Page 63 of Love & Vendettas

I take several slow steps until I come face to face with him. Kneeling, I say, “You fucked with my family.”

“Should’ve fucked that bitch with that fat ass donk,” he snarls.

I see how he tightens his jaw and posture, expecting me to hit him, but I won’t.

“I’m glad to hear that you feel that way. This little kidnapping business operation that you’re running has come to a dead end,” I say. “The first thing that I’m going to do is release you from those ropes. Then I’m going to give you an opportunity to fight me like a man. Though I doubt you’ll be any good at that. Little boys always overestimate their power. Finally, after I kick your ass and leave you here mangled, unable to move or anything, I’ll burn your studio to the ground. And when I’m done with that . . . my boys here will fuck your bitch.”

I turn around and point in the direction of the door as Ghalen walks in with a woman who’s wearing a gag with her arms cuffed behind her back.

I walk to the woman and remove the gag.

“Say your final goodbyes to your man,” I tell her.

“Fuck you, bitch!” She spits at me.

“You know,” I say, removing the handkerchief from my front pocket and wiping her spit off my face. “Someone really should have taught you how to behave like a lady. But I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Turning to Janel, I nod. She pulls a black bag up, walks to me, and sets it at my feet.

“When I was a kid, my mother used to threaten to wash our mouths out with soap if we cursed,” I say, removing a pair of leather gloves from the bag and slipping them onto my hands.

“Bitch should’ve made you choke on the soap after fucking you up the ass with it!” she screams.

“I just don’t like the way that you talk, young lady. Such a filthy mouth. I’ll have to teach you a lesson,” I say.

“If you touch her, I’ma fuck your old ass up as soon as I get free,” Terran snarls at me.

I make a clucking sound with my tongue. “Why do fools always gain heart when it’s too late?” I ask, looking at Malik, who shrugs.

Ghalen carries the woman to a chair opposite Terran and forces her into it. Janel moves beside him and tries to bind the woman’s feet. When she kicks at Janel, she ignores Terran’s curses and punches her in the gut.

Satisfied that she won’t resist further, Janel binds the woman’s feet to the chair, then proceeds to do the same thing with her arms behind the chair.

“Open your mouth,” Ghalen commands as I reach inside the bag, removing a pair of leather cutting shears.

She sneers at him and says nothing. Ghalen grabs her jaw, forcing it open, but she clenches it and refuses to open it completely.

“I love you, Angel. Don’t give these bastards shit!” Terran screams as Ghalen struggles with her. He continues offering useless threats but goes silent when he sees my next move.

Grabbing a Karambit knife from the bag with my left hand, I stab her in the thigh, causing her to scream. The moment she does, Ghalen grips her mouth using her top and bottom teeth to pry it further open and prevent her from closing it. I drop the knife and angle the shears with my right hand.

“No! Fuck no! Don’t do that shit, yo!” Terran shouts as I grab her tongue and cut it out. “Angel!” Terran screams.

Angel’s eyes widen, and I can tell that she’s on the verge of fainting.

“Aigggh! Fuck you, Knight! I’ma kill you!” Terran shouts as spit comes flying from his mouth, and he strains against his restraints.

He becomes violently upset trying to get out of the chair, but the only thing he manages to do is topple over.

Blood pools from Angel’s mouth as she grows hysterical, and tears stream down her face.

“You got any more foul shit to say now?” I ask, staring into her eyes.

She’s straining against the restraints. She looks at Ghalen with a plea in her eyes, but he keeps his gaze trained on me.

I lift Terran’s chair upright again.

“We gave this bitch one chance to tell us where you were when we found her. She was loyal as fuck. You see, I would’ve left her alone, but she said, and I quote, ‘I hope they gang rape your wife, kill her, and then spit on her grave.’ Those were some harsh words coming from another woman, especially considering she had a gun at her head. You got yourself a true ride-or-die here. Since she already rode hard for you, I guess it’s about time for her to live up to the latter part of that statement,” I say, turning the gun and shooting his woman in the forehead.

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