The King Of The South

by Blake Karrington

  “All right.” King kissed Sloan on the cheek and opened the door to the basement.

  “So, is there anything I can help you with?” Sloan said.

  “No, I think I have everything under control. So where did you meet King?”

  “I met him at the mall. He came into the jewelry store that I work in.”

  “The mall, huh?” Yogi said as she opened the oven. “So are you from Charlotte?”

  “No ma’am, I am from New Jersey. Morristown, New Jersey.”

  “Oh, a Yankee! Well, what bought you down south?” Yogi asked as she poured a glass of wine.

  “I finished my music degree at the University of North Carolina and kind of stayed here.” Sloan said.

  Yogi sipped her wine. The silence in the room seemed to echo. Sloan was a bit taken aback by Yogi’s coldness. King had described his mother as sweet and soft spoken, but she seemed to have taken an immediate disliking to Sloan.

  King opened the door and looked at Yogi then Sloan. He pulled her to him, and slid his arms around her waist. “So, did I interrupt some girl talk?”

  “I was just getting to know Sloan a little. The table is set, so go have a seat.” Yogi opened the basement door and yelled down to Carlton.

  “I can help you bring in the food, Ms. Yogi.” Sloan said.

  “No, no you go have a seat. I like to take care of my things. I been doing this for years, and I like things done a certain way. So you go have a seat, you are a guest.”

  Sloan followed King into the dining room just as the doorbell rang.

  Yogi went to the door, and let Kareem in. “Heyyyyyyyy Yogi, it’s your Boo Boo bear, Kareem, and I brought company.”

  “Yogiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

  “Oh my God, what are you doing here? When did you get into town?” Yogi said, hugging David.

  David squeezed her, and swung her around. “Girl, you have not aged a bit. That damn Carlton snuck and got you before I did, and I know that smell. Is that your macaroni and cheese?”

  Yogi blushed and smacked David’s arm. She took his hand and led him into the dining room.

  “Uncle David?” King said.

  Carlton turned around.

  David smiled at him. He had lost weight since the last time Carlton had seen him, two years ago. Although Carlton didn’t make it to see him, he had kept his books straight for him over the last ten years. David was Reggie’s younger brother and had spent the last ten years in prison on a drug charge.

  “Man, why didn’t you tell me they let you out?” Carlton said, pounding David.

  “You know me, I make my own way.”

  “Come on and sit down.” Carlton said, pulling out a chair for David.

  “Well, I am going to get the food.” Yogi said. “Kareem, why don’t you come and help me?”

  Sloan felt a chill go down her back. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help, Ms. Yogi?” Sloan offered.

  “Umm no, like I said, you are a guest. Kareem is family, and he can help. You just sit tight.”

  Sloan sat down and listened as the men chatted. Dinner was full of conversation about things that Sloan didn’t understand. Her attempts to talk with Yogi were met with one-worded answers. Dinner and time seemed to drag on, and she was relieved when King finally decided to leave.

  “Ms. Yogi, dinner was delicious. Thank you.”

  “Well, you have a good evening.” Yogi said .She kissed King on the cheek, and hugged him. “You make sure you take care of yourself, okay?”

  “Ok, Ma. Hey, excuse me a second, babe.” King said as he turned and walked over to Kareem. “Hey man, where is Tiana?”

  “She went out of town. She paid a sitter, and said she had some business to take care of. I am telling you, I’m enjoying the peace with her being gone, and the kids are handled. Shoot, I been hanging out with that waitress from the club.”

  King shook his head. “What kind of business does Tiana have out of town? You better hope she ain’t setting your ass up to catch you.” King laughed.

  “Hell if I know,” Kareem said. “I was just happy to get the time to myself without all of the nagging. I didn’t ask no questions. Anyway, enough about that. Is everything cool for the show?”

  “As cool as it is going to get. Now my other business, I sure could use my right hand man watching my back. I know that damn job ain’t paying you shit.”

  “You right, but for right now, I told her I would try this straight thang. She did hold me down when I was locked up. So for the kids, I’m gonna try this shit for a minute. But I already told her I’m not going to sit around and starve. So the first time a bill collector calls, talking about taking something back or turning something off, she know this deal is done. You feel me?”

  “Yeah, I feel you on that. You straight on money, brah?” King asked.

  Kareem wanted to tell him that he didn’t have two pennies to rub together, but his pride stopped him. “I’m straight dog, I’m straight.”

  King dapped Kareem. He smiled at Sloan, who waved to Kareem and opened the door.

  Yogi watched them walk down the driveway to King’s SUV. King opened the door for Sloan and waved to her. Yogi waved back and inhaled. She didn’t like Sloan. She wasn’t the type of girl that her son needed. She was too soft around the edges, and didn’t seem to have much survivor in her. She knew that at the first sign of King’s lifestyle, which she could tell Sloan had no idea about, the chick would bail on him.

  Chapter 11

  Three Weeks later…

  Sloan examined herself in the full-length mirror of her dressing room. She could not believe she actually had a stylist! King had spared no expense for her big night. She applied the lip-gloss, and closed her eyes.

  Her eyes flew open when Jimmy knocked on the door. “On in five, Lady.”

  “Thanks, Jimmy.” Sloan stood. The red cocktail dress she wore sparkled in the light. She walked to the stairs and had a brief moment of prayer. As she opened her eyes, King was there smiling at her.

  “You ready, babe?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be. I been dreaming of this night all my life”

  “Well it’s here now, sexy. And I know this is the first of many.”

  Sloan shook her head. King always seemed to have the right words. She grabbed the mic out of his hand and headed for the stairs near the stage.

  __________

  King clinked glasses with his staff, Kareem, and Sloan. Everyone had shown up except Yogi. She had something to take care of, so she sent Carlton and Khristian to represent the family.

  “Young lady, I would have never thought that a voice like that was inside such a pretty package. Damn, you can blow!” Carlton said while Imani and Khristian high fived Sloan.

  “Girl, you actually gave Jill a run for her money. They gave you a standing ovation! I want to be in your video when you make it.” Khristian said, hugging her.

  “Shit, I’m starving. I say we go get something to eat.” Kareem added, while keeping his eyes on Imani.

  “Yeah, I’m with you on that, brah,” King responded while tapping Kareem to let him know that he was too obvious with his gaze.

  As they exited the building, there was still a large crowd standing outside. King had parked his car in the rear, while everyone else was up front in VIP.

  “You want me to give you a ride around back, homie?” Kareem asked.

  “Nah, we good.” King answered while showing the butt of the pistol in his pants.

  King held Sloan‘s hand as they walked around the side of the building through the crowd.

  “Yo Ma, let me holla at you. You did your thang in there tonight.” One guy yelled out of a crowd full of men.

  Sloan and King just kept walking. The entire crew looked like that had been drinking heavily, so King was going to give him a pass.

  The tall dark skinned man with long dreads did not take the hint; he walked up and grabbed Sloan’s arm. “Damn bitch, didn’t you hear a nigga giving you a compliment? You can’t say t
hank you because you with this corny ass nigga, playing Puffy and shit.”

  King stopped walking and turned to the man. “Nigga, what did you say?”

  “Nigga, you heard me.”

  King let go of Sloan’s hand and reached in his pants. Before Sloan could say anything, King had pulled out his .45 and smashed the gun across the bridge of the man’s nose. Blood shot out, and the man screamed. King hit him again in the forehead.

  Sloan screamed as she heard something crack.

  People began to yell. The commotion made Kareem, Carlton, and David come running around the building, just in time to draw their guns.

  The man’s crew stepped back.

  King was still stomping the man until Carlton and David pulled him off.

  “That’s enough, nephew.” David told him “He got the message.”

  “Yeah, we need to get out of here.” Carlton added.

  Sloan did not recognize King. His face was dark and angry as he grabbed her by the arm and quickly headed towards his truck.

  “Sloan, babe listen to me. Take this and hide it for me. I’m going to ride with my pops, just in case the police come. I will meet you at home later.” He took Sloan’s purse, placed the gun inside and opened the door to his SUV. He watched her pull out of the parking lot.

  “Yo man, get out of here before the police show up,” Kareem said. “You fucked old boy up, come on.”

  “Nah dawg, you don’t need no heat on you. You go on ahead. I’m going to ride with Pops.” King said.

  “Aight, call me.”

  King walked down the sidewalk, trying to blend in with the crowd leaving the club. As he approached the intersection and was about to jump in Carlton’s sedan, the cops swarmed him.

  “Put your hands on your head, and get down now!” an officer yelled.

  King dropped his head. His temper had once again gotten him into a mess. It would have been easier to just ignore the nigga, but he could not allow that kind of disrespect, especially in front of people. “I said, put your hands on your head and get down!”

  King sighed and complied. The officers rushed him and placed handcuffs on him. The larger officer lifted King off the ground.

  “What is the problem, officer?” King said smugly.

  “You are under arrest for assault, King.” King looked closer at the officer. He had a baldhead, broad shoulders, and a goatee. King laughed aloud when he recognized who was arresting him.

  “What up, Pool?”

  “That’s Officer Pool, nigga. Come on!” Pool said, twisting King’s wrist back as he walked him to the patrol car.

  “Man, you actually gonna take me in over some bullshit?” King said as he sat down in the cruiser.

  “You pistol whipped a man in front of at least twenty people, and some even recorded it. You ain’t getting out of this one!” Pool said laughing.

  King shook his head. Pool had been after King since high school. He had always been a big ass dude, whose family never had the money to dress him with any style for his size. His pants and shirts were always too short, and the fool could not even play basketball worth a damn. As a matter of fact, he didn’t play any sports. Just a big ass nigga, who always had hatred for King and his crew. Kareem, always a comedian, used to call him Lurch and clown his clothes, which didn’t help soothe his dislike of them. After high school, the nigga went off to college, and came back to Charlotte to join the police force.

  “Yeah, you going down this time, Mr. Big Dope Man.”

  King shook his head. He knew that Pool was trying to bait him. He sat back and looked out the window. He was relaxed and he didn’t care what kind of video they had. He had a team of fucking lawyers on speed dial, and he would be out before they booked him.

  __________

  Sloan gripped the steering wheel as she checked her side and rear view mirror. What the hell just happened? She was shaking. The gun on the passenger seat in her purse made her pulse quicken. What the hell was she doing? Why would King beat that man like that? Shit! Sloan was too scared to cry. She just wanted to get back to the safety of her own apartment and forget the night ever happened.

  “Shit, I gotta get rid of this!” Sloan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She turned down Kimble Avenue and drove into the old Winn Dixie parking lot. The parking lot did not have any lights, and there were no open stores in the strip mall.

  Sloan looked around and turned off the headlights. She drove around to the back of the strip mall. On wobbly legs, she got out of the truck and walked toward a wall lined with dumpsters. Her cell phone provided a little bit of light as she tripped over broken beer bottles and other debris on her way to a large dumpster. It was full of trash, which she found odd.

  She used the tail of her dress to pull the gun out of her purse. “Good riddance,” she muttered as she threw the gun into the dumpster.

  Sloan ran back to King’s SUV and jumped inside. Her heart was beating one hundred times a minute as she looked around for a moment, and then turned the key. She drove blindly from behind the store, and turned onto Pairston road. As she approached the stop sign, she turned on the headlights and continued toward the interstate.

  __________

  King sat on the steel bench, pissed the hell off. His wrist had gone from throbbing to numb. He knew that it was at least sprained, but these mutha fuckers were not trying to hear that he was injured.

  “Come on, nigga.” Pool growled as he led King to have his mug shot taken.

  “Damn man, why you so hostile? Was that your brother or something?” King said laughing.

  Pool stopped walking for a moment. “You and them niggas always got jokes, huh?” Pool said. He elbowed King in the side.

  King fell down as the air escaped his lungs. “Hey, hey, everything alright?” A detective asked as he walked over to King and Pool.

  “Yeah, I think he just tripped, is all.” Pool said, pulling King up. “I got him. No problem here.”

  The detective studied Pool and then looked at King, who was trying to catch his breath.

  “Aight,” the detective said, walking away and looking back at King.

  King felt his head begin to spin due his blood pressure rising. Police or not, he would not forget what the fuck had just happened with Pool.

  __________

  Sloan pulled into the parking garage of King’s condo building. She had not stopped shaking since she left the parking lot of the club. Finally, she turned off the engine and rested her head against the steering wheel. She inhaled, trying to calm herself down. As she exhaled, tears flowed down her face. Her entire body shook as she sobbed. She could still hear the sickening crack as the butt of the gun hit the guy’s head. It seemed to be playing on a continuous loop in her head.

  She grabbed her purse and got out of the car, heading toward the elevator. As she passed a row of parked cars, something grabbed her from behind. A hand covered her mouth, and she was lifted off the ground. She tried to scream, but as she inhaled, a strong chemical smell flooded her nostrils and her mouth. Her head felt light, and then darkness followed.

  __________

  Sloan woke up in King’s bed. She jumped up and looked around, but the room began to spin, causing her to fall back onto the bed.

  “Shit,” Sloan said, closing her eyes and massaging her temples. “Oh, my head is banging.”

  “Hey baby, I got something for your head.”

  Sloan felt her blood chill in her veins. Her heart seemed to slow down as she opened her eyes. When her vision focused on the man standing beside the bed, her heart began to pump faster. She screamed when she saw Deshawn standing beside the bed holding a glass of water and a bottle of Tylenol.

  “Shh, shh, I’m not going to hurt you, baby. Calm down, calm down.” Deshawn said as he sat down on the bed.

  Sloan’s head was pounding, but she quickly jumped out of the bed. “What the hell are you doing here, Deshawn?”

  “Saving you, baby. I’m saving you from this mistake you’ve made.�
� Deshawn said as he stood and walked toward Sloan.

  She stepped back against the wall and looked toward the door. The remote was right next to her on the nightstand, so she grabbed it and threw it at Deshawn, hoping his dodging it would give her enough time to make it to the entrance. As she ran by him, he grabbed her by the waist and slung her on the bed. He covered her mouth as she attempted to scream.

  “Shut up, shut the fuck up!” Deshawn said, placing his weight on her.

  Sloan’s lungs began to burn from the lack of oxygen. She stopped struggling, and he slowly moved his hand from her mouth and shifted his weight to allow her to breathe. “Damn baby, you are so beautiful. You blew them away tonight, you were better than Jill. They didn’t even ask for an encore from her, like they did you. I love hearing your voice, but you know that, don’t you.”

  Sloan shook her head in agreement.

  He caressed her face and traced her lips with his fingers. When he leaned in to kiss her, she turned her head.

  Deshawn laughed and rolled off her. “Really? You would deny me a kiss, after fucking a damn low life like Ronnie King? Someone who put you in danger, and then just abandoned you?”

  Deshawn stood and walked over to the large black duffel bag that was on the small table.

  As Deshawn unzipped the bag, Sloan began to cry.

  “Calm down, damn! Can’t you see I would never hurt you? Stop crying!” Deshawn yelled.

  He turned around with a large Ziploc bag. Sloan’s eyes locked on its contents as Deshawn smiled at her.

  “You see? I told you I’m going to always protect you, always. All you gotta do is listen to what I tell you, and you will never be unhappy or unsafe.”

  Sloan sat up slowly. She stared at the gun in the bag, and then turned her gaze to Deshawn.

  “What do you want, Deshawn?”

  “You not going to even try to deny that you threw this away tonight? Good girl, I knew you were smart, you just made a bad decision.” Deshawn shook his head and placed the gun back in the duffle bag. “Sloan, look at you. Hiding guns, obstructing justice, when did you become that kind of girl? As these street niggas say, you ain’t bout that life.”