Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 112567 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 563(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112567 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 563(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
They did as he asked.
And when he got enough guns to fill a suitcase, Dad took a bus to Paradise. He knew the huge city gangs of that time wouldn’t take him seriously. Gangs like the Coffin Cheaters would have looked at his ripped clothes, hear his stuttered English, and laughed him out of their places.
After the bus ticket, my father didn’t have much money in his pocket. So, he found a small park in the West overlooking Dream Lake. To his shock, no one strolled around the water or even biked. So that evening, he camped out on a bench right next to the lake. He took off his shoes, rolled out his blanket, and got on his knees to pray.
A moment later, a Black man appeared and told him that he was either dumb or crazy to sleep by Dream Lake. The man further explained that the area was haunted and not safe.
Having nowhere else to go, my father shrugged and accepted the danger of his fate.
And the Black man shook his head and offered my father a bed in his home.
That man was Kenneth Jones—Romeo and Chanel’s father.
And that bed my father slept in was fit for royalty and in one of the Jones Mansion’s many master bedrooms. Mr. Jones later learned that my father had brought guns to Paradise.
By the next day, Father sold that whole suitcase to the Killer Crows for $50,000 in cash which was a fortune for him.
He returned to Glory and gave money to everyone, even the immigrant employees that were too scared to steal. But for those that did take the guns, they received the biggest percentage.
The next month, my father and Uncle Song took the bus to Paradise. That time, they had ten suitcases full. The Killer Crows bought half and then introduced Father to a new Russian woman who’d recently appeared on the scene—Dima’s mother.
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
Hu and my men left first.
Taking out our guns, Chen and I exited after. While it wouldn’t be right for my father to die by a bullet, we couldn’t take chances.
My men rushed forward to Dutch and Snow’s penthouse.
I gripped both Glocks hard.
I was ready to shoot my father if he appeared and attacked. I hoped that wouldn’t be the situation. I wanted to take my time. I needed to understand why he would kill Romeo and Chanel.
I needed to understand it all. And I wanted him to see the pain in my heart and the sadness on my face the moment I killed him.
With one swift axe-kick, Hu split and shattered the door.
Monique shrieked behind us.
The cracked bits of wood fell to the ground.
My men pushed off the remaining parts of the door and hurried in.
Chen and I rushed through with our guns out.
But there was no need.
Fuck.
While the penthouse might have oozed elegance that morning, my father had redecorated.
He got here first.
Three dead men hung from the chandeliers. Two were white. One was black. Their faces were frozen in shock. Pink chopsticks were stuck in their pupils. Blood dripped from the corner of their eyelids and resembled Christ’s tears. Those red lines streaked down their faces.
I scanned the rest of the room.
The scene represented the cold-blooded brutality of my father.
Pools of blood puddled the marble floors.
And there were dead bodies everywhere, representing every race, age, and shape. Bodies with sliced necks. Bodies with bullet holes. Bodies cut in half. Bodies misshapen, broken, and twisted. Faces were beaten to a pulp with a blunt object. One man was strangled with his own tie and had his arm muscles carved up.
Where there wasn’t blood or death, there was money. Bloodied bills stuck to the walls, covered some of the dead bodies, and even floated in the blood.
Duck and Monique entered.
As soon as she saw the sight, she screamed, dropped the briefcase, and hid her face. “No. No.”
Duck looked at me.
“Holy fucking shit!” She screamed behind her hands. “Are they all dead?!”
“Yes,” I said.
“No. No.”
Chen frowned. “We need her to make sure those guys on the chandelier are Dutch and Snow.”
Hu stepped over a cut-off leg. “If it’s not Dutch and Snow, then we still have a lead.”
“No. No.” Monique shivered and backed up. “I can’t be in here.”
I began to walk over.
Chen touched my arm.
I stopped and looked at him.
Chen whispered, “You’ll get more bees with honey. Be nice, cousin.”
Sighing, I walked over to Monique. “We need your help.”
“I. . .can’t. . .” Her shaking hands remained over her face. She began whispering something to herself. I think it might have been a prayer.
She’s smart, but she’s not made for this life.
I gently touched her arm. “Monique, we need you.”
Trembling, she moved her hands from her face, but her eyes remained closed. “O-okay? Just. . .give me a minute.”
“We need to make sure that those are the bodies of Dutch and Snow. Did you see the three dead men hanging from the chandeliers?”