The Black Diamond Trilogy

by Brittani Williams

  “If you try to turn me in you’ll end up like your man, so I’d suggest you go along with what I say. I’ll be back later on tonight, in about an hour or so someone will bring you the clothes, so open the door.”

  “Okay,” was all I could say. I still had tears running down my face. He glanced back at me before walking out of the door. I broke down once he was gone. I know Tyson wasn’t the perfect man but he was all that I had. I was sorry now, but it was too late to make a difference. I know that I had no other choice since I would have been dead. Kemp proved that he would kill so I wouldn’t have stood a chance. Tyson’s murder had sealed the deal, and now I had to figure out what I was going to do next.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Diamond: Together Again

  “I need you to take these clothes over to the apartment on Wayne Avenue,” Kemp said, passing me a stack of women’s clothing.

  “What bitch you got over there that I’m dropping clothes to?” I replied, putting my hands on my hips.

  “The chick I had you watch before. Her clothes are all bloody so I need you to take these to her.”

  “Bloody? What the hell did you do, Kemp?”

  “I handled my business, that’s all you need to know.”

  “Did you kill somebody?” I asked, as I began to tremble.

  I was afraid to hear the answer to the question.

  “You don’t need to know all of that, Diamond. Stop with all the questions and just drop the damn clothes off.”

  “Excuse me, I’m your wife, I’m entitled to know what the hell you’ve done.”

  “No, you don’t. I’m not going to argue about this shit, Diamond. I got other shit to do.”

  “I’m going to take them but this conversation isn’t over.”

  “Whatever,” he responded, heading up the steps, leaving me standing there with the pile of clothing and a question mark above my head. By his reaction I knew that he killed someone and since Mica was who I had to drop the clothes off to I figured that it was her man. I had to come up with what I was going to say to her. I could definitely use her if I was going to get the money I was trying to get. I didn’t feel bad about it since she had shut me out of her life years ago and blamed me for something that I had no control over. For me she was just an added bonus and another part of my plot. She was someone to cause a distraction for Kemp and at this point he still didn’t know that I knew her. For now, that’s the way I wanted to keep it.

  I got in the car to head over to the apartment where he had stashed her. She probably was all bent out of shape and needed a shoulder to cry on. I wasn’t really into all the emotional shit but I would have to fake it to get her to trust me. I had built up a wall after being hurt so many times that it was hard to break. Nowadays you had to be that way ’cause a weak heart is only going to get stepped on. The one thing that I cherished was my sanity and I wasn’t going to let anyone take that away from me. It took me all of fifteen minutes to get there. I took a deep breath and got ready for my performance before using the key to enter the apartment.

  When I opened the door she jumped out with a knife. She got pretty close, almost stabbing me. I moved out of the way just in time for her to fly right past me.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I asked, grabbing hold of her arm so she could drop the knife.

  “I’m trying to protect myself. I thought for sure he was sending someone here to kill me,” she cried, as the tears flowed and she dropped the knife on the floor.

  “Trust me, if he wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead. Here, he told me to give you these clothes.”

  “I don’t understand. He killed him right in front of me and he’s going to just let me go?”

  “Obviously, you’re still here.”

  She sat down on the sofa and buried her face in her hands. She cried out loud, probably wishing she were dead. Her life was going to be different now whether she wanted it to be or not. I sat down next to her and placed my hand on her back. Appearing to be supportive was the first step to gaining her trust.

  “I’m sorry, I hate people to see me cry. I’ve never been this scared before in my life. I don’t know what to do.”

  “All you have to do is listen, I’m going to get you out of this.”

  “How are you doing to do that?”

  “I told you that day at the warehouse I had a way that you can have your own money and your own shit without a man. I meant what I said and I’ll guarantee that things work out for you.”

  She didn’t respond. I wondered what was going on in her mind. She probably still didn’t trust me, but I knew that I could work my way up to that. After about a minute of silence she got up and headed to the bathroom. I sat still on the sofa. I heard the shower running so I took that time to call Kemp and let him know what was going on.

  “Did you get there yet?” he asked in an annoyed tone.

  “Yeah, I did, what the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing you need to worry about. What is she doing in there?”

  “She’s taking a shower. She’s just upset but I’m trying to get her together.”

  “All right, well hurry up and get back on this side, it’s getting late and you know I don’t trust these niggas.”

  “I’m leaving in a few minutes.”

  “All right, I’ll see you later.”

  “All right,” I said, before ending the call. I sat on the couch and flipped through the TV channels waiting for her to get out of the shower. She came out of the bathroom dressed in the clothes that I had brought over. I wondered where the hell Kemp got the clothes from in the first place. They damn sure weren’t mine. I didn’t even wear sweat suits. He probably got them from one these tricks he deals with on the side. I didn’t ask any questions because I didn’t feel like arguing.

  “I didn’t think you would still be here.”

  “Where did you think I’d be?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now, I feel like I’m flying on autopilot.”

  “Look, I didn’t leave because I wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything before I left. I gotta get back home because it’s getting late. I’ll be back in the morning to check on you. Get some rest, all right?”

  “I’ll try. Am I really safe here?”

  “Of course, I wouldn’t leave you if you weren’t.” I continued to lay it on thick. I had her right where I wanted to be.

  “I really appreciate this. I know I don’t deserve it for the way that I treated you and some of the things I’ve said.”

  “It’s okay, we can talk about this tomorrow. You’ve had a traumatizing day so go to sleep and I’ll see you in the AM.”

  “Okay,” she said, while reaching out her arms for a hug. I instantly felt uncomfortable. I wanted to play it off but I didn’t want to be so affectionate. I loosened up once I quickly thought about how good things would be for me once this was all over with. I leaned into the hug and headed toward the door. After making sure that she locked up I got in the car and headed back home. I wasn’t surprised that Kemp wasn’t home. He was rarely home; he normally got in around three in the morning. I never really worried about where he was because the bottom line was that if anything happened to him, I was going to have everything. Shit, they would be saving me time and effort if they got to him first.

  Besides the steady drug business that Kemp ran, he owned property from North Philly to Cheltenham. He owned a barbershop, a small-car dealership, and two restaurants. Being his wife had its perks, and I sucked every ounce of it up. I stood to inherit it all, plus the money that he had stashed away in a safe. He told me everything and that’s the reason why I married him. There wasn’t any way I was going to mess up. See, some people talk too much and that was his problem. A little bit of pillow talk goes a long way. He trusted me more than he should and that was going to be his downfall.

  After getting home and changing I jumped into bed. I probably was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

 
; I woke up when he climbed into bed at two-thirty but easily went back to sleep. I woke up around nine the next morning and he was gone. I hadn’t even felt him get up. I did wonder why the hell he was so damn early. He never got in the bed until the afternoon. I dialed his cell phone but he didn’t answer. Forget it, I had plans for the day anyway and I wasn’t going to let him ruin them. I took a quick shower and got dressed. Within an hour I was on my way back over to check on Mica. Isn’t that what friends are for? I cracked myself up.

  Once I got there I noticed Kemp’s car in the lot. What the hell was he doing there? I hope I didn’t have to go in here and act a fool. It was too soon for this, I didn’t need her to get his attention this quick. I needed more time. I used the key to open the door. Kemp was talking on the phone but I didn’t see Mica in the living room.

  “What the hell are you here for?”

  “I was about to ask you the same thing,” he replied, ending his call.

  “I came here to check on her, I told her that I would. Now what’s your excuse?”

  “Same, I had to check on her to make sure she ain’t try to run out on me.”

  I didn’t believe him but it didn’t matter, what you don’t see won’t hurt you, right? Well, at least that’s what I was brought up to believe. I looked around the apartment to see if things were out of place. Everything pretty much looked the way that they did when I left last night.

  “Where is she at anyway?”

  “She’s in the room ’sleep. I was on my way out I had to make a phone call first. Good looking out, though, maybe you can keep her occupied so she don’t do nothing stupid,” he said, before getting up out of the chair and heading over to where I was standing. He grabbed me and hugged me. I returned the affection but it was hardly genuine. I knew he wasn’t telling me the absolute truth but I couldn’t really feed into it if I wanted things to go right. I could have played the wife role and come in there having a fit but what would that have accomplished? Kemp and I would have argued and Mica probably would have never trusted rekindling our friendship. I had learned not to be too nonchalant but I had also learned not to take things overboard. He kissed me on the cheek before he headed out of the apartment.

  I set my bag down on the table and walked into the bedroom where Mica was still sleeping. I stood there and stared at her. I know that it was a really weird thing to do, but it gave me a little time to think. First, I thought about the fact that I planned to willingly use her to entice my husband. Now, that could go either way. Kemp was extremely good-looking and with all of the money he had, most girls would wait in a line ten city blocks long just to get next to him. She could end up falling for him and letting him know what I had planned. That would probably land me six feet under, a place that I wasn’t trying to visit any time soon. Next, I had to think about the possibility of him finding out that both of us was trying to set him up and he’d end up killing both of us. Last, I had to evaluate the fact that he could end up surviving, leaving us both in the danger zone. Was it all worth it? I asked myself a million times, but then I remembered my grandmom’s house and the way that I used to live. There was absolutely no way that I was going back there. I mean, I knew people who lived in worse situations. I could have been living in one of those abandoned houses, I could have been living with a pedophile, and I could have been in so many situations that I’ve known others to be in but I wasn’t. Yes, my mother was on drugs now, and that was something that I was going to fight tooth and nail to change, but it still wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

  Regardless of all of that, I wasn’t going back to North Philly. I wasn’t going to school and I damn sure wasn’t going to get a job. So, what other choice did I have? Was I supposed to stay married to him, as controlling as he was? Was I supposed to keep doing his dirty work and end up in jail again? Was I supposed to really fall in love and make a bunch of babies? Hell no! None of the above was going to happen. I came up with the plan and I was sticking to it.

  I had just turned around and was on my way back out to the living room when she woke up.

  “Hey, you made it back over, I’m glad you came,” she said as she sat up in the bed and began rubbing her eyes.

  “I told you I was coming, and I’m a woman of my word.”

  “So, what do you have planned for today?”

  “Well, I was going to suggest that we go out to the mall or something.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea since Kemp told me I need to lay low for a while.”

  “Girl, he doesn’t make the rules for me. What’s the point of keeping you locked up in this apartment? That makes you look suspicious, if you ask me. You need to live your life as you normally would.”

  “I’m just afraid.”

  “Listen, trust me. He’s my husband so I know him like the back of my hand. He’ll probably be a little pissed but he’ll get over it.”

  “Okay, but I don’t have any other clothes but these.”

  “We’ll take care of that, now hurry up and clean up so we can go. It’s nice outside too, girl. I’m gonna let the top down on the convertible. I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

  I left the apartment to go out to the car. I felt like I was on my way to the top. There wasn’t anything in the world that would give me the ultimate satisfaction. I was smiling from ear to ear as my hair blew in the spring air. It was a beautiful day and I was dressed to kill in a little black dress and wedges. Everything was perfect and I was a firm believer that everything happens when it’s supposed to. I was meant to be a boss and I had no doubt that I was going to succeed. Mica and I were back together again as friends and this time it was going to be worth my while.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Mica: New Horizons

  I was relieved that I was still breathing. I had never been so thankful for something in my life. I thought that I would never be able to be happy if I wasn’t with Tyson but now I saw things a little different. Yeah, I was silly and a fool in love but how many of us aren’t at one time in our lives? Since he gave me a life that I wasn’t accustomed to I thought that staying with him was the only way to keep it. I wasn’t stupid by a long shot—I was just stuck in that mind-set. Though I hadn’t been close to Diamond in years, at one point in time she was my best friend. Honestly, I knew that she wasn’t responsible for my father’s death but I had to blame someone in order to come to grips with the fact that he was gone. I could never blame my brother because he was the only person in this world that I loved more than myself.

  I had to live my life and I wasn’t going to sit around depressed about the past. I’d be damned if I was going to end up like my mother. So, I had a new outlook on life and thanks to Diamond I was about to find out how to make it in this world alone. I would never have to depend on a man again. I thought my brother would be proud of me. I knew that he would be happy that I was going to be friends with Diamond again. He never stopped loving her, even after not having contact with her for years. There had to be something special about that.

  I hurried and got dressed, excited about our outing. I was ready to show everyone the new me. Though Kemp was a ruthless murderer, he did have a heart and I got a taste of his heart this morning when he came over. He sat down and talked to me and apologized for tearing my life apart. I never expected him to be so nice. I thought for sure that he didn’t have a heart. I knew that what happened had nothing to do with me but I also knew that he had to handle his business. He still didn’t want me to leave the apartment just yet and he still warned that if I told anyone what happened he would have no choice but to get rid of me as well. I promised that I wouldn’t and we shook hands on it. I fell back to sleep and by the time I woke up he was gone and Diamond was there.

  I opened the door to the bright sunlight. It was nice, Diamond definitely hadn’t exaggerated. She was sitting in her car blasting the Jay-Z American Gangster CD. I was a huge fan of Jay-Z so I was surely going to enjoy the tunes mixed with the spring air.

  “So,
what mall are we going to?” I asked, as I stood outside of the passenger side of the car. She hadn’t even heard me walk up, she was so into the song that was playing.

  “You’ll see, hop in so we can get out of here!”

  She continued to sing along with the music as we headed through the street to the expressway. By the look of the roads she was taking it appeared that we were going to the King of Prussia Mall. I could go crazy shopping in any mall, but that mall was definitely my weakness. With so many stores, I could shop for hours and not miss a beat. I was ready to run through the mall like a kid in a toy store. I sat quietly on the ride just enjoying the moment. Before long, we were pulling into a parking spot and she was closing the top of the car.

  “Don’t worry about any money, girl, I got you covered. You can grab whatever you want.”

  “Thanks, Diamond, you don’t know how much I appreciate this,” I replied. I really did appreciate it because I couldn’t go back to Tyson’s place and I didn’t have any clothes or enough money to start over.

  We hit almost every store you could think of. I tried on clothes while she sat in the waiting area and vice versa. She promised me a night out on the town to have some fun, so I was desperate to look my best. I grabbed shoes and bags. I got makeup from M•A•C and lingerie from Victoria’s Secret. I was set from top to bottom with clothes. The only thing left was to get my hair and nails done and I would be set. She spent more money on me than I probably would have spent on myself.

  I had to evaluate a few things, though. Was all of this kindness genuine? Or was she just using me as a pawn in her little game? I would hate to think that but I didn’t have a choice. For some reason, the longer we hung around each other at the mall the more I started to believe that it was all a facade. I mean, she seemed to be overly nice, which made it a little difficult to be optimistic. Either way, I was going to go with the flow for now. If she were up to something, it would come to light sooner or later anyway. In the meantime, I was going to enjoy myself because I deserved it. After shopping we decided to get something to eat at Friday’s. I hadn’t eaten all day and it was almost four o’clock before I realized it. I’m surprised that my stomach wasn’t growling. There wasn’t a wait so we were seated immediately. I was a picky eater so there wasn’t much on the menu that I would order. I decided to keep it basic and get some chicken fingers. I figured that you couldn’t go wrong with that. I hadn’t had a drink in a while either so I ordered an ultimate margarita. I didn’t drink often because me and alcohol don’t mix well at all. I’d done some crazy things when I was drunk and would wake up the next day and not know where the hell I’d been or what the hell I’d done. I didn’t know how to stop when I’d reach the point of no return. So, my method was to psych myself out, thinking that I drunk a lot when I really hadn’t. It may sound silly but it worked for me.