Page 71 of Search My Soul (Taylor Family Saga #3)

“You think she set me up from the beginning?” I questioned.

My mind started reeling, wondering if our whole relationship was a lie.

Did Juicy seek me out so she could rob me twice?

Was this some kind of sick game of hers?

When I met her, she made it seem as if she was just getting by from the club money.

I never saw her splurge on any expensive shit.

She was not the type to care about designer labels, so what did she do with the money?

Hell, maybe she was putting on an act, so I would think she was a humble person.

Either way, none of this shit was adding up.

“I don’t know what to think if I’m being honest. You know my radar goes off as soon as I meet a mothafucka.

However, she seemed genuine. I’ve seen the way the two of y’all interact with one another, so it’s hard for me to believe she was on some fraud shit.

If that is the case, baby girl is one hell of an actor, because we all believed her.

” I stroked my beard as I processed all of the information I received today.

Pure made me promise to keep my body count to a minimum, but I was about to break that shit once again.

Motherfuckers had me fucked up, and they had to see me.

I’ve never been so conflicted in my life. After all these years, I never thought I would see the day that someone would get over on me in this way. For so long, I prided myself on being able to read people, and I’ve never gotten caught slipping until now.

“You sure you want to do this?” Huncho questioned as he followed me down the hall.

Ever since the truth came out, I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out what the motive was.

It couldn’t have been money alone because she had access to more money in the last five months than what she had stolen from me, and she never blinked an eye.

“I don’t have a choice.” I gritted my teeth as we headed into my basement.

I never brought my victims here, but the warehouse didn’t seem fitting for this particular situation.

I texted Neeya that I was on my way home, and she let me know she was already there.

The shock and fear in her eyes when I pointed my gun at her was etched into my memory, but she had brought this shit on herself.

I probably should have slept on this for a few days, but there was no way I would be able to lie next to her and pretend everything was cool.

I called Pure as soon as I left Mav’s house to let him know what was going on. He and the rest of the crew thought I should let someone else handle this, but it was too personal for me. Neeya not only played with my money, but she played with my heart as well. I couldn’t let her get away with that.

“Look, I know you can handle this on your own, but I also know how tough it can be to take the life of someone you love. If you need me to take over at any point, I will. We don’t have to discuss it or anything.

Just know I have your back,” Huncho assured me.

The sentiments were lost on me because my emotions were numb.

The sooner I dealt with this situation, the better.

“I’m straight. All I need you to do is be ready when it’s time to clean up.”

He nodded, then opened the door as I stepped in.

A couple of hours had passed since I brought her down to the basement.

I sent Mace, Ammo, and Huncho to track down Remi and his little bitch while I sat in my thoughts.

I faced two blunts and took four shots when I got home, and I still didn’t feel any better.

Huncho asked for me to wait until he dropped them off at the warehouse before I made any moves.

Now that he was here, it was time to get this shit over with.

There, in the middle of the room, sat Neeya, chained to a metal chair.

I couldn’t even bring myself to call her by her nickname after the way she played me.

I wasn’t heartless, so I made sure she ate her last meal.

At the end of the day, she was someone I loved, so I would allow her to die with some form of dignity.

She kept her head down as I stepped closer to her. However, I could tell she was wide awake.

“Damn, that wig held up better than I thought,” I joked dryly. Her head remained in the same position as if she was trying to avoid eye contact. She had a lot of nerve to have an attitude after what she’d done. Deciding to get the party started, I ripped the duct tape from her mouth.

“Ahh!” Neeya groaned in pain, but I ignored her. Grabbing an adjoining chair, I sat in front of her.

“I don’t usually give my targets the chance to say too much because by the time they end up where you are, I’ve already gotten everything I needed. However, there are still a few pieces of the puzzle that aren’t adding up to me, and I’m hoping you can make sense of this.

“Huncho, can you bring the bag over here?” I requested, then focused my attention back on Juicy. Damn, even after all of this, nobody could hold a candle to her beauty. She was truly in a league of her own.

“Here you go, bossman.” He handed me the bag before stepping back to the other side of the room. It was clear he wanted to be present while giving me space.

I opened the bag and revealed the decapitated head of her accomplice. Juicy turned her head and vomited all over the floor, but I didn’t give a damn about any of that.

“Where is my money?” The question was simple and to the point, but my patience was growing thinner by the second.

I had grown tired of people not having the answers I needed or refusing to give them.

Everyone else involved would be dead by the end of the night, so she was my only hope to get the answers I needed.

“Did you hear what the fuck I said?” I raised my tone after she ignored me. Shorty was already on thin ice, but this game she was playing wouldn’t end well for her.

“You’re gonna kill me anyway, so why should I tell you anything? Huh? Since you already know everything, then you should be able to answer the question on your own,” she spat.

I chuckled angrily as I attempted to calm myself down. I should have stuck to the plan, but my mind wouldn’t rest until I got to the bottom of things.

“You think this shit is a game? After all the time you’ve spent around me, I thought you were smarter than this. Maybe I did you a disservice because I tried to spare you from meeting this side of me.”

“It doesn’t matter which side you show me, it won’t change shit.

If your plan is to kill me, then there is no reason for the twenty-one questions.

At the end of the day, I messed up. Did I know it was your money at the time we did the job?

No. However, none of it matters now. The damage has been done, and I can’t take the shit back,” she answered.

I heard the crack in her voice, but she tried to put on a strong face as if she wasn’t afraid.

“You’ve got a lot of attitude when you were the one who fucked me over. You looked a nigga dead in his eyes and lied to me every night like it was nothing. Tell me something, was this all a game to you? Huh?”

“The fact that you even have the nerve to ask me some dumb ass shit like that tells me everything I need to know. How can you sit here and question my love for you? What reason would I have to pretend to love you? I didn’t need you for anything.”

“Well, clearly not when you already stole two million dollars from me. You expect me to believe you knew nothing about me, but you knew who my cousin was. At the party, you pretended that it was the first time you met each other, but that was a lie wasn’t it?”

“I froze when I saw him. I had no idea he was the same man I helped rob. When I saw him, I panicked because I thought he was going to expose me. I planned on telling you the truth, but I was afraid of how you would react. I never meant for any of this to happen.” Tears slid down her face, and for a moment I almost fell for it.

Until I remembered that she laid next to me every night since the party and said nothing.

Besides, I wasn’t sure if I believed her due to the fact that they were both at the same house together last week.

When I asked why her location was off last Wednesday, she claimed that her phone died, and she left her portable charger. It happened before so I thought nothing of it until now.

“When’s the last time you saw my cousin?” Her eyes widened in fear. Right then, I knew she had fucked me over.

“I-I,” Neeya stuttered, sending me into a rage. This bitch had really played me, and it upset me even more because I still loved her grimy ass.

“What the fuck are you stuttering for, bitch? You might as well answer the question because I already know the truth.” Her eyes closed as more tears fell from her eyes.

“I swear it’s not what you think. They set me up! I-I didn’t know the money was yours.”

“You expect me to believe you robbed someone, but you had no idea who you were robbing? Let’s not forget that you and my cousin were both in on the shit together.”

“No, no! I swear I had no idea! They played me. He was trying to get me to help him set you up, but I told him no!” I laughed again because baby girl was digging herself into an even bigger hole.

“Come on now. First, you said that you didn’t know who the money belonged to and now you’re telling me that he wanted you to set me up. Which one is it?”

“You’re not listening to me. I’m trying to explain.”

“Naw, your ass is trying to lie, and the shit isn’t working out. I don’t even care about any of that anymore. I’m gonna ask you one more time. Where the fuck is my money?”

“Majesty took the majority of it. I used some to pay bills, but the rest of the money is still at my old apartment.”