Family Over Everything

by Paige Green

  They’d just come from meeting with the Cubans to re-up on the drug supplies and Deion was exhausted.

  “Damn, I forgot all about that damn club. What is it called?”

  “Club Majestic, nigga. Are you coming?”

  “Yeah, I guess so. What are you wearing?”

  “I don’t even know yet, but whatever you wear, make sure you look official, homie,” Day’onne said. “You’re representing us; every big street nigga is going to be there.”

  He had spent the last couple of months preparing for his grand opening and the day had finally come. He made sure only celebrities and the hustlers that rang bells in the streets were only invited to this particular event. He wanted to make sure everything was on point because his reputation was on the line.

  “You don’t have to remind me, Day’onne. I got this, man.”

  Deion remained quiet the whole way home. Ever since he’d met up with Mercedes and found out Corrine was prostituting, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He wasn’t in a mood for anything except to go home and get some rest.

  Day’onne pulled up in front of Deion’s condominiums. “Please, Deion, whatever you do, look your best. I never really ask you for shit, but this event is big. All the major heads in the game will be there. Look your best!”

  “Alright, damn, man!”

  “Alright, see you tonight at the club,” Day’onne said before pulling off.

  “You ready for this shit to pop off tonight?” Jewels asked Relisha when she walked into his bedroom.

  Knowing she had to look her best, she’d just come from shopping. Walking into Jewels’ room with a Fendi bag in her hand, she smiled brightly as she pulled a brown dress out and held it against her thick frame. The dress was long-sleeved and cut out in the back with a deep plunge in the front that would turn heads.

  “Damn, I’m going to get a couple numbers tonight!” she mumbled under her breath, examining herself in the mirror.

  “Are you fucking listening to me? Are you ready for tonight, Relisha?” Jewels growled, grabbing her arm.

  “Yeah, nigga! You asked me that like five times already!”

  “I want to make sure you ready; that’s it. This shit is all on you, Ma. Don’t fuck it up!”

  “All you want me to do is get them into one room? What could be so damn hard about that, Jewels?”

  “That’s not the point. When I get them niggas, I want to make sure they don’t see it coming, Ma. It’s your job to make sure all attention is diverted on you with that mean-ass dress. That’s all you got to do, look sexy, and play your part,” Jewels stressed.

  “Okay, I got you, Daddy; don’t worry about it.”

  “Alright, Ma. Just checking.”

  When Deion pulled up in front of Club Majestic, his jaw almost dropped when he saw the large crowd of people. The parking lot almost looked like a car show with luxurious cars from chromed out Phantoms, to bright Range Rovers sitting on large rims. There was a long line of people wrapped around the building, hoping and praying to get into one of the hottest parties and grand openings of the year.

  Deion took a blunt out of his pocket and lit it, taking a long, deep pull from it. He would need something to get him through the long night and marijuana would do the job. He coughed uncontrollably as he inhaled it deeply. Grabbing his chest, he exhaled, trying to catch his breath. When he finally caught his breath he rolled his shoulders back, glanced at himself in the mirror, opened up the door to his car, and stepped out.

  Deion was dressed in a brown Armani suit and cream Stacy Adams gator shoes. He’d allowed his once clean-shaven hair to grow and it was now cut into a sleek temple fade. A pair of fourteen carat diamond-studded earrings adorned his ears, and a gold-diamond necklace with a Jesus charm piece hung from his neck.

  Walking in front of the club, Deion met up with Day’onne, Menace, Troy, and the rest of their entourage, who’d hopped out of a black Hummer limousine.

  Day’onne was dressed in a gray Versace suit with silver cuff links and a pair of black gators. He had cut his dreads into a temple fade, too.

  All of the men walked with curvy, beautiful women by their sides. Day’onne walked into his club with a rare smile on his face. The crowd went crazy when they saw the twins walking side by side.

  “This is the fucking life, man,” Day’onne whispered to Deion as they entered.

  He had hired a mass of big, beastly club bouncers to keep everything in order and on track. The club was filled to capacity with drug kingpins, family, friends, and strippers.

  Deion was in awe as he walked into Club Majestic for the very first time. With the theme of money in mind, the spacious club had been decked out with green sofas, a green bar, and a green stage with a platinum pole for the strippers to work their magic. The strippers, who were all of different ethnicity, color, shape, and size, walked around the club wearing nothing but real money glued to their nipples and vaginas.

  The club had three different levels. On the first floor, there was a main stage with a pole, for the strippers, a bar, and a dance floor. One the second floor, there was a velvet rope located at the top of the stairs for the VIP section, where the elite were only invited. And on the third floor, there were private rooms for the strippers and for clients who wanted to pay extra money to have personal services provided for them.

  “Damn, nigga, I didn’t know you were doing it like this!” Deion laughed, giving his brother a hand dap and a brief hug.

  “Yeah, I told you it was going to be official!” Day’onne yelled over the loud music.

  “Yo, is that Jay-Z?”

  “Yeah, Jay’s my nigga, but play it cool. Don’t be acting like these groupies; act like he one of your niggas from the hood.”

  Deion nodded and he walked toward the bar. Ordering a bottle of water, Deion bobbed his head to the music as he took in the atmosphere.

  “Wow, this is the life.”

  “Hey, big daddy!” a soft voice whispered in his ear.

  Turning around, Deion’s mood instantly changed as he locked eyes with Shay’s.

  “What do you want, man?” he asked.

  Ever since the day she had tried to trap him by getting pregnant, he’d tried his best to avoid her by any means necessary. He wanted to kick himself every time he thought of the situation, knowing she was as scandalous as they come.

  “I want you, daddy,” she purred, seductively.

  Shay was scantily dressed in a burgundy sleeveless dress that accentuated her light skin. Her natural ringlet curls were pinned to the top of her head, complementing her exotic features.

  “My name is Deion and I’m not your fucking daddy, Shay. I don’t want shit to do with you! Beat it!” Deion spat, gritting his teeth.

  “Well, you sure don’t have to be my daddy, but guess who’s going to be a daddy?” Shay said, rubbing her small stomach.

  At that moment, he wanted to hop out of his seat and slap the mess out of her but, being the real man he was, he kept his composure. “Look, woman, you’re nothing but a foul, shady bitch that’s good for nothing except laying on your back and opening up your legs. If that’s my seed, I’ll definitely take care of mine, but I don’t want shit to do with you!”

  “You don’t mean that; you know you love me, baby!” Shay laughed, grabbing Deion’s arm.

  Deion snatched it away from her and aggressively grabbed her wrist. “Stay the fuck away from me, Shay. I’ve never hit a female in my life but I definitely wouldn’t think twice about knocking the shit out of you!”

  “You wouldn’t dare!” Shay said, jumping in his face.

  Flaring his nose in anger, he determined that the best thing to do would be to walk away before he did something he’d regret later.

  Two hours later, when the club was completely filled to capacity and mostly everyone had arrived to celebrate with Day’onne, Deion made his way toward the VIP section of the club where Day’onne and the rest of their crew were.

  “Nigga, where the hell were you?”
Menace asked Deion when he walked into the room.

  Looking around the room, Deion had to do a double take at the sight before him.

  In one corner, butt naked women were either giving oral sex or on their backs, having sex with the major heads or celebrities. On the other side of the room sat a small crowd of men who circled around a stripper that had round assets. They all watched in almost a trance as she shook and gyrated her body as if her life depended on it.

  “I was chilling; what the fuck is going on in here?” Deion asked, twisting his nose up in disgust.

  “Man, you know this is how we do it!” Day’onne slurred drunkenly, a bottle of Ciroc in his hand. He wrapped an arm around Deion’s neck. “You better grab you a fine bitch up in here and get your freak on.”

  Feeling exhausted and tired of the racy atmosphere, Deion was finally ready to call it a night.

  “Alright, man. I’m out of here.”

  “Damn! It’s only two in the morning; the party is just starting!”

  “I’m tired, but again, congrats on the club and hit me up tomorrow,” Deion said, giving his brother another hug and leaving.

  “Isn’t that one of the twins?” Respect asked Jewels.

  They were seated in Jewels’ old black Escalade in the parking lot of the club.

  It was approaching two-thirty in the morning and it was completely dark outside. In the two cars beside Jewels sat his former worker, Cash, and ten other people who were still down for him to make a move.

  “That might be Deion,” Relisha said, staring at her grown son.

  She fought back the tears threatening to pour from her eyes. She watched Deion through Jewels’ tinted windows as he got into his car and started it, noting how many handsome features he’d inherited from her.

  Wow, that’s my son! she thought to herself.

  At that moment, she wanted to hop out of the car and forget all about the devious plan. She wanted to run into her son’s arms and apologize for all of the pain and misery she’d caused in his life. She also wanted to apologize for never being a mother. But she couldn’t. Sucking up the emotions, she pushed him to the back of her mind and focused on the task at hand. It was a little too late to be interrupting his life.

  “Damn, we could’ve got that young nigga!” Jewels yelled, clenching his jaw.

  “Man, we can catch him a little later; that would’ve fucked up our plan. We need to worry about that nigga, Day’onne, and his right hand, Menace. They the real niggas that’s pulling in dough,” Respect told him.

  “Relisha, are you ready?” Jewels asked, turning around to face her in the back seat.

  “Yeah, I’m ready.”

  “Remember, make sure all eyes are on you. You used to strip at my club back in the day, so you should be used to it. Get naked and buck wild if you have to!”

  Relisha nodded and hopped out of the back seat, sighing deeply. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, gathering herself. Opening them, she held her head high and sashayed toward Club Majestic’s front door.

  Appearing fierce in her brown Fendi dress that complimented her smooth mocha skin, she tried to walk past one of the bouncers guarding the front door, Beast.

  “Excuse me, woman. Where do you think you’re going?” Beast asked, licking his black lips, checking out her thick frame.

  “I’m going into the party. Is there a problem?”

  “Woman, do you know what time it is? The party is over in an hour or two. Why are you so late?”

  “I’m Day’onne’s mother and I had to do something for my little boy,” she lied.

  Acting as if she’d dropped something, she bent over, exposing her neatly-trimmed vagina.

  Beast almost hopped out of his suit as he watched her stand back up.

  “How about we leave this party, and have a party of our own?” she asked seductively.

  Beast rubbed his hands together, looking around the dark parking lot and into the club. Seeing the coast was clear, he grabbed Relisha’s hand and made his way toward his car.

  Sliding her hand into her pocketbook and removing her .45 caliber, she held the gun to his leg and pulled the trigger.

  “Ahhh! What the fuck is wrong with you, bitch?” Beast yelled, clutching his leg that was now bleeding profusely.

  She ignored him, aimed the weapon at his forehead, pulled the trigger, and walked away. Entering the club, she paused, awestruck by the lavish décor and the see-through ceilings, allowing her to see up the second floor. When she got upstairs to the VIP section, no one was guarding the velvet rope in the front door. When she walked through it, her breath got caught in her throat when she saw all eyes were fixated on her.

  “Damn, who’s that? That bitch is fine!” Day’onne yelled in a drunken slur as he staggered toward Relisha.

  Tears formed into Relisha’s eyes as she looked at him, but she kept her composure. Wrapping his arms around her, he started to feel on her breasts, making her feel uncomfortable.

  “What’s good, Ma? Are you trying to have a little fun tonight?” Day’onne whispered into her ear.

  “What type of fun, baby?”

  “Mmm, me and my niggas got the hotel. Swing through and we’ll show you.”

  “No, baby, I got a better idea,” Relisha purred, unwrapping his arms from around her neck.

  She walked into the middle of the room, holding her arms up into the air.

  “Alright, everyone, can I have your attention?” she asked.

  Not hearing her, they continued to drink, smoke, and enjoy the party.

  “I said can I have your fucking attention!”

  The whole room quickly diverted their attention on her. She smiled and began to slowly undress. The hustlers and celebrities mouths dropped open in shock as they eye-raped each curve on her full-figured body. When Ice Cube’s “You Can Do It” blared through the speakers, she arched her back, exposing her back dimples, and shook her ample ass wildly. The crowd in the room went crazy, erupting into a thunderous roar and throwing cash at Relisha, egging her on like the good old days. The other strippers watched in envy as she worked her body like the true professional she was.

  As she continued to dance, without warning, a group of men charged into the room with shotguns, .45 handguns, and AK-47’s in their hands. Day’onne and the rest of his crew didn’t have a chance to digest what was happening until they noticed Relisha had stopped dancing and turned toward the group of men with the guns. Diving to the floor, she wrapped her arms around her head as the whole room erupted into deafening gunfire, catching everyone off guard. Jewels aimed his gun at her, pulled the trigger, and killed her instantly.

  People were dropping like flies as they tried to reach into their waistbands to remove their guns, but it was too late.

  The perpetrators robbed everyone for their jewelry, money, and even drugs as they continued to shoot.

  Day’onne’s eyes bucked in fear as he locked them on Jewels, who held a .9mm aimed directly at him. He pulled his gun out of his waistband and quickly pulled the trigger.

  Missing Jewels by an inch, he watched as Jewels pulled the trigger on his gun, but missed him, too.

  Thinking quickly, Day’onne turned around and shot at the window, completely shattering it before hopping out of it.

  “C’mon, man!” Menace yelled. He grabbed Troy by his shirt collar and followed Day’onne.

  All three men grunted in pain when they hit the ground outside of the club. They closed their eyes tightly and winced as they tried to stand to their feet, but it was to no avail; their knees and arms wobbled, causing them to fall back to the ground. Small pieces of glass penetrated their skin as they stared up at the large crowd that was making their way out of the club. Finally standing to their feet, all three men limped their way into the crowd, blending in with it until they were in front of their car.

  “I’m hit man!” Troy yelled as Menace helped him into the back seat of Day’onne’s car.

  “Where? You cool, man?” Menace asked his youn
ger brother, worried.

  “In my leg. I think it just grazed it. I’ll be cool.”

  Day’onne let out a loud, angry scream as he pulled out of the parking lot and drove toward one of his safe houses.

  Menace, who remained quiet, shook his head in disbelief as he digested the events that had just taken place.

  “What the fuck was that shit? How the fuck did that happen when I got all those fucking bouncers in that bitch?” Day’onne growled angrily.

  “Was it that nigga, Jewels?” Menace retorted. “I been told you we was supposed to handle that fool and look what the fuck that happened? On the night of the grand opening. This shit isn’t good, man.”

  “Man, fuck all that shit! That nigga is going to get his! My word is my bond. I put it on everything I love, that nigga got to go.”

  When they finally arrived at his safe house, all three men limped in, gripped with anger and pain. Day’onne collapsed onto the sofa and dropped his head into his hands. He bit down hard on his bottom lip, drawing blood.

  “That nigga Jewels is dead, man. This was the ultimate form of disrespect. Not only was it fucking embarrassing, but also disrespectful. He got to go!” he vowed.

  When Deion awoke the next morning, he was immediately hit with a massive headache from the previous night’s event. He sat up in his king-sized bed, holding his head and grunting. Hopping out of the bed, he started to curse as his cell phone rang until he saw it was Day’onne.

  “What’s up, bro?” Deion answered.

  “Yo, did you hear what happened at the club last night after you left?”

  “No, what happened?”

  “Turn on the news, now.”

  Reaching for his remote, Deion flopped back down onto the bed and turned the television on. His eyes expanded in shock and he turned the volume up.

  “We’re reporting live in the Strip District, on the Southside of Pittsburgh, where once again, violence has struck. Early this morning around four, a group of unidentified men barged into a new club, Club Majestic, armed with shotguns, .45 handguns, and AK-47’s, a witness has told us. These unidentified men opened fire on the owner of the club, Day’onne Jenkins, and his entourage, killing over a dozen people and injuring fifteen. The horrific event occurred at the grand opening of this establishment. Mr. Jenkins has been contacted for questioning, but police are labeling it as drug-related.