on the bed with my back against the wall, legs spread out in front of me, so my feet hung off the edge. He stood across the room, folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.
“You gave Cal Hemmings that false information about my casino trafficking women.”
It was a statement, not a question. Not that I would’ve denied it if he were asking. But since he wasn’t, I didn’t reply.
I didn’t look like him. I realized that a long time ago. Our complexion could be considered close, but that wasn’t a conclusive parental identifier. Millions of black folk probably had the same brown skin. I was five feet eleven. He was taller. I had more of a basketball player’s build while he looked like he bench-pressed three-twenty-five, three-fifty at least. Nah, I didn’t look like him, but that didn’t mean shit.
“So, you try to get my casino closed down which would’ve most likely kicked off an investigation to every business the Platinum Ryders opened before I left as the president.”
His voice was deep. Mine was too.
“But you didn’t stop there,” he continued, “you contacted Gomez, told him I was working with the feds. That I’d married into a family of them and was likely trying to set him up. Then, you had your guy, Sean, go down to Miami and mess with my houses, just to make sure Gomez and his guys knew it wasn’t smart to work with us.”
I couldn’t help it, a smile threatened to break free.
“Now, I don’t believe in coincidences, and you know, it’s a good damn thing I don’t. Because without those other things happening, I might not have ever thought August would stoop so low as to fuck a child like you.”
“I’m not a child!” The words fell out of my mouth the moment the hint of a smile slipped away. “She’ll tell you that. I fucked her good and hard just like she liked it. You couldn’t do that?” I laughed out loud this time. “You didn’t do that, not even when she was in your bed. She still came back to me. Said I was the best.”
“Hmpf.” He made that sound, then his lips spread into a wide grin before his booming laughter echoed in the room. “You think that’s a flex, don’t you? That some cougar ass slut said you were the best.” He tossed his head back and laughed louder. “You really are a dumb muthafucka.”
I was off that bed before I could blink. I got right in his face and shouted, “You’re the dumb one! You’re the liar and the bastard for getting a fifteen-year-old pregnant then walking out on her. I hate you! I’ve always hated you! That’s why I fucked your girl!”
His smile was gone but he didn’t speak. He didn’t move at all.
I grinned at how still he was, how obviously angry he was by my words and the shit I’d been able to do to him. “I was gonna fuck your wife too,” I said, pulling my lip between my teeth. I groaned with the thought that had actually been giving me a decent bit of comfort while I’ve been his captive.
“I was gonna lick all over her plump ass, stick my finger in it too.” My dick jumped at my words. “Then I was gonna lay down and let her ride my face. I know her pussy tastes good, I can just tell by the way she walks.” Moving my hand, I gripped my dick. “Then I was gonna?—”
His hands were around my throat before I could finish that sentence.
“Say one more word,” he said through clenched teeth. “One more fuckin’ word.”
Obviously, I couldn’t oblige that request because I couldn’t fuckin’ breathe. Fury wasn’t just big as shit, he was a strongbastard too. My eyes were already watering as this muthafucka lifted me off the floor. My feet dangled as I smacked at his beefy arms.
“You think you so fuckin’ smart, but you’ve been a dumbass all your life. Dumb, blind and so damn naïve!”
He kept his hands at my neck, walking so that I was back at the bed where he dropped me before I could pass the fuck out. I fell onto the mattress gasping for air. My head throbbed from the lack of oxygen, and I curled into a ball, desperately trying to get my shit together.
Fury squatted so that his face was level with mine, but he was a big ass blur as more tears filled my eyes.
“She sold your ass out,” he said, humor lacing his voice. “Sent me a text with all the details to what you thought was gonna be your endgame.”
My stomach churned at that last word. If I doubted him before, I didn’t now. I’d been talking about my endgame with Fury Mathias for years. August vowed to help me bring him down. Was I stupid for believing that tramp? Maybe. But since I didn’t give a damn about her either, I wasn’t as alarmed by his words as he probably thought I would be. Shit, I was the one who’d set that bomb up at her cousin’s house. Once I confirmed that she’d booked the flights and the villa in St. Lucia under her company’s account, I told her I had her car delivered to that pretty little house on the quiet street, instead of on the street downtown in front of her building. She hated her car being parked there for fear of it being sideswiped by some random driver. Her building had a garage but only tenants could get in with their key card.
August loved when I pampered her, so it was easy for me to suggest my driver take her to the nail shop while I sent her car to be detailed, especially since it was the morning after she’d gotten the taste slapped out of her mouth by Dakota. Yeah, I plannedto have Dakota on that beach with me, doing all the freaky shit August used to do. And August, I was finished with her ass anyway.
