Ashanti ignored Cain's smart remark, and struck up a conversation with Abel. "So, what y'all cats been up to lately?"

"Trying to get a dollar, same as always," Abel told him.

"Y'all still out there banging them corners for King James?" Ashanti asked. King James was the head of a criminal organization that operated out of Harlem. In a few short years King James had gone from hustling crack and cocaine out of different housing projects, to gobbling up entire neighborhoods. At one point, he had been the biggest opposition to the reigning king, Shai Clark, until, with Animal's help, Ashanti brokered an uneasy truce. Ashanti had been one of his lieutenants until he went on to pursue other endeavors.

"We don't play the corners anymore. We're upper management now," Cain informed Ashanti.

This bit of news surprised Ashanti since he knew King James had never seen the twins as much more than attack dogs. "Congratulations," he said sincerely.

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from you, Ashanti," Abel told him. "In an ironic sort of way, we have you to thank for it. When you left, there was a vacant seat at the table so King offered it to me and my brother."

"I guess you leaving wasn't such a bad thing after all," Cain remarked.

Their destination was an apartment building off of Atlantic Avenue near the Barclay's center. It was a surprisingly nice building with balconies and a doorman. Ashanti had to admit he was impressed with the upgrade by his young shooters. Cain drove the car into an underground garage and parked it in their reserved spot. He led the group to the elevator, and held the door while they all filed in. They stepped off the elevator into a carpeted hallway with a chaise lounge against the wall beneath a mounted bra.s.s mirror.

Cain and Abel had a two-bedroom apartment with a balcony that gave them a bird's eye view of the arena. The apartment was surprisingly spotless to be a bachelor pad. This was likely due to Abel being a germaphobe. Each of the twins had certain ticks about them, and Abel's was that he detested filth. The apartment was decorated in black and white furniture, with a few splashes of color thrown in here and there. A large television was mounted on the wall, which was turned to CNN twenty-four hours per day when Cain was at home. It drove Abel crazy, but it was one of his brother's quirks, so most days he watched television in his own bedroom. Overall it appeared that the twins were doing far better for themselves than they had been before Ashanti left.

"Not bad," Red Sonja admired the apartment.

"Oh, but you haven't allowed me to show you the best part," Abel took Sonja by the elbow. "May I?" he asked Animal.

Animal shrugged. "I got no claims on Sonja."

"Why are you asking him, like I don't have a mouth?" Sonja asked Abel with a fake att.i.tude.

"Just trying to make sure I'm not stepping on anybody's toes. I mean, y'all did arrive together," Abel pointed out.

"But that doesn't mean we'll be leaving together," Sonja said mischievously, and hooked her arm in Abel's. As Abel was escorting Red Sonja across the living room, she spared a glance over her shoulder and caught Animal watching her. His face was neutral, but she could almost see the steam coming out of his ears.

"She's just trying to get under your skin," Ashanti whispered to Animal, noticing the tight set of his jaw.

"The sooner we get this business handled, the sooner I can be rid of her," Animal said.

Abel led Red Sonja to the long sofa that sat on the far side of the living room, just in front of the balcony doors. "You wanted to show me your couch?" Red Sonja said in a tone that said she clearly wasn't impressed.

"Have patience, sweetheart," Abel gave her a wink, before s.n.a.t.c.hing the couch cushions back, revealing a hidden compartment that held a small a.r.s.enal of weapons. "Impressed now?"

"Very," Sonja said gleefully, looking over all the guns.

Animal and Ashanti came to join them, taking stock of their stash. Cain and Abel had everything hidden in that couch from handguns to small a.s.sault rifles. There was even a small case containing several grenades. If Animal couldn't say anything else about the twins, they were serious about their hardware.

"You boys don't f.u.c.k around do you?" Animal asked, testing the weight of a military issued .45. The cold steel felt good against his skin.

"War ready," Cain tapped the tattoo on his neck, which read the same. "Live every day like you're gonna die . . ."

" . . . But not before you take as many of your enemies with you as you can," Abel finished the sentence for him. The twins often finished each other's sentences, as if one could tell what the other was thinking.

"Take whatever you want. There's plenty more where those came from, if need be," Cain told them.

"I'm f.u.c.king with these," Sonja took two baby 9mms from the compartment. "What do you think, Animal?" she turned both guns on him. "They ain't quite your Pretty b.i.t.c.hes, but they'll do some damage."

"Don't point those f.u.c.king things at me," Animal shoved the guns out of his face.

"Relax, they aren't loaded," Sonja showed him the empty handles where the clips went. "You act like I don't know how to handle hard steel." She let the back of her hand brush against his crotch.

Animal grabbed Sonja by her jaws with one hand and forced her against the wall. "Let me tell you something, you manipulative little b.i.t.c.h; this ain't no game. For however you might feel about my relationship, it's real to me. Gucci is my wife and I'm about tired of you acting like you don't respect that fact. Now, you got my daughter in harm's way, f.u.c.king with your criminal a.s.s family, and I'm going to do everything in my power to help y'all get out of it, but that's as far as it goes. There won't be no rekindling of old flames or trips down memory lane. This is strictly about Celeste, nothing more, nothing less. Are we clear?"

Sonja's lips parted into a smile. "You know it turns me on when you play rough," she taunted him.

Animal wasn't sure which made him angrier, her blatant disregard for anything he was saying, or the slow rising in his jeans. Emotionally, he wanted nothing to do with Red Sonja, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't still find her attractive. At one point they had shared a powerful bond and feelings like that didn't just fade away at the flip of a switch. Sonja knew it and was playing on that. Animal was so mad that had she been a man, he would've pummeled her on the spot, but that's what she wanted. Sonja didn't care if it was negative or positive attention she got from Animal, as long as she got attention.

"I ain't gonna play this game with you," Animal shoved her away and went to stand on the other side of the room.

"Ha, I knew I could still rattle that cage," Sonja laughed.

"Shorty, why don't you be cool. Provoking him isn't necessarily the smartest thing to be doing," Ashanti told her.

"Be cool, Emmanuel Lewis," Sonja patted him on the cheek. "Me and your boy been playing this love hate game for years." She sauntered off to join Cain and Abel back at the weapon's chest.

All Ashanti could do was shake his head. "Did this broad just call me Webster?"

FOURTEEN.

AFTER THE WEAPONS WERE DISTRIBUTED, Abel called for some take-out and they all got down to the business of planning the mission. Sonja was still griping about going to the hotel, but that would be wasting precious time they didn't have. It was less than twenty-four hours before they were to make their play to s.n.a.t.c.h George, and there was still a lot of preparation to be done. They had to move quick or risk losing their window of opportunity.

They were all sitting around the coffee table in the living room, going over the files that Sonja had compiled on George. It was quite an extensive collection of information. Sonja had his flight information, names and layouts of clubs he frequented, and a list of known a.s.sociates in the city. She was even tracking his credit card transactions through a friend she had at the company. She had definitely done her homework.

Animal plucked up one of the many pictures of George spread out on the table and studied it. From what Sonja had told them, George fancied himself a lady's man, with a skeleton key to every woman's bedroom. Looking at him, Animal could see why. He was a handsome Cuban, with smooth dark skin, a head full of silky black hair and a smile that had to have cost him at least twenty grand. George was very easy on the eyes indeed. Listening to the change in Sonja's pitch every time she said George's name made Animal wonder had George ever found his way into her bedroom before things went sour.

"Who's that?" Cain asked, pointing at another photograph on the table. This one was of George and another man. He and George had the same smooth dark skin, but that's where their similarities ended. He had a hard face and wore his hair cut close to his scalp, showing off the devil horns tattooed onto his skull.

"That's George's older brother, Peter," Sonja told him. "Since they moved in, Peter has barely left the compound. Being too far away from his mother takes him out of his comfort zone, so he plays her close."

"Ha, a mama's boy!" Abel laughed.

"Yes, Peter is a mama's boy, but he's also a stone cold killer. If he'd been here with George I wouldn't have even suggested we try this tonight," Sonja admitted.

"Then I guess we should count our blessings," Ashanti said.

"f.u.c.k counting blessings, let's count how many bullets we're gonna put in this dude when we ride down on him," Cain added.

"The plan is to take him alive, not kill him. He's no good to us dead," Animal told Cain.

Cain looked disappointed. He was an executioner, not a kidnapper. Violence was his element and it put him in a funk whenever he had his heart set on it and was denied.

"Buck up, youngster. I'm sure you'll get your share of action before the night is over," Sonja told him. "George usually travels with a small security team, never more than two or three men. Unlike his brother, he's never been comfortable moving with large entourages, so he keeps his numbers small to fly under the radar."

"Two or three guys shouldn't be too hard to take out to get to him," Ashanti said.

"Don't be too overconfident, Ashanti. What George's entourage lacks in size, they make up for in skill. These aren't just some street corner punks, they're trained killers," Sonja told him.

"So are we," Cain said confidently.

"Solid," Abel extended his fist.

"Solid," Cain pounded Abel's fist.

Sonja smirked. "I think I like you two. Maybe if you don't get your little c.o.c.ky a.s.ses killed before its all said and done, we can have some kicks."

"The plan, Sonja," Animal reminded her.

"Right, the plan," Sonja went back to her files. She shuffled some papers until she found the small blueprint she was looking for. "George will be partying at this spot tonight," she tapped the blueprint with a manicured red nail. "It's a high end joint down in midtown that he's fond of. You take him down inside the club, and drag his a.s.s out before anybody gets wise."

"Why not just wait until he comes out and take him then? He'll probably be fall down drunk and easy pickings," Abel pointed out.

"I'd already thought of that," Sonja informed him. "We have to catch George at a vulnerable point and get him under wraps before anybody gets wise. George will probably be half out of it, but his security will be on point. Most times when s.h.i.t goes down at clubs, it happens outside when the club is letting out. They'll be more relaxed inside the club, because they figure the chances are less likely someone will try something stupid out in public."

"Then they must not know us, because we're surely about to do some stupid s.h.i.t," Animal half joked.

"But you're doing it for a good cause," Sonja reminded him. "Now, I have a friend that works in the kitchen who is going to make sure you guys can get in with your guns. Cain and I will be outside with a car waiting, while you and Ashanti and Abel go in and bring George out."

Cain frowned. "Sit in the car? Nah, if my homies ride, I ride. Who says I gotta sit in the car and play the background?"

"That beauty mark of yours says so," Sonja pointed at the scar. "You've got a face too easy to trace and George knows me on sight so I can't go in. The element of surprise is the only thing we have on our side right now and we can't lose that because you want your pound of flesh."

Cain knew that Sonja had a point, but he still didn't like it. "Fine," he said with an att.i.tude. "Let me know when y'all are ready to roll out," he walked out onto the balcony.

"What the h.e.l.l has gotten into him lately?" Ashanti asked Abel once Cain was out of earshot.

Abel gave Ashanti a knowing look. "Do you really need to ask?"

"I'll talk to him," Ashanti promised.

"You might want to. The longer this s.h.i.t festers the worse it's gonna get. Y'all make this s.h.i.t right so we can get things back to the way they were," Abel said.

"I got you," Ashanti said and followed Cain out onto the balcony.

"I need to make a call. Is there some place quiet that I can use?" Animal asked Abel.

"Yeah, you can go in my bedroom. Go down the hall and it's the first door on the right," Abel directed him. "Well, looks like it's just you and me, beautiful," he said to Sonja after Animal had gone. He had been flirting since she'd gotten there and was ready to make his play.

Sonja saw the b.i.t.c.h long before Abel threw it. "You're cute, and if you're lucky enough to live into your twenties, you might go on to be something special, but for right now, you're still a pup. For a chick like me, it's the top dog or nothing," she said, with her eyes looking toward the bedroom where Animal had disappeared to.

Animal sat on the edge of Abel's king-sized bed, staring down at his phone and breathing heavily through his nose. His grip on the phone was so tight that he could hear the plastic begin to crack. He had to check himself. His cell phone was his only connection to the life he'd put on hold in California and if he broke it he'd feel even more alienated than he already did.

He'd been trying to call Gucci since he arrived in New York, but kept getting her voice mail. For a minute he thought something was wrong and was about to call Kahllah, but he was finally able to reach Gucci after the tenth attempt. From the tone of her voice he could tell that he was still in the dog house. Animal told Gucci they'd arrived in New York safely and inquired about things in the house and the kids. Gucci let him know that everything was fine, but other than that she didn't have much to say. The conversation was one sided and filled with a lot of uncomfortable silence. He started to ask to speak to T.J. and Celeste, but decided against it. Hearing his children's voices would've only reminded him of how much he'd have rather been home, instead of in New York, about to commit a crime. He needed to keep his head in the game. When Animal tried again to broach the subject of why he was doing what he was dong, Gucci told him to go f.u.c.k himself and ended the call. He hadn't been able to reach her since.

Animal felt a hand on his shoulder, which startled him. He jumped from the bed, hands raised and ready to defend himself, when he saw Sonja standing there.

"There was a time when it would've been impossible to sneak up on you," Red Sonja said.

"I've got a lot on my mind," Animal told her.

"And that's exactly my point, you're distracted. I don't have to tell you that in our line of work, allowing yourself to be distracted is the quickest way to get yourself murdered."

"There ain't no our line of work for me anymore, Sonja. This is one job and I'm done," Animal a.s.sured her.

"So you say. If you get killed before the job is done then you'll no longer have the choice."

"You mean like when you had the choice to tell me about Celeste when you found out that you were pregnant, or waiting three years later to drop it on me and completely changing the dynamics of my life?" Animal shot back.

Sonja's eyes narrowed to slits. "You always were good at using your words like fists when you wanted to hurt me. Okay, you're right. I should've told you about Celeste, but could you blame me for not telling you? To be honest with you, I wasn't even sure that I was going to keep Celeste. The last thing I wanted to do was bring a child into the lifestyle we were living in Old San Juan, especially without a father. When you left, you made it clear that you didn't want anything to do with me. If I had popped up talking some baby mama s.h.i.t, it'd have looked like a desperate attempt to hold onto something that didn't want to be kept, much like last night when I showed up at your house."

"Sonja, you know me better than that. Regardless of how things played out with us, if I had known about Celeste, I wouldn't have left you to raise her on your own," Animal said sincerely. "A man can still be a good father without being in a relationship with her mother."

"I know, Animal. Deep down, that's part of the reason why I never reached out," Sonja confessed. "You have to remember that when you came back to New York, you dove head-first into a blood feud. Every other day it seemed like somebody different wanted to blow your head off. I was trying to protect Celeste from the violence, and allowing you into her life would've thrust her further into the fire. I'm not trying to say that I was right in the way I handled things, but I was just doing what I thought was best for my daughter."

"Our daughter," Animal corrected her.

"Right . . . our daughter. Animal, I know you probably hate me for putting you in this position, especially with the way everything came out, and I'm sorry for that, but put yourself in my stilettos for a minute. I'm literally trying to make something out of nothing for me and Celeste. My brother is gone, my father has disowned me. I'm flat on my a.s.s, and living from pillar to post trying to keep my daughter from falling into the hands of a crazy Cuba witch who thinks we're still living in the dark ages. For the past few weeks we've been huddled up in cheap motels, scared to death to step outside for fear of my father's men swooping down on us. Me, I'm a survivor, so I can make the best out of the worse situations, but what about Celeste? How fair is that to her? Why should Celeste have anything less than a happy life because she comes from f.u.c.ked up genes?"

"We're gonna get this business straightened out and you and Celeste are going to be okay," Animal tried to rea.s.sure her.

"Maybe, maybe not, but why should it even be a conversation? Animal, we've both played the odds with our lives, but ours were conscious decisions, Celeste didn't ask for this." Tears rimmed her eyes.

For as long as Animal had known Red Sonja, she had always been strong and defiant, but he saw none of those things in the woman standing before him. She looked weak, and broken, and he couldn't say that he blamed her. Animal hadn't known Celeste long, but she was still the fruit of his loins, so a part of him shared the weight Sonja felt, as well as her uncertainty. As a parent, all you ever wanted to do was protect your child against any and all odds. Just the thought of someone wanting to hurt your child could be nerve racking, but for the threat to be as real as it was with Celeste put you in a completely different heads.p.a.ce. Without even realizing Animal had his arms around Sonja. It wasn't a lover's embrace, more of the way you would console a family member who had just gone through something and you wanted to help ease their pain.

Sonja looked up at him, steel grey eyes flushed and red. "Why do my fights for the things I want always have to be the hardest?"

"Life doesn't throw anything at us that we aren't built to handle. You'll get through this, Sonja . . . we'll get through this."

Animal looked down at Red Sonja as if he could read her mind. She knew that if no one else understood what she was going through, Animal did. He knew her in ways that no man ever had or ever would. For a few long moments the two of them just stood there, enjoying the comfort of each other's arms. For a minute it felt like old times and if only for a fleeting moment their souls connected again. Their tender moment was broken up by the sound of shattering gla.s.s.

"Can I smoke with you, Blood?" Ashanti approached Cain on the balcony. Cain expelled the smoke from his nose, glaring at Ashanti as if he was weighing it. Eventually he handed him the blunt.

Ashanti and Cain stood shoulder to shoulder, smoking in silence and looking out at the city. Ashanti could see the conflict raging in Cain's face. There was a lot he wanted to say, but he knew that his friend wasn't good with words so he broke the silence.