Chapter 27
Shannon
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After going back and forth with Matthew, he eventually let me keep my clothes on. It took a bit of sweet-talking and playing the good girlfriend card for him to concede. It wasn’t making sense that he wanted me to strip naked to prevent a few sachets of his drugs from going missing. Stealing was out of the question.
Matthew tapped on a bell at the edge of the table, eliciting ring sounds to get the attention of his workers. “I will be brief because this shipment needs to be dropped off before midday,” he said, placing his arm over my shoulder and tugging me close to him. “This right here is Jenny, if she gives you an order, do it. Is that clear?”
“Yes Sir,” they chorused.
“Good, you may go back to work.” Like robots in a manual setting, they once again busied themselves, allowing me to study them closely. The women didn’t look like the type to use drugs or get involved in anything unlawful. It could only make sense that they did it as a means of survival and quick money. Coming from a humble background meant doing anything humanly possible to get a roof over your head, decent clothes, education for your kids, and most importantly, three meals a day.
It was heartbreaking that life could be so unfair to the point men and women alike had to resort to such a perilous business. Anything could happen, a deal gone bad could result in vengeance and their lives taken. The feds could raid the trap house and have everyone serve jail time. Competitors could decide to take them out to get ahead in business.
Whichever the case, they were all likely to be caught in the crossfire and no situation could end up with them safe. It hurt more to imagine what their families would do without them. How their kids would get by without either of their parents. My chest tightened at the thought.
If anything were to go off course with me present, it would mean the end. My legs moved towards the elevator on their own accord, I had to get out as fast as the word itself. I was in the middle of nowhere, no one would find me if I died, I deserved a decent burial if the worst were to claim life.
“Where are you going?” Matthew grabbed my hand and hauled me back to where he’d opened a bag full of powder and emptied it on the table.
“I should be home by five or my parents will be worried. I was to go out with Kayleigh and since I didn’t show, she will call home,” I alerted Matthew, following his every move with my eyes. It was obvious he’d done the job for years seeing as he packaged faster than the women beside us.
He dipped his hand in his pocket, fished out what resembled my phone, and stretched it towards me. “Here, you can call them and say you will be late.”
I examined it with wide eyes, it was mine but from what I could remember, it was in my bag which I had in my grasp the entire ride there. “How did you get this?”
He shrugged and without a glance at me, he said, “From your bag, your mind was elsewhere. Call them and give it back.”
“You can’t do this, I have to go home, please.”
He stopped to glare at me. “You better shut up and cooperate if you want to go back sooner. This is for a very influential man and I have to deliver it myself. You can’t leave here on your own so be patient, I will take you home by noon.”
* * *
With my eyes in a blindfold yet again, Matthew drove us to the meeting point of his drop-off. I could barely sit still, I was frightened to death. Never had I imagined myself in such a compromising situation. All I could do was cross my fingers and hope I would live.
Once parked, he let me take the blinder off and I instinctively surveyed our surroundings. Two cargo trucks were parked next to us. To an unsuspecting person’s eyes, they could easily be mistaken for legitimate goods. We were shrouded by trees, making it hard to identify our location. After waiting in stillness for a couple of minutes, the sound of oncoming vehicles cautioned us of the new arrivals.
Matthew and his men stepped out, lining up at the rear of the cars. I rolled down the window and popped my head out to discern what was going down. Two cars pulled to a stop in front of them. I wasn’t good with cars and could barely establish the models but I knew they were costly.
The inhabitants in it alighted and posed facing Matthew and his men. Their boss looked familiar but I couldn’t tell from where. I racked my brain, peering at him through furrowed brows until it finally came to me. He was my father’s pal back when I was in high school and he supposedly died in a car accident, leaving behind three children and a wife.
I gasped, hitting my head as I moved it away from his view before he could recognize me. It was either he was a ghost, a lookalike, or worse. Using the review mirror, I once again sized him. He had the same smile, height, eye, and hair color. It was him.
My hand went to cover my mouth, to prevent a scream from escaping my lips. Curious as to what they were conversing about, I tilted my head to the window, their discussion wafting to me with ease.
“We have to know who it is before they give us all up and send us to jail,” my father’s friend said, terror unmistakable in his voice.
“I have this under control, Evans. If you keep acting like a pussy at the slightest hitch, you won’t last long in this type of business. I wonder how you’ve been able to cope as the leader all these years,” Matthew replied with a sharp tone, confirming my fears by calling out his name.
“Don’t you ever call me that!” Evans jabbed his hand at Matthew. “You have no right to disrespect me in front of my men.”
“That was rude of me to say, my apologies. I assure you that I will take care of the issue at hand. You’re safe working with me, okay?”
“Alright, alright. Show me the drugs already. I have a tight schedule.” He waved Matthew off.
Evans’ men confirmed their goods, paid Matthew off, and went their way. When he got back in the car, I asked if I could go home now that he’d accomplished his task but he acted like I was speaking a foreign language.
