Motown Showdown (5 page)

Now she was in my God damn passenger seat, bleeding.

“My sister’s name is Kandace,” I begin filling the silence, hating the cause of it. As much shit as we’ve talked about over the years, we both kept family out of it. Odds are, I’m telling her what she already knows because Camo does nothing without facts. However, I needed to talk it out, or I would explode. “She’s a doctor, a great one. Her man’s name is Rome; he’ll quiz us both. She knows a little about what I do, but she doesn’t know any of this. Call me Gage in front of her, don’t slip and call me Gadget.”

“Keeping your loved ones safe,” she says fighting the pain. “Admirable.”

“We’re close,” I tell her wanting to offer some kind of comfort. When she doesn’t throw a zinger out
, I knew she was hurting bad. Camo’s mouth and what came out of it was usually shocking. To have her so still, so quiet was a testament to her discomfort. Turns out, I didn’t like her in pain.

I liked her
being
a pain.

When her chin tucks and her head falls forward, I panic. “Stay with me, Camo,” I order her. “Open your eyes, we’re almost there.”

Groaning, she cuts her eyes over to me and says, “I’m napping not dying, sir panics-a-lot.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, I got off I75 and was in Rome’s driveway in record time. When she makes a play for her door, I was there getting it and helping her out. The fact that she let me pleased me. In truth, I haven’t felt useful in a long time.

“I can walk,” she says biting her lip.

“I know, but lean on me anyway,” I say hooking my arm around her waist and lifting. Just before reaching the door to knock, I realized we had a loose end. “What’s your name?” I ask her. “I can’t have them calling you Camo, I need your name.”

Looking up at me and deciding if I was to be trusted or not she says, “Pepper.”

“Pepper,” I test out deciding I liked Camo better.

“Hey Gage?” she says my name then squeezes me. “I’m going to pass out now, okay?”

Then she went limp in my arms, and my panic went into overdrive. Kicking the door with my foot, Rome threw it open, saw the woman in my arms and yelled for Kandace.

“Help her,” I begged. Running to grab her medical shit, Rome helped me situate her on the couch. “I’ll buy you a new one,” I tell him when her wound starts to gush all over the cushion.

“Fuck the furniture,” he says putting a pillow under her head.

When Kandace comes back,
she was in full doctor mode. Fuck, but I loved my little sister. She was always prepared. “Explain,” she says as she cuts
her shirt away. I didn’t like that Rome would see what’s underneath before I did at all and gave him a look that said so.

“Oh fuck yourself,” he says catching my anger. “I’m banging your sister; I could give a shit about other females. Plus, this one looks like she’s twelve.”

Letting out a growl at his show of disrespect, it was my sister who shut us both down.

“Oh this is going to be fun,” says Kandace wiping her shoulder down. “Gage, explain now.”

“She was grazed in the arm,” I tell her. “Long range, rifle. Approximately thirty minutes ago, the bullet clipped her.”

“The bullet that clipped her arm just needs cleaning and stitches,” she says moving her on to her side. “But the bullet that clipped her stomach caused more damage.”

“Her stomach?” I manage.

“She was hit in the stomach too,” she says angrily. “You didn’t know that?”

“No,” I confess. “She said it clipped---”

Then Kandace went into action and with limited supplies, my sister somehow managed to pull it off. Hours later, I was sitting on the floor to be close to her when she woke, when my sister stood over me and asked, “Do you know why someone was shooting at you, Gage?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so,” she says sadly. “The goal right now is to keep her comfortable. While she’s out, peel the shit off her face and use a damp rag to keep her temp down. I’m going to shower then I’ll be back to check on her.”

Nodding to her because it was all I could do, I got up on my knees and really looked hard at Pepper, no… Camo. She was Camo to me. Following her instructions, I touch her face trying to find the shit Kandace said needed to come off. Her skin was smooth and dry. Moving her hair back, I figured out why. When I looked close, I could see it, but wouldn’t have known had Kandace not told me.

Starting at her hairline, I began to peel the layers away. Like some freaky shit out of a horror movie, her mask came off in one piece. Holding it up, I was equal parts impressed and relieved. Finally, the real her. But I was in no way prepared for what was hiding underneath and when I saw it, it rocked my fucking foundation.

For years, I wondered why she altered her appearance. I wondered how many times I’ve seen her, been close to her but didn’t know it was truly her. She admitted she did it when she wasn’t in the field too. Now I understood. To survive, she had to. Because the woman under the makeup wasn’t average, she was un-fucking-forgettable. Mind-numbingly beautiful, flawless and
young
.

Yeah, the name Camo made sense.

Because, without makeup, no one would ever forget seeing this face, myself included.

And I had thought her ugly
… Yep, still shallow.

“You miss me, admit it.” Because I missed him terribly and hated having to give up my watch for another job.

“Now’s not a good time,” he says distracted.

“Are you on a job?” I always knew when he was working. If he pulled a job without my knowledge, I’d be pissed. He’s my purpose, so that means when he works, I work. That’s when I hear a woman calling his name. His silence confirmed it. “Just another day in the field for you, I guess.”

“Camo…”

“Double bag it---” Hanging up, I throw my phone having no other outlet for the hurt. One day, one fucking day, he’ll push me too far.

Everything hurts.

Lying here making sure to stay still, I hear voices. One female, two males. Then I hear footsteps, heavy steps, and if I was in danger, I was fucked, weaponless, and helpless. When a moan escapes, I decide I can’t even care because I’m in pain, and I need relief. It could come by injection or bullet, I wasn’t picky as long as it stopped.

“Pepper,” I hear through the haze of pain. “Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can.” Then I feel soft fingers slipping between my own and thought it strange my captor had baby soft skin. Squeezing to the best of my ability which meant barely, I fought to wake up. “That’s good,” she says calming me. “Open your eyes when you’re ready, you’re safe.”

Slowly I open them and focus on the woman leaning over me. Kandace, Gage’s sister, the doctor. Then it all comes back online, the hitter, the shots, and the pain. “How long?” I ask wondering if it’s been days or hours.

“About seven hours,” she confirms.

“Where’s Gage?” I ask impressed I even remembered to call him that. “Right here, Pepper,” he says coming to sit on the floor next to me. Ugh, Pepper… this first name thing was already played out. I liked his name but, mine didn’t suit me anymore. I haven’t been Pepper since I was thirteen. Before we can speak to each other, Kandace sends him to the other room to help her man with something. He didn’t want to go, which was sweet, but Kandace had ideas of her own. Being a woman I knew exactly what they were. “Ask,” I offer quietly.

“First things first,” she starts. “Are you allergic to any medication?” closing my eyes and shaking my head no, she smiles and nods back. “He has something he wants to tell me but refused to do it until you woke up. Should I wait for him or do you want to put me out of my misery, so I don’t flip out?” she asks, and I knew right then I liked her.

“He’s going to sugarcoat that I’m a hitter,” I drop the first bomb then went for the second. “And that he’s a hitter, too.”

“Hitter,” she mumbles working it out. “As in…”

“Guns, glory, and lotsa money,” I finish for her.

“Oh,” she whispers biting her lip. Instantly I found I didn’t like that she worried. Gage wouldn’t ever want his sister to worry so I had to make it so she wasn’t.

“Never an innocent,” I tell her honestly. “The marks are scum, evil, and better off dead, please remember that.”

“Is Gage good at it?” she asks checking my stomach. Ugh, that’s right, I took a splice to the side and it is fucking burning right now.

“No,” I say sucking in the pain. “He’s great at it.”

“Okay then,” she says moving up to my shoulder which also hurt like a bitch. “Thank you, Pepper.”

“Once he spills the beans, I am begging you to please call me, Camo.”

“Ah the makeup,” she smiles getting it. “I gotcha, no problem, Camo.” Then she blinks and asks, “What do you call him?”

“Gadget,” I smile. “But I like Gage better. Hey doc, can you give me something for the pain?”

“Gadget,” she works out in her head. “You saved my brother’s life.” Not a question, a statement.

“It’s what I do.”

Then leaning in she kisses my forehead which fucked with me for some reason. Maybe because it was sweet, and I didn’t have many girlfriends, so sweet messed me up. “Thank you,” she says reaching in her pocket. “I’ve got the best cocktail on the market; you’ll be pain-free and alert for a bit. How does that sound?”

“Heavenly,” I tell her then feel the poke which was followed by a small burn and then ah….

“He’s been impatiently waiting for you, let me get him okay?” nodding at her, I pull the sheet up to see I’ve got two bandages, one on my shoulder, and one on the right side of my gut bordering my hip. Within seconds, he was there looking at me like he’s never seen me before, and really I guess he hadn’t. I wore makeup to our meeting on purpose. He had horrible, superficial taste in women, they all looked like cheap hookers. All this buildup for the reveal had me wanting to test him. Could he be attracted to me if I wasn’t so aesthetically pleasing?

The glaring answer was no and even though I expected it, it still hurt.

I’ve waited a long time for Gage to see
me
. To look beyond the skin at the woman underneath.

But he hadn’t done that. Sadly, he was all about the surface.

That was a close one, had it not been for her, my family would be planning my funeral. As it was, I limped away with a superficial wound. It stung, but it wouldn’t keep me down long. Not only did she save me, she completed the contract too. When my phone rang, I smile when I see it’s her. I knew the drill. First, she’d tell me I was lazy followed by not being a team player and ending with being a pussy.

I no longer dread these calls but look forward to them, because despite what she says, she cares.

“I’m dying,” I groan. “What do you want?” Her silence worries me. “Camo? Talk to me.”

“I’m glad you’re okay,” was all she said.

“No, lecture?”

“No.”

“What’s wrong?”

Another pause before letting out a breath. “One day I won’t make it in time,” she whispers. “Rest up, Gadget.”

She was my guardian angel; she would always make it on time. Wouldn’t she?

Kandace worked on her with total focus. Then again, she always has. Growing up, she practiced on me a lot, and it didn’t shock anyone when she went to medical school. All these years later, her man, Rome, gets out of prison and when my sister won’t give him the time of day, what does he do? Gets his ass kicked, face beat in and himself tased so Kandace would treat him. The story goes he intended to keep doing it until she caved. Obviously, she caved. Kandace couldn’t stand the thought of him being hurt.

She’s helped me out a lot over the years. Especially in my line of work when a trip to the ER causes more questions than I had answers for. Now that she’s done, and Camo was in the clear she started demanding answers. She wasn’t getting them, not yet, not until Camo was awake.

Her moaning fucked with me, made me edgy, feeling caged and wanting retribution. She had tried to warn me and saved my fucking life,
again
. Sending me out of the room to do her doctor thing and sensing I was close to losing it, I took Kandace’s order but I didn’t like it. Rome was cooking so I pretended to give a fuck that he was and watched him. The guy didn’t say much, never has and I was cool with that. But what he did say was exactly what I was thinking. Two bullet wounds and the woman didn’t make a sound. Un-fucking-real.