Page 34 of 4 Corinthians

“Angel’s fuckin’ parents,” Logan answered, shaking his head. “They came into the house in Turner Row. The one the boys were locked in.”

“How do you know?” Robert asked. He looked in my direction and lifted his brow. “Uri, did you see someone when you were there?”

“No.”

“He’s lying,” Logan accused me. I stared at him, daring him to prove something he had no witnesses to. “The local D-boy told me, the one that’s trying to up Emoro’s bitch ass.”

“Never take a lead from a weak nigga,” Robert chuckled. “If he ain’t taken over the direction of TR, then he ain’t running shit.”

“I don’t know, it’s something about this shit that feels right.”

“Call Angel and Ruben,” Robert said, then turned to look at me. “If you’re lying to me, Uri, I’m going to cut off two of my pet’s fingers and feed them to you.”

“They are already here,” Logan told him. He went to the door, said something to whoever was out there, and then came back to where he had originally been standing. A few minutes later, a nervous-looking Angel and Ruben came into the room.

“I can explain…” Ruben started to say, but Robert held up his hand. Ruben stopped talking and waited.

“Your parents were at the house in TR?” Robert asked Angel. She shook her head and Robert tsked. “Use your words, Angel. Were your parents at the house in Turner Row?”

“No!” she said. “If my parents had been there, they would’ve said something.”

“Are you sure?” Robert asked her. I could tell from the blank expression on his face that he was mad. Why he wasn’t showing it confused me. Robert never had a problem before showing his anger.

“Yes, neither of my parents has said anything about it, and they’ve been calling daily to check on the girls. If they were there, trust me, they would’ve said something.”

“When’s the next time you plan to see them?” Robert asked.

“This weekend, they will have the kids while we are at your party,” Ruben answered.

Robert stood there, quiet, then nodded. “Right, my party this weekend. We are celebrating the contracts on the other kids.” He clapped and laughed. “That will be the last time they see them. When exactly are they getting them?”

“After Mercy’s game,” Ruben answered. “We are going to the game as a family, and they will take the kids with them, and we will come to the party.”

“Okay,” Robert nodded. “I will see you then.” He gave them a pointed look, dismissing them by saying nothing. Ruben and Angel quickly left, leaving Logan standing near the ring.

“You believe them?” Logan asked.

“No, I think their parents are up to something,” Robert answered. “They’ve wanted too much time with my pet as of late.” He turned around, went to Corinthians, and flipped her over. There was a bottle of water in the corner of the ring. Robert went to get it and brought it back to where Corinthians was. He poured it on her, making her jump up. “What do your grandparents know?” Instead of answering him, she rolled over to her side and tried to get up. Robert grabbed her hair and pulled her from the ground. Making her feet dangle in the air. “Answer my question, Pet! What did you tell your grandparents?”

“Everything,” she answered.

“You’re lying!” He yelled and then threw her to the ground. “I told you what would happen if you talked, right?” he got down to her eye level. “Enjoy this weekend with your grandparents because it’ll be the last time you see them before they're in a casket.” Corinthian's eyes grew wide with surprise, then Robert stood. He, without warning, kicked her in the face so hard that she was knocked unconscious and fell back.

“You’re going to kill the grandparents?” Logan asked with a laugh.

“No,” Robert answered, shaking his head. “I’m going to get Ruben and Angel to sign over custody of my pet to me, then kill them.”

***

I needed to tell her about her parents and what Robert had planned. I heard him talking to Logan; he had a full plan on what he was going to do. He was going to kill her parents, take her, and lock her in the basement.

My bedroom door opened, and I slowly lowered my hand to watch as my mama walked into the room. She’d been locked in her room with Robert for the last three days. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she was walking with a limp.

“Uri, we are having company soon,” she said, watching me. I often wondered how she ended up with Robert. What bad luck did she have to be stuck with him, have his kids, and live in this house?

“Who?” No one ever came over. Robert said he didn’t like people in his space. I think it was really because he never knew the type of torture he was going to inflict on any of us, so it was easier never to have anyone come over.

“Your Uncle Bradon called and said he was on the way,” she answered. There was a small spark of happiness in her eyes when she mentioned Bradon that I’d never seen before. “He called about twenty minutes ago and told your father.”