Chapter 38

38

E lias

A Few Days Later

Amanda tried to make it seem like she was okay, but I knew what happened that night affected her more than she wanted to admit. More than anything, it had to be the violation and lack of control. For as long as I’d known her, Amanda thrived most when she was in control. Those few seconds of not having it probably felt like eternities. Throughout the day, she busied herself enough to not think about it. At night, it was a different story.

She and EJ had been staying with me. She would toss and turn, unable to sleep unless I prayed for her, ate her pussy until she passed out, or she smoked. I was cool with either one, but I was also concerned about her mental health. When I suggested she speak to a professional, she said she’d be okay and that it wasn’t that serious. All I could do was pray the nightmares stopped soon. It probably would help to know he’d been taken care of as well. To our surprise, he didn’t go to the hospital that night.

Thanks to the security footage and my connections through Neko and Aspen, Merc and Bully had been able to track the nigga down. His name was Scotty, and he was a thirty-eight-year-old felon who lived in his mama’s basement. That was where he’d been hiding since everything went down. With his record, it didn’t surprise me that he didn’t go to the hospital.

He’d been shot and stabbed and been in and out of prison for various crimes from shoplifting and grand larceny to sexual misconduct and assault and battery. Regardless, there was no fear in my heart as I drove to his mama’s address. The only thing having that record proved to me was that he was dumb enough to repeatedly get caught.

Though I said I could handle it myself, Asylum and Merc insisted on coming along. When we pulled up to the one level home, I wasn’t worried about anyone recognizing us or the car. It was a blacked-out car Merc used to do hits in that we took the tags off a mile back. After pulling our masks down and making sure none of our tattoos were visible, we headed to the front door. I tightened the bulletproof vest that was around my chest, then kicked the door in.

While Merc and I headed down to the basement, Asylum led his mother out of the house. I kicked that door in, too, but we didn’t go down immediately. Once we were sure he didn’t have a gun, we went down. As hard as he slept, he had to have taken something. I considered putting a bullet between his eyes while he was asleep, but he didn’t deserve that kind of grace.

A swift hit to his temple with the butt of my Glock woke him up.

“Argh!” he yelled, jumping up on the couch.

“You put yo’ hands on my baby mama and thought you would really get away with that shit, huh?” I taunted, putting the barrel of my gun in the center of his forehead.

His eyes widened and hands lifted, but he grimaced in pain. That was when I remembered Amanda had shot him in the back and shoulder. I rammed my gun down where the thick patch protruded under his shirt, causing him to roll off the couch in pain.

“I’m sorry!”

I chuckled before kicking him in his head. “It ain’t shit you can say to save yo’ life. I just wanted you awake before I put you to sleep permanently.”

“Pl—”

Three bullets in his skull silenced him. I didn’t realize I was standing there watching as blood leaked until Merc told me we had to go. We jogged upstairs, and the cleanup crew had already arrived. Once they wiped everything down, they were going to set the house on fire, starting with the basement. The only thing that made me feel a little guilt was the sight of his mama crying as Asylum put her in the car, but I didn’t give a fuck about that really.

As far as I was concerned, it was her fault the nigga was breathing and being a menace to begin with. That was over now, and I hoped she found peace in the fact that I allowed her to keep her life so she could bury her no good ass son.

We didn’t wait around to see the house go up in flames. After we dropped his mama off a few blocks down so she could walk back without trying to put out the fire, we went back to Asylum’s safehouse, where I thanked them and paid them, even though they assured me it wasn’t necessary. Then we went our separate ways.

By the time I made it back home, Amanda had finally gotten up and dressed. With her sleep being off, she was sleeping later, which was understandable.

“Hey, baby.” She greeted me as I kicked my shoes off in the closet.

“If you were worried about that nigga coming after you, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“What?”

I waited until I walked out of the closet to say, “You heard what I said.”

“The police found him?”

“Nah.” My head shook, and I smiled as I pulled my shirt over my head. I wanted to burn these clothes in the fireplace. Even though we were careful, and the cleanup crew was going to cover our tracks, I wanted no reminders of this day if I could help it. “I did.”

“What did you do?” she asked quietly.

“That doesn’t matter. Just know he’s never going to bother you or anyone else again.”

As realization settled, her body grew weak. She plopped down on the couch in front of my bed and watched me take off the rest of my clothes. When I was done, Amanda made her way over to me with tears in her eyes.

“Thank you,” she muttered. I didn’t see her tears, but I felt her body shudder as she cried.

“You know I will do anything for you, bae.”

Sniffling, she held me tighter. “Yeah…I know that now.”