Chapter 16
Noah
A greedy man wrote his will.
For the heir,
he named himself.
–Philogelos (The Laughter Lover)
I should’ve had Mary Jane stay outside. There’s no way I’m going to be me and keep her safe.
I sighed. “Let’s get to why we’re here, before I fucking start opening veins.”
Crusher gestured for the other men in the room to come over to the table. Like the punks they were, they stood behind Butterfly. It was a smart move. If anything, they could blame her and get less of a punishment. She and Mary Jane were the only people I probably wouldn’t touch. I’d never been a fan of killing women. In all sixty-five kills, I’d murdered one woman. She’d stabbed my side as I took off her panties. It had been some revenge plot for killing her brother.
The men stayed by Butterfly, treating her as if she was the boss. She had their loyalty. From that moment on, there was no reason to keep them alive. Why spend time earning a soldier’s loyalty, when you need only kill him and get another?
Butterfly pointed to Mary Jane with her knife. “Are we going to discuss everything in front of her?”
“I’m hungry.” I placed my hands on the table. “And don’t refer to my lady again.”
Butterfly swallowed and said through clenched teeth, “Your lady?”
“Why did you call the business meeting?” I asked.
“Domingo and Rasheed are gone.” Butterfly’s hand shook as she turned to me. “The North and South have no one running them.”
I cocked my head to the side. “I’m not running the city?”
“Yes, but you need more eyes.”
“Do I, Butterfly?”
She sneered. “Yes.”
“And why is this important to you? Our business doesn’t run together.”
“They do in some ways. Your men are my customers. The regular guys in the city are my customers. All of those politicians and judges who you have in your pocket, come over to my brothels first and get their rocks off.”
There were clear messages between every sentence. Politicians and judges. All my guys getting their rocks off at her spots. She wanted me to know that she’d been working on all of them? You’ve got people, too, Butterfly? The brothels weren’t enough? You want to run the whole city?
Too cocky, she continued, “We need someone in the North and South. I’ve been nice enough to pick two people for you.”
“Did you now?”
“Yes. Choppa for the South. Hugo for the North.” She gestured for the men to come closer.
“And which one is your little bitch?” I didn’t have to look their way to know that they seethed.
She didn’t defend or respond.
“So instead of calling me, you show up here?” I asked. “How did you know I would be here?”
She winked at me. “I have my ways.”
Earlier today flashed in my head.
“The girl from the shop. The one that was taking pictures. You had her do it?”
Butterfly didn’t respond.
“Of course, you did. Who else would want to know about the woman who I’m with.” I raked my hair. “One of the store girls called you?”
Again, she said nothing.
“What I’m wondering is if you’d decided to call the meeting before you realized I took someone to the store, or if you decided to declare war afterwards. No, you’re smarter than that. How long have you been planning this?”
Finally, she spoke, “I’ve been planning nothing. I decided to help you out for the betterment of all of us. I would like us all to get back to making money. All of the guys are scared to walk out on the streets, and when everyone is afraid, no one pays for pussy. They would rather jack off in the safety of their rooms.”
“How long have you been planning this, Butterfly?”
“You’re being paranoid.”
Domingo’s barely been dead for a full day and she already has a replacement. Sure many people would’ve guessed that I would kill him, but it wasn’t certain.
I leaned back and checked her foot under the table. She tapped it more than usual.
You’re not scared. You’re nervous. What are you nervous about?
Bluffing, I decided to see how deep the rabbit hole went. “I’d planned on coming to you.”
That got her attention. She widened her eyes. “Why?”
Time to go fishing in Butterfly’s head.
“Due to Rasheed and Domingo,” I said.
Her voice grew shaky. “I didn’t start their war.”
“But you had a hand in it.”
“I never—”
“You did.”
“I said the things that needed to be said,” she mumbled.
And there we go. I bet you did. Everyone knew Domingo was always insecure about me having power. All someone had to do was get him close enough and whisper in his ear. I bet Butterfly did a lot of whispering as well as sucking. Domingo could never get out of the poisonous clutch of pussy.
“So you told Domingo that he should be me.” I smiled. “The first deaths were in brothels. Rasheed’s men. Knowing you, your chicks did the crime and blamed Domingo’s people.”
That got Choppa’s attention. He cracked his neck and he reached inside his army jacket. Crusher held his hand up, and Choppa let his hand fall to the side.
So Butterfly had started the war between Domingo and Rasheed, for what? With them gone, that didn’t mean it would be hers. Only taking me out would have worked.
I thought about what she’d said. How she’d been here tonight to help me pick someone for the North and South. She’d said that I needed more eyes out there. Had she figured that with Domingo and Rasheed gone, we’d be partners? Who else would I feel loyalty to now that my brothers were gone? Besides Domingo and Rasheed, she was the only other person I’d known for that long. I had another close friend, Aristotle, but he lived far out in the city. I only sought his help, in emergency situations.
Did she think that these two men were my foundation, the thing that kept me going? That without them, I would be weak and alone?
I laughed. The sound disturbed everyone. Even Mary Jane tilted a little away from me.
“Wow.” I stood and leaned over the table, hovering forward. “Life is a dice game, Butterfly. Tell me. How many kisses have you blown on those dice, today?”
“Well, you know how I blow?” She formed her lips and blew me a kiss. “I’ve always been lucky.”
“No. I don’t remember your luck. You’ve always been good at building treasures over dead bodies.”
“I’m not the only one with bones for walls and closets full of skulls.”
“No.” I shook my head. “You’re not.”
Still leaning over the table, I turned to the men behind her, searching for the one that was the most agitated with me being so near to Butterfly. It was always easy to figure out who was the most pussy whipped by her. Part of my death total dealt with men who’d gotten a sniff of her sex and decided to try me. All of her men tried me. It was an odd thing. I don’t know what she told them, but they became jealous when they should’ve been scared.
Which one has been playing in Butterfly’s panties? Ahhh, Choppa, there you go, looking mad and ready to fight.
“Come here, Choppa,” I said.
This would be tricky. There were things that I needed to teach. Lessons all of them had to learn, but Mary Jane sat at the table. I couldn’t let her see me this way.
If I told her to close her eyes, would she still keep them closed at I strangled Choppa to the ground? If I told her to go in the kitchen for a few minutes, would she understand why I’d changed clothes by the time she came back? Would she smell the blood in this room and be okay with it? Could she hear them scream and still want to lay next to me?
Butterfly stood up too. The flowers fluttering with her movement. “You wouldn’t.”
Choppa didn’t move. Not smart.
I didn’t glare, instead I smiled. “Make sure you thank God for every second that you get to inhale and exhale tonight, Choppa. Because tomorrow will be another day and your mother will be planning to bury you next to your brother.”
Choppa fisted his hands, but kept his attention fixed behind me. The poor Bordello brothers appeared confused and gave him a little room. Maybe they didn’t have any idea what was going on.
“Here’s the memo to everyone who hasn’t caught up,” I said. “The war hasn’t ended, and it didn’t start with Domingo and Rasheed. That was only the beginning.”
“And who’s at war?” Butterfly placed her hand on her hip.
“You and I.”
“Never. I’m the only woman you’ve ever loved.”
“Stop it.”
“And this bitch is nothing!” Before I could stop her, Butterfly charged over the table at Mary Jane, sticking the knife directly into her shoulder. The table fell over, knocking me back. Dishes splattered to the floor. Men ran, but I couldn’t see who.
“No!” I roared.
“You crazy, bitch!” Mary Jane shrieked and batted at Butterfly’s hair as the madam stabbed her again. My baby’s blood sprayed out and I fucking screamed bloody murder. Quick, Crusher went to grab Butterfly and probably take her away, but it shouldn’t have been his focus.
Butterfly’s guard yanked his gun out, targeted Crusher, and pulled the trigger.
No!
A bullet ripped through the air. The bang came next. Crusher caught it in his arm. Blood spilled out of the hole and poured down to his hands. Thank, God Crusher was a mountain. One bullet couldn’t take him down. It was the same as a mosquito bite.
He dove for Butterfly’s man, clasped those huge hands on the side of his face, and did what he’d been named for. Second by second, he crushed the man’s skull with his bare hands. Cracking ensued. Blood sprayed. The poor guy screamed as he died.
I had no time to process it.
Mary Jane?
Someone shut off the lights. Darkness engulfed the restaurant. Light only streamed in from the glass walls and the glow of the ocean waving around the building. It could’ve been one of the twins who turned off lights, but I’d bet it was Hugo ready to take his revenge for his brother. I had no time for that bullshit either. Mary Jane had been stabbed and they were still fighting, I could hear slapping and cursing, shrieking and banging.
“Mary Jane!” I yanked my gun out of the holster in my jacket and rushed over to where the ladies shrieked and struggled. The scent of blood filled the air. Subtle, but easy to detect since I’d been around it so often.
Bone cracking continued to fill the air. Once Crusher started, no one could stop him. He’d be focused on that skull until bits of bone fell around his fingers.
Movement came to my right. Without thinking, I shot.
“Fuck!” Hugo screamed. A boom came next followed by feet scuffling.
That’s right. Get the fuck out of here.
I’d hit Hugo somewhere, but doubted the bullet hit his leg as the elevator binged open. Light spilled in from the opened metal doors. It gave me a few quick seconds to spot Hugo and the twins racing onto the elevator. I checked my right. Both Butterfly and Mary Jane tumbled on the floor.
“Bitch!”
“You’ll never have him!”
“Get off me!”
“He’s fucking mine! I’ve put in the time!”
Blood painted Mary Jane’s arms and shoulders, but still she fought for her life. There was no time to think about safety when Mary Jane had been harmed. Everybody would die. Anyone I could get to. Not thinking of the glass walls or that we were under the sea and the pressure in the space could be too much with gunshots, I aimed for Butterfly’s head and pulled the trigger.
The bullet hit skimmed Butterfly’s shoulder. Screaming, she jumped off of Mary Jane and dove under a table.
I should’ve killed you long ago.
The elevator doors slid closed taking the men to safety. I hoped to God Fuji was ready up above us. If he saw the way they were exiting, he’d know something was wrong and they’d be dead.
Crusher began humming some stupid song. Maybe from Mulan. I didn’t know. It told me he was lost. Someone shot at him. The bullet must have hit his leg, because he fell down, but continued to break the guy’s skull apart.
Fuck.
Darkness returned. The staff probably shook in the kitchen. Only Butterfly, Mary Jane, and me moved within the room.
Get Mary Jane the fuck out of here. Now!
Crouching on the ground, I got to her small frame. I could barely see. There were more shadows than light. And the whole time the fish swam around the restaurant’s tunnel shaped glass, taking in the stupid humans.
“Mary Jane?” I whispered.
Frantic, she got into my arms. Her whole body shook and in that moment, I decided that she would never feel this way again. If I had to bomb a whole city, her heart would never beat this hard against my chest. Her breath would never shift to panting. Tears wouldn’t fill her eyes. Blood wouldn’t spill down another beautiful dress.
In that moment, I’d realized what all of Crusher’s stupid ass Disney songs were about. In that moment, I’d almost lost her to a knife. In that moment, I’d discovered love and I wouldn’t let it or her go or be so close to danger again.
Shivering, she held me close. “I’m okay.”
“No, you’re not. You’re bleeding.”
“She’s bleeding, too. I beat that bitch.”
“That’s not the point.” I let her go and put her behind me, readying my gun for Butterfly.
“She got me in my shoulder a-and. . .”
The gun rattled in my hand. If I was being truthful with myself, I might’ve said that my hands were shaking as I waited for her to tell me the damage. “Where else did she get you?”
“I-I got her too.” Her body spasmed behind me.
Fuck! Focus. I get it. You’re a bad bitch.
“I-I’m fine,” she whispered. “I got her, too.”
“No one’s taking score, baby. I only want to know how you are.” Movement occurred on my left and then my right. Butterfly could always move fast. A chair crashed to my right immediately followed by some plates on my left. I kept us defended behind the lifted table, using it to block her attacks.
The elevator pinged. Either she’d pressed the button or someone was coming down.
I whispered, “Stay here, baby.”
Mary Jane said nothing else and I hoped to God that she was just being careful and hadn’t passed out, or even worst.
Don’t think about it. She’s fine. We’ll get out of here.
Never before had I held so much horror in my chest. It had been years since my heart even pumped that fast. But I was shaking. It couldn’t be denied. For once in all of these years, Noah the beast of Din City was scared to death.
The metal doors slid open. Silence ensued. Light spilled into the room. No one moved for several seconds, and still, I kept my gun pointed toward the emptiness inside the elevator.
Go ahead, Butterfly. Get on. You’re so close to safety. Just run on in there.
She did. She sped for the door as if she’d heard me. No shoes on. The dress torn at the legs and shoulders. She raced forward and I fucking shot over and over. Bullets carved the air between me and the elevator. I got her in the right leg, but it wasn’t good enough. Other bullets hit the glass walls. Fuck. The foundation shook, or it could’ve been my imagination.
The doors began to slide close, right as she flew in, leaping into the metal box like an Olympic high jumper soaring over the bar. Rose petals falling everywhere and blood splattering around in the chaos.
The elevator pinged close, and Butterfly rose to either Fuji’s gun or safety.
I won’t rest until you’re dead. You better pick out a pretty little dress for your funeral.
I checked the walls again. A few appeared cracked, but not completely. As expected, the glass was thick, but not bullet proof. I was sure they’d prepared for everything when building the restaurant undersea, but had not readied themselves against gangsters.
“Mary Jane.” I rushed back to where I’d left her. “Mary Jane?”
But my baby wouldn’t answer, she lay lifeless on the ground with blood spilling from her chest, and all I could do was scream for help.
“Somebody help!”
For the first time in my adult life, tears actually left my eyes. Never had I cried at a funeral—all of those many black clothing gatherings where some mourned and others plotted. I never cried when I killed people—even the ones who meant a lot to me, like Domingo. I never cried when I’d been shot or stabbed.
I never cried, until that moment when Mary Jane lay in my arms, still warm, but struggling to stay alive.