Rose heard enough. He went around back of the house and paused. Without hesitation, he kicked in the back door, knocking it off the hinges. Screaming and cowering in a corner, Nadia squeezed her eyes shut, and Forrest immediately went into his waist for his gun. Before he could draw on Rose, a bullet went through his hand, and his gun thudded against the floor.
“Argh!” Face tight in a grimace, Forrest looked down at his bloody hand. “The fuck?—”
Rose stepped inside, weapon aimed at both of them, waving it back and forth so they didn’t get any ideas. Nadia nearly pissed herself.
“Rose, I—” Teeth chattering, shaking like a leaf in the wind, she pleaded with him.
“Shut the fuck up,” he growled.
“Rose, just let me explain…”
“Explain what? You lying about every fucking thing? You trying to take some shit from me that I helped build? Or laying up with this fuck ass nigga? What you wanna talk about first, Nadia?” Rose questioned, eyes never budging from Forrest.
“What brings you around these parts? You thought you was getting something else coming here?” Forrest taunted.
Rose fired another shot, this time to his leg, right in the thigh.
“Argh! Fuck!” Forrest hissed, throwing his head back before he slammed into the counter behind him.
Nadia’s high-pitched wails erupted within the room. In that moment, watching Forrest be broken down in front of her, she fell apart. She didn’t like him most days, but he’d been there for her recently. He was doing his best to prove to her that he cared about her. It was way more effort than Rose ever put in. She was tired of falling for his same game. Rose used her. He took advantage of how she felt and depended on her loyalty. Forrest didn’t treat her like an accessory that he could slide on his wrist or finger when he felt like it, depending on the outfit. He included her in it all. Rose kept her compact, in a fucking box, and she’d been suffocating for years.
“No!” Nadia ran up on Rose, and his instincts took over before he could process what was going down. Nadia reached for his gun, wrestling him. Of course he gained the upper hand, twisting her arm until they were pressed into one another. Looking into her eyes, his mouth tight with anger, Rose’s shadowy irises bounced around hers.
Pow!
When the gun went off, both Rose and Nadia’s faces shifted into shock and despair. Mouth slipping open in horror, face scrunching up in pain, she yanked way from him. Blood stained her shirt, and Rose remained on his feet, watching her stumble back and lose her balance. The bullet found a home, right in her belly. A sudden pang of guilt hit him in his chest when he saw her fall over.
“Baby! Shit! Nadia!” Forrest crawled toward her sprawled out on the kitchen floor.
Trembling, she gripped her enlarged belly, fingers dripping with her own blood. Spread out on the floor across from her, reached for her. He ran his fingers through her hair, and with tears in his eyes he kissed her forehead.
“F-Forrest,” Nadia stammered.
“I’m here… shhh… it’s okay,” he assured her. “I fucked up. I fucked up,” he repeated over and over.
Rose squeezed off on both one last time before backing toward the exit. There were certain moments in time when he had to turn off the humane side. It usually came in the midst of war. This was what they were dealing with. He didn’t have time to dwell on whether it was right or moral. What he was sure of in that moment was that Forrest was going to be a problem. Him and Nadia were going against him for a long time. Unfortunately the child became a casualty in some shit they set in motion. What kind of world would he or she be brought into with neither parent around? Rose didn’t give it much thought as he fled the scene. Finn rolled down the street the minute he spotted his boy and Rose slipped right into the passenger seat, not even giving him time to come to a full stop.
About an hour and a half later, Finn whipped into a reserved spot in front of the building that Luna and Minx ran their business out of. Rose was impressed when he saw the turn out as he and Finn scoped the scene. All eyes were on them when they pulled up. Finn took a few more tokes of his blunt and put it out in the ashtray.
“You ready for this shit?” Finn queried.
“About as ready as I can be.” Rose sighed.
Together, they climbed out of the car. The girls brought out the entire hood and then some. Adjusting his suit jacket with Finn at his side on the curb, he nodded. Their designer duds stood out as a few cameras flashed and caught snapshots of them moving toward the doors. The newspapers and a few TV outlets even showed up, so this was big.
Stepping inside was a different experience. Both gentlemen paused at the front door. A single photographer worked the room, snapping candids of everyone. As soon as he saw them, he knew they had all the juice.
“Good evening, fellas. Looking sharp. Let me get a shot.” He encouraged them.
Rose and Finn posed together, cool, and suave as fuck, with Rose holding up the peace sign.
“Nice.” The camera man nodded after a few shots and kept it moving.
He, much like everyone else in the room, knew who they were. Unlike most people, he wasn’t about to act like no groupie or no shit like that. Rose and Finn walked the room, speaking to a few familiar faces here and there. In the back, he spotted Minx. She and Luna whispered with their heads together, and laughed while pouring champagne behind the main counter.
For a minute, he stood and watched them together. A waiter passed with champagne, and Rose scooped a glass off. He took a slow sip while keeping his eye on Minx. She lit up the entire fucking room. Her hair swept past her shoulders, wavy and long, contrasting with her smooth, toasted skin. She threw her head back and giggled at something Luna said, and somehow, her eyes found his in the crowded room. The innocent grin she sported turned seductive when she noticed that he’d been watching her. Her bright eyes sparkled even more, like two shooting stars in the sky, and she gravitated toward him.
“Hey. You are late, but damn, you look good.” She leaned in to kiss his lips, and Rose cuffed the back of her neck, drawing her into him. She smelled good and looked even better in the flowing Dior mermaid dress. Her curves were on point, and Rose couldn’t help but bite hungrily into his bottom lip.
