by Mz. Robinson
“I love you, Diamond.”
“I love you too.” I disconnected our call while mentally acknowledging Randall’s notion that Gator was guilty as hell. I immediately called Randall. “Where are you?” I questioned as soon as he answered.
“Almost on the south side. Why?”
“Turn around,” I said. “There’s been a change in plans.”
“What’s the change, sis?”
“Go home and wait for me. I’ll be there within the hour.”
“I’m on my way now.”
“Randall…” I blurted before he could disconnect the call.
“What’s up?”
“Pack a bag,” I stated, opening the safe hidden in the floor under my desk.
“Huh? Why?”
“We’re leaving town, gettin’ the hell outta here.”
“What about Mama?”
I detected sincere concern in his voice, concern that I also felt myself. “I’m on my way to see her now,” I explained, stuffing the money from the safe in my bag. “Just go home and do what I asked.”
“I’ll be home when you get there.”
I scribbled a quick sign, letting everyone know that the lounge would be closed for the day, taped it on the front door, and locked the doors before jumping in my car and peeling off. I didn’t bother contacting my employees; I hated to leave them hanging, but my departure was a matter of life or death.
* * * * *
I’d heard every word Gator said about my mother and brother and their possible plot against me and I’d pretended to fall for it. True, his story was not farfetched, but I wasn’t buying it. I was on to him, and I was willing to take my chances with my family. Gator was out of his damn mind if he thought I’d fall for that bullshit he’d told me over the phone. I refused to hand my brother over to be slaughtered by wolves he would have never known in the first place if it hadn’t been for me. My husband was eager to turn my brother over to Luis, which meant one thing to me: It was him against us. I could not forget that he was the same man who’d allowed his psycho sister to snitch on his right-hand man.
I climbed out of my car and hurried up to my mother’s front door. I knocked rapidly on the door until she answered.
“Diamond?” She smiled brightly. “Come in, sweetheart.”
“Got no time for visiting, Mama. I need you to pack a bag,” I said, stepping inside her living room and closing the door behind me.
“Why?” She asked, staring at me with innocent, confused eyes.
“We have to go. Something’s happened, and we’re leaving town,” I stated frantically. “Please just trust me on this, Mama. We have to go…immediately!” I stared in her eyes, begging and pleading for her to understand.
“Wait just a minute, child. Calm down and talk to me.” She grabbed me by the hand, guiding me to the sofa and pulling me down with her. “Tell me what happened, Diamond.”
I didn’t want to waste a minute, not even to explain, but I knew there was no way my mother would let me get away with that. I poured out my heart, from start to finish, bringing her up to speed on everything that was going on.
“My Lord,” she whispered, pressing her hand to her chest. “Oh, Diamond.”
“I’m sorry, Mama,” I said sincerely. “I know I messed up, but I have to get Randall out of here, and we want you to come too. We’re going to go to Houston for a few days, until we can figure out our next move. You have to come with us.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief, “but you can’t run for the rest of your life, and you shouldn’t have to, honey. No one should.” She stood slowly, clasping her hands in front of her.
“There’s no other option, Mama.”
“There has to be another way,” she whispered, removing the cordless phone from its cradle on the end table.
“Mama, tell me you’re not trying to call the police,” I sputtered, jumping up.
She looked at me and shook her head. “No,” she said, putting the phone back down in its cradle, “I suppose you’re right.” She eased back down on the sofa next to me and placed her shaky hand on top of mine. “Diamond, there’s a lot I need to tell you and your brother about my past. I haven’t always been so good. I, too, made my share of mistakes growing up and disappointed my own mother.” She shook her head as her mind strolled through her painful, shameful memories. “That’s why I should have been more understanding and less judgmental about your decisions. I apologize for that. Maybe if I had opened up, you wouldn’t have chosen such a destructive path and—”
“Mama, we’ll have plenty of time to right our wrongs,” I said, hopeful. “We can’t go back, but hopefully we’ll all have the opportunity to start anew.”
Chapter 29
During the drive home, I replayed my conversation with Mama over and over in my head. I was curious and slightly confused, but I didn’t have time to let those emotions take over, and cloud my judgment. I would sort through it all once we reached our destination and my family was out of harm’s way. Mama agreed to let me send for her when Randall and I were settled in our new state. Although, I was completely displeased with her decision to stay behind, I knew once her mind was made up, there’d be no changing it, so I gave her enough money to cover a couple months and told her I’d be in contact as soon as we reached our destination.
Once I had my bag packed, Randall and I loaded up my car, and we hit the road. I stared out the passenger window, watching everything pass by in a blur.
“Diamond, are you all right?” Randall asked, breaking my train of thought.
“I will be,” I declared. My phone chirped, indicating an incoming call, and I stared at Gator’s number on the screen. I thought about sending the call to voicemail, but decided it would be better to talk to him, so as not to arouse any suspicions. I advised Randall to be quiet before I answered.
“Will he be there tonight?” Gator questioned as soon as I answered.
“Yes,” I lied. “It’s done.”
“Where are you now?”
“I’m just pulling up to the house,” I fibbed. “I’m gonna take a long, hot bath and try to get some rest.”
“Sounds good, baby,” he said lowly. “Call me later.”
“I will.”
“I love you, Diamond.”
“I love you too.” I rolled my eyes, still disgusted with what my husband had become.
“You still cool?” Randall questioned when I ended the call.
“Now that I’m getting away from the bullshit? Ten times better.”
“What do you say we hit up the West Coast?” Randall suggested, maneuvering along Highway 72. “You can enjoy the sun, and I can give the beautiful ladies of LA some of this deep-fried Southern comfort.” He smirked mischievously.
“We’re on the run, and you’re thinking about women?” I said, rolling my eyes. “Shit, leave it to you, Casanova.”
“I’m a man, Diamond. It’s in my DNA to think about women all the damn time. Besides, I know we’re going to make it. We’ll be fine,” he added seriously. “We’re like Thelma and Louise in this bitch! Only both of them were women…and white.” He cut his eyes at me, causing me to laugh slightly.
“And those crazy-ass bitches drove off a damn cliff in the end.” I chuckled, looking at him.
“What the hell? You sure?”
“Yep.”
“Damn. I knew I shoulda watched the ending,” he stated, sucking on his teeth. “Bonnie and Clyde, only sister and brother? That any better?”
“Their fate was just as bad,” I mumbled, staring at the battery life on my phone; it was only at ten percent, but I’d been in too much of a rush to charge it. “Stop at the next store,” I stated, setting the phone in the center console. “I need to pick up another travel charger.”
“That’s cool. I need to grab something to drink before we get going.”
Just then, I received another call, this one from Mama.
“Where are you two?” she asked, s
ounding worried.
“We’re on 72,” I stated.
“Is everything all right, baby?” Mama sounded like she was holding her breath with worry.
“Everything is fine. We’re just pulling off at the gas station. I need to get another charger, and your son is thirsty.”
“Hey, Mama!” Randall screamed.
“I swear, the boy sounds like he’s going on a field trip,” she huffed. “He just don’t understand the meaning of trouble.”
“I know,” I said as we came to a complete stop at the traffic light and sat in the turn lane with our blinker on.
“I want both of you to know I love you,” Mama said solemnly, “and that everything is gonna be just fine.”
“We love you too,” I said, watching the traffic. “I’ll figure out a way to make this right, I just need some time right now.”
“Of course you will,” she said lovingly.
Less than five seconds after I hung up with my mother, Gator called again.
“Hello?” I answered, trying desperately not to sound annoyed.
“Diamond, why do you continue to lie to me?” he questioned with anger and aggression in his voice.
“What are you talking about?” I asked naïvely.
The light turned green, letting us go, and Randall pulled out made a left toward the Shell station on the corner.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” Gator responded. “Have you forgotten that I know your every move, that I have eyes and ears everywhere?”
Suddenly, my thoughts flashed back to the night he’d been arrested, the night when Jonah had warned me about the tracker on my car. He has someone following us, I thought frantically.
“Shit” Randall blurted, slamming on the brakes as an SUV with tinted windows cut us off.
I turned in my seat, looking out the windshield at the cargo van behind us. The van had barely missed hitting us when Randall had made his abrupt stop.
“Where the hell did these idiots learn how to drive!?” He honked the horn for the vehicle in front of us to move.
The van cut to the left, pulling up on the driver’s side of my car. Once the van was beside us in the lane, the SUV sped off, almost fishtailing in the process.
“It didn’t have to be this way,” Gator said softly.
I felt a queasiness in my stomach as my heart rate increased. “Randall!” I screamed, dropping my phone and watching as the passenger side window of the van slowly crept down. I placed my hand on my door and grabbed the handle in an attempt to escape.
“Shit!” Randall screamed.
Shots rang out like fireworks, exploding inside the car.
I felt the cold, jagged scrapes of glass raining down on my body as the window shattered. A burning sensation penetrated me from my back to my abdomen, sending me, face first, up against the door. An involuntary yelp escaped my lips as another bullet struck me, this time in my left arm. I fell on the pavement and landed on my back. Wincing from the pain that coursed through my body, I struggled to catch my breath. Tears rolled down the sides of my face while I stared up at the light blue sky.
Voices mingled together around me in a combination of chaos and fear. I heard a woman scream, “He’s got a gun!” That was followed by the sound of squealing tires. The sunlight on my face disappeared behind the shadow of the man now standing over me. Blinking several times, I finally focused on the barrel of the gun he was clenching between his hands. I closed my eyes to let go of life and all the pain that came with it and welcomed the dark, peaceful abyss called death.
Chapter 30
Gator
“I’ve set up an account for you, so if an appeal is granted in your favor, you’ll be comfortable,” Clint stated, looking across the table at me.
I could tell from his mood and tone that he was in his feelings over the things that had transpired with the murder of my wife. Earlier, he’d provided me a copy of the obituary from Randall’s and Diamond’s memorial services. I chose not to attend; much like the burial of my sister, because I refused to pay my respects in shackles. I would have addressed Clint’s issues, but the truth is that I didn’t give a damn about his feelings. He worked for me, and he, of all people, should have known that business was business. “When an appeal is granted in my favor,” I corrected.
“When,” he blew out loudly.
“Is there a problem, Clint?” I asked, ready to address what I saw and heard as disrespect.
“Yes,” he grumbled. “As a matter of fact, there is.”
“I’m listening.”
“I didn’t take this position to become a criminal,” he grumbled through clenched teeth.
“That wasn’t part of the deal.”
I smiled, amused with the frustration the man was clearly feeling. “Should I remind you of how great your debt is to me?” I questioned. “Fucking a client’s wife has gotta be reason enough for disbarment.”
He adjusted his tie, then ran his hand across his head. “That was a one-time thing,” he whispered. “The night of the opening, I had too much to drink and—”
I raised my hand, silencing the lies I knew were going to drizzle from his lips.
Granted, I only had proof that he’d slept with Diamond at the grand opening of her lounge, but I could tell from the look in Clint’s eyes at the mention of my wife’s name that something had transpired before that night. A man can deny many things, but seldom can he hide when he’s been pussy whipped to the point where he thinks he’s in love.
“The details no longer matter,” I stated. “What’s done is done.”
“What if those maniacs who gunned down Diamond and Randall come back for me?” he breathed out nervously. “Who’s going to protect me?”
“That would be between you and the God you serve,” I advised. I understood Clint’s passion and concern with being terrified that Luis’s soldiers would come looking for him. After all, Clint had gotten Luis for almost half a million in product. When Venetta addressed her concerns with Diamond’s loyalty to the family business, I found it necessary to secure a back-up plan. Yes, I had my local team in the streets who were once again passionate about getting money, and I had Diamond’s beautiful face to thank for that, but I needed someone to hold it down on another level. That was why I contacted London, a true go-getter, a hustler in platform heels, whose actions spoke volumes about her loyalty. I wished I could take credit for her work ethic, but that was something she’d gotten from her sister Lisette and her brother Tabious. It wasn’t a coincidence that Clint was in St. Maarten at the same time as Diamond; I made that happen, too, just like I had London contact Luis to tell him she and Clint wanted to make another deal on Diamond’s behalf. The two of them met with Luis’s delivery man, and it was a done deal. When Luis contacted me about who had his money, I dropped Randall’s name in the pot. I would say I felt guilty for robbing Luis merely out of selfish gain, but in my industry, there was no room for guilt or shame.
My only regret was the way things went down with Jonah. I wished I could have been the one who’d stared him in the eyes when he took his last breath. I think we both deserved that honor. He was a good soldier, one I trusted with my life and my wife, so I was quite disappointed the morning of my arrest when AJ advised me that he’d seen Diamond leaving the abortion clinic. The abortion meant only one thing: There was no possibility that that the child was mine. My instincts told me there was only one person who had enough time alone with her to invest in conceiving a baby, and that man had to be Jonah. There was also the issue and concern of an informant within my team tipping the authorities off about the abductions. When I put two and two together, I kept coming up with Jonah, which was why he had to die. I’d always followed my instincts, right or wrong, and if Jonah’s blood had been shed in error, I’d have to deal with karma myself when the time came.
“That’s it?” Clint asked, disrupting my thoughts. “I’m just shit out of luck?”
“Clint, you know how these things play out,” I
said calmly. “We do what we have to and pray for the best. Thanks for your diligence, but now I no longer require your services.”
He stared at me with low, angry eyes. “I can still destroy you,” he threatened. “I’ll tell what I know.”
“Do that.” I laughed loudly, chuckled a few seconds longer, then lowered my voice. “We both know you’ll be dead by morning if you do.” I stood and gave him a stern look, daring him to so much as whisper another word, then walked off toward the guard to exit the room.
* * * * *
I thought I was finished receiving visitors for the day, but then I was called down for another guest. When I saw Anna, I was pleasantly surprised. “Mom!” I said, standing as she sat down.
She gave me a vile look of disgust, letting me know she wasn’t happy to see me.
“How are you, Anna?” I asked seriously.
“How do you think I am?” she snapped. “I buried a daughter and a son in one day, all because of you!”
“I can imagine the pain you must be feeling,” I stated, leaning forward against the table, “but your children chose their own destinies. I know you want to hate someone over it, but I’m not your enemy, Anna. I believe family should take care of family. That’s why, in spite of your disapproval of me, I continued to make sure your bills were paid.”
“Was it because of that or because you didn’t want Diamond to know you were present the day her father died?”
“Come again?”
“I did my research Leon,” she stated. “I know you were with Oscar moments before he took his last breath.”
I had never mentioned it to Diamond, but I was very familiar with my would-have-been father-in-law. When Oscar was living, he’d been my primary mechanic until he quit, after discovering drugs hidden in the fender of a mule’s car. I respected the man for wanting to maintain his reputation and earn an honest living, but I didn’t feel comfortable with him knowing so much when he wasn’t part of my team or on my payroll. “Your sources are correct,” I stated to his widow, “but what does that matter now?”
