“So what’s up with you and your girl Alyssa? I thought you’d be marrying her for sure by now.” She changed the subject.
“Yeah, right.” He burst into laughter and flagged her with his right hand. “You know damn well that girl ain’t the marrying type.”
“Hell, I thought that’s the kind of woman you like, that’s all I ever see you with.” She laughed.
“That’s because the woman of my dreams isn’t available at the moment.” He gave a devilish grin.
Black came over to the table and interrupted the conversation. Diamond, relieved, quickly stood from her chair and grabbed Black’s arm as he led her out to the dance floor. Tommy sat in the chair, sipping his Hennessy and Coke. As Black spun Diamond around on the floor and a crowd formed a circle to cheer them on, Tommy stared at the couple, imagining standing in Black’s spot. He’d already taken the reins running the drug business, but Diamond would be the icing on the cake. Tommy was confident that the time would come when she’d need him and he would patiently wait for that day. For him, that would be the ultimate accomplishment.
As the time neared 2:00 A.M. the crowd began to disperse, and some of their guests grabbed trash cans to assist with the cleanup. Black sat drinking the last few drops of his Grey Goose vodka while Diamond and a few of her friends walked into the bathroom. Kiki, noticeably absent, had decided against attending the event after an argument with Diamond days earlier. Usually, the two had been able to squash their squabbles but this argument had morphed into more of a dual. The two had never been so distant and angry at one another. Though Diamond wanted everyone to believe she didn’t care, the separation had taken a toll on her. She’d lost the one person she had always been able to talk to. She was now forced to keep all of her concerns, wants, needs, and aspirations to herself. Their small circle of friends had been waiting all night for the perfect time to question Diamond about her missing BFF. Finally, as they all headed into the ladies’ room, they would get the chance that they’d been waiting for.
Diamond stood in front of the mirror re-touching her makeup and making sure her hair was perfect. The group of woman stood at different spots, all with the same question lingering in their minds. Diamond was always pretty quiet when it came to her personal business and not one of them was sure what they could ask without pissing her off. But, as they stood around the room appearing as if they had huge question marks over their heads, it was pretty evident that something was on their minds. Diamond realized that they were all just a bit too quiet and decided to break the silence to see what the hell was going on. Though she knew that most people didn’t know how to approach her, she still believed that she was one of the easiest people to talk to.
“If someone wants to ask me a question, just do it. Standing there staring at each other won’t get the answer that you are looking for.” She paused to pucker her lips and apply her lip gloss. “I know it’s about Kiki so what is it that you all want to know?”
All of the women appeared shocked and shook their heads as if they weren’t concerned. Jasmine, the older of the bunch, stepped up and walked closer to where Diamond was standing. If there was one of them bold enough to go toe to toe with Diamond, it was Jasmine. The other three—Sydney, Palace, and Octavia—weren’t as outspoken.
“Well yes, we do have a question. Kiki is supposed to be your best friend right? So, we really can’t understand what could have been so important that she would miss your anniversary celebration.”
Diamond shook her head briefly before grabbing a paper towel to dab off some of the excess gloss. “Jasmine, I think you just answered your own question with that statement, ‘supposed to be.’ Obviously she isn’t, if she would miss one of the most important days of my life. Now, I don’t cry over spilled milk because, honestly, she’ll need me long before I need her. It’s just sad that she would let a minor disagreement ruin our friendship after being my friend for so long. That makes me believe she was never really my friend to begin with.” Diamond was now using her comb to tame the fly-aways in her hair.
The group of girls remained quiet, not wanting to press the issue any further. It was clearly a sore subject and rather than causing Diamond to feel as if she was being attacked, each of them believed it would be best to just drop it for the moment, knowing that it would all come up again in the future.
Jasmine, just as quickly as she asked the “Kiki” question, changed the subject. “Well, now that that’s settled, what I really wanna know is where the hell the after-party is going down because I’m still fired up. I’m not ready to call it night just yet. And besides, I need to find a nice piece of meat to go home with if you know what I mean.” She giggled while swirling her hips.
“I know that’s right,” Palace, who was also Jasmine’s sister, agreed and slapped Jasmine a high five.
“I don’t know but I’m sure Black isn’t ready to go in either, so follow us and we can make sure wherever we decide to go everyone makes it into the VIP section,” Diamond said as she returned all of her beauty tools to her bag and headed toward the door.
The group followed her as she walked through the ballroom and out of the front door, where Black and all of the other partygoers were standing. Luxury cars lined every edge of the street and they were so amped you could hear their chatter around the corner. Diamond loved seeing her man happy and it was at that moment she realized that they did the right thing by leaving the drug game. Her eyes were locked on Black as she switched as hard as she could and walked in his direction.
Once he noticed her, he rubbed the hairs on his chin and smiled. He had every intention of bending her over and waxing her ass all over their home that evening. His dick was getting hard from just the thought and he quickly adjusted his pants, hoping that no one noticed his quickly growing bulge.
“So where are we headed, babe?” she said, standing so close to him he could feel her breath tickling his skin. The sweet scent of her Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy perfume was flowing freely up his nostrils. “The girls were hoping we could swing by Vault since they are open until three-thirty. I know I’m not ready to call it a night so I was hoping that you weren’t either.” She smiled as he caressed her arm softly with his hand.
He was silent for a few seconds as his mind was totally consumed with how much he loved her. He’d never met a woman whom he would die for, literally. There was no limit to the things that he would do for her and he was positive that she felt the same way. “That’s cool with me if that’s what you wanna do,” he finally replied.
“That’s not all I wanna do, just what I wanna do at the moment.” She giggled and playfully tugged at the bottom of her dress.
“Is that right?” he asked, adjusting his pants once again to hide his protruding manhood.
She laughed as she looked down at his crotch and back at his face. “Well let’s go, before we end up ass naked in the back of this car.”
“Yeah, we better.” He smiled as he stood up off of his car. “Yo, Tommy, let’s roll out, man. The ladies wanna hit Vault before we take it down.”
Tommy nodded and obediently walked over to his car and ordered everyone else in their crew to do the same. Just like a funeral procession they all drove off one by one with Center City their destination.
Diamond sat in the passenger seat comfortably as they made their way through the city. Every so often she’d glance over at Black and smile. If there was anyone on this earth that she loved more than her baby girl, Dior, it was Black. Visions of their past flashed before her eyes. She felt blessed to be where she was at that moment, especially after all of the wrong that she had done to get there. If you would have asked her three years ago where she thought she’d be today she would’ve most likely shrugged her shoulders and said she didn’t know, but if you asked her this day where she would be in three more years she would say happily ever after with Black.
Unfortunately, when you were on top there was always someone at the bottom clawing at your cuffs to pull you back down. With
a jagged past and more enemies than they could keep up with, there could be someone lurking behind every corner, waiting for that brief second when they’d let their guard down. Diamond knew that they still had a lot more to do before “officially” being done with the drug life, but she wanted to enjoy this bliss as long as she possibly could.
Chapter Two
Brass Knuckles
Two men occupied a small eight-by-twelve concrete cell. Photos of hip hop video vixens and scantly clad female emcees covered the walls, with small pieces of tape holding them in place at each corner. One of the men was sprawled out on a metal-framed twin bed with a thin polyester mattress so hard it almost resembled the metal frame that lay beneath it. The man—dark skinned, weighing 230 pounds, all muscle, and standing six foot three inches tall—was resting his left hand behind his head and on top of the pillow. In his right hand, a book, Strength to Love by Martin Luther King Jr., had his full attention. One quote rang true: “All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.” As he dragged his eyes across the pages of this 1963 release, he could only compare the statements to his own experiences. For him, every moment in his life was precarious and even the most detailed plan could crumble at any given moment, which was why he always prepared a plan B in the event that things went horribly wrong.
The second man, a mix of Puerto Rican and African American, almost resembling his cellmate in height and weight, was sitting up on the edge of his neatly made bed, with a black-and-white composition book in his right hand and a pencil in the other. On the pages were handwritten notes. The meaning of the notes was only understood by the two men who’d shared living quarters for the past two years.
“Yo, why are you always reading, man? Hell, at least read some shit that’s interesting,” Reed blurted out, breaking the eerie silence that had filled the room for the past hour.
“’Cause it ain’t shit else to do. Might as well learn some shit while I’m still on this earth,” Johnny replied, still keeping his eyes on the book.
“Aww, man, it’s plenty to do like going over this plan, my nigga. I’m trying to make sure this shit is airtight. I don’t want to end up back in here rooming wit’ your ass.” He laughed.
“Right now ain’t the time for that shit. You see niggas walking up and down the block don’t you? If you don’t keep that shit on the low you’ll definitely end up back in here. I’m going to die in here so I ain’t got shit to lose. You on the other hand are just weeks away from freedom so keep that in mind.”
Reed shook his head and closed the notebook before stuffing it under his pillow. He thought about how close he was to freedom and compared it to the life he’d lived for the past two years. Before he was booked his life was as close to perfect as a life could get. He was well known in the streets and had a team who ruled the drug game in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware also known as the tri-state area. Now, his wife was out there fending for herself after his team dispersed to different sets. Without a leader, the empire that he’d built from the ground up quickly crumbled to bits and pieces. Luckily, he had a few loyal men who had maintained his relationships with his suppliers and kept a steady flow of narcotics and cash flowing while he was away. He was anxious to get back on top and with Johnny’s help he was going to do just that.
Thinking back, he reminisced about the good times. Hanging out partying, spending money, and sexing beautiful and exotic women left and right. Now, a normal day consisted of washing dishes, playing basketball, working out in the yard, and hanging out in the cell with Johnny. He had no privacy—he couldn’t even shit in peace. Even worse than boredom and the lack of serenity, he was being tested on a daily basis by other inmates who thought he was weak, or just felt like he had something that they wanted. Unfortunately for them he proved that he was far from weak each time he laid them out flat on their asses.
Unlike Johnny, Reed had a lot to live for; his wife, Raquel, and his five-year-old princess, Alyia, were all the inspiration he needed to keep going every day. A photo and vivid flashes of memories were all that kept him sane and it was them who were also what kept him from copping a murder charge behind bars. As the day neared when he could walk out of the hellhole that he’d been forced to call home and return to Philly to get things back on track, his anxiety became more evident.
His plan went beyond the tasks that Johnny wanted him to complete. He knew that he had to have another plan since Johnny’s motives were that of pure revenge. Making decisions on that alone could land you six feet under, or in prison for the rest of your life. Reed was determined to stay out of prison by any means necessary. He refused to be one of those statistics that you see on TV. Living with Johnny had taught him a lot. It showed him just how little a nigga with a grudge cared about the things he stood to lose. In his mind, he figured that it was a lonely place—one that he never wanted to take a trip to.
After a few minutes of dullness, Reed retrieved the notebook from under his pillow again but decided to read it silently rather than asking Johnny about it. He felt like a student preparing for a final exam or turning in a term paper. He wanted to be certain that he’d crossed every “t” and dotted every “i.” As he read the codes, which were scribbled on the pages, the symbol that represented the name of his main target stood out: Diamond. He wondered how a woman with a name so beautiful could wreak so much havoc on a man’s life that he’d want to destroy everything that she loved. He hadn’t seen a photo of her just yet, but by the way that Johnny described her he could imagine her without even one glance.
“So can I ask you a question, man?” Reed once again broke the silence and interrupted Johnny’s concentration on the book that he was reading.
Closing the book and sitting up on the edge of the bed, Johnny asked, “What, man? It’s obvious that you aren’t going to let me finish my daily reading so go ahead and ask. This shit better be good, too, for you to interrupt me twice while I’m gaining some knowledge,” he said, annoyed.
“Were you ever in love with this girl? I’m just curious because there has to be some sort of feelings in order to hate a person so much.” Reed could tell by the look on Johnny’s face that he was annoying him but he didn’t care; he just wanted to learn as much about her as he could.
“Yeah, I loved her. She was my first love, hell my only love. Shit she was my girlfriend when I got arrested. Shit, I thought we would have been together forever. I thought she would stay down for me while I was locked away but it wasn’t until my letters went unanswered that I realized how far from reality that actually was.” He paused and shook his head. “My sister was my life and I felt like the biggest asshole on the planet when she told me how different Diamond had turned out to be. She looked me in the eye and said the girl I once knew and loved was long gone and would never return.”
“So, I’m still a little confused, because I still don’t get how a teenage love lost could cause so much anger and rage,” Reed replied honestly.
“Man, this ain’t got shit to do with teenage love. This bitch took away the one person who always had my back. My sister is dead because of her and now my mother has lost both of her children. I’m gonna die in here, man. If it’s the last thing I do before I take my final breath that bitch is gonna pay for what she’s done.”
Reed looked at him still longing for more information. He wanted to know what role she played in the death of his sister. He decided not to ask him any more questions at that moment because he could tell Johnny was on the verge of breaking down. Though all of his siblings were still living he could feel his pain. He knew, if put in the same situation, he would feel the exact same way.
Johnny looked over at Reed and let out a laugh. The laugh was intended to downplay the seriousness of the conversation with the hopes that he wouldn’t ask him any more questions. “Is that sufficient enough for you?” Johnny blurted out.
Laughing, Reed replied, “Yeah, man, for now, but we still got a lot more to talk about
, especially if you want me to risk my life to settle a score that isn’t even mine to begin with.”
“That’s fair enough, and I promise you will know everything there is to know about me, my past, and little Miss Diamond before your departure from Hotel Hell,” he said and extended his hand to shake on it.
Reed obliged and with that he closed the composition book once again and placed it back underneath the pillow for safekeeping. He wasn’t 100 percent satisfied with the information that he was given, but he knew that it made no sense to keep pressing a man who obviously had something to hide. “It’s cool, man, I’ll drop it for now, but we only have a few weeks to get things straight. Just keep in mind, I don’t like going into any situation blind, so I need any and all information no matter how small or unimportant it may seem to you. In order for me to do my job right you have to supply me with the proper tools. You know what I’m saying?”
“I know exactly what you’re saying and I got it. I hear your concerns loud and clear,” Johnny replied. With just a short time left before Reed would be released, Johnny knew he had a limited amount of time to give him a suitable explanation for taking a life. Saying that she was the reason Mica was dead wasn’t the same as her being the one who murdered her. Death by association clearly wasn’t enough for Reed, and Johnny had to cleverly lay out the clues without allowing Reed a moment to feel sorry for Diamond and change his mind. This was Johnny’s last chance since his health was quickly deteriorating and he never knew which day would ultimately be his last.
Reed lay across his bed and drifted off in deep thought, awake but with closed eyes. Quietly, he was thinking more about his own plan than Johnny’s. He knew that he needed to go through with it all in order to get the money that he needed to purchase the weight necessary for his own survival. As many times as he tried, he couldn’t figure out how to get the money without extortion or murder. Though he didn’t know Diamond, he did know his own wife and daughter, and because of that he couldn’t get completely comfortable with taking a mother away from her child, or vice versa. The way that he saw it, Johnny would be dying soon anyway and as far as he knew, he had no drug or gang ties to make any noise out on the streets. So, the key would be finding a way to make Johnny believe that the job was done just until he could take the money he needed and run. He also contemplated what he’d do if Johnny was actually setting him up to take a fall or, even worse, be murdered. He felt confident that his street smarts would assist him if he had to fight tooth and nail for his own life. However, there was always a chance that he could be blindsided and he had to expect the unexpected.
Black Diamond 3: Lucky Chance (Urban Books) Page 2
