The King and the Courtesan (50 page)

“What the hell?” I wheezed. I searched for Garrett, afraid he might come up behind us. I found him on the ground clutching his side with bloody hands. His eyes briefly met mine, and he snarled.

“Shoot them!” Garrett shouted at Bruce.

Bruce was too occupied to hear, but it was clear Ace and I were in more danger than the men with guns. Ace was slumped over, having used what little strength he had to run to me. I found what composure I could manage and scrambled to grab the Taser—Bruce must have dropped it when reaching for his gun. I refused to even look at Ezekiel’s body. It still didn’t feel real.

Garrett was moving for his gun despite his wound, but I moved faster. Before he could pull his weapon all the way out of its holster, I ran and thrust the Taser against his shoulder. As he shook, the gun dropped and I grabbed it.

“Melissa!”

I jumped away without looking, fearing that even a glance would take too much time. A gunshot pierced the air—I knew I’d been the target. I crawled behind Garrett, thinking he might prove to be some kind of shield, but after another gunshot, Garrett’s body jerked, and the bullet that penetrated his shoulder whizzed past mine, just nicking the skin. It was clear Bruce had no care for his fellow bodyguard, and would continue shooting through him to get to me.

I had no idea how to handle or aim a gun, despite a lifetime of living in Metro, but I’d watched enough movies to know a trigger was involved. Grasping my wrist to keep the barrel steady, I perched my arm on Garrett’s side and shot over him, wincing at the recoil. I shot twice more, too terrified to look and see if I’d hit anyone.

The shooting stopped. I felt Garrett shift beneath my arm; apparently, he was still alive. When I peered over him, I couldn’t see Bruce anywhere. Seconds later, footsteps rushed toward me and both Ace and the grisly face of Juri appeared above me.

“Did I shoot him?” I asked in a whisper.

“Yeah.” When Garrett moved again, Juri kicked him in the gut, making him wheeze. “You shot ’im all right.”

I sat up, ignoring the hand Ace offered, and wobbled to my feet. Bruce’s body was sprawled out like Ezekiel’s, a pool of blood forming beneath him
. I did that?
The thought was too much to process at the moment.

I stepped away from Garrett, who was moaning on the ground.

“He’s bleeding. Are we going to get him to a hospital?” I asked. Two others joined us, Lucille and another man with a scowl. All carried weapons, and Lucille was bleeding from a gash along her lip.

“Not this one.” Juri crossed the roof and reached down to grab Bruce’s gun. Ace took my arm and drew me away, and Juri spun and shot twice. Before the spray of blood landed, Garrett was dead.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, feeling hysteria climb up my throat. “That—was that necessary?”

“They were about to kill you,” Ace said. “Who cares what was necessary?”

“Oh my—oh my God. I think I need to sit down.”

“Not yet, li’l lady.” Juri threw the gun down and approached me. “We’re getting out of here first.”

“How did you get in here?”

“I’ll explain later. For now, we need to get back to Metro.”

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Ace took my hand, then my arm when I didn’t respond. My legs felt like wet noodles, but I still had some sense of self-preservation. I was able to get back to the elevator, still trying to process what happened. Was this a dream? Ezekiel couldn’t be dead, especially not so suddenly. He was invincible, a man who thought of everything. How could one bullet take him out? How could something so small destroy a legacy so big? He’d been untouchable, always protected by his loyal henchmen, both of whom were also dead.

God, I
shot
someone. I
killed
someone.

“I can’t breathe,” I wheezed, staggering against Ace in the elevator. “Ace, I—”

“It’ll be okay,” Ace whispered, wrapping his arm around my shoulders to keep me standing. “I want you to just focus on breathing, okay? Don’t think about anything else.”

I clenched my eyes shut, but no matter how much I tried to turn my mind away from what had just happened, it crept back, sucking air from my lungs and making my heart flutter. Ace began to count to twenty in a slow and steady rhythm, and finally I was able to inhale and exhale with every number.

“She in shock?” Lucille’s smoker-voice asked Juri.

I didn’t hear Juri’s reply. I was too busy trying to remind my body how to breathe. At last I was able to steady myself, and tears rolled down my face.

“How will we get out of here?” I asked, just as the elevator door opened. In the lobby, the usual guards were slumped over, and the doorman was passed out over his counter. That answered my question.

“Are they dead?” I whispered as Ace helped me out of the elevator.

“No, just tranquilized. They’ll be fine. We wore masks, so they won’t recognize our faces when they wake up.” Juri dug into his back pocket and pulled out a ski mask. “But we need to get out of here quick. The car is waiting.”

Juri and his cohorts had parked down the street, far enough that the security cameras couldn’t see them. Ace opened the back door of a junky sedan and gestured me inside, then slid in beside me. Juri took the wheel, and Lucille the passenger seat. The other men drove black cars, the kind Ezekiel drove—
used to drive
. I was still trying to figure out if this was real

“What just happened?” I asked Ace.

“We just killed Ezekiel,” Juri said from the front, taking a hard right. “Of course, we had help.”

“Those aren’t your guys?” I pressed my face against the window as Juri’s cohorts turned the opposite way at an intersection.

“No, those would be Floyd Milford’s men.”

“
Floyd Milford’s
involved in this?”

“You think we’d be able to get into that place without his help?” Lucille asked, already lighting a cigarette. She twisted around in her seat to face me. “Place is crawling with security and cameras. Floyd knows people. When Ace went missing, we made a call.”

“He wanted us to stay out of it.” Juri accepted the cigarette from Lucille and inhaled. “‘Leave it to the professionals,’ he said. But Lucille an’ I never sit out when it’s family involved.”

“Family?”

Ace chuckled. He was slouched in his seat, still pale and shaky. “We’re a family of misfits.”

“We weren’t expecting you to be in such hot water.” Lucille rolled down her window so she could blow smoke outside. “You’re one lucky cookie, love.”

“Ezekiel’s dead,” I whispered, slapping my forehead. “Holy shit, Ezekiel’s
dead
.”

“Yeah, things are about to get
real
ugly in Metro. He was a sick son of a bitch, but he knew how to keep everything under control. Now every gutter rat with a pistol’s gonna try to grab a slice of the pie.”

“We’ll just stay out of it,” Juri said. “Wait for the dust to settle. It ain’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to Metro.”

“I’ll be in danger. Ezekiel’s men…they won’t take this lying down. They’ll be out for revenge!” My gut, which was just starting to untangle itself, tensed up again.

“You don’t know how this drug cartel thing works, do ya?” Lucille gave me a wink. “No one cares when the king pin falls. In fact, they love it. It’s a chance for more business. Trust me, no one’s gonna be looking for you. Not with
him
gone.”

“You can’t know that.”

“Lucille’s right.” Juri nodded, taking another sharp turn and cutting off a car behind him. “You’re finally free, girlie.”

I stewed over this in silence, still terrified for my life. Such concern had been my obsession for the past few months, and it wasn’t easy to let go. I was only able to relax when Ace took my hand.

“We could have busted you out sooner,” Ace said. “You should have asked.”

I couldn’t imagine such loyalty, considering none of these people knew me that well. “I’d never ask such a thing. You all put your lives at risk.”

“You do crazy things for family.”

“I’m not part of your family, though.”

Juri laughed, looking at me in the rear-view mirror. “Girlie, in Metro, we’re all family.”

* * *

I woke feeling sick the next morning. I was shocked by how normal the day seemed and how clear my mind felt. It was cold outside, but the sky was blue, and there were people on the street. I heard Mimi making noise in the kitchen. It was as if my time with Ezekiel never happened.

I scrambled out of bed to go vomit. When that was taken care of, I shuffled into the kitchen, where Mimi was still dressed in her PJs, making breakfast. She turned to me with a small smile.

“Hey, girlfriend,” she murmured gently. “Want some eggs?”

“Anything a bit more solid?” I asked. “I don’t think my stomach can take it.”

“I’ll make you toast.”

For a minute, there was only the ticking of the clock on the wall. I stared at the floral pattern of the kitchen table. I had so many things that needed done and questions that needed asking. But I was still drinking in the fact that I was here, alone with Mimi, wearing old ratty pajamas, my schedule clear, and all the freedom in the world at my fingertips. Despite everything terrible that had happened lately, I hadn’t felt this good in months.

“Ace should be stopping by soon,” Mimi said, breaking the silence. “He’s worried about you.”

“I need to apologize to him
and
thank him. Maybe send him a card,” I joked, taking a sip from the juice that Mimi set down in front of me. “‘Thanks for Getting Beat Up on My Behalf and Saving Me From Certain Death’. Do you think they sell those cards at the store?”

“In Metro? I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.”

I knew there was so much Mimi wanted to say to me, but she was cautious. Maybe she thought it was too soon. It was, but would it ever be the right time?

“Ace is a nice guy,” Mimi said. “I like him.”

“Yeah.” I took another sip of my drink.

“I just wished we’d met under better circumstances.”

“Hmm.”

Mimi turned and looked at me. I tried to ignore her gaze, but eventually, I had to face her. “What?”

“Oh, Melissa,” she exhaled, then crossed the kitchen to sit down next to me. Her eyebrows rose high on her forehead, wrinkling it. “Melissa, I can’t believe you’re here with me. I thought I’d never get you back alive.”

“Me neither.”

She reached forward and pulled a strand of hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear. “I love you. I’m so happy you’re safe.”

Tears rose in my eyes, so I stared at the tablecloth. “I love you, too, Mimi.”

We hugged briefly. I buried my face in her shoulder, sniffing. She felt so thin and light, not the best protector out there. But she was my big sister, and I’d take whatever I could get.

Mimi pulled back, wiping her eyes with her hand. “Now don’t get me started. Once you get me crying…” She stood and made her way to the toaster. “Do you want butter on this toast?”

There was a knock at the door. I answered it.

“Ace,” I greeted with a weak smile. Already in a hugging mood, I stepped forward and embraced him, slipping my arms under his and clutching his shoulder blades. He was bigger than Mimi, but not much of a rock, either—too thin and wiry. But he smelled nice, and he was warm.

“You doing okay?” he asked softly as I pulled back.

“Am I okay? Look at you.” I brushed my hand over the bandages on his face. “You’re the one who got the shit beaten out of him.”

“I’ve had worse.”

“Then yes, I’m doing fine. Sick, but I think that’s because of…well.” I looked down at my stomach, then angled myself sideways. “Come on in. Mimi’s making breakfast.”

Funny how quickly life returns to normal even after the most horrid ordeals. Somehow, I expected myself to be different,
changed
. Instead, I felt like the same exact Melissa. Now that I was out of the fancy clothes, my hair curly and tangled again, eating plain toast and surrounded by family and friends, I was nothing special. I was not a highbred courtesan, and I wasn’t a cold-blooded murderer. I was simply Melissa.

We shared small talk for a few minutes, but eventually, we had to address my looming problem and what to do with it.

“I’d say abortion was still an option,” I said. “But that money I got from Blade is still in Ezekiel’s bedroom.”

“Oh, but if it’s not necessary, Melissa…”

“Mimi, it’s probably fucked up anyway. Not only by the drugs, but the violence. I haven’t done much to take care of it, I’ll admit that. Who knows what problems it’ll have if it’s born.”

“You don’t know that.”

“We could get it checked out,” Ace suggested.

“With what money?” I asked. “I don’t have insurance. Mimi has money left from what Ezekiel gave her, but that’s not nearly enough to pay for medical bills and rehab.”

“Well…”

“Ace?”

He bit his lip. “I could ask for some favors.”

“Are these favors that’ll get you in trouble?”

“Oh, no. I just don’t like to ask too often, in fear of taking advantage of him.”

“Who’s him?” I asked.

“Floyd Milford.”

“Ace, he already helped us out in a major way. Don’t you think it’s a bit much to ask him for
another
favor?”

“That wasn’t a favor, trust me. He wanted to take Ezekiel down.”

“When I spoke to him, he seemed lukewarm about Ezekiel, at most.”

“Yeah, that’s when Ezekiel wasn’t kidnapping friends of his sister’s.” Ace reached forward and rested his hand on mine. “You’ve only met him once, but I know him. This is a good cause. I’ll explain the whole thing to him. Trust me. He’s got too much money and not enough things to do with it.”

“I don’t know…” A whole life of fighting to pay back debts had made me very cautious about borrowing money. Especially if we were talking about someone as high profile as Floyd Milford. He and Ezekiel probably owned half of this city.

“Melissa.” Ace put a hand on my wrist. “It’ll be fine. He won’t expect any money back.”

“I just hate—”

“I know, but there’s no harm in asking.” Ace glanced at his wristwatch. “We could go see him today if you’d like. Or is it too soon? Do you need more time to rest?”