Pretty Kings

by T. Styles

  “I understand, it’s just that...well…I need to make sure he’s at that meeting tomorrow. Because I won’t be there.”

  This the type of nigga who thinks he can bypass me. Kevin took his mouth play more times than he should have, but I won’t. “Let me tell you something, mothafucka, I’m Mrs. Kennedy, not some bum ass hood rat. Now if I say Kevin will be there you can set your watch to that shit. Are we clear?”

  “Bambi, I just—”

  “Are we clear?” I yell cutting him off.

  “Yes, we’re clear.”

  “Like I said, the meeting is going down as planned. I’m out.” I wonder what’s Avery’s cut in this transaction and why he’s being so pressed. Whatever he’s broken off, won’t come out of the one hundred million we receive. I can tell you that.

  After hanging up on him, I walk to my closet. The bottle of vodka is singing to me again, and I want it so badly I can taste it. But, remembering the meeting tomorrow, I bypass the liquor to move to my closet. I want to check the envelope Kevin left in the safe for the cocaine delivery. It was the only thing remaining inside of his safe since I took the money out and put it into mine.

  I transferred the money, and left the note because I knew the note was of no significance to Bunny. She was all about the cash, and I wanted her to know I did it on purpose. I would’ve loved to see the look on her face when she saw that the money was gone. Greedy-ass- bitch.

  When I turn the knob to the safe and it opens, I feel light headed. I am staring at an empty rack. I leap up and look on the floor. Where is it? Where the fuck is the note that held the number of the driver bringing the cocaine? I quickly open the pink safe, although I knew I hadn’t placed it in there. Just as I thought it was empty too.

  “Oh no, please don’t! Please, God don’t say she took that shit,” I yell moving to the phone.

  I called Bunny’s house five times, and each time she doesn’t answer. All that shit she did earlier today, by fake moving in was just to throw me off. I knew something else was up. If I wasn’t drinking I would’ve been smarter.

  I rush to the backyard, grab one of the suitcases and look inside. The first one is empty. I fall to my knees because I can hardly breathe. What the fuck is this bitch up to? I move to the other suitcase, and open it. There’s nothing inside but a letter. I snatch it out, crawl up against the side of my house and read it.

  ‘Dear Bambi, feel free to use these suitcases for when you’re put out on the street. When I’m done with you, they will be the only things you have to your name.’

  I feel like I’m spinning. I have taken Bunny’s verbal abuse for the seventeen years that I’ve been married to Kevin. I allowed her to intrude on our marriage. I bit my tongue when she tried to tell me how to cook for him, talk to him and be his wife. I’m done with her, because on everything I love if she fucks up this business deal tomorrow, she’s as good as dead.

  AUNT BUNNY

  Bunny is sitting in her living room with a glass of Merlot in one hand and the phone in the other. She felt like the late Griselda Blanco, the Godmother of Cocaine, as she handled business. “Why would you even come at me like that, Donatello? You know who my nephew is. All the good shit pumping through this city has the Kennedy brand on it. You know what they call it…Virgin Pussy. So if I tell you I got a deal for you of a lifetime, the only question is how much can you afford?”

  “You not even telling me how much you got,” Donatello responds. “The least you could do is tell me what you working with.”

  “Listen, son, I don’t know who you think you dealing with, but I don’t have to tell you shit about my supply. Keep in mind our shit is not stepped on, it’s pure. With this type of quality what comes to you in a kilo can easily be turned into more. That’s totally up to you. You just tell me your order and we’ll go from there.”

  “And, Kevin is gonna allow this?”

  “Kevin?” She asks sitting her merlot on the table. “Let me explain something to you, you’re running this deal through me, not my nephew. Now what the fuck you want to do?”

  “Three kilos,” he chuckles, “you drive a tough bargain. When will it be ready?”

  “Tomorrow, and let the streets know whose in charge,” Bunny continues. “While Kevin is out of town, I’m handling all Kennedy business.”

  “You got it,” he says.

  “But have my money ready, Donatello, I’m not fucking around with you.”

  “Come on, aunt Bunny, you and my mother are best friends. You act like you don’t even know me. I’m good for it.”

  “Nigga, the fact that me and Therese share a drink here, and there on the weekends ain’t got shit to do with how I collect my bread. Have my money when you come see me tomorrow or don’t come at all.”

  He laughs. “Damn, Bunny, you cold blooded.”

  “It is what it is,” Bunny giggles sipping her wine. “Don’t let the age fool you, unlike the Kennedy wives I’m about this life. I don’t let nobody take shit from me like they do,” she continues feeling herself because she was stealing Bambi’s money under her nose.

  “They be letting niggas take from them?” Donatello asks.

  “Them bitches are weak,” Bunny continues. “Without the Kennedy Kings to protect them, they open bait over there,” she laughs. “But, fuck all that, come see about me tomorrow, and I’ll have your work.”

  When there is a knock at the door, Bunny ends the call and walks toward it. She laughs when she sees Bambi on the other side through the peephole. Bambi is wearing army fatigue pants, and a black leather jacket. Her long hair his hanging down the sides of her shoulders, and although beautiful, she looks distraught. Bunny opens the door.

  “I still can’t believe they shot you in the hand,” Bunny says looking at the huge band-aid covering the gunshot wound. “Too bad they didn’t get you in the heart instead. Then again you can’t send a boy to do a woman’s job,” she laughs at her own joke. “What the fuck do you want with me, Bambi?”

  Bambi steps into her house carrying a Hermes green Clemece duffle bag. “Bunny, is anybody in here with you?” Bambi looks around.

  Bunny folds her arms over her warped breasts and asks, “What you gonna do? Kill me? Like you did Kevin?”

  “Bunny, I don’t know what the fuck you talking about,” she says. “I would never hurt Kevin. That nigga is the love of my life.”

  “Then why are you lying about where he is and what happened to him?”

  “I’m not here to argue with you,” Bambi says in a soft voice. “I know you and I haven’t had the best relationship. Maybe it’s because we both love Kevin and want the best for him. I don’t know what the reason is. I just want you to know that I’m sorry for my part in everything. I truly am. All I want to do is put the bullshit behind us, and move forward. I want you in the twins lives, and I know you want to be in their lives too.”

  “What about Kevin?” She asks. “What about me being in Kevin’s life?”

  “He’s gone, Bunny,” Bambi responds crying. “He died on some fluke shit in LA. Check the news, a nigga came through and killed a bunch of innocent people at a casino. The Kings were there. They were there under fake names so the bodies couldn’t be identified. I was going to tell you and the entire family, but I couldn’t do it right now. There is a very important meeting that’s going down tomorrow. But, on everything I love, including my boys, when the meeting was over I was going to tell everyone.”

  Bunny looks her over. “You have on your fatigue pants,” she points at them. “Everyone knows when you wear the fatigues that either you’re thinking about something or up to no good. Which one is it? What you here to kill me or something?”

  Bambi raises her arms and spreads her legs. “Check me. I’m not strapped.”

  Bunny quickly moves toward her and runs her hands over Bambi’s breasts, pussy, ass cheeks and every other meaty parts of her body. When she is done she says, “Maybe a gun is in the bag.”

  “Money is in the bag, Bunny,” she nods
towards it. “Open it.”

  Bunny grabs the duffle, pulls back the gold zipper and looks inside briefly. True to Bambi’s word it has money inside, but its light.

  Bunny laughs. “And what the fuck am I supposed to do with that?”

  “I’m giving you that money in exchange for your life,” Bambi pleads with her. “I don’t want to hurt you, Bunny. I swear I don’t, but if you don’t give me back the envelope with that number, I’m going to beat your ass, and then I’m going to tie you up.”

  Bunny chuckles. “Wait, you are going to beat my ass?” She points at herself. “You and what army?”

  “The Bambi Army,” she replies. “And, after I beat your ass, and tie you up I’m going to grab the dullest knife in your kitchen, and gut you. If you give me what belongs to me we can stop your fate, but you gotta do it now.”

  Bunny isn’t laughing as hard. “You really have it all worked out in that head of yours don’t you? Tell the truth, you’ve been thinking about killing me for awhile now?”

  Silence.

  “You don’t have to answer me, Bambi. I already have the answer. It’s all in your eyes,” Bunny raises her shirt. Next to her stretch marks is the handle of a chrome .45 handgun. “But, I been ready for birds like you since the day I was born.” She releases her shirt, grabs the Hermes bag and throws it in Bambi’s chest. “That money is too light for me, mama. I’m done begging for cheese, Bambi. I’m looking for the big bread now.”

  “Bunny, in this bag is everything I have,” she continues.

  “Well keep it,” Bunny laughs realizing by this time tomorrow, she stood to have a couple hundred. And, that’s not even a percentage of what the entire cocaine shipment was probably worth. She knew all about the code words needed to get the work delivered, she worked with Kevin before.

  “Bunny,” Bambi says breathing heavily, “that money belongs to me and my family, and I can’t let you have it. I’m sorry. But if you give me back that number, I’ll give you five hundred thousand dollars, that’s half of what the shipment is worth.”

  “So the shipment is worth one million?” Bunny grins. “That’s it?”

  “That’s it, Bunny, and you can have half of it if we can put this all behind us.”

  Bunny laughs like a hyena. “Bitch, that shipment is worth at least one hundred million dollars. Well, at least that’s what Kevin was giving it to the Russians for.”

  The humbleness is wiped off of Bambi’s face. “Who told you that?”

  “Who do you think, darling?”

  Bambi shakes her head. In her opinion there is no end to what Kevin would say and do for this woman. “How were you able to get so deep into Kevin’s head that he would tell you anything? Even the code to his safe?” Bambi looks at Bunny’s man-face and warped body. “What are you, fucking him or something?”

  She laughs. “How else do you think he knew how to eat that pussy of yours so well, honey?” Bunny rubs her hand between her legs and cups her vagina. “I taught him.”

  Bambi is breathing so heavily it was the only thing that could be heard in the house. She releases the bag from her hand, but right before it hits the floor, Bambi yanks out the nine, cocks it and blows half of Bunny’s face off. Had Bunny accepted the peace offering, she might’ve seen the gun tucked on the side of the bag. But greed and hope for a bigger cut of the money blinded her. Bambi knew she wouldn’t take the bait. She smelled the bigger payout already.

  When Bunny’s blood poured out of her body, Bambi put one more bullet it in her head forcing her brains open. When she was done she wiped the brain matter off of her face, and ransacked the house. She needed that envelope. Bambi demolished the house on the hunt for it. Fifteen minutes later, her search ended in vain in Bunny’s bedroom.

  Her heart rate increased as she realized Bunny might have prevented her from getting the biggest payout in her life. One hundred million dollars was a lot of money to lose and to have never had.

  “Calm down, Bambi,” she says to herself. “Think…where would she put the envelope?”

  Bambi looks at the bed, the dresser and even the floor. Across from her sits a picture of Bunny and Kevin that was taken last year. Kevin had taken Bunny on vacation to Barbados. Since they went alone on the trip, Bambi could only imagine the things that they did to each other. She moved toward the picture to break it until she thought about it. Placing her gun on the edge of the dresser, she picked the picture up and removed the back.

  She exhaled when she saw the note. It was the number she needed to call tomorrow. “Thank, God!” She says out loud.

  Bambi rushes to Bunny’s body, snatches the ruby chain off of her bloodied neck, and runs toward her Rolls Royce. She just got away with murder.

  SCARLETT

  I’m sitting in the kitchen trying to force down a cup of ginger ale. I just finished watching the news. Apparently the man who came in and killed all of those people in Las Vegas was fired two weeks ago for stealing, and decided to come back and take lives. A disgruntled employee murdered our husbands. How did he even get a gun inside? There were still five people who were unidentified, but they weren’t releasing their pictures yet due to the investigation. My life is a mess.

  As I look at the gun in my lap that Bunny gave me, I wonder if I'm willing to use it on my sister or not. I thought about packing up all of my clothes and leaving, but having absolutely nowhere to go, and no money stops me. What a fool I am to get involved with Bunny's ass to begin with. So stupid.

  When the door unlocks, I grab my gun, and tuck it in the back of my jeans like I saw my husband do a million times. I pull my pink sweater over the handle, and walk toward the door. Bambi comes into view and she looks angry. She knows I betrayed her. I know Bunny told her that I betrayed her, and there is nothing I can do about it now.

  "H-hi, Bambi, are you okay? You look flushed,” I say.

  She stands in front of me and the time she takes to answer my question kills me. "No, I'm not okay," she responds. "I-I feel betrayed once again."

  I swallow. "Bambi, love is a funny thing. Sometimes the love you have for a person prevents you from doing what is right, because you don't want to hurt their feelings." She hates me. I know she hates me.

  "That sounds like a cop out to me," she says throwing her green Hermes bag on the floor. It's only then that I notice that she's wearing fatigues. "If you really love a person you honor the bond you have with them. You don't do anything that might hurt them. You cherish them and you protect the fact that hurting them is something you can't do, because they'd never be able to handle it.” She rubs her hands over her face.

  "Bambi, I..."

  "You don't live with a person for year after year, look them in the eyes, tell them you love them, and stab them in the back," she cuts me off.

  This is killing me. I knew my betrayal would hurt but I never thought it would feel like this. If God saw it fitting for her to forgive me, and for us to move past this, I will never destroy our bond again. I mean that on everything I love and everything I feel.

  "Bambi, this is life," tears roll down my cheeks and I smear them away. "Do you know how often people hurt the ones they love? Don't you see that the ones you love get hurt first? It's not right but it's true. My aunt told me that,” I swallow. “Just like Kevin had a baby on you, you're not going to tell me that he doesn't love you. He made a mistake. It happens. I'm not going to hear it."

  "You really believe all of that shit you saying right now don't you? Camp really had you brainwashed."

  "I'm not talking about Camp or Kevin," I tell her wiping more tears away. "I'm talking about our bond. I'm talking to you as a sister, and my only regret is that we didn't have this conversation earlier. People make mistakes, Bambi. I made a mistake."

  "What are you talking about, Scarlett?" She frowns.

  "Let me finish," I beg her. "I make mistakes, and I do things that are unforgivable. But, I'm trying to change. I'm trying to be a better person in the hopes that I can be a better mother." I rub
my stomach.

  Her eyebrows rise. "A better mother? You're pregnant?" She asks.

  "Yes, I am." My response is flat and its only then that I seriously realize what I'm saying. I've thought about it before, but the magnitude strikes me as if someone dropped a big piece of iron on the top of my head.

  "I don't understand," she shakes her head, "I mean, I thought Camp wasn’t interested in having any babies."

  "Who told you that?" I glare. Sounds like there was more talk about me around here than I was aware of.

  "Come on, Scarlett, you know how them niggas talk,” Bambi continues. “Camp told Kevin that he wasn't trying to have any kids, and Kevin told me."

  "But, we weren't having kids not because he didn't want to, but because of me."

  "You?" She says. "Why wouldn't you want to have kids with a rich ass nigga like Camp?"

  I think about my abusive past and decide to lie. "Because I'm not ready for kids, but it seems that I don't have a choice right now, do I?"

  "I hear what you saying," Bambi continues, "but I still can't condone disloyalty. Of any kind."

  "What does that mean?"

  She steps toward me and releases the gun in her waist. I move to grip the handle of mine that sits in the middle of my tailbone. It reminds me that I don't trust anyone, although I desperately want to.

  "It means that I'm glad Kevin’s gone," she places the gun on the table. "And, that if he was alive, I'd kill him again."

  I take my hand off of my weapon, and pull down my sweater. False alarm. This isn’t about me. She isn’t talking about me. I’m more than relieved. "I'm sorry, Bambi," I whisper. "About everything Kevin has put you through."

  "There’s no need in you being sorry, you weren't the one who did me wrong, that nigga was." She shakes her head. "I found out today that he was fucking Bunny's ass. Can you believe that shit, Scarlett? The bitch is shaped like a bullet."

  I laugh so hard, I grip my pregnant belly.

  "What's funny she asks?"