Dirtiest Revenge (25 page)

Trent knocked Nicole on the ground and delivered blows to her face non-stop. Nicole was balled up in a fetal position and covered her face, but it still didn’t stop the rain of punches that Trent was giving.

“
Bitch, you the cause of me and my girl breaking up, my sister still missing, and you stealing my money!”

Nicole’s face was bloody, and she was unable to protect her face any longer. As she cried out in agonizing pain, she begged Trent to stop, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Nicole faded in and out of consciousness, but that still didn’t stop Trent. He wouldn’t have been satisfied until she was dead, but Marquise had seen enough. He hopped out the car and said, “That’s enough, my nigga. Let that shit go. It ain’t even worth it.”

He pried Trent away from Nicole, but, as they walked away, Trent ran back to Nicole and kicked her in the stomach. He wanted to stomp the fetus out of her. When he finally grew tired of whooping her ass, he picked her up off the ground and put her inside his truck. He looked at Marquise and said, “Drive, my nigga.”

“
Where to?” Marquise asked while looking back at Nicole stretched out in the backseat.

“
To the hospital.”

Trent rubbed his hands through his hair.

“
I don’t want to have anything to do with this,” Marquise answered, not knowing what to do.

“
Fuck it, cuz. Get out the fucking car, I’ll drive.”

Marquise got out the driver’s seat and walked around to the passenger’s side. Trent drove to California Hospital. Instead of taking her to the emergency entrance, he pulled the truck over at the lobby entrance. He got her out the truck and laid her on the curb. Then, he screamed for help and drove off.

*****

Kendra and Nia pulled up to California Hospital. They had just missed Trent by a few seconds. They rushed to the nurses’ station.

“
We’re here to see about Donavan Davis,” Nia said.

“
I’m sorry, but you have to be a relative to visit Mr. Davis,” the nurse said.

That was all it took for Nia to go off.

“
Look, dumb bitch! We are related. This is his fiancée, and she wants to know if he’s okay, so, if you don’t get a doctor out here quick, they gonna be carrying yo ass to the ER,” she threatened.

An older nurse, who had heard the commotion, tried to calm the situation down.

“
Hi! I’m the D.O.N Rodgers. Who did you come to see?” she asked politely.

“
My sister and I are here to see Donavan Davis,” Nia stated.

“
Oh, yeah! You must be the victim’s fiancée. Follow me.”

The nurse guided them to ICU.

“
We ask that you please put on scrubs and gloves. We wouldn’t want anyone to catch an infection.”

Kendra was a little more coherent and lucid once she heard that Wiz was now in ICU, but her mind pondered,
Who the hell is Donavan Davis?
Inside the room, Kendra broke down again when she saw all the machines and tubes that Wiz was connected to. Cautiously, she walked toward him. Kendra caressed his hand and said, “Babe, what have you gotten yourself into? We’re supposed to get married and grow old and die together. Now, I get the impression that you took the death route too fast, like you tryna bail out on me.” Kendra tried laughing to ease her pain.

Wiz opened his eyes and said, “Babe, I can hear you. We’re still getting married as soon as I get up outta here.”

“
How did this happen? And who is this Donavan? Your name is Gabe,” Kendra demanded to know.

“
Slow down, babe. Donavan is my middle name, and Davis is my mother’s maiden name,” he whispered quietly. “I was handling some business for my store, and I was robbed.” Wiz lied because he didn’t want to tell the truth and end up losing her.

“
Look, babe. There’s a lot we have to talk about when I get home, but listen, love. In here, at all times, you call me Donavan and not Wiz. You got that?” Wiz said. As he was talking, he choked. It was hard for him talk because his mouth was dry.

“
Shhh, babe. You need to get some rest. It’s okay, babe. I love you no matter what,” Kendra informed him.

Wiz tried smiling. Kendra’s words had eased his heart. He wanted to tell Kendra the truth, but he figured it would have been best to just wait it out until the time was right.

The nurse returned to the room and said, “Ms. LaSalle, Mr. Davis’ condition is stabilizing. He was shot in the chest, and, by the grace of God, he made it. He’s a survivor. We’ll be moving him from ICU and putting him into his own room first thing tomorrow morning. Does your fiancé have any insurance?”

“
I’m sorry. We don’t have any at this time, but, whatever the cost, I’ll make sure to pay every penny of it,” Kendra said, smiling.

“
You know the life of a drug dealer doesn’t last long. An honest living will make his life a lot easier.”

She’d seen young men like Donovan more times than she cared to count. It really saddened her to see her people go down like that. She thought she could help, but it only made matters worse.

“
What the fuck, lady? You don’t know me or my fiancé. Who the hell are you to sit here and try to judge our life? You need to get your facts right before you start talking about things you don’t know nothing about,” Kendra yelled.

She was so loud that a doctor came in the room and said, “I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to ask you guys to please leave the room. You can come back tomorrow.”

“
C’mon, Ken. Let’s just leave before the LAPD come up in here. I’ll bring you back here tomorrow,” Nia said, grabbing her sister’s hand and escorting her out the hospital. Nia knew her sister all too well. It was taking everything in Kendra not to whoop on the nurse’s ass.

Chapter 16

After a few more days in the hospital, Wiz was finally released, and Kendra was right there, waiting for him. The doctors said it was a miracle that he had survived because the bullet didn’t do much damage. His arm had to stay in a cast from the shoulder down.

As they left the hospital, Kendra spotted Trent’s mother in a room. She saw that she was crying. She whispered to Wiz to give her a few moments, so she could check on a friend. She went to the room and lightly tapped on the door before entering.

“
Mrs. Moore, is everything okay? Is Treniyah alright?” Kendra asked.

Concern showed on her face. Although she and Trent were no longer an item, she still cared deeply about the family.

“
We’re still looking for Treniyah. She has called once, but she hasn’t called back or come home.”

Mrs. Moore sniffled, trying to compose herself. She wiped away her tears and cleared her throat before speaking. She pointed at the bed and said, “That’s Nicole, lying in the bed. She was beaten really badly. Her mother called and asked if I could stop by. The doctors said she was three months pregnant. The baby didn’t make it. Her condition so far is not good.”

Tears formed in Kendra’s eyes as she remembered that, not long ago, she had threatened Nicole’s life. Deep down inside, she knew she would have never carried out the threat. She had just wanted to scare her bit.

“
I’m so sorry. I pray she will be alright. I’ll call you to check up on everything.” Kendra hugged Mrs. Moore once more.

“
Wait, Kendra. Before you go… Nicole’s mother did say that Trent was the father. I’m not sure what to believe, but is that the reason you broke up with him?”

Kendra turned to look at Trent’s mother with a nice smile on her face. “That’s one of the reasons,” Kendra said. Then, she waved bye and walked away.

“
Babe, who was that? Is everything alright?” Wiz asked when he saw Kendra wiping her eyes. He grabbed her and draped his free arm around Kendra’s shoulder.

“
I’m sorry, babe. That was my ex’s mother.”

Wiz’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as he played the role of a concerned fiancé.

“
I can’t believe that girl was nearly beaten to death and lost her baby,” Wiz said after Kendra told him the story.

As they drove home in silence, Kendra said a small prayer for Nicole. A lot had happened, and she wasn’t sure if she could keep herself together.

“
Are you hungry?” Wiz asked.

“
I sure could go for an Original Tommy’s Burger or a Tam’s burger,” Kendra said, licking her lips like she was already tasting a chili cheese burger. Her mouth was watering. Tommy’s was known to put chilli and cheese on everything, free of charge.

“
Yeah, babe. I could go for some Tommy’s, too,” Wiz smiled.

When they arrived at the burger joint, Kendra went inside to order their food. Knowing that the line would be long, Wiz used the opportunity to make a call. Wiz checked in with his boy Drae. Drae had been Wiz’s right hand man since their sandbox days. Drae had been helping Wiz with his mission, but, so far, it had been impossible to catch that nigga Trent. It was Drae who had convinced Wiz to kidnap one of Trent’s family members. Drae had even suggested that he kidnap Kendra, but Wiz had other plans for her. He could still hear Drae’s voice as he replayed the conversation back like he was a tape recorder: “My nigga, the only way to get at that nigga Trent is to kidnap his bitch or mother or sister,” Drae had said with his adrenaline pumping. His index finger was itching. He was ready to body a few niggas. Drae was quick to rock a nigga to sleep by any means, so he stayed close to Wiz. Just like Wiz, Drae wanted to see Trent’s whole family six feet deep.

“
Aye, my nig. Anything on that bum-ass nigga who shot ya?” Drae asked once he found out that Wiz was out of the hospital.

“
My nigga, it’s no secret. I know who the nigga is that shot me. I looked cuz in the eyes.”

Before he got a chance to finish, Kendra opened the door to the car, so he was sure that she’d heard him on the phone.

“
Who shot you?” she asked.

Kendra liked to play the dumb role, but being with Trent for six years had had its perks.

“
Huh, baby?”

Kendra had caught him off guard.

“
Say. I’mma call you back a little later, so I can talk to wifey,” Wiz told Drae.

“
Alright, my nig. Handle that,” Drae said.

After he got off the phone, Wiz turned his attention to Kendra and said, “Babe, who shot me isn’t any of your concern. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is meeting me at the altar in Cancun.”

He tried using a slick approach, and, so far, it was working. Kendra smiled. Then, she said, “I just don’t want no secrets between us. So, are you gonna let the authorities know who shot ya?” She sang the words, trying to be slick and sarcastic at the same time.

“
Oh, you think that shit funny, don’t you? Snitch leave her, ma,” Wiz laughed. He opened the bag, grabbed his burger out, and took a bite. Wiz continued to talk with a mouthful of food, “I go by the no snitch law. And where I’m from, snitches get a coffin made just for them. Fuck stitches.”

Kendra looked at Wiz while his seat was reclined. She rolled her eyes at his last statement. Her mind drifted back to Nicole. She said a small prayer for her and the child that she’d lost. She also said a prayer for Trent’s sister Treniyah. She prayed that God would return her safe and sound and untouched. What she did not know was that she was sitting right next to the devil who was the cause of Treniyah’s demise.

“
Ken…Ken baby, did you hear what I just said?” Wiz said, breaking her out of her deep thoughts.

“
Yeah, babe. I was just thanking God that you’re okay and coming home with me. Lord knows I hated sleeping in that big bed by myself,” Kendra smiled, revealing her pearly whites. She pulled into the gated apartment complex. After pulling into their parking unit, Kendra helped Wiz out the car.

“
Thanks, babe, but I got it. I’m not crippled, boo. I don’t wanna be fully dependent on you,” he said. To prove his point, he tried carrying his bags with his injured arm, but the weight from his bag caused him a lot of pain. “Ah, shit!” he yelled out, dropping the bag down on the ground.

“
So, you were saying?” Kendra laughed, picking the bag up off the ground.

Wiz was quiet. Kendra opened the door with the key that Wiz had had made for her. To his surprise, the way he’d left his home that day was how it had been kept. Nothing looked like it had been taken out of place or touched.