The cost of vengeance - [33]

Shay closed her eyes and I just hoped that it would be over for her soon; and I wished that I had never gotten us into this. Teena was dead and Shay was being raped because I wanted to kill Bryce so badly. I should have shot him right there on the street, and now I wished I had.

When suddenly Bryce began hitting Shay in the head with the gun. I rolled over quickly and went for the gun. I picked up the gun and held it to his head. “Hit her again and I’ll blow your head off.”

Bryce stopped punching and dropped the gun. Shay snatched the gun from my hand. “Mutha fucka!” she screamed and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit him in the chest and Bryce went down. Shay stood over him and I watched as Shay fired three more shots in him.

“You okay?” I asked.

Shay nodded her head and we walked over to Teena’s body. “We can’t leave her here,” Shay said, and our tears began to flow. We picked up her body and carried it to the car. As we drove away, I couldn’t stop thinking that sometimes, the cost of vengeance is too high.

Chapter Sixteen

Mike Black

“It’s Victor,” Bobby said and handed me the phone.

“What’s up?”

“Sorry to bother you, but I just got a call from Jada West,” Victor said and I sat up a little straighter.

“What did Ms. West say?” I asked and Bobby cut his eyes at me.

“She wants you to call her whenever you have time. She said to assure you that it’s nothing important,” Victor said.

“Thanks,” I said and ended the call. I handed Bobby back his phone.

“So what’s up with you and the happy hooker?”

“Nothing. She just wants to talk to me.”

Bobby didn’t say anything; he just kept looking in my direction as he drove.

“What?”

“If you say it’s nothing, then it’s nothing.”

“Then why are you staring at me?”

“I’m just waitin’ to see if you’re gonna tell me the truth,” Bobby said and finally looked where he was driving.

“What truth?”

“Nothing, Mike. So when do I get to meet Ms. West? Or are you keeping her away from me for a reason?”

“I tried to get you to ride with me last time I went over there. You told me to take Victor.” I looked at Bobby. “Okay, I am interested in her. But what I’m more interested in, is her recruitin’ a better class of women to work for Jamaica in Nassau.”

“I knew it was something,” Bobby said and his phone rang. He looked at the display and smiled. “Hey, baby. I was just. .” he began, and then his expression changed. “What? Slow down, baby.”

Whatever was being said wasn’t good.

“Okay, okay, don’t cry, Barbara. Just put your mother on the phone,” Bobby said and made a U-turn that almost caused an accident. Barbara was his oldest daughter. She was eleven years old and very much daddies little girl. “No, no, don’t hang up. Give your mother the phone!” he practically shouted, and then threw the phone down and stepped on the gas.

“What’s wrong, Bobby?”

“Pam is leaving and she’s taking my kids.”

I believed, and at the same time couldn’t believe, what I was hearing. Pam was leaving. I know the last time I talked to her she didn’t sound good. “I’m just sick and tired of his bitches callin’ the house. I can’t go through this again, Mike,” Pam said to me the last time we talked.

“I understand, Pam. And you shouldn’t have to. But Bobby told me it was just a misunderstanding. He didn’t even know that woman like that.”

“That’s the same bullshit he told me,” Pam said calmly; in a voice that I hadn’t heard since the night she killed Cat and Melinda. “And if that’s the case, why does this bitch keep calling here? I can’t go through this again, Mike.”

“I know, Pam,” I said, and I knew she was gonna do something, but I didn’t think she would leave him and take the kids.

“What did Barbara say?” I asked as Bobby weaved through traffic.

“She said that Pam came in her room and just started packing her clothes, and said they were goin’ on a little trip. When she asked her where they were goin’, Pam told her that she was leavin’ me,” Bobby said, almost causing another accident getting on the New England Thruway.

When the speedometer hit ninety, I thought about telling Bobby to slow down, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. I thought that I should say something to him, but all I could think of was that he should have seen this coming. They both should. Bobby’s involvement with other women and Pam’s refusal to have sex with him was the only place this was going. Since that wouldn’t be a very comforting thing to say, I kept quiet and hoped that he wouldn’t kill us trying to make it out there before they left.

Bobby turned on his street and sped toward the house. He pushed the button to open the garage door and Pam’s car was gone. Bobby brought the car to a screeching stop, jumped out, and ran inside. I followed him in and went straight down to the basement. I got a big glass and filled it with Remy for Bobby, then poured myself a drink and went and sat down. I knew when he hung up the phone that she wouldn’t be here when we got here.

Once Bobby searched the house, he came downstairs. “Thanks,” he said and turned up the glass.

“Thought you’d need it.”

“Right,” Bobby said and poured another one. Then he walked over and filled mine. He sat down.