down the porch. Nia was just about to pound her when Marcos intervened.
“Look, Nia. I can’t have you beating on her like that. Whether you like it or not, she is caring my child,” Marcos said, regretting those choice words.
Marcos could’ve kicked his own ass. Nia turned on him so quick that he didn’t know what had caught him.
“You stupid muthafucka! How dare you take up for another bitch? I’m glad you showing your real colors,” Nia said, slapping Marcos across the face.
Marcos just stood there and took the blows.
“This is the muthafuckin’ thanks I get, bitch,” Nia said while spitting in Marcos’ direction.
With that, Nia scheduled an abortion for the next day, and, because she was so far along, she had to get a two day procedure. Of course, the nurses tried talking her out of it, and Marcos was constantly blowing up her phone, but Nia ignored his calls, making sure she had turned off the phone, so she didn’t have any interruptions. It was weeks before Nia forgave Marcos, but, that day, a part of him died when she killed his unborn.
Marcos started to curse out the driver for trying to take the streets.
“I told your rabbit ass to get on the freeway, cuz.”
The driver cursed back, but, then, he got on the freeway because he was afraid and didn’t want any drama.
Kendra was knocked out on the bed. Sleep had finally won and consumed her. All she knew was Zoo had left the room, but what she didn’t know was that Zoo had dropped a slim jim in the door once he closed it. That way he could gain entrance back into the room without a key. Zoo had laced the weed with rohypnol. Zoo knew that it wouldn’t take that long for the drug to affect Kendra. He waited outside the room for ten minutes before he made his move. Zoo crept back in the room, making sure he didn’t make any noise. It wasn’t by accident that he had followed Nicole to the hotel. Zoo had been trying to locate Trent after he got word that Trent had killed his baby brother JD and gotten away with his fifty grand. He, too, had been on a hunt for Trent like Red October. With no luck on finding Trent, he happened to stumble across Nicole. Zoo knew that, if he followed Nicole, she would lead him to Trent, but he didn’t know that Trent was pushing up dirt already. Zoo rented the room for the weekend. He knew, sooner or later, victory would be won.
Zoo made sure Kendra was sound asleep. He wasn’t sure when the drug would ware off. He didn’t want to kill her if she happened to wake up. Zoo left the door ajar, so he could slide out without any noise being made.
Marcos arrived at the hotel. He paid his fare. Then, he exited the cab. He’d had a long and exhausting night, and all he wanted to do was crash. Marcos had already thought of a plan, so he and Kendra could leave out of town. Their next destination was Texas, and he was quite sure that they would be able to adapt to their new surroundings. Marcos walked past the corridors and greeted the few workers that occupied the lobby. Then, he stopped to ask directions to the elevator.
“Aye, my man! Which way is the elevator?” Marcos asked.
The security guard pointed Marcos in the direction he needed to go, and Marcos thanked him and continued. Once Marcos entered in the elevator, he pressed the button for the seventh floor. Arriving on the seventh floor, Marcos walked out the elevator, pumped and a little anxious. He couldn’t wait to inform Kendra of their relocation and plans.
Marcos scanned the room doors for seven-fourteen. He wanted to hurry inside and bathe. As he got closer, he noticed a man dragging something out of the room. At first, Marcos brushed it off, thinking the man was from room service, until he noticed the Jamaican flag and the three little letters on his arm that spelled out the word ZOO. Marcos knew by looking at the tattoo who the man was. He was one of Jamaica’s top dope boy. Marcos reached in the duffle bag to retrieve his weapon. He cleared his throat to let the assailant know he had company.
The noise from Marcos clearing his throat made Zoo stop and turn quickly. He was met with the barrel of Marcos’s gun.
“Yuh don’t know what yuh getting yah self into, boi,” Zoo hissed.
Marcos laughed. Then, cocking his gun, he said, “Naw, my nigga. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”
Zoo threw the safe down which caused Kendra to jump from her sleep. She was still a little drowsy as she hopped out the bed to see what the ruckus was.
After dropping the safe, Zoo come back with an upper cut. The force from the blow made Marcos fall backwards.
“Mi told yuh, mi friend. Yuh don’t know what yuh was getting yuh self into. Yuh killed mi brother and mi must kill yuh,” Zoo said with fire in eyes.
He lunged for Marcos while he was still laid out on the floor. Zoo was throwing powerful punches, beating Marcos unconscious. The gun flew from Marcos’s hand and landed at in the entrance of their room.
Zoo kept pounding the defenseless Marcos. Kendra watched in horror and confusion. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The man that had helped her was the same man that was pounding on the only other man who had ever helped her. Still weak, Kendra struggled to pick the gun off the floor and, as tears filled her eyes, she pulled the trigger. Bullets flew wildly. At least two struck Zoo in his back and neck, but Zoo continued to pound on Marcos’s lifeless body. He was unaware of the bullets that had rippled through his body as Kendra crept up on Zoo. Then, she shot him in the back of his head execution style.
After the smoke cleared, Kendra leaned down to check Marcos’s pulse. It was very faint. She looked at his body and cried as she caressed his face.
“Why, Lord, why?” Kendra cried.
She knew it wouldn’t be much longer before people started appearing in the halls. Kendra said a silent prayer. Then, she ran back into the room to grab her purse. She wasn’t sure where her strength had come from, but she knew she had to get up and get out. Running towards the door, Kendra stumbled over the safe.
“Fuck!” Kendra exclaimed. She looked down at the safe and contemplated whether to take it or not. She used the wall to help lift herself up. After catching her breath, she tried to lift up the safe, but she found it too difficult to carry, so she used her feet to roll it out.
“Oh, Lord! Please help me find the strength,” Kendra prayed aloud.
She got her answer when saw a teenager by the stairwell. The teenager asked if she needed help. At first, she was hesitant, but she thought against it. She directed the teenager down to the first floor. Once they made it to the lobby, Kendra prepped the teen on what to say if they were stopped. Safely, they made it to her car. Kendra fumbled through her purse for her keys. She was just about to give up when the teenager dangled the keys in front of her.
“You dropped them before I picked this up,” the boy stated.
Kendra thanked him as she unlocked the doors and opened the back door. After she was squared away, she grabbed two hundred dollars out of her purse, handed it to him, and said, “Thank you once again.”
Kendra got inside her car, started the ignition, and was on her way.
ONE YEAR LATER
Kendra woke up to the rays of the morning sun and the birds chirping, singing their song. She got out the bed and stretched. She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She was loving life in San Antonio, Texas. What more could life bring her? A knock on the door broke her thoughts.
Kendra yelled, “I’m coming! One second!”
