Power (Romantic Suspense) (43 page)

“Let her seduce you, but remember. She will not trust you, unless you give her the impression that you’re isolated.” He stared at Mary Jane. “You must play the part of an isolated man. Seek her with no weapons or any men around. You need to get close to Butterfly and she is no fool. You must really be alone, but do not fear. She will not kill you. Use her love against her.
Let her tie your hands up, if she must. Make her think she’s safe to sit around you.”

Use her love for me against her and make me look like I’m in a weak position? That could work. She knows I could choke her, so she would never want to get to close to me, unless my hands were tied. She knows I have a team. I would have to gain her trust in a way that proves I wouldn’t hurt her.

I raised my eyebrows. “How would I kill her if my hands are tied, no weapons are around and nor my men?”

“Let her seduce you.” Aristotle grinned. “And then give her the kiss of death.”

Finally, Aristotle sounded like my old friend.

I laughed after he’d told me a sick story. “You’re a bad man, Aristotle.”

“Women are the hardest to kill. They never give up. They’ll fight to the end—clawing, scratching, screaming, kicking, and biting. They use every way possible to free themselves.” He opened a package, pulled out a new book, inhaled the fresh pages’ scent, and perused the cover. “That’s the only way you can truly kill a female. Give her the kiss of death. Seduce her. Get her nice and comfortable in the bedroom. And when she gets close, embrace her beautiful body, hold the blade in your mouth and slice her tongue. Some will choke on the blood. Others will try to claw out the pain and die from the loss.”

I waved him away. “I have no need to kill women.”

He looked up from the book and looked at me seriously. “One day you will. Trust me on that.”

I blinked and returned to Aristotle in the present moment—naked, starving, and sitting on his throne of books. “My old friend, I came here to ask you to run Din City.”

The walls vibrated. A baby cried on the second level. Five of my men pointed their guns in that direction. The wailing stopped. A cold wind blew through the space, disrupting some of the books and making the stacks tremble. A few of the volumes opened and pages swayed back and forth.

“Noah.” Aristotle commanded my attention. “You must never ask me to leave here. I am fulfilling something that you can never comprehend. I am carrying out my purpose.”

Your purpose?

I didn’t know how to respond to that. So, I admitted the truth of my situation, “I’m stepping down from controlling Din City. You’re the only one that could do it.”

A couple of my men stirred in the background. I hadn’t made a formal announcement to anyone. This was the first time they were hearing about my retirement.

“You want to give me control of the city?” Aristotle asked.

“You were fifth on the list.” I shrugged.

“Why not let the survival of the fittest gain control?”

“That sounds like more war and fighting. It doesn’t sit well with me. Innocent people will die if everyone rises up to take my position.”

“Your attachments slow you down. Let go of Din City. It’s such a small place in a little world. Let her thrive without you. Innocent people will die? Haven’t some always died? Do you think that you are the lifeline for the entire city? Do you truly believe that your control protects them all? Let go of your attachments, Noah.”

I gestured to his throne and the locs that stuck to the ceiling. “You say let go, as you attach yourself to a house.”

Aristotle’s eyes turned bright red in response. Scary. Blood-curdling red. Incomprehensible. Something of horror movies. Nothing that could ever be real. I’d seen a lot of shit in my life, but in this moment, I almost pissed my pants.

No, this is not Aristotle. This is something else.

My body froze. Someone shrieked behind us. Not sounding like Mary Jane, it had to be one of my men. Shuffling came. I think a few people stepped out of the room. Metal definitely clinked. I was sure the guns had come out. These past months had triggered the impossible all around me—my brothers warred against each other, I fell in love, and even Vinese’s tarot cards had changed the very idea of reality. But even with all of these unimaginable occurrences going on, I still could not wrap my head around the scene in front of me.

His eyes can’t be red like this. He’s figured out a way to make them look that way. This has to be a trick. This can’t be real.

Aristotle glared at me with those red eyes. “Maybe, you should start looking within yourself for answers and stop coming to me. I’m busy. Do not return.”

I slowly raised my hands. “I understand. We’re going to leave.”

“Good.” Aristotle’s eyes dimmed back to normal. “One more thing. Butterfly also wanted me to tell her the future, but I told her that I didn’t know such things. She wondered if she would ever have a child. This is something you can probably use.”

Those words fell on deaf ears for the moment. My friend’s eyes had raged like a monster. He sat there attached to this monstrous house with a history of blood. I had to do something. I couldn’t just leave.

Okay. If I allow myself to think that anything is possible in real life. Forests can live and form horses out of trees. Cannibals can tell true fortunes of the future. Love can live and survive in my heart. If I can believe these things, I must address this house and Aristotle. I cannot ignore this anymore.

Was he in his right mind? Did this house penetrate into him? Did he want to be free?

With my hands still in the air, I asked, “Did she come with anyone?”

Aristotle closed his eyes. “Of course.”

“And did the other person leave with her?” I asked.

He opened his eyes. “No.”

“Did the person die?” I asked.

His gaze delivered a shiver through me. “Of course. Butterfly has always understood the price. You have always pretended like it didn’t exist.”

“What price?” I asked.

Those red eyes returned. “Everyone must pay a price. These words are not free. Blood must be spilled.”

“You’ve never said that before,” I said.

“You never asked. Maybe you weren’t ready to believe it, but now you’re in love. Anything is possible now, right? You thought the world was black and white. Now you see the intricate shades of gray. The dark blues. The murderous red. The colors that don’t even have a name. Before, you thought you had all of the answers in life. Now you know that life is really only questions and that if you’re able to answer one or two things about our reality, you’ve won in some way.”

“I have another question for you,” I said. “Will we
all
leave today?”

“Do you
all
ever leave?” Aristotle closed his eyes. “Someone always dies.”

“Aristotle?” I asked. “What the fuck are you talking about, Man?”

Thunder rumbled behind us. Rain poured outside. The room darkened, although I could make out a few shapes here and there. Some of the towers of books trembled near us as if they were close to falling. Talking occurred behind me. The men had lost their sense of loyalty to the mission. Everybody was clearly scared out of their minds. I glanced behind me. Some had already tip toed out.

Mary Jane had remained quiet, but now she came close to me and whispered, “W-we have to...”

“Run?” I whispered back.

“No.” Her bottom lip quivered. “We have to save him.”

Although the room had darkened, Mary Jane glowed in a way. Like some light hung above her. I could see her better than anything else in the room.

Vinese’s words hit me again.

“Look for the light in the darkness and run fast toward that light, like you’re about to die. Never look over your shoulder at the darkness. Any light you see boy, you run for it.”

She trembled next to me. “W-we can’t leave him here.”

Men shuffled away. I doubted anyone heard, but the terror reached an all new high. Besides Crusher, Mo, 305, and Fuji, everyone else had sought a silent escape. Off in the distance a man screamed.

305’s voice came out shaky. “Uh, Noah?”

I raised my hand. “Give me a minute.”

Okay. If I accept everything else, then I will agree that this house is cursed or at least living in some way. And it has my friend. It’s doing something to him. When I first walked in, I thought he looked like the heart inside of somebody’s chest, hooked up and connected to the ceilings and floors.

I studied him some more.

Aristotle closed his eyes again. “Whatever you’re thinking, Noah. End it.”

“What am I thinking?” I put Mary Jane behind me.

Aristotle’s voice lowered into a dark tone I’d never heard from him. “I think now is a good time to leave. Let’s see. How many of you will pay the price today?”

“Fuck this!” 305 rushed out of there with no further warning.

Chapter 29

Mary Jane

A Fool saw a eunuch talking with a woman and asked him if she was his wife. When he replied that eunuchs can't have wives, the Fool asked:
"So is she your daughter?"

–Philogelos (The Laughter Lover)

S
o
this turned into a fucking horror story really quick.

“We got to leave, man!” 305 roared in front of us.

The scent of blood filled the air, reminding me of the massacre in Butterfly’s brothel. Outside rain hammered on the roof and windows. Gun shots blared. I didn’t know who shot at who, but I damned sure wished I had a gun.

A baby’s cries sounded on the top level. Noah wasted no time, grabbed my hand, and yanked me out of that book-filled mess like I was a rag doll. Cold wind blew through the house like the windows and doors had been opened. Crusher and Fuji ran out too.

“Is this the right way, Boss?” Crusher bumped his big body into me.

“There is only one way.” Noah had his gun out. Swiftly, he maneuvered us through the men, books, and terror like a prowling tiger. No fear on his face, rage rose in his eyes. He gripped me hard, promised to never let go, and guided me from side to side. Books fell all around us, slamming into arms, shoulders, heads, and legs. A downpour of novels and anthologies.

Noah knocked some away before they hit me. “Baby?”

“I’m fine.” I couldn’t find Mo or the others.

The ground quaked under my feet. Pages stuck to my skin. With each step, I peeled away sheets. Words flew in the air. Thunder crackled outside. Lamps came on and flickered inside like lightening. With each flash, I swore I spotted mangled bones among the books.

Jesus! Get me the fuck out of here. We can save Aristotle next time.

In the hallway, more stacks of books fell and collapsed into all of us, knocking some men down to the ground. No one helped or grabbed for them. They all were fleeing for their lives. If Noah hadn’t been yanking me forward, I might’ve reached for some of the others.

The baby’s cries blended with Aristotle’s laughter and filled the air.

Why had we even gone? We didn’t gain any information, besides the fact that the house was indeed haunted. What could be taken from this visit, besides hell does actually reside in pockets of the earth?

We arrived at the end of the hall where the huge double doors had been opened.

At least ten men rushed out. After that, the door slammed closed.

“Oh, hell no!” 305 tried to open it. The knob wouldn’t turn.

“Fuck!” He shot the knobs off. Nothing happened to the metal. No holes pierced the wood, only sparks. “Fuck this place, man!”

“Calm down.” Noah raised a hand in the air. Everyone in the crowded hall turned to him. “Look. We’re scared, but this fucking house isn’t taking us down. We spread terror through the streets. Are we going to let this motherfucker get us?”

Sweat trickled down almost all of his men’s faces.

Crusher stepped up. A fierce mask covered his face. “What should we do?”

I scanned the crowd. “Where’s Mo?”

305 shot at the door again.

“Stop.” Noah released my hand. “Fuji, grab Mary Jane and get her out of here if you can. If not, just fucking keep her alive. I’ll be right back. Everyone stay together.”