Revenge Taste Like Him

CHAPTER FOUR: Lioness

KYLA’S POV

“Do you always scan a room the moment you step into it?”

Spider was standing in the middle of the flat, looking at me. As soon as I entered, I chose a corner that had a clear view of both the door and the window. I sat down without asking for permission.

“Doesn’t everyone do that?” I asked.

The looks exchanged between his boys indicated that the answer was no.

Spider’s flat was located above a chicken shop on Brixton Road. It was cramped, noisy, and always smelled like grease and fried chicken from downstairs. Four of his boys shared a single room, which sounded like a special kind of torture to me. After years of having my own bedroom, I couldn’t imagine sleeping side by side with three other people every night.

Marcus was the quiet one. Dre never seemed to stop talking. The other two introduced themselves at some point later in the day.

All of them kept glancing at me.

Not with suspicion.

Not exactly with kindness either.

It was more like Spider had brought home a strange animal from the side of the road, and nobody knew if it was dangerous or harmless.

“Hey, kid,” Dre eventually said, pointing at my arm. “That looks nasty. We should probably clean it before it gets infected.”

Before responding to him, I scanned the room one more time.

Too many men.

Not a single woman.

No one I could truly confide in if things went wrong.

The realization should have made me uneasy.

But all I could think about was that the place had walls.

A roof.

A lock on the door.

For the first time since my parents passed away, I wasn’t worried about where I would sleep that night.

“Let’s go,” Dre said. “Let’s sort out that arm.”

I looked down at the bruises spreading across my skin. Everything hurt. My arm. My ribs. My head. Even standing felt like an effort.

Still, I managed a small smile.

“Okay,” I said.

*********

The next morning, Spider walked into the kitchen and paused.

I was already seated at the table with two mugs of tea ready.

“How did you know how I take it?” he asked.

“I saw one of your boys make it for you yesterday. Two sugars. No milk.”

He stared at me for a moment before sitting down.

“You’re a strange kid,” he muttered.

“I feel silly about yesterday,” he confessed.

“I think I’m the one at fault here,” I said softly.

“I said ninety seconds. It was sixty. Two of your boys paid for that difference.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Most adults would have reassured me that it wasn’t my fault. But Spider didn’t.

He just looked at me for a long time, as if trying to understand how someone my age could carry guilt like that.

Then he chuckled.

A genuine laugh this time.

The kind that indicated something had changed.

“I think,” he muttered, almost to himself, “hmm, can’t deny it anymore, we finally found the girl we needed.”

He picked up his tea.

“You can stay,” he said. “My rules are simple. Don’t wander around late at night. Don’t touch anything that isn’t yours, and avoid male friends on the street.”

A pause.

“And stay out of my business.”

For now, that was enough.

**********

Jerry showed up on the fourth day. He was in his late forties, with broad shoulders and sharp eyes that didn’t miss a thing. He glanced at me, then at Spider, then back at me. “No, she’s too young; she can’t handle it,” he said right away. But Spider stayed calm and replied, “She stays. She’s the reason I’m not in a police cell right now.”

Jerry ignored him and focused on me. “How did you spot the cars?” he asked. I told him, “Engines off, lights out, two guys sitting too still and one checking his watch too often. That’s not normal waiting behavior.”

Jerry held my gaze a bit longer than usual, then turned to Spider. “Well,” he said quietly, “looks like your long-term investment finally showed up.” And just like that, he accepted me. I immediately took a liking to Jerry.

********

Six months later, Spider had a serious look on his face, the kind he got when something was bothering him for a while. “I have a delivery job,” he said cautiously. “One of our clients needs a package moved.” He hesitated. “And you’re probably the best person for the job.”

“She’s fourteen,” Jerry interjected. “Do you realize the risk, Spider? One mistake and she’s gone.”

“Exactly,” Spider said. “No one suspects a fourteen-year-old in a school uniform. She’s smart; I’m sure there won’t be any mistakes.” Then he turned to me. “What do you think?”

“Give me the route, contacts, signals, and a plan for if things go south,” I said. “And if they do, I’ll handle it alone. No search parties.”

Spider glanced at Jerry, who was trying to avoid the conversation by staring at the ceiling. “She’s actually scary,” Spider muttered, sliding the paper over to me.

The job seemed straightforward. School uniform, well-wrapped package of drugs between my textbooks and lunchbox, quick exchange, and back. “The whole thing should take fifteen minutes,” Spider said.

“But we can’t risk her life for a simple deal,” Jerry chimed in, expecting a debate.

Ignoring them, I got ready and carried out the delivery without a word. They were both stunned.

********

On the way, a police car passed by slowly. My heart skipped a beat. The officer looked at me, then at my uniform, and drove on. I didn’t breathe properly for another minute.

The black Lamborghini cruised in all cool-like to the meeting spot, with its windows so darkly tinted you couldn’t see who was inside. Two dudes in black suits hopped out first, rocking sunglasses even though the weather didn’t call for it. One of them carefully opened the back door, like the person inside was too important to touch their own handle.

Then their boss came out, taking his sweet time. Dude had a big belly, a fancy watch, and gold rings thick enough to knock someone out with. At first glance, he seemed like he was in his fifties. But then he grinned, and his eyes gave away his real age — late twenties, maybe early thirties. Pretty intriguing stuff.

He shot me a serious look and was all like, “Who does this kid belong to? And what’s she doing hanging out with grown dudes?” His bodyguards snickered behind him, as if I were some kind of joke. I totally brushed them off and casually opened my lunchbox to reveal a package hidden beneath my books.

The boss’s face changed real quick. First, surprise. Then, he chuckled a bit and said, “Well, Dang. Looks like Spider’s getting the kids involved in the business now.” He reached for the package, but I pulled it back and reminded him that Spider said payment first.

One of the bodyguards stopped laughing, and the boss really looked at me this time, like he was finally noticing I wasn’t scared. Then he smirked a bit and said, “Alright, then,” telling his guy to give me the money before we all got busted standing around.

I got five fat stacks of dollars, with the boss keeping his eyes locked on me the whole time, probably still trying to figure out how a fourteen-year-old talked like that.

********

I was back at the flat before dinner, and Spider was there, counting the cash.

Spider asked if anything went down, and I thought about the rich dude. I just shrugged and said some guy tried to hit me on Fenton Street, but when I told him my age, he apologized and hightailed it out of there.

Spider looked up real slowly, staring at me for a while before muttering, “Lioness. Small but fierce,” Jerry chuckled into his drink. They knew I wasn’t telling them all the truth. I acted like I didn’t hear either of them. But that day, they stopped treating me like a sheltered kid and started seeing me as I belonged.