Both were so focused on each other, they had no idea that they were no longer alone.
“That was your test, Trini. Not mine.” Ree’s tone was so cold Trinity was surprised his words didn’t freeze before they reached her ears.
“W-what?” She stuttered in disbelief.
“W-what?” He repeated, mocking her as he stepped closer with a deadly glare in his eye. “So…who helped you?”
Trinity’s breaths became faster, shorter, harder.
“What are you…what are you talking about Sean?”
Ree knew that Trinity had no pull, no money and no connections. He knew everyone in the legal system in Jamaica and was almost certain no one would conspire against him. He had to know how she’d done it.
Reaching in his waist, he calmly asked the question once again.
“Trinity. One more time. Who…the fuck…helped…”
Trinity eyes shot wide open and she grabbed her throat with both hands instinctively. Blood began pouring profusely from her neck.
She locked eyes with the person behind Ree as she began to gargle and choke.
What the fuck? Ree thought as he turned around.
Jayde stood with her smoking gun in her left hand, a visible silencer attached to it. Ree looked back to Trinity as she slid to the ground, hanging on to her last breaths. Her eyes revealed a glimmer of recognition as they stayed fixated on her attacker, Jayde. Ree caught the look. He cut his eyes to Jayde when she walked up closer.
“I thought I told you to wait in the fucking car… Why the fuck would you do that before she could answer me?”
“You were taking too long,” Jayde replied nonchalantly. “I told you-”
“I don’t give a fuck what you told me. I told you to wait in the…” Trinity’s blood gargling and torturous sounds annoyed Ree. He no longer wanted to hear them or see her struggle with her life. He pulled out his own gun and sent a bullet straight into her skull, killing her instantly. Then he focused back on Jayde like nothing.
“I told you to wait. Stop trying to be a boss, Jayde. You’re not my fucking Co-D.”
Jayde smirked as she stepped around Trinity, careful not to get blood on her new Giuseppe heels.
“And here I was thinking I was doing you a favor. We have to meet our friend in 20 minutes, and we can’t be late.” Raising her gun once again, she aimed for the bassinet, but Ree stopped her.
“You see, you’re too messy. We don’t do anything that’s unnecessary. Killing the kid is not necessary.”
He grabbed her arm, lowering her gun with strength. After that he leaned down and picked up a surprisingly still quiet S.J.
“Let’s go.”
They headed for the door, Jayde on Ree’s heels. Wiping off her gun, she stepped outside behind him as if she hadn’t just committed murder. She had a question.
“How’d you know?”
He looked over at her and just then an old Dodge minivan pulled up. An older, very modest looking Jamaican man emerged and stepped hesitantly toward Ree. Ree looked away from Jayde, and walked over to the man, handing him the baby.
“Rodney.”
Rodney smiled; glad that he could help Respect, glad his life had been spared, and glad that he was finally holding his child. He was sure Ree would kill him for having waited so long to tell him about the time Trinity forced him to sex her unprotected in the closet.
Rodney was a bellhop at Ree’s hotel who Trinity had used as her pawn to get pregnant. When Rodney had approached Trinity after she gave birth and asked to be in his son’s life, she had told him that the baby was not his, and that it was Ree’s. When he threatened to reveal to Ree that they had been intimate and that he himself wanted a blood test, she confessed her plans that she was passing the baby off as Ree’s in hopes that Rodney would work with her to keep their secret.
She told him in confidence that she had someone on the inside who would pass the judge fraudulent results if it turned out not to be Ree’s baby. She told Rodney he would not be able to see S.J. but that she would pay him hefty for his help. She was sure Rodney was convinced. However Rodney, being the stand up family man that he was, could not see himself not being a father to his child even after secretly considering her offer. Then after she confirmed to him that her source had told her the results were in fact negative and that Ree was not the father, Rodney knew he had to get in contact with Respect. He had to do the right thing for S.J., for his son.
Trinity was wrong for thinking that Rodney’s motives were impure and money-oriented like hers. She figured she would pay him with the money that Ree would surely be freely giving her, and Rodney could go on his merry way with his family, not caring about his biological son with her. She didn’t realize that she could not play Rodney when it came to his family. And she certainly couldn’t play Ree when it came to his.
“My father Mickel, as you probably know…ran arguably one of the tightest, longest, and best drug empires for almost three decades straight.” – Jayde, Still Thicker than Water
-3-
“You nervous?”
The question caused Tatum to lift her eyes up from her phone. The last minute wedding details had held her attention since they had left the estate, that and a few of her lone thoughts. She was surprised that Crush had blurted that out, especially since he was usually extremely quiet.
Tatum shrugged, really giving it thought. Was she nervous?
“I don’t know, I guess a little.” She thought about the recent events and added, “Yeah, I probably am.”
Crush nodded as he continued to focus on the road, leaving Tatum with a new deliberation on her mind.
If she was nervous, why was she? Was it because of Trinity and the baby? Was it because of Ree going back into the streets this one last time? Was she really unsure if he was the one she was meant to spend the rest of her life with?
She literally shook her head at the last thought as she picked up the note and read it again.
Something came up. Meet you in the States. Love you.
When she had returned from the market and found it lying next to her shrimp scampi, she was sure that her husband-to-be had left on some occupational mission with his new business associate, Jayde. To say that she was completely comfortable with it would be a lie. But Tatum felt like this, along with so many other things, was one of the many tests of their relationship.
“You wanna know something?”
Okay, now he was starting to scare her.
“Um…I guess so,” Tatum chuckled lightly. She had changed into jeans, loafers, and a designer t-shirt for the flight. Her hair was pulled back and she was comfortably chic and fabulous. “Does it have anything to do with you suddenly becoming so verbal?”
Crush had to laugh at that, his 300+ pound frame shaking with each roar.
“Nah ma, I just figured…we been around each other. I know you probably wanna know how me and Respect know each other. And why he trusts me with you.”
Crush said the last part as if Tatum was a million dollar bill. She looked at him with a smile because she truly had been curious.
“Yeah,” she responded. “I do wanna know about that. That time we came to Atlanta was the first time I heard your name.”
“Wasn’t the first time I heard yours,” he answered with a grin. Tatum crinkled her brow as he proceeded with the story in an unhurried drawl.
“Dig ma, I met Respect back in Brooklyn, right. He was just building his shit up over in the states and the nigga I used to work for, well Respect…” He paused and looked at Tatum through the rearview and then buffered what he was going to say. “Respect let’s just say… put him out of business.”
Tatum figured that meant he had killed him and she tried not to show it on her face.
“Anyway, I ended up being the last nigga to come on board with Respect, and at first you know, I’m like who the fuck is this Jamaican nigga? ‘Cause where I’m from we ain’t really trust them muhfuckas. Half the time, ain’t know what the fuck these
niggas is sayin’.” Tatum shared a laugh with him as he spoke.
“But I got down, and I saw that he was a real dude. He took care of people. We made so much fucking money. I mean yo, niggas hadn’t seen money up there like that since… I don’t even know. You woulda thought we were Rich Porter, Alpo, and them niggas. Respect had it locked… Brooklyn, Harlem, Jersey.” Crush seemed to have stars in his eyes reminiscing.
“Well back in… I think it was ’03, ’04…nah it was ’03. I got knocked. I got caught up in some crazy shit, took a bid for my man. Respect took care of me. He took care of my lawyers, my family, he bought my moms and my girl a crib down in Atlanta, made sure they were good; made sure my kids were good. I mean he was a good dude. When I came home I told him I was out and he was cool on that. He told me fuck the money, I didn’t owe him shit. He appreciated my loyalty and the way I handled the situation. I told him I’d always have him on anything. Anything he needed me for.”
Tatum thought about the way he was praising Ree. It made her feel conflicted. He was a drug lord, he killed people, but he was nice? Caring? Hospitable? She continued to listen.
“He’d call me and fill me in on shit, and we got kinda tight. When he would come to Atlanta for business, we’d link up. Anytime he needed a hand with shit, one shot deals, I’d be there. He always took care of me, too. And anytime something important would happen, he’d put me up on it. I wouldn’t hear from him for like a year, but when something happened, he’d hit me up,” he chuckled. “Like when he moved the base from NY to Jersey, I knew about it. And when all that shit happened in Jersey, I know you know about that…when he had to jet, I knew about it.” He looked at Tatum seriously through the rearview and continued. “When he met you…I knew about it.”
Tatum’s ears perked.
“Seriously?” She questioned.
“Yo, I’ll never forget. When I told Respect I was going to propose to my girl, he clowned me. I told him it’d be him one day and he told me ‘yea alright, I’ll let you know when that happens.’ One night he calls my crib like four in the morning talking ‘bout ‘I found her.’ My girl’s about to flip ‘cause she ain’t know who the fuck it was. I’m trippin’ ‘cause I ain’t know what this nigga talkin’ about. I’m like ‘who you find, and what you gonna do to her?’ He’s like ‘I found her. I found my wife.’ He was gone off of you.”
Tatum smiled thinking of the first time she’d met Ree.
She figured since Crush was being so open and honest with her, she’d go for the gusto. Ask him what was really on her mind.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“What up?” He replied pulling into Respect’s private airport. Tatum looked down before finally spilling it.
“Do you really think this is it, honestly? This…one last time.”
Crush pulled up to the jet and put the gear shift in park, thinking hard before responding.
“To tell you the truth, ma…yeah I do. The shit he putting together now is almost too sweet to resist. But once it’s done, the way he set it up from what I know…he’s done. I think Respect knows he can’t do this forever.”
Tatum prayed his answer was more truth than not.
“And what about Jayde?” Tatum found herself asking. “How important is she in all of this?”
Crush smirked and then replied.
“Not as important as she’d like to think. See she doesn’t get it. Ree is a strategist. She’s a pawn. She has her use and that’s it. Respect doesn’t have partners. Never has…never will.”
Tatum took a deep breath, for some reason slightly pleased with that answer.
“Well, it’s been real Crush. Thanks for the heart to heart.” Tatum winked and then opened the door, stepping out as the pilot came and started to load her luggage.
Crush bid her farewell in his signature salute and she returned it with a smile, and just as she was about to close the door she doubled back with one last question.
“Hey Crush.”
“What up?” He replied quickly.
“You said that Ree always told you the important stuff, right?”
He nodded and stared on at Tatum, waiting for her to continue.
Tatum looked him in the eyes curiously.
“Did he ever tell you about Trinity?”
Crush let out a small smirk before shaking his head.
“Nah. Never.”
Tatum nodded. And with that, she closed the door and boarded her plane.
They had ridden the entire way in silence, neither of them thinking twice of the murder that was just committed. Murder to the both of them was as natural as everyday conversation. It was another element to the interaction process; meet people, know people, love people, kill people. Both Jayde and Respect were street born, street raised, street products.
“We’re here,” she spoke with a slight excitement as the car pulled up to a small brick house.
They had ventured through forests, trails, and many twists and turns to arrive at this destination on the very outskirts of Jamaica. If seclusion was his goal, he had achieved it.
“He’s in there?” Ree’s eyes scanned the small country home which appeared to be desolate. He tried to take in as much as he could in the seconds before the truck powered off and they began to exit. He visibly reached in waist, produced his weapon and double checked that the clip was loaded and ready.
“You don’t trust anyone, huh?”
Ree’s blank stare was Jayde’s response. She tried to lighten the mood.
“Maybe after this we can head down to Moe’s for some seafood. Murder always makes me hungry-”
“I just want to have this meeting and get back to the States to Tatum.” Ree was dead serious and business-oriented the whole time, just as Jayde had been told he would be.
She tried to disguise the revulsion on her face with a smile.
“Of course, fair enough. Follow me.”
Trailing up the stone walkway, they reached a wooden door and Jayde knocked with the heavy brass hanger.
“This is his?” Ree questioned.
“It belongs to someone he trusts,” she replied a little irritated with his earlier rejection. A beautiful woman like Jayde never met rejection. Ree figured so and found it amusing. Before he forgot, he had a question for her.
“How did you know Trinity?”
Jayde’s heart rate sped up but her face kept its cool.
“I didn’t.”
Ree stood a step or two behind her and studied her out of the corner of his eye, looking for signs of dishonesty. Jayde didn’t break a sweat however.
“Right before she went, she looked at you. She recognized you.” He wasn’t asking her, he was telling her.
Jayde could hear footsteps approaching the door and replied coolly.
“Of course. She probably remembered me from when I stayed at the hotel with Sasha and Tatum.” Just then an older, skinny black man pulled back the heavy door and Jayde smiled as if her previous words had been truthful. What? Tell Ree that she was in fact the person that had assisted Trinity with the fake test results in hopes that it would help scare Tatum away? She didn’t have a death wish. And to think that little bitch was about to actually tell Respect who had helped her. Jayde had seen it in her eyes. That’s why I shot the bitch in the throat, Jayde thought. I hate a vocal bitch.
“Hello. He’s expecting us,” she then addressed the man.
Ree shifted his gaze from Jayde to the butler, assuming that she was candid in her response. There were no signs that she wasn’t.
“Follow me,” the old man ordered.
Ree and Jayde stepped inside and tailed the man down a set of steps that set off to the left. It was dark, and the only light came from the illumination of the lantern the man carried. The place was old and damp, resembling a dungeon.
“What the fuck is this shit?” Ree mumbled, not liking the set up. In the position he was in, he reckoned he could kill Jayde with a bullet to the back of her head, hit the butler immedia
tely after, and start busting at anyone else in this chamber if something should pop off.
TTW 3 ( Thicker Than Water 3 ) Page 6
