give me your bonded word it wonât leave this room.â
âMy word is my bond,â Ramsey said.
Rock just stood there until Ramsey shot him a look.
âDamn, man, my word is bond as well.â
âAll right then, Leon keeps a safe here and I want you two to rob it, weâll split the profit three ways.â
âHow much are we talking about?â Rock wanted to know.
âWeâre talking over ten thousand dollars.â
âMan, please,â Rock waved her away. âThatâs only three apiece, it ainât worth it.â
âSheâs talking about ten thousand apiece,â Ramsey told him without taking his eyes of Bella. âThat is what youâre saying, right?â
âYes it is,â she told him.
âThe safe here now?â Ramsey wanted to know.
âYes, in the back room.â She knew what was coming next.
âWell, why donât we just go get it right now?â Rock wanted to know.
âIf it was that easy, do you think Iâd be asking you two to help me? Itâs bolted to the floor and Leon has the one and only key to the lock, he carries it around with him and of course, only he knows the combination.â
Ramsey and Rock took this in.
âAll right, so whatâs the plan?â Rock wanted to know.
Bella went on to explain how she wanted them to give Leon a beat down, get the information they needed to open the safe, and that they would meet up afterward.
That was her biggest fear, them meeting up afterward. What if they decided to betray her and keep the money to themselves? That could happen, she wasnât trying to convince herself otherwise. All she could do was trust the situation and hope for the best.
She wanted to believe that Ramsey would do the right thing because of their past.
Â
Â
They made a plan to do it within the next day or two. Bella told Ramsey Leonâs schedule. She also gave him the number to her beeper, the one Black gave her.
âHereâs where you can reach me when itâs done.â
Ramsey and Rock said their good-byes but once Rock was out the door, Bella called Ramsey back.
âI really need this money, Ramsey, please donât disappoint me.â
Ramsey knew that Bella was really asking him not to steal from her. âIâve got your back.â
Â
Â
Three days went by and Bella still hadnât heard a word from either of them. She was starting to suspect Ramsey of lying to her. She didnât want to go back to the neighborhood because she knew by now that Leon was looking for her.
After six days, she couldnât take it anymore, Bella had to know what the hell was going on. She put on a sweat suit with a hoodie, called a cab, and tried to go into the neighborhood incognito.
She had the taxi driver ride her around until she saw someone she recognized. âPull over, pull over.â
It was Willow, a young girl that ran errands for the neighborhood drug dealers.
With the hood on her head, Bella approached her. âWillow?â
When Willow saw who it was she said, âOh my God, girl, where the hell have you been, everyoneâs been looking for you.â
âWho is everyone?â
âThe neighborhood, the police.â
âThe police?â Bella went into panic mode. Please donât tell me Ramsey and Rock got caught and turned my name in.
âGirl, donât you know Leon was killed?â
âKilled?â This is not what Bella wanted. âKilled?â
âKilled?â Bella couldnât stop repeating herself. She was afraid to ask but she had to know. âDoes anyone know who did it?â
Willow shook her head, âNah, butââ
Bella didnât give her a chance to finish her sentence. âIâve got to go.â
âWait!â Willow called out as Bella sprinted to the taxi.
âPlease just take me back where you picked me up,â she told the driver while in
L.E Modesitt
Latrivia Nelson
Katheryn Kiden
Graham Johnson
Mort Castle
Mary Daheim
Thalia Frost
Darren Shan
B. B. Hamel
Stan & Jan Berenstain