Cartier Cartel--Part 4

by Nisa Santiago

  Harlem pretended to take a sip of tea and they continued to talk. When Cartier took a few sips from the poisoned tea, Harlem smiled. It would only be a matter of time before Cartier was gone too.

  Spending some time inside the brownstone, Harlem decided it was time to leave. She wanted to meet Sana at Mickey’s, but not before she washed out her cup.

  As she was leaving, Pebbles showed up and it left Harlem baffled. The two women were supposed to hate each other, but it was apparent that Pebbles was there on good terms. She hadn’t anticipated Pebbles showing up there.

  Fuck!

  Pebbles twisted her entire plan. She wanted to go back inside to make sure Pebbles got a helping of the tea, but she would look foolish turning back around.

  Pebbles displayed a smug look toward Harlem, like Bye, bitch!

  Harlem stood outside trying not to panic, but she did. She prayed that Pebbles drank the tea too, hopefully knocking out two birds with one stone. But if she didn’t, then she had a problem. Pebbles would become a witness to her being there at the brownstone.

  Not sure what to do, Harlem called her mother via WhatsApp and explained the situation to her.

  “Oh lawd, I told you, girl, to leave her ’lone. Now look what happened,” Eden exclaimed.

  “I couldn’t. She needed to go too,” Harlem snapped. She didn’t want to hear doom and gloom from her mother—not right now.

  “Don’t hang around. Leave, Harlem—just leave there. If you stick around, it’s only gon’ look suspicious,” Eden told her.

  Harlem knew her mother was right. She decided to head to her meeting with Sana and hoped that she could use that as her alibi.

  41

  Do you want some tea, Pebbles? I just made it,” Cartier said.

  “No, I’m fine. I don’t plan on staying long,” she said.

  “So, what brings you by?”

  “Like I told you at the funeral, I want us to work out and become friends for our children. I’m a new me, Cartier, and I feel good about myself,” she stated.

  Cartier smiled.

  Pebbles was still looking for absolution. She congratulated Cartier on her clubhouse and praised her for what she was doing in the community. She wanted to help too.

  “It’s the right thing to do. I’m looking ahead, not backwards,” she explained.

  Pebbles withheld one key piece of information from Cartier, and it was like a noose tightening around her neck. When Head came home last year, she wanted to scare Cartier into leaving her man alone. She started leaving notes on Cartier’s car that was going to spell out, Die Slow—subsequently telling her to leave her man alone without mentioning Head’s name. Pebbles sent the D and O and then came to her senses, realizing what she was doing was childish, stupid, and beneath her.

  It didn’t feel right telling Cartier now, when she didn’t go through with the scare tactic and with Head being dead. But it didn’t feel right not telling her the truth either.

  Cartier was annoyed and confused, but she wasn’t angry. She was more grateful that Pebbles had solved part of a mystery. If she sent the D and O, Cartier assumed that it was most likely crazy-ass Head who picked up where Pebbles had left off in an effort to scare her into his protective arms.

  Cartier told Pebbles that she didn’t hold her accountable for Head’s actions anymore and that they couldn’t be best friends like that, but they could be cordial for the kids. Things were still fresh between them and it was going to take time.

  Cartier stood up and stumbled. She caught her balance and leaned against the kitchen counter.

  “Cartier, are you okay?” Pebbles asked.

  “Yeah. I think so,” she replied faintly.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ll be fine. I just need some water.”

  Cartier tried to walk again, but again she stumbled and fell gravely ill. She paused for a moment, looked at Pebbles with concern, and passed out on the kitchen floor.

  “Cartier!” Pebbles cried out, hurrying to her aid.

  Pebbles flew into a panic. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. She pulled out her cell phone and desperately dialed 911.

  “Get here quick! Something’s wrong! She passed out and she’s pregnant,” she hollered into the phone.

  She continued to tend to Cartier and frantically cried out, “Hold on, Cartier! Help is coming.”

  Epilogue

  Cartier was rushed to have an emergency C-section. Pebbles hung around until she knew Cartier’s condition had been stabilized, but she had her own baby to tend to.

  Dr. Smith was there to deliver Cartier’s healthy baby boy. The moment they placed her newborn son into her arms to do the skin-to-skin, Cartier stared at him and knew that Caesar was the father. There was something about his eyes that spoke to her.

  Damn! This complicated her feelings, which were still raw. Still, she would have the DNA test performed.

  They ran toxicology on her to see what was wrong and deduced that she had been poisoned.

  “Poisoned?” Cartier repeated in disbelief.

  “Yes. You’re lucky to be alive. If your friend hadn’t called 911 when she did, you and your baby wouldn’t be here today,” Dr. Smith informed her.

  Cartier sat there in silent shock.

  “Do you know anyone that would want to hurt you?” Dr. Smith asked.

  In fact, she did. She immediately knew of two people who would want to hurt her, and they both had the opportunity. Harlem and Pebbles. It was either one of them or both conspiring together.

  She stared at Dr. Smith and replied, “No. I don’t know.”

  “Well, the police have been notified, so try not to worry too much. It’s up to the authorities to figure out who tried to hurt you. Okay?”

  “I’m not worried,” she said.

  “Do you have a name for him?” the nurse asked her.

  “Yes. Caviar . . . Caviar Timmons,” she said proudly.

  “Oh. Okay,” was the nurse’s response.

  Cartier held her newborn son lovingly in her arms and beamed with joy. Once again, she was a mother, and Caviar Timmons would become a good kid. Not a thug.

  Sana arrived shortly after the birth of her son. Cartier called her to bring her pre-packed hospital bag with her essentials to help get her through the next couple days like a nightgown, undergarments, and toiletries. Sana beamed as she walked in ecstatic for the new mother.

  “Did you see him?” Cartier grinned.

  “He’s so precious. His little lips were poked out and I just wanted to gobble up his fat cheeks.” Sana was a proud auntie. “I’m going to help out as much as possible when you’re released. We can take shifts feeding him.”

  Cartier was grateful.

  The small hospital room suddenly became crowded and loud when Majestic, Scooter, Lil Foe, and Roddy came through. They all called themselves “uncles” and couldn’t wait for Caviar to be old enough to hang out with them.

  Cartier thought about informing her triggermen that she was poisoned but felt that the news could wait a few hours. Right now she wanted it all to be about the birth of her son. She just couldn’t stop grinning from joy.

  The police eventually came to question her about the incident, asking who would have given her oleander, and Cartier didn’t mumble a fuckin’ word to them. She didn’t want the police in her business. She would handle Harlem and Pebbles in her own way.

  During her time in the hospital, Dr. Smith was there for her. He would sit by her bedside to talk, and like her conversations with Caesar, it flowed. Their chemistry was undeniable. During her second day after giving birth, he asked her out on a date again—when she was well enough. She agreed. Dr. Smith was a good man, and if things worked out, she knew he would become the perfect role model for her son. However, as soon as she said yes, Caesar entered the hospital room. For some rea
son, she felt his presence before he even stepped foot inside.

  Caesar and Dr. Smith locked eyes briefly and then Dr. Smith left the room, giving the two some privacy.

  Caesar stared at Cartier like he owned her but then broke into a wide smile. She smiled back.

  “I saw your son,” he said.

  “You did?”

  “Yes. He’s so handsome.”

  Cartier grinned.

  He then said cockily, “I told you that I only make sons.”

  It was confirmation that he knew it was his child. Within moments of his arrival, he had her room inundated with roses and lilies, balloons, teddy bears, and even armed security. She was now under his protection. There would be no second attempt on her life or his son’s life.

  “You will always be taken care of,” Caesar assured her.

  While they talked, Dr. Smith entered the room and loomed in the background. It felt like two angels were watching over her—one moral, the second immoral. Which one would she decide to be with?

  While Cartier had a serious decision to make about her love life, she knew there was still a dark score to settle. She had tried to get out of the game and help others, but the attempted murder on her and her son pulled her back in.

  The streets hadn’t heard the last from the Cartier Cartel.

  READING GROUP GUIDE

  About This Guide

  The suggested questions should enhance your group’s reading and discussion of this book by Nisa Santiago.

  1.Why do you think it was so important to Cartier that her relationship with Head work? Do you think that she truly loved him? Or was she in love with love?

  2.Cartier and Head had a history together. In relationships, have you ever gone back to an ex knowing it wouldn’t work out instead of taking a chance on a new love?

  3.Pebbles invested three years of her life in Head by making jail visits, putting money on his books, and being supportive. He was home less than 72 hours when his ex shows up, apparently under the impression they would be together, and a fight ensues. Have you ever fought over a man/woman? Could you relate to either female’s pain? And if so, who?

  4.Head didn’t show up to Pebbles’ arraignment, yet when he was incarcerated, Pebbles held him down. Many female inmates complain that their men almost immediately abandon them once they’re sentenced. Why do you think this abandonment happens to incarcerated women?

  5.Have you ever supported an incarcerated spouse and if so, for how long? When the inmate was released, did it work out? Both Cartier and Pebbles noticed a change in Head once he was released. Pebbles notes that Head had made her a lot of promises while he was locked down. Did your released spouse make promises while incarcerated that they didn’t keep?

  6.Until the DNA test comes through for Cartier, at the time of Head’s death, he had seven children by seven women. Rappers Future and Fetty Wap are alleged to have multiple children by multiple women. Do you think that all baby mamas/baby daddies should get along for the children’s sake? And if so, how difficult do you think that could be? Should these blended families share holidays as Alicia Keys, Mashonda, and Swizz Beatz do? Or is that a bit much?

  7.Head couldn’t seem to get over Cartier choosing Hector over him. So toward the end of his bid, he took up the teachings of Brother Kareem and set out to create a world where he would live his best life. Cartier and Pebbles would both agree that his actions were extreme. Have you ever discovered a secret of a loved one almost too shocking to believe? If so, did the secret make you love them less?

  8.Do you think Cartier was foolish to have two beautiful, young women living under her roof with her man living there too? If you had to place blame for the affair between Head and Harlem, who would you blame most? Cartier? Head? Harlem?

  9.Have you ever had a friend sleep with your significant other? If so, were you able to forgive the friend or your mate?

  10.Harlem accepted Cartier’s benevolence with open arms and thanked her by stealing from her and sleeping with her man. Is the road to hell paved with good deeds? Is niceness treated as a weakness? Have you ever gone out of your way to help someone, only to have it backfire?

  11.Cartier has only dated hustlers, so her getting into bed with Caesar was a no-brainer. However, with the arrival of her son, do you think that Dr. Smith has a chance? Who would you choose, and why?

  12.Head was continually caught cheating as he went back and forth between Cartier and Pebbles. Have you ever forgiven a serial cheater? If so, what’s your number? How many times can someone cheat on you before you call it quits?

  13.If you have loved an unfaithful person, would you prefer that the cheater have one-night stands or repeatedly get caught cheating with the same person?

  14.The premise of this book is head games. Have you ever played head games to get what you wanted in relationships?

  Even with South Beach in her rearview, Apple is still unable to settle down and focus on being a mom. Not when the streets keep talking about Queenie, an enigmatic sista who is calling herself the Queen of New York.

  Queenie, a hardcore former drug mule, has seen and done it all in her young life. She doesn’t scare easily, if at all. When it’s time for her to step up to her newfound adversary, Apple, her heart skips no beats.

  Apple refuses to give up her title after just reclaiming it. She’s determined to snatch the crown from Queenie and see her bow down to the real queen.

  The stunning acquittals of Scott and Layla West resonate throughout the justice system, and the powerful cartels take notice.

  The Wests were untouchable and their drug empire is still intact, but family ties begin to unravel.

  New mom Lucky has a lot on her shoulders as she continues to deceive the head of the Juarez cartel. Partnering with her twin brothers, Lucky lines up the pieces on the chessboard, but she underestimates the king and queen.