Blood Ties

by Shaun Sinclair

  “Fuck you nigga!” Jock spat, with all the strength he could muster.

  Justus shook his head. “Seems like you should be tired of trying to fuck shit, muthafucka. That’s what got you laying in that bed now,” he pointed out with the banana. Justus looked at his Rolex, crossed his legs, and leaned back in the chair. “I’m a little pressed for time so I’ll make this quick. My old lady waiting on me to give me some of that good pussy. Oh wait, that’s your old lady. That pussy under new management now, feel me?”

  Jock gritted his teeth. “Fuck you.”

  Justus smacked Jock upside the head with the banana peel. “Listen up, it’s a new day. Shit has changed. I’m not who you remember, and you not as tough as you think you are. Now I’ma say this as humble as I can, Jock.” Justus moved his face so close to Jock that he could smell the banana on his breath. “I AM THE WRONG MAN TO FUCK WITH. Messing with Nikki is messing with me. That’s mine now, playboy. You blew it. I’m giving you fair warning right now. If I ever hear that you around Nikki again . . .” Justus blew into his face and shook his head. “I just better not hear it. You understand? Matter fact, if you see Nikki walking down the street you better cross over to the other side. Got it?”

  Jock stared up at the ceiling, seething. He couldn’t believe that the young boy who used to ride the bike in the neighborhood was coming at him like this.

  “The only reason you still alive now is because of me. Remember that?” Justus stood to leave. He tossed the banana peel on Jock’s chest. “And far as Diamond is concerned, don’t let me catch you around her either. That’s my daughter now. You wasn’t doing shit for her anyway.”

  Chapter 20

  The radiant Mexican sun shone heavily on Leader’s bald head as he emerged from the airport. Leader was wearing a crisp grey linen suit, soaking his body in comfort. He would’ve been in a minor utopia if it were not for all the college students milling about, making him uncomfortable. They were everywhere. White. Black. Asian. Latino. Leader recognized more than a few entertainers as he maneuvered throughout the airport parking lot. He had been instructed to take a cab to bungalow #7. Leader quickly found a cab and was on his way.

  This wasn’t Leader’s first time in Mexico. He had been a few times before on business, however he had never ventured out this far. What he was seeing now was a different part of Mexico, far removed from the norm. The Mexico he was familiar with was hostile to the faint of heart, filled with poverty, violence, and drugs (not particularly in that order). The thousands of teenagers he now saw would have been victims in Ciudad Juarez.

  When Leader reached bungalow #7, he found that it was isolated and quiet. He spotted other bungalows off in the distance, but each was far enough to provide just the right balance of safety and seclusion.

  Leader exited the cab underneath a clump of shade trees. While the cabbie was assisting Leader with his one bag, Carmen emerged from the bungalow wearing a yellow two-piece bikini with a sheer sarong. The bright color contrasted beautifully with her brown skin, giving her an exotic look. “Damn.” Leader muttered under his breath at the sight of such beauty. He tipped the cabbie, and bid him farewell in perfect Spanish.

  When Carmen greeted Leader in perfect Spanish he really wasn’t too surprised. In fact, he almost expected Carmen to speak Spanish since she was so proficient in so many other things.

  Inside the bungalow was decoratively well-appointed yet still cozy. A small kitchen sat in the center of the front room, while a bathroom and two bedrooms were off to the side. The bathroom boasted a cylindrical shower and separate garden tub, while the bedroom contained a whirlpool. The fact that Carmen went all out was not lost on Leader, but he had no intention of utilizing the facility’s fine appointments. He was here strictly for business, and business only.

  “So what’s up? You have some information for me?”

  “Damn, aren’t we curt,” Carmen quipped.

  “I came here for business. I didn’t fly out of the country for bullshit.” Leader was keeping things hard purposely. Firm.

  “I understand.” Carmen nodded. “I have some good news and some bad news.”

  “Look Carmen, don’t bullshit me!”

  “Hold up, hold up. I have the information, but you gotta wait a couple of days. I figured we can spend a . . .” Carmen’s words faded into obscurity when she saw the look Leader was giving her, he didn’t have to raise his voice at all, his raised eyebrows spoke volumes. “Leader just trust me on this. It will be worth it. Think of it as a paid vacation, then you can return to ‘work’.”

  For Leader, it really wasn’t a question. If Carmen could lead him closer to finding out who was onto him, he really was at her mercy. His obligation now surpassed just his own welfare. He now had Justus to worry about. He had introduced him to this life. He couldn’t just leave him high and dry, without steady jobs as his outlet, for Justus would surely use his skills in a non-productive manner and thus would surely perish. He had already caught wind of Justus’s escapades on the dudes that robbed Pug. He knew his son could perform only so many acts in town before authorities would realize they were dealing with a trained professional.

  “Alright,” Leader conceded. “But the same rules still apply.”

  “What? You mean no sex?” Carmen taunted. Leader nodded. “Of course not. After all, you are happily married, right?”

  “That’s right,” Leader said.

  “Good. So we’re just two friends enjoying a few fun-filled days in paradise.” Carmen flashed a wicked smile then dropped her sarong, fully revealing her French-cut bikini. Seconds later, she dropped her top, freeing bountiful 38C’s. “Let’s go swimming!”

  Damn, thought Leader. This was going to be the longest two days of his life.

  * * *

  Pug and Justus cruised down Skibo Road, en route to Cross Creek Mall in Justus’s ’71 Chevy ’vert. The sound-system quaked the earth around them as they proudly bumped hometown legend Qwess’s classic CD Janus.

  Justus leaned back in the driver’s seat like he was napping while they waited for the light to turn green.

  “Yo, man, I still can’t get over that shit you did.” Pug said.

  “What you talking ’bout, dawg?” Justus asked, lost in deep thought himself.

  “I just wanna know . . . How the FUCK do you hang a nigga by his intestines?!”

  Justus stared at Pug. He didn’t discuss business once it was done. The past was the past, but since it was Pug, he indulged him a bit.

  “You said you wanted to send a message. Well, I think the streets heard you.”

  Before Pug could respond, an H1 Hummer pulled up beside them garnering all of the attention. The truck had to be sitting on 28-inch rims or better because all they saw was chrome. Pug reached for his .45 under his shirt, just in case something popped off. He and his whole crew were in war mode since they attacked Jock. Suddenly, the passenger window slid down slowly and a woman revealed her face.

  “Which one of y’all is Pug?” The woman asked. Neither Pug nor Justus answered. They both knew drama was indiscriminate. A broad would bring heat just as fast as a dude these days, sometimes faster, and being in a drop-top made them tragically vulnerable.

  “Who wanna know?!” Pug called out, making no attempt to hide the fact he was holding his heat at that very moment.

  The woman giggled then answered, “Saigon.”

  “Saigon?” Both Justus and Pug repeated. Saigon was a rap superstar down with Fayetteville’s premier record label, ABP. Pug recognized the name well. He used to tear her off before she made it big all over the world. He had not seen or heard from her in years. Saigon reached over the passenger showing her face, and Pug lost it!

  “Ohhh shit! Pull over, nigga!” Pug ordered Justus, pointing to the Burger King parking lot. Minutes later, Pug and Saigon were catching up on old times and plotting on new ones.

  While Pug conversed with Saigon, Justus struck up a convo with the passenger. She was a cutie, about five-five, borderlin
e petite with a tacky weave. She was hardly Justus’s style, but she was straight for the stroke.

  Justus was gathering her particulars for a possible hit-and-run when he saw a ghost from his past exit Burger King and head toward a burgundy Honda Accord. He quickly dismissed himself and sprinted off toward the Accord. He caught up with her just as she was opening her car door.

  “Panee?”

  “Justus?”

  She was a little thicker, hair a little longer, but it was still her. “What’s up?” They greeted each other in unison.

  “Damn, gurl—”

  “Damn boy.” This was said in unison as well.

  “You go ahead,” Justus offered.

  “No, you go.”

  “I insist.”

  Panee exhaled. “You look good,” she complimented, admiring Justus’s cocoa-brown slacks and cream silk shirt with the two-tone suede loafers.

  “You look great!” Justus ogled Panee openly. She was wearing a tight pair of jeans and a tank top, accentuated with four-inch open-toe heels. Her toe ring glistened in the spring sun. Panee looked even better than Justus remembered.

  “So what are you doing home?” Justus asked. “You home for spring break or something?”

  “Believe it or not, I’m kinda back home for a while,” Panee shared.

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “What happened?”

  Panee’s voice dropped a level. “Well, I kinda botched my scholarship at Spelman,” she admitted. “I had to work two jobs to make ends meet so my studies ended up suffering.”

  “Whaaat?”

  “Oh, it’s true,” Panee assured him. “So I had to come home for a semester and save some money. Now, I’ll probably start at Fayetteville State next semester.”

  “Damn, I hate to hear you have to start all over,” Justus said sincerely.

  “It’s okay.”

  “So, what are you doing for money now? You ain’t stripping are you?” he joked.

  Panee grinned. “Actually, yeah. I am.” Justus’s jaw dropped. “Pick your jaw up, Justus. I’m just joking, but I do work at Club Flesh four nights a week. I’m a waitress.”

  “Get the fuck outta here!” Club Flesh was the premiere strip club in town.

  “Seriously. I’ve been working there for almost two weeks now. Worst case scenario, I only have to wear a thong, and it pays the bills so it works out for me.” She shrugged her shoulders as if it were no big deal.

  “Damn, what you want so bad that you gotta show a room full of niggas that pretty ass? Where ya’ man at?” Justus openly let Panee see him admiring her pretty round bottom.

  “Hold up, Jus. Before you even go there, I know all about you. You got a girl. Your name stay ringing bells. Hoes in the club wanna get wit’ you and they don’t even know how you look.”

  Justus chuckled, “Stop playing, girl. I’m low-key, so that can’t be.”

  Panee put her hands on her hips defiantly. “Seriously, Justus, everybody knows how you ride for your girl. They say you got her driving Porsches and Benzes and shit. By the way, congrats on the twins,” she smirked.

  “Ohhh, you got jokes? I see.”

  “No jokes, just the truth. You do have twins, right?”

  Justus nodded. “You got that.”

  For the next few minutes Panee joshed with Justus something fierce. He swore he scoped a tinge of jealously in Panee’s eyes. He couldn’t help but admire how beautiful she was, even though she was upset. She had gotten thicker in all the right places and despite loving Nikki, he couldn’t deny what he felt. He wanted her. Real bad. She was the one that had gotten away. Until now.

  “So Justus, did you really buy that girl that big house and all those cars?” Panee asked. “Because that’s all I keep hearing about. Well, I heard something else too, but I ain’t gon’ say nothing about all that.”

  “Yeah, I bought the house and cars,” he admitted. “But I don’t know what you tripping about. All that shit supposed to be yours, but you bounced on a brother. Now look.” He could tell his words touched Panee. Suddenly she seemed uncomfortable. “But look, I ain’t tripping on the past,” Justus quickly said before the mood turned sour. “I’m concerned with here and now. Let me take you out to lunch or something so we can catch up on this unfinished business.”

  Panee sighed loudly, “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. I don’t have time.”

  “Hold up. What you mean, ‘If you wanted to’?” Justus was offended.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I would if I wasn’t in a relationship.”

  “Anyway . . .” Justus sucked his teeth.

  “I’m serious, Jus. I don’t have time.”

  “I bet you have time to get your ass dolled up and shit.”

  “What? That’s different. A woman always makes time for the things that are important to her.”

  She noticed the strange look Justus gave her, and reminded herself of his monstrous temper. She didn’t want to upset him. Surprisingly, it seemed Justus could keep a cool head.

  “Damn. So now I’ve been reduced to being lower than a nail appointment?”

  Panee laughed. “Boy, you crazy.”

  “Seriously though,” Justus laughed. He had Panee smiling so hard he knew he was in. He spotted Pug coming over their way so he decided to wrap up with a strong finish.

  “Give me your phone,” Justus said. He took Panee’s phone and dialed the number to his stash phone. He let the phone ring a few times, then ended the call. “Now we linked. All you gotta do is push this button right here when you wanna talk to me. Anytime, anyplace. I’m doing big things now. I wanna help you with your situation. A’ight? No woman I love should have to show her ass to a room full of vultures.” Justus openly lusted over her nice shape. “That’s for my viewing pleasure only.” He smacked her on her plump ass and gave her the phone back.

  Pug and Justus jumped back into the ’vert and pulled off into the warm sun with the music blasting. They both had secured some “strange” (pussy other than their wifey) so they were feeling good about themselves. So good that they never noticed the car tailing them.

  * * *

  When Leader returned to the bungalow from his morning run, everything was quiet. He detected the faint smell of scrambled eggs as he made his way through the bungalow. He paused at the bedroom door where a smooth sweet scent massaged his nostrils. He cracked the door and found the source of the smell.

  Carmen was standing in front of the mirror, asshole naked, rubbing her beautiful body down with oil. Leader stopped and stared at her for a long while before letting his presence be known. Carmen didn’t seem the least bit surprised. She gazed at Leader through the mirror, continuing to stroke her body with the oil. Leader met her gaze through the mirror, charging the environment to nuclear proportions.

  Carmen craned her finger, inviting Leader over. “Can you help me please?”

  Leader hesitated a moment but his masculinity overpowered him. He joined her at the mirror and took the bottle from her hand. He motioned to the bed. “Lie down.”

  Leader took his time rubbing the oil on Carmen, admiring every crevice of Carmen’s toned body. Her skin was very soft despite her muscular frame. There was nothing he loved more than seeing the female form whipped to maximum capacity. Carmen’s body was a work of art. She possessed the perfect balance between fitness and femininity.

  Leader slid his hands between her sculpted shoulders and massaged her neck. Carmen moaned and squirmed. She sucked in a mouthful of air, and rubbed the insides of her thighs. She pushed her middle finger inside her wet vagina, pulled it out, and slid it across Leader’s nose. She offered him a taste of her sweet nectar, but he refused. Carmen put the sticky finger to her mouth and sucked her own juices off.

  “What are you doing?” Leader inquired, dismounting Carmen’s back.

  Carmen rolled over on her back and put her finger at the door of her opening. “Promise not to touch, and I’ll let you watch,” she cooed. Without
waiting on Leader’s answer, she began rubbing the lips of her slit until she was practically leaking juices onto the silk sheets. Leader watched, transfixed on the spot where Carmen’s finger was going to work. Even her pussy is pretty, he thought.

  Carmen worked herself into a frenzy, pinching her left nipple with one hand while continuing to plunge two fingers from her other hand into her pleasure center. Soon her moans claimed the room as she coaxed herself to climax.

  Leader saw Carmen’s juices ooze onto the bed like hot lava. He was beyond reproach or reason. His only reasoning was that he had already transgressed by watching the show. He shed his sweaty clothing and mounted Carmen. He slid inside of her eagerness with no protection and pounded away to climax, releasing his essence deep inside of her. He was so aroused by Carmen that even after he climaxed, his manhood was still rock hard. So, he pounded away again. This time Leader soaked in Carmen’s pleasures. The first round was for him, a means to caress the impossible burning inside his loins.

  This round was for her.

  He gripped her small waist and drove himself deep inside her heaven as if he was drilling for oil. She cradled his head. Gazed into his eyes. Wrapped her thick powerful thighs around his legs. She collapsed her inner walls around his engorged member and milked him like a cow to climax. He moaned like he was being tarred and feathered as he released a river of semen inside her tight walls.

  After three strong eruptions, Leader lay on top of Carmen, spent. Like black fog, guilt slowly crept in. He was disappointed for allowing himself to be manipulated. He had allowed another person’s mind to trump his own. At that moment, he developed a strange blend of respect and hatred for Carmen. Respect for her cunning. Hatred for her craftiness. The two combined for a potent arousal.

  As if sensing Leader sulking, Carmen took Leader’s face into her delicate hands, “No regrets,” she whispered. “We did what we wanted to do, and now it’s over.”

  Leader knew not so deep down inside, Carmen was right. He had done what he wanted to do and it felt good. After being so constricted in his marriage for so long, the feeling of reckless abandonment felt refreshing.