The Black Widow Clique

by Genesis Woods

  “Do y’all still need a few more minutes to see whose dick is bigger?” April asked. “Or can we get back to the business at hand?”

  “And who the fuck are you?” Proof wanted to know. His gemstone-green eyes were now a dark emerald color as his focus stayed on April. I could tell by the expression on his face that he wasn’t feeling the plan, either, but was trying to gather a little more information before he expressed how he felt. With his hat turned backward, his arms folded across his chest, and a scowl on his face, I couldn’t help but appreciate how fine Proof’s ass really was. His walnut complexion, pouty pink lips, and athletic build were sexy as hell.

  “Who I am shouldn’t be a concern of yours right now,” April said coolly.

  “Anyone who has intent to harm my child or the mother of my child is a concern to me,” Proof retorted.

  April stared at him. “Did someone say anything about your child being touched? I coulda swore it was the other man’s child we were talking about taking.”

  “Anything that affects Melonee will ultimately affect my child, and I’m not about to put her through that.” Proof turned his cold gaze toward me, and my pussy thumped. “I can’t believe you really down with this shit, either, Fiona. What happened to loyalty? What happened to our Black Widow Clique family? We’ve been eating together for years, and now, because Mel wants to do something better with her life, you mad? You really about to kidnap your best friend’s child just because you’re jealous she didn’t give you a piece of the money the nigga she married left for her? Has it really come down to this?” He pointed at April. “Are you that money hungry that you would let this bitch and these fuck-ass niggas talk you into doing the one person that’s had your back since y’all was younger like this?”

  I shook my head. “Proof—”

  “Proof, my ass,” he snapped, cutting me off. “You moving real grimy right now, Fee, and that shit’s not cool at all. I’m with my nigga Wiz on this right here. Dead this shit and find us another target, or I’m out, like Mel, too. These new muthafuckas you brought up in here got your thought process way off. Got you turning on the only family you’ve had since your pops went to jail.”

  “Why are y’all so quick to throw that damn word around in this bitch? You and I both know that there’s no family unit in here,” April said, a smirk on her face. “Where was all that family talk when you were fucking your baby’s mama’s best friend the night she was rushed to the hospital a couple of weeks ago?”

  Proof’s eyes shot toward me, and the scowl on his face deepened.

  “Aw, nah, bruh. Please tell me you were not busting Fiona down while Mel was in the hospital,” Banks said to Proof, turning his attention to him. “Don’t tell me you did my girl like that!”

  Banks’s sympathy for Melonee had my blood boiling. “He didn’t do Mel’s ass like nothing, Banks. Her ass was in the hospital, having a baby by another muthafucka, or did you forget that? The same muthafucka she refused to help us blackmail after she woke up from her damn coma. Another way she was taking food from us and wanting to keep it all for herself. But y’all refuse to see it that way. Y’all sit in here and applaud Melonee’s ass like she’s the only one who was putting in work out here. Like she was the only one breaking bread with y’all.”

  My body started to shake, I was so mad. Hearing them defend or praise Mel was nothing new. But after seeing how selfish this bitch really was, I couldn’t take it anymore. “What about me and my sacrifices? Huh? Do my feelings not matter as much as hers? You know what? Don’t even answer that, because I can already see that they don’t. So you know what? Fuck Melonee and whatever bullshit sympathy y’all have for her. She’s not the only person who lost a parent back then. She’s not the only person who had to come up with some kind of hustle to get this money. A hustle, I might add, that was working just fine for us until she fell in love with the nigga we were supposed to be setting up. A hustle that was feeding us crumbs and would’ve been one of our biggest come ups, had she stuck to the plan. Instead of feeling sorry for her, y’all asses need to be feeling anger toward her.”

  My blood was boiling harder now. “Did y’all know she had three houses?” I shook my head at the stuck expressions on their faces. “Nah, I bet y’all didn’t know that. And they all paid for too. What about that five hundred K she got from her mama’s insurance policy? Huh? Didn’t tell y’all about that, either, right? From the look on your face, Proof, I’m assuming you didn’t know about any of that.” I threw my head back and laughed. “Everything that has happened to Melonee since she deviated from the plan is exactly what she deserved. From her getting beat to within an inch of her life to the premature labor she went into. The bitch deserved all of that for what she’s done.”

  “Damn, Ma. You really feel some type of way about this bitch, huh? If I didn’t know any better, I would think that you were the one behind the attack you just mentioned and the cause of her going into premature labor,” Rocko said as he typed away at some shit on his computer. He reminded me of Cowboy but was more thuggish. He was a little cutie with his chocolate skin and looked like a bearded Lamman Rucker. Dimple and all.

  “Wait. Hold up. Did you have something to do with Melonee’s attack, Fiona?” Mouse asked. “Because if so, that’s some fucked-up shit, man,” he added, looking like the rat-faced muthafucka he was.

  Everybody in the room turned their attention toward me and waited for an answer. Proof especially. The way his nose was flaring and his chest was heaving up and down told me that he was ready to fuck me up if my answer wasn’t the one he wanted to hear.

  “Well . . . ?” April said, trying to instigate something, when I remained silent. “Are you going to tell them the truth, or are you going to continue to skate around it just so this cozy little family y’all started doesn’t become a dysfunctional one?”

  “Bitch, ain’t nobody talking to you. We talking to Fiona. Now shut the fuck up, before your fate ends up the same as hers if she doesn’t answer this question the right way,” Proof said through gritted teeth. His dark eyes were burning holes into mine.

  Obviously finding the threat Proof had just issued funny, April laughed and hopped down from her seat on top of some stacked-up boxes and walked over to where he was sitting. Standing in front of him, with one hip poking out and one arm behind her back, she tried to kiss Proof on his cheek, but she missed when he moved his face out of the way. After grabbing his head forcefully with her free hand, she stuck her tongue out of her mouth and licked his top and bottom lip before pulling her gun out and shooting him in the spot right behind his ear.

  The loud sound of the shot from her gun ricocheted off the walls and through my body. Blinking my eyes a few times, I tried to focus on the loud commotion that had started up as soon as Proof’s lifeless body slumped over in his chair and fell to the floor. Before I had any time to react to what was going on, there was four more gunshots and four more loud thuds from bodies hitting the floor. Finally able to focus my eyes, I scanned the warehouse floor and saw Wiz, Banks, and Mouse lying lifeless a few feet from Proof.

  April stood in the middle of the bodies, with a satisfied grin on her face and the smoking gun still in her hand. Bloodstains and small pieces of brain matter decorated her face and shirt. Licking her lips, she pulled a pack of Newport 100s from her back pocket and patted them down on the back of her hand. After opening the fresh pack, she pulled one of the longs out, placed it in her mouth, and lit it with the lighter one of her crew members handed to her. After taking a deep pull, she blew out a thick cloud of smoke and looked at me.

  “What?” she said when she saw my questioning glare. “You and I both know that they were going to leave here and go straight to Melonee and tell her everything. And you know I don’t play about my money.”

  She turned to those in her crew who were still alive. That did not include Rocko. His sexy ass was dead. He was slumped over his laptop, a bullet through his head. “Y’all clean this shit up, and then let’s get bac
k to work. Grab Rocko’s laptop and try to see if he was able to find out anything about the hospital’s security in the NICU and shit.” April looked back at me. “Fiona, you try to get ahold of that brother of yours and see if he’s done doing whatever the fuck it is he’s doing. We’re going to need another tech guy since Roc is gone.”

  I felt a small pain in my chest as I looked down at the bodies of the four men I had considered friends to some degree. Shit was most definitely about to hit the fan now that Proof was gone.

  Roman

  “Your Honor, my client has never been convicted. What he has been is maligned, targeted, and accused of a crime that he did not commit.”

  The judge, who ironically looked similar to that Mills Lane dude who did a reality court show on TV, flipped through a few sheets of paper in a manila folder that had been placed in front of him by the bailiff. More than likely the lack of evidence the DA had against me. “Mr. Channing, do the people have any witnesses at this time who can corroborate the charges filed against Mr. Black?”

  “At this time, Your Honor, the people do not. The victim in this case recently dropped all charges against Mr. Black.”

  The judge pulled his glasses down his nose and looked over them. “For what reason, Mr. Channing?”

  “Unfortunately, we don’t know.”

  “Objection, Your Honor,” Viktoria said. “The prosecution is lying. The victim, Melonee Reid, who was their star witness, has dropped all charges against my client because she has stated that it was not Mr. Black who attacked her on the night in question. In fact, Ms. Reid remembers in detail what happened. She has given a statement to the police department, which I am sure the DA has received a copy of. The rape kit that was done on Ms. Reid showed that there was not one, but two different spermicides found. One from Mr. Black, who she remembers having a consensual intimate night with, and one from a suspect the police department has yet to find.” She leaned toward Chasin and whispered something in his ear.

  Judge Lawrence closed the folder in front of him and sat back in his chair. His eyes zeroed in on the nervous DA, who was probably wasting his time with this motion hearing. “Is there any truth to the evidence that the defendant has provided today, Mr. Channing?”

  “Yes . . . and no, Your Honor. The state thinks that Ms. Reid dropped the charges only because she recently gave birth to a baby who might in fact belong to the defendant.”

  “What does a baby have to do with a rape charge, Mr. Channing?”

  “We believe Mr. Black possibly paid Ms. Reid to drop the charges.”

  “Your Honor,” Viktoria said, with irritation in her voice, “it’s obvious that the prosecution is trying to find any and everything to build a case against my client since the first one didn’t work. Up until a few days ago, all of Mr. Black’s assets were frozen. He did not have access to any of his bank accounts, his 401(k), pensions, IRA, stocks, bonds, or his trust fund. There is no way that he was able to pay Ms. Reid anything to change her story. And in light of the new evidence, the statement we were able to obtain from the police department, and the fact that the DA’s charges against Mr. Black have been dropped, I move that the case be dismissed and my client hereby freed of all charges.”

  I looked over my shoulder at Marques, who was present in court with me today. He had been MIA for a minute but had shown up when I really needed him to. Melonee wanted to come and support me, but Chasin had thought it was a good idea for her to sit this one out. Although her memory was the saving grace behind these charges being dropped, he felt that her being here today would start a media frenzy, which neither one of us wanted right now.

  The judge’s deep baritone voice as he rendered his verdict brought me back from my thoughts. “Mr. Black, in light of the lack of evidence the DA has against you and the fact that their star witness has recanted her story, I have no other choice but to free you of all charges.” He banged his gavel. “You are free to go.”

  I stood up from my seat and released the breath I’d been holding for the past two minutes and pulled Viktoria into a hug. “Thank you, Vik. I really owe you and Chasin one.” I clasped Chasin’s outstretched hand, tugged on it, and brought him in for a brotherly hug. “Thank you, man.”

  “No problem, bro. I told you, and your uncle, too, y’all could trust me. All you had to do was let me handle it, and I’d get you off clear and free,” Chasin told me.

  “Mel’s memory coming back wasn’t a bad look, either,” I whispered in his ear as we released each other from our embrace.

  Marques walked up behind Viktoria and wrapped his hand around her waist. “Don’t go taking all the credit, man. My girl put in just as much work as you and in a shorter time frame. I don’t know how many nights I had to go without—”

  Viktoria elbowed Marques in his stomach.

  “What was that for, babe? All I was going to say was, ‘I don’t know how many nights I had to go without her sleeping next to me.’” Marques furrowed his brows. “That’s all.”

  “Marques, shut your lying ass up,” Viktoria told him. She laughed and then turned to me. “How about we all go to the bar down the street and have some celebratory drinks? I think this calls for a few rounds of vodka.”

  “Vodka?” Marques scrunched up his face. “Just like your crazy-ass daddy.”

  “What about my father?”

  “I love the man. . . . That’s all. So what do you say, Ro? First round’s on me,” Marques said.

  As much as I would love to celebrate finally getting my life back in order, I had other things to take care of right now. “How about we meet up later on in the week? I gotta go make sure everything at my new spot is set up for Melonee, Madison, and Kason.”

  “So you finally found a place, huh?” Chasin asked.

  Marques rolled his eyes. “You would know that if you came up for a breather every now and then. I understand, though, that Bree’s ass is fine as—” He frowned. “Ouch, Vik. What was that for?”

  “Because you don’t ever know when to shut up, Marques,” Viktoria snapped. “What if Chasin was describing me in that way to one of your other friends?”

  “Shit. Let him. I know my baby is fine as fuck. I’m a secure man, and I don’t have a problem with these other fools seeing that, either.” Marques kissed Viktoria on her lips, and she blushed. Even with her dark skin, you could see the tint in her cheeks.

  “I’m still trying to figure out how the two of you got together,” Chasin mused. “Marques isn’t the type of dude I would have ever imagined you with, Viktoria. You have your own money, so I know you don’t need his. Plus, you live, like, on the other side of the world. And if Marques isn’t running behind Roman, he’s in your nearest strip club, harassing the strippers. When did he have time to get his passport stamped?”

  “You sound like you’re hating, bruh,” Marques said as he stepped toward Chasin. “What? You mad because she’s with me? What? You want my girl too, Mr. GQ? I thought Bree had your nose wide open.”

  “Would you guys stop! We are still inside the courthouse,” Viktoria hissed, looking around at the eyes that were now focused on us. Paparazzi stood waiting, with their cameras out, ready to snap some good shots.

  Chasin laughed and handed his business card to some dude being escorted out of the courthouse in cuffs.

  I shook my head. Always the working man.

  “I would never hate on you, Marques,” Chasin said, a grin on his face. “You’re a trust-fund baby with no sense of what you really want to do with yourself. Never had to do a day’s worth of hard work in your life. Always had that silver spoon in your ass and mouth. Believe me, bro, I would never hate on you. I was just curious to know how you pulled Viktoria, that’s all.”

  That was a question that had gone through my mind, until Marques told me that he and Vik had been messing around since we were younger. During the summers when we would visit Russia, he and my cousin would sneak into each other’s rooms whenever my uncle and the staff had retired for the night. It wa
s weird that I had never noticed, seeing as my room was between theirs. He’d told me that they tried to do the long-distance thing once we got older, and would travel back and forth to see each other. But once Viktoria got into law school and the trips to see each other became less frequent, they decided to chill for a minute and to pick back up if the opportunity ever presented itself again. Now that Viktoria was back in the States and was thinking about staying out this way, I guessed they were trying to pick back up.

  When I asked him where he’d been during the past month or so, while I was going through all my bullshit, Marques told me that his parents and lawyers thought it would be a good idea if he distanced himself from me so that none of the negative press about me that was going around would be associated with King Palace Resorts and their brand. From a business perspective, I understood what they’d been trying to do, but from a best friend perspective, I had a hard time wrapping my head around this. Needless to say, we’d talked it out and thrown that shit under the bridge. Q and I had been rocking with each other for far too long to let this little hiccup cause a rift in our friendship. Especially when good friends were hard to come by nowadays.

  “Look, y’all, I’m about to get out of here. Like I said, I got some things to do before Mel gets to my house. Chasin, call me tomorrow. Vik, I’ll see you later on in the week, and, Q, don’t let what Chasin said bother you. I think you and my cousin being together is a good look. She already got you to cut off that mop on top of your head, and your jeans are actually a good fit, and not those nut-hugging things you used to wear. Shit, you even talk a little different. Haven’t heard a woman’s body part or a curse word fly out of your mouth while we’ve been standing here.”

  “Fuck you, pussy.” Marques laughed. “And for your information, the change in the way I look was all me. If I want people to take me seriously as a businessman when my father passes the shit down to me, I have to look the part, right?”