Reed lay across his bed and drifted off in deep thought, awake but with closed eyes. Quietly, he was thinking more about his own plan than Johnny’s. He knew that he needed to go through with it all in order to get the money that he needed to purchase the weight necessary for his own survival. As many times as he tried, he couldn’t figure out how to get the money without extortion or murder. Though he didn’t know Diamond, he did know his own wife and daughter, and because of that he couldn’t get completely comfortable with taking a mother away from her child, or vice versa. The way that he saw it, Johnny would be dying soon anyway and as far as he knew, he had no drug or gang ties to make any noise out on the streets. So, the key would be finding a way to make Johnny believe that the job was done just until he could take the money he needed and run. He also contemplated what he’d do if Johnny was actually setting him up to take a fall or, even worse, be murdered. He felt confident that his street smarts would assist him if he had to fight tooth and nail for his own life. However, there was always a chance that he could be blindsided and he had to expect the unexpected.
Johnny sat on the other side of the room with similar thoughts. Something in his heart told him that Reed would try to screw him if he got the chance, and he had just the thing for him in the event that things went totally left. As much as he didn’t want to believe that Reed’s betrayal was a possibility he had to prepare himself for the worst. His backup plan would allow him to deal with Diamond and Reed if necessary. In the past two years, the pair had become close friends, or so they liked to think. They’d even fought numerous bloody battles in the yard when fellow inmates attacked without warning. They’d always looked out for one another, but Johnny’s time in the penitentiary had shown him how important it was to keep your friends closer than your enemies, since they were the ones to drive the dagger into your back as soon as you were caught slipping. That one lesson was the realest lesson he’d learned and not one book in any library could have taught him that. Learning how to grow eyes in the back and both sides of your head was priceless.
Soon, you could hear the correction officer’s signal and then the lights went out. After a few minutes of chatter among the inmates, a few of them spewing obscenities at the guards and other inmates, the block was filled with silence. Johnny and Reed relaxed in their own private darkness until they drifted off to sleep, both men armed with a handy pair of mental brass knuckles in case there ever came a time when a secret weapon was needed, both prepared to go to war at the drop of a dime.
Chapter Fifty-seven
Frenemies
“All I’m saying is she wouldn’t have shit if it weren’t for me. I mean seriously, I went out of my way to make sure she lived more than comfortably. Shit, she was living in a small-ass apartment, going from hustla to hustla trying to score a kingpin when all she scored were some wet panties and a cold bed. If I wanted to be a real bitch, I could shut that fucking club down,” Diamond said with an abundance of attitude, as she sat and ate dinner with Black at their tulip tree–wood dining room table.
“I don’t get women, man, y’all two were the best of friends and now you’re ready to shut her whole life down because of some he said, she said shit? Diamond, that’s just crazy and I’m sorry, babe, I love you more than life itself but I have to disagree with your actions on this one.” He shook his head before taking a bite of his slice of supreme Pizza Hut pizza.
“So my husband is just going to take another bitch’s side over mine?” She raised her voice as she visibly became more annoyed. Both of her eyebrows were raised and her lips were twisted.
“I didn’t say I was taking her side, Diamond, I just said you’re being a bit childish. I don’t understand why you two can’t just have an adult conversation and straighten this shit out,” Black replied before taking a swig of his Pepsi soda. “You can sit and twist your face, pout and all that shit, Diamond, but you can’t be right all the time. If you were ever really friends you would be able to squash it.”
“First of all, I’m not pouting, and can we just change the subject? Because I feel myself getting angry and I’d hate to report to my anger management counselor that I murdered my second husband,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Oh, so you’re gonna murder me, huh?” Black asked before wiping the excess pizza crumbs from his mouth with his napkin.
Diamond sat mum as he placed the napkin down and slid his chair out from under the table. With seriousness written all across his face, he walked behind Diamond’s chair and placed both of his large hands around her neck. “I didn’t hear a response. You plan on murdering me?” He tightened his grip.
She pushed his hands off of her neck and quickly rose from her seat, turning around to face him. “I will if I have to,” she replied.
Without speaking Black pushed the chair that sat in between them to the floor, and threw Diamond’s plate of uneaten pizza to the floor, causing the glass to crack into bits and pieces all over the area rug. He stood face to face with her for a few moments, staring her in the eye as she tried her hardest not to blink. Unexpectedly, he grabbed both of her ass cheeks and picked her up on to the table, and with a quick hand motion his hands went under her dress and ripped her thong off of her. He threw them to the floor and grabbed her by the neck.
“Let me hear you say that again,” he breathed into her ear while dropping his lounge pants to the floor and thrusting his rock-hard dick inside of her moist pussy, which welcomed him with opened lips.
“Ummm, damn baby,” she moaned while grabbing hold of the tablecloth that lay beneath her.
Black continued to fuck her, using every muscle in his legs to push all ten inches of his thick meat inside of her. “You like that shit?” he asked while lightly squeezing her neck with one hand and using the other to pull her closer to him for a deeper penetration.
“I like it,” she whispered.
“I can’t hear you. What did you say?” he yelled while pumping harder and harder. You could hear his thighs slapping up against the table echoing through the house. Her pussy juices were pouring out of her and forming a small puddle underneath her. She loved when he was forceful—it turned her on.
“I like it,” she said one octave louder than she had previously.
Black, still not satisfied with that answer, began to fuck her faster and harder. Every time he’d pull himself out of her, he’d leave just the head in, bend his knees and stand back up with force, almost lifting her ass one inch off of the table. “You said you like it, is that it? You only like this dick huh?” His deep voice was rumbling through the house.
“Ohhhh shit, Black, I’m about to cum. I’m gonna cum all over this fucking dick,” she yelled as her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, grinding the tip of his stiff dick right into her G-spot and causing her body to shake uncontrollably, releasing her cum all over the entire shaft.
“Damn, baby, this pussy is soaking wet,” he whispered, feeling himself nearing an eruption.
Diamond used her hands to lift herself off of the table. With her legs still wrapped around his waist she forced her pussy onto his dick continuously, while moving her hips in a circular motion.
“Baby, ooh shit, goddamn, baby, here it comes,” he yelled as he released his cum inside of her for what felt like an eternity. His legs became weak and his arms could barley hold on to the table.
Diamond released him from her leg grip so he could sit down. Once he sat in the seat, both of them burst into laughter.
“We have to do that shit more often, damn!” he said aloud.
“Well now that we got that out the way, I guess I can take your advice and try to iron out this issue with Kiki,” she spoke through twisted lips as she slid off of the table, trying to fix her ruffled clothing.
“That’s my girl.” Black smiled as he looked down at his dick, which was still rock hard. “Now let’s take care of this before you go.”
She smiled and walked over to him, bent over, and grabbed hold of his dick before getting in a
squatting position and wrapping her thick lips around it. From behind, you could see her voluptuous frame and well-rounded ass cheeks moving up and down. Her sculpted calf muscles were glistening from the beads of sweat forming all over her body. She was working overtime, using every trick up her sleeve to satisfy her man.
Feeling himself nearing an orgasm he firmly gripped the arms of the chair with both hands and slightly lifted his butt off of the chair to push his dick deeper down her throat. A few moments later he was in pure heaven as he released every drop that he had left into her mouth. Without hesitation, she quickly swallowed his juices, not allowing any of it to slip from the sides of her mouth. His body was still shaking seconds later when she stood over him and stared him in the face.
“Are you okay?” she asked with a giggle, while she attempted to fix her disheveled clothing.
“I’m good, as a matter of fact I’m greeeeaaaattttt,” he jokingly replied, imitating the voice of Tony the Frosted Flakes tiger.
The two laughed in sync before Diamond headed upstairs to shower. Her intention for the following day was to contact Kiki and see how they could get past this hurdle that they were experiencing. Black was right: at some point one of them needed to be mature, and if Kiki wasn’t going to be the one to take the first step it wouldn’t kill Diamond to do so.
* * *
The following day Diamond went about her normal routine, getting Dior off to daycare and doing her morning runs. She knew Kiki was usually working by twelve noon so she figured that would be the perfect time to go and talk with her, assuming that she was there alone.
Diamond arrived to find only Kiki’s car in the parking lot of the club. Diamond took a deep breath before heading to the entrance to ring the bell. A few moments later she could hear the sound of Kiki’s stilettos nearing the door.
Kiki could see that it was Diamond on the camera and was at first hesitant before opening it. She wasn’t in the mood for a physical confrontation and she’d known Diamond long enough to know how she got down. But, she knew that it was probably wise to just get the conversation over with, as it was long overdue. The two women definitely had some things to hash out so she sincerely hoped that they could do so like mature adults.
“Long time no see. You’re not hiding a gun behind your back are you?” Kiki asked jokingly, attempting to break the thick ice.
“Naw, if I had a gun I certainly wouldn’t hide it.” Diamond laughed.
“Come on in. I just got here.” Kiki waved with her hands.
Diamond entered the building and made her way through the corridor that led to the office. She stepped inside after noticing the rest of the club was darkened besides that small office. She helped herself to a seat on the plush leather sofa, which sat in one corner of the room. She patiently waited with her legs crossed as Kiki made her way into the room.
“So what’s been up, Ms. Kiki? I figured it was time that we talked,” Diamond blurted.
“Same ol’, just trying to stay afloat, and yes, it was definitely time that we talked. I mean I can’t believe that we went this long without having a conversation.” She sat down on the edge of her desk.
“Well, Black insisted that I come straighten things out. I mean, honestly, I can’t even remember why we weren’t speaking,” Diamond replied.
“Well my issue with you started after the whole murder plot against you. It really hurt me when you accused me of knowing something about it. Yes, I was sleeping with JB but he never let me know about a plot to set you up. He used me the same way he used you and Black. I would never conspire with Mica to have you murdered and if I had known I most certainly would have told you. I thought that our friendship was stronger than that. I just couldn’t get past that, Diamond, that shit hurt like hell,” she said in a low tone.
“I apologized about that, Kiki. I mean you have to understand what I was going through. I didn’t know who I could trust. I felt like everybody was out to get me. I can’t take back the past but I am sorry that I hurt you; that was never my intention. That was the worst time of my life, one of the lowest points. I thought that we had worked through that, Kiki.” She sat there confused.
“I thought we did, Diamond, but when your new circle of friends came in the picture I felt the distance between us. Everything changed. You never talked to me about anything anymore. It was like I always had to hear shit from other people. You were shutting me out.”
“And it wasn’t intentionally. I was just so unsure of everything. My world had been turned upside down.”
“I know that, Diamond, I was a part of your life. Did you ever stop to think how my life has changed? Did you ever think of how it all affected me?”
Diamond sat silent, pondering the questions that Kiki posed. She was absolutely right; she’d never thought about how Kiki felt. When things came crashing down the only people she thought about were herself, Dior, and Black. Sadly, Kiki never crossed her mind. Maybe it was a bit selfish, and that was something that she’d always been told about herself. It was something that she worked to change, but she wasn’t perfect, so there would be times that slipped through the cracks.
“You’re right, Kiki, I didn’t think about you and I’m sorry. I love you, Kiki, you are the closet thing to a sister that I have. I never wanted to shut you out and I can swear on a stack of Bibles. I need you back in my life. I feel like there’s a piece of me missing without you,” she said honestly.
Kiki sat relieved. She was hoping that things would turn out this way. It made her feel like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders now that she’d been able to get Diamond to see that she was wrong. Instead of responding with words Kiki eased off of the desk and walked over to hug Diamond. As Diamond stood to hug her, both of them held in tears. Regardless of the outer appearances the two had portrayed during their time apart, they loved each other and both women were silently thanking Black for nudging Diamond to move on from the past.
“Now, when can I see my goddaughter? I know she is so big now!” Kiki laughed.
“You can see her whenever you want!” She smiled.
The two women sat and caught each other up on life and what they’d missed. Within minutes it was as if they’d never been separated to begin with. The two frenemies were back to being friends.
Chapter Fifty-eight
Back Against the Wall
Reed stood at the exit of the prison, waiting for the gates to open to let him out on to the street. So many thoughts were running through his head and not even the anticipation of seeing his family could steady it. He wanted to enjoy his freedom but he knew that it wouldn’t immediately be something to celebrate. He looked back over his shoulder one last time before taking the steps through the large metal gate to find his right-hand man, Romeo, waiting patiently, posted up against a brand-new Mercedes-Benz CL-Class, all black with shiny rims. Though he expected his wife to be there to pick him up he was happy to see Romeo. It instantly brought back memories of better days and moneymaking escapades. He smiled as he put some pep in his step in order to reach his chariot in record time.
“Daaaaaaamnnnnnnn, I see life is treating you well. Nigga, this ride is the shit. Can’t wait to get back up, man.” He reached out to Romeo to engage in their signature handshake and hug. They patted each other on the back a few times before finally separating.
Romeo looked at him with a huge grin before replying, “You like this shit, man?”
“Like? Nigga I love this shit, man. You can’t get a better Benz than this. This shit is top of the line.”
“Well it’s yours, man,” Romeo said before pulling a set of keys from his pocket and dangling them in the air in front of his face.
“You bullshittin’ me?” he asked with a laugh.
“Have I ever bullshitted you, man?” He paused, waiting for an answer, knowing he wouldn’t give him one. “Now take these keys, hop in, and let’s get the fuck outta here. I got warrants and shit. I can’t be out here too long if you know what I mean.” He laug
hed and dropped the keys in the palm of Reed’s hand.
Reed opened the door and threw his bag of belongings in the back seat. He couldn’t wait to feel the gas pedal under his foot and watch the sight of the prison slowly disappearing from his rearview mirror.
“How does it feel, man? I know it’s been a long time coming. I know how that shit felt when I was locked up and, shit, that was only for six months! Nigga, I would lose my damn mind if I had to be caged up like that for two years.” He laughed.
“Shit, man, all I could think about was coming home. The past few weeks couldn’t come fast enough for me. Those days felt like months. I can’t wait to get home to my wife, man. I told her not to visit so she wouldn’t have to see me caged in, but I regretted that shit because I missed her like crazy.” He shook his head in excitement.
“I wanna talk to you about her, man. Shit’s done changed since you’ve been away.” Romeo’s tone went from happiness to seriousness in a matter of seconds.
“What the fuck you mean shit’s changed? And don’t beat around the bush; just give that shit to me raw!” His smile had diminished and turned to a frown.
“Yo, about a year into your bid she started fucking with the young gun Brook. She put your crib up for sale and moved to Jersey, man. I took the money down to the Realtor to buy that shit so you wouldn’t lose it.”
Rage instantly flowed through Reed’s veins. To avoid causing an accident, he slammed on the brakes, as he needed a few minutes to process what Romeo had just said. Romeo sat quiet waiting for Reed to say something but his eyes were looking down at the floor as both of his hands were firmly gripping the steering wheel. He couldn’t even think straight. He’d never wanted to kill someone as much as he did at that moment. He was certain if he saw Brook it would take at least ten men to keep his hands from choking him to death.
The Black Diamond Trilogy Page 37
