Motown Breakdown (Motown Down #4) (40 page)

“Okay,” I say trying to be reasonable. “What are the rules?”

“In a minute,” he paces. “Before going semi legit, I told you we often took women.” When I nod he continues pacing and talking. “Selling them to the highest bidder. Last night a past client was there, Devyn. I saw him watching you, Sun. I thought it was just curiosity until you took Cherry down. But I saw the look,” he says staring at the ceiling. “That’s where I was today, trying to fix this.”

“And did you?” I ask wondering what in the hell he was talking about.

“No, in fact he’s on his way here.”

“Why?”

“To challenge me.”

“For what?” God, it was like pulling teeth.

“For
you
.”

Oh.

For the few hours we attended that fucking party, Devyn never stopped watching her. What I had assumed was envy, became clear was more when Sun broke the agreement and attacked Cherry. Devyn likes feisty women. More than that, he likes
breaking
feisty women. Because of that, even Marco stopped dealing him. The same Marco who beat his own daughter hoping to break her. Devyn was so off the rails, he intimidated Marco and believe me, that was not easy to do. His demand to meet this morning couldn’t be ignored. Fearing the worst, I had prepared to fight or shoot my way out but he called me over to issue a challenge in person.
Like a gentleman
, he’d said.

Issuing a challenge is rare but not unheard of. Most men in this business felt women could be replaced and most often were. Most challenges were over territory, not females. However, because Devyn wanted Sun and she belonged to me, the event takes place in my compound, on my grounds.

When I finished explaining this to her, she didn’t look scared, she looked pissed.

“You’re afraid of him,” she says pacing.
Way to put it out there…
The truth was I feared nothing but losing her because if there was ever a male that could beat me, it was fucking Devyn.

“I’m afraid for you,” I point out. “Our arrangement isn’t the norm, Sun. You’re here because I want you here, I want to be with you, not abuse you. Devyn wants to break you, do you understand?”

“Yeah,” she says coming to me. “I understand he’s a dead man and exceptionally dumb if he doesn’t see me for the unbreakable pain in the ass I am!”

“Because you’re the prize,” I start and then she narrows her eyes. “I’m sorry, but in this case it’s true. You have to attend. But should I lose – ”

“You won’t.”

“Should I lose, you need to run and know that my men will get you to safety.”

“Hush,” she says kissing me. “Please, just…hush.”

“One of us won’t walk away from this,” I whisper. “If I can’t – ”

“I wore a dress and heels for you, so you will be killing Devyn.”

“Sun…”

“He issued a challenge, make him regret that he did. Can you do that for
us
? Can you do that for
me
?”

“Anything for you,” I tell her wishing three other words would come out of my mouth. “I’ll bring you his head.”

“Or his wallet works too,” she smiles kissing me hard. “Less mess.”

“Sun,” the words were there all I had to do was say them.

Putting her hand over my mouth she whispers, “Tell me after.”

Nodding to her, I grab her hand and head toward the empty bay of the garage to fight for her.

Following Shade into the garage, I kept my mouth shut and my eyes open. The problem though wasn’t my eyes or my mouth, it was my brain. The damn thing was going a mile a minute. His world has been host to a lot of crazy shit but even my wildest plot idea couldn’t come up with this.

What’s next, a duel?

Jesus, it’s 2016 and you don’t challenge people for the rights to other people. Okay, well
they
do but I sure as fuck don’t and to top it off, the unflappable Shade was rattled. I don’t even know who this Devyn guy is, yet he’s ten feet away looking at me like I’m a God damn limited edition Slurpee he wants to guzzle.

Seeing Shade nervous was making me nervous. Here, the three of us are alone in a garage while I’m supposed to stand here like a good slave hoping Shade gets to keep me. That’s when the reality of my situation hit me. To Shade, in his world, he did own me. Not that I did-slave like things but, for thirty days I was his, period.

Devyn wanted to take me away from Shade. Devyn, with his steroid-inflated arms, tree-trunk legs, and lip piercing was not the man I wanted to own me for any amount of days. His enormous body wasn’t natural, it was enhanced and I’d bet my best seller he was high as fuck right now. Plus, let’s not forget he wants to break me.
So I’m going to go with no…
Shade explained to me that it’s essentially a fight to the death the old fashioned way unless the winner decides to let the loser live. Apparently, kids these days aren’t into mercy so someone was going to die in this garage today.

When Devyn licks his lips, I roll my eyes. When he cat calls me, I flip him off. When Shade turns to me, I blow him a kiss and when Devyn growls, I growl back showing him my teeth. Staying by the bench as instructed, the two of them discuss the challenge. To me, it was pretty cut and dry but they have a
code
… Backing away from each other, Shade turns first to see me one last time, when Devyn attacks him from behind.

In twenty-six years I’ve never witnessed carnage like this and I was raised in a rough environment. I’ve seen drive-bys, gang shit, and police brutality but this… I wasn’t ready for
this
. Shade was the baddest man I’d ever seen but he was right, Devyn was worse. The man was enormous, mean, and fought even dirtier than Shade did. Staying put was nearly impossible but at the same time, I was frozen with fear.

Shade was a street fighter through and through. Devyn was just a ‘roid freak who was five sizes larger than nature intended. For every punch Shade landed, Devyn looked annoyed, not hurt. This confirmed my theory he was blown because Shade hit hard. A shot to the temple sent Shade sprawling to the ground. Careful not to distract him, I chant,
Get up, Shade. Get up, fight.
When he sees me, I crouch down and whisper to him, “Get up, Shade. Fight, fucking fight.” He was dazed and hurting yet here I was helpless.

Pulling him up by his throat and putting in a vicious choke hold, I watched Devyn reach into his pocket and
oh my fucking God
, produce a knife. Looking over to me, he winks just before he sinks it into his side. Letting out a scream, I launch myself at him with one objective,
kill
.

From the ground, Shade yells
no
, but it was too late. Devyn had already sent me flying with a punch to the gut. Never in my life had I felt pain like this. I couldn’t get air into my lungs, my limbs wouldn’t work and my eyes were watering. Groaning in agony, I watch as Devyn toys with Shade while I was certain I just ingested an ovary. Shade roars my name at seeing me hurt but struggles to get up. “The notorious Shade brought to his knees for a
bitch
,” he says standing over him ready to take him from me.

Devyn was going to win. He was going to kill Shade. He was a fucking
cheater
.

Rage filled me giving me the adrenaline I needed to get up. Stumbling over to the bench, I tune out the beating he’s taking and search for… There, yes!

Wrapping my fingers around it, I hold it with both hands forcing my legs to carry me. Standing behind him, I wait until he straightens again and when he does I bury the screwdriver in the back of his big neck as far as it will go. When he stumbles away from Shade, I run back to the bench and grab another. Like a kamikaze on crack, I run at Devyn and stab him repeatedly until he goes down. Even then, I don’t stop.

At least, not until Shade wrapped his arms around me.

“Sun,” he groans. “Let me finish this.”

Falling on my ass, I crab-walk backwards and watch as Shade takes Devyn’s huge neck in his hands lifting him to face me. “Look at her,” he yells. “The woman you try to steal from me is the last face you’ll see.”

Giving Devyn both middle fingers, I stick my tongue out before muttering, “Finish him.”

With a loud grunt and a twist, he did.

I lost.

I could hardly fucking believe it.

Had Sun not intervened, I’d be dead and she’d be…

No.

She was here, with me, safe.

Thank fuck he was so tweaked out with whatever drugs he was on that the stab was just a flesh wound. He broke the rules and brought a weapon which wasn’t making my loss any easier to take.
So much for honor among criminals…
On the plus side, when Sun was your nurse it was a sight to behold. The woman went above and beyond. I mean she did after she raged about Devyn for two hours. Calling him a meth’d out hulk, cheater and all around piece of shit. She went on about changing the rules, demanding a referee and having tag team options.

God, I fucking loved her.

Just as soon as she came back with lunch, I planned to tell her. I couldn’t wait anymore. When he hit her, I thought that was it and it rocked me. I knew she was it for me that no other would ever compare. When she attacked with the screwdriver to save me, I had hoped she felt the same. I needed her to feel the same.

Devyn was right about one thing; a bitch did bring me to my knees.

And she belonged to me now and forever.

“Hey you,” she says smiling. “You’re awake.”
Because I don’t want to miss a chance to look at you…

“I am,” I smile back sitting up. The slice was clean, shallow and only requiring a couple stitches at her insistence. “Come here.”

“Your face,” she whispers.

“Will heal,” I assure her. “I need
you,
Sun.”

Finally settling, she rests her head on my chest and stills. “I was scared. I’m not used to being scared.”