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  “He’s not by himself,” Cee Cee said, panic strung through her words.

  “I can fucking see that,” Tiana snapped, her lips turning white while her heart hammered against her chest bone.

  “I thought you said he didn’t have any kids. You said it was just a wife,” Celeste spat. “Tiana, we gotta stop this from going down. I ain’t sign up for this shit right here. Nah, we gotta stop it,” Cee Cee demanded, her voice forceful but shaky. “We can’t go through with it. Not now. Not like this.”

  “Are you kidding me? What the fuck we going to do, Cee Cee? Run out there and say, ‘Yo, Dr. Syed, don’t get in your car because we rigged that shit with dynamite’?” Tiana said, glaring at Celeste. “There is nothing we can do now. Izzy said when she got into his office that she didn’t see no evidence that this nigga had kids, but now we see she was wrong. What the fuck we going to do now? Nothing, that’s what. We here, the trap is laid, and we can’t turn back or else everything we’ve been planning for is over. Our lives will be fucking over, Cee Cee. It’s either us or him,” Tiana whispered harshly, getting close to Cee Cee’s face so that Cee Cee could hear her loud and clear.

  “You’re wrong, Tiana. We can go out there and stop it. We can’t let an innocent kid just die like that, Tiana. So, Izzy made a fucking mistake. It’s up to us now to fix this shit,” Celeste whispered back just as harshly, putting her feet flat on the dirt and preparing to rise on her legs.

  Tiana snatched Cee Cee by her hoodie and pulled her back down into the thick bushes behind Dr. Syed’s house. Cee Cee landed on her butt with a thud. Tiana wasted no time getting in her face.

  “Cee Cee, you can’t be that fucking weak. I know you come from a rich family and you’re used to having shit laid out for you and all that bullshit, but you have to be smarter than this. You think this shit is just that easy? Just as hard as it was to plan, it’s even harder to stop it now. We didn’t just plan to blow some random nigga up. This is the fucking devil. This the nigga who did unthinkable shit to us who we talking about here. What the hell? You act like you can’t fucking remember. Think about all the shit he did and then went home at night like he ain’t do nothing. Think about the fucking abortion he had performed on you with no pain medication or anesthesia, how you bled like a stuck pig for three weeks and the nigga was still making you suck his dick because he couldn’t fuck you. Think about Izzy and all the times that nigga fucked her raw until she couldn’t walk the next day and how she would be in such shock she would barely talk to us or eat or sleep,” Tiana said through gritted teeth, fisting Cee Cee’s hoodie so tight her knuckles throbbed. Tiana’s head swirled from a rush of adrenaline.

  “You can’t feel sorry for a piece of shit like him, Cee Cee. He didn’t give a fuck about you and still doesn’t,” Tiana preached. In her rundown to Cee Cee, Tiana didn’t use herself as an example because talking about the things Dr. Syed did to her was way too painful for her.

  “I know all of that, okay? But, this ain’t right. It ain’t right,” Cee Cee said, a hot stream of tears suddenly falling from her face. “It’s a little kid. A fucking little kid,” she cried, folding her arms across her body, hugging herself.

  Tiana sighed and shook her head. She couldn’t even look at her friend right then. Tiana hated when the other girls showed any weakness because it reminded her of just how coldhearted she had become inside.

  “I know Dr. Syed deserves to die. I’m down for that, but to kill a kid is a sin. It’s a sin, and the karma will come back on us like some shit we can’t handle,” Celeste continued to press.

  Tiana sucked her teeth in disgust. She always knew Cee Cee was a softy, but she hadn’t expected her to break down like this. Now, listening to Cee Cee whimpering like a baby, she realized she should have done this shit by herself. It was a bad idea to drag Cee Cee into this. Not everybody was cut out for this type of lifestyle, and Tiana knew it. It was one thing to talk about killing somebody, and it was another thing to actually go through with it. Tiana was painfully aware that she was the more heartless of the two of them. She had never been one for much crying and feeling sorry for people. This pampered princess role Cee Cee was putting on was getting Tiana annoyed.

  “You can cry for that sick nigga if you want to. What’s done is done. The kid is just going to have to be a casualty of war. Fuck it, life ain’t always fair,” Tiana said flatly, her words devoid of any remorse. Tiana had learned from her father to be swift with her actions and to say what you mean and mean what you say. Her father had taught her from a young age that the best way to execute a plan is to detach yourself emotionally from it. It was a skill that took some getting used to, but once you mastered it, plans were a lot easier to follow through with.

  “I’m not going to let you fuck this up for us, Cee Cee. I love you and the whole nine yards, but this shit is going down. If you can’t stomach it then don’t watch,” Tiana said, turning her face away from Celeste.

  Celeste slumped to the ground and turned her body so she couldn’t see the front of Dr. Syed’s house any longer. She put her hands over her ears in an attempt to drown out the sound of the little boy’s laughter.

  Tiana knew what they were about to do was tearing Celeste up inside, but Tiana also knew they had no choice now. Still, Tiana didn’t want Celeste to be mad at her. Truthfully, Celeste and Izzy were the closest thing to family she had right now. Her father was killed almost two years ago, and her mother had died from complications when she was born. Technically, she still had her stepmother; but, being that she had ended up in that mental institution because of her, she wasn’t exactly on her “people I can trust” list. She hadn’t been looking to make friends when she met Celeste and Elizabeth in the psych ward, but now that she had them, she didn’t want to let them go.

  Tiana softened her facial expression and her tone. “Cee Cee, it’s his fault this shit had to happen,” Tiana said softly, giving Cee Cee’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. “He did some unforgivable shit to us. We didn’t know a kid would be here; but if we go back on it now, we will end up locked up again, and then he will do some cruel, animalistic shit to us,” Tiana reminded Cee Cee.

  Cee Cee shook her head in agreement, but she still didn’t turn back around to watch.

  Tiana turned her attention back to watching Dr. Syed and the little boy. The nervousness she had felt when she first saw the little boy had faded into a burning, vengeful hatred. Kid or no kid, Dr. Syed had to die for everything that he’d done to Tiana, Cee Cee, and Izzy. Suddenly, Izzy’s pretty face flashed through Tiana’s mind and her anxiousness to get the deed done increased. Tiana’s chest heaved up and down now.

  Get in the fucking car. Get in the fucking car, Tiana chanted in her head, her fists clenched tightly. She was so close to exacting revenge that she could feel every nerve in her body coming alive.

  Tiana watched Dr. Syed through squinted eyes as he threw his head back and laughed out loud. Even from a distance, his laugh sent chills down her spine. What man who is a father would do the things he did to us? A sick bastard like him doesn’t deserve a child.

  The little boy seemed happier than a kid in a candy store as he ran from Dr. Syed while they played tag. He giggled and looked behind him as he ran around baiting Dr. Syed to catch him.

  “Got you!” Dr. Syed called out playfully, grabbing the boy in a playful football hold. This was definitely a different side of the perverted doctor from what Tiana was used to seeing. She clenched her fists, infuriated at the sight.

  Dr. Syed bounced the boy as he carried him, giggling and kicking his legs, to the back seat of a midnight blue Range Rover. It was the car that Izzy had told the girls belonged to Dr. Syed. Seemed more like a drug dealer’s ride, Tiana had thought weeks ago when Izzy first told them about the car as they sat in their room eating lunch.

  For whatever reason, Dr. Syed had taken Izzy out of the facility and brought her with him when he stepped out to grab breakfast. Of course, Dr. Syed didn’t have her ride in the car for the sh
eer purpose of taking Izzy out to get some fresh air. He made her suck him off on the way over to the store, and he fingered her all the way back until they pulled into the parking lot. The front desk girls commended him for being such a thoughtful doctor and going the extra mile for his patients. Little did they know the monster he really was.

  Tiana’s heart thudded up in her chest now as she moved from her knees onto her tiptoes, the anticipation of what was coming causing her legs to shake fiercely.

  “He’s getting in the fucking car, Cee Cee. He’s getting in the fucking car,” Tiana whispered almost breathlessly, her legs trembling now.

  Cee Cee closed her eyes tightly and shook her head from left to right and started to mouth a prayer; but before she could complete one sentence, boom!

  Her body was thrust back as if she had been pushed forcefully, and she involuntarily inhaled a mouthful of dirt. “Oh my God!” Cee Cee coughed out, her ears ringing from the loud blast.

  The force of the blast had sent Tiana flying backward, and she had landed flat on her back a few steps away from her friend. “Ouch.” Tiana winced, covering her ringing ears with her hands and rocking back and forth. Dirt covered her face and made her eyes feel like someone had poured fine grains of sand into them. The back of her head felt like she’d been hit with a sledgehammer, but she still had their escape plan at the forefront of her mind.

  “Cee Cee?” Tiana croaked, struggling to open her eyes. “Sss.” Tiana cringed, suddenly feeling a small trickle of blood near her right eye.

  “Mmm,” Cee Cee moaned, struggling to lift herself up from the ground.

  Celeste’s chin was bleeding, and she had a few scrapes on her hands.

  Tiana’s hearing was impaired, and her back ached like she’d been stomped out. “We gotta go, Cee Cee. C’mon. The cops and the bomb squad will be here any minute,” Tiana panted, struggling to her feet and grabbing on to her friend.

  “Is it done?” Celeste asked, seemingly disoriented from the blast. “Tiana! Is the little boy dead?” Celeste screamed out.

  Tiana quickly and roughly forced her hand over Celeste’s mouth, pulling her back down behind the bushes. “Shhh!”

  “Mmm! Mmm!” Cee Cee moaned through the skin of Tiana’s hand. “Mmm. Wmmww.” Celeste kept making noise.

  Tiana could tell Cee Cee was still demanding to know if the boy was dead. Tiana clutched her friend tightly in a bear hug. It was a method that had worked numerous times while they were locked up in the psychiatric hospital together. “Shhh.”

  Cee Cee melted against Tiana and sobbed.

  “Shhh. It was either him or us, Cee Cee. Him or us. Remember our pact. We are the abused ones, and we were gonna get him back for what he did to us. Him or us. We kill him first,” Tiana comforted her.

  “Him or us. We kill him first,” Cee Cee repeated after her.

  Chapter 3

  Cee Cee stopped running, bent over, and put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Tiana was just a few feet ahead of her. Tiana’s long, slender legs and past track experience gave her a slight advantage.

  “C’mon, we’re almost there,” Tiana huffed, whipping her head around to make sure no one had seen them running away from the crime scene.

  It had taken no time for what seemed like the entire police department, fire department, and any other specialized team to respond to the explosion. Tiana and Cee Cee had heard the wail of numerous sirens as they cut through houses, backyards, and small patches of forests during their escape. Now they walked along the highway just out of the sight of cars and passersby.

  “Cee Cee, I’m pretty sure this is the motel Izzy is supposed to be waiting for us at,” Tiana said, her words coming out like puffs of air. They had stopped running and started walking now since they were close to the planned destination. “We just have to go to the front desk and ask for her. Do you remember the name she said she gave them?” Tiana asked her.

  “Yeah, I do.” Celeste chuckled a little bit. “Bonita Applebottom.” Both girls busted out laughing when Cee Cee said the name out loud. “I swear, Izzy be bugging out sometimes.”

  “Yeah, she’s crazy,” Tiana agreed. “Let’s go inside. You do the talking.”

  The girls walked into a room not much bigger than a closet. There was an old, torn, worn-out chair with doo-doo brown pleather on it. In front of it was a beat-up old wooden desk that looked like it was standing on its last good leg. An old man who looked to be in his late sixties with crusty, dirty black-and-white hair sat behind the desk, smoking a cigar.

  “Can I help you?” he asked with an attitude.

  “Yes, hi, we’re supposed to be meeting our friend. I believe she has a room here.” Cee Cee paused and waited for the old man to ask her for the name.

  Instead, he just puffed on his cigar and looked at her like she had two heads. “Little girl, do I look like the type who gives enough fucks to take guest names down?” He began to chuckle as if he’d told a funny joke, but his chuckle quickly turned into a dry, nasty cough. “What she look like?” he asked.

  “She has long black hair, her eyes are kinda chinky, and she has light brown skin.” Cee Cee tried her best to describe what their friend looked like. She couldn’t wait to get out of that stuffy little room.

  “Oh, I know who you talking about. That hot little cute thang with the wide hips and small titties. She been here since two days ago. She’s in room twenty-three,” he informed them.

  “Okay, thank you, mister.” Cee Cee and Tiana quickly turned and made their way toward the door.

  “Hey, I have a proposition for you two pretty young thangs,” the old man said just as Tiana was about to push the door open.

  The girls turned their heads slightly to hear what he had to say.

  “How about you two have a little fun with old Charlie here and I’ll let y’all and your friend stay two extra nights for free,” he said as he grabbed his crotch and licked his lips to expose a mouthful of missing teeth.

  “We’ll pass, thank you,” Tiana said in a flat tone. With that being said, she and Cee Cee walked out of the office and followed the signs that told them what order the rooms were in. They made their way to room twenty-three, and Cee Cee knocked gently on the door. Within seconds, Izzy was at the door and let them in.

  “Damn, Izzy, you didn’t even bother to ask who it was,” Tiana said as she walked past her.

  “I didn’t have to. I knew it was you two,” Izzy replied.

  “No, you didn’t,” Tiana snapped at her. “You assumed it was us. It could have been the cops or anybody else knocking on that door.”

  “No, it couldn’t have, because nobody else knows I’m staying here,” Izzy argued back.

  “Tiana, give it a rest. You don’t always have to be so serious about everything,” Cee Cee interjected. “Just try to relax for a minute. We’re finally out of that hellhole, and we can try to get our lives together.”

  “Yeah, we’re out, but we still have shit that needs to be taken care of.”

  “Speaking of taking care of shit, how’d it go with Dr. Syed? Is he dead yet?” Izzy asked.

  Cee Cee took a deep breath and explained to Izzy how things had gone down with Dr. Syed and his kid.

  “Damn, that’s messed up,” Izzy said, full of remorse. She would have never wanted for a kid to lose his life in the process of them getting their revenge on Dr. Syed. It wasn’t the kid’s fault his father was a sick and depraved rapist.

  “Yeah, it’s messed up, but there was nothing we could do about it,” Tiana tried to reason with them. The three girls sat solemnly on the beds.

  After a few minutes, Tiana decided to break up the negative vibe in the room. “Okay, so we’re going to stick to plan B just like we decided,” Tiana said, breaking the silence. “We’re going to spend one night together in this motel to try to get some sleep. Then we’re going to head out and go our separate ways. We have to lie low until shit dies down about Dr. Syed’s death.”

  “You don’t have
to remind me. I know the plan. You just can’t wait to get back to your old life and have us split up, huh?” Cee Cee spoke with attitude and resentment in her voice. She stood up from the bed and made her way toward the bathroom.

  Tiana stopped her midstride, grabbing Cee Cee by the shoulder and spinning her around so they were facing each other. “I know this shit wasn’t perfect, but I will never forget you or Izzy. I’m not looking forward to us splitting up right now, but it’s what we have to do. You two are my best friends now, and I consider y’all my sisters.” Tiana looked straight into Cee Cee’s eyes as she spoke. “I hope y’all feel the same way about me. Remember: since the first day we ever talked to each other in there, all we had was each other,” Tiana said with feeling.

  Celeste stared at her in silence for a few seconds, and Tiana stared back, their eyes glinting with the pain of where they’d been and what they’d gone through. Just like that, Tiana was thrust back to when they first met.

  William P. Rollins Psychiatric Hospital

  One Year and Two Months Earlier

  “Get off of me! Get the fuck off of me!” Tiana screamed, dropping herself to the floor, kicking, and flailing her arms. “I’m not supposed to be here! Get off me!” Tiana flailed so wildly that the white gauze wrapped around both of her wrists immediately became soaked through with blood. She had busted the stitches on her wrist wounds.

  “Arrgh!” Tiana growled, trying to bite one of the men holding her down.

  “We need sedation! Somebody get a fucking needle over here!” a tall, skinny hospital orderly barked just before one of Tiana’s wild kicks landed right in his crotch.

  “Ouch! This little bitch,” the orderly shrieked, releasing his grasp on Tiana and falling to his knees.

  Tiana took the opportunity to kick him again, but she wasn’t able to get a third kick in before at least ten men rained down on her. Tiana felt hands all over her body, and they weren’t gentle touches, either.