Page 57 of Dreaux: The Corporate Assassin

“Talk to me, bro,” I greeted as I exhaled a smoke cloud. “Everybody in the city good?”

“We’re straight… waiting for you to come home. Rosier is making me work, and I don’t like that for me. You’re his right hand—not me, nigga.” We shared a laugh before he got serious. “Who you with?”

“Uno… He knows what’s up, though.”

“I need you to make a move on Holmes sooner than we anticipated.” I cursed under my breath because I knew some shit like this would happen. “There’s talks of them buying more girls, and we need to cut off the head of the snake before it happens. We can’t save everyone, Dre. We need to make a move while we can.”

Knowing he was right, I agreed. Pulling over on the side of the empty road, I put the car in park before getting out and taking a deep breath. I was prepared to do this shit; it was just frustrating when I had to adjust my timeline because killing was a craft. There was a time and place for everything—one wrong move could be deadly.

“Aight. Holmes has his daughter this week, so it’s not a problem getting her away from Denim. I’m just going to call him and tell him I need the girl today instead of later.” Hearing the door behind me, I turned to face Uno. “Call your brother and tell him I need him to pull up… alone. When he gets here, I want you to leave.”

“Nigga, what?” Uno frowned as he paused from dialing his brother. “Why the fuck do I need to go?”

“No offense, but Skip is the one I've been catching bodies with since I’ve been here.” I grimaced at my logic like the shit made sense. “Come on, man. Don’t make me explain the shit, sounding like a simp. Plus, you an elected official. Ain’t nobody trying to catch a body with the mayor, homie. Tell that nigga I’ll send him some money for his services if he talks shit.”

Doing as I asked, Uno called his brother. After listening to Jules talk shit about us bonding over killing niggas, I hung up on his ass and called Holmes. It took him a few times to answer, but he finally did.

“Boudreaux,” he answered as if he was out of breath. “How’s it going?”

“Better if I can cash in tonight.” I kept the words brief. “I know we still have another week, but I need her tonight.”

Hearing him tell his daughter to watch television and he’d be right back, I gazed upward as I balled my fist and clenched my teeth. This nigga was a bitch for what he was doing, and I couldn’t wait to kill him.

“Andre, I’m not prepared to give her to you yet,” he said in a hushed tone once he returned to the phone. “She hasn’t been prepped yet, and I?—”

“The fuck you mean… prepped?” I tried to keep the anger from my voice, but it was too late. “The shit is simple. I paid my money, and now I want the girl. It ain’t shit else to talk about.”

As I waited for him to respond, my blood boiled in fury. This man was seriously selling me his daughter with no remorse. I wanted to make his death as painful as I could.

“Rebecca and I had plans for her before we gave her to you,” I squeezed my eyes shut as I gripped my phone so tight that I heard it crack. “If you can give me until the end of the week?—”

“You have two hours to meet me in Sunset Valley,” I growled, and I damn near didn’t recognize my own voice. “You will not touch her. You will not even look at her. I paid for her to come to me a certain way, and that’s how I expect her to be when I get her. Don’t make me come find you, nigga, because I will. And when I come, it’ll be with zero understanding. I’m killing you and everyone attached to you. You have two hours. I will text you with the details.”

Disconnecting the call, I walked over to the woods and threw up everything I had in my stomach. That nigga was sick as fuck and didn’t deserve to live another day.

“That bad?” Uno walked over and handed me a bottle of water. “Skip is on his way. Tell me what you need from me, bro. Let me do something.”

Taking the bottle of water, I panted as I gulped it down. The cool air didn’t do anything to stop the sweat pouring down my face. Hearing how that man and his wife wanted to harm my Big Bri had me tore up. I needed to shake back because I wouldn’t be a minute late for pick up.

“If I give you a list of things, do you think you can have it at the penthouse by the time I get there?” I asked. “Other than that, I’m good.” Walking back to the car, I paused. “Tell me you have a building in the Valley I could use.”

Seeing him nod, I breathed a sigh of relief as he called his brother and told him where we would be. Restarting the car, I turned the air on full blast and dialed my grandfather. If I was going to get through this with my mind intact, I was going to need as much prayer as I could get.

* * *

Standingin the middle of the room, I waited patiently for Holmes to arrive. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket for the hundredth time, causing me to power it off. I should have left it in the car or sent it back with Uno because Denim was blowing me down. She was going to be mad as fuck when I hit her back, but I can’t worry about that right now.

Hearing the door creak open, I folded my arms as I heard the clicking of dress shoes on the hardwood floor. The stench of bitch invaded the room before I even saw him. Under the dimly lit light, Holmes rounded the corner with a sleeping Briley in her arms. What pissed me off was the fact that he brought her outside in nothing but a nightgown.

“Where are her clothes?” I dropped my arms and placed them in my pocket. My trigger finger was itching, and I was trying to control myself. “She’s going to get sick.”

“Ahh… she’ll be fine.” He smirked as he patted her bottom. “Sick or not, she’s still the sweetest little thing. Also, I gave her some Benadryl, so she may be out for a little while if you’re up for some early fun.”

“Did you touch her?” I could feel my blood pressure rising every second he was before me. “Did you?—”

“Sample the goods?” He chuckled as he rubbed her back. “No, but I was tempted. Every time I washed her off, or even combed her sweet-smelling hair, I was tempted. You know, I’ll buy her back if you want me to. Maybe I can even offer you a deal on some new girls I have coming next week.”

Stepping toward him, I reached out my arms, and his beady eyes flashed with fear as he took a step back. “Hand her to me.”

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