The Syndicate (14 page)

I was in a blissful state. After Naveen and Uncle Snap made sure I was okay, Javon asked them to leave so he could be alone with me.

“Damn, baby, you really fucked yourself up,” he said after removing the bandages from my head and neck.

I had stitches in a few places and my head had been feeling like someone was trying to pry it open. I stood before him naked, body still aching. The water beating down on my body felt good as we stood in the shower.

“I had to,” I said.

“I know, but damn. You're crazy as fuck you know that?”

I'd told him everything from start to finish. I was a little annoyed that he hadn't told me what went down with the Irish. Maybe I would have taken care how I handled myself. I would have been more careful.

“So I've been told. Many times. You need to tell the rest of them to be careful, Von. And add more security detail. Put the Thieves on the family since you have Uncle Snap and Monty watching over you.”

I noticed he hadn't mentioned Cory as his right hand in a while. I wondered what was up with that. Javon nodded as he continued to look me over. His hands were tracing all over my body, massaging, touching, caressing. When he moved my hair to the side and kissed my neck, I moaned lightly. It felt good to be this way with him. The past few weeks had been crazy.

“I got it covered, baby,” was all he said as he laid a hand on my stomach. “So when are you going to let me plant my seed in here?”

“Javon, no,” I said.

I wasn't turning him down because I didn't want kids. I was turning him down out of fear. We had way too much going on and me being pregnant would add unneeded distraction. Not to mention, if I lost another child to violence or otherwise, it would send me to the madhouse. I never wanted to know what it was to feel your child move then know the exact moment it stopped. To have to push a dead baby out was the most cruel shit nature had thought to do to a woman. I couldn't bear going through that again.

“It'll be different this time,” he said wrapping his arms around me. “There are no other women and we don't have to worry about how we will take care of him or her now. We have money.”

“And we also have problems, people problems. Our siblings are fighting. Inez is getting beat on by some nigga she's dating.”

Javon pulled back then turned me around to face him. I didn't even have to look into his eyes to know Mr. Lover Man was gone and had been replaced by the protector. “Say what?” he asked.

“Inez, she and I got into a fight because I saw the bruise on the left side of her face.”

“So she's back with another motherfucker who can't keep his hands to himself?”

I nodded then sighed. “Looks like it.”

Javon didn't say anything. He was quiet for a long while as he picked up my sponge, added peppermint soap to it, and began to wash me.

“I'm clearing my schedule for a day or so. We need to have some family time. I've been focusing too much on other shit and not enough on my family.” He grunted then said, “Some shit is going on with Jojo and Cory, too. They've been acting real strange around one another.”

I told him what the detectives had said about keeping an eye on Jojo.

“What the fuck, baby? Why would they say some shit like that? They watching Jojo? He in some kind of shit?” Javon blurted out.

Although Cory was blood, Jojo had a special place in Javon's heart. He found Jojo hiding in some bushes when Jojo was seven. He was covered in bruises, blood, and his own feces. I'll never forget the day Javon came running in the house to get Mama. He told her he found a kid who was hurt.

Mama tore out of that house like her ass was on fire. For thirty days while Jojo was in the hospital, Mama was there for her him and so was Javon. Javon read to him. He fed him. Once Jojo was released and Mama was able to foster him, Javon kept the boy around him so much people who didn't know them always asked if it was his son or little brother.

They never told us why Jojo had to stay in the hospital so long, but Jojo had been a part of our hearts from the moment they brought him home. Was he spoiled? Yes. We'd all spoiled him. I knew Javon would lose his mind if anything happened to him.

“I don't know, Von, but we need to find out. I don't like the fact that the cops know something about Jojo we don't,” I said.

“I'm going to fuck him up. Swear to God, I'm breaking my foot off in his ass. I told him, Shanelle. I told him to keep his hands clean and focus on school,” Javon fussed. “Little sneaky motherfucker,” he mumbled.

When Javon was angry was when he was the sexiest. His eyes would darken, brows would furrow, and his face would set in stone it seemed. His chest would expand with each deep inhale and exhale. The muscles in his chest and arms became more defined. I missed this Javon. I missed the man who only had to worry about what time he had to be at work the next morning. I missed the man who worried about how much his next check would be and if he would have enough to take me out for the weekend after bills.

There was nothing wrong with the new Javon besides the fact that he was a changed man. I knew shit would never be the same and I was okay with that in a sense. But I also knew the old Javon was moving further and further to the back of the line. I could see it in his walk. Feel it when he talked. He was the king of streets and it was starting to show in ways we hadn't thought of before. With more of his time being dedicated to the Syndicate, the less time he had to be worried about what was going on at home.

I brought my hands up to caress both sides of his cheeks, stood on my toes then kissed him. The tension in his body slowly ebbed away. Jojo was put on the back burner as Von lifted me around his waist. The kissing had my nipples hard and my breasts swollen. My pussy was throbbing. It needed to be filled beyond capacity, which I knew Javon was more than capable of doing. His big hands gripped my ass cheeks and pulled them apart. That shit turned me on more. His kisses traveled from my lips to my neck. When he bit down then sucked on that place between my neck and shoulders.

I threw my head back and purred low. “Javon, baby, stop,” I pleaded. “My . . . my period's on.”

He lifted his head then looked at me. “Shit ain't ever stopped me before. Water stops it, right?”

“Something like that,” I said, but forgot about it when his lips found my left nipple. “Oh, my God.”

Gotdamn, Javon was a master with his mouth. He never denied my breasts the attention they deserved. He moved from one to other, aggressively suckling like a greedy infant. I hissed as my period always made my nipples sore, but that shit felt so good, I didn't even care. He adjusted the shower head so that it rained down between us. Water got in my eyes and mouth, but when his placed my back against the wall and his fingers found his way to my clit, I knew I was in trouble.

My clit was so hard and sensitive that as soon as he touched it, I damn near climaxed.

“Damn, baby. This pussy wet,” he said.

“All for you,” I replied.

He smirked. “Better be.”

He lifted me enough so he could rubbed the mushroom head of his dick up and down my slit.

“Ughhhh,” I growled low.

I hated when he did that shit. Every time he rubbed it up and down and his head got close to my opening, I caught my breath in anticipation of him breaking skin. He never did.

“Javon, please fuck me and stop playing,” I demanded.

He chuckled. “As you wish, but tell me something,” he said still rubbing his stick against my pussy.

“What?” I spat out. My eyes were closed, head thrown back about ready to explode.

“You plan on fucking Lucky?” he asked.

My head shot forward and my eyes flew open. My pussy damn near dried up, and I was about to curse him to hell. That was until Javon pushed inside of me so deep whatever I was about to say got caught in my throat. One of his hands was beside my head on the tiled wall while the other one palmed my ass while he moved deeper inside of me.

“Oh shit,” I whispered.

“Thought I didn't catch that, huh?” he taunted while fucking me slow.

All I could do was whimper and try to catch my breath. “I . . . I . . .” That was all I could get out.

Javon's dick was so hard it felt like I'd impaled myself with steel. Steel that had the power to touch every inch of my walls and make me come so hard I feared I was going blind.

“You what?” he growled low in my ear. “Huh? You what, Shanelle? I saw the hesitation to touch him and I know you,” he said, hips still pumping into me like he aimed to engrave his DNA with mine.

The more he talked, the harder and deeper he went. By now I was on the verge of going crazy. I yanked at my own hair with one hand while digging into his shoulder with the other. Javon grunted then groaned low. My pussy muscles were quaking. I knew he could feel it. I was doing it to make him come quicker. This nigga was trying to kill me with his dick. I had to make him come or he was going to fuck me senseless.

Then, on the other hand, I didn't want him to stop. The shit felt so good I wanted it to last forever. He was right. There was hesitation to take Lucky's hand, only because he reminded me of who I used to be. The old me would have fucked Lucky by now and Javon knew that. However, I had no intention.

“Oh gotdamn,” I cried as I felt Javon's dick grow harder.

He grabbed a handful of my hair and snatched my head back so I could look at him. The harder he pumped into me, the darker his eyes turned. I knew he was on the verge of coming, but he was trying to convey a message before he did.

“You fuck him and I'll kill him,” he warned. “And for you, you'll wish you were dead.”

As soon as the last words left his mouth, he fucked me harder and faster until he released all his pent-up aggression inside of me.

It didn't used to be like this. We used to be good to one another. There was a time when he didn't hit me, but then the drugs happened. I'd do anything for him, anything at all. I even stole drugs from the hospital for him. I lied for him. Covered up the truth for him. Took a fist to the face for him. And it still wasn't good enough for him.

So now as I lay in the middle of the floor with him standing over me, fist balled because I'd fucked around and said the wrong thing again, I wondered when we would get back to the way we used to be.

“I'm sorry,” I cried then cringed when he drew back again.

He wasn't himself. Both of us were high out of our minds. Mama wouldn't be so proud to see us now, I bet. The beatings were worse since she was gone. His drug use was getting worse. I was going to have to tell soon or we were going to kill one another.

“You gon' do what?” he barked down at me before backhanding me again. “You gon' tell who?”

I screamed out then tried to back away from him, but I couldn't. Normally I'd fight back, but the new drugs wouldn't allow it. Drug use made me weaker while giving him super human strength. We'd been fighting again. I found text messages in his phone from other bitches. I was never gon' be good enough for him. There would always be others. I hated him for that. It angered me. So I threatened to tell Javon that he had been hitting me.

“Nobody, baby. Nobody, I promise. I'm not . . . I won't say anything.
Por favor, lo siento. No voy a decir a nadie, nena. Es tú y yo contra el mundo.
” I spoke the last part in Spanish in hopes he would calm down.

I got no such luck. It seemed to enrage him more. His locs swung like wild worms as he grabbed me by my hair and dragged me across the floor. The carpet burned my thighs as I tried futilely to get away. I knew if he got to the bedroom, the beating would be worse. I screamed and yelled his name to no avail. I couldn't fight back. I shouldn't have smoked the Mist and then popped the Poppers. I was out of balance, in a state of delirium.

I missed out on my internship at Grady so I lied and told Javon I'd gotten on at Emory. That had been Cory's idea. As he tossed me in the room then kicked the door closed behind him, I tried to back away, but for the life of me I couldn't get away. It felt like the weight of the world was holding me down. He stalked me like a madman. He wasn't the man I'd fallen in love with. Neither was I the woman he had fallen in love with. I didn't know the people we were.

I crawled over the nightstand. I grabbed the lamp then hit him in the head with it. He fell back. I found strength I didn't know I had. I made a mad dash to the bathroom and locked myself in him. He sounded like a wounded animal in the room. He was roaring and throwing shit around. My wrist was against my lips as I backed away from the door. I jumped when a loud thump landed against the door. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and jerked away from my reflection.

Both of my eyes were blackened now accompanied by a red bruise on my cheek. His handprints were around my neck. A patch of my hair had been snatched out by the root. He needed help. We needed help. The ghosts of who we were destined to be before Mama found us reared their ugly heads. I hated it. I hated the way we were, what we had become.

“Open the door, baby,” Cory said. I could tell his face was against the door.

“No,” I whispered. “You have to calm down, baby.”

“I am calm,” he yelled then pounded on the door. “Open the fucking door!”

A cold shiver shook me to my bones. “No,” I screamed. “Sick of you hitting me, Cory. I'm telling Javon. I swear to God,” I cried.

A barrage of hits, bumps, and thuds hit the bathroom door. “Inez, don't fucking play with me!
Abre la maldita puerta!
”

“No! Go away, Cory. Go calm down and come back. Then we can talk.”

He kept kicking the door anyway. I knew he was going to kick it down sooner or later. I looked around the bathroom for something to defend myself with. When the door came flying off the hinges, I realized there was nothing there. He stepped through, a scowl on his face that put the fear of God in me. I had nowhere to run. Cory grabbed me by my hair and tossed me out of the bathroom.

I screamed as I rolled over my head. I may have been high, but I was tired of him hitting me. So if he wanted a fight, then he had one. I kicked him in his dick as soon as he came for me. He went down hard, holding his dick while doing so. As I hopped up, I remembered the bat I kept behind the door. His phone started to ring. I rushed for it and the bat, but stopped when I saw Jojo's face pop up. I grabbed the phone then headed for the front door.

I could tell Jojo to come get me. He knew about Cory and me. He would come get me if I needed him to.

“Hello,” I answered while looking for shoes so I could get out.

“Help me,” Jojo said before I could tell him what was going on.

“Wha . . . What? What's wrong, Jojo?”

“Help me, sis. I'm trapped. Where Cory? I need help, please!”

Cory came storming from the bedroom and I threw the phone at him. “It's Jojo,” I said frantically. “Something's wrong. He needs our help.”

Cory stopped stalking me. He stared me down. I could see the devil in his eyes, but I also saw that flicker of something turning off. He kneeled to pick up the phone.

“Where you at, Jojo?” he asked into the phone, all the while keeping his eyes on me. “Stay there. We're coming.”

Cory hung up the phone. I was happy he didn't come for me. He went to the closet and grabbed down two guns.

“Get your shoes on,” he said to me.

I didn't ask any questions. Jojo needed us. That was all that mattered.