Basement Level 5: Never Scared (9 page)

Alexa glanced at Dro again out of the corner of her eye. “Dro? Can you get your little friend to leave before I do something I won’t regret?”

He jammed his hands into his pockets. “Melissa, what do you want?”

She smiled at him and placed her hand on his arm. “Who is she, Dro?”

“
She just told you who she was.”

Melissa snickered and turned to Alexa. “I’m sorry, little girl, but Dro is my man.”

“
Really?” Alexa turned to him. “Is that true?”

He prided himself on his ability to remain calm in any circumstance, but right now he couldn’t think of anything to say. Alexa was going to hurt the fool if he didn’t get her out of here. He motioned for Kendrick who was watching with amusement on his face. Ari and Lei joined them as well.

“
Well, Dro?” Alexa repeated. “Are you her man?”

He frowned. “What do you think?”

She turned back to Melissa. “I don’t know who you are, but I’m thinking it’s time you know who I am.”

Melissa smirked. “I could care less who you are. It really doesn’t matter. I run this place and I’ve had enough of you. Go back to the playground and play with someone your own age. Dro has his hands full with a grown woman.”

Alexa laughed. “You’re a regular comedian. I’m not going to argue with you about Dro. The clear fact is he’s leaving with me. It really doesn’t matter who you
think
you are to him.” She elbowed him in the gut. “I suggest you tell this person to get the hell out of my face.”

Dro wrapped his arm around Alexa’s shoulders. “Melissa, I’m trying hard not to embarrass you in public, but you’re acting like an idiot right now. I’m not your man. I’ve never been your man. I don’t know why you insist on making our relationship more than it was.”

“
What?” she screeched. “How can you say that after everything we’ve done?”

Dro pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “This conversation is getting old. I haven’t seen you since Thanksgiving. What makes you think you were more than a one night stand?”

“
Ouch,” Alexa murmured.

Dro cursed, his annoyance tripling instantly when he noticed the small crowd gathering around them.

Alexa squeezed his arm. “You really don’t want a scene, do you, Melissa? If I were you, I’d just walk away.”

Melissa shook her finger in Alexa’s face. “Bitch, you don’t know shit about me. You better watch your back.”

Alexa sighed and dug her nails into Dro’s arm as Melissa ranted about her family and her town, shoving that damn finger in Alexa’s face.

Finally, Alexa removed her nails from his skin, grabbed Melissa’s finger, and snapped it back.

Damn.
Dro winced as Melissa screamed in pain and dropped to her knees while Alexa held on to her finger

“
I’m tired of you calling me names,” she said calmly. “My name is not little girl or bitch. My name is Alexa. And if you can’t remember that shit, I’ll tattoo it on your ass.”

***

November 4, 2011, the safe house
:

Dro knew Tommy was barely clinging to consciousness at this point.

“
Tommy,” Alexa said, her voice almost a whisper. “Do you know what you’re brother did to me?”

He didn’t answer.

“
He tried to rape me when I wouldn’t give him what he wanted. And when I fought him back, he cut me in my stomach, even though I was pregnant with my daughter. He threatened to kill me and my unborn child and shoot himself if I didn’t choose him over Dro. There was never any choice. So, I pretended to agree. He already thought I was unhappy, so I told him that I would leave Dro. And when he let go of me slightly, I pulled my gun out and I shot him right between the eyes.”

Dro looked at Tommy when she finished her story. His eyes were closed, his breathing shallow. When Dro glanced at Alexa, her eyes looked dead.

“
Since then,” she continued. “I told myself I would never put them in harm’s way again. I would never place my children at risk. I was never scared of anything until your brother threatened my child’s life.”

“
Why are you telling me this?” Tommy asked.

She picked up her gun again and aimed at his head. “Because you threatened my children’s lives by coming here—all in the name of your brother. I just thought you should know who your brother really was. He stole from us for over three years and he worked with a competitor who was trying to put us out of business. He was a coward in every way. And you want to be just like him. The way I see it, I’m giving you what you want—to be like Paul.”

Although Alexa had rage on her face and her gun aimed at Tommy’s heart, Dro knew she couldn’t kill him in cold blood.

She was a fierce defender of those she loved, yet the days of sweeping her own emotions under the rug for a job were long gone. But before he could tell her he understood and he’d handle it from here, Nicholas stormed in and put two bullets in Tommy’s head.

“
What the hell was that?” Alexa growled. She whirled around and trained her gun on Nicholas, pressing the tip to his temple.

Nicholas’ eyes widened. “I just wanted to help. I thought—”

“
Why are you here?” she asked. “I told you to monitor the cameras. What makes you think
we
need
your
help? We had this situation under control and you jeopardized our safety by leaving your post and coming here.”

Dro glared at Nicholas. “I’d really like to know the answer to that myself. But now is not the time. Take your ass back down to B5. Now.”

Nicholas turned and left without a word. Dro stepped over to Alexa and gently squeezed her arm. When her arm grew lax, he gripped her hand and took her gun. He secured the safety and tossed it over to Chase.

“
Clean this up,” Dro ordered.

CHAPTER 10

Alexa fled toward the stairs, leaving them to clean up the mess.

“
Baby?” Dro’s voice stopped her in her tracks. She clinched her fists together and forced herself to breath slowly. “Baby, don’t run from me,” he said. “Remember, I’m the only one who knows you cry after every mission.”

With tears in her eyes, she whirled around to face him. His thumb caught the first teardrop that escaped as he gathered her close. She sobbed openly into his shirt while he whispered nonsensical words in her ear.

It seemed like they had stood there forever when she eventually broke away and gazed into his smoky eyes.

He stroked her moist cheeks. “It’s okay, baby.”

“
It’s not, Dro.” She cleared her throat when her voice cracked. “I told myself I would never raise a gun to kill again. That I would never put my family in harm’s way again, never put myself in the position to have to do something like that!”

“
You didn’t put yourself in that position. He came here to kill you. That’s on him, not you.”

“
Dro, you can’t seriously believe that. He came here to avenge his brother’s death. You know as well as I do that was a direct result of my actions.”

“
That’s not true. Paul tried to rape you. He knocked you down. He ripped your underwear off. He cut your stomach. Killing him was self-defense.”

“
Maybe,” she admitted. “But there were many others that weren’t self-defense. Besides, Paul flipped out because I made him think I wanted him. I played him just like all the others. Others who didn’t deserve what I did to them. I told you, we have done so much dirt. It was bound to come back on us. And I can’t—” She swallowed, trying to ease the lump in her throat. “—I can’t help but feel like we deserve everything that comes to us.”

“
Alexa, you heard what Tommy said. The person who hired him was Melissa. This has nothing to do with our business.”

“
That we know of. We don’t know who the other person is, the man she’s working with.”

“
But we’ll find out and stop them.” He rested his hands on her folded arms. “Don’t do this to yourself. We made decisions based on the life we led then and the choices our parents made for us. We’re trying to make it better, and sometimes it just doesn’t work. But we can’t give up on that dream. And we can’t stop fighting.”

She shook her head and stepped back from him. But when she tried to turn away from him, he grabbed her head with his hands so she couldn’t avoid eye contact. She sighed. “Dro, please, you know I’m right. That’s why I can’t do this anymore.” She pushed him back, pulled her knife out, and dropped it on the floor. “I promised myself I wouldn’t harm another human being. I made that promise for my children. We made these changes so our kids could have a better life.”

“
You’re right,” he agreed. “We’re parents, and no, we can’t act like we used to. We’ve done things in our lives that...I don’t even need to say it. I understand where you’re coming from. I don’t particularly like that the kids are involved. And I know you don’t want Ky and Alex to see this side of you or to grow up striving to be like you. But we do want them to grow up, baby. That means we have to protect them.” He searched her face. “It’s fine to want something better for our children. I do too, baby. But you can’t keep hiding, running from the past. You shouldn’t deny who you are, Alexa.”

She choked back another sob. “I’m a killer, Dro. Do you want me to wear an assassin’s badge? If there was ever a past someone should hide from, it’s mine. What if Ky sees me like this and decides she wants to follow in my footsteps.”

“
So what? She would do good to follow in your footsteps. She doesn’t have to kill to be like you. Somewhere along the line you forgot who you are because you were so busy pretending. The fact that you’ve killed does not define you. Our kids could do so much worse than to be like you.” Dro cradled her face again, smoothing his hands over her hair. “You’re intelligent, fearless, and strong. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. And you’re never more beautiful to me than when you are being yourself. I love everything about you, even the worse parts. I’ve known since I was ten-years-old that you would be my wife. I’ve loved you for so long, I can barely remember what it was like to not love you. And our children love you, too. They need us to fight for them.”

“
Dro, I’m scared.”

He smiled down at her and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. “No, you’re not. Remember, you are never scared.”

She appreciated his attempt to lighten the situation. “I am, baby. We have so much to lose. If something were to happen to our kids because of me, I don’t think I could survive it.”

He pulled her back into his arms. “I know. But it’s going to be alright. We just have to believe that.”

***

August 22, 1997
:

Dro stifled a groan when Alexa walked into his room and hopped up on his desk. At seventeen, she was even more beautiful. He had to remember to breathe every time she smiled. Her hair was styled in a long, layered cut. But he preferred it in a mound of messy curls, like it was today.

She closed the book he was reading. “It’s my birthday tomorrow, Dro. What are you getting me?”

“
Do I ever tell you what I’m going to get you?”

“
No, but do I ever stop trying?”

“
I guess not.” He leaned back in his chair. “What’s up?”

She picked at the torn edges of his textbook. “I have a question to ask you.”

“
What is it?”

She fidgeted, a rare occurrence. “Well, as you know I’m turning seventeen tomorrow, and there are some things I want to accomplish.”

He took a sip from his glass of water. “Like what?”

“
I want to lose my virginity.”

Choking on the water in his mouth, he pounded on his chest. “W—What?”

“
I’m ready to lose my virginity.”

Trying to compose himself, he rubbed the back of his neck “I heard you, but I’m wondering what the hell your problem is?”

She shrugged then giggled when he rubbed his hand down his face. “I don’t have a problem, Dro. I’m seventeen tomorrow. I’m the only one I know that hasn’t had sex. It’s time.”

He frowned, wondering where the hell this was leading. “So, what does this have to do with me?”

“
Well...I want you to be my first.”

Immediately, his gaze traveled down her body. “Okay, let’s just pencil that in between cake and ice cream.” Clearing his throat, he sat up straight. “You’re really trippin’.”

“
No, I’m not.” She slid off the desk and onto his lap, straddling him. “I’m ready. And I trust you, so I want you to be the first.”

His hands fell to her thighs. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“
Why not? You’re not attracted to me?”

He gazed into her expressive brown eyes, tilting his head. “That’s not what I’m saying. It’s just...I don’t know if we should...”

She placed her finger against his lips and he had to fight the urge to suck the digit into his mouth. “I have a reason for this request. I already had Kendrick give me my first kiss.” He was so distracted by her finger lingering over his lips that he almost missed her comment about who gave her that kiss. Almost.

Dro arched an eyebrow at her. “So Kendrick was the first kiss?”