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  “C’mon man, where’s it at?”

  “Let’s go straight ahead,” Jim said.

  Both men walked in the dark warehouse for ten minutes through a maze of conveyor belts, inoperable forklifts, skids and broken equipment carts. This gave Jim time to slowly cut the rope while the goon was slowly getting more frustrated from bumping into equipment and not making any progress. The man wanted to shoot Jim just so he could get out of the dusty warehouse, but he couldn’t exact his revenge just yet. The goon needed the weapons and other valuables he could make off with; otherwise, Jim’s murder would be in vain.

  “Man, we been walkin’ ‘round this warehouse forever,” the goon shouted. He pointed the gun to the side of Jim’s head. “I think you jerkin’ me around. If you jerkin’ me, you’re gonna die, Jack.”

  Jim felt indifferent about the death threat. He figured that the goon needed him alive long enough to get the weapons. This bought him valuable time as he slid the razorblade in his left pants pocket between the flaps of his wallet. Jim did this with his left hand while gripping the rope with his right hand making it look as if his wrists were still tied. The dull end of the blade protruded from the wallet, but he decided this would work for the moment.

  “Dude, put the gun away, we’re almost were we need to be,” Jim reasoned. “You get the guns and whatever else you find in there, and Jessica and I come out with our lives. We’ll even find our way home from the middle of nowhere.”

  “You don’t remember me, do you?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Oh, yes you do,” the goon shouted. “Years ago we were in a warehouse just like this one. You had a mini-bat and some table salt. That’s when you told me that whenever I’m fucking with your money, I’m fucking myself. Remember that?”

  Jim didn’t recognized Jeff for he had gotten a lot bigger since their last encounter. He was Barry Bonds bigger than before. Jeff was the only person he tortured in a warehouse. He vowed to himself that he would never do anything like that again, for he was guilt-ridden for several months. Growing up in a middle class family, Jim never envisioned committing such a horrendous crime, but he was an up and coming hustler who had no reputation beyond his possessing a big bankroll, which he earned from gambling, illegal table games and shylocking. He didn’t have the reputation for being a ruthless kingpin, and Jeff figured that he could get away with flashing the money that he stole from Jim without impunity. In the neighborhood that Jim operated in, it was more common to kill someone for such a deed, but Jim knew that murder carries no statute of limitations and he had no desire to run from or try to beat a murder case. He had to instill fear into the hearts of the 2-bit, half-assed criminals by making an example out of Jeff, which in turn instilled fear into the hearts of the everyday neighbors. So Jim decided to torture Jeff and let him be a living, breathing example of what happens when you fuck with Jim. Now he was facing his sins.

  “Yeah motherfucker, I remember what you did to me. Now I’m going to make you my bitch while my partner takes your bitch’s pussy.”

  “Poetic justice.” Jim sighed.

  “Shut the fuck up.” Jeff swung the butt of his gun toward Jim, but Jim sidestepped him and punched Jeff with a hard left to his ribs. This knocked the wind out of Jeff momentarily.

  “Did you think I was going to let a coward bitch like you kill me?” Jim asked as he landed another hard left to his ribs and a right to his jaw. Jeff’s gun dropped as Jim continued to throw a flurry of punches to his face, backing him toward a conveyor belt. Finally, Jeff ducked a punch and slipped one to Jim’s cheek.

  He landed another blow to Jim’s kidney. “You’re a dead motherfucker, Jim. I’ve always been nice with my hands.”

  Jeff connected on another punch to Jim’s face. Growing angry and desperate, Jim charged Jeff, but he instinctively side stepped him.

  “You didn’t think I’d fall for that trick again, did you?”

  “You’re dumb enough to keep going to jail for the same shit, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

  This made Jeff angry as he lunged a punch toward Jim and missed. “You’re dead, Jim.”

  Jim socked a punch to Jeff’s jaw. “I feel very much alive, just as I did when I put your ass in the hospital last time.”

  ###

  Jacobson could have sucked Jessica’s toes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, for he had a foot fetish that would make Rex Ryan blush. Jessica’s toes were no exception. He especially liked the taste and aroma of her feet, but he wanted to explore further. Jacobson slid Jessica’s big toe out of his mouth as he left a trail of wet kisses going down the arch of her foot straight to her ankle before slowly making his way up her legs. Jessica continued to cry silently with hopes that her attacker would hurry up and get it over with. She felt afraid, ashamed, intimidated, naked, powerless and vulnerable. Then she heard two gunshots from inside the warehouse.

  The good laughed.

  And she snapped.

  Once she felt his lips touch her thighs, her fear and shame turned into anger. Her hands were still bound, and she could only move her legs—she used them. She raised her right leg and kicked down hard on his back screaming, “Get off me.” Jessica did the same with her left leg, but this only angered Jacobson. He moved his head back, and out of the vehicle, then violently pulled her toward him, with her legs hanging out the car door. Jacobson lunged into the car over her body, placing his knees onto the backseat to gain leverage.

  Jacobson slapped her repeatedly, “Bitch, you gonna give me this pussy right now.” He snatched her panties off her body and threw the ripped underwear onto the ground. The only thing that separated Jacobson from Jessica was the humid, sticky air between his hard dick and her dry pussy. Jessica tried kicking until Jacobson caught both of her legs and bent them back. He looked down, grabbed his dick with his guide hand and –felt a hard knee to the crack of his ass. He body jerked upward and he hit his head on the ceiling. Carla jammed her knee into his ass again. Now Jessica was able to get her legs freed and she started kicking him.

  Jacobson slapped Jessica again, but couldn’t gain the leverage to do much damage as Carla continued to knee him square in the ass. She continued kicking him until she heard two gunshots—Carla hesitated. Before she knew it, Carla felt a hard punch to her face. Jacobson grabbed her by the neck and repeatedly slapped her. This went on for a minute. Carla knew that she was going to be beaten to her death until his grip loosened from her neck. She gasped for air and Jacobson bent over in pain. Jessica kicked him square in the crouch from behind.

  Carla pushed Jacobson to the ground, and Jessica kicked him a few times before realizing that she only had sandals on her feet with unbuckled straps. She jammed her big toe and hopped around in pain. He saw Carla’s left foot cocking back to kick him and he immediately grabbed her right ankle and pulled her down to the ground as she started to kick. Fuck getting pussy, I’m gonna kill both of these bitches. Jacobson darted back to the car, grabbed his gun, started toward Jessica, and knocked her to the ground. Before he could finish her, Carla charged toward him. Jacobson sidestepped her, grabbed her and threw her to the ground. Then he turned towards Jessica and aimed the gun to her head. She closed her eyes to avoid seeing her life flashing before her eyes. Jessica heard one gunshot then silence. Everything went dark—until she opened her eyes.

  Chapter 4

  “Jessica,” Jim said, standing over her. “Are you okay?”

  “Jim,” she shouted. “Am, I alive?”

  “Of course you are. Now be patient with me as I cut this rope off you. I only have a single-edged razor blade.”

  “What’s that sliminess on me?”

  “You need a change of clothes. You got blood and brains fragments on you.”

  Jim looked toward Jessica and noticed that part of her dress was torn at the hem and that she had no panties on. “Oh my God, did he…”

  “No, Carla came just in time
to stop him.”

  Jim fired two unnecessary bullets into Jacobson’s dead body anyway. Jessica picked at one of Jacobson’s brain fragments and ate it when no one was looking.

  “Wait, did you hear that, Jessica?”

  “You just shot Jacobson.”

  “Not that…”

  “I just heard it again.” Jim now pointed the gun toward where he heard the sound. He almost fired another bullet until he recognized the woman lying on the ground “Oh my God, Carly, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, just a few bumps and bruises. I see that your bitch over there still can’t keep her panties on.”

  Jim briefly laughed. “I don’t think this instance was Jessica’s fault.”

  “You said that last year, too, remember?”

  “Hey, don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” Jessica shouted.

  “Carla, go in your trunk and give her your change of clothes. Jessica, take off your clothes.”

  She winked and smiled coyly. “Just because you saved my life doesn’t entitle you to get freaky with me.”

  Jim pointed his gun toward her. “Shut the fuck up and get out of that dress right now.”

  Jessica couldn’t understand why his temper was so quick. Nonetheless, she was not happy about it. She slipped out of her dress and slammed it to the ground.

  “Pick it up,” Jim demanded.

  “You told me to take it off, and I did.”

  “Pick up the fucking dress.” Jim scowled.

  “Jim, I’m not your fucking dog.”

  “No, Jim,” Carla shouted.

  Ignoring Carla, Jim fired three shots at Jessica, intentionally missing. Jessica screamed hysterically and ran toward a thick patch of tall crab grass. Jim fired another shot, hitting a thick blade of crab grass four inches above her head. Paralyzed by fear, Jessica stopped in her tracks.

  Jim aimed his gun toward Jessica’s chest. “Now you listen to me. I never tolerated disrespect from you when we were together, and I damn sure won’t since you ran off to be with Carla’s husband.”

  “Ex-husband,” Carla shouted.

  Jim shot her a look that could have turned anyone to stone. Carla took the hint and remained silent. Jim turned back to Jessica.

  “If you ever disrespect me like that again, I will put you out of your misery and not think twice about it. This is your last chance.” Jim pointed to the dress.

  Jessica, wearing nothing but a bra, walked to the dress and picked it up.

  “Carla, you got any hairspray.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Bring it to me.”

  Carla reached in her purse and produced a can of hairspray and handed it to Jim. He sprayed the dress with a liberal coat of hairspray. He then pulled out a lighter and lit the dress. Both Jessica and Jim snatched their hands back as the dress engulfed in flames. Jim lightly sprayed into the burning dress to ignite the flame even more. A few minutes later, her dress was fully cremated.

  Jessica accepted the change of clothes—a pair of relaxed fitting jeans and a pink t-shirt—and got dressed. Carla walked over to her car and drove to the front entrance of the warehouse while Jim hit the trunk release button on the kidnappers’ car, grabbed four bottles of lighter fluid, left two bottles in the trunk, emptied three bottles in the interior of the car, threw the remaining bottle in the car wiped away his fingerprints, and set the car on fire. Jessica and Jim ran to Carla’s car and they sped off. Jim began dismantling the gun as the three of them shared an awkward silence, then Carla’s phone buzzed.

  “What the fuck is that?” Jim shouted.

  “It’s just my sister texting,” Carla assured. “She said that Chris Brown’s outfit is cute on him.”

  “How old is your sister, Carla?”

  “She’s 33.”

  “That bitch needs to get a life.”

  “Don’t call my sister a bitch,” Carla said. “You don’t know her.”

  “I know the bitch is too old to be giving a fuck about what Chris Brown is wearing,” Jim said. “Tell the bitch to get a job.”

  “She’s an entertainment blogger.”

  “Perhaps she should sell drugs.”

  “Just so you know, I’m proud of my sister. She’s an inspiration to me.”

  “She’s on the same level as a thief. Neither of them has made any useful contribution to society.”

  “Neither do you, Jim,” Jessica interrupted. “You killed six people in the past three days.”

  “I did it to keep you ungrateful bitches alive.”

  Carla pulled over in a church parking lot and got out the car. She walked to the backseat, knocked on the back window. “Jim, get the fuck out my car.”

  “What?”

  “Jim, you got five seconds to get out.”

  “Carly, now is not the time…”

  “Don’t call me Carly.”

  Carla rolled her eyes and clenched her fist. “Jim, I risked my life for you, I’ve been living in hot ass Memphis for over a year because of you, and the only thing I get in return is a volatile maniac cussing at me. You and your bitch need to get the fuck out now.”

  Jessica hopped out of the car and walked fast around the car. She confronted Carla as they were face to face. They were close enough to kiss.

  “Who you calling a bitch?”

  “You, bitch.”

  Adrenaline flowed through Carla’s veins as she assumed a boiling point that she hadn’t reached in years. Gone was the pretentious behavior that she exhibited toward Jim when she and Steve were still together. Anger filled her body as she saw red and burned hot. This didn’t move Jessica.

  “Look Carla, you’re going to respect me…”

  Carla punched Jessica hard in the eye. Jessica never had a chance. Carla grabbed Jessica by the neck and continued to punch her with her right hand. Her momentum pinned Jessica to the backseat door. Jessica was helpless.

  “This is for stealing my husband, you treacherous slut.”

  Jim couldn’t believe how fast things turned for the worst. He had never seen Carla so angry. She was beating the daylight out of Jessica, and the look in Carla’s eyes indicated that she wasn’t going to stop until she had beaten the life out of her. A year of pent-up hurt and anger has finally manifested onto Jessica’s face. Jim was horrified; Jessica’s body appeared to go limp against the car, unable to fight back.

  He scooted to the other side of the car and got out the car as fast as possible. He ran around the car to break up the fight. “Carla, let her go.”

  Carla heard Jim approaching. Upon hearing his voice, she hesitated. Normally, she’d automatically comply, but Jim was not going to steal her opportunity to impart justice upon the culprit of her failed marriage. Just as Jim approached to break up the fight, Carla cleaned his clock. Stunned by the hard punch to his face, he stumbled.

  “Jim, stay the fuck back. Jessica and I have unfinished business between us.”

  Jessica saw an opportunity. She swung wildly and her forearm hit Carla on the side of her head. Carla countered with a punch, but Jessica slipped out of the way despite her left eye being almost swollen shut. Carla’s hand hit the side of her car. Jessica gave her a hard knee to her ribs as Carla grimaced in pain. Now she started hitting her in the back of the head and on her back, but Carla still in a crouched position charged forward and wrapped her arms around Jessica’s legs and took her down to the ground.

  Carla now had the advantage, and was determined to finish what she started. She punched Jessica in the face twice before she had the wherewithal to cover her face with her forearms. Carla, punched her in the ribs, and pulled one of her arms just far enough to the side to leave an opening where she could strike her. She drew her arm back and it never came down. Jim threw her off Jessica and pointed her .22 caliber gun at her.

  “Carla, don’t make me have to do this.” Jim said. “Believe me, it’s not worth it.”

  “She didn’t take your husband from yo
u, Jim.”

  “But she stole my heart,” Jim reflected. “Ripped it right out of my heart that time you and I snuck in her basement feasting on Chuck’s bloody thigh. Don’t you remember?”

  “How could I ever forget,” Carla said, crying. “You may have gotten used to danger and death, but that was the most horrifying experience of my life. How could you and Steve do that to that man?”

  “Steve made me do it,” Jessica said, moaning.

  “You ran off with him to be forced to eat a human being for the very first time?” Jim asked. “That doesn’t make sense to me.”

  “That wasn’t our first time,” Jessica said. “My first time was three years ago.”

  “What happened three years ago?”

  “He threw a barbeque at his house, you were there.”

  “The only barbeque Steve had at his house was when I met you.” Jim recollected. “Oh, my fucking goodness, go ahead.”

  “I went inside to grab a can of Pepsi, but when I pulled the lid off the cooler, I saw a human head in ice. I was scared to death. I didn’t come back out for a half-hour. That’s when Steve came in looking for me because I was supposed to bring him a beer.”

  “How come he didn’t get Carla to grab one for him?”

  “Because she was in everyone’s face, pretending to be someone she wasn’t.”

  “That’s not true at all,” Carla shouted. “I kept the guest entertained.”

  “Yes, it is true,” Jim interrupted. “You’ve come a long way since then, but you used to put on airs.”

  “My boss and my colleagues were there.”

  “None of those bitches liked you.”

  “How do you know, Mr. Money?”

  “Because I fucked a few of them,” Jim responded. “Secrets are revealed during pillow talk.”

  “You were cheating on me?” Jessica asked.

  “What difference does it make? You ended up running off with my best friend. Besides, you didn’t have sex with me for almost a year.”

  “You two courted that long?” Carla asked.