18. Monroe

"Ilove you, too," I whispered, lowering my body into the hole.

"London? London?" I said as I descended the ladder into the dark and narrow tunnel. The phone went silent, and I knew my time to talk to him was over. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my mind was racing with fear and uncertainty. I had so many questions, but no one to ask them to because the call had dropped as soon as the trap door shut just as London had warned.

When my feet touched the ground, I looked around for light. It was no use, though, because I could barely see in front of me. Think, Monroe. I felt around in the dark. Suddenly it hit me, and I clicked the flashlight button on my phone. It wasn't much coemption for the underground darkness but provided just enough light to illuminate the path before me. The footsteps moving around upstairs startled me. I hoped like hell they didn't know where to find me. I feared what would happen to me if I was found, and I couldn't shake feeling helpless and alone. I stood there frozen in fear, but then London's orders played in my head. I had to keep going until I reached the shelter.

"You got this!" I told myself as I took off walking in the only direction I could go. My thoughts were going a mile a minute. What would happen if I was found? What if London didn't make it to me? How had my dad and Kashus found me? Hours seemed to pass by before I finally reached the shelter. A sense of relief swept over me as a man wearing a uniform and badge came into view. The closer I got, the more that relief faded. The officer's lifeless body dropped to the ground and Kashus came into view holding a pistol in my direction.

"Took yo' fat ass long enough. I was starting to think you weren't coming."

"Kashus?" I slowly backed away, but he stepped forward, grabbing my arm.

"Don't fucking think about it. Get your fat ass in here." He threw me on the floor and shut the door behind me. The pain from the impact of hitting the ground shot through me, and I glared up my ex-fiancé.

"Imagine this, your fiancée is supposed to be in Miami getting her body done for a nigga, and you find out that she then ran off with the damn surgeon."

"Kashus, I—" I attempted to stand up and explain myself, but Kashus's hand connected to my jaw causing me to fall. My head dropped, the shock that Kashus had just hit me stung my face.

"Sit yo' ass down! I knew you were fat, but I didn't know you were a ho." His voice thundered. This time, instead of using his bare hands to hit me, he connected the butt of the gun to my face. I could feel the skin on my jaw open and blood pour out from the wound.

"You so fucking stupid, man. You better not of fucked that nigga, Monroe." London's words invaded my thoughts again. This was my chance to take back everything that Kashus and my father had stolen from me. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cower to him. Raising my head, I clenched my jaw.

"I fucked the shit out of him!" I shot back. Before I could make out what was happening, Kashus had connected the butt of the gun to my face again. Blood immediately leaked down my shirt and a throbbing pain took over. I pressed my hand to my face, attempting to stop the pain.

"Bitch, you married that motherfucker for real?" Kashus grabbed my hand, holding it close to his face. I screamed in pain as he yanked the ring from my finger. It felt as if my hand had detached from my body.

"I look like a motherfucker you can play with, Monroe? You know what happens to disloyal bitches?"

I didn't respond. My only concern was stopping the stabbing pain that was coming from my hand. I slid my hand under my body, hoping the pressure would ease the pain. It was no use because Kashus grabbed me by my hair and drug me to a pole in the corner of the room. He took my right hand and handcuffed me to the pole. Confusion plagued my mind. I didn"t know why he was keeping me here. I thought we would be on our way back to Bristol City by now.

"What are we doing?" I slurred. My words were muffled due to the swelling that was coming on my face.

"Waiting on yo' lil square ass boyfriend." He sat down next to me in a chair. "He's going to come for you, and when he does, I'll put a fucking bullet in his head for touching what was mine."

My eyes watered at the mention of London. My worst fear was coming true. When London got here, he was going to be killed. I hung my head in defeat.

"Don't worry, though, because once we're married, your father's business is turned over to me. I'll put one in your head, too, so you can join him."

Defeat swept over me, and I lowered my head, allowing the tears to flow. Kashus returned to the other side of the room and took a seat on the bed. I didn't know how I was getting out of this. At least I knew he didn't plan to kill me until after we were married. I tried my hardest to keep my eyes on him, but the pain that was echoing through my body took over my concentration. I was fading in and out of consciousness. Each time my eyes opened and closed, I had no clue how much time had passed. I attributed the passing out to the amount of blood that was leaking from my face. I needed to tell him I was losing too much blood. My eyes found Kashus again. He was pushing a white substance up his nose. I couldn't believe what I was watching. I never pegged him for a drug user.

"You know why I fuck with other bitches, Monroe, because they know how to have fun. You so fucking boring!" He stood and began walking toward me again. I was trembling at the thought of what he was going to do. He bent over to me. I noticed the crazed look in his eyes as he pulled out the same white substance he'd stuffed in his nose.

"No!" I shook my head franticly, shielding my face as best I could. He was going to try to force me to inhale it.

"Stop fucking moving, Monroe." He grabbed my hair.

"Please no, Kashus, stop!" I sobbed hysterically.

"Shut the fuck up!" Kashus came close to my face, taking my swollen jaw into his hands. "Bitch, were you crying when you let that nigga fuck, huh?"

"Nah, nigga, I ain't never seen a tear fall from her pretty ass face." London's voice echoed from the doorway as a bullet went through Kashus's head. His lifeless body fell on top of me.

"Ah!" My scream filled the room.

"I got you, Chocolate. I got you." London rushed toward me. He kicked Kashus's dead body off me and fished his pockets, coming up with the key. The moment he uncuffed me, he scooped me up in his arms bridal style. He paid extra attention to my face.

"That bitch nigga hit you?" he questioned. I nodded. My face hurt too bad to form words.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here." He kissed my wounded face. "I'm so sorry, baby."

"She aight?" Meechie burst through the other door of the bunker. He kicked Kashus as he stepped over his lifeless body. "I'll call the cleaners to come handle that. Don't worry," he said as he neared me. I could tell he was examining my face.

"She bleeding real bad. She may need stitches. I can clean her up, but I need to get her to the hospital, so I can operate." London was now holding a towel or something to my face.

"Let's go. I'll drive," Meechie replied. That was the last thing I heard as everything around me faded to black.

"Areyou going to tell her as soon as she wakes up?" I could hear voices speaking around me. I listened in, trying to make out who was talking. I had been going in and out of consciousness for a while, but I didn't know what was happening. Everything felt like a dream.

"I don't know. That's a lot on her." That was London. He sounded far away but still close enough for me to hear him.

"Regardless of how he raised her, she is gonna want to know. The longer you keep it from her, the harder it'll be." That was Aunt Vanessa. What were they talking about? I tried to open my eyes but quickly shut them as pain shot through my head.

"How am I supposed to tell her this shit, Aunt V. A baby? And then her pops." London's voice cracked. My eyes fluttered open and then closed again. Had something happened to Tessa and the baby? I tried again to open my eyes. This time, London and Aunt Vanessa came into view. We were in a hospital room. They were standing at the other end of the room, whispering about telling me something.

"Tell me what?" I spoke. My slurred voice and aching face shocked me. That was not how I was expecting to sound. London and Aunt Vanessa rushed from where they stood in the room. Their faces lit up like they hadn't seen me in a while.

"Why y'all looking at me like that?" I questioned.

"Do you remember anything that happened, Chocolate?" London touched my arm, causing me to look down at the cast on my left hand. Images of Kashus ripping my engagement ring from my finger flooded my memory and everything came rushing back to me all at once. Kashus had repeatedly struck me in the face with his gun. He was attempting to force crack down my nose when London killed him. His lifeless body invaded my memory.

"Kashus… h-he… y-you," I stuttered, trying to find the words. London gently touched his hand to my face.

"Relax, Chocolate. You have a few stitches in your face. Don't overdo it."

I thought about the amount of blood that had leaked from my face. I knew the blows I'd taken had done some significant damage.

"Can I see it?" I whispered. Aunt Vanessa reached into her purse and held up a mirror. My face was severely swollen on one side and a large stitched up wound ran down the right side of my face. I cringed at the sight of myself. I didn't know if I would ever look the same again. Tears rimmed my eyes. I was happy that London had killed the bastard, but the damage was already done.

"I stitched you up myself." London touched along the side of the wound. I could tell it pained him to see me like this. "It's going to heal perfectly. You'll only have a tiny little scar." He held up his fingers putting a one-inch space between his thumb and pointer fingers. I nodded. Knowing that London had operated on me himself sent a warm tingly feeling through my body, and it caused me to stare at him.

"I'm going to go let the doctors know the anesthesia wore off," Aunt Vanessa said as she exited the room, leaving London and me alone. He gazed at me for a second, and I could tell something was bothering him.

"What is it you need to tell me?" I asked again.

London climbed into the bed with me with a somber expression on his face as he cuddled close to me. This was new but I welcomed his body blanketing mine. It was exactly what I needed right now.

"I really don't know how to say this shit… but an early pregnancy was detected when they took your blood."

My jaw dropped as far as it could. A pregnancy? Was that possible? I was on birth control.

"I can't be pregnant, I'm on birth control." I was in shock.

"Was pregnant. The stress of the incident is the likely cause."

I didn't know what to say. I had been pregnant, and I'd lost the baby.

"It was yours," a faint whisper escaped my mouth.

"I know." He kissed my forehead and held me closer.

"I'm sorry." I felt bad for losing the baby. I didn't even know I was pregnant. There were no symptoms or signs.

"Don't worry, Chocolate. When the time is right, I'll fill you with a ton of my seeds." He kissed me and I kissed him back, envisioning a handful of little ones running around.

"The timing wasn't right when we crossed that threshold. You'll be mine officially, not just on paper. You'll have a career and that list of things you've never done before will all be checked off." He kissed me again. "Then you will bear my seeds."

If I could smile, I would have been cheesing hard as fuck. This man always knew the right things to say and when to say them.

"I have something for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. I glared at him confused.

"These are the keys to your apartments. I didn't know where you wanted to live, so I got you a few places."

"What?" I must not have heard him correctly. Did he say he'd brought me an apartment?

"This goes to the apartment in Jersey." He held up one of the keys. "This one is the one in California, Miami, and Bristol City of course." He opened my right hand and placed the keys in them. I stared at him, processing what he'd done.

"You bought me four apartments?"

"Yeah." He shrugged as if it was nothing.

"I can't afford four apartments. I don't have a real job. Just because Kashus is dead doesn't mean my father won't keep coming for me."

"Chocolate, I need to tell you something else." His demeanor changed, and I immediately knew something was wrong.

"What is it?" Concern filled my body.

"There are a lot of things about your father you don't know."

I didn't respond. I just sat there listening,

"Your father has been battling cancer. He has a rare form of skin cancer. That is why he insisted on you marrying Kashus. He needed an heir."

All the air drained from body.

"Is he dying? Wait… how do you know this?" I was speaking fast.

"I meet with your father yesterday. He lured us to Bristol City so he could send Kashus here to retrieve you."

"There's more." He paused taking a deep breath. "Tessa called late last night, Roe. The doctors said there's no more they can do. He's at the end of life."

I could hear London talking, but everything seemed to stand still. My father was a lot of things, but he was all I had in this world. He was all I knew. I attempted to sit up.

"With your father unconscious and Kashus gone, you can finally be free. You don't have to worry about them anymore," London said.

I turned my teary eyes toward him. London had done what he said and got me out of my arranged marriage, but it was bittersweet. My father was dying.

"Tell me where you want to go, Chocolate. Your new life starts today. You don't have to worry about rent. The properties are yours. You own them. Any other expenses I'll take care of them. We can go tomorrow and open you up at bank account. I'll deposit a hundred thousand in there, but you're going to be a lot richer when your inheritance comes."

I should have been happy, but I couldn't stop thinking about my dad. My whole world seemed to spin out of control.

"Take me to him." I gasped. "I want to go home. I need to be with my father." I burst into tears. London squeezed me close. He probably thought I was stupid. My father was the reason I was laying up in the hospital. He knew what Kashus would do to me if he found me and he still sent him… still that was my father. He stared at me for a moment before bringing me into his chest.

"Okay. We can leave tonight."