Page 125 of 4 Corinthians

“Nineteen,” Four said. I cut off Orlando’s finger, then turned and looked at him. “You ain’t touching that nigga dick or tongue.”

“Why not?”

“Only dick you’ll ever touch is mine,” he answered me, then licked his lips. This wasn’t the time to be turned on, but I was. He’d been quiet all morning, barely saying anything, and I didn’t push. I knew this was probably a lot for him, but his standing there, looking at me the way he was, turned me on. Now I get what Cross meant when she said it was something about seeing your man stand to the side while you did what came naturally that turned you on. I don’t know if being comfortable with killing came from nature or nurture, but seeing how Uri stood there watching me made me feel more capable than I had ever been in my life.

“Okay,” I said, then turned back to Orlando. His face was red, and tears fell from his eyes. “Now back to you. Are you ready to talk?” I put his middle finger in the cutter. “What did Robert promise you?”

“Nothing,” Orlando chuckled and shook his head. “He didn’t promise me anything.”

“Then why did you become a sensei at my kids’ dojo?” I asked him. I didn’t believe him for one minute. Robert knew how to motivate people to do what he wanted. When he didn’t answer me, I cut off his middle finger. I moved the cutter to his ring finger. “Do I need to ask you again?”

“He didn’t send me!” Orlando yelled. He fought against the restraints holding him to the metal chair he was in, but he wasn’t going anywhere. “Robert didn’t send me!”

“Who did?” I asked. Orlando tried to ball his hand up, but it was no use. “Who sent you, Orlando?”

“He’ll kill me,” he sobbed. I cut his finger off, and he screamed. Instead of going to his pinky next, I switched to his other hand and started with the pinky there. “Please!”

“Please what?” I questioned him. “Huh Orlando? Please what?” I cut off his pinky then moved to his ring finger. “You’re crying and saying please but not answering my questions. I asked who sent you; tell me, and this stops.”

“I can’t,” he sobbed. I shrugged, then cut off his next three fingers. “Please.” I had to give it to Orlando; he was holding strong. I’d seen men pass out after the second or third finger was cut off. I got up from my seat, went back to the table, and picked up the blow torch. I started it, adjusted the flame, and went back to Orlando. “No!”

I put the flame to his open wounds and cauterized them. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he passed out. I turned off the blowtorch, set it on the ground next to me, and turned to look at Uri.

“Give him a minute,” he said, and I nodded. “Whoever he’s afraid of ain’t Robert.”

“You believe him?” I asked, and Uri nodded. “Why?”

“Because that nigga pissed himself the moment you walked into the room. He was scared when it was just me, but when you walked in, he was petrified.” Uri slowly blinked. “If it were Robert, he would’ve been excited.”

“Because I’m his pet,” I said, nodding. I remembered the excitement in every man’s eye when they realized my title. They all wanted to see how Robert’s pet reacted. How I moved, fought, never cried. They were fascinated with me just like Robert. He thought it was a compliment for men to fawn over me the way they did, but it wasn’t.

“Do not call yourself that,” he said, shaking his head. “You are not and will never be called that shit.”

Someone knocked on the door, and I turned just as it was opening. Krude stuck his head in. “Ay, I know you said it was private, but Cross just got a call. Something is going on at the kid’s game. Deuce just called and said that they are being held in the locker room.”

Uri and I didn’t waste any time. We left the room, pulling off our jumpsuits as we moved down the hallway. Uri put his hand out for mine, and I handed it to him.

“What happened?” I asked Cross as I approached her.

“I don’t know; Mercy isn’t answering the phone, but Deuce said something happened in the stands and Givens Robbins security team put their team in the locker room,” Cross answered. She was moving as fast as she could to take off her jumpsuit, but she was pregnant and struggling.

“Let’s go,” Uri said coming to stand next to me. He handed me my purse, keys, and phone. “Zero and One are already on their way.”

I took his hand, and we left the warehouse. Orlando would have to wait until later. Uri drove, not giving a fuck about the speed limit. My cousins were right behind us in their own cars. I dialed Judah’s iPad, but it kept going unanswered.

“If something happened to my baby,” I said, trying to call Judah again. “I swear-“

“Ain’t nobody dumb enough to come after my son, Cori,” he said, cutting me off. He ran his hand over his mouth and switched lanes.

“Robert is-“

“Not fucking dumb enough to come after my son.” He took his eyes off the road long enough to look at me. “He can come after me all he wants, but he ain’t dumb enough to come after Judah.” He shook his head. His grip on the steering wheel was so tight that his knuckles started to turn red.

I wanted to point out that he didn’t believe that. Because if he did, he wouldn’t be driving as fast as he was right now. I turned my attention back to my phone to try and call Judah again. My calls continued to go unanswered.

My phone rang, and I sent it to voicemail. I wasn’t going to talk to anyone until after I made sure my son was okay. Uri’s phone rang, and he pressed the button on the dash to answer it.

“Hello?”