“I’m going to follow you, so just wait a minute. I don’t feel comfortable with you traveling alone.”
I didn’t respond. I got in the car and drove off, leaving him standing there. I didn’t want to be followed. I didn’t want to feel like a damn criminal or a child. I wanted shit to be normal. I looked in the rearview mirror and didn’t see him. I needed some time alone. There wasn’t anything that he could say to make me feel better. The only thing that would make me feel better was knowing Kemp’s body was six feet under where I watched them lower it.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Diamond
Tricks of the Trade, November 2007
I had to see for myself. If I had the strength to dig six feet under I would have brought a shovel out here to this cemetery. It was cold and dark. Most people would think I was crazy for coming out here alone at 12 A.M. but for once in my life I could honestly admit that I was afraid. I had done too much to turn back or to even apologize, for that matter. How could you say I’m sorry for shooting you? The fact of the matter was that I wasn’t sorry for shooting him, I was sorry that he hadn’t died. I was confused—I could remember that day as if it were yesterday. I stood there at the foot of the bed as both Kemp and Mica’s blood poured out onto the sheets and soaked into the bed. Someone was trying to scare me and it was definitely working. He couldn’t be alive. I didn’t stay around to check his pulse but I knew it had to be him buried there. I put on an Oscar-worthy performance at the funeral, even kissed his cold cheek. I was sure that I had gotten away with murder. What was I supposed to do now? I got down on my knees and put my hand on the headstone that read his name. So many things were running through my mind at this point. I wanted to pray but then I’d feel guilty for what I’d done to get me in this position in the first place. In my mind, things like this only happened in the movies, people who were assumed dead would return to cause a ruckus, but not in the real world. I was losing my mind—I had to know one way or another who the hell was screwing with me. Someone else must’ve been there that night—that was the only explanation that I could come up with. I heard leaves breaking as if someone were stepping on them and breaking them into pieces. I quickly turned my head and looked around. I didn’t see anyone. What the hell was going on? I thought.
“Who’s there?” I spoke loudly enough to be heard, but not too loud to wake up the neighborhood. I wasn’t trying to bring more attention to myself. The cemetery on Lehigh Avenue was directly across from residential homes so I knew if I got too loud they could hear me. Then I thought, maybe that was a good thing, in case someone was trying to attack me. “Who’s there?” I spoke again but still no answer. I focused my attention back on the headstone but at the same time I reached in my purse and held onto my gun to be safe.
“I know that I buried you. I just don’t get it. Who’s down there?” I heard the leaves again. I was getting annoyed. I stood up from the ground and looked around again. “Who the hell is out here?” Still no one answered.
Maybe I was just being paranoid. It was mid-November and pretty windy out so it could have just been the wind blowing the leaves around. I looked at the headstone one last time before walking toward my car. I kept looking around the cemetery but with so many trees you could easily hide and not be seen. I still gripped onto my gun tightly, walking so fast I was practically running. The sound of the leaves breaking got louder the faster I walked. My cell phone rang just as I pressed the keypad to unlock the car doors and damn near gave me a heart attack.
“Hello,” I said as I hurried inside of the car and locked the doors.
“Babe, where the hell are you?” Black yelled. I could tell that he was angry. With all of the stuff going on, he definitely didn’t want me out of his sight. I ditched his security to come here. I couldn’t stand to be followed.
“I’m on my way home. I’m just leaving the cemetery.”
“The cemetery? What the hell would make you go to the cemetery at midnight? You need to get back here now.”
“I just said I was on my way home.” I knew he was worried but I wasn’t a child. Hell, without me, he wouldn’t have half of what he had now. He’d still be Kemp’s understudy waiting for a chance to take the lead.
“Just hurry up!” he yelled into the receiver before hanging up. I didn’t get a chance to respond but I was ready to curse him from A to Z. Shit, he should have learned from Kemp, no man was going to tell me what to do. Those days were long over. I started the car and tried to pull off but the car wouldn’t move.
“What the hell?” I yelled. I got out and walked around to the back of the car and noticed both back tires were completely flat. Someone was definitely out here and the feeling of fear that came over my body damn near buckled my knees. I hurried back inside the car and dialed Black again.
“Come get me, somebody is out here trying to get me.”
“What?”
“Black, just hurry up! Both of my back tires are flat and I heard someone following me. Please hurry up.”
“I’m coming now.”
I pulled my gun from my bag as I nervously sat and waited. I should have never been out there in the first place. Each time I saw movement I put my fingers in place to shoot. I laughed—when it would end up being a tree branch or a plastic bag flying in the air. Was I tripping? Or was there really someone out there? I kept asking myself over and over again until something came crashing through my back window. Glass went everywhere and I heard footsteps going in the opposite direction. Once I could clearly see, I yelled, “I have a gun and trust me, I’ll shoot!” I was scared shitless and I prayed that Black would pull up at any minute. My prayers were answered when I saw the headlights of his BMW. I got out of the car and ran over, almost knocking him over.
“Someone is trying to kill me, they threw something through my back window. I’m so glad you came.” I hugged him and held on tight. The river of tears began to flow once I knew I was safe. He walked me over to the passenger seat of his car and put me inside. He walked over to my car and looked at the tires and windows before making a phone call. I wasn’t sure who he called and honestly, I didn’t care. I wanted him to get inside of the car and take me the hell home. I’d had enough excitement for one night. He was still on the phone when he climbed into the driver’s seat and drove off.
“All right, get with me and let me know what’s up. I need Merk to tow that car early. I don’t need that shit getting any extra attention . . . call me after he’s done . . . I’m staying with her tonight and we’ll link up tomorrow . . . all right one!” He turned and looked at me. I was still crying and shivering in my seat. He didn’t say a word—he just reached over and put his hand on top of mine. I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know what to say. They say what goes around comes around and maybe it was my time to get what was coming for me. I walked into the house like a zombie. Black still didn’t speak, which was probably a good thing because I didn’t know what to say. I sat down on the couch and soon he sat down next to me.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he finally broke the silence but I didn’t respond. I looked over at him and kissed him. Shit, I was more than glad that I was okay. I should have never been so foolish in the first place. I couldn’t figure out what the hell possessed me to go out to a damn cemetery at night anyhow. Though he was a man and he wouldn’t be one if he didn’t do or say the stupid shit that men do, he was the one that I loved. I mean, none of the other men in my past truly cared about me the way that Black did. With training, Kemp probably could have but Black didn’t need any of that. He did it on his own. It was then that I appreciated him even more. He could have went out to work, which is what kept us living the lavish life but he chose to stay with me. We continued to kiss each other as if it were the last kiss we’d ever have. His hands were soon all over my body and my clothes had since hit the floor. His smooth skin next to mine felt like silk rubbing across my naked body. His movements were slow and deliberate and each touch hit spots that I didn’t even realize could send chills up and
down my spine. His body was sculpted to perfection and every muscle looked like chocolate greatness like it could melt in your mouth. I tried to relax and not exemplify how anxious I was but it was becoming more difficult to hold back with each second. His Sean John cologne was tickling my nose. I was in heaven waiting for him to reach my wet pussy and massage it as he’d done my nipples a few seconds earlier, but he chose to take his time. His hands slowly moved down my stomach and soon reached my throbbing clit, which was just about to erupt. My body began to shake on contact. The orgasm had been building up and just the slightest touch made me explode. Hell, he could have probably blown on it and gotten the same result.
I moved my hips to grind against his fingers as he continued to kiss me sensually. At that point, I wished that I hadn’t waited so long to get with him. I mean, when I met Kemp, Black was hanging in his shadow. I was looking for a leader so naturally Kemp caught my attention. Since money was my main objective, being with Black back then wasn’t an option. All I could see were dollar signs. I married Kemp just for the money but being with Black was totally different; it was for love. Kemp had never been a slacker in the lovemaking department but it was just something about Black that I couldn’t explain. I had never been with a man who could look at me and cause my lips to quiver. He was perfect in every sense of the word and when I felt his thick fingers slide inside of me I began to fuck them. I moaned loudly but was soon silenced as his lips touched mine and his tongue quickly followed behind. He stared me in the eyes as if there was something that he wanted to say but couldn’t find the words to speak. I wanted to know what was on his mind but I was enjoying the feeling of his fingers in my pussy too much to say a word.
“I love you,” he whispered gently, almost like sweet poetry.
With just the sound of those two words my body began to shake and my juices were running down his fingers and forming a puddle in the palm of his hand. I wanted to return the favor but he didn’t allow me to. He got on his knees and slowly pushed his dick inside of me. He wasn’t fucking me like he had any other time. He was making love to me and I was making love to him. I could lie in that position forever, with him inside of me.
“I love you more,” I finally whispered back after a few minutes of his slow lovemaking. With a slow lick of his ear and the tightening of my pussy walls he erupted inside of me. His sweat was dripping all over my face and I didn’t even budge to wipe it off. I let it dry into my skin. I wanted all of him, even the perspiration from our lovemaking. After lying next to each other quietly for a few minutes the thoughts of my earlier encounter crossed my mind. I didn’t want to fuck up the mood but I had to know what was on his mind and what his plan was. Shit, I could have been killed so I had every reason to be nervous.
“What are we going to do, Black? I mean, if he’s really alive we’re as good as dead.” I was still lying next to him with my head nestled in his chest. I could hear his heart beating and surprisingly it hadn’t skipped a beat.
“I told you I would take care of it. Kemp doesn’t scare me—he never has—but it can’t be him, we both know that he’s dead. I’m just focused on who the hell else knows what happened.”
In a way I believed that what Black said was true, but hell, everyone was afraid of Kemp—or at least I thought that they were. Black was strong and it was one of the things that I loved most about him. I mean, who wanted to be with a wimp? Every woman wanted a man that could protect her. I wasn’t crazy and I wanted to know who the culprit was just as much if not even more than Black.
“I know you told me Black, but we aren’t together twenty-four hours a day. How can you protect me when you’re not around? You saw what just happened.”
“I know we’re not together all the time but I have eyes everywhere. You have to trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ve got you now and I’m not letting you go. You just can’t put yourself out there like that again, babe. You have to work with me until I figure out what the hell is going on here.”
Listen to him getting all sentimental, I thought. I smiled inside because for once I believed that it was true. I’d finally found a man that told me he loved me and meant it. Some would say that Kemp was in love with me and there were even some crazy people that would say Davey was too. I knew the truth and the fact of the matter is neither one of them really loved me. I was just something they could show off and be proud of. They could say they made me and yes, I admit it, they did make me. I didn’t have shit before I met Davey and after my stint in prison I didn’t have shit when I met Kemp either, so it wasn’t a lie that I still wouldn’t have shit if it weren’t for them.
Black got off the sofa and I knew that it was time for work. Damn, I wanted to enjoy this moment. Being the head of an empire had its downfalls too. You never really get too much quality time. He walked upstairs to the bathroom as I lay there watering at the mouth. His body was a masterpiece. The muscles in his back were sculpted to perfection. His skin was smooth as melted chocolate and the sweat from our lovemaking gave his body just the right amount of shine. His ass was perfect too. I’d never seen an ass like his on a man. I just wanted to lie next to it all day long. Within a few seconds I heard the shower running and following that I smelled his Sean John body wash filling the air. I inhaled and got chills. I wanted to go meet him in the shower for round two but I knew he had to go to work. I rolled over and closed my eyes. I wasn’t sleepy but my mind was exhausted. I knew that I would drive myself crazy trying to figure out how the hell I had gotten myself into this mess. I was so careful—well, at least I thought that I was. Black emerged from the bathroom about fifteen minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist. By then I was sitting on the edge of the bed in the bedroom.
“Are you gonna be okay? If not, I’ll get JB to send someone over here. Matter fact, I will have him do that anyway. I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
Though I wasn’t really comfortable having the workers in my house, it was the best thing to do. I knew that I wouldn’t have been able to rest anyway, wondering if someone would creep in here while I was asleep and kill me. It may sound silly, but it was the truth—I was scared shitless.
“That’s fine, I’d feel better with someone here anyway,” I agreed. Black walked toward the closet and began to get dressed. I just sat there admiring him. I wondered how I’d gotten so lucky and found a man like him. I wished that I had found him a long time ago. Maybe then I wouldn’t be sitting here fearing for my life. After he’d finished getting dressed he walked over to my side of the bed and kissed me good-bye.
I fell asleep and woke up around seven A.M. to a ringing cell phone. Who the hell was calling me so early? I fumbled through my bag lying on the bedside table to find it.
“Hello,” I said in a low tone. I hadn’t even fully opened my eyes yet. There were specks of light peeping in through the blinds, which nearly gave me a headache—probably from my lack of sleep.
“Babe, you won’t believe this shit!” Black’s loud voice woke me up instantly.
“What? What happened?” I was nervous. I didn’t really want to hear the answer as I sat up in bed and fought with the sun to fully open my eyes.
“The fucking store on Hunting Park is burning down! I need to know what muthafucker had something to do with this. When I find his ass it’s going to be a war for real.”
“The store is burning down?” I couldn’t believe it. I mean, it wasn’t as if it was a big money spot but, shit, it did make money. What the hell were they trying to prove? This is definitely not what I wanted to wake up to. I knew things could only get worse from that point on. I was second-guessing myself again. Who else but Kemp would have something to gain by terrorizing us? That night flashed in front of me like a film on television.
As I made my way down the hall I could see the flickering of a candle and could hear the faint sounds of moaning. I walked slowly to avoid being heard. I almost burst when I saw her straddled on top of him. I instantly wanted to speak, yell, scream or
do something other than what I was doing. I was standing there like a statue. My body was doing something totally different than my mind. In my mind I was moving in on them, letting my presence be known but my feet weren’t budging. Instead, I stuck my hand into my bag and pulled out my handgun—a handgun that I carried for protection. This protective tool was now a weapon and before I knew it, blood was spraying all over the bed, walls, and pretty much every surface in the room. I didn’t know what to do next. My first thought was to throw things around and make the house appear to have been robbed. I didn’t bother to check and make sure they were both dead, all I could think about was getting out of the house without being seen. I hurried out of the house and returned just in enough time to find the police and ambulance scattered all around the driveway and lawn. I put on the performance of the grieving wife and was picked up by Kiki, who took me over to her apartment for the night. By the note and the recent incidents, I was sure someone knew what I’d done—but whom? But then, I was so disoriented I didn’t even notice Black in his car watching me run into the car in a sweat suit carting a handful of trash bags. I could have missed someone else—hell, he could have missed someone else.
I was becoming angrier by the minute and the conversation with Black wasn’t going that great either. I wanted to know what the hell was going on as I snapped back to reality.
“Yeah, I’ll talk to you about it when I get home. I’m trying to wrap shit up with the cops now.”
“Black—”
“I’ll talk to you when I get home, I have to go.”
Click!
I sat there and stared at the phone. I was tempted to call him back. I wanted to know what the hell was going on with my store. It just didn’t make sense to me and Black’s attitude wasn’t making things any better. Yes, he ran the businesses but shit, I owned everything, so technically he worked for me. So the fact that he was being so brief was really pissing me off. I got up out of bed and rummaged through my closet for something to wear. I had to go down to the store and see it for myself. Black would be pissed but hell, I was pissed right now so he’d just have to deal with me being there. I put on a Juicy Couture sweat suit and headed out of the door. I still had to look the part since there’d probably be cameras and shit at the scene. I couldn’t be caught slipping, not even on a bad day. I sped down to the store in the Mercedes-Benz Black bought me last month, which was a good thing since my Jaguar was sitting on two flats. I immediately noticed the yellow tape and police officers blocking off the scene. I could only get within a two-block radius. I parked and got out to walk over. Black smoke filled the air and you could see the three fire trucks pouring water onto the building. People were crowding around, trying to get a glimpse of the building. I heard a few old ladies talking as I walked by.
The Black Diamond Trilogy Page 19
