She remained quiet. Arguing would do nothing, and he had no memories of her that were
good. She wasn’t even sure the girl she grew up with was still inside the hollowed out shell she’d seen in the club.
“You ready, G?” he asked, studying her carefully.
“I’m ready,” she said, hoping she sounded a hell of a lot more confident than she felt.
They traveled to the club, met up with Demon and a few other members, then drove to
Taffy’s. They were the first to arrive.
Gia opened the doors, slightly numb as they moved to the back.
Demon posted a few men up front. The rest of the men would stand around in the room,
ready to jump into the action at the slightest hint of trouble, while she, Lefty, and Demon sat at the table.
She sat between the two with her hands in her lap. The tension in the room felt thick and
cloying. She swallowed to moisten her throat. What seemed like centuries later, the sound of footsteps came from the hallway. It’s time. Gia clasped her hands together and kept her face emotionless.
Mylandra walked into the room with her hips swaying from side to side. Five-inch lime-
green heels matched the skintight dress with the low cut v-line that showed off her chest and sternum. Her locks fell down to her waist and her make-up was flawless. The years had been kind. No large wrinkles marred her oval-shaped face. Her milk chocolate skin glowed and her full lips twisted into a sneer while painted a bright fuchsia. “I see someone done real well for themselves. Still using the skill I taught you.”
“We’re here to deal, not reminisce,” Demon sneered.
“Fine,” Mylandra said while shrugging. “You want something I ‘ave. You offer me
something.”
“No, that’s not how we’re going to play this,” Demon retorted, his voice steady and calm.
“First, you show us that Taffy is fine and then, if we’re still interested, you can tell us what you want. You’re not going to waste my time playing guessing games. You seem to keep forgetting where you are. This is my space, my rules. You got me?”
Mylandra’s nostrils flared and her lips pursed. “She’s outside in the car. Whether she’ll
continue to be fine is up to you.” She set down her phone, placed a call, and set the phone up on its kickstand. “Mark, show them our bargaining tool.”
A moment later, the massive man with dark brown skin pulled Taffy into the frame by her
face. Her left eye was swollen shut. Her right eye had a dark ring around it. Her lip was split and her breathing sounded off.
Gia bit the inside of her cheek to keep from running off at the mouth.
“Why would we want such damaged goods?”
“Because you don’t want pretty. If that was the case, you wouldn’t have asked me to make a deal for the ugly bitch. You want me to be up front. I’ll make it clear. There’s no amount of money you can offer me. What I want is to see Jalissa suffer. She stepped out of her place and made me look bad. I’ve had to live with that shit for far too long. Taking it out on Taffy only helped so much.” Mylandra shrugged. “I got bored of it after a time. They’re no use once they’re broken. You want her? Then give up the club and your fancy home.”
All this time and you still know nothing about me, you evil bitch. I never cared about the money. I only wanted security
“Taffy’s isn’t hers to give,” Demon said.
“Then have her sign over the rights,” Mylandra replied.
Demon opened his mouth to protest.
“Done,” Gia stated.