“You heard her,” Tylee says. “Pull out her molar for me. What’s the difference between her and any of those illegals you rounded up?”
“Do you ever wonder why your husband wants her instead of you?” Onika asks, grunting as she drags her body against the binds, fighting the nylon ropes that we already tried to break free from for as long as we could for three hours.Has she lost her mind?
Tylee pauses for a second. Everyone in the room seems happy for the break. I get the feeling that this Scum idiot might be fine with shooting people, but doesn’t relish the idea of getting up close enough to sink my teeth into.Fucking coward.
“Shut up,” Tylee hisses. Scum doesn’t like to hear what she had to say either.
“Who would want to be with someone that could pull somebody’s teeth out,” Onika says. “Gabby isn’t even with your husband.”
“I saw them together,” Tylee snarls.Wait.Maybe Onika is onto something here. I stay quiet, keeping my eyes on Scum’sdisgusting face in the hopes of provoking some kind of humanity out of this man. From the few context clues I have, this man used to work with immigration enforcement. Who knows what he’s done… I shudder and hope that Onika’s efforts to get under Tylee’s skin work in our favor.
“I’m sure that bothered you,” Onika says. “It would bother me… Especially if I met Gabby and felt insecure.”
“Why would I be insecure?”
Even Scum gives Tylee a shifty look this time. I notice that Onika hasn’t stopped moving her binds.
“Well… You’re asking your man to pull her teeth out. I thought biker chicks could fight.” Onika chuckles and a shiver runs down my spine as I’m not so sure that she’s playing a character. She’s not who I would expect to be in that position, but sue me for not stereotyping my fellow black woman as potentially diabolical.
Her eyes are black with well-concealed rage as she stares at Tylee, who still refuses eye contact. I wonder if she’s going to fall for it. Onika and I are both on the shorter side, but I am definitely taller than Onika by four inches at least. I’m not plus-sized, which is the only difference between the two of us, not like I’m sure that matters in a fight. Honestly, I’m not the type of person to throw hands. I was a nerd in high school and I would still rather hit the books than smack a bitch.
“Does she even look like she can fight?” Onika says, still laughing, like this whole thing is hilarious. If her laughter destabilizes me, I can only pray that it has a similar effect on Tylee. But not one that makes her pull out her gun and shoot me in the face.
“What, bitch? I shut you up if I beat her ass myself?”
“Looks like this guy won’t do it for you. I’m guessing you want Isaac back… That’ll be a lot easier if you handle Gabby yourself.”
“Aren’t you her friend?”
“I only give a crap about the Irish mob,” Onika says. “I’m a mother. She isn’t.”
Damn, she’s good.Tylee looks at me for a second, to see my response. I play up my weak, dejected appearance. Just like Onika and I planned. See, we both got into Harvard. She got in for under-grad and left several years ago. I haven’t set foot through those brick gates in Cambridge. But the two of us black women know that using your damn brain can get you far in life.
“Make her stand up and fight for your husband since she wants to bounce on his dick so bad.”
Okay, Onika… Damn. She scares me with her commitment to this character. But it works to sell it. Tylee practically shoves Scum out of the way. He drops the pliers on the ground, steps back and snarls. “You want me to shoot her, say the word.”
“I don’t need your ass doing shit for me,” Tylee snaps.Fuck, it worked.She unties me. I’m flooded with adrenaline the moment I get free. I know that I can’t win in a fist fight against Tylee. Obviously. But if I reach for a gun, I need to be one hundred and ten percent sure that I’m the first one who gets my hands on one.
“Get up, bitch,” Tylee snarls at me. She’s not that tall. She’s not that strong. But her tattoos and the lines on her face, not to mention the shit she’s been up to, tell me straight up that this woman is about that life. Isaac said that she had been a part of this motorcycle club since they were kids. She stares at me like she wants to beat the life out of me.
But she’s the one who told me to get up. I stand up and as I rise to my feet, breath trembling while I face Tylee, I subtly move my left foot to knock the pliers across the concrete floor, hopefully within reach of Onika’s fingers. I don’t know if it’s going to be enough for her to get herself free. I’ll try to buy hertime but soon – I’ll have to lunge for a gun and risk getting shot.
It’s our only way out and neither of us is the type of chick willing to sit around waiting to get rescued. Tylee looks me up and down with disgust. It’s so crazy to me how pretty she is while acting like this. Some people might not like the tattoos or the makeup, but she has nice features and a head of thick red hair. The smirk on her face sends an unfortunate chill down my spine.
“You don’t look like much,” Tylee says. “How long do you think Isaac’s little experiment with you is going to last?”
“I–
What right do I have to look his wife in the eye and tell her that I deserve her man? We don’t have a relationship that’s anywhere near what she has with him. I just… Can’t seem to stay away from Isaac, but I don’t feel like he’s mine.I just want him.
Tylee should anger me more. I know that. But honestly, I don’t know what happened between her and Isaac. She scares me, but maybe this fucked up crimiinal world she was born into created this demon. I wonder how long things have been this dark for her. Even if she clearly would beat my ass without a second thought.
“I’m just friends with Isaac.”
“You are a fucking liar.”
“It’s true. He only cares about being with his kids.”