A Hustler's Promise 2 Promises Kept

by Jackie Chanel

  Jaicyn fumbled through her purse for her phone while Justin Beiber blared from her purse. Bobbie’s idea of a joke, Jaicyn assumed.

  “What’s up Autumn?” she said into the phone.

  “What’s up preggo?” Autumn teased.

  “Shut up. What do you want?” Jaicyn giggled.

  “I got some news.”

  “Me too,” Jaicyn replied. “Rayshawn is about to sign his first act! I told him that he should sign you but since you insist-”

  “Jaicyn!” Autumn yelled into the phone. “Focus!”

  “I am focused,” Jaicyn argued. “I just think you could be a star. Your voice is better than Beyonce’s. Come on girl. Just think about it.”

  “Fine, but at least let me tell you what’s going on.”

  “What’s going on then?” Jaicyn asked, hating to put her conversation with Autumn on hold again. The girl’s voice was incredible and Jaicyn was determined to make her friend a star.

  “King’s lawyers gave their closing arguments today,” Autumn said.

  The Feds had wasted no time in getting a trial date for Andre “King” Carter. They wanted him locked up as soon as possible. The longer he sat in jail, the more time his lawyers had to prepare, pay off witnesses, and everything else that could derail their case. Within a month after his arrest, King was in court.

  Rayshawn couldn’t decide if he should attend the trial but in the end he decided not to. He’d beaten his drug case. Showing up at King’s trial would be insulting and he didn’t want to throw salt in that wound. There was no telling what could happen. Besides, he had his own transition to make and it wasn’t easy.

  The trial had lasted a month. Jaicyn was relieved that it was coming to an end. Rayshawn spent hours online reading the newspapers to find out how the case was progressing. The trial of King Carter was big news in the Midwest. From Ohio to Michigan, all the newspapers were covering it. While Jaicyn wished the best for King, the outcome didn’t look good.

  King had spent twenty years in the game and there were plenty of people that he had hurt and suffered because of him. They were willing to talk. Murder, drugs, tax evasion, guns, racketeering; the DA charged him with it all and they had witnesses.

  “Are they still claiming an unnamed source?” Jaicyn asked Autumn.

  There was someone the papers were deeming an ‘unnamed source’ that had hurt King the most. That person had fed the prosecutor and DEA more information than anyone. Rayshawn couldn’t believe that someone in King’s crew was snitching and his first thought was that it was Little Man. No one had seen or heard from him since he got out of jail. But then he showed back up in Washington Heights and jumped right back in the thick of things, under Johnny’s command so it couldn’t have been him. If King went to prison, whoever snitched was a dead man.

  “Yup. I don’t think he’s going to beat this,” Autumn said. “Don’t forget to tell Rayshawn, Jaicyn. I have to go back to work and he’s going to be pissed if he reads this online instead of you telling him.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Jaicyn asked grumpily. “I’ll tell him. Call me tonight so we can talk about this music thing.”

  “Fine, Jaicyn,” Autumn said and hung up.

  Jaicyn turned around and walked back towards the outdoor café where the twins were finishing their meeting. She held out her hand and Rayshawn dropped his car keys into the palm of her hand. She walked to their car thinking about King.

  He had a great legal team and lots of money. King had taught Jaicyn and Rayshawn a lot about how to hide their money, but he didn’t have the business sense that Jaicyn did. All King ever wanted to do was run the city. That’s exactly what he did for twenty years. He ran it like an old school gangster, like Frank Wright or Al Capone. Eventually, just like with them, the game had caught up with him.

  “Autumn called,” Jaicyn said when Rayshawn got in the car. “She said that closing arguments are today.”

  “It’s about time,” Rayshawn said quietly.

  “Do you want to go up there?” Jaicyn asked softly, trying to be sensitive to Rayshawn’s feelings.

  Rayshawn had made a hard decision when he chose to cut King out of their lives but it didn’t change the way he felt about the man. Sometimes he was angry and sometimes he just missed him like he missed his real dad. When King turned his back on him, he lost another father and he was having a hard time dealing with it.

  “There’s no reason for me to go up there,” Rayshawn answered. “My presence isn’t going to change the jury’s decision.”

  Jaicyn put her hand on Rayshawn’s leg and rubbed it while he drove home, quiet and deep in thought. She knew enough not to bother him.

  Three hours later, while Jaicyn was napping in their bedroom, Rayshawn’s phone vibrated on the coffee table. He looked at the caller ID and was surprised. The area code said Washington Heights and that number hadn’t appeared on his phone in months.

  “What’s up, Blaque?” Rayshawn said into his phone.

  “The jury came back,” Blaque said gravely. “Guilty on all charges. He got life.”

  Rayshawn’s mouth dropped open but no words came out. He had believed that King would get off

  Life! King would never get out. He’d never see his kids or his wife. He was done. He might as well be dead.

  “What the fuck!” Rayshawn hollered. “Are you fucking serious? How did this happen?”

  “You don’t know?” Blaque questioned. “Someone in the crew snitched.”

  “Who was it? That motherfucker’s a dead man!”

  Blaque’s chuckle was more sinister than funny. “It’s one of two people.”

  Rayshawn didn’t like what Blaque’s laugh was implying. “And who would that be?”

  “You tell me, Rayshawn,” Blaque said. “How is it that you were facing some of the same charges six months ago and you’re a free man? But somehow, the minute you get out of jail, King gets locked up? Coincidence?”

  “If you think I’m a snitch, just come right out and say it,” Rayshawn yelled.

  “I don’t have to say shit. You’re a smart guy. You know how people think.”

  “That’s some bullshit and you know it,” Rayshawn yelled. “I’m not a snitch! Besides, that’s King we’re talking about. I’d never do something like that to him.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” was Blaque’s reply. “But you might want to stay out of Washington Heights. Come back here and you’re gonna have to do a lot of explaining to a lot of niggas who ain’t feelin’ you right now.”

  “Including you?” Rayshawn asked. “Because to me, it seems like y’all niggas are looking for a reason to be suspicious and I don’t have to explain shit to anyone. I took my case to trial and won fair and square. If you had paid any attention to that, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. You can kiss my ass. If I want to come back to that shit hole, then so be it. I ain’t scared of none of y’all niggas.”

  Rayshawn tossed the phone on the floor and crossed his arms angrily. Blaque was showing his own weakness. If he truly thought Rayshawn had given King up, he wouldn’t have called to warn Rayshawn to stay out of Washington Heights. He would have shot him without explanation and been back in Washington Heights before the coroner could ID the body.

  Rayshawn was the first person they called when King got locked up. The crew depended on him. Blaque was lying. No one thought he snitched. They couldn’t.

  “What are you down here yelling about?” Jaicyn asked as she waddled slowly into the living room.

  She had changed out of her jeans and into a pair of Rayshawn’s shorts and a t-shirt. Her round belly led the way into the living room. Rayshawn waited until she was sitting on the couch next to him before speaking.

  “They gave King life.”

  “Oh my God!” Jaicyn screeched. “Are you serious?”

  Rayshawn nodded. He looked like he did when he found out King had gotten shot. He’d lost another father to the pen. She couldn’t imagine the pain in h
is heart at that moment.

  “Are you okay?” Jaicyn asked softly.

  “I’ll be alright.”

  Jaicyn slid closer to him on the sofa and put her arm around him. Rayshawn wrapped both of his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

  “If you wanna go see him,” Jaicyn said softly, “I don’t mind.”

  Rayshawn shook his head. He didn’t want to tell Jaicyn what Blaque had said. Pregnant or not, she’d be ready to kill anyone who threatened Rayshawn.

  “No, I’m staying right here. If King wants to see me, he’ll call.”

  ****

  Rayshawn gave it a week. King didn’t call. Rayshawn wanted answers. Bars couldn’t keep King from knowing what was happening on the streets. If the crew thought Rayshawn snitched, King would know.

  But King didn’t call. He sent Blaque to Atlanta instead.

  Jaicyn answered the door when she heard the doorbell ring. She was surprised to see him standing on her doorstep and greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  “Look at you,” Blaque said warmly. “You look so cute, all knocked up.”

  “Shut up,” Jaicyn laughed. “What are you doing here? How come you didn’t tell us you were coming?”

  “I didn’t know. King called me this morning and told me to fly to Atlanta today and see Rayshawn. So here I am.”

  “Well come in,” Jaicyn said opening the door wider. “He’s playing PlayStation and you’re letting my cool air out.”

  Jaicyn led Blaque through the house to the living room. “Look who’s here!”

  Rayshawn looked up and saw Blaque standing next to his pregnant fiancée and dropped the controller. Blaque being in his house meant one thing…

  Trouble.

  “What’s up? What are you doin’ here?” Rayshawn asked.

  “King sent me.”

  Rayshawn paused, not expecting that answer. “Why?”

  “To talk to you.”

  “About what?” Rayshawn demanded to know.

  “You know.”

  Jaicyn looked at the two men standing face to face like a Mexican standoff. The tension between the two of them was so thick you could slice it with a butter knife.

  “What the hell is going on?” Jaicyn asked. “Why are you two looking at each other like you want to kill each other?”

  Rayshawn kept staring at Blaque. “Because he does,” Rayshawn said, not averting his eyes. “That’s why you’re here right?”

  “Man Rayshawn, you be on that bullshit,” Blaque answered. “Believe me, if I wanted you dead, I’d have shot you already. I said I’m here to talk.”

  “What the hell is going on?” Jaicyn repeated.

  “Jay-Jay, I got this,” Rayshawn tried to assure her, but he should have known she wasn’t easy to dismiss.

  “Don’t give me that ‘I got this’ bullshit. One of you better start talking.”

  “Will you please sit down before you go into labor?” Rayshawn pleaded.

  “Fine,” Jaicyn said and plopped down on the couch. Rayshawn grabbed two bottles of Pepsi and a bottle of water for Jaicyn out of the fridge before sitting down too.

  No one said anything while Jaicyn looked back and forth from the two people that she respected the most. She was determined to get to the bottom of the situation.

  “Somebody better say something,” she finally spoke up. “Blaque, why does my man think you want him dead?”

  “It’s like this, Jay-Jay,” Blaque started to explain.

  “Don’t talk to her. Talk to me,” Rayshawn growled. “I’m the one you got the problem with.”

  “I really don’t give a damn who he talks to,” Jaicyn stated matter-of-factly. “All I know is that somebody better say something. We’ve been partners too long for this to be happening.”

  “This is how it is,” Rayshawn said, “Blaque thinks that I snitched on King. Apparently, they all do.”

  The idea was so ludicrous that Jaicyn burst out laughing. “Are you kidding me? Is that why you’re here, for real?” Jaicyn asked Blaque.

  “Something like that.”

  “You’re serious?” Jaicyn questioned. “You think he snitched…on King no less? What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “That’s what I said,” Rayshawn stated.

  Blaque took a swig of his Pepsi. “Y’all are trippin’ because we’re talking about Rayshawn. If it was anyone else, you would be thinking the same shit.”

  “But we’re not talking about anybody else,” Rayshawn was quick to point out. “We’re talking about me. I’m the same nigga who started out on 125 pushin’ dime bags with King watching me from across the street. I’m the same nigga who ran Oak Park and was the reason that all those shady ass niggas even had a place to rest their heads at night. And me and you, Blaque, man, the shit we’ve done together on those fuckin’ streets! Now you’re sittin’ in my house and accuse me of snitching on the man who practically raised me! I can’t believe this shit.”

  “Blaque, why would you of all people, believe that?” Jaicyn asked. “You’re free too. When the shit went down, you didn’t even get arrested. Ain’t nobody asking you to explain that. How come people think that Rayshawn ran his mouth?”

  “Because no one in Washington Heights said anything. We all kept our mouths shut. K-ci and Sonny took years for King. But you two aren’t there. Plus, you handed over the crew to Johnny. That shit is not sitting well with anyone.”

  “Who cares what they think?” Jaicyn commented. “They should be happy that they’re even working.”

  Blaque ignored her. “How can you not go back?” he asked Rayshawn. “How do you just turn your back on your crew?”

  “Y’all wanted me to run the south side but I never wanted that. I just wanted to make enough money to get the hell out of there,” Rayshawn admitted. “I got other shit going on.”

  “King wants you home,” Blaque said. “Point, blank, and period. He said he didn’t spend all these years training you for you to back out on him now. He said he doesn’t plan on sitting in prison and watch everything he’s built come crashing down. That’s not the plan, Rayshawn.”

  The real reason for Blaque’s visit became clear. He wasn’t there to hurt Rayshawn or Jaicyn. The sole purpose of his visit was to convince Rayshawn to go back to Washington Heights. Jaicyn excused herself. Thankfully, she had to pick up her sisters from cheerleading practice. That was a conversation she didn’t want any part of.

  “Blaque,” Rayshawn said when Jaicyn left. “This ain’t right. I have too much going on here. I have a life that me and Jaicyn always wanted. I’m through with the game. Just let me live, man.”

  “But you knew the plan,” Blaque reminded him. “This isn’t new to you. You knew that if anything ever happened to King, you were next in command. The plan hasn’t changed just because you changed your mind.”

  “Why can’t you do it? You’ve been doin’ this longer than I have.”

  “Not my plan,” Blaque said. “You gotta come home.”

  Rayshawn shook his head. “No,” he said forcefully. “I’m done. I’ve already handed everything over to Johnny. I spent six months in jail for doing the same shit I was doing up there. I got lucky. I’m not about to put risk everything again to do the same shit that King is locked up for. I may be young but I’m not dumb. I got in the game for the money. Not the power, not the respect, the money. And I have plenty of money so I’m out. King has too many people working for him that want it more than me. Give it to one of them.”

  “Rayshawn,” Blaque warned. “He’s not going to want to hear that when I get back to Ohio.”

  “He can’t make do anything ever again,” Rayshawn said. “For years, I’ve been doing what King wanted me to do. I got my girl involved in this bullshit because King thought it was best. I moved to Atlanta because King thought it was time. Fuck that! He can’t make me come back to Washington Heights.”

  Blaque nodded. “No, he can’t make you come back. But he can make your life hell. You wan
na be watching your back every time you open your front door?”

  “Is that a threat?” Rayshawn stared hard at Blaque.

  “No, it’s not a threat,” Blaque replied. “It’s the reality of the situation. All King has to do is say the word and your ass is history. Is that what you want for you and Jaicyn?”

  Rayshawn was floored. He never thought about King wanting him dead. He never had a reason to. He had to do something. He wasn’t going back to Washington Heights and he wasn’t selling dope again. He needed to talk to King.

  “I need to talk to King,” Rayshawn told Blaque. “How do I do that?”

  “He can’t have visitors until next month,” Blaque informed him. “You sure you want to see him?”

  “Yeah, but don’t tell him nothing. If he wants to know something, he can talk to me.”

  “That’s cool with me,” Blaque replied.

  Rayshawn looked up from the label of the Pepsi bottle he was playing with and stared at Blaque.

  “Are we cool?” he asked. He wanted to be able to sleep comfortably in his bed. He wouldn’t let Blaque leave Atlanta if they still had beef.

  “Always,” Blaque stated. “South side till we die, remember?”

  “Cool. I don’t want any problems with you. Your ass is crazy,” Rayshawn joked.

  “I don’t know why people say that,” Blaque wondered. “I just handle my business. That’s all.”

  “Whatever man.”

  “So, since everything’s peace with us,” Blaque stated, “you ain’t gon mind if I hang out here for a couple of days, do you? I need a vacation.”

  “Stay as long as you want. You’re family, right.”

  Blaque grinned. He held out his hand so Rayshawn could give him a pound. “And you know it.”

  Chapter 18

  Rickie and Bobbie walked into the house after cheerleading camp expecting to find the house quiet and peaceful. It was after six so Jaicyn would be home from Caliente and Rayshawn usually came home late anyway, since he was out trying to get more rappers for his label.

  The two young ladies liked having a few moments along so they could chill. They were constantly helping Jaicyn get ready for the baby, plus they had cheerleading practice every day. On the days that they made it home before Jaicyn, they usually had an hour alone and that was cool with them.