The Conglomerate: A Luxorious Tale (35 page)

The daggers that Zay was shooting at Joey were pi
ercing every inch of her body. Cee noticed the anger that Zay was aiming at Joey and since Evan seemed to be choking on air, she spoke up.

              “Zay, you know I’ve never been down with that street shit, and would not have been there. We did go to that house that night, because Evan called us and said she was in trouble. When we got there she said it was a drug deal gone wrong and Gage was dead.”

             
“It was a robbery and cold blooded murder!” Isadora shouted.

             
“That is was,” Evan said coming out of her trance. “But, your facts are all wrong.”

             
“So you say bitch, I know you killed my brother.”

             
“I put your brother out of his misery, because the nigga that you’re so in love with put a few bullets in him first. He was dying anyway. I just made it come faster.”

             
Isadora sat stunned and it was written all over her face.

             
“Awww you look so shocked,” Evan smirked. “Gage didn’t keep it real with you?  Allow me to tell you the real. Gage was my man and we robbed drug dealers the same way we robbed your brother. I was tired of robbing, but as long as I was with Gage he wouldn’t let me stop. Therefore, when I saw the perfect opportunity to drop him, I took it.”

             
“So what he lied? Getting back at you is something we both have in common and that we live for.”

             
“You’re a fool.”

             
“I’m a fool that let you live. I’ve had so many chances to murder you. That morning in front of the building, I could’ve
murked
you instead of just making you pass out. I should’ve burned your precious L-Room down while you were still inside. If I wouldn’t have waited for you to come out, no one would have interrupted me. You and that building would be ashes right now.”

             
It only took a millisecond for what Isadora said to register with Cee. Cee went to the cabinet where Joey kept her gun and retrieved it. Everyone was so caught up in both Evan and Isadora’s audacious admissions, they didn’t notice what Cee was doing. Cee went over to Isadora and placed the muzzle of the gun against Isadora’s temple.

             
“Say it again.”

             
“Say what again?”

             
Trembling, Cee shrilled through gritted teeth. “The part about burning the L-Room down.”

             
“What about it?” Isadora asked annoyed.

             
“You said you tried to burn it down.”

             
“Yeah, I tried.”

             
“Then it was you that killed the security guard and my-my-my husband?”

    
              “Yeah, it wasn’t personal though. It was either me or them.”

             
“It wasn’t personal?” Cee hit her across the side of the head with the pistol.

             
“Well this is,” she put the gun back to Isadora’s head.

             
Joey wrapped her hands around Cee’s gun hand.

              “Don’t do it sis,” Joey begged. “I know you want to, but you can’t.  This isn’t for you. It won’t feel the way you think it will.”

             
“I think it will feel pretty damn good to put a bullet in the head of my husband’s killer.” Cee tightened her grip around the gun and as bad as she wanted to she couldn’t bring herself to mash the trigger.

Joey
eased Cee’s hand down until the gun was away from Isadora’s head. She gently took the gun from Cee. Upset that she was unable to carry out killing the person who’d taken the life of her husband, Cee ran out in tears and Jason chased after her.

             
Isadora laughed. “Y’all some ole pussy ass bitches. I just told the bitch I killed her husband and she couldn’t pull the trigger on me.”

             
Joey backhanded Isadora. “Shut your mouth, before I give her the damn gun back!”

             
Isadora’s phone rang out; Evan picked it up from the desk. It was a text from a person listed as G.  Assuming that is was Gage, Evan opened it and read it: 
Baby girl, you on the way home yet? I got some shit to show you!!! Bet these muhfuckas pay up now.

             
“I think Gage just sent her this,” Evan showed the text to Joey.

             
“Oh so he feeling himself now, let’s see how he feel about this.” Joey snapped a picture of Isadora in her horrid state and sent it back to Gage with the message: 
Hey Gage
is this your BITCH???

             
*  *  *             

             
Awe struck, John Doe— better known as Gage, stared at the phone in disbelief.

              “They got my baby,” he muttered and with the back of his hand wiped away the tears that were streaking down each side of his face. Not only was he hurt by seeing Isadora badly beaten, he was beyond blood boiling angry. It was sadistic and twisted that Gage was carrying out a relationship with the sister of the man that he too murdered just as much as Evan had. Though he’d come to know her under a well calculated lie, she was his everything and he loved her more than any other woman, including Evan. 

             
Gage was going to rescue her and he planned to kill anyone that got in his way.  He knew that there was a ninety-nine percent chance that Evan had told Isadora the truth about him. He didn’t care if Isadora no longer wanted to be with him or never spoke to him again in life, but he was going save her. Gage mapped out a plan in his mind as he veered his car down Interstate 485.
They wanna play this game,
he told himself.
I’m the master at this.
Being ever studious, Gage knew just where to go to grab one of their loved ones.

             
Pulling into the parking lot of the Piper Glen townhomes, he shut the car lights and parked in front of a three story end unit. Quietly he crept up to the door and
BAM
he kicked the door so hard it fell off the hinges. 

             
“What the hell!” A tall slender twenty-something guy yelled jumping up from the couch where he’d been sleeping with his girlfriend.

             
Gage struck the young man with the butt end of his shot gun knocking him out cold. The girlfriend screamed loudly.

             
“Shut up,” Gage put the barrel of the sawed off shot gun in her face. “Get up.”

             
She did as she was told.

             
“Let’s go,” using the gun, he pointed towards the door. Keeping the gun on the girl, he guided her to the trunk of the car. Gage popped the trunk, shoved her in, and closed it. There was no way that he could go to the apartment that he shared with Isadora. He was sure that someone was probably there waiting on him. Gage found a dope haven motel on the East Side.  A broken down cruddy place like this was perfect, somewhere he didn’t need identification to check-in, and all the guest were too locked into their own criminal behavior to notice him.

After securing the girl in the skin crawling, bed bugs
for sure motel room, Gage placed a Facetime call to Isadora’s phone.

***

              Zay, Joey, Evan, Reza, Cee, Tony, Rico, Mish, and Jason were huddled in the sitting area of Joey’s office plotting their next move when the Facetime alert chimed on Isadora’s phone. Seeing that it was G sending the alert, Evan picked up the cell and pressed answer. Collectively, everyone held their breath as they waited for the call to connect. 

             
Gage popped up on the screen. He smiled wide when he saw Evan.

             
“Hello beautiful. I’m guessing you never expected to see me again.”

             
“If I never did it wouldn’t be a day too soon.”

             
“Whoa shawty that’s no way to talk to the man you tried to kill. You should be a little humble.”

             
“Humility for bastards was never my strong suit.”

             
“Ha-ha-ha, you’re still the same sad ass sidity bitch.”

             
“Gage what do you want? It’s time for this dumb ass game to stop. Joey and Cee had nothing to with what went down. What is it going to take for you to go away? Money? What? Just name it.”

             
Gage was done playing too. It was time to get what he’d come for. “I want Isadora, the six million that you stole from up under me at that last lick, and I want you.”

             
Zay snatched the phone. “Look patna that money that’s between you two, but if you want your bitch come see me nigga. It’s a whole lotta shit you gotta answer for!”

             
“What up Zay? It’s been a long time my man.”

             
“Fuck you, ole fuck ass nigga.”

             
“Damn it’s like that? After all the bricks you bought off me back in the day. I actually felt bad about hitting ya spots and shooting up ya mom’s house. It wasn’t personal.  But,” shaking his head, Gage sighed. “I had a feeling that you were not going to agree to my terms. That’s why I took out a little insurance policy out.”  He turned the camera on Taleah, one third of Cee’s triplets.

             
“Uncle Zaaaay,” Taleah bound to a chair cried out. “Please help me.”

             
Hearing her child’s voice, Cee jumped up. “What the fuck? He has my baby,” she snatched the phone and peered at her helpless daughter. “Don’t be scared Taleah, we’re going to get you baby.” Cee said unsure of how they would even begin to go about saving her.

             
Gage popped back up on the screen.

             
“You dirty muhfucka let my baby go!” Cee demanded.

             
“I plan to do just that, once I get what I asked for. Now let me talk to Isadora.

Hastily, Cee handed Joey the phone, only obliging him in hop
es that he wouldn’t harm Taleah. “You take the phone to her, because if I do I’ma kill that grimy bitch while he watching.”

             
Joey held the phone up so that Isadora and Gage could see one another. 

             
“Damn Dory,” Gage winced upon seeing her face. Isadora’s eyes were two thin slits. She was lumped up like an amateur who’d went toe-to-toe with a heavy weight champion.

             
“Gage,” she mumbled through swollen lips. “They got me.”

             
“Shhh baby, it’s okay, I’m coming to get you. Hold tight.”

             
“Gage?”

             
“Yes?”

             
“They told me that you were not Marshawn’s friend, that you were at his house with Evan to rob him. Is that true?”

             
Shamefully, Gage dropped his head, “It is true, but-”

             
“No,” Isadora cut him off, “no buts. It doesn’t matter. I know that our love isn’t a lie.”

             
“I swear it’s not a lie.”

             
Joey turned the around. “Enough of that bullshit. What do we have to do to get Taleah back?”

             
“I told you what I want and you already got my banking information. Discuss it with your folks and when y’all ready to make it happen— hit me back.”

             
Joey turned to the group. “So, what do we do?”

             
“Pay the money,” Cee replied. “So I can get my daughter back.”

             
“Yeah, but he wants Evan too.”

             
“Give her to him,” Cee screamed pointing at Evan. “This is her infested horse shit and my family will not keep paying the cost!  I’ve lost my husband and I be damned if I lose one of my children.”

             
Joey glanced at Zay. By his expression she knew that he shared Cee’s feelings. 

             
“There has to be another option. Cee, I feel you. I love Taleah as if she is mine, but Evan is one of us. She has done some terrible things, but we can’t hand deliver her to her death.”

             
“Hey I am sitting right here,” Evan raised her hand and then she looked at Cee. “I can admit that I’m one selfish bitch, but I was there when you gave birth to that girl and her sisters.  And, I have loved all three since that day. So nobody has to make the decision for me to go. I’d already decided that I was going when we heard her voice.”                Standing, Evan paced the floor while talking. “I have four million in liquid cash that I can transfer to Gage’s account. The rest of my money is tied up in CD’s and bonds. If y’all could put the other two million up, I’ll go to him. I can handle Gage.”