Annie And The Cowboy (Western Night Series 3) (14 page)

The tiny humans only served one purpose in her life at the moment- helping her earn a paycheck.

"Knock, knock!" Zac slapped her chair minutes later. No, scratch that. It was an hour later that he broke her out of her reverie with the grin most women, including her, fell for. Well she had fallen for it, but now his smooth milky brown face and lazy smile just annoyed her every time. His chest was something most men envied and women dreamed about, but for her he was nothing but a reminder of her lack of proper judgement.

"Thanks Cara," he said smiling at her, offering her a hand down from her perch. She ignored it completely.

"If you are late one more day I am going to report you and take half your paycheck. This is not cool anymore," she jabbed him in the chest and walked away, with a silent Simone in tow.

They quickly took a wash off and Cara spent time shampooing her thick trusses before stepping out and hauling on her chosen ensemble for the day.

"Macky's here we come," she said nudging Simone playfully as they made their way out of the resort. It was Friday and they were both free tomorrow. This had been their Friday ritual for three years now, and they never got tired of Macky's ribs that made them gluttonous for one night every two weeks.

***

Joshua sat in his usual seat waiting on his plate of ribs to be serve. He had war on his mind and he watched his enemy with ire of the hunter in him. His business was his life and credibility and honesty were the makers of his trade. Any man, woman, boy or girl who could not comply with that could not do business with him. Even worst is the fact that if they thought to outsmart him with silly tricks, then came to him unremorseful, he would deal with them accordingly. He had no patience for folly, and people's emotions have no place in his bank account. This was something the man across from him would learn the hard way  today. It wasn't so much that the man had stolen from him, it is that he had done so and then lauded it over his head when he thought no one was listening.

For that he would pay.

His men stationed at the door and milling around the crowded bar would make sure that the source of his ire did not leave without him knowing. In the meantime, Macky's plate of ribs  deserved his undivided attention. He would worry about burning the calories off a tad bit later.

The jingle on the door chimes sounded over the music and he lifted his head with a single rib sticking out of his mouth to look at the two beauties who playfully nudged each other as they giggled through the door. He had seen them here before and if memory served correctly, it had been on the nights Macky served his ribs. He watched them take their seats admiring the smiles that never left their faces and when the source of his discontentment saw them the young man walked over and was giving a huge hug from both. Then to his utter dismay the beauties invited him to join them.

Enjoy your last meal,
Joshua thought as he watched the back of the man's curly head. He was envisioning a bullet going through his skull.

Joshua knew he himself was no model citizen but the one thing he hated more than other crooks, were people who lied about it. Poetic justice is what most people would call it, but he had code. It made him predictable but without morals and codes, they were just a bunch of savages.

He finished up his ribs and ordered seconds, not sure where he was going to put it, and as he was finishing up with his second dish the young man got up and bid the beauties good bye. Had he known he had a bull’s-eye on his back Joshua was sure he would never have opted to use the back exit. His men looked at him and he gave the nod. Two of his men who had a penchant for pain without murder followed the man out, and as he left money on the table for his bill, he followed on there heels.

"The boss would like to have a word with you," Jake his second said as they slammed the skinny young man into the wall.

"Enough!" Joshua ordered as he walked down the back alley as Jake landed a solid punch in the man's stomach. "Hello Michael," he said as the man groaned in pain trying hard to keep his balance.

"Josh, I am going to pay you back," Michael croaked around the pain in his stomach.

Michael chuckled and lit a cigarette. "This is not about the money son, this is about trying to get one up on me."

Michael began to say something in his defense, but Joshua held up a hand to stop him. Whatever he had to say was of no use. He would be used as an example. He took a draw from his cigarette and closed his eye allowing the silence to make his prey anxious. Josh always felt that in his past life he could have been a lion or a tiger as he enjoyed the chase. Most people thought of him as a psycho, but even psychosis had its place in society and he held his with pride.

"You will pay be back Michael, and if you ever steal from me again," Joshua let his words trail off as he handed his cigarette to Jake and fired punch after punch at Michael's. By the time he was done, the young man was unconscious on the ground possibly with a broken jaw.

"Get away from him!" A scream came from the door, and their heads turned to see one of the beauties running towards them she bent over Michael and threw a hateful glance up at the men around him.

"What the hell did you assholes do?!" Her rage was more of a cry for them to help but Joshua was in no mood. He walked off ignoring her.

"Call your friend an ambulance or something, he's gonna need it," he threw over his shoulder. But he didn't get much further before a bottle landed in the back of his head. He felt it coming before it broke there and as drops of blood soiled his white shirt collar he stalked back to the defiant woman who had dared assault him.

Grabbing her by the neck he slammed her into the wall, his anger at being assaulted replacing all common sense. "Do not test my faith. You are fucking lucky I didn't kill his thieving ass. Make sure he pays me what he owes and I will forget this." He let her go and she coughed trying to catch her breath. 

"Whatever he owes you will have to go to his medical bills," she said to him through clenched teeth. He couldn't figure out if she had a death wish or if she was just brave. Though bravery and stupidity very often went hand in hand, case in point-the fiery dark eyes that glared at him in defiance. He stared down at her heart shaped face and slender form and knew he could break her in one go. Yet as she stood he saw a kind of strength to her that intrigued him. He decided to walk away from her.

"The name is Cara," she spat at him as he walked off. "Remember it, because if you ever touch him again I'm going to break your face."

He turned to her and smiled. He was sure it was not the last time he would be seeing her. He was actually going to make a concerted effort to ensure that.

Chapter 2

Cara sat outside the hospital room, while Simone swore up and down the hall about the piece of shit, asshole, waste of space of a man that had beaten Michael to a pulp. This wasn't the first time Michael had gotten beaten though and it wasn't the second or third time. He was Simone's brother and though she had kept his secret, Cara was beginning to think that it was time Simone knew about what Michael had gotten himself into. Well, she would try to tell her if she would stop cursing long enough to listen.

She understood Simone's fury. Their mother had died from cancer two years ago and their father had been too far down in a bottle to care much about anything. Michael had a penchant for getting into trouble and had done so at every turn. The only reason she knew about his current extra curricula activities was because the last time some dweeb had beaten him into a pulp he had managed to haul his ass to her house instead of going home to his sister. But now it was time for that to change.

"Hey Simone," she said to her friend who stopped and unintentionally glared at her. "Come sit down, I need to tell you something."

Simone walked suspiciously towards the seat she patted beside her. Cara was not one to mince her words and so she told Simone everything she knew. She had to or risk the next time Michael was beaten he would turn up dead. Simone's grey eyes blazed and her friend punched the wall outside his hospital room before walking in. Cara rushed in after her thinking Simone might just save everybody else the trouble and kill him herself.

"Wake up you idiot!" Simone screamed at her sleeping brother to no avail. His head was heavily bandaged and the doctors had said he was sedated to allow his head some time to heal. His nose had been bleeding profusely when he was brought in, and blood had come out of his ear.

He was likely higher than a jet on cloud nine at the moment but Simone didn't care. She pinched his arm and waited for a response and when none came she turned to Cara in a huff.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" She said in a loud whisper as one of the doctors popped a head in the room. "I tell you everything and you neglect to tell me this."

"I am sorry," Cara said trying to calm her friend down.

"Do you know who the guy in the alley was?" Simone asked.

Cara knew who the guy in the alley was. Everybody who lived on the south side of Chicago knew who the man in the alley was. She couldn't fault Simone. Cara had grown up in the projects, the part of Chicago where police thought twice about responding to 911 calls and the only justice was owned and arbitrarily exacted by the gangs and their leaders. Pretty little Simone had been lucky enough to have a mother who married her way out of the south side. They had met as youngsters through their mutual love for the water, and they had built a friendship ever since. One Cara had treasure, but one that would come to an end surely, if Simone continued with her defiance.

"Who is he?" Simone demanded.

"Joshua Chantouse," she said flatly and she didn't need to say a single thing more.

****

It was a little after twelve the following day that Josh sat in his office mulling over some papers his accountant had sent him. The deal Michael had caused him to lose put a dent in his weekly revenue. As a drug dealer he had prided himself on a few things, one of them was never losing a client. He wasn't into plying the trade for a few hundred dollars, he ran a multimillion dollar business with an iron fist. Some two timing loser had cost him three hundred thousand dollars in three days and he intended to collect.

He hadn't been one of those idiots who sold drugs and intended to do that for the rest of his life. No, he had plans. For years he had been making his money plying drugs through the streets but he had cleaned it and built something for himself. Coming from nothing, being a drug dealer was not to be his single story. This building he stood in was to be one of the first, real estate and investment was his trade. The second would be a commercial building he would rent and the third....he hadn't decided yet. He had plans, plans that included a wife and a child eventually, but if people kept fucking with his shit there was no way he was going to accomplish it.

He shoved his hands into his pocket and stood looking out the twenty-third floor of his office building. He had built this empire from scratch. Made sure every law man, lawyer and politician who was worth a damn, was tightly fitted into his pocket and on his payroll. Taking a chance on the fast talking idiot who had cost him money was a rookie mistake. The thought kept making him angry and he could do nothing but stare out the window. He had been just another black kid on the south side, but drugs were his passport out and he had no interest in losing because some ignorant person, who lacked vision, tried to dupe him.

"You can't go in there!" His secretary was shouting. Josh turned towards his door just as it burst open with the fresh scent of the rain that clung to the wet hair in front of him and mixed with it was the subtle brew of wild apples. The other beauty from Macky's last night.

"Listen you piece of shit!" She shouted at him and he loosened his tie and stared at her with a lifted eyebrow. "Leave my brother alone," she shouted at him and tossed an envelope onto his desk.

It took him longer than it should have before he recognized her as the sister Michael had bragged about a few times. The gem of the family, he had said. Now here she was like fate's gift standing in his office.

"Good morning, little Miss Michael," he smiled.

"My name is Simone," she said and he admired the fire in her eyes. Her thick lips all but snared at him as he looked her up and down. Her milky brown complexion was only flawed by the tiny drops of rain that still lingered there. Her grey eyes were cloudy globes promising a fight and though she must have had one white parent, when she turned to leave her ass spoke of nothing but her African heritage. He was enthralled.

"What's in the envelope?" He asked her.

"Half the money my brother owes you," she answered turning to stare him in the face. "You will get the other half at the end of the month when he gets out of the hospital."

Josh laughed. "That is not how this works," he said coldly and took the envelope from his desk, stashing it inside.

"You nearly killed him last night because he owed you money and I know who you are, so now I am repaying it. What more is there?"

He walked around the side of his desk to stand before her, reaching the thumb of his bruised hand out to caress her cheek bones. He felt instantly drawn to her. He stepped closer so her breath caressed his neck and though she tried to avoid his gaze he could feel that turning away was something she did not want to do.