Gutta Mamis (25 page)

Shinette's psychotic mindset took her everywhere. She didn't like the feeling that began to fill her gut, but it was obvious to her that Tierra was a traitor. She had double-crossed Shinette and then tried to have her killed.

Shinette turned off the water and stepped around Jason Hamilton's corpse. She jetted to her bedroom and quickly slipped on a pair of jeans and an oversized T-shirt. She snatched clothes off hangers, gathering only enough to fill her bag. With no time to
spare, she ran through the living room, grabbed the bag of money, and dashed out the door. Her heart raced as she rushed down the steps, worried that someone might have reported the shots. She didn't look back, only picked up her pace.

She opened her car door and immediately tossed the bags in the backseat. She started the engine and peeled off through the parking lot, only slowing down when she got to the gate. It seemed to take forever to open and when it did, she nearly floored the car's accelerator. Pulling out of the complex and entering a flow of traffic, she saw two Dallas squad cars racing in the opposite direction. She looked in her rearview and saw that they had turned into her apartment complex. She had made it out just in time. She respired and made a quick right, headed for the interstate.

There was a smothering silence that floated in Duke's bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed, his head buried in the palm of his hands. Tierra's desperate pleas for help were trapped behind the rag he had stuffed in her mouth right before taping it shut. A bucket of tears poured freely down her face and her eyes begged for mercy. She bucked her head violently, straining every vein in her neck as she tried to shake free from the restraints. Duke had tied her hands and feet to the chair with cable wire, practically cutting off her circulation. She strained herself to the point she peed herself.

Duke was out of his head and the longer he delayed killing Tierra, the more he began to care that she was carrying his seed. She had blurted out that she was pregnant right as his finger prepared to pull the trigger. He was ready to avenge the death of his cousin, Keyz, and do to her what he would have done to any nigga in the street. Being a bitch didn't mean she was exempt from catching that fire. When it was all said and done, he didn't give a damn about the dope. All he wanted was Tierra and Shinette dead, and their bodies dumped in the landfill along with the rest of the trash.

Now, Duke wrestled with the fact that if Tierra was indeed pregnant, he would be killing his own baby as well. That thought alone sent him over the edge. He jumped up from the bed, walked straight
over to where she was and slapped her so hard her neck popped.

Tierra's entire face turned red and blood trickled from her nose. She couldn't even feel the left side of her face any longer. She squeezed her eyes tight and jerked wildly.

“Y'all killed my fucking blood!” Duke got up in her face. He placed the muzzle of the gun directly on Tierra's forehead. “Bitch, I should just do you in right motherfucking now! How the fuck I know it's mine?” he hollered. “Matter fact, how the fuck do I know you even pregnant?”

Tierra blinked her eyes constantly, her only means of communicating to him.

Duke yanked off the tape and snatched the rag out of her mouth. She immediately began throwing up and coughing simultaneously. When she was able to catch her breath, she hollered, “Help!” at the top of her lungs.

“Ain't nobody gonna hear your rabbit ass!”

“Please don't kill me,” Tierra begged of him as globs of bloody snob ran down her mouth. “This is your baby! I promise it's yours.” Her breathing became heavy as she tried to inhale as much air possible before he gagged her again. “Please, Duke. I didn't mean to hurt you,” she cried. When she saw that he wasn't responding, she yelled again. “Help!”

Duke rammed the gun into her mouth, shoving it past her teeth. “Scream one more damn time and I'll splatter your brains all over this fucking wall!”

“Agwwwah…” Tierra wailed, knowing he would make good on his threat. It was written all over his face. Everything before an hour ago had been a mystery until Duke revealed that the man she and Shinette had murdered, was his cousin. Duke then began accusing her of trying to set him up too. The more he talked, the
quicker she began to tie everything together, realizing that the set-up from the night before had all been a part of Shinette's plan from day one. Tierra had no idea that Duke was a major drug dealer, and while Shinette had insinuated that Duke wasn't to be trusted, Tierra had written it off as jealousy. It didn't register that Shinette was trying to expose him. But greed had also set in during that process. Shinette had used Tierra's relationship with Duke to her advantage, making it that much easier for her to keep tabs on Duke and his drug operations, all with the intent of robbing him right under their noses. Shinette had outsmarted them both.

Duke yanked the gun back.

“I'm sorry,” Tierra pleaded. “Please believe me…I…I didn't know he was your cousin.”

“Bitch, don't give me that! And you can kill all the fake-ass theatrics.” Duke pulled back. “You and that hoe knew exactly what y'all were doing! Y'all set this whole thing up and now you expect me to believe that you didn't know he was my kinfolk? What the fuck I look like believing your trifling ass! You didn't think I would figure this shit out?”

Tierra couldn't believe how Duke had turned on her. It all felt like a horrible nightmare. “But what about our baby, Duke? Please. I'm begging you. I promise we can fix this,” she told him. “Think about our baby!”

Duke's face twisted into a scowl. “There ain't shit to fix.” He balled up the rag and gagged her once again. “You better start saying your prayers because when I get back, your life is going to be riding on your piss.”

Duke walked out of the room, headed to buy a pregnancy test. If Tierra wasn't pregnant, he was going to murk her ass before her piss could dry on the stick. He pressed the button on his keyring
to unlock his car and as he got ready to walk out of the door, he remembered his wallet was on the kitchen counter. He walked hastily to the back of the house to retrieve it.

The instant he got inside his car and closed the door, his phone started going off. He pulled it from his pocket. Seeing that it was Jason's number, he anxiously pressed TALK.

“Man, you handle that bitch?” Duke asked as he started up the engine.

“Yeah, I handled that bitch!” Shinette sprung up from behind him. Before he knew what was coming, she hooked one arm around his head and pulled it toward her chest, using all her strength. Duke was blindly grabbing for her head, but before he could get his hands high enough in the air, Shinette drove the knife deep into his flesh, slicing his throat from ear to ear.

Blood sprayed out of Duke's neck. He immediately placed both hands around his throat, trying to apply enough pressure to stop the profuse bleeding. His efforts were futile. He was hemorrhaging to death. His jugular vein and carotid artery had been severed in one swipe before he knew what had hit him. Gurgling sounds escaped Duke as he tried to hold on to dear life.

Quivering in shock, he widened his unbelieving eyes as he watched himself die at the hands of a bitch. Staring back at him in the rearview mirror was Shinette in full gorilla gutta form with a black ski mask covering her face. A weak shrill lifted off his throat but crashed before it could reach his ears. Duke started to lose oxygen. The loud thumping of his heartbeat sounded more like a trumpet, serenading him to a state of unconsciousness as he drowned seemingly in a sea of his own blood. Shinette completely emerged from the backseat. It was only a matter of minutes before the Grim Reaper came to claim his soul. She leaned over and pulled the keys
from the ignition, dropping Jason's phone in Duke's lap. “Pussy nigga!” she bantered. She slipped out of the car and started straight for the house. She walked through the front door, gun cocked and ready. She was looking for the one person who she knew had set her up.

Shinette didn't hear a peep, which kept her on her toes. She walked through the entire downstairs and there was no Tierra in sight. She took to the stairs, climbing them slowly and quietly. Once she reached the top, she looked down over the banister. She believed she was imagining things when she heard what sounded like muffled screams.

She moved in the direction of the noise, her finger gracing the trigger. She was prepared to shoot anything moving. Her heels clawed at the hardwood floors, announcing her presence on her behalf. She pushed the bedroom door completely open and to her surprise, Tierra was butt-ass naked, gagged, and strapped to a chair.

Fear consumed Tierra once the masked intruder entered the room. The thoughts that charged her, forced her to accept that Duke had sent someone to finish her off. He must have loved her too much to carry it out himself. Trapped between what was actually happening and fearing the unknown, left Tierra completely restless. She tried to convince herself that death would be easier, but the thought of her unborn baby not having a chance at life, revitalized her. Tears flowed like pouring rain down her cheeks as she jerked uncontrollably.

Shinette analyzed the situation, only to reach one conclusion. It wasn't Tierra that had sent Jason to kill her, it was Duke. He had stolen Tierra's key and sent his goon after her. But how could Duke have known that they were the ones who killed Keyz and robbed him? She shook her head. The missing piece to the puzzle instantly
revealed itself. Tierra had sold Shinette out like the traitor she had become. She had told Duke all about the lick they hit, not realizing that she was in fact, running her mouth to the one they had robbed.

Shinette walked closer to Tierra who she now deemed useless. She had become nothing more than a liability and a lost cause. A snitch bitch. Once Tierra recognized who the assailant was underneath the ski mask, she froze. Confusion registered on her face, but she knew that Shinette had come to her rescue. Her prayers had been answered. She began to breathe in relief until the gun Shinette held at her side, lifted midway in the air. Before Tierra knew it, she was staring down the barrel of her own gun. The gun that had Keyz's dead body attached to it.

Shinette slowly pulled the rag out of Tierra's mouth.

“Shinette, what are you doing?” Tierra immediately asked.

Not a single word left Shinette's lips. She stared at Tierra through the eyes of a serial killer. Neither of them would have been in this predicament if Tierra had not opened her damn mouth. If she had only listened to Shinette, things would not have to end this way. Tierra had proven that she couldn't be trusted, and if she betrayed Shinette once, she'd betray her again.

“I'm sorry…please…,” Tierra begged for her life.

Shinette pointed the gun at Tierra's heaving chest.

“No! Don't do this. Please…please…please…my baby…please…”

Tears formed in Shinette's eyes. She didn't want to do what she was about to do, but she had to deal with this now, or risk everything. By nightfall, Duke's goons would be gunning for them both. Better Tierra catch that bullet than her. “I'm begging you! I don't want to die! Please…”

“I love you,” Shinette squeezed out right before the gun went off.

Tierra sucked in a large amount of air as soon as the bullet tore through her heart. She got one last look at Shinette before her eyelids folded over the whites of her eyes. It wasn't long after that before her heart stopped beating.

Shinette removed the ski mask and closed her grief-stricken eyes, unable to bear the sight of her dead friend. She placed the gun near Tierra's feet. She walked out of that room and did not look back.

Shinette raced down the steps. She had to get out of there. She sorted through Duke's keys until she found the one to unlock his work truck. She hopped inside and drove half a mile up the road where she had parked her car. She moved swiftly as she transferred the bags into the truck. The farther she got from the crime scene the better off, she would be. She headed straight for the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. She would lay low for a while, but she'd be back. Dallas was home, and after all, she was the Greedy Grove Gutta Queen. But until her return, she was going to continue to do what she did best.
CHASE!

N'Tyse is the erotic romance author of several best
selling novels. She is also executive producer and director of the documentary film,
Beneath My Skin.
While N'Tyse, pronounced entice, spells out exotic seduction, the true signifi
cance behind her name takes on an entire new meaning. The acronym translates to
N
ever
T
ell
Y
our
S
e
cret—a message she envelops within her stimulating taboo tales.

The author's passion for writing dates back to a very young age where she found poetry, music, and creative writing as an outlet. In 2007 N'Tyse ambitiously penned and self-published her freshm
an and sophomore novels,
My Secrets Your Lies
and
Stud Princess Notorious Vendettas
, which went on to grace many bestseller lists, including
The Dallas Morning Newspaper.

N'Tyse currently juggles her writing career as a full-time mom, wife, and documentary filmmaker. She is the author of
Twisted Seduction
and
Twisted Vows of Seduction
. Her literary contributions have been featured in magazines and several bestselling anthologies, including
Zane Presents Purple Panties 2: Missionary No More
, and Zane's
Z-Rated: Chocolate Flava
3.
N'Tyse currently resides in Dallas, Texas where she is hard at work on the next installment in her Twisted series. Vist the author at
www.ntyse.com
;
www.facebook.com/author.ntyse
;
www.twitter.com/ntyse
;
ntyse.amillionthoughts@ yahoo.com