“Eyes to the floor,” I demanded. “On second thought, you deserve to enjoy the view. Even niggas in prison are given a last supper.”
I snickered but quickly went mute when I realized he waslaughingtoo. He hadn’t said a word since we picked him up, so his reaction was unexpected. Annoyed because he was taking me for a joke, I harshly shoved him into the room. Dark painted walls made the space appear more ominous than the blacked-out windows. A tall dresser was in front of a door that looked like it hadn’tbeen openedin years, and a single light bulb hung from the ceiling. I didn’t have to instruct the man to take a seat, but I kept my weapon on him when Nola and Yari tied him to a steel chair in the center of the room. Once I was alone with the runaway thief, I hung around, thinking about my next move. I didn’t know if I wanted to take a picture and send it to Junior, or if a call would have been better, but I didn’t want to babysit for too long.
“Let me see your face,” the tethered man demanded unexpectedly.
“What?”
“You said I deserve a good meal before it’s over, but I’ll settle for a decent view. I want to see what’s behind your cheap-ass mask.”
My lashes brushed against the polyester over my face when I started blinking faster. There hadn’t been a day in my life that I doubted my beauty, yet the idea of someone studying me made me hesitate.
His cupid bow lips parted, and a gold-toothed smile spread over his face. “That’s what the fuck I thought. Scary ass.”
“Don’t do too much thinking,” I replied as I removed my veil. Out of habit, I fingered my septum piercing to make sureit was positioned correctly, then I smoothed down my short hair. A breeze touched my ears, making my body tremble, but the seriousness on the onlooker’s handsome face caused me to shift my weight from one foot to the other.
“Damn. Pretty and dead. That’s a horrible combination.”
I grinned as I gripped my knife then straddled him. I forced the thief’s head back by yanking on the hood of his jacket, then cut into the thick material until his undershirt was visible. As I hovered over the stranger, I made the mistake of letting my gaze drift from the one-word tattoo above his left brow down to his soul-snatching stare. I tried my hardest not to break away, afraid of defeat, but dry eyes and my provocative thoughts forced me to lose the battle.
“Yeah. You’re mine,” he declared. “You’re either going to beg me to kill you or fuck you, but this won’t go how you’ve planned, Kitty.”
“Kitty?”
“It’s the eyes.” He winked.
“A cocky kill. I like that.”
“You have never killed a muthafucka a day in your life.”
“There’s a first time for everything. As much money as you owe us, death may be too good for you. You borrowed two-hundred-thousand-dollars from the Blackstone family. You’ve only paid back twenty stacks, and you think you can talk to me like you’re a big dog around here?”
“Woof! Woof!” He barked like a maniac.
I placed the tip of the blade over the tattoo running down his left sideburn. “If I puncture your femoral artery, you’ll be dog food.”
“Oh, I see what’s going on. Your chocolate ass is pretty, and you have a big brain, but you lack street smarts.”
Rage drove me to pierce his chest with the tip of the blade. When his teeth stabbed his bottom lip, I grinned at the sight of his discomfort.
“Yeah. You ain’t talking shit now, are you?”
“I don’t speak to the dead.”
“You stupid?—”
“K! Come here for a second.”
Yari’s voice interrupted my comeback. Though I wanted to ask her to come in the room and speak to me, I knew I needed a minute away from the shit talker. When I joined my girls in the living room, I saw Nola headed to the door.
“Hm. Where are you going?” I asked.
“To hell if I don’t get out of here. I looked through the file while you were in the room.” She dropped her head. “I’m not cut out for this, Kannon.”
“Excuse me? What happened to one band, one sound?”
“The tune changed when you lied. Who is this nigga? For real.”
I took a deep breath as I sat on the loveseat. I thought about lying since the damage was done, but I respected them too much to keep it going.
