or Panther, but I think it was all of the above. The green-eyed chickens had come home to roost.
“Playa, Playa, Playa.”
“Stop. Calling me. That.”
“Playa. Playa.”
The Deuce passed by, still on the other side of the block.
“I threatened to tell Wolf. You came to work. I pulled a gun on you. You came to work. I destroyed everything you owned. You came to work. I did the same with your whore. You. Came. To. Work. Why didn’t you leave? You had nothing to pack. Why didn’t you just leave?”
I could’ve told her that Reverend Daddy never taught us how to run, taught us to hold our ground and fight. But I didn’t have the breath to waste on words that would make no difference.
Lisa’s eyes went to her bullyboy, the one I’d left sleeping on the ground.
He wasn’t moving. Might as well put two pennies over his eyes.
I said, “End it here. Walk. Away.”
“I think about you all the time, Driver. Thoughts of us and what was, what wasn’t. I knew what I wanted. Now I need to figure out who I am without you next to me. It’s hard. Never done anything this hard in my life. I guess we had the right love at the wrong time. Maybe me loving you was too much for you. And you not loving me wasn’t enough for me.”
“Lisa. Just. Walk away.”
“Can‘t, Boo. We’ve gone too far to back it up now.”
Her cellular was in her other hand. She lowered the stun gun long enough to hit her speed dial. She raised the phone to her face. Hesitated, stared in my eyes before she said, “Found him. Across the street from the club. Just make a U-turn.”
She hung up. Lowered her cellular. Her tongue moved over her lips in a tense motion.
Headlights came right up on us, then turned off, sent us back to darkness.
Lisa took a step toward me. “I’m going to ... I’m going to miss you, Driver.”
She raised the stunner, put that red dot on my body. Every part of me ached, but my adrenaline was pumping. Had to get at her. Tried. But she pulled the trigger. Before I could bob or dodge to my left, the barbed prongs had harpooned my skin. Felt like a high-voltage power line had been routed through my body. Fifty thousand volts. I growled, refused to fall.
It hurt too much to scream.
She pulled the trigger again, sent electricity in bursts, searing pain that made my muscles contract uncontrollably. Disrupted the messages to my brain and took me to my knees. Muscle control was gone, body went hysterical. Confusion and disorientation crawled all over me.
Darkness tried to swallow me up. Every sound was a hundred miles away.
“He’s a tough one, Lisa.”
“Arrogant. ”
“As hell. ”
“See what he did to your friend. ”
“Damn. His nose is jacked up. Shit. His neck is broke.”
“That jerk. Told his dumb ass to call us if he found Driver first.”
“Do I get his cut? I mean it don’t look like he’s gonna be needing it.”
“Hurry before somebody comes over here. Put him in the backseat. ”
“No room in the backseat. Trunk. Grab his feet.”
“He’s still combative. ”
Voluntary muscles wouldn’t cooperate, but still I fought to get up off my knees. In my mind I was getting up. I was swinging. In reality, I hadn’t moved an inch. They stood over me and I couldn’t do a damn thing. Lisa pressed that trigger again, opened up my nerves, took me flat to the ground. I crashed hard. I struggled in my mind, but my body wasn’t fighting.
I fell into a warm pool of darkness.
I changed everything. The last time Lisa was at my apartment, I made it go in a different way. I saw her come in the room again. This time I kissed her. She took her blouse off. Unsnapped her bra. Her nipples were strong, dark as midnight. Her hands went down to her waist. Unbuttoned and unzipped her skirt. It whispered its way down her legs, hit the carpet without a sound. She stepped away from her pool of clothing. Just like Arizona had done.
My chest rose and fell. I stared at Lisa, at her softness. Licked my lips.
If I did this, all would be well. No damage to Panther’s life. Rufus would be safe.
She turned around and walked toward my bedroom, one hand over her head, the other on her waist, her pear-shaped frame moving with slow and easy sway, with feminine pride.