The Black Diamond Trilogy

by Brittani Williams

“Just looking for your bathroom.”

  “Oh, it’s right there on the left,” she said, pointing to the open door.

  “Cool,” he said, walking to the bathroom and closing the door.

  Her heart was beating a mile a minute. Just a week prior Tommy had told her about his true identity and what he was there to get. She had to continue to act as if she was falling for him to avoid getting hurt. Tommy wanted to be sure that there weren’t any other assailants before taking him out. To stare at the man who had a part in her husband’s and daughter’s murders made her sick to her stomach. She wanted to just murder him herself but she decided to allow Tommy to lead this time. Things hadn’t always gone good for her when she tried to handle things on her own. She was nervous that he’d realize she was on to him and lose her own life, but she kept it as cool as she could when he exited the bathroom with a smile on his face.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  “Yup,” she replied.

  The two left the house without incident and got into his car to head out for dinner. He looked over at Diamond and noticed that she was uneasy. He couldn’t figure out what was on her mind but he was determined to find out one way or another.

  “Are you sure you’re okay? You haven’t been acting like yourself.”

  “I’m fine really. I just had an eventful day that’s all.”

  “Anything you want to talk about? You know I’m here if you need to let off some steam.”

  Realizing that he wouldn’t let up easily she decided to tell him about the Kiki incident to deter him from the real reason she was so jittery. “Well, I just learned today that my one-time best friend is pregnant with my deceased husband’s child.”

  “Wow, that’s heavy. Damn, Diamond, I’m sorry you have to deal with that shit. Did you talk to her?”

  “No, I didn’t talk to her, but I beat the shit out of her. That’s why I was late meeting you.”

  “Damn, I’m sorry about that, baby girl. That’s real fucked up but that’s why you can’t trust people. They’ll always backstab you for their own gain.”

  She looked over at him and shook her head. Hell, she couldn’t trust him either. It was almost as if everyone in her life was out to get her. She didn’t know what to believe, or whom she could depend on. The only person who had been there for her from the beginning was Tommy, and she couldn’t wait until this was all over with so she could let him know just how much she appreciated him.

  “But I’m fine. I don’t want that to ruin our evening.”

  “Well, I’m glad that you’re okay,” he replied.

  * * *

  After dinner Chance drove Diamond home with every intention of getting back inside of her house. He wasn’t concerned about the watchdog or anyone he would bring with him. He needed to make her as comfortable as possible to find out all that he needed to know.

  Once they were in front of the house she had to figure out how she would end the night.

  “So am I invited in again?” he asked, standing in front of her on the steps.

  “Uhhhh, that depends on what you plan to do once you’re in there,” she said in a sexy tone.

  “Well, that’s for me to know and you to find out, but, trust me, you will enjoy it.” He smiled and moved closer to her.

  She looked over at Tip and gave him the signal that she was letting him inside.

  Tip grabbed his phone and called Tommy to let him know that tonight was the night.

  She knew that she couldn’t hold him off much longer without him knowing that something was up. With a smile she whispered, “Come inside.”

  “My pleasure.” He smiled and followed her inside.

  Both smiling but both hiding a secret agenda, they entered the house, not knowing what the night would bring.

  Chapter Seventy-six

  Game Time

  “Let’s go merk this nigga,” Tommy said to Tip outside of Diamond’s house. He’d been waiting for this day and couldn’t wait to get it over with. He wanted to get on with his life with Diamond and not have guards constantly following her around. Chance was a constant reminder of a night that he wanted her to forget.

  “Let’s do it,” Tip said, retrieving his gun from his waist.

  Using the key that Diamond gave him, they quietly entered the house and made sure that the door closed behind them without making a sound. Tommy gave directions with hand motions. They moved through the house like snipers, checking around every corner before entering the next room.

  Diamond and Chance had retreated to her bedroom, where she was in the bathroom and he was patiently waiting on the bed. Tommy and Tip crept up the steps and made their way down the hall toward the room. They stopped just short of the door, which was left open. They could hear Diamond talking to Chance through the door. Tommy nodded, giving Tip the cue. Both men walked into the room and began pumping bullets into an unsuspecting Chance. His body jerked as each bullet pierced his body in different spots. Blood splattered all over the walls, bed, floor, and other exposed surfaces.

  Diamond sat on the floor in the bathroom with her hands covering both ears, trying to block out the noise.

  Tip stopped shooting once Tommy stopped and put his hand in the air.

  “Diamond,” he yelled as he made his way to the bathroom.

  She was still crouched in the corner with her eyes closed and her ears covered.

  He bent down in front of her and touched her leg, startling her. “It’s okay, babe, everything is okay.”

  She reached out and hugged him.

  “Come on, let me get you out of here,” he said.

  “I can’t go out there, Tommy. I can’t. I will see Black and Dior. I just can’t.” She shook her head and cried.

  “Just keep your eyes closed. I promise you won’t see a thing,” he said, holding her close. He walked her out of the bathroom and out of the room. “Go get in your car and go to my house, okay? I will be there soon, I already have someone outside waiting to follow you there.”

  “Okay,” she said as tears began to fall from her eyes.

  “Baby, it’s over, okay? It’s all over,” he said, grabbing the sides of her face and kissing her tears away. “Just go get in the car. I will be there soon.”

  She did as she was told and made her way to her car to leave.

  Tommy returned to the room where Tip was already wrapping Chance’s body up in the bed linens. “Did you call them to come clean this shit up?” he asked.

  “Yeah, this will be all cleared away in the next two hours,” Tip replied.

  “All right, I’m gonna go home and get her together. Call me when this shit is done.”

  “All right.”

  Tommy left the house and made his way home to meet Diamond. Once he arrived he found her balled up on the sofa in the dark. He knew that it would take some time before she was comfortable again, but he would work as hard as he could to make sure that happened. He set his gun down on the table and walked over to her. Without saying a word, he hugged her and cradled her face as she cried.

  “I got you now, and I’m keeping my promise to Black. I will handle you with care,” he whispered in her ear before leaning his head back onto the back of the chair and closing his eyes. He truly believed that Black would be looking down on them, satisfied with the way that he handled things. If there was anything that he could have done differently, he’d want Black here by his side, but he knew with Black here, Diamond could never be his. He’d worked hard to keep her unharmed and now that he had her he didn’t plan on letting her go. “I love you, Diamond,” he whispered.

  “I love you too,” she replied, finally letting him know that the feelings were mutual.

  Chapter Seventy-seven

  The Culprit

  Alisha sat, looking out of the hospital room’s window with many thoughts running through her mind. She was saddened thinking about the events that led them to the place where they currently were. Just a few weeks earlier she and Lucky were out shopping and shootin
g the breeze; now she lay clinging on to life. She was frustrated because she’d tried her best to steer her away from a life with a criminal, fearing that she’d end up exactly where she had. Thinking back, Lucky was always drawn to the rough, street type and every relationship led to a horrible ending. Every so often she’d look over at Lucky and then back out of the window when she hadn’t noticed a change. Though the prognosis wasn’t good she was optimistic. One thing that rang true about her best friend was the fight in her, and she’d always managed to pull herself through any circumstance. After standing and peering out of the window for ten minutes, she walked over to the bedside and grabbed a hold of Lucky’s hand before saying a silent prayer with her eyes closed. As usual she held her friend’s hand tightly, but unlike any other time before then she felt a twitch in her hand. She immediately opened her eyes and looked at Lucky.

  “Lucky?” she called out.

  Lucky’s eyes began to flutter as she fought to see the face behind the voice that was so familiar to her.

  Alisha was now standing and calling her name over and over, hoping that it would bring her around. “Nurse,” she called frantically from Lucky’s bedside. She was afraid to move from the room for fear that Lucky’d fall back into the deep sleep where she’d been since being shot. “Nurse! I need a nurse in here,” she yelled and pressed the red call bell located on the wall. She continued to yell for what seemed like forever until a nurse entered the room.

  “She’s waking up,” she yelled at the nurse who came over to the side of the bed, checked the monitor which displayed Lucky’s vital signs, and walked out into the hallway to call a doctor.

  Alisha backed into the corner of the room while the doctor entered the room to see if she could be removed from the ventilator, which had kept her alive the past few weeks.

  “Ma’am, we’re going to have to ask you to sit out in the waiting area while they evaluate her,” the female nurse said, gently pushing Alisha out of the room.

  Alisha looked on but obeyed the nurse’s command, as she didn’t want to interfere with anything that could bring her best friend back. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the room, looking back one last time at the crowd of medical staff, which now surrounded Lucky’s bedside. She walked out in the hallway with her stomach full of butterflies. She could barely stay still as she attempted to sit in the waiting room. She paced the floor for what seemed like an hour before the nurse came out to the waiting area to get her.

  “What happened? Is she okay?” Alisha said, rushing over to the nurse.

  “Yes, she’s fine. She is asking for you. She’s also asking for someone by the name of Chance. Do you know how to reach him or her?”

  Alisha stood silent for a few moments, not sure what to say. She dreaded the moment that she’d have to tell Lucky that Chance had been murdered. She let out a sigh before responding to the nurse, who now stood with a look of confusion on her face.

  “Actually, he was killed and I really don’t know how I’m going to break the news to her.”

  “Well, maybe you should wait you know. It probably isn’t the best time to share that sort of news with her. I’d say let her get out the woods before dropping the bomb.”

  “Okay, can I see her now?”

  “Sure, I’ll walk you back.”

  Alisha walked into the room with a huge smile on her face. She was excited to see her but she was also nervous because she knew Lucky wouldn’t rest until she saw Chance. She knew it would be even more difficult once she learned that she was carrying his child. Luckily the trauma hadn’t terminated the pregnancy and with the help of medication and life support the baby was actually doing well.

  “There’s my best friend.” Lucky’s face lit up when she saw Alisha enter the doorway.

  “Girl, I am so damn happy to see your eyes. You just don’t know,” she said, walking over to the bed right into Lucky’s opened arms.

  “Girl, what the hell happened?” Lucky asked, still unsure about the events that led her to the hospital.

  “You were shot, girl. I thought I lost you. I couldn’t have that. What the hell would my life be without you?” She laughed and sat down on the stool next to the bed.

  “Boring as all hell.” She laughed. “Have you seen Chance? I really need to talk to him. I know he’s probably out working like the workaholic he is.” She smiled.

  “No, actually I haven’t seen him, but I can try to contact him for you.”

  “Great, girl, because they just told me that I’m pregnant! I know he’ll be so happy. I wasn’t ready for kids just yet but, hey, God has His own plan.” She smiled and rubbed her hands across her belly.

  “I know, they told me when they brought you in. I’m happy for you, I really am. I’m just glad that you are awake.” She struggled to hold back tears, as she wanted to tell her that her unborn child’s father would never hear the good news. She decided that she’d leave and allow her to rest. This way she could figure out how and when she’d break the news to her.

  “Well, I’m going to let you get some rest, girl. The nurses have my number if anything goes down, but I will be back first thing in the morning to see you, okay?”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise, girl.” She leaned in to hug her before turning her back and leaving the room.

  Lucky sat there, wondering where Chance was and why he hadn’t been by her bedside when she opened her eyes. She decided not to worry herself with it that evening and soon she drifted off to sleep.

  The following morning she was allowed to use the phone and she dialed his phone only to find that the number was no longer in service. An hour later Alisha walked through the door with flowers and a huge teddy bear.

  “Hey, girl, here as promised with a little friend,” she said, setting the flowers down on the counter.

  “I called Chance and his number is disconnected. What’s going on with him, Alisha? He’s not breaking up with me is he?” she said with her face full of sadness. Dry tears were on both sides of her face. It would break her heart if he’d walked out on her, especially when she needed him the most.

  Alisha sat down on the stool and looked down at the floor. She knew that it was inevitable and she was going to have to tell her regardless of the nurse’s advice. She couldn’t leave her out in the dark any longer.

  “What is it, Alisha? Please be honest with me,” she pleaded.

  “Look, you know I love you and I never want to see you hurting.”

  “Just spill it already, Alisha.” She raised her voice. She wanted to know what it was regardless of how it would feel.

  “He’s dead,” she said after a short sigh.

  “What?” She sat up in bed. “That’s a joke, right? No way he’s really dead, Alisha.”

  “I’m sorry, Lucky, but it’s not a joke. He was murdered. Shot over ten times.”

  “Nooooooooooooooooooo,” she screamed in agony. She had prepared herself for something else. She thought for sure he’d left her for another woman, but never dead. It had never crossed her mind as one of the reasons why she didn’t see him when she opened her eyes. Her body was aching and tears began to pour from her eyes.

  Alisha hugged Lucky and let her tears fill her shoulder. She felt her pain and she knew that the news would be devastating. She wished that it was really a cruel joke and Chance would come walking through the door, but she was there at his funeral so she knew for certain that it would never happen.

  “Who killed him? Do they even know?” she asked, pulling herself away from Alisha.

  “They do know but they haven’t told me. I told Romeo you were awake and he said he would come talk to you.”

  “I can’t believe this. Why him? He was everything that I needed in a man. Now I’m going to have to raise this baby alone.” She continued to cry.

  “You’re a fighter, Lucky, and I know you’ll get through this. I’m here for you. Anything that you need.”

  “I don’t know what to do. I can’t understand this, I just ca
n’t.”

  Alisha reached in to hug her again. The two hugged until they heard a knock at the door. Lucky sat up and quickly tried to wipe the remnants of sorrow from her face.

  “Hey, I came as soon as I heard,” Romeo said with a letter and flowers. He set the flowers down and handed Lucky the envelope.

  “Aww thanks, Romeo. What’s this?” she asked, waving the envelope in the air.

  “It’s from Chance. He told me to give it to you if anything ever happened to him. Sorry that I had to deliver it. I’d rather it be him to speak to you instead.”

  “Do you know what happened? I mean how did this happen to him?”

  “Yeah, I know what happened and believe me, we’re going to take care of it. I don’t want you to worry about that though. I just want you to get well and worry about that baby you’re carrying. He wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  “I just . . . I just . . .” she stuttered.

  “I know, believe me. He was my best friend. Killed me to bury him. I wanted to go kill everybody, literally.”

  “I just don’t know what I’m going to do. I have nothing. I left everything to be with him.”

  “Don’t worry about that. You’ll be taken care of. His house, I’ll have it signed over to you, and also the money that he had put up for something like this. I don’t want you to stress about anything. You’re family to me because he was like my brother and he loved you to pieces.”

  “I know he did. I just can’t believe that I won’t see his face again. I miss him so much already.”

  “Well again, I don’t want you to worry. I’m gonna roll out to handle some business but I wanted to make sure you got that letter. Here’s the key to his house. Call me when they are discharging you so I can come by to make sure everything is good at the crib.” He passed her a small key chain with two keys on it.

  “Thanks a lot, Romeo. I appreciate you coming.”

  “No problem. Get well soon, all right?” he said before leaving the room.

  “I’m almost afraid to read this letter,” she said, looking down at the white envelope.

  “Well, I can give you some privacy if you want me to,” Alisha said, placing her hand on top of Lucky’s hand.