pursed her lips and shook her head.
“No.”
“Then you don’t understand what this is
like,” I said. “Mary Jane, I know you’re not one of them. You may have the
Cotton name and the club markings, but you’re like them. Do you know what your
brother did to me? Do you know why Ash beat him to a pulp that night in the
country?”
She shook her head. “I know my brother wasn’t the best
person in the world, but he was still my brother.”
“Your brother was a monster,” I seethed.
“I hope you can rest easy at night knowing that your family thinks it’s okay to
murder a fucking baby. I hope it makes all you Cottons feel much better about
yourselves.”
“MJ!” a man’s voice boomed from down the
hall. “Get your ass back here!”
She flashed me one last, apologetic look
before turning and locking the door behind her. She was just as powerless as I
was. She was a pawn in the game just like me.
I woke Tuck and grabbed the food out of
the bag. I broke the biscuits into tiny pieces and put a straw in the orange
juice. “Here, baby. Eat this.”
Tuck ate every last crumb. The poor kid
was starving. The clock on my phone said it was almost eleven. The fast food
meal would have to serve as both his breakfast and his lunch.
I pressed my ear up against the cool,
metal door to try to hear if anyone was on the other side. I heard nothing. I
pulled my phone out of my pocket once again and paced around the room, this
time standing on top of the sink and the bed and anything that would get me
higher up to the ceiling and closer to the window.
When I finally got two bars’ worth of
signal, I tried calling Ash. To my surprise, the phone rang. My clenched onto
my neck and waited for him to answer.
“Marina?” he answered. “Oh, my God. Are
you okay? Where are you?”
“Ash,” I sobbed. I tried to stifle the
cries, but it was too hard. “They took us. We’re in some warehouse. I think
they’re going to kill us. Please help. Please come get us!”
“Marina, listen to me,” he said. “Is
there a window where you are?”
“Yes,” I replied. I breathed in deep and
tried to calm myself down. I had to keep my voice down. If they heard me
talking, I knew they’d bust in there and then all hell would break loose.
“I need you to look around and tell me
what you see,” he said. “Street signs, businesses, landmarks.”
I stood up on top of the bed and peeked
outside the barred window. “There’s a deli across the street. Calavetti Deli. And a gas station. Kwik Stop – spelled K-W-I-K. And
an intersection. It looks like Main Street and…West Ferguson Avenue?”
Ash was quiet, and I assumed he was
writing them down. “Okay, very good, Marina.”
“Ash,” I said, trying to keep my voice
low. “I only have 7% battery left.”
“Okay,” he said. “I want you to shut your
phone off and turn it back on in about six hours. This is very important.”
“I love you,” I whispered. “If anything
happens, please just know that.”
“Marina,” Ash sighed. “Nothing’s going to
happen. Your dad and I are on this. Nothing’s going to happen to you and Tuck.
I’ll see you soon. We’ll be together soon, alright?”
He sounded confident, but I was sure he
was only trying to make me feel better. Right now the ball was in the Cottonmouths’
court. Their game. Their rules.
CHAPTER 13
“The fuck do you think you’re doing ?! ” LeRoy barged in seconds after
I hung up with Ash. His meaty hands gripped my wrist, nearly crushing it, and
forced the phone to fall from my hands and drop onto the floor.
LeRoy picked it up from the hard, concrete
floor and placed it to his ear. A menacing smile formed on his thin lips as his
eyes nearly pierced through me.
“Why, hello, Ash,” he said, drawing out
each
“No.”
“Then you don’t understand what this is
like,” I said. “Mary Jane, I know you’re not one of them. You may have the
Cotton name and the club markings, but you’re like them. Do you know what your
brother did to me? Do you know why Ash beat him to a pulp that night in the
country?”
She shook her head. “I know my brother wasn’t the best
person in the world, but he was still my brother.”
“Your brother was a monster,” I seethed.
“I hope you can rest easy at night knowing that your family thinks it’s okay to
murder a fucking baby. I hope it makes all you Cottons feel much better about
yourselves.”
“MJ!” a man’s voice boomed from down the
hall. “Get your ass back here!”
She flashed me one last, apologetic look
before turning and locking the door behind her. She was just as powerless as I
was. She was a pawn in the game just like me.
I woke Tuck and grabbed the food out of
the bag. I broke the biscuits into tiny pieces and put a straw in the orange
juice. “Here, baby. Eat this.”
Tuck ate every last crumb. The poor kid
was starving. The clock on my phone said it was almost eleven. The fast food
meal would have to serve as both his breakfast and his lunch.
I pressed my ear up against the cool,
metal door to try to hear if anyone was on the other side. I heard nothing. I
pulled my phone out of my pocket once again and paced around the room, this
time standing on top of the sink and the bed and anything that would get me
higher up to the ceiling and closer to the window.
When I finally got two bars’ worth of
signal, I tried calling Ash. To my surprise, the phone rang. My clenched onto
my neck and waited for him to answer.
“Marina?” he answered. “Oh, my God. Are
you okay? Where are you?”
“Ash,” I sobbed. I tried to stifle the
cries, but it was too hard. “They took us. We’re in some warehouse. I think
they’re going to kill us. Please help. Please come get us!”
“Marina, listen to me,” he said. “Is
there a window where you are?”
“Yes,” I replied. I breathed in deep and
tried to calm myself down. I had to keep my voice down. If they heard me
talking, I knew they’d bust in there and then all hell would break loose.
“I need you to look around and tell me
what you see,” he said. “Street signs, businesses, landmarks.”
I stood up on top of the bed and peeked
outside the barred window. “There’s a deli across the street. Calavetti Deli. And a gas station. Kwik Stop – spelled K-W-I-K. And
an intersection. It looks like Main Street and…West Ferguson Avenue?”
Ash was quiet, and I assumed he was
writing them down. “Okay, very good, Marina.”
“Ash,” I said, trying to keep my voice
low. “I only have 7% battery left.”
“Okay,” he said. “I want you to shut your
phone off and turn it back on in about six hours. This is very important.”
“I love you,” I whispered. “If anything
happens, please just know that.”
“Marina,” Ash sighed. “Nothing’s going to
happen. Your dad and I are on this. Nothing’s going to happen to you and Tuck.
I’ll see you soon. We’ll be together soon, alright?”
He sounded confident, but I was sure he
was only trying to make me feel better. Right now the ball was in the Cottonmouths’
court. Their game. Their rules.
CHAPTER 13
“The fuck do you think you’re doing ?! ” LeRoy barged in seconds after
I hung up with Ash. His meaty hands gripped my wrist, nearly crushing it, and
forced the phone to fall from my hands and drop onto the floor.
LeRoy picked it up from the hard, concrete
floor and placed it to his ear. A menacing smile formed on his thin lips as his
eyes nearly pierced through me.
“Why, hello, Ash,” he said, drawing out
each
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