his belt loops and gave Arthur a look that made his blood run cold.
When Arthur started to get the picture he began thrashing wildly trying to get free of the tape. “Wait, wait, wait, you’re going too far, Don B! I know I’m in the wrong because I owe you money, but this is fucked up on so many levels!”
Don B. frowned. “Arthur, you got me twisted. The Don only indulges in pussy, I don’t play them games you hinting at.” Hearing this made Arthur breathe a sigh of relief, but it was a short-lived moment when he heard Don B.’s voice again. “Yo, Herc,” Don B. called over his shoulder. All 350 pounds of Herc lumbered forward licking his lips at the sight of Arthur bound and helpless. “Herc,until this piece of shit pays what he owes, he’s property of Big Dawg. Enjoy, my nigga.” Don B. patted Herc on the back and headed for the office door. Devil grabbed the secretary by the arm and followed.
“Don, you can’t do this to me! This is inhumane!” Arthur shouted over the sounds of his pants and underwear being ripped.
Don B. stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Nah, this is the game you chose to play.”
Don B. and Devil escorted the secretary into the reception area, leaving Herc and whoever else stayed behind to their devices. The girl was sobbing uncontrollably because she knew after what she had witnessed there was no way they would let her live.
Devil went around the girl’s desk and retrieved her purse from the floor. He fumbled around inside until he came up holding her driver’s license and a picture of her kids. He ran his thumb across the image of her teenage daughter and licked his chops. “What’d you see, baby?” he addressed her coolly.
“I didn’t see nothing, I swear I didn’t,” she said between sobs.
Don B. pondered her answer for what seemed like an eternity before giving Devil the nod to cut her loose. “Come here, shorty.” Don B. waved her over. The secretary took timid steps toward Don B., keeping her eyes glued to the ground. “Look at me.” He forced her face up. In his hand he held a thick roll of money. He placed the money into her trembling hands along with a slip of paper that had a number scribbled on it. “Take a few days and get ya shit right, ma. Use that number if you want a real job, ya dig?” The girl was too frightened to answer so she just nodded dumbly and scurried out.
“How you gonna scare a chick shitless and then offer her a job?” Devil asked after the girl had gone.
Don B. smirked at him. “I was feeling kind. Besides, if I get her on the payroll I stand a better chance to sample that sweet little ass. Did you see the body on that bitch?”
The two of them laughed so hard at Don B.’s twisted humor thatthey had almost forgotten that they were at the scene of a crime. That changed when they heard Arthur’s high-pitched squeal coming from the next room.
Don B. led his entourage out of the plush Fifth Avenue building as if they totally belonged, dressed in baggy jeans and jewelry. Devil drove Don B. in his Durango while Herc and the rest of the soldiers rode in the minivan. On the way to their vehicles they drew the occasional stare from the business types they passed but one set of eyes lingered on them longer than anyone else’s. Hatred swelled behind the eyes and it took everything the watcher had not to move on Don B. right then and there, but the watcher was patient. The watcher had waited years to settle up with the Don so a few more days wouldn’t change what was coming. Only when the men had climbed back into their vehicles and pulled off did the watcher take his eyes off the entourage.
“You never cease to amaze me with the levels of stupid shit you choose to pull,” Devil told Don B. once they were safely away from the scene. “The plan was for us to come down here and maybe smack Arthur around a little to get him to pay back the money he owed; you never said nothing about no funny ass rape shit!”
“Sometimes
Marie Piper
Jennette Green
Stephanie Graham
Sam Lang
E. L. Todd
Keri Arthur
Medora Sale
Christian Warren Freed
Tim Curran
Charles Bukowski