“I’m gon’ run this bath for you and make it all bubbly and shit, but don’t get used to it. Adrianna said there is an all-black dress with matching studded stilettos in your closet.”
“Cool,” I said, already locating the Dior dress.
Devynn removed herself from my room, and when I heard the bath water running I smiled.
* * *
I sat in the lobby of the Four Seasons alone. Adrianna and Devynn informed me that I was in good hands, but still, they would stay close. My girls were thorough, and I knew that even though I couldn’t see them they were probably staring dead at me. I wasn’t worried; I had a tool on my thigh and another in my clutch. I wasn’t new to the game and I would never again go into another situation blinded. As I waited, I was approached by several men trying to kick game and a group of drunk people asking me if I was Rihanna. I politely told them all to fuck off and continued to wait for my contact. It was five minutes past eight and I was growing impatient.
“Excuse me,” I heard a voice behind me say.
I turned my head and my eyes locked with the darkest eyes I had ever seen. Standing before me was a young Italian man with shoulder length black hair. He wore an all black suit with a red tie. He was very handsome in the face, clean shaven, with a skinny build. His face held a naturally pleasant look on it, but I knew looks were very deceiving.
“Pardon my tardiness, Miss Thomas,” he smiled at me, flashing his white teeth. “I am Victor. Please come.”
He made a motion for me to get up and I obliged. He linked his right arm in my left and walked me through the crowded lobby where the elevators were. Once inside, he pressed the button with the number twenty. I glanced at the number, making a mental note just in case.
“You are a very beautiful woman,” Victor smiled once again at me.
“Don’t let my looks fool you,” I said back to him.
“No worries,” he said, patting my arm. “I know all about you. You are ruthless, and that is what makes you beautiful.”
I felt a smile creep to my lips just as I heard a light ding as the elevator doors opened. We stepped out together and he led me down a long hallway, passing a few house keepers until we finally made it to our destination.
“One moment,” he said as he dug around in his pocket until he found the room keycard. “Ahh, here we are. He is waiting for you.”
He opened the door, unlinking his arm from mine, and told me to go through. When I did, I took in the gorgeous suite before me. It was very large with three bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. Instead of furniture in the living room there was a jet black rectangle marble table. At the head of the table sat a man who looked very young, but the wrinkles under his eyes and on his forehead let me know that he wasn’t. He looked like a man who had seen and done many things in his life. He had smooth, cream colored skin and a sharp jaw bone structure, and although his face held a hard expression he was very easy on the eyes. He too wore an all black suit, but no red tie. His eyes found me, acknowledging my presence. Subtly, he clasped his hands together, and not a second later did everyone sitting at the table clear it. I knew I was in the presence of greatness so I respectfully waited to be asked to take a seat. I didn’t need to be told that he was the notorious Vinny, because I felt it. The aura in the air was that of a king. I gave none of the Italian men passing me eye contact. Instead, I focused on Vinny. He gave me a warm, welcoming smile, and that surprised me.
“You have the same look in your eyes as Ray,” Vinny spoke in a low, baritone voice. “Please have a seat.”
I did as I was told and chose to sit at the other end of the table to directly face him. I thought I saw a look of approval in his eyes at my selection, but I may have been mistaken.
“Sadie—” Vinny started, but something in me knew I had to speak first; so I interrupted him.
“Why?” I asked, cutting straight to the chase.
Vinny looked taken aback by my words, and to be honest, I was too. Adrianna and Devynn had told me all types of gruesome stories about the man in front of me, so I knew what he was capable of. But at that moment I didn’t care, I just wanted to understand.
“Why what, Sadie?” he asked.
“I know it was you who had me flown here to Miami. Nobody else has that much reach. I also know that you have your people watching my back. Next time you have somebody trail me tell them not to follow so closely in foreign whips. It’s a dead give away.”
Vinny’s cheek moved, but I wasn’t sure if it was a scoff or a smirk.
“With all that being said, it comes down to the fact that you knew I was alive. If you knew I was alive why didn’t you come to me? Money is being lost, and now we’re in the midst of a war. All I want to know is why?” I gripped my clutch a little tighter in my hand and paused allowing him to speak.
Keeping my composure was getting harder by the second, but I wanted to skip the bullshit small talk and get directly to the point. After some seconds went by Vinny leaned forward in his seat and looked intently into my face.
“You are right when you say I knew of your survival,” he started. “I didn’t stay away from you because I wanted to. That is what you need to understand. Business never stops because of the loss of a king unless he requests it.”
His words caught me off guard.
“What do you mean ‘unless he requests it?’ Are you trying to tell me that Ray . . .? No. I don’t believe you.” I shook my head. “And even if he did ask you to not continue business in Detroit, why would you honor it? I thought money was the motive.”
Vinny sighed.
“Raymond and I did great business together. He was my business partner and my protégé, and in a way I looked at him like a son. He had instilled inside of him every making of a king. His movement, the one that you stand so proudly for, was single handedly created by him. I was just the connect. He earned my respect in our first meeting together, and that is very rare. The Last Kings was something the common street hustler dreamed of, but Ray? Ray made it a reality.”
“So why would he want it to stop?”
“Because of you,” he said simply.
“Me?” I asked.
It wasn’t clicking in my mind as to why Ray would stop everything because of me. Many thoughts flooded my head, but none of them seemed to connect. Did Ray not feel that I could replace him? Did he think I’d cause the cartel to fail?
“Victor!” Vinny called sharply interrupting my thoughts.
Not five seconds later did Victor appear. He pushed a wooden cabinet over to the table and positioned it in front of me. Vinny pressed a button on the remote Victor handed him before his departure, and the doors to the cabinet opened slowly only to reveal a television behind it.
“What is this?” I asked, looking at Vinny.
“Watch,” he instructed and pressed a button.
“With all due respect, I didn’t come here to watch a movie. I came here to—” I stopped abruptly when I heard a deep voice come from the television. It was a voice that I could only hope to hear in my dreams now.
“Sadie,” I turned my attention back to the television and saw Ray posted on it, looking very much alive. He was sitting on a couch in a living room that I’d never seen before. “If you’re watching this video, that means I’m dead.”
I stared at the video in disbelief. His dreads were neatly twisted and pulled back. He wore tan cargos and a forest green Ralph Lauren button up. I dropped my clutch on the table and took in my cousin’s appearance. I watched his chest go up and down as he inhaled; proof that he had once lived. Clenching my teeth, I tried to stomach the overpowering sadness welling up in my chest.
“Don’t be sad, shorty, and you better not drop not one tear from this video,” He smiled and I smiled sadly back. “I love you, Say. You are my heart and I can’t do nothin’ but hope you never have to watch this video. But shit it is what it is. Live by the game, die by the game. I know you wondering why my man Vinny is showing you this shit in the first place
, right?”
I glanced at Vinny, but his eyes were on the TV. I turned my attention back to my cousin’s handsome face.
“Since the beginning, you’ve put in mad work; I trust you with everything. You are the rightful heir to everything that I have worked to obtain, Say. You’re the only one that I believe can truly hold this shit down. Tyler lacks discipline, and the others still have a lot to learn. Time in the game means nothing when you have the heart of a hustler. All of it comes so naturally to you.”
“So why would you take it from me?” I asked aloud, to the TV.
“No matter how you are at the flip, at the end of the day I never wanted this life for you. You were supposed to be a scholar or something. Sometimes I regret putting you on, I feel like I threw you in front of a moving train. You are such a beautiful young woman, smart too. You should be in school toting books, not pistols,” Ray shook his head. “With me gone, my crown will automatically go to you, but I would never put that on you without giving you the choice.”
I could barely breathe as I listened to Ray’s words. I was beginning to understand.
“I asked Vinny to sever all business and end the whole operation if I was ever clipped. Unless you came directly to him and accepted the position yourself, The Last Kings would be no more. I have a few accounts nobody but Vinny knows about. Combined, there is a little over five million dollars. It’s all yours. It’s enough for you to live comfortably without having to hustle. You can live a normal life.”
It touched me that he had thought that much into depth about the life that he wanted me to live. The only thing was, what he was pitching didn’t even sound the least bit appealing. I cocked my head slightly at the TV and made a face. Ray laughed on the TV.
“Well, I guess if you’re watching this video that means you’ve already made your decision, huh? Straighten your face, shorty. You’re in charge now, Sadie. Respect is something niggas know nothing about. Make them fear you. Make niggas weary to even speak your name. You’re a woman, so these niggas will try you; all I can say is be safe, and think by clicking that finger.”
“I know,” I said to TV Ray.
“I know you know,” he paused, smiling. “Trust the Italians. Vinny will take you under his wing; you can trust him. He’s good people. Take care of the team and always lead, but never be afraid to follow. Your know-it-all ass don’t know everything, remember that. Death before dishonor. . . .”
“Loyalty over all,” I finished for him, and he smiled again; like he could hear me.
“That’s right. I love you, Sadie. You will never be without me, shorty. Kings don’t die. Even in the grave, we live on forever,” he kissed his two fingers and gave the peace sign. “One.”
The video stopped and the room was silent.
“Oh, Ray,” I whispered.
I refused to let my tears fall because Ray had told me not to. Instead, I kissed my two fingers and reached to press them on his face, frozen on the TV screen. I took a deep breath and locked eyes with Vinny once more. Swallowing the lump in the back of my throat, I knew it was time to put my size seven foot into Ray’s size ten shoe.
“This has gone on for way too long. I will never leave the game until I’m dead. And even then, I want to be buried in a casket on top of twenty bricks and stacks of hundreds,” I clasped my hands together and leaned forward, placing my elbows on the table. “The Last Kings is officially back in business. I do believe I have five million dollars and you’re the connect, right? Well, I need some work.”
Chapter 3
I left the meeting with Vinny feeling whole again. Vinny respected Ray, and by letting The Last Kings fall showed his loyalty. He sacrificed his money flow just so his protégé could rest in peace. Vinny told me that before we could move forward we needed to strengthen our connections and numbers. There were only four of us now, but I knew exactly how I was going to do that.
“Legacy is expecting our call,” Vinny told me upon our departure. “He’s been waiting for you to reach out. Trust him.”
I said my good-byes and allowed the driver to open the door to my limousine. I got in, trying to put all of the moves that needed to be made in order inside of my head. Before I could do that, though, I was ambushed by Adrianna and Devynn.
“That didn’t take long.”
I looked up to see Adrianna and Devynn chilling in the seats of my Hummer limo; drinks in their hands like they owned the vehicle. I shrugged my shoulders at Devynn’s remark.
“Well?” she asked eagerly, and both she and Adrianna stared, awaiting my response.
In the five minutes that presided after Vinny and I parted I’d already formulated a plan. It was time to take charge.
“Put those drinks down,” I instructed them and waited until the deed was done to continue. “We are no longer in limbo. Our movement continues tonight. Adrianna, we need a bigger house. The current spot isn’t going to work.” Adrianna’s eyes widened, catching my drift. Devynn sat next to her, smiling like a fat kid in the candy store. “With this shit between the Italians and the Dominicans we obviously can’t go home. So instead, we’re going to build a new empire here in Miami.”
“Say, I don’t know if that is a smart idea,” Adrianna said skeptically. “Legacy won’t take too kindly to another operation running in his city. That nigga is a loose cannon.”
I was waiting for one of them to bring Miami’s kingpin into it. I smirked at his name. While Devynn and Adrianna were in fact a big part of The Last Kings, some things were still unknown to them. Legacy was the only other boss in existence that I knew of, who could almost hold a candle to Ray. That was why he and Ray did such great business together. Each of Ray’s businesses was the drug connect to a different city, and unknown to Devynn, her business was Miami’s.
“We need to expand, Adrianna. Right now we only have money and work but no team. There won’t be another operation in Miami,” I smiled at them. “Just one. We have the brains. Legacy has the location.”
“How do you know he’s going to be good with this shit, Sadie?” Adrianna asked. “And if he’s not, then what?”
Adrianna had always been the sensible one, always watching her back and not wanting to step too far out of line. But there were some things that she didn’t know. I reflected back on the first time that I had met Legacy....
I was steady as Ray helped me up the steps to the grand ballroom inside of Amore. I was dressed elegantly in a strapless, ruby red Vera Wang gown that stopped just above my ankles. My hair was pinned to one side with big, loose curls falling over my shoulder. The jewelry that I had decided on was simple: a diamond choker around my neck and diamond studs in my ears. Ray stood beside me, looking just as breathtaking. His dreads were twisted back and on his body was a dark, chocolate brown Armani two-button suit. We made our way through the crowded dance floor, commanding all eyes. Ray shook many hands in passing, and I saw his eyes fall on a couple of beautiful women, but none were beautiful enough to make him stop. We made our way to where a very handsome, muscular young man was sitting alone.
“Legacy,” Ray grinned at the man once we were within ear shot. “Always on time, I see.”
“That’s the only way to be when it comes to business I thought?” The man grinned back, standing up and shaking Ray’s hand. He then turned to me. “You must be the lovely Sadie I’ve heard so much about.”
I flashed him a dazzling smile. The look in his eyes was genuine but not thirsty like the many other men who had laid eyes on me.
“And you must be the one of our best clients. Nice to finally see the face behind the name,” I said.
He smiled again. He was beyond gorgeous. His hair was cut into a low fade bringing out the perfect structure of his face and full lips. Whenever he smiled two deep dimples appeared on each cheek. His face was clean shaven except for the peach fuzz resting respectfully on his chin.
Ray and I sat at the table with Legacy and before the two of them could say a word to each other I butted in.
“What’s her name?” I asked Legacy.
“Excuse me?” he asked, thrown off.
“What’s her name?” I asked again.
“How do you figure there is a ‘her’?” Legacy asked with an intrigued expression.
“Your eyes,” I said simply. “They’re trained not to wander.”
He cocked his eyebrow at me and leaned back in the chair with his arms crossed. It was quite apparent that he was humored by my response.
“Is that right?” he asked, rubbing his peach fuzz. “Observant, I like that. I like that a lot. Her name is Lace. She’s an amazing woman.”
“Lace?” I repeated, looking at Ray.
The smile he gave me revealed that the connection to the name of his strip club wasn’t just a coincidence, and I chuckled.
“She must be a wonderful girl,” I concurred, and allowed the meeting to continue.
Legacy was there to complete a business deal with The Last Kings and to personally restock. Business was going great as usual, and I just sat there and listened to two great men work. I had no clue why Ray had asked me to come along to the meeting; I could have been counting stacks in the money room. Nothing special happened in the meeting, and upon parting the two men slapped hands in farewell. I was positive that I saw a little white paper go from Ray’s hand to Legacy’s, telling him where to pick up I was sure.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Sadie,” Legacy said to me, and he bent down to kiss my hand. “I look forward to doing business with you in the future.”
I snapped back to reality and looked at Adrianna and Devynn’s faces. At the time, I didn’t take in Legacy’s words, but now, thinking back to that night, I knew there was a deeper meaning. I nodded my head at Adrianna.
“There is no doubt in my mind,” I said. “I’m offering him a seat at a table full of kings forever. All I’m asking for in return is to borrow his city for a few months, just until we’re completely equipped to go to war. Adrianna? I’m going to need my down-ass bitch to return, I don’t like all of the second guessing that you have been doing.”
The Last Kings 2 Page 3
