Chapter Thirty-three
It was painfully clear that Nolan’s time hanging out with Kapri at school had come to an abrupt and unexpected end. Although the couple intended in finding him somewhere else more permanent to stay, Nolan decided that he needed to get back to what he knew and had grown to love . . . hustling. He was eighteen now, and the State of Michigan no longer would have him under the jurisdiction of care as a minor. The once runaway youth was free and clear. With money in his pocket, not to mention a bag of drugs, there was no reason he couldn’t return home to Detroit to set up shop.
As Ray lay on the floor bleeding from both his mouth and nose, Nolan got pissed all over again and stumped Kapri’s attacker in the stomach. Watching Ray react in agony, once more, Nolan wished he had his gun . . . or anyone else’s for that matter. With authority, he instructed a now fully dressed Kapri to pack all of his belongings scattered about back into the Home Depot bags. After doing so, he told her to pack herself a bag and make sure she had enough clothes for at least a week or so. Stepping over a dazed Ray, who was blacking in and out every few seconds, she got the job done. Nolan then dug in his pocket, tossing Kapri the keys to the truck.
“So, okay, brown eyes, pull the truck around the back where you said the elevator y’all use to move in and out is at.”
“Okay.” Kapri didn’t know what Nolan’s game plan was, but she was down for the ride, no questions asked. She owed him that much, especially after what awful fate he saved her from.
“And bring up one of them dolly carts we saw when we was in the basement handling our business.” Automatically, she knew he meant a part of the dismantled gun they tossed directly into the incinerator.
“All right, bae. Are you gonna be cool when I leave?” she quizzed, hoping Nolan would be able to control himself and not end Ray’s no-good life—even though his demented ass definitely deserved death by any means available.
Kapri was gone no more than ten minutes when she returned with the cart. Thankfully, it was big enough to fit all of Nolan’s bags, the bags of new items they’d happily purchased over the previous week on shopping sprees, and Kapri’s things to boot. With Ray now halfway coherent, part of her wanted to spit in his face again, but she controlled her emotions.
“Okay, now grab the rest of the stuff off your desk and get all our stuff outta the bathroom. Then come check this out,” Nolan had broken a broom in two pieces and was pushing one part under Ray’s throat, probably praying for him to move so he could shove it straight through his neck.
Unplugging her laptop, Kapri placed it in her book bag along with a few of her school books and her cell charger. Rushing into the bathroom, she cleared the items off the sink with her arm, filling a plastic bag. Returning into the room, she went over to Nolan’s side. He handed her his phone, telling her to push play on the screen. When she did, she saw a video Nolan had just made with Ray confessing to trying to rape her as well as stalking her. The video also had pictures of Ray’s cell, which had candid photos of Kapri taken without her knowledge or consent, further proving the older man’s ill intentions. She smiled, content in knowing that if this ever got out, Ray’s life, career at the school, and also his freedom would be snatched away. Nolan had Ray’s driver’s license too, as well as he made him check in his watch. With all of those things, including Ray’s cell phone, the young couple was almost ready to head out.
“Look, baby, I need for you to take our stuff down to the truck. I would help you load it, brown eyes, but me and this pussy-ass nigga right here got just one more bit of unfinished business to take care of.” Nolan pushed the broken broomstick harder into Ray’s throat, who was now crying for mercy. Nolan wished he would attempt to move and give him a reason to finish it.
Kapri had only been around Nolan for a short time. And after what he’d confessed to her he’d done before fleeing Ohio, part of her was scared to leave, not knowing what he was truly capable of. It was evident that if she had not just stopped him, he would have choked Ray all the way to sleep—for good.
Heading toward the door, Kapri opened it wide, rolling the completely packed cart out into the hallway. “Listen, Nolan, are you sure you don’t want me to wait for you?” she asked, praying he would say yes. Unfortunately, that was not what she heard.
Nolan winked, then grinned. “Naw, girl, I’m good. Now, are you sure you got everything you need for a few weeks or so?”
Kapri scanned the dorm room she’d considered home all summer. Satisfied that she had all of her needed personal belongings on the cart, she glanced over at her man. Nolan had a cold, black-hearted look in his eyes that made her scared of him, yet strangely, even more attracted to him at the same time. “Yes, bae, I have everything.”
“Okay, then go ahead and take our stuff down. And when you get it all packed, just call me, and I’ll come down. Cool?”
Kapri had to trust Nolan. What else could she do? She couldn’t snitch on Ray without getting Nolan in trouble as well. So, she did as she was told, pushing the cart to the freight elevator. Once down on the bottom floor, she quickly went out the doors and loaded the truck. Placing her book bag and purse on the passenger seat, she called Nolan, who immediately answered and informed him she was done. He told her to sit tight. He was on his way down.
As she sat there, her heart racing, she started to think about what she was going to tell her mother about her abrupt absence from school if she ever found out. With the weight of that on her mind as well, she tried to calm down and tell herself that everything was going to work out for good. Minutes later, Nolan exited the building. Opening the door, he moved her stuff to the rear seat and got inside. Kapri wanted to ask him where Ray was and what ‘unfinished business’ the two of them had. But by his dark expression, she opted not to. Instead, she drove off the campus and followed the signs to get on the highway, I-96 East.