The Cartel Deluxe Edition

by Ashley

  “A’ight, a’ight, fam. I know we down here on business and everything, but, nigga, this is Miami, and ya boy trying to see the city tonight. Let’s do it big tonight for ol’ times’ sake, and tomorrow we can be all about the business.” Zyir anxiously unlocked his new truck and hopped inside.

  Ace and Carter laughed at Zyir’s excitement, but they knew that he was young. At 18 he still had the world to experience. They had seen and done so much more than him, and they both knew that he was only trying to follow in their footsteps.

  “A’ight, fam. We can do it right. I’ll show y’all around town.”

  Miamor pulled out her cell phone in the middle of the crowded club to see if Carter had called. He hadn’t tried to contact her in two days, and his sudden absence from her life was starting to bother her. She usually spoke with him at least twice a day, and he always made it a point to come and check for her. Now that he was doing disappearing acts, she didn’t know what to think.

  Aries could see the discouraged look on her friend’s face. “You okay?” she shouted over the loud music.

  Miamor looked up and realized that her two friends were staring at her, so she put her emotions at bay and replied, “Yeah, I’m good. I was just wondering what time it was.”

  “Why hasn’t he called you?” Robyn asked, not buying Miamor’s lie.

  “He’s going through a lot right now. His brother just died, and his family is having—”

  “Do you hear yourself right now?” Robyn said to her. “Miamor, he is a mark. The Cartel is our mark. He runs The Cartel now. They killed Anisa.”

  With each day that passed, it was becoming more difficult for Miamor to keep up the charade. Yes, it was true that she harbored ill feelings toward The Cartel and wanted to murder Mecca. But it was also true that she was falling in love with Carter. She knew it, and in a way she hated herself for it. She felt like a traitor. She wanted to be wifey, wanted to be a part of Carter’s life, but she knew that what she was building with him would eventually be torn down by a plot that she herself had devised. When the time came, she was going to kill him. She didn’t have a choice.

  “Miamor, you have to get he to break de truce with Ma’tee. That is the only way we can get de bounty on de Cartel. Push him, Mia. Make he react,” Aries urged.

  Miamor nodded.

  “Are you sure you can handle this?” Aries asked.

  “Yes,” she answered simply as she took a sip from her Long Island Iced Tea.

  “Then handle it,” Robyn told her.

  “Look, this is going to take some time. The Cartel is not like any of the other jobs. I have to be careful. Carter isn’t dumb. He’ll see straight through me if I’m too pushy. I have to do this my way. I have to play wifey so that he’ll trust me, but don’t worry, it’s gonna get done. I’m good, just trust me.”

  “Fuck it. That’s not what we here for anyway. Let’s just have a good time,” Aries said.

  The girls agreed, and Miamor leaned with her back against the bar as she swayed sexily to the music. She made sure that she could see every angle of the club, a habit that she had acquired over the years. She was always aware of her surroundings.

  Miamor held the attention of many of the men in the club. Her black spaghetti strap Prada dress dipped low in the front, revealing her C-cup cleavage and her flat stomach, and silver Choo stilettos accented her shapely, athletic legs. Her healthy hair glistened under the strobe light and was cut in a long bob with Chinese bangs, while her M•A•C cosmetics complemented her almond-colored skin. The term “Shorty is the shit,” had to be meant for her, because her features always outshined every other chick in her vicinity, and that night was no different.

  Miamor watched as most of the women in the club flocked toward the door. She squinted to see who had entered the club that deserved so much attention.

  “Speak of the devil,” Robyn commented as she saw what the commotion was all about.

  Carter and two other men walked into the club clad in Cavalli jeans and fresh kicks. Carter simply wore a gray Lacoste sweater with a white collared shirt underneath. He was simple, but his jewels stood apart from every other nigga in the club. He was wearing so many carats that he was almost hypnotic as the strobe lights played hide-and-seek with the diamonds around his neck.

  Miamor watched as Carter and his friends selected three girls to take up to the VIP section with them.

  “That’s why we can’t get shit poppin’, Mia?” Robyn continued as if Carter didn’t impress her. “The nigga is playing you, Miamor. He has your fucking head gone. You sitting up in here turning down mad niggas, waiting on him to call, and he out courting these busted-ass bitches.”

  Miamor could feel her temperature rising. She was hot as she watched Carter place his hand on the small of the girl’s back and guided her through the crowd. Is he for real?

  “Just say the word and I all over that bitch,” Aries stated.

  The sight before Miamor had her tight. She was so upset that she was seeing red, which usually meant blood was about to be shed, but she controlled herself and saved face in front of her girls. “Fuck him. He ain’t my man. The nigga is a job, nothing more and nothing less,” she stated coldly. I can’t believe I was feeling his lying ass, she thought to herself. She wanted to leave the club, because deep inside she knew that her heart was broken, but she stayed. She knew that if she left, she would be admitting that she was falling for him.

  She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Carter was hers. At least, he was supposed to be, and she was jealous that his attention was focused on another woman. Carter was popping bottle after bottle of champagne and had his arm draped around the young woman as if he were proud to have her on his hip. This is bullshit, she thought silently as she inventoried her competition. The girl with Carter was pretty in the face, but her twice-borrowed dress and Claire’s jewels were a disgrace. This shit is unfucking-believable, she thought.

  Her girls looked on in shock. They could tell that Miamor was beyond upset.

  Carter was having a good time. His head had been fucked up since arriving in Miami, and it felt good to have his niggas by his side again. For a long time, Ace and Zyir had been the only “brothers” he’d known, and he trusted them whole-heartedly. His love for them ran deep, and they shared an unbreakable bond.

  He looked around at the random chicks that Zyir had picked out of the crowd and had to admit he hadn’t been so carefree in a long time. Carter was what some women would call arrogant. He was very selective when it came to who he shared his time with, and it was very rare that he dealt with a lot of women at one time.

  It was even rarer to see him in a nightclub, but Zyir and Ace had talked him into it, so he decided to let loose. He told himself that he deserved to relax after all that he had been through in the past couple of months.

  Carter noticed that their drinks were getting low, so he leaned over and whispered for Zyir to go to the bar to get some more Moët. Zyir arose and made his way over to the bar. He slid into the empty space next to Robyn and placed his order.

  Robyn automatically clocked his pockets when he pulled out a wad of cash. She had to admit, she was impressed, because he was working with all big faces. I should rob his young ass, she thought playfully to herself.

  Zyir noticed her watching and smiled as he licked his full lips. “Ay, ma, why don’t you and your girls come and join me in VIP?” he stated.

  His boyish charm was cute, and Robyn could tell that he was young from his approach. “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Zyir,” he replied.

  When the bartender brought his drinks, he grabbed the three bottles. “You coming, or you gon’ hug the bar and wait for one of these broke-ass niggas to come over and waste your time?”

  Robyn leaned over and whispered in Miamor’s ear, “You wanna go?”

  Miamor shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s whatever.”

  “We don’t have to stay. Just let that nigga see that you see him. Maybe his
guilt will get shit moving a little faster.” Robyn turned to Zyir and said, “Lead the way.”

  Miamor took a deep breath and followed behind her girls as they approached Carter’s table. Her stomach was in knots as she continued to watch him closely. It seemed like the closer she got to him, the more her eyes began to fail her. Tears built up, and she was forced to blink them away before they could fall.

  “Yo, my friend and her girls are going to join us,” Zyir stated as he sat the bottles of Moët down on the table.

  The girl had Carter’s face turned toward hers, and she had his full attention as she whispered something in his ear, so he didn’t even notice Miamor.

  “Yo, I didn’t get y’all names,” Zyir stated.

  “I’m Robyn.”

  “Aries.”

  “Miamor.”

  As soon as her voice blessed Carter’s ears, he turned his face and looked up at her in surprise. He could tell from the hurtful expression on her face that she had been there for a while, and he instantly knew that he had fucked up. He withdrew his arm from around the groupie and stood up.

  “No, please don’t let us break up y’all little thing,” Robyn protested sarcastically to Carter.

  Carter tried to make eye contact with Miamor, but she refused to look at him. She just shook her head in disgust before beginning to walk away.

  Robyn turned to Zyir. “Thanks for inviting us over, but it looks like you all have enough company as it is. It’s a shame too, ’cuz you had potential, young’un,” she said sweetly as she lightly kissed his cheek, and they walked away from the table.

  Carter excused himself and followed behind Miamor. Grabbing her arm gently, he stopped her from leaving as he tried to explain. “Miamor, it’s not what it looks like,” he began.

  Miamor snatched her arm from his grasp and shook her head in disbelief. She was pissed and hurt. She hated herself for caring so much when the man before her was simply supposed to be a means to an end. What is it about him? she asked herself silently.

  “Come on, ma, say something.”

  Miamor wanted to forget what she had just witnessed. A part of her wanted to leave the club with him, but she had never been a silly broad who believed lame excuses, and she wasn’t about to become one that night. I know what the fuck I saw. He was all in the bitch face a minute ago. If I hadn’t walked up, he would probably be taking the bitch home tonight. Fuck him.

  “You know what, Carter? It doesn’t even matter. Now I know who you really are. You are just like every other nigga—a liar.”

  Her words hit him like darts to the heart. When she turned to walk away, he reached for her hand. “Miamor.”

  Just then the girl he had been with in VIP eased up behind him and wrapped her arms around him as she stared Miamor down. It was obvious she was trying to make her presence felt and stake her claim. Miamor shook her head and backpedaled toward the door.

  Carter removed the girl’s arms from his body.

  “You just made this so much easier for me. He’s all yours,” she said as she stormed away, her stilettos stabbing the floor to death with each step before she disappeared through the exit of the club.

  The pain that was etched on her face was the last thing that Carter saw before she left. “Fuck,” he whispered.

  “What’s wrong, daddy?” the girl asked.

  Carter looked down at the girl, and all of a sudden she had become a nuisance. “Look, ma, I need some air,” he said. “I’m not trying to play you or nothing, but ain’t shit poppin’ off tonight, a’ight.” Then he walked away, leaving her dumbfounded in the middle of the dance floor.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Just do your job and be my fucking bulletproof. That’s what being a rich, spoiled, dumb little bitch gets you—a mu’fucka like you to take bullets for me.”

  —Breeze

  “Hi, you’ve reached Miamor. Unfortunately I’m unavailable right now. Leave me a message, and I’ll return your call.”

  Carter hung up his phone and sighed deeply from frustration. Miamor refused to take any of his calls. Each time he attempted to contact her, she gave him the fuck-you button and sent him straight to voice mail. He knew that his mind needed to be on his paper chase, but the feelings that he had begun to develop for her were unlike anything he’d ever experienced with a woman. He had never found any one who held his interest in the way that she did, and now he was kicking himself for being so stupid. He knew what it must have looked like, but he never intended on taking the girl from the club home with him. She was just someone to entertain him and his boys for the time being. He knew that it didn’t make his actions any less hurtful in Miamor’s eyes, and he hoped that she gave him the chance to make things right with her before she decided to write him off completely.

  Carter maneuvered his car in front of Ace and Zyir’s building then called upstairs to let them know he was outside. It was time for him to get focused. With his own team in town, money was sure to flow. The sooner he got paid, the sooner he could avenge his brother’s murder and move on with his life. He was on a three-year hustle plan for Miami. He wanted to flip and re-flip his money into the hundred-million-dollar range, and he knew that it was entirely possible, considering Miami’s lucrative drug trade, and his father’s real estate company, to which he was now the acting CEO.

  Ace and Zyir hopped into Carter’s truck, and he pulled away from the curb.

  “Yo, fam, what was that shit that happened with you and that chick in the club last night?” Ace asked. He had noticed his friend’s demeanor change drastically, but was too wrapped up in his female acquaintance to address it.

  “Man, some ol’ crazy shit. The chick Miamor that Zyir brought over to the table, I been kicking it with her since I’ve been down here. I didn’t know she was in the building. My actions would’ve been a whole lot different, nah mean?” he stated with a smirk.

  Zyir laughed from the backseat. “Shorty was tight. I could see that shit all on her face. I ain’t mean to throw salt in your game, fam.”

  “It’s all good,” Carter said. “I’m about to introduce the two of you to my family. This is serious, and all jokes aside, whenever they are around, it has to be about protecting them. I’m not trying to see anything else happen to them. They’ve been through enough, and I’m all they have left right now, at least until Mecca comes home.”

  Carter pulled up to the gated home and greeted some of the security he had hired to post up around the premises. He parked his truck directly in front of the magnificent house.

  “Damn, yo people’s paid, fam.” Zyir got out and admired the massive estate.

  Carter walked into the house and was immediately greeted by Taryn.

  “Carter, it’s so good to see you, sweetheart,” she said as she hugged him. “Have you eaten? I can fix you something if you’d like.”

  “No, I’m fine, Taryn. Thanks. I came by to introduce you to my friends from Up Top. They are in town because of everything that’s been going on with this war.”

  “Well, if they can help, then I am certainly pleased to meet them.”

  Ace stepped up first and held out his hand. “Hello, ma’am. I’m Ace,” he said politely.

  Taryn smiled graciously and accepted his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Ace, but please call me Taryn.”

  “And this is Zyir,” Carter said, making the introduction for his second partner.

  “I’m glad to have you both here,” Taryn said with a grateful smile.

  Carter detected the melancholy tone in her voice and knew that she was at her breaking point.

  Breeze glided into the room with the accurate style of a supermodel. Her long hair was in its natural curly state and was held back by a silver headband. She wore black leggings with an H & M silver mini dress and silver Hollister flats. Her face lit up when she saw her brother.

  “Carter! I didn’t know you were here,” she stated as she ran to hug him.

  “Breeze, I want you to meet my best friend, Ace, a
nd my little nigga, Zyir. They are like brothers to me. They are the only people besides me and Polo that are allowed to enter this house. No one else has my permission. They are the only ones I trust with your lives. We have to keep you both safe, okay.” He spoke sternly but gently as he tried to stress the importance of his rule to his hardheaded little sister.

  “Okay, I understand. I’m about to go, but I’ll call you later on.”

  “Hold up. Where you going?” Carter asked.

  “To the beach and out to meet with an event planner. Poppa used to always throw a white party for the Fourth of July, so I’m throwing my own this year, you know, to get my mind off of everything.”

  “That’s cool, B, but I want you to do me a favor and take Zyir with you,” he said.

  Breeze looked past Carter toward Zyir. His chocolate skin and medium build attracted her slightly. The tattoos that adorned his arms and neck appealed to her. He may not be too bad, she thought.

  Carter smirked at his sister’s blatant interest in his friend, but knew that Zyir would never be interested in a girl like Breeze. They were from two different worlds.

  “Okay, I’ll take him,” she answered as she walked out of the door.

  Zyir didn’t know that he was going to be babysitting, but he agreed just because his man asked him to.

  Breeze pulled her two-seater BMW-Z series from the garage and pulled up in front of Zyir.

  “You coming or not?” she asked sweetly as she put on oversized Chloe glasses.

  As Zyir reached for her door, she pressed her gas slightly, making the car move forward without him.

  “You playing, shorty? I ain’t gon’ chase you, ma,” he said, his vernacular smooth and low.

  Breeze laughed. “I’m sorry. Come on, get in.”

  Zyir shook his head as he entered the car, and they rolled off.

  Breeze was silent as she cruised through the Miami streets. She didn’t know what to say to Zyir and felt awkward around him. It was clear to see that they were extremely different, but he was sexy, and she loved his dark skin. His serious demeanor reminded her of her father.