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I hung up and took a deep breath, praying for just a little more strength to power through the rest of the day. I just needed to get through this, and then I could go home and meet with my man.
But by the time I got to Baker’s street, I knew something was wrong. I had a bad feeling in my gut, especially when I didn’t immediately see Brenda there.
“Bren?” I called out when I got out of my vehicle. The street was pretty much abandoned after a road project didn’t get completed. There were sometimes robberies and stuff that would happen here, and it was a little close to the edge of town. I didn’t like being here.
I whipped out my phone to call Brenda.
And that was when I felt the cool metal against my head.
A hand slapped over my mouth, muffling my instinctive scream. Then, the hand pressed my head against a shoulder. My bag dropped to the floor as I fought hard. I pushed and shoved and kicked, but the man wasn’t budging.
“Relax, babe,” Brick’s vicious voice whispered in my ear. “Or you’re going to regret it.”
Panic fluttered in my chest as my whole body went still.
“That’s it. Wouldn’t want a bullet in that pretty little head, would we?”
“Brick,” Brenda announced, and I saw her walk into view, cool as a cucumber. “You said you weren’t going to hurt her.”
“That’s right,” he agreed. “I’m just here to take what’s mine, aren’t I?”
Shock reverberated through my system so much that it struck me into silence. Everything inside me went cold as confusion and fear poured through me. I didn’t speak for seconds, even when Brick’s hand left my mouth and wrapped around my shoulders instead.
When I finally spoke, the first words out of my mouth were a whispered, “Wait, you’re working with him?”
Not a trace of remorse was in my best friend’s eyes. Instead, there was a vindictive, sadistic gleam in them. “Why not? You think because you found your new rich boyfriend, you’re better than the rest of us? You messed with Mateo and me.”
“This is about Mateo?” I was screaming now, unable to believe what was happening. “I DON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT HIM.”
“Don’t lie,” she spat, then turned to Brick. “Make it quick, okay?”
“Brenda, don’t do this to me.” I wasn’t above pleading, panic rioting through me. My heart was shattering at the betrayal. Even though I didn’t know what Brick planned, I knew it couldn’t be good. “Please. You’ll go to jail.”
Brenda raised an eyebrow. “And who would believe you? Mateo already agreed to be my alibi, and I left my car at his house just in case.”
“Mateo is in on this too?” Oh God, what did I do to deserve this?
Brenda smiled. “No. That idiot is still trying to get back in my good graces. I just told him to tell everyone that I’m at his place, and he agreed, no questions asked.”
“It’s all planned out, baby,” Brick whispered, his lips skimming my neck.
I reacted by shoving my elbow into his abdomen as hard as possible. He hissed out a breath. And then he laughed manically.
“Oh, you’re going to pay for that one,” he sneered. “And to think I was going to take it easy on you at first. But since you want to play rough….”
He whistled, and from around the corner of the building, four large men emerged, all with cruel smiles on their faces.
“Then let’s play rough,” Brick finished, grinning crazily.
THIRTY
EZRA
She wasn’t here.
I checked the time again like it wasn’t going to read exactly what I thought it was. One hour. It had been one hour since she’d texted me. Stray anxiety bounced around inside me. Logically, I knew it was too early to worry. She might have gotten caught up doing something or gone grocery shopping, even though I told her that I would take care of dinner. There were a million rational reasons why she was delayed.
But I knew something wasn’t right.
