My mind was constantly going. Every hour a new way to make money would enter my head. I pitched all of my ideas to Legacy and he never doubted me once. It felt good to sit and talk with somebody who understood the vision. It had been a while since I talked to somebody with a like mind who didn’t look at me like a frail, broken woman. When I was alone I kept myself busy with business dealings to keep Ray and Tyler off of my mind. It never worked, though. They always seemed to find a way there. When I thought of Ray it was almost impossible for me to believe that he was truly dead and gone. His voice was still so fresh in my head. When it came to Tyler. . . no matter how much I tried not to care I knew I did. What I really felt was nothing but love for that man, and I wished he would stop being so distant with me. The most I got was a phone call telling me that he was okay, but not saying anything about his quest to find his sister. He wouldn’t even let me help, he just told me to focus on my own business. It broke my heart the way he had pushed me away, but I knew I had to let him find his own way back to me.
Business in Miami was slower paced than it was in Detroit. In order to try to pull in the same numbers we had to work twice as hard. The money was racking up quite nicely, however we still weren’t seeing the numbers that we were used to. One evening Legacy and I sat on chairs in the sand in my backyard staring at the ocean water. We tried to meet at least once a week to discuss business, and instead of doing so in the dreariness of an office we opted for something more relaxing. The sun was blazing, but the wind mixed with the mist from the ocean cooled our bodies. The sound of the waves crashing into the sand was somewhat soothing, and the view all together was breathtaking. It was the perfect place to kick back.
“I used to say I’d get out of the game once I reached my first million,” he told me.
“Well, what happened?” I asked him.
“I spent that shit and had to make another,” Legacy said simply. “The game never got out of me. I didn’t come from money, but now that I’m use to it I couldn’t give this life up if I wanted to.”
“I understand. It’s like it’s embedded in your DNA,” I agreed.
I felt that there was something else that he wanted to say, but I didn’t press him. I was patient, and sure enough he popped the question I’d been waiting for.
“When are you going to go back to Detroit? You bury yourself in work,” Legacy continued. “Even if there is nothing to do you are always trying to keep yourself busy. It’s obvious that you’re trying to kick something out of your mind. You still hurting, ma. I understand that. But hiding inside of yourself ain’t gon’ change the fact that Mocha turned on you, and it’s not gon’ get your city back.”
His words stung. It was like he was holding a mirror to my face and forcing me to face every thought I had locked away. I had so many things gnawing at my mental that I hadn’t taken the time to sit down and figure out if I was even okay. I was constantly on go mode and making sure that everything else was in place. I stared at Legacy, a little shocked at his observations. He’d become like a big brother to me, but the past two weeks doing business with him had become hard. He was beginning to remind me so much of Ray, and I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“This is something,” I started hearing the coldness dripping from my tone. “This is something that you will never understand. So please don’t go Dr. Phil on me please nigga. I don’t need it. Your best friend didn’t betray you. You didn’t lose everything you built in a day! Your cousin isn’t dead. The work Miami sees in a week? I saw that shit in a day nigga! So don’t tell me you understand.”
“That’s crazy to me,” Legacy scoffed, shaking his head, clearly unmoved by my revelation.
“What is?” I asked with my nose turned up.
“That you still feel like you’re the only one that felt that loss,” Legacy’s low bark startled me. “Or think you’re the only one who has felt loss, period. You think you’re the only one that’s hurt? Nah, but listen to me when I say this. Be mad if you want, but I don’t give a fuck. That’s what happens in the game. How many souls have you snatched? How do you think their families feel?”
I was silent.
“You don’t think about it, do you? You just eat that shit and keep it pushing. Now it’s your move, so what? Are you going to forfeit because somebody touched your feelings? It’s okay to feel pain shorty, but don’t ever let pain get in the way of what you know needs to be done. You’re doubting yourself and I can tell. Now you tell me, is that what G’s do?”
“No,” I answered with my eyes on the waves.
“Hell, no. In my last conversation with Ray he said one day you would come to me. And to give you whatever you needed,” Legacy’s tone softened. “At first I couldn’t see myself bowing to a woman, someone younger than me at that. But I know now that I made the right decision. You have the heart of a hustler. In two months your ideas have doubled what I was pulling in before you came. I’d be a fool not to accept the fact that some things are just more important than a position of power. Miami will always be my city, but I’m only one part of the operation. Once The Last Kings is back you will be the king of it all. So what do you need, boss?”
Legacy’s words touched me in a place that I didn’t know still had emotion. I bit it back and nodded my head. He was right, it was time to make an official come back. I took a deep breath and focused my sights on the setting sun.
“There is only one operation now,” I said swallowing my tears. “This is all The Last Kings, we work together. I don’t want there ever to be a struggle of power as long as we understand each other’s positions. The respect level will always be in sync. However . . . there is only one thing missing.”
“What’s good?”
“I need a team,” our eyes met again and I saw the smile in his before he even spoke.
“Already done.”
After our talk on the beach he held a meeting the next day at his recently purchased home. It was in a beautiful neighborhood called Coconut Grove. His house was much larger than those around it, and the whole perimeter was gated with shooters on guard. After they let me through I pulled my new and freshly washed black on black Chevy Camaro around the circular driveway and parked. Devynn and Adrianna pulled up right beside me in Devynn’s red Dodge Challenger. As soon as I opened my car door I saw a beautiful woman with long hair that held wet curls walking toward me. Her brown skin was almost golden in the Miami sun. She wore jean high waist shorts and a turquoise blue crop top showing off her small waist and abs. She had a small nose, slanted eyes, and high cheekbones. Her walk was confident and not at all unsure.
I exited my vehicle, dressed comfortably in a simple off-the-shoulder white sundress with a tan fedora over the two Cherokee braids that I rocked in my hair. The Manolo Blahnik sandals on my feet matched the hat on my head perfectly and the Mink Revlon lipstick on my lips completed my whole look. I could tell that just like I had sized her up, she was doing the exact same thing to me. Not afraid, I walked toward her with my clutch under my left arm.
“You must be Lace,” I said knowingly, offering a kind smile.
“And you’re Sadie,” she replied, her voice bitter sweet. Needless to say, she did not return my smile. “Funny, I thought you would look . . . different.”
I paused, not liking how her voice dropped at the word “different.” It was at that moment I took notice of the look on her face. It wasn’t that of a welcoming housewife. She was not coming off at all like how Legacy had described her, and she was turning me off with every second going by.
“Oh, really?” I asked, looking into her eyes. “What were you expecting exactly?”
“The way Ray and Legacy talked about you, I guess I expected more,” she tried me, eyeing our vehicles.
I automatically knew what she meant as I felt Devynn and Adrianna approach us.
“Don’t let the exterior fool you. Understand that every material thing is disposable,” I told her simply. “I thought the role of the wifey w
as to make guests feel comfortable. You just lost major points with the person you’re supposed to be impressing. Excuse me, Lace McCoy.”
I knew Legacy sent her outside to lead us inside, but honestly I was tired of looking at her. I walked around Lace without even introducing her to Adrianna or Devynn and made my way to the door. Adrianna and Devynn followed close behind me toward the already open double doors. Once inside, the cold air and wonderful aroma in the air hit me at the same time.
“The dining room is this way,” Lace said, coming from behind us.
Devynn gave me a knowing look, and the look I gave her back was telling her to stand down. Devynn was the type to smack a bitch real quick for disrespect, but I was giving her a pass just because she was Legacy’s girl. But one pass was all that she would get. I knew my girls weren’t feeling the chick and I wasn’t either, but we were there on business. I walked side by side with Lace through Legacy’s huge home until we reached the dining room. Sitting at the round table awaiting our arrival were Legacy and two muscular men that I had never seen before. I made sure to make eye contact with them all before Legacy asked us to sit down.
“I believe we all know why we’re here,” Legacy started once everyone was seated. His eyes circled the table before he continued. “Sadie, that’s Ghost,” he pointed to the light-skinned man that sat on the right of Devynn. “And this is my right hand, Smoke.”
On his right was a chocolate man with a brush cut that had waves so deep they rivaled the Atlantic Ocean, you could dive in. Both men nodded their heads and grunted.
Strike two, I thought to myself because Lace’s attitude had been strike one.
“And I think you’ve already met Lace,” Legacy said to me, and I barely looked her way to acknowledge her.
That didn’t go unnoticed by Legacy and he raised an eyebrow at Lace who sat on his left. She responded with a shrug. Next to Lace, Adrianna shook her head, and on my right, Devynn gave a low laugh.
Strike three.
“I’m Devynn,” Devynn introduced herself. “I would tell y’all my favorite hobby, color, and all that, but I’m sure you don’t give a fuck.”
I placed my hands together and smirked at my clutch on the table.
“I’m Adrianna,” Adrianna said in her sweet voice.
I sighed before I placed my hands down on the table. I knew all eyes were on me and I lifted my head to meet their gazes.
“This,” I started, “is supposed to be a table of kings. Not potentials.”
I cut my eyes at the new comers. Legacy crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair, allowing me to take the reins.
“What I want to know is why did Legacy just introduce you all to me? What . . . you niggas can’t speak? A king always makes himself known. How am I supposed to trust you on my team if you can’t even think for yourselves?”
“With all due respect,” Lace spoke up quickly, glaring at me. “You already dropped the ball in your own city, so how are we supposed to trust you? Didn’t your best friend betray you for some dick? And isn’t the man she threw you under the bus for the same nigga that killed Ra—”
My gun barked before she even had a chance to finish her statement. Out of respect for Legacy I didn’t kill her, but for speaking my cousin’s name I did cause her pain. Before anyone had a chance to react, blood was splattering from her arm when my bullet connected.
“Ahh!” she cried out and tried to stand up, her left hand flying to her right arm.
“Sit down, bitch!” I said coldly. “Or I’ll double that shit.”
Ghost and Smoke tried to grab their waists, but Devynn and Adrianna’s guns had already claimed their targets.
“Don’t try it,” Devynn warned, cocking her gun at Ghost’s head.
“Legacy!” Lace looked at him, but he just shook his head and handed her a towel from the kitchen.
She stared at him in disbelief, but took the towel. She sat there bleeding, in pain, and Smoke looked at me like I was crazy. His eyes shifted from me, to Legacy, then back to me.
“Legacy is thinking the same thing as me, Lace. You’re talking too fucking much. That’s going to stop today. You knew who you were meeting with, and you know why. So that little speech was irrelevant. This was your city, but as long as I’m here, it’s mine. In two months, these two women and I have brought in more money than you have seen by yourselves in six. Because of us, you have no worries. You owe us.”
I spoke and I felt the power in my words.
Make them fear you.
Ray’s voice popped up in my head, and now I understood them. Fear was another sign of respect, and I needed them to know I was about my money and to never cross me. Ghost and Smoke both still had guns pointed to their heads, but they seemed in a trance listening to me speak.
“I need your help to get my city back. Once that happens I will be out of your hair and peacefully sitting on my own throne.”
“You’re asking us to go up against the Dominicans?” Ghost’s deep baritone voice entered my ears.
“You scared?” Devynn said with her gun still pointed at him.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here if I was scared, but only a dumb muhfucka would believe we could go at that nigga with the Dominicans backing him.
“Then I guess you can call us some dumb mothafuckas then, sweetheart,” Devynn said.
There was silence for a moment, and for a split second I thought that maybe the meeting had been a dud.
“A’ight,” Smoke spoke up from beside Legacy. “I’m down. What’s the plan?”
All eyes turned to him in shock and he laughed.
“Aye man, she just shot the kingpin’s bitch in front of the nigga. She checks out to me.”
“A’ight,” Ghost said shrugging his shoulders. “This won’t be the first suicide mission a nigga has partaken in.”
I smiled and looked to Lace.
“What about you?” I asked, ignoring her bleeding arm and grimacing face. “Are you done running your mouth?”
The hate in her eyes for me was so real and I loved it. She was eating the pain in her arm, and for that she gained an ounce of my respect back. She nodded her head as her answer.
“I thought so. I need you all to trust me. We have powerful allies on our side. No fear, only loyalty. Welcome, put your guns in the air.”
Devynn and Adrianna ceased their aim and put their guns up. I loved how defensive they were for me. Hopefully the others would grow to show me such loyalty. A part of me knew I could trust them, though. Legacy had chosen them. Everybody raised their guns until the barrels touched; Lace used her left hand.
“The Last Kings,” I said and connected eyes with them all.
“The Last Kings,” they said in unison.
Legacy lowered his gun and looked approvingly at me. He called his housekeeper in the dining room and made arrangements for Lace to go to the hospital. Theresa, his housekeeper, didn’t even look shocked to see the bullet wound.
“Now you niggas have to get inked up and branded!” Devynn was saying and showing them her tattoo when I felt my phone vibrate.
“Hello?” I said into the mouth piece once I saw who it was.
“I found her.”
Chapter 6
Back in Detroit
Mocha’s soft moans filled the air as her clit was devoured and her sticky thighs were gripped.
“Khiron!” She cried into the darkness while his tongue circled faster and faster. “Ahh! Baby, you know that’s how I like it. You’re so nastyyy.”
Her orgasm came full force and she pushed his head further into her love box so he could drink up all of her sweet juices. While her body was still shaking he began to lay sensual kisses on her, from her stomach to her neck until he was at a perfect angle to slip inside of her. He forced himself inside of her without a warning, and her pussy lips automatically clenched tightly around his thick shaft.
“Fuuuuuuck!” Mocha moaned while Khiron sexed her deeply and slowly. She felt the head of his dick thump
ing against her G-Spot.
“I love you, ma,” he whispered. “You love me?”
“Yes,” Mocha whispered as her hands scratched up his back and her neck arched. “I love you, baby.”
Khiron’s hands gripped Mocha’s plump ass underneath her on the bed. While he was fucking her into ecstasy, he parted her cheeks and entered two of his fingers into her asshole and held them there. Mocha creamed immediately.
“I love you, Khiron. I love you, Khiron. I—”
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Mocha opened her eyes and looked at the source of the disrespectful noise. The digital clock read ten thirty p.m. Between her legs she felt an uncomfortable moisture and knew she’d had an orgasm in her sleep again. The dream she’d just had wasn’t just a dream. It was a memory. A memory of the first time Khiron had ever told her that he loved her. She missed the man she had thought he was. But looking around her tiny bedroom, inside her cramped, one-story house, she wondered if he had ever really existed. She felt disgusted for even having that dream. She and Khiron did still have sex, however it was more of him taking than her actually giving. He was rough with her, and he definitely didn’t tell her that he loved her anymore. He didn’t care if she was dry or not, he would still take it. It was his way of letting her know she was his property.
Mocha’s displeasure of him went beyond measure. She shuddered and threw the covers off of her exposing her thick, mocha colored thighs. She swung her legs over the side of her queen sized-bed and went to the bathroom in her room. Once there, she turned on the shower head and stripped free of her wet shorts and cream cami top. The hot water soothed her body the instant she stepped in. She stood there for a moment and allowed the water to slap against her before she broke down. Gripping her hair, she allowed herself to slide down in the tub and sobbed. Crying had become a part of her daily routine because it was the only way that she could let out her frustrations. Her sins and betrayal followed her everywhere she went. Her best friend Sadie’s face invaded her thoughts daily, and guilt overwhelmed her. Although Mocha wasn’t the one who had pulled the trigger that ended Sadie’s life, her blood was just as much on her hands as it was Khiron’s. She had allowed his promises and lies to consume her to the point where she had turned on her only family. Even after he got what he wanted, Khiron just couldn’t get over the fact that Mocha had been in allegiance with the ones that killed his father. He wanted her to feel as if she had nothing and nobody. He downgraded her from a Range Rover to an Impala and moved her to a tiny house in the hood. He allowed her to keep her Last Kings tattoo because she was his living and breathing trophy piece, showing that he’d brought down the best.
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