Armando glared at her, the blade pressing into Seth’s throat as his eyes bugged out with paralyzing terror. Armando pressed harder, and the sharp blade drew blood to the surface of Seth’s neck.
“I can kill him right now. Ain’t nobody gonna miss his scrawny white ass. Nobody but you, that is. What cha think I should do? Now let’s see, should I kill him or let him live? That’s the real question. And the answer, well, that all depends on you,” he said slowly, adding to Maggie’s dread.
“I’ll do it, Armando. I don’t care. I won’t ever lie to you again. I’ll get into cars. I don’t care what happens to me. Please just leave Seth alone. Pleeease,” she begged.
“Well, now, here’s how it’s gonna work. If I let this useless piece of shit live, you’re gonna do whatever I want you to. If I ever hear that ya lied to me again, I will kill your sweet lil boy here,” he stated with utter certainty.
“OK, OK,” Maggie wailed, unwilling to lose the only family she had left. “I swear. I’ll do whatever you want, and I’ll never lie to you again.”
“Good. Now get your ass into the shower. Then you can have something to eat. You’re back out there tonight. In fact, I’m gonna go wit’ cha just to be sure you do as you promise,” he mocked.
Running purely on adrenaline, Maggie stood and walked into the bathroom. She turned back to Seth from the door. “I love you,” she said genuinely.
Seth met her eyes. “I love you too, Aggie,” he said, between chest-pulling sobs.
Maggie watched as Armando pulled Seth off the bed and led him out of the bedroom. As Maggie turned on the shower, she wondered, how did Armando find out about me not getting into cars? The only one who knew was Juju. Oh my God, Juju!