A King is Born

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Authors: Treasure Hernandez

BOOK: A King is Born
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Flint 6:
A KING IS BORN
TREASURE HERNANDEZ
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
Prologue
“
I
want a half-million in seventy-two hours,” Mitch said, thinking about all the dough that Malek had exited the drug game with. “If that money isn't in my hands by Friday, you can start picking out Halleigh's casket.”
Rare tears filled Malek's eyes. He wasn't sure if they were tears of anger or just feeling so helpless and not in control. How could he have allowed himself to be put into a position where Mitch had the upper hand and was calling the shots?
Malek stood there fighting the emotions of just breaking down in front of his former comrade turned archenemy. But he couldn't do it. He refused to show complete weakness in front of Mitch. It was now obvious that he'd shown his weak side when it came to Halleigh one time too many, which explains why Mitch knew he could get to Malek by kidnapping Halleigh. Not just get to Malek, but get to his money. There was nothing in the world Malek wouldn't do for that girl, and Mitch knew that better than anybody.
Just the thoughts about not being there for his woman when she needed him most cut through Malek's heart like a knife. He was her protector, but he'd gotten so caught up in the paper chase, he had managed to put her in harm's way. Finally, no matter how hard he tried to fight it, Malek's emotions got the best of him as a tear slid down his cheek. He had no idea how he was going to come up with the money Mitch was demanding. He knew that Mitch thought he had money put away; after all, he was the one who had helped put the two million in his retirement fund. But little did Mitch know, Malek was dead broke, since Gary, that con artist, had scammed him out of the entire two million, leaving Malek vowing to get back at him.
Mitch pushed Malek forcefully and smiled. “You better go get my money, bitch,” he said as if he were a pimp talking to one of his hoes on a Saturday night. Mitch then motioned his head toward the door, non-verbally dismissing Malek from his sight
Taking his cue, Malek made his exit, with Scratch, his newfound sidekick, following him out of the door. Scratch cared for Halleigh a great deal, so it was unspoken that he'd ride or die with Malek and do whatever to ensure Halleigh's safety. They had three days to get a half-million dollars, which felt next to impossible. But Malek knew that he had to do something to get his love back, and Scratch was going to do all he could to help. Malek and Scratch exited the house with no plan and little hope.
Halleigh cried her eyes out in the corner of the basement as blood trickled down her leg and her wound ached from being raped by Bugz. The shirt she had on had been ripped, and her eye was beginning to swell because of the blow he delivered to her when she'd tried to resist his advances.
She watched as Bugz exited the room, breathing heavily, a devilish smirk on his face as he finally got a piece of the devil's pie. Once he was no longer in view, Halleigh broke down in a shivering and heaving wail. She grabbed her stomach and cradled it as she worried about her unborn baby that was hopefully still living and growing inside her. She wanted to think positive, but Bugz had done a number on her.
During the sexual assault, she had told Bugz that she was pregnant, but he continued to degrade her without batting an eye. He didn't seem to care at all. In fact, it seemed to excite him and only made him go harder.
Halleigh cried out to Malek as she relived the incident that had just taken place over again in her mind. “Help me, Malek,” she whimpered. “Help us.” She looked down at her stomach. She then looked around the abandoned room wondering how. Why?
Just when Halleigh had thought her life was changing for the better, the streets of Flint had once again snatched her out of her fairytale. Now she was knee-deep in the game once again. “Help me, God. Help me and my baby,” Halleigh cried out, almost in anger after realizing that her pleas for Malek to come rescue her would go unanswered. Now she felt like nobody but God could help her.
Halleigh could feel herself becoming lightheaded and nauseated because of the smell of the semen and blood mixture. She looked down between her legs, and the next thing she knew, a horrendous shriek was bouncing off the cement walls. A shrill resulting from the shock of seeing the blood oozing from between her legs. She could feel herself becoming unconscious and tried her best to stay focused, but that was to no avail. Halleigh began to moan, groan, and grumble some words. The last thing that rolled off her tongue before she blacked out was Malek's name. He had just broken his promise to never let anything else happen to her.
Chapter One
H
alleigh's body was racked with violent shivers as she hugged her knees close to her chest and tried to hide herself in the shadows of the dreary basement. She had just come to, having no idea exactly how long she'd been unconscious. For a second there she'd forgotten about what had taken place just moments before she blacked out, but when she looked down at her body, she was quickly reminded.
She looked around the room, her eyes darting from one corner to the next, almost as if she was on drugs, but drugs were a thing of the past. She had been drug-free for a long time. Although no one appeared to be in the room with her, she could feel eyes burning through her.
After a few more moments of scanning the basement, she finally spotted what she could sense was there—the eye of a camera. She could see the tiny red blink of a camcorder in the upper corner of the room. Once again, she felt violated.
She reached out in an attempt to grab something to cover herself, but nothing was there. She had no choice but to resume her earlier position, knees to her chest and her arms curled around her legs as she rocked slowly. A sharp pain forced her to let out a gasp. That's when she recalled that she'd been bleeding ever since Bugz had violated her, and now she feared for her baby's life.
She buried her face between her knees as tears fell from her eyes. She didn't want whoever was watching her to be empowered by her tears, so she felt the need to hide them. She couldn't help but wonder if anybody had been watching her while she was being raped. Who had sat in front of the monitor and witnessed the horrible act without intervening? What type of person could do something like that? Whoever it was, she hated them. Their voyeuristic sin was cruel, and she was desperate for an escape.
Suddenly, Halleigh got a flashback and lifted her head. In the split second between her being snatched from the shower and a cloth being put over her nose and mouth, she'd looked into the bathroom mirror and saw something. Someone. Someone familiar.
“Mitch?” The word fell off her tongue as she realized that all of this was possibly his doing. “I need to see Mitch,” she whispered to herself.
If Mitch was behind this entire thing, she knew she had a chance to survive after all. As far as Halleigh knew, she'd never done anything to Mitch to prompt him to do something like this to her, so she could only assume that this had nothing to do with her at all, but everything to do with him and Malek. She didn't know what had sparked a beef between them, but she did know that Mitch had been sweet on her at one point. She was hoping he still was. If so, perhaps she could use it to her advantage. She knew that his attraction toward her was probably the only way she could ever get out of the situation alive, and she was willing to do whatever she had to in order to ensure her baby's safety.
Where are you, Malek ?
Trembling with fear, her eyes darted frantically around the room. She didn't know what to expect next. It had been a full twenty-four hours since she had been given any food, and she hadn't seen another face besides Bugz's. The thought crossed her mind that, now that Bugz had gotten what he wanted from her and she could identify him, she would be left for dead.
She shook her head in an attempt to erase those dreadful thoughts. She hoped and prayed that Bugz was gone for good, but that someone else would come see about her. Bugz wasn't in this alone; she knew that much. There had to be someone else assigned to keep guard over her, but who? Maybe her eyes had deceived her. Maybe it wasn't Mitch she'd seen before blacking out.
She closed her eyes and ran the scene through her mind. The scene had happened so quickly. She visualized the shadowy figure that stood off to the side, and unless her mind was deceiving her, it was indeed Mitch.
Opening her eyes, Halleigh wished to God this had all been just a bad dream, but the fact remained, she was still being held hostage. The torment of being locked in the basement reminded Halleigh of when Manolo had imprisoned her in his basement for weeks. It had been sheer torture, and she truly believed that a part of her had been forever locked in that basement. When she was finally released, she was a partial image of the person she used to be. She could only wonder what kind of emotions this time would bring upon her. How much of her soul would she leave behind this time, if she made it out at all?
Everything in Halleigh just wanted to get up, go beat on that door, and cry out for help, but she was all out of screams. There was no fight left in her. All she really wanted to do was just go home. She would do anything to be back home, safe and sound in her bed, next to her man.
She closed her eyes once again, and instantly, Malek's face appeared behind her lids. Her heartbeat began to speed up as she thought about the possibility of never seeing him again. She couldn't understand, for the life of her, why it seemed as though the two of them were always teetering on the edge. Why was their love so hard to keep? Just when it appeared as though they'd picked themselves up and dusted themselves off again, they were being kicked back down. Something always seemed to be in their way, keeping them apart.
Halleigh thought,
Perhaps, we're not supposed to be together
.
True love couldn't possibly be this hard to maintain, could it?
Tears ran down her face as she kept her eyes squeezed shut. She could see him smiling at her. He was holding her baby—their baby—in his arms. A sob escaped from her lips as she imagined Malek staring lovingly at her, rocking a baby boy back and forth in his arms. Halleigh had never seen that much joy in Malek's face, and she was mesmerized by the child he was holding. He was the most beautiful baby boy she had ever seen. His smooth chocolate skin was flawless, and his big buck eyes were innocent and sweet. She fell in love at first sight, even though it was just a dream.
As quickly as she fell in love, grief took over. She saw Malek fall to his knees with the baby in his hands. His face donned a look of pain, as the front of his white T-shirt filled with crimson blood. Halleigh reached out for him, but she couldn't get to him. She heard her baby crying, but she couldn't move. The only thing she could do was cry.
Halleigh's eyes shot open at the sight of her love dying, and she stared into space. “God, please help us,” she pleaded.
She couldn't help but think that her vision was some type of premonition.
That's why he hasn't come for me yet,
she thought.
Please, God, let Malek be okay.
Her love for him was just that deep. Even while she was in distress, she prayed for his well-being. Even if a part of her was angry that he wasn't there for her, she still couldn't help but love him. They were soul mates, and her love for him was unselfish and unyielding. It was evident that, no matter what, she couldn't force herself to not love that man. Only death itself could keep her from loving him. She hoped, though, that wouldn't be the case.
Mitch entered the trap house, his authority causing his henchmen to straighten up and pretend as if they hadn't just been distracted from the game of NBA Live they'd been playing for some hours. Mitch stood in the living room in his Pelle jacket, black hoodie, and Sean John jeans, a Styrofoam food box in his hand. “Turn that bullshit off,” Mitch stated in his low, serious tone. He walked over to the TV monitors and looked at Halleigh on the screen. “She ate?”
Bugz continued to play the game. “Nah.”
“Since when?” Mitch pulled his baggy pants up on his waistline.
“Shit, I don't know, man. Yesterday, I think,” Bugz replied, refusing to turn his attention away from the game.
“Why not?” Mitch asked calmly as he went over to where Bugz and two other corner boys were sitting.
“The bitch ain't got no act-right in her.” Bugz hit the blunt that was being passed around. He chuckled as he thought about his sexual tryst with the captive.
Mitch walked over to the game and snatched the cords out of the wall, interrupting their tournament. “Fuck am I paying you niggas for? Huh? Didn't I give y'all strict orders ? Why didn't y'all feed her? She's pregnant!”
Bugz frowned and shot back, “Damn, fam! I didn't know we was running a luxury hotel out this bitch. We kidnapped that broad. So I forgot to feed her. I don't see why we hanging onto this bitch anyway. I say we pop her ass and pop that bitch-ass nigga Malek.”
Mitch shook his head in disdain and then lunged at Bugz, hemming him up by his collar, and pointing a threatening finger in his face. “You feed her because I say feed her, nigga. I'm boss. You don't need to know why we hanging onto her. I'm not paying you to be sitting around with these mu'fuckas glued to an Xbox. Understand?”
Bugz, embarrassed that he had been degraded in front of his peers, snatched away from Mitch. He humbled himself and replied, “Yeah, I got you, fam.” He brushed his shoulders off as if Mitch had gotten dirt on him by touching him. “Damn! My fault, my nigga.” Bugz headed toward the kitchen. “I'll go feed her now.”
“I got it.” Mitch started down the stairs with the food he had for himself, to give it to Halleigh. He mumbled to himself about how incompetent Bugz was as he made his way to the bottom of the steps.
The loud noise his Timberland boots made as he descended the steps sounded identical to Bugz's footsteps, and Halleigh cowered in fear, huddling farther into the corner of the basement.
As Mitch reached the bottom of the steps, he could see her through the darkness. He looked up and fumbled around before he pulled the string hanging from the ceiling to illuminate the room. A yellow glow shone throughout the basement, and a funky smell, like fresh blood, filled the air. Mitch immediately frowned up and walked toward Halleigh. “Halleigh, come and grab some of this food.”
Mitch's voice caused her to turn around. “Mitch?” she called out weakly.
He didn't respond.
Halleigh blinked a couple of times, adjusting her eyes to the light. Once she could see clearly, she was able to confirm that she had been right all along. Mitch was the person in the basement with her. He was the second figure she'd seen after being snatched out of the shower.
“Mitch, please let me go. Why are you doing this to me?” she asked from the floor. She wanted to stand, but her body was in too much pain.
Mitch swallowed hard, coaching himself the entire time not to let Halleigh's sweet voice get to him. “Come eat.” He squatted down near her and put the food on the floor.
There was a look of terror in Halleigh's eyes, and as guilt bombarded his soul, Mitch tried his best to avoid eye contact with her. It definitely wasn't the same look he'd seen her give Malek, the one he'd secretly longed for. The last thing he ever wanted was for her to look at him as a monster, the way she was now.
As Mitch looked downward, dodging Halleigh's eyes, he noticed dried blood between her thighs. He could smell sex and sweat in the air. He frowned as he lifted her chin and rubbed her hair gently, as if she was his woman.
Halleigh closed her eyes. She couldn't stand to look into his eyes like that. She could still feel him staring at her, though. She began to shake, thinking that he, too, would force himself on her.
Mitch observed the torn shirt as well. Between that, the blood, and the smell, he put two and two together in his mind. Mitch's hands began to shake. His eyes scanned Halleigh once more. Her once confident swagger was replaced with fear and an insecurity he hadn't seen in her since her days as a Manolo Mami.
Mitch thought about his hardheaded worker.
No wonder Bugz hadn't fed her. He was too busy trying to fuck her. Son of a bitch!
“Mitch, please, “ Halleigh whispered, interrupting his thoughts, “I need to see a doctor. He raped me, Mitch. He hurt me real bad. I just need to make sure my baby is okay. That's all I want to do. Please, Mitch.”
Too pissed for Halleigh's soft words to even penetrate him at that moment, Mitch clenched his jaw and rose to his feet. He emerged from the basement and stood near the door as he motioned for Bugz to approach him.
“Yeah, uh, what's up, fam?” Bugz stammered. He could tell by the menacing look on Mitch's face that Mitch wasn't too pleased with him. He'd already gotten on him about starving the poor girl, so certainly he was over that and on to something else.
Mitch stared Bugz straight in the eyes, daring him to try to lie. “Why is she bleeding?”
Bugz attempted to laugh the tension away. “I told you the bitch ain't got no act-right, so a nigga had to put some up in her.” He snatched at his crotch and turned to walk away.
Mitch called out to one of the other henchmen sitting on the couch. “Yo, Jake.”
“What up?” Jake replied.
BOOM!
Out of nowhere, Mitch put a bullet through the back of Bugz's head. “Clean this mu'fucka up.” Mitch glared from one corner boy to the other. The room was quiet. “Any of you other niggas who can't follow orders gon' find yourself in the same predicament. I said watch her and feed her, nothing more, nothing less.”

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