Page 46 of The Price of My Sins

When I came to, it was pitch black. My breath caught in my throat as I opened my eyes, only to realize I couldn’t see a damn thing. Darkness wrapped around me like a suffocating blanket.My head throbbed, a dull ache pulsing at my temple. I could feel a sticky wetness on my face that let me know that I was bleeding.

I tried to move, but something hard was pressed against my shoulder. Panic clawed its way up my throat when the realization hit me that this crazy-ass nigga had me in a trunk. I felt us moving and the cars honking as I was driven to God knows where.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them away, forcing myself to breathe through the rising hysteria. I couldn’t lose it. Not now.

My hands fumbled in the dark, searching for any kind of latch, seam, or anything to help me escape. My fingers scraped over carpeting, then metal before I felt the straps of my crossbody bag. I yanked it toward me, hands trembling as I fumbled with the zipper. My pulse thundered in my ears as I reached inside and felt the familiar shape of my phone. A sob of relief escaped my lips as I pulled it free, clutching it like a lifeline.

I punched in my passcode, desperate to call for help when suddenly, the car slowed to a stop. My heart dropped into my stomach when I heard the driver’s side door open before closing. I froze. My breath hitched, and I clutched the phone to my chest, praying whoever was out there couldn’t hear my ragged breathing. With shaking fingers, I opened my call log and tapped Bo’s name.

“Please, please, baby… pick up,” I whispered through sobs, barely able to get the words out. Tears streamed down my face as I strained to listen, praying to hear his voice over the line.

“Hey, beautiful. Have you made it home yet?”

“Bo! Baby, please help me,” I cried in a whisper, my voice cracking under the weight of panic. “It’s Josh! He has me! I don’t know where we are. Please—” I barely got the words out before I heard the trunk pop. Panic surged through my body like a live wire. I flung the phone backward into the darkness just as Bo’svoice broke through, screaming my name, echoing in my ears like a promise screamed through a tunnel.

Light slashed through the trunk. Josh loomed like a nightmare made into flesh. His expression was grim, his eyes too calm—calm in the way a storm is right before it breaks.

“Sleeping beauty’s up,” he muttered. “Time to go.”

Before I could react, his hand shot inside the trunk, fingers gripping my hair. Pain exploded across my scalp as he yanked me forward. My knees scraped the metal edge of the trunk, but I bit back a scream.

“Josh, why are you doing this? Just let me go,” my voice cracked. I took the time to look around, and I realized that I was still in Freeport.

“Because you forgot who the fuck I am. You think I would just let you leave me after everything I’ve done for you, you ungrateful bitch!” He yanked harder on my hair, jerking my head back. “Then you go and fuck some nigga, giving away my pussy. Yeah… you about to pay. But right now, I’m going to get some of that good pussy. A nigga backed up.” He ran his tongue down the side of my face, making me want to puke.

“Fuck you, nigga! You will never touch me again!” I spit in his face, which only made him more angry.

Josh went to raise his hand to hit me, but I pivoted hard on my heel and drove my knee up with everything I had. He let out a strangled grunt, folding forward as the air whooshed from his lungs. His hands flew to his groin.

I didn’t wait to see him hit the ground. I took off down the driveway but was snatched back and pushed to the ground hard, and the wind was knocked out of me. Gasping, I looked up, squinting into the sunlight that crowned the silhouette above me. The unidentified man stared evilly at me, and my heart sank. And just like that, the hope I’d been clinging to bled out of me.

Ibarely had time to wipe the blood from my face before I heard the heavy stomp of boots behind me. The door slammed shut like thunder, and I knew from the weight in the room before I even turned around that my Unc was pissed.

“You dumb motherfucker!” Otis growled, voice low and full of fire. “Tell me I’m not looking at what I think I’m lookin’ at.”

I turned slowly, hands up, trying to keep my tone steady. “Look, Unc?—”

“No, you look!” he yelled, pointing a thick, calloused finger in my face. “You brought that bitch here? To my fuckin’ house? I told you to forget about that hoe! Do you have any idea what you just did? I’m a fucking detective.”

He stormed across the room, glancing at Olivia, zip-tied, blood on her lip, fire still burning in her eyes even though she was trapped in that chair. She put up a fight, clocking me in the mouth and balls, but I was happy Unc had my back before she could get away.

My Uncle Otis looked back at me with something I hadn’t seen in years: real rage.

“You kidnapped her? This ain’t some corner beef, boy. I did my research on who Bo runs with. That nigga is connected to some powerful people. I won’t be surprised if they haven’ttracked her here already. I swear… my brother should’ve made your mama swallow your slow ass!”

That pissed me off. No one speaks on my mama—family or not. I don’t play about my mother, and this egg-shaped head nigga knew that.

“Don’t talk about my mama!” I spat, my voice filled with rage.

“Don’t talk about my mama,” he mocked me. “Look at you? Sounding like a bitch. And you call yourself a hustler. You better pray I can fix this before that man shows up.”

“So what now?” I muttered.

He looked at Olivia one more time, jaw tight. Then back to me. “Now, we clean this shit up.”

The look in my Uncle's eyes told me everything I needed to know. He was about to kill Olivia. That was my plan at first,but now, I wanted to try and convince her to leave that nigga Bo and come back to me. If she declined, I was going to keep her ass locked away until she came to her senses. I know she still loved me. We’ve been together too long for her to just turn that shit off.

He grabbed Olivia by the arm like she weighed nothing and jerked his chin toward the back of the house. “Come on, little lady. We are about to have some fun.”

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