Sometimes, there is a moment where you know things will never be the same. Returning “home” to find one of the local gang members holding Kai by the hair was such a moment for Mahina.
She froze in the doorway. The guy was huge, or he at least seemed huge to her. Poor little Kai struggled to stand on his tippy toes with his neck stretched as far as it could go to keep the man from tearing his hair out by the roots. Kai whimpered and shifted any time the guy did.
“He yours?” the man asked, gesturing toward Kai with a pistol.
“My brother,” Mahina answered. She clenched her jaw tight to try and stave off tears, but she couldn’t hide the waver in her voice.
“Anyone else, or are you two it?”
Mahina shook her head. “It’s just us,” she answered. “Please, we don’t want trouble.”
The guy chuckled. It was an ugly sound, full of malice, and it sent shivers down Mahina’s spine.
“Ah, but see, you already have trouble,” he said. He gestured to the bare room with the gun, setting Mahina even more on edge and causing Kai to yelp. “This is Raptor’s territory. We own this place, and you two’ve been living here rent-free.”
He frowned. “I’m afraid I can’t let such a thing go unpunished,” he mocked. “It looks bad. Gives people the notion the Raptor’s have gone soft on a couple kids, and that’s bad for business.”
“Please,” Mahina pleaded. “He’s just a little boy. I’ll do whatever you want, just…”
“That you will, Sweets,” the man agreed, interrupting her. “Your brother here’s gonna come with me, and you,” he emphasized the word by pointing the pistol at her, “are going to have your rent payment when I come back tomorrow if you want him back.”
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“How much?”
He grinned. “I like you, Sweets, and I’m feeling generous. So let’s make it two grand.”
“And if I can’t get it?”
The man’s grin turned feral, and Mahina locked her knees to keep them from shaking.
“Well, if you can’t get the cash, my boys and I will just have to take payment some other way,” he said, letting her fill in the blanks and chuckling at her horror. “Course, that’d mean you and Tiny here would both have to find a way to pay us back for so nicely letting you squat here the past few months.”
He shook Kai by the hand gripping the boy’s hair. Kai yelped. Pudgy fingers clutched at his head, and tears streamed from his eyes. Yet he didn’t dare say anything.
“He’s a teary little brat now, but I bet my boys could train him to be useful sooner or later,” the gang leader said.
“I’ll get your money,” Mahina answered with her hands raised. “Just please, leave Kai alone.”
“No can do,” the man said. He tutted and shook his head with a mocking frown.
He stalked toward the door, forcing Kai to run on tiptoe to keep up. He waved Mahina from the door and into the room with the pistol. She murmured reassurances to her little brother as the man pushed past her.
"Oi!" he snapped, apparently offended by her lapse in attention. Mahina and Kai both jumped.
“Two grand, here, at this time tomorrow,” he said, gesturing casually with the pistol like it wasn't a deadly weapon. “Get it and be a good girl, and you’ll get tiny back without a problem." He gave her what he seemed to think was a charming smile. "So long as your rent’s paid on time."
The man's expression lost all hint of joviality, and he slowly, deliberately placed the barrel of the gun on the crown of Kai's head. "Stiff me, and you’ll pay. Call the cops, and you’re both dead. Got it?”
Mahina nodded, not trusting her voice.
She stayed where she was until he’d gone, taking Kai with him. Once she could no longer hear the pair, Mahina’s knees gave out on her, and she sobbed until well after the sun had sunk beneath the horizon.
Anger and determination eventually began to replace the sheer terror that’d held her mind hostage, and Mahina picked herself up and dried her eyes. Stealing her resolve to do whatever it took to save her baby brother, Mahina dug through the closet, finding an old mask and Uncle Ahe’s handgun buried in the back.
