1
The Present
Tonya Morris, aka the notorious “Tender,” navigated her Mercedes-Benz through the section of Philadelphia called the Badlands and floored the gas pedal, wishing she was already back in New York. In this neighborhood, and in Philadelphia in general, they would steal your car in a heartbeat and she knew it. Still, she couldn’t resist the allure of driving the luxury vehicle through its streets. There was a certain pride and prestige that it evoked in her. The car seemed to say she was somebody and that she had made it. Never mind that it was leased.
Tonya had come a long way from her stripping days. She had seriously stepped up her game since then and had been ruthless at times in the pursuit of her goal to become a certified success. Now she was the marketing consultant for Prestige Records and had snagged Quinton “Q” Phelps, the CEO of Prestige Records. Sometimes Tonya was amazed at how funny life was. For instance, she and Q went way back and most of their history wasn’t all good. She never would have imagined that they would run into each other again at a party she had been promoting four years ago. And she never would have dreamed that this time he would end up being the love of her life, her best friend, confidant, partner in crime, and lover. Like all roads she seemed to travel with Q, this one had been full of twists, turns, and drama. A couple of times it had seemed like neither she nor Q were going to make it. But she had done what she needed to do to protect herself and, at times, Q. And that was a change for her because no one had ever been the center of Tonya’s world but Tonya. Now she would live and die for Q, no questions asked. And she knew he felt the same way about her. She felt so blessed to have him in her life. Maybe she didn’t deserve her blessings, but she damn sure was going to hold on to them with everything she had.
Maybe her train of thought was making her paranoid, but when Tonya pulled the car to a smooth stop at a STOP sign, she immediately noticed the young Hispanic male walking in the crosswalk. He walked slowly, too slowly, as if he were purposely trying to hold her up. But her instincts told her something wasn’t right about this guy. Or maybe it was his attire. He was dressed in all black from head to toe, big black hoodie, baggy black jeans, and black Timberland boots. Tonya didn’t want to stereotype him; after all, this was the hood, her hood. This style of dress was the norm around here. Just because he was dressed like this at night didn’t necessarily mean he was up to something. But Tonya’s instincts told her that he was.
Tonya had been out of the hood for almost two years now. But one doesn’t lose one’s instincts, the sense of danger acquired over a span of a lifetime. In this case, Tonya’s instincts were like a knife, sharp edged and slicing through her in a painful warning.
Suddenly, in one swift motion, the man stopped directly in front of her car, pulled out a large gun from beneath his hoodie, and pointed the barrel directly at Tonya’s face. The man moved from the front of the car to the back passenger side, keeping the weapon trained on her the whole time.
I should pull off on his ass, Tonya thought to herself.
Her eyes darted around the area as the surreal event unfolded. Tonya’s mind raced with thoughts of escape, yet her driving foot didn’t move an inch off the brake pedal.
As if he could read her mind, the man said, “Bitch, pull off and I’ll kill you!”
The man put enough emphasis behind his words that Tonya believed him. She had no other choice. She wasn’t willing to gamble with her life. The gunman appeared jumpy and volatile. Tonya knew one wrong move could set him off.
Quickly the gunman proceeded to the passenger’s door. He pulled the handle, but the car door didn’t open. It was locked.
“Bitch, open the fucking door! Now!” he shouted.
Tonya complied, opening the door with a touch of a button.
Fuck it. If the vehicle was all that the gunman wanted, then he could take it. Tonya wasn’t about to resist; her life was worth more than a car. She could get another one tomorrow if she wanted to.
“You can have it! Here, take the car!” Tonya said as the man entered the vehicle.
“Bitch, shut the fuck up and drive!” the gunman yelled, poking the gun hard in her ribcage.
While Tonya followed his orders, he scanned the area to see if anyone had seen him. Confident that nobody had, he focused his attention back on Tonya, who at this point was a nervous wreck.
“You can have anything you want. Take my pocketbook and the car. Here, you can even have this chain,” she said, starting to feel desperate. “Just let me go.”
Momentarily his eyes were diverted to the exquisite piece of jewelry, hanging around her neck. It had been a gift from Q. He had only seen pieces like these on entertainers, in music videos. If he hadn’t had something else in mind, then the gunman might have just taken the chain and fled. The jewelry would have put him on easy street, no question. Yet he had bigger fish to fry.
“Bitch, shut up and drive!” the man snapped. “I don’t want ya muthafuckin’ car, ya chain, or ya fuckin’ pocketbook! I want you!”
Tonya felt everything inside her freeze. Oh my God, she thought. This muthafucka is kidnapping me. Her hands started to shake, and it was all she could do to keep from driving the car into a pole, she was so nervous. She had only read about this type of shit or seen it in the movies. She wished she could spot a cop right now. If she did she would do something to alert him to the situation, like run a red light or beep her horn. But she had no such luck. So in the meantime she complied with the gunman in hopes that she would make it out of this alive.
* * *
Tonya’s wild ride ended just a few blocks from where it began. From that point on she was led by gunpoint through an alley into a dark house. Once inside, she was subsequently tied up and blindfolded. Two more accomplices later joined her original abductor, bringing the total number of people involved to three. The latter two accomplices were dispatched to dispose of her car in some other part of the city, just in case it was equipped with any antitheft tracking devices. For about an hour Tonya was left alone in a dark room while her abductors performed various activities crucial to the success of their plan.
The situation was surreal to Tonya. In her first few hours of captivity, she spent most her time blinking away tears and fighting a guilty feeling of “it’s all my fault.” She wondered if this was her past catching up with her. She thought about Q. I love you, baby, she wanted to say. She had never wanted to be safe in his arms more than at that moment.
Tonya had no choice but to assume the worst. Of all the thoughts racing through her mind at this point, death was the most prominent.
Copyright © 2008 by Shannon Holmes.
