“No, it’s not. I counted it myself.”
“No, I don’t mean that.” She handed the envelope back to me. “I mean I can’t take this, Orlando.” She turned her body toward the door—as if turning away from the money—and stared out the window. “Remy’s gonna kill me.”
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“I don’t either.” She turned back to me. “Have you ever just felt this strong connection with somebody? You don’t know what it is or why. You just feel it.”
Instantly, Ruby entered my mind. “This might surprise you, Maria, but yeah, I have.”
“Well, that’s what I felt with your brother. So, you understand why I can’t take the money.” She gazed out the window as she spoke. “There’s just something about him. He’s not like any other man I’ve ever been with... anyone I’ve ever known.”
“Yeah, that’s my brother,” I said with a proud smile on my face. “Mr. Charming.”
She looked at me. “Then can I ask you something? A favor.”
I nodded.
“Would you mind if I saw your brother again? No charge. I’ll come see him every week. Bring him money, whatever it takes.”
“Are you serious?” For a minute I couldn’t imagine anybody being sprung like that, but once again, Ruby entered my mind.
“Dead serious,” Maria replied.
“Okay then, no, Maria, I don’t mind at all,” I said without hesitation. “But now I need your help.”
“Whatever you need,” she said.
“Can you set me up with Ruby? I tried going through Remy, but your brother is trippin’, talking about he can’t, all the while trying to pitch another girl at me. I don’t want another girl. I need... I want Ruby.”
A look of disappointment crossed her face. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. Remy can’t either. Ruby wasn’t cut out for the business. She was simply paying off her brother’s debt. With your help, she paid it off a lot quicker than any of us thought possible.” Maria shook her head. “What some people will do for family. But I don’t blame her. I’d do anything to keep my brother alive too.”
Rio came to my mind. “Yeah, me too.”
LC
36
“Just do it, Daddy,” Paris said as I held my .38 snub-nosed revolver to her head. “If I’m that much of a burden, just pull the damn trigger and get it over with.”
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. My usually steady hand began to tremble as I stared in my little girl’s face. Taking a life, although necessary sometimes, was never as easy as it seemed; and this was my baby girl, not some thug I was trying to keep in line, which made it so much more difficult. Nonetheless, just as I helped bring her into this world, I was prepared to take her out—or so I’d thought before now. Why couldn’t she have just done as she was told?
“Pop!” I heard Junior shout from the other side of the room. “Pop, no!”
“You’ve really fucked things up, Paris,” I said.
I heard the sound of Junior’s footsteps as he rushed toward us. They stopped, though, when I commanded, “Junior, you fucking stay out of this!”
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t handle you the same way I would anyone who crossed me.” I pressed the barrel of the gun deeper into the flesh of my baby girl’s forehead. If she had just followed directions, I wouldn’t be standing here, struggling with the decision I had to make: kill my own flesh and blood, my favorite daughter, or let her live, which meant Rio would surely die. I was losing control not only of my business, but of my family as well.