Her Sweetest Revenge 3 Page 18

  I turned to look at Hood. He shrugged his shoulders. “Nigga wouldn’t shut his mouthpiece. He understands now.”

  I looked back at Kalil. His head was swaying from side to side and blood was dripping out of his mouth and onto his clothes and the floor. That was annoying. I shook my head in disgust because he was being dramatic.

  I could feel Quad’s eyes on me. She had something to say to me, I could feel it. When she got her chance she did not disappoint me. “I’m supposed to be scared of this bitch!” she yelled. She wanted my attention, so I gave it to her. Her outburst intrigued me. I said nothing so she continued, sucking her teeth before going on. “Weak bitches get served on my block, A one day one.”

  She was obviously angry with me. “Is that what you want to do? You want to fight me?” I was ready. This bitch had disrespected me one time too many. Plus, I hated it when bitches played tough. If she thought I was weak, then she could get it. “Okay, Hood, untie this hoe!” I barked at him.

  “Mya, that is not why we are here. Stick to the business at hand, fuck what she got to say.” He tried to change my mind.

  “Hood, untie her!” I looked at him and yelled. He was about to piss me off.

  Instead of arguing, he gestured for C-Lo, who was standing over by the tub, to untie Quad. Quad kept her eyes on me while C-Lo undid her ropes. I could see the steam coming out of her ears. She could not wait to get her hands on me.

  As soon as Quad was on her feet, she came for me. I ducked her punch, came back up, and punched her in the nose. Blood flew everywhere. Seeing the blood really made her angry; she yelled something that I could not make out and charged at me. I grabbed her entire face, pushed her back, and then kicked her between her legs. She fell to the floor.

  I yelled, “Get up, bitch!”

  “I’ma kill you, you stupid bitch!” she screamed.

  “Bitch, bring it,” I said calmly.

  Again, she jumped up and charged for me. This time, I took my nine-millimeter and busted her in the face so hard that she spun around full circle then fell in the tub face forward.

  “Is that what you want, bitch? I’m from the Brewster, now stop playing with me.”

  Quad slowly lifted her head out of the bloody water and swung it, causing the water to fly everywhere. She tried to speak but the only thing that came out was the gurgle of blood in her throat. C-Lo picked her up, dragged her back to the tires, and tied her back up.

  I turned my attention to Rich. I hated the sight of him. “So I guess you forgot to tell Monica that Ms. Big Time Dope Pusher Quad here was your sister and that this weak nigga”—I pointed at Kalil—“was your cousin.”

  “Man, fuck that. I don’t owe her shit. My business is my business. You motherfuckers are through, anyway.” I could not believe his punk ass was trying to beef up at me. This was the wrong approach.

  “No, from the looks of it, partner, you through.” Hood pulled out his gun and shot Rich in his right knee. He screamed out like a girl and I almost laughed. “Respect my wife, nigga,” Hood ordered.

  Hood looked at me and said the words I wanted to know but didn’t want to hear. “Babe, they did it. All of them. They killed your parents.”

  For a minute my heart stopped. I could not breathe and the room started to close in. I wanted to run outside for fresh air. This house was too small and evil was in it. The tears started. They ran all over me and there was nothing I could do to stop them. Memories of the past with my parents started crossing my mind. I wanted to shake them off so that the air would come back into my lungs. The thought of Quad made my blood boil. She had no idea who she had fucked with.

  Hood came up behind me and started to rub my back. He gave me the strength that I needed to come back to life. Whispering softly in my ear, he reassured me that everything was going to be all right. Slowly, my heartbeat became level again and air filled my lungs.

  I looked at Quad. She wanted my attention; now she had it for sure. I needed to understand why. “You did that? You laid a hand on my mom and dad? Was it you who decided to take them from me? You do know that my sister and I are alone now?” I spoke from my soul, which at this moment was a river of memories of my beloved family.

  “So what? Your dad got what he deserved!”

  I could not believe that she said that. The bitch had balls. Lucky for her they were not physically there. Because I would have cut them off and made her eat them. But I wanted to hear what she had to say. “Why? Why did he deserve it?” I yelled at her. She was babbling but not saying anything. I needed real answers.

  “Who do you think you are, demanding answers from me? I don’t have to tell you shit. Just deal with it.” Her eyes tried to burn a hole through me; unfortunately for her, I was metal at this point.

  I lost control. I ran over to her and started beating her with my gun. I heard a bone crack but that didn’t stop me. I hit her so many more times and with so much force that I could feel her blood wetting my hand. Hood pulled me off.

  “Just tell her,” Rich screamed at Quad. He couldn’t take me beating his sister.

  But Quad was a G, or least she played the role well. “Shut up, Rich!” she yelled back at him with her head bobbling. She refused to give in to me.

  “Say it or I will,” Rich threatened.

  “Why you always got to be so weak?” she spat at him. “Fuck it.” Quad looked at me as best she could out of her swollen eyes. “He deserved it for what he did to my”—she swallowed. “Our father, Harold Montgomery”—she choked up. I knew she loved her dad just as much as I loved mine. She continued, “They were friends and your dad turned on him over money. He shot him and now my dad is a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair forever. I have watched him suffer since I was a child because of it. But I knew that one day I would get revenge on your father. And that day finally came.

  “But in the meantime, I thought I would have some fun and hurt others connected to him. So I brought lover boy Rich and my cousin Kalil along. I knew they would be able to stir up all of your lives for a bit. And I have to admit, it was fun to watch, just as I had imagined.” She tried to laugh, but it was difficult. This bitch was psycho and she had planned this all out.

  “So Monica and Rochelle were a part of your sick plan? That’s what these two losers were for.” I pointed in the direction of Rich and Kalil.

  “Of course, I knew that their troubles with your loved ones would keep you busy. All the while, I was slowly getting even. Ain’t I brilliant? See, I heard about you, Mrs. Cautious. But now you will suffer just as my brother and I have.”

  “I guess you are brilliant, Quad. And you are right, I will suffer, but I will also thrive, bitch. Because I got the sweetest revenge a girl can get, and that is her prey.”

  “No, your parents were the prey. And Big Nick’s clueless ass was a special bonus for sticking his nose in other people’s business.”

  “Is that what you think?” Hood walked over and started dousing all three with gasoline.

  Hood reached in his pocket and handed me a box of matches. Rich started yelling. “No, no, please, I’m sorry!” He begged like a bitch for his life.

  I looked at Quad. “You see your brother begging, bitch?” Looking back at Rich, I struck a match and, without one thought, I threw it on him. Rich screamed as he flamed and burned.

  “That’s sweet revenge,” I said to Quad as I struck another match and threw it on Kalil. Hood had beaten him so badly that his body was numb but he still screamed and moaned.

  Quad watched Rich and Kalil burn and for the first time, I saw fear in her eyes. She started to squirm as if she could release herself. I just looked at her. “I’m King Kong, bitch!” I lit two matches and threw them at her. Her eyes grew larger than watermelons as she looked at the fire starting to burn her body. “Tell Lucifer about me.”

  She started screaming along with Rich and Kalil, whose cries were now weak as they lost consciousness. Hood handed me a mask to keep the smoke from my lungs. I watched them all until they
succumbed to their burns. When they were merely ashes, Hood, C-Lo, and I exited. C-Lo set the entire house on fire.

  Chapter 42

  “ Mmmm, I have been wanting this cup of coffee all day,” Monica said as she sipped her latte. We met up at Starbucks on her lunch break.

  “Girl, please, we could have been at Red Lobster but you got me up in here,” I complained.

  “Stop complaining, you always trying to feed your fat face.” Monica smiled.

  “Whatever. You know it’s too hot to be drinking this mess anyway. This is not Detroit. Ain’t no real winters or snow coming here. This is Florida,” I reminded her.

  We had been living here for seven months. Detroit was a wrap, we could no longer live there. We all agreed that Florida was a place that we could possibly call home. Things had been going good thus far. Monica graduated from school in Detroit and was now working as a paralegal at a big law firm. She wanted to become a lawyer, so she was in law school and her grades were great. I opened up a hair salon here while still owning the one in Detroit. My plan was to start a chain of salons. Rochelle was managing the one in Detroit and she loved it. They had brought in another stylist and business was booming. Rochelle was also doing real estate now. She had come into her own. The salon that I opened in Miami was booming as well. I only did a few heads, mostly athlete’s wives and girlfriends. I wanted to keep that at a minimum; my focus was running the business. But doing hair was my passion, so I had to do it sometimes.

  And my darling Hood was doing his thing. Finally, he was out of the dope game, completely out. I was so proud of him because he was now a real businessman. He had bought some houses and fixed them up and was a landlord. He also had two car lots, a Laundromat, and a clothing store. I knew he could do it.

  “So what are you about to do?” Monica continued to sip her latte while I dreamed about food.

  “Well, Hood is picking Imani up from school, then we are all going to meet at the park. Matter of fact, I better get going. I don’t want to be late meeting them.”

  “All right. I guess I’ll get a refill to go, then get on back to the office.”

  I was so proud of Monica. She was a respectable young woman with goals. We had come a long away from the Brewster. I wished my entire family could be here to see it, but that was not the case.

  After leaving Starbucks, I swung by a local burger joint, grabbed a burger, and ate it on the way to the park where I was meeting Hood and Imani.

  “Hey, babe.” Hood met me at my car. I could see Imani already playing. She loved this park.

  “Sorry it took so long. I was having coffee with Monica.”

  Imani looked up and waved at me. I waved back. She was getting so big. She had just started preschool.

  “I knew you would be late anyway.” Hood grinned.

  “Shut up, boy,” I said playfully as I sat down on a bench where I could watch Imani play.

  “Come push me,” Imani called out, looking in our direction.

  I slowly rose back up to do it. “No, babe, sit down. I got it.” Hood rose up.

  “It’s okay, I can do it,” I protested. I enjoyed pushing Imani on the swing. Her giggle always made me laugh.

  “No, babe, I want you to relax. You have to take it easy.” He reached over and rubbed my protruding belly. I still could not believe that I was about to be a mom. Hood was so happy, he barely allowed me to do anything.

  I knew there was no use in protesting, so I gave in. “All right, I will sit, but this bench is uncomfortable.” I playfully pouted as Hood walked away. He looked back at me and smiled.

  I watched Hood as he started to push Imani. She went slowly at first then fast, high in the air. Imani laughed and giggled so hard. I smiled as I watched her. I loved to see her happy. I hoped and wished it would always be this way for her and for my baby, too.

  Imani giggled again, getting my attention. “Look, Auntie!” she screamed. In that moment I thought about Monica, Li’l Bo, and me as children. When we were little, Dad would take us to the park and push us high on the swings. I used to jump out when it got really high. Just thinking about it warmed my heart and I knew things would be okay for my baby and Imani. Hood looked at me and smiled.

  It became clear. I had an answer to the question I had been asking myself for a long time now. Sometimes at the end of revenge’s tunnel there was a light.

  “My—aaaaaah!!”

  A READING GROUP GUIDE

  HER SWEETEST

  REVENGE 3

  Saundra

  ABOUT THIS GUIDE

  The questions that follow are included to enhance your group’s reading of this book.

  Discussion Questions

  1. Hood brought Walt in to take over his Height Squad, but Walt was suddenly murdered. Hood immediately picked the responsibility back up. Do you think he used this as an excuse to get back in the game? Or was it true that no one else was ready to take over?

  2. After Todd’s death Rochelle took time off from the salon to grieve. When she returned to work she appeared to be better. Then she suddenly walked off the job and refused to talk to Mya. Is it possible being back at work and around Mya triggered her anger?

  3. When Mya’s father came home from prison everyone was beyond excited. Do you think that although Marissa was happy for his return, she considered not continuing their relationship?

  4. Leslie seemed to share all her personal relationship business with Mya. Should Mya have been a little suspicious when Leslie wouldn’t introduce her to the new mystery guy, who she all but claimed to love?

  5. Lester had known nothing but the streets before going to prison. Was Mya being naïve to believe he would not go back to it in some way?

  6. Rich was much older than Monica. Is it natural for an older man to want to have control over a younger woman?

  7. Mya was constantly worried about Rochelle and her condition. Did this impact her judgment when it came to Leslie?

  8. Mya blamed herself for Rochelle’s pain and suffering after Todd’s murder. Was it Mya’s fault? Had Rochelle known more about the murders of Silk, Luscious, and Monty, could this possibly have prevented Todd’s murder?

  9. Mya was normally the strong one in the family, yet she had to be hospitalized after her parents were murdered. Was this a defining moment of her just being a girl?

  10. Leslie set up Mya and Hood because she blamed them for Rob’s death. Should Mya and Hood have understood her grief? Did Leslie deserve their understanding? Should they have allowed her to live?

  11. What was your favorite scene in the story? And why?

  A master manipulator is no match for a killer in national

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  Matt

  A huge boulder was barreling toward me when a sound like thunder caused me to stumble and fall. But the boulder didn’t catch up to crush me. Instead, I jerked out of my sleep and heard the thunderous sound again.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! That’s when I realized I was no longer dreaming.

  My heart was racing while my brain struggled to connect the sound with its source. Scared as hell, I forced my eyes open to the loud noise coming from somewhere in the condo. I tried to lift my head, but could barely move. The pain that shot through my skull from just opening my eyes was unbearable. It felt like somebody was standing over me, hitting me on the top of my head with the pointy part of a hammer. The noise came again. After being fully awake for a few minutes, I realized it was coming from the front door. I reached into my nightstand drawer for my gun.

  “Oh shit,” I croaked, barely able to move my dry, cracked lips. My mouth was so parched it felt like I had swished a cupful of sand around and tried to swallow it. I was experiencing a cross between a bad hangover, the day after effects of an ass whooping, and a bad case of the flu.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  Damn. Whoever it was, they weren’t going away or giving up. I cocked my gun. Then
I heard the familiar high pitch of Yancy’s voice. My shoulders slumped and I put the gun down on the nightstand.

  “Matt! Lauren! I know y’all fucking in there!” If Yancy’s screaming sounded that loud to me and I was in the back of my condo, I could only imagine how it sounded to our neighbors. This bitch was really wearing out the little bit of patience I had for her. This side-chick was horrible at playing her position.

  I tried to gather up enough strength to stand up from the side of the bed, but it wasn’t easy. “Awww, fuck,” I groaned. Not only was my head throbbing with pain, but I felt completely off. The room was on tilt. This was crazy because I hadn’t had a hangover in years. And from Ciroc? Nah, I wouldn’t feel this fucked up from that mild-ass drink.

  “Lauren?” I mumbled. “You here?” I struggled to move my pounding head so that I could look around the room. “Bae?” I called out to her. No answer.

  “Maybe she ran out for a minute,” I said under my breath. But why wouldn’t she have woken me up? It suddenly dawned on me that we had business to take care of, hence the reason Yancy was pounding on the door like a madwoman. Speaking of which . . .

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  “Matt! Lauren! I’m not fucking playing! Open up this door!” Yancy. Again.

  “Fuck!” I huffed.

  I squinted at the cable box and it read 4:55 p.m. I swiped my hand over my face and shook my head. I couldn’t have possibly slept all fucking day.

  “This bitch,” I rasped. I gripped the side of the bed for support and slowly got to my feet. I almost fell backward. That is how bad my equilibrium was off. I felt like somebody slipped me a fucking roofie. I ain’t never felt like this from no damn Ciroc.