by K'wan
“Any idea how I can get in contact with Priest?” Keith asked Bug.
“Sure. Buy yourself a Ouija board. I hear he bought the farm recently,” Bug told him. “Now, are you finished giving me the third degree about all this? Me and Anthony got a function to attend.”
“Oh yeah? Where you boys off to?”
“Well, the family is going to do something for Big Money after the second line tomorrow, but me and some of the gang are gonna have our own thang tonight. Grab a few bottles and burn some bud. Nothing too crazy,” Bug told him.
“Sounds like fun. Mind if I tag along?”
“Hell yeah, you can come. I’ll get big-time props showing up with Killer Keith!” Bug said excitedly.
“How about we chill a little on the Killer and just go with Keith?”
“Right, right . . . You wanna fly under the radar. That’s cool, but can I offer you some advice?”
“Sure.”
“Dead the suit.”
Keith looked down at the Armani number he was wearing. “Boy, you’re crazy! This is Armani.”
“I dig it. That may work for them high-society parties in Atlanta that you’re used to, but the place where we’re going, the only people in suits are the Feds and the dead.”
CHAPTER 15
After changing into jeans and a T-shirt, Keith jumped in Fire Bug’s pickup truck and rode with the youths down to the Quarter. They parked in a lot off the main street and walked the rest of the way. As Keith passed through blocks that had once been so familiar to him, he couldn’t help but feel like a fish out of water. It was so crowded with people crawling in and out of the bars along the strip that they had to walk sideways to avoid colliding with the drunks. Keith was used to the swarming crowds on Canal Street during Mardi Gras and the big gatherings during the Essence Festival, but this was a regular Friday night!
“Changed some since you were last here, huh?” Bug asked, picking up on his brother’s discomfort.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Keith said, sidestepping a young woman who was puking at the curb.
“Got like this not too long after Katrina. When the money came in to rebuild the city, they dumped it into the tourist spots, instead of helping the folks who lost their homes,” Bug explained.
“Turned it into a regular tourist trap, huh?” Keith observed.
“It’s a trap, all right. When they get themselves good and wasted, it makes for easier pickings.” Anthony gave a mischievous laugh.
“You a part of the family business too?” Keith asked.
“Have been since I was old enough to shoot a rifle,” Anthony said proudly.
“And Asher is okay with that? He’s always been a straight arrow,” Keith told him.
“He don’t like it, but ain’t too much he can do about it. I’m a man, and men do what they gotta do to help their families. That’s why you went off to become a lawyer, isn’t it? To help the family?”
“In a sense, I guess.”
The trio continued walking through the Quarter, with Keith looking around in amazement, like a tourist, as they went. He stopped when his eyes landed on a familiar location. It was a posh bar with windows that stretched from floor to ceiling, and it had an inviting neon sign that advertised its signature drink, which was the 190 Octane. The last time Keith had seen the place, it was a run-down saloon frequented by killers and thieves. The sign on the front now read B.B.’S, but Keith would recognize Black Magnolia’s anywhere.
“Say, is that the Magnolia?” Keith asked as he stopped in front of the bar. The location brought back memories of when he was a wild youth, getting involved in things he shouldn’t have.
“It used to be, but you see what they’ve turned it into now,” Bug said in disgust.
“I haven’t been inside this spot in years. I gotta go in and see if they still make the strongest One-Ninety in the Quarter.” Keith started toward the door, but Bug stopped him.
“We’ll pump you full of all the liquor you want when we get with the rest of the crew, but we ain’t going in there. We ain’t welcome,” Bug informed him.
“Why not? This has been a Savage family hangout since before you were born.”
“Things have changed since the last time you walked the Quarter, Killer. We stick with our own, and the muthafuckas in that spot ain’t our own,” Bug warned.
“That’s bullshit, Bug. Whatever clan foolishness y’all have got going on has nothing to do with me, and I’m not gonna let it stop me from having a drink in a place that was once like my second home.” Keith ignored Bug’s warning and stepped inside.
B.B.’s was much nicer than Black Magnolia’s had been. The old pillars had been knocked down, clearing space for a dance floor, and now there were two bars instead of one. Three large flat-screen televisions hung behind the bar, and all of them were tuned to the basketball game. Bug and Anthony hung by the door, screw facing everyone who wandered too close to them. Keith, on the other hand, made himself at home. He found an empty stool and ordered a 190 Octane from the attractive bartender. It was a cool spot, and Keith couldn’t understand why Bug had been so adamant about not going inside. He would find out halfway through his drink.
“I’ve seen a lot of things in my young life, but until now I’ve never laid eyes on a ghost,” a feminine voice called from behind him.
Keith turned on his stool, expecting to find some young chippie looking to try her hand with the new guy, so he was unprepared for the person he would lay eyes on. She was dark skinned, the color of natural chocolate. Booty shorts strained so much around her thick thighs that the seams threatened to burst. She now wore her hair in a short natural cut that suited her round face . . . a face that Keith had loved since he was a teenager and had never forgotten.
“Darla!” he gasped, not sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him or not.
Darla was across the room in two strides, and before Keith knew what was happening, she had leapt into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Please tell me this is real and you ain’t a dream?”
“No, it’s really me.” Keith let her linger in his arms. He had forgotten how much he loved the touch of her. After an awkward few moments, she released her grip and climbed off his lap.
“When I heard tales that you were coming home to us, I thought it was a lie, but here you are, back where you belong!” Darla said, wiping tears of joy from the corners of her eyes.
“I ain’t back, just passing through. Came to pay my respects to my cousin,” Keith said coolly. He was thrilled to see Darla, but he hadn’t forgotten her abrupt departure and how long it had taken him to pick up the pieces of his broken heart.
“I heard Big Money passed. Please give your family my condolences,” Darla said sincerely.
“So, how long you been back?” Keith asked.
“A few years. After we had to leave New Orleans, we settled in Mississippi for a time. Things were okay until Daddy got fired from his job and we had to move again. We stayed in Texas until Daddy got himself killed,” Darla replied, filling him in.
“Somebody finally put Charlie’s old, mean ass in the ground, huh?” Keith hadn’t meant to sound so cold. It was just the way it had come out.
“Got caught creeping with another man’s wife. The guy shot him dead while he was still inside her,” Darla revealed.
“Damn. That’s cold. Sorry to hear it.”
“It’s okay. Not like we all didn’t see it coming. My father wasn’t a good man.”
“Tell me about it.” Keith flexed the arm that Charlie had broken all those years ago. “So did your brothers and sisters come back to New Orleans with you?”
“After Daddy got killed, we all kind of drifted apart. Marcus is down in Florida, and the twins are living up in Boston. New Orleans held too many bad memories for us.”
“So what made you come back?”
Darla shrugged. “I guess because it’s the only place that ever felt like home. And it beat how I was living. I went through a fe
w rough patches while trying to make it on my own. When things got really bad, I figured the best thing was for me and my son to come home.”
“Your what?” Keith wasn’t sure he’d heard her right.
“My son,” she repeated. From the look on his face, she knew this had come as a surprise. “I assumed your sister, Maxine, had told you. She helped us out a lot when we first came back.”
“No. She left that part out when she was bringing me up to speed. So, how old is he?”
“Five, going on fifty.” She laughed. “I swear that boy has been here before. He’s smart as a whip too.”
“I’ll bet his dad is proud,” Keith said unenthusiastically.
“I wouldn’t know. He cut out not long after he found out I was pregnant.”
“Sorry to hear it.”
“Don’t be. We made that baby more out of lust than love. Besides Kyle, there is only one other man that will occupy a space in my heart.” She made sure to look Keith in the eyes when she said it. “But enough about me. What’s going on with you? I hear you’re a hotshot lawyer in Atlanta now.”
“I don’t know if I’d call myself a hotshot, but I’ve got a pretty decent track record,” Keith said modestly.
“I’m glad to hear it, but not surprised. One thing I always knew about you, Killer, is that you were going to make something of your life. You always had dreams bigger than New Orleans, and I’m glad you got to see them through. So how do you like living in Atlanta?”
“It’s not New Orleans, but it’s cool. It suits me.”
“Bet you got at least half a dozen ladies trying to get your attention.”
Keith smirked. “You know how that goes. Women outnumber men three to one in the A, but I only got eyes for one . . . Her name is Bernadette.”
“Oh.” The revelation stung Darla, as Keith had intended it to. “I hope she realizes how lucky she is to have you.”
“She does,” Keith said, reflecting on Bernie and how she had always been in his corner through thick and thin. It made him miss her even more.
There was an awkward silence between them.
“Keith, you know I never had a chance to explain to you what happened that night after junior prom.”
“You don’t owe me no explanations, Darla. Your dad made you guys move. Nothing you could have done to stop it.”
“But there’s more to it than that. I didn’t want to leave. I swear to you, I didn’t. Even when we got to Mississippi, I tried to call you, but my dad caught me and beat me damn near to death, then kept me locked in the basement until I healed. Took nearly two weeks. I had to sneak the card I sent you to the postman in order to get it out. That summer, when I was well enough, I ran off and came back to the only people who I knew would take me in and keep me safe. Your family.”
“What?”
“I showed up on your doorstep with nothing but the clothes on my back and hope in my heart. I begged your mama to let me see you so I could explain what had happened, but she turned me away. She blamed me for the fight between you and Daddy. She called me a whore and told me that I was trying to ruin your future. She even pulled that old machine gun on me and told me that if I ever showed up on her property again, she would fill me with holes. Didn’t she ever tell you?”
Keith was too stunned to answer. All these years he had resented Darla for leaving him the way she had, never knowing that she had tried to come back to him. He wanted to call her a liar, but he knew that she wasn’t, because he knew his mother. No woman would ever be good enough for her son. Just like that, all his old resentments toward his mother forced their way to the surface. “I’m so sorry,” was all he could say.
“That ain’t on you, Killer. Though the way she went about it was fucked up, I know your mother was only trying to protect you. You had a bright future, and me and my bullshit had no place in your life. Had she let me in, you probably wouldn’t have gone on to accomplish all that you have.” She sobbed. This time the tears flowed freely. “Look at me, going all to pieces like a silly schoolgirl.”
“Don’t cry, Darla. You know I hate it when you’re hurting.” He wiped her tears away with his thumbs.
“Now, ain’t this a touching sight.” A masculine voice was added to the conversation.
Keith looked up and saw another blast from the past making his way toward them. He was a powerfully built man with a shaved head and skin the color of night. Tattoos covered his face, head, and arms. In his nose was a gold hoop earring.
“Beau,” Darla said nervously and moved away from Keith.
“Don’t break up your little reunion on my account.” Beau’s hard eyes went from Darla to Keith. “The porters told me they had taken the trash out, but apparently, they missed some. How you be, Killer?”
“I’m good,” Keith said in a clipped tone. He and Beau had been rivals since they were kids. Beau’s family, the Toussaints, and the Savages had been at each other for decades, though neither of them could tell you exactly why. More often than not, Keith and Beau had found themselves on opposite sides in fistfights. The last Keith had heard, Beau Toussaint was locked up on a murder charge, but apparently, the rumor had been just that.
“Keith is back home for his cousin Big Money’s funeral,” Darla said nervously, trying to defuse the situation.
“Looks like he’s come home for more than that.” Beau pulled Darla roughly to him and cupped her ass. He was marking his territory. “You enjoying my hospitalities, Killer?”
“Not sure what you mean, Beau. I just popped in here for a drink,” Keith replied.
“That’s what I’m talking about. You know I own this joint now, right?”
“Nope, can’t say that I did.”
“I persuaded old man Johnson to sell it to me and remade the place in my image. Ain’t it grand?” Beau boasted. Knowing him, that likely meant he had threatened or killed the man to take over his property.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Keith said, keeping his voice even. By then Bug and Anthony had spotted the confrontation and come over.
“Fuck you li’l niggas doing in my spot? Y’all know you’re too young to drink. You trying to cost me my liquor license?” Beau glared at the two youngsters.
“Cousin Keith wanted to come in and get a drink. He doesn’t understand how things are now,” Anthony said sheepishly. He was clearly afraid of Beau, and with good reason.
“But the two of you do. Maybe you should’ve pulled his coat. We wouldn’t want ole Killer to wander into the wrong spot and find himself in a bad way, would we?”
Fire Bug spoke up. “We’re Savages, and we go where we please.”
“Not in the Quarter, you don’t,” Beau said threateningly. Two members of his security team had appeared behind him. The situation was getting tense. “You should know the rules. Or maybe my boys need to explain them to you again?”
“Or I could get Mad Dog down here, and you could explain them to him,” Fire Bug countered, bluffing. The sound of Mad Dog’s name stole some of Beau’s thunder. The last time Mad Dog had jumped on him, it had resulted in Beau needing almost thirty stitches in the back of his head.
“I came in here for a drink, not to have a pissing contest,” Keith said. “Let me settle my tab, and we’re gone.” He reached into his pocket, but Beau stopped him.
“Savage money don’t spend in B.B.’s. This drink is on the house,” Beau said, but what he was really telling them was to leave before things got nasty.
“C’mon, Killer. It smells in this joint, anyhow,” Fire Bug muttered.
Keith took another swig of his drink before slamming the glass on the bar, purposely splashing liquor on it. He gave Beau one last look before following Bug and Anthony to the door.
“See you again soon, Killer!” Beau shouted after him.
“Not if I see you first,” Keith grumbled and then made his exit.
* * *
“What was that shit?” Keith asked Fire Bug once they were outside.
“I tried to te
ll you not to go in there,” Bug replied. “Since Beau took over that joint, it’s been a no-fly zone for anyone with the last name Savage.”
“Fuck Beau. I’m talking about Darla. Did you know she would be there tonight?”
“Darla goes wherever her master does, like the good little bitch dog she is!” Bug spat.
“Watch your mouth,” Keith warned him.
“Killer, I know you ain’t still stunting that ho. She was dead to us the minute she started sleeping with the enemy. Forget about her. They’ll be plenty of chicks when we link with my gang.”
“I changed my mind. I’m gonna grab a cab and go back to the house.” Keith stormed off.
“C’mon, Killer. Don’t be like that!” Bug called after him, but Keith ignored him.
Keith was on fire. He had moved on with his life, and Darla had a right to do the same. But with Beau? She could’ve picked any number of men to be with, but the fact that she had chosen his childhood enemy was the ultimate betrayal in his mind. At that moment he could’ve walked back in the bar and killed Beau and Darla too. The demons buried in Keith’s soul were chattering at a million miles per minute, demanding blood. If he didn’t get out of the Quarter as quickly as possible, he would surely answer them.
CHAPTER 16
A loud boom outside his window jarred King James awake. Still half asleep and acting more on instinct than on conscious thought, King rolled from his bed and grabbed his gun from the nightstand drawer and crept to the window. When he looked out the window, he expected to see enemies closing in on him, but the streets were empty, save for a man dressed in an MTA uniform, who was making his way to work. He heard a boom again, and it drew his attention heavenward, where thick clouds blocked out the rising sun. It was thunder and not gunshots he’d heard. There was a storm coming.
King stood there for a minute, waiting for the adrenaline coursing through his body to dissipate. He wondered if he would ever get used to the quiet East Side neighborhood where he’d rented a tenth-floor apartment. King had gotten so used to living in the chaos of the prison system and the projects where he held sway that he was having trouble adjusting to the peace of his new neighborhood.
