Real Riders Never Die 3 Read online

  “Paki, it’s an honor.” Demoto looked him up and down and hugged him again. “This is my best friend, Jacko. He’s more like my brother though.”

  Paki gave Jacko a quick hug as well before waving them into the living room. They followed him through the small halls until they reached a small room in the back with burgundy furniture. They all took a seat on the sofa with Paki standing back up to grab them drinks from his bar. They both declined, so he poured his own before taking his seat again.

  “How have you been?” He looked at Demoto.

  “I’m straight. Just out here trying to get it. You know me.”

  “How’s Georgia?”

  “Georgia’s cool. I actually like it. I found my girl; we got a two-year-old. Well he’ll be three in two weeks.”

  Paki’s eye’s shot up in surprise at the same time he smiled. “A two-year-old? I want to see him. You have any pictures?”

  “He looks just like this nigga.” Jacko nudged Demoto’s arm.

  Paki smiled and reached for the phone Demoto was handing him. “Oh wow, man! Your friend is right, he’s your twin. He’s so handsome, Demoto, very handsome. Is this his mother?”

  Now it was Demoto’s turn to smile. “Yeahhh, that’s my baby right there. We got married last month.”

  Paki covered his chest, playfully. “Married?” He covered his forehead with the phone. “You’re just a young man. Why you sign your life over already?”

  “Aye, Paki, when you find the right one you have to do what you gotta do.”

  “How do you know she’s the right one?” He looked over at Jacko. “He’s your friend, why did you let him do this?”

  “He can’t talk. That nigga got married before me. He’s half the reason I got there so fast. His wife is my wife’s best friend.”

  Jacko looked at Paki smiling. “I guess I have to take the blame for that. But trust me when I say, she’s the one. The way those two act about each other is ridiculous. They act so crazy and possessive with each other. It’s something I’ve never seen in my life.”

  Paki raised his eyebrows. “That bad?”

  “I don’t know how it is personally, but from what I’ve seen with her, it’s that bad.” Uzoma walked into the room, startling them all.

  All three of their heads turned and looked in his direction. Paki got up and embraced him as he’d done Demoto and Jacko when they’d first arrived.

  “What I tell you about leaving your door open?” Uzoma extended his hand to Demoto and Jacko as he spoke to Paki.

  “Like I’ve told you a million times, there’s nothing in this world that puts fear in my heart, except Allah.”

  Uzoma sat on the chair near where Paki was sitting and looked around the room at the three of them. “Their love, it’s something to hope for.”

  Demoto looked at Uzoma. “How can you tell?” Demoto didn’t mean to sound as possessive as he did, but it came out anyway.

  Uzoma held his hands up in mock surrender. “Calm down, killer.” All of them laughed except for Demoto. “I can just tell by the way she mopes around. She doesn’t talk to anyone, she stays in bed all day crying. When I told her I was coming here, she told me to tell you that she loves you, she trusts you, and she’s never running away no matter what.”

  Demoto’s head fell as he looked down at the floor. He was quiet for a while, just looking at the floor.

  “Oh, so this is serious?” Paki’s voice brought his head back up.

  “This is my life, Paki. That’s why I’m here. My mama brought her ass all the way to Georgia to kidnap my girl and my baby.” Demoto stopped talking and looked at Uzoma. “That reminds me, how has she been treating them?”

  “Very well. It’s actually shocking to me how nurturing she is with your wife and Ayo. She acts like Ayo is the best thing next to sliced bread. She eats him up.”

  Demoto sucked his teeth before looking back at Paki. “You see what I’m saying? She’s doing dumb shit. Like why take them from me, claim you hate me more than your next breath, but keep my family at your house like it's natural? She’s a fucking lunatic.”

  Paki pulled at the hair on his chin. “Yeah, Ornella is indeed a piece of work. That’s why I stay here and out of her way.”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, Paki, because I know that you’re the truth, but I thought she killed you when she killed my dad.”

  Uzoma and Paki both looked at Demoto. “Hell no. I will gut Ornella like an ox and she knows it.” Paki scooted forward on his seat. “See, Ornella attacks when you least expect it. She tries to get as close as possible to you so that it’s easier. She’ll say whatever she has to in order to gain your trust, just before she slits your throat. Your papa and I both knew that and that’s why he watched her closely. The only reason she was able to kill your papa was because of that low down scoundrel, Cayman.” Paki grumbled his disgust.

  Demoto grabbed Paki’s hand. “I took care of that.”

  Paki’s eyes showed his surprise. “What? When? How? How’d you know?”

  “He’s powerful, but I’m smart.” Demoto tapped the side of his head. “I think about things before I do them. He was in Georgia running Double O. He was sleeping with my ex and tried to pull some fuck shit with my girl and me. To plainly put it, I don’t play that shit, so he had to die.”

  Paki clapped his hands. “That’s my boy. I sure as hell can help you knock Ornella’s nasty ass off now.”

  Demoto’s dreads slid over his shoulder when he shook his head. “I don’t need any help. I’ve got it.”

  “Why now?”

  Demoto and his mother hadn’t spoken in years. There was no reason for him to just come out of the blue with it now.

  “She had Adisa spying on my family and me. I’m pretty sure he helped her plan all of this. So he had to go as well. I don’t do disloyalty.”

  “You killed Adisa, Demoto?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, Allah!” He sat back on his sofa. “That’s your blood.”

  “So is my mother. My blood is flawed.”

  The room fell quiet as Paki sat, trying to process what he’d just been told. It was clear that it had taken him by surprise, but he eventually got himself together.

  “So what do you want to do?” he asked Demoto.

  “I’m going to map out a plan to get into her house and kill her. From there I’m going to take my family and go home.”

  “Won’t somebody come after you?” Jacko asked.

  Paki held up his hand and shook his head no. “I have been told a few times that her soldiers aren’t happy. If I can get word to their commanders, which I can, I can make something happen, maybe get you some backup.” Paki was quiet for a moment. “Give me a few days. Can you do that?”

  “No. One, maybe two. No more. I don’t want them getting too comfortable with Ornella.”

  “I’ll take care of that.” Uzoma assured Demoto.

  He looked at Uzoma and trusted him immediately. They stayed together, talking for a few more hours, planning and catching up. When it was time for them to go, Demoto gave Uzoma the letter he’d written Taryn, and they all parted ways, Uzoma to Ornellas’s estate, and Demoto and Jacko back to their hotel.

  That night was a long one for Demoto, but he made it through. He’s tossed and turned the entire night, trying to figure out what was going to happen. He needed to be sure there were no flaws in his plan. He couldn’t afford them. The slightest mishap could cause Taryn or Ayo’s life.

  *****

  “Hey Daddy,” Kia sat down in the chair in front of Buck’s desk.

  He was sitting at his computer, looking through some things, when she came in. With her purse on her shoulder and her bottle of water in her hand, she kicked her shoes off.

  “What’s going on, little girl? What you doing up here?”

  “Jacko’s gone, and I didn’t have nothing else to do.” Kia wanted to see how much info her father was going to give her. In the back of her mind she already knew it wouldn’t be much.
It was worth a try, though.

  “So you decided to spend your free day up here bored with me?”

  “Kind of. I also had something I wanted to tell you.”

  Buck stopped typing and looked at her. “What’s going on?”

  “Wellllllllll,” Kia dragged. “You know I’m a happily married woman, right?”

  Buck didn’t say anything. He just looked at her like only he could.

  “Right, Daddy?”

  “Yes, Kia, I know.”

  “And you know happily married people have kids, right?”

  Buck sat back in his chair and went completely silent. He touched his lips with one finger and looked at her. Kia fidgeted beneath his gaze as if she wasn’t a fully-grown woman.

  “Say something, Buck.”

  “How far along, Kia?”

  “Ummm, maybe about three months, almost four. What you think?”

  Buck looked away, not at anything in particular, before looking back at Kia with a smile a mile wide on his face. “I knew it wouldn’t be long. Tell Jackson I’mma kick his lil ass.”

  The breath she had been holding left her body as she grabbed her chest. “Now Buck why you do me like that? You knew I was already scared to tell you.”

  “Why? You’re a grown ass woman, Kia. You’re married on top of that. It ain’t like you out here fucking off and got the baby.”

  Kia shook her head. Buck let anything come out of his mouth sometimes. “You need a muzzle.”

  “Nah, what I need is a wife to help me take care of all these grandkids you and Taryn keep giving me.”

  Kia was the one who went quiet that time, not that she didn’t agree with him, it just wasn’t something that she’d thought about in a while. Buck never really dated, so this was new. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d had another woman around her. To say she wouldn’t want him to have some companionship would be selfish. She could tell by the way he eased it in there that he wanted her opinion on the topic.

  “Yeah, you do. Where you gon’ get one from?”

  He looked a little surprised. “How you know I don’t already have her?”

  “Where she at?”

  Buck smiled. “I’ll let you meet her later, no time soon. I’m still trying to feel her out some.”

  Kia stood up and grabbed her purse. “Well, you make sure you do that. In the meantime, just tell her I said what’s up.”

  Kia walked around the desk to give him a hug before telling him that she would see him later. After he told her he would stop by later to bring her some dinner, she left. Kia walked to her car and got ready to head to the nail shop. Her nails and toes needed some tender loving care. On top of that, sitting in the house thinking about Taryn and Ayo was driving her crazy. Not to mention, Jacko had thrown himself into the equation. Now she could barely sleep at night.

  She drove down the street in deep thought as her cell phone rang. She looked at the number and didn’t recognize it, so she didn’t even bother answering it. When she got to the nail salon it was way too packed, and she wasn’t in the mood to deal with it so she grabbed some food and went home. It seemed so lonely and boring without Jacko being there.

  Before long, Kia was full and sleepy, so she lay down on the sofa and took a nap. She hadn’t even realized that she’d fallen asleep until she woke up. Her phone was vibrating against her face. She looked at the number and it was the same one from earlier. Kia thought about not answering again, but thought that it might be Jacko so she picked up.

  “Kia,” someone whispered.

  Kia pushed her phone closer to her ear so that she could hear. “Who is this?”

  “Kerry. I need you to come get me.” Kia didn’t know why she was whispering, but based on her behavior lately, it really was no telling.

  “Where you at, Kerry?”

  “I’m at Cooper’s cousin’s house. We were drinking and getting high and now they won’t let me leave. He wants me to have sex with his cousin and I don’t want to do it. I know you’re probably mad at me, but Kia will you please come get me? I didn’t know who else to call.”

  Kia was still stuck on the getting high part. Had she even been able to get over that, the fact that Cooper’s punk ass wanted her to have sex with his cousin would have taken her breath too.

  “Kia, please.”

  “Yeah, I’ll come. What’s the address?”

  Kerry whispered the address to her. “You coming now?”

  Kia threw her blanket off of her. “Yeah, I’m coming now. Where’s Izzy?”

  “She’s with her grandma.”

  Kia knew she had to be talking about Jacko’s mother. Kerry’s mom was dead, so she was the only grandma that Izzy had. She and Jacko had fallen out a few months prior, so Kia hadn’t spoken to her in a while. It was good to know she was still keeping in contact with Kerry for Izzy’s sake.

  Kia slid her sandals back on her feet before walking to the back of the house to grab her gun. Not only was she pregnant and didn’t have time to be fighting, but she didn’t trust Cooper or his cousin either.

  “Will you be able to come outside when I get there?”

  “I’ll try. If not, I’ll just climb out of the window. Please hurry up, Kia. He keeps coming in here badgering me about it.”

  “His nasty punk ass. I’m on my way. Text me the address again so I don’t forget.”

  “Okay. Thank you so much.” Kerry hung up the phone.

  A few minutes later, Kia’s phone dinged with a text message. She set the alarm on her house and locked the door before getting in her car. She knew the area that Kerry was talking about so it didn’t take her long to get there. The whole drive over there she wished Jacko was there because then she wouldn’t be in this shit, but he wasn’t, so she had to handle business. Kerry was good people, and she desperately needed to do better than Cooper.

  When Kia pulled in front of the house, she parked along the curb but kept her car running. She pulled her phone out and dialed the number back. When Kerry didn’t answer, she got annoyed. She called back two more times and received the same results. As much as she didn’t want to, Kia cocked her gun and stuck it back in her purse.

  She walked to the door rather quickly and knocked on the door. No one answered at first, but once she started ringing the doorbell wildly, the front door swung open. There was Cooper, standing there with a frown on his face. His pants were unbuckled, and he was shirtless. Just looking at the hair on his chest made Kia’s stomach turn. If it was anything she hated in the world, a hairy chest was it.

  “What you doing here?”

  “I’ve come to get Kerry. Can you tell her I’m out here please?”

  “Kerry ain’t taking her ass nowhere. So you can gon’ back to where you came from.”

  Kia stuck her hand in her purse casually because she could already tell this nigga was about to start acting a fool. “Nigga, will you please just take your ass in there and tell Kerry to come on? I didn’t drive all the way over here wasting my gas for nothing.”

  “Well, I ain’t tell your ass to come, so that’s your fucking business.”

  “Kerry!” Kia stuck her head in the door and yelled.

  She jumped back when that bastard Cooper tried to close the screen door on her head.

  “Jack must didn’t beat your ass bad enough last time?”

  “Fuck outta here with that shit. Kerry is my woman, she don’t do shit unless I tell her ass to. So you might as well go home because she ain’t going nowhere until I tell her to. She got business to handle.”

  “So, letting your cousin fuck her is business?” Kia sucked her teeth. “Nigga get your weak ass out my face.” Kia snatched the screen door open and proceeded past him.

  She already knew he wasn’t going to let her pass without doing something stupid, so the moment she felt his hand on the back of her arm, she snatched her gun out of her purse and pointed it at him.

  “Back up off of me.”

  Cooper stumbled backward with his hands cove
ring his face. He fell back so hard that he actually bumped into the wall. Kia looked on in disgust. What kind of grown man lets a woman her size pull a gun on him with no repercussions?

  “I knew you was pussy,” Kia mumbled, as she walked further into the house. She walked through the living room and down the hall, trying to see if she could hear anything. “Kerry!”

  Kia kept walking, but heard nothing. So, she called her again and again until she walked up to a room where she heard muffled mumbling. She turned the knob, but it was locked. She twisted the knob before stepping back and aiming her gun.

  “Don’t!” Cooper yelled, at the same time she pulled the trigger.

  As soon as the door popped open a Pitbull the size of a cow ran out of the room. Kia jumped back as fast as she could, but it didn’t help because he had her cornered against the wall. She screamed as he barked and showed his teeth to her. Slob dripped out of his mouth and onto the floor as he continued eyeballing her. Kia screamed and looked around the hall for help.

  She saw Cooper standing at the top of the hall laughing. She couldn’t wait until all of that was over so she could slap his ass. The dog taking a step forward brought her back to reality. She stretched her hands out in front of her that’s when she remembered she still had her gun in her hand. Clearly that was the same time Cooper noticed it too because he screamed.

  “Nooooo!” He ran down the hall, toward the dog she guessed, but it was too late.

  Kia pulled the trigger and shot the dog in the face. Blood spewed all over the hallway and all over her as she screamed from the impact. Gunk and brain matter from the dog was everywhere as she stepped out of the corner. Kia tried to turn her head as fast as she could to stop herself from seeing the scene in front of her.

  Either the hallway was too small or she just couldn’t move her eyes fast enough because she saw it and began throwing up all over the place. Making an even bigger mess than it already was. She was still throwing up when Kerry and some short, fat man finally came running out of the room. Kerry ran straight to her as the man ran to his dog.