Last Bitch Standing

by Deja King

  When I opened the door, I headed straight for his mahogany desk. There were a lot of folders and a ton of paperwork, but it was mostly business contracts, legal correspondence-nothing I gave a fuck about. I continued to go through his drawers, being very careful to leave everything in place. Luckily, Supreme wasn't one of those anal types that had all his shit in perfect order.

  Finally, something caught my eye, the reason being because it was bank documentation, but it wasn't in Supreme's name. It was some company called Direct Express Enterprises. There were a ton of large deposits being made, but the bizarre part was that they were all going to the same account, to a person by the name of Arnez Douglass. It was as if a dummy account was set up just to transfer money to this one individual. Hmmm, who in the world is Arne Douglass, and why is Supreme giving him all this fuckin' money? I wrote the dude's name down and the address associated with his account on a post-it, because he was clearly somebody of importance if Supreme was hitting him off with this sort of cash. I checked around one last time to make sure everything was in place before leaving. After locking the door, I went back upstairs to my bedroom to make a call.

  "Hey, Steve."

  "You can't possibly think I have some new information for you already. I just got off the phone with you less than an hour ago."

  "No, of course not. I need you to do something else for me."

  "Is it pertaining to the case I'm already on?"

  "No, it's something different."

  "Different case, different money."

  "Have you had any problems getting paid from me so far?"

  "No, and I want to keep it that way."

  "You worry about doing what I've hired you to do, and let me worry about the money. Are we clear?"

  "We're clear. So, what do you need?"

  "You have a pen?"

  "Yep."

  "Okay, write this name and address down," I said, speaking slowly and clearly so he wrote the shit down accurately.

  "So, who is Arnez Douglass?"'

  "That's what I'm going to pay you to find out."

  "So, you know nothing about him?"

  "Nope. How long is it going to take you?"

  "Not sure, but give me at least a couple of days."

  "I can do that. IT be waiting."

  When I got off the phone, I laid back on the bed and stared up at the soaring ceiling. I was now consumed with knowing everything I could about this Arnez guy. I had a feeling that whoever he was, Supreme would've preferred it if he remained a secret. But secrets are never safe with me, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

  We had been by the spot Curtis gave us for a few days straight, and there was no sign of Devon. After the second day, I was ready to go back to Curtis' crib and stomp his ass, but Nico convinced me to make sure we had been conned before lashing out. So, by us staking out the location each day all day, we pretty much knew the routine of mail delivery.

  On the fourth day, since we knew the mail person was a middle-aged woman, we decided to use Nico as bait. I hid in the car while he pretended to be going into the building where Devon supposedly lived. He turned on his charm and flirted with the mail lady. She ate that shit up. Nico convinced her that he was a family member who was now staying at the apartment, and he would be more than happy to take the mail. From what I could see, he didn't have to do too much convincing. She practically stuffed the mail down his shirt, along with her phone number. And to my surprise, Curtis had told the truth, because the mail was addressed to Devon. We figured Devon was out of town, either for business or personal, and we would have to wait it out.

  "Yo, I was considering doing something, but I wanted to see how you felt about it first," Nico said, as we sat in the rental car across the street, watching Devon's crib.

  "Ask me."

  "I wanted to call CoCo and see if she knew any information on this Delondo cat, since Devon work for him. I mean, if he's supposed to be a major nigga in the drug game for Philly, and she's in the same business, maybe she can be helpful."

  "Like instead of us sitting here every damn day twiddling our thumbs waiting for the fuck to show up, she may actually be able to tell us an exact day... helpful like that?"

  "I don't know if she could tell us the day, but something. Maybe Devon got another spot he rests at that Curtis don't know nothing about. But what I do know is this Philly drug game is very cliquish, and everybody be watching how each clique moves."

  "But you know mad people here. Ain't nobody else you can call besides CoCo that might have some useful info?"

  "Yeah, I do know a lot of people here, but with CoCo I can trust she won't run off at the mouth, making announcements that I'm inquiring about homeboy."

  "So, you trust her?"

  Are you jealous? Because you don't have any reason to be."

  "Don't flatter yourself. I just want to have as few people in our shit as possible. But if you trust her, then make the call." And that's what he did. I could hear her through the phone, acting all extra excited to hear from Nico. I had to admit that it )))as jealousy making me catch an attitude, because the chick hadn't did shit to me, and I couldn't stand her ass.

  "That was a quick conversation. I guess she didn't know shit."

  "It's not that. She wants us to talk in person. With her getting caught up in that fed shit and being locked up, she don't like to discuss nobody who is affiliated with the drug game on the phone."

  "That's understandable. So, are we about to meet up with her now?"

  "No, she's in the middle of some business at the moment. She said tonight would be better for her. But I know you're probably tired and could use the rest, so you don't have to come with me. I can handle it on my own."

  "I'm good. We can go together. This a team effort, remember?"

  "Of course, and you know I always enjoy your company. So, do you want to head back to the hotel, rest a little bit before we head out tonight?"

  "That works for me."

  When we got back to the hotel, I went in my room and took a long hot shower. I needed the time alone to try and clear my mind, if only for a few minutes. But instead of thinking about absolutely nothing, I wondered what Aaliyah was doing at the very moment, and if Supreme was holding her. I missed the two of them to the point that pain had almost become numb. It was as if my heart had built a shield around it, because if I actually continued to feel how much it ached, I would die from heartbreak.

  What made it worse was that I knew Supreme had fucked Maya. I remember vividly how she rubbed it in my face. Devon held my body firmly while Maya beat the shit outta me with those brass knuckles, and taunted me about her getting dicked down by my husband. I could tell by the look in her eyes and the venom in her voice that it was true. I also knew that she didn't have his heart-which belonged to me and always would. But it didn't make it any easier to accept. But Supreme and I had been through so much, and this was another hurdle we would overcome together... or so I hoped.

  But I wasn't naive to the fact that a lot of damage had been done on both parts. He knew about my indiscretion with Nico, and with all the poison Maya had drenched on him, Supreme was probably convinced I was somewhere laid up with Nico right now, getting my fuck on. It would take all my strength and his to salvage our marriage, and with the more time that passed with us apart, the more worried I was becoming.

  When I stepped out of the shower, the hot water hadn't washed away any of the burdens placed upon me. If anything, it made them worse. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and thought back to being held captive in that house, and the first time Mike let me take a shower. When I first saw my face again after all that time, it almost startled me. I barely recognized myself. Here I was again, feeling the same way, but this time for a different reason. No longer were my cheeks sunken, or dark circles around my eyes, or my complexion dull from being deprived of sunlight. In fact, many would say I was glowing and looked radiant due to my deep tan, courtesy of the hot summer weather. But I knew better. T
he fire in my eyes was slowly simmering out, and it was because everything I loved seemed to be slipping further out of my grasp.

  King... ring... ring

  "Hello."

  "How long will it take you to get ready?"

  "I thought you said we weren't meeting up with homegirl for at least a couple of hours."

  "CoCo just called and said she wrapped up shit sooner than she anticipated and we could meet now"

  "Give me thirty minutes," I said, ending the call. I wondered if CoCo was rushing Nico, thinking he was coming solo, or if she knew I would also be in attendance. Just in case she didn't, I decided to put on the only one cute dress I brought with me. All my other clothes were street gear, since none of my recent trips had been for pleasure. But I figured for emergency purposes, a woman should always come prepared with at least one sexy item, and this one was mine.

  Exactly thirty minutes later, Nico came knocking on my door, and lucky for him, I was dressed and ready to go.

  "Wow, you look incredible," were the first words out of his mouth when I opened the door. "For the last couple of months all I've seen you in is sweats and sneakers. I almost forgot how hot you are."

  "Funny!"

  "I'm joking. You know I love your casual aroundthe-way-girl look. But this is nice too. I hope you dressed up for my benefit."

  "Let's go. We don't want to keep your friend, CoCo waiting."

  When we pulled up to a restaurant in Center City, I was actually hungry, which was surprising to me since my appetite had been pretty much void lately. "This spot is cute, like they may have some good food in here."

  "You're hungry?" I could understand why Nico sounded astounded.

  "Yep! And trust me, you can't be more surprised than I am. So instead of dwelling on it, I'ma try to enjoy a fuckin' great ass meal. Hopefully they have a big juicy steak."

  "Damn, you really are hungry. Good for you!" Nico laughed, playfully nudging me on our way into the restaurant.

  When we got inside, there was a hostess greeting us with huge smile. "Welcome. Are there only two in your party?"

  "Actually..."

  "Nico, over here!" CoCo stood up, waving her hand before he finished his sentence, but now there was no need to. The hostess trailed behind us with two menus, and put them down on the table once we sat down.

  After hugging up on Nico, CoCo turned her attention to me. "Precious, what a cute dress you're wearing."

  "Thank you," I said, dryly.

  "Nico, I'm glad you were able to meet up with me. I know this is supposed to be strictly about what's going on with you, but I couldn't help but try and take advantage of this time and discuss a little business."

  "I wouldn't expect anything less from you, CoCo. If you didn't do that, I would say you were slipping."

  "And you know that ain't happening. I'm always about my business. Speaking of business, here comes my partner now"

  My back was towards the door so I couldn't see who her partner was, and honestly, I didn't fucking give a shit. Nico might've not cared that she managed to turn this dinner into her own personal business meeting, but I wanted to reach across the table and slap the chick so hard it would knock out the two carat clear rocks adorning her ears.

  "Nico, Precious, this is Genesis, my business partner."

  The very first thought that popped into my head when my eyes landed on Genesis was God had truly been good to that man. He was unbelievably gorgeous. And trust me, I knew gorgeous men, because both Nico and Supreme were running strong in the race for the looks department. But the dude standing before me had something special that I had never witnessed in another man. I don't know if it was called swagger, the X-factor... but whatever it was, Genesis was winning the race with it hands down.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you both. CoCo has spoken very highly of you, Nico," Genesis continued, as he shook Nico's hand. "I hope we'll be able to do business together."

  "Same here."

  "I apologize for running late, but I had to put my son to sleep. He's so stubborn," Genesis said, affectionately.

  "No problem, we just got here ourselves," Nico let him know.

  "How is my baby?" CoCo smiled, gazing lovingly into Genesis' eyes.

  "You all have a child together?" That shit slipped out so quickly that I hoped it didn't come off as if I sounded surprised.

  "No, but I always refer to Amir as my baby."

  "Truth is, you have become like a mother to him since the day he was born," Genesis stated as he gently touched CoCo's hand.

  There were so many questions running through my head, mainly like; where was the child's birth mother? Because there was no way in the world any sane woman would leave a man like him. But that was none of my motherfuckin' business, so I opted to keep my mouth shut.

  "Thank you. You know I love him like he was my own." I was trying to get a read on their relationship but it was tricky. I couldn't tell if they were fucking or if the closest CoCo had gotten was only making love to Genesis in her mind.

  "That's a beautiful thing, CoCo. It's nice hearing about this motherly side of you. Normally with you, it's straight business, but I see you got a sensitive side for the babies," Nico teased.

  "Enough of this. Let's get back to business," CoCo slightly giggled. "So, before we discuss the proposal we have about our shit, let's discuss what you need to know"

  "Ms. Armstrong, will you be having your customary bottle of champagne for the table?" the waiter asked, interrupting my curiosity of needing to know if CoCo and Genesis relationship was platonic or not.

  "Yes, unless the two of you would like something else instead."

  "Champagne is fine with me. How about you, Precious?"

  "It's fine with me too."

  "Wonderful. I'll be back shortly with your champagne and to take your orders."

  "Thank you, Roberto."

  "My pleasure, Ms. Armstrong."

  "Now, back to you," CoCo said, directing her attention back to Nico. "You wanted to get some information on Delondo."

  "I really needed some information on someone who works for Delondo. His name is Devon."

  "I can easily find out that information for you. Delondo is a major player out here. One of his lieutenants is actually very cool with one of our top workers. We're considering merging on some business together, but details haven't been worked out."

  "Well, I'ma be straight up with you. I have no beef with the dude Delondo, but the nigga, Devon is a problem that needs to be taken care of. I'm letting you know in case that will jeopardize whatever you're trying to make happen over there."

  "No, I can't see that being a problem. The nigga, Devon can't be an important member of his team, because I haven't heard of him. Have you, Genesis?"

  "No, I haven't."

  "If you don't mind me asking, why is finding this Devon person so important?" CoCo inquired.

  "Because we're looking for a young lady named Maya Owens, and Devon might be able to help us locate her."

  "Maya Owens," Genesis said, with a hint of interest in his voice.

  "Yes, do you know her?" I directed my question right at Genesis, locking eyes with him.

  "No, I don't."

  Without skipping a beat, Nico continued on, and CoCo was giving him her full attention, but Genesis, not so much. He had now become lost in his own thoughts, and I knew it was because he was lying. He did know a Maya, and I had a strong feeling it was the same Maya we were looking for.

  "Excuse me for one second, I have to make a phone call," I heard Genesis whisper to CoCo before excusing himself from the table. The two of them were so enthralled in their conversation that when I told Nico that I had to use the restroom, he smiled at me, nodded his head, and kept talking.

  I couldn't get out my seat fast enough. I made a direct beeline to Genesis, who was in the corner of the hallway trying to have a discreet conversation. His back was facing away from me, so I tried to sneak and see if I could hear anything he was saying, but dude was talking too low
. He kept the call short, and when he was done, I made my move.

  "Genesis, how do you know Maya?" I kept my tone even and firm.

  "I told you, I don't know a Maya. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

  I shifted my body, positioning it so that I almost had him boxed in. "I know you don't give a damn about me."

  "I don't even know you."

  "Exactly. That's why I know you don't give a damn... and it's cool. But what's not cool is if you don't tell me what you know about Maya. Her treacherous ass is with my husband and my daughter, and I need to find them before it's too late."

  "I don't understand."

  "What the fuck don't you understand? Your little son that you were just gushing over a few minutes ago, well that's how the fuck I feel about my own daughter! And Maya has schemed to the lowest level to keep me away from her and Supreme. Now, if you have some information that can get me back to my family, then you need to tell me."

  "So you're Supreme's wife."

  "That's right, I am."

  "Precious Cummings-excuse me-I mean Precious Mills. It's nice to finally place the name with the face."

  As I lounged by the pool in my taupe suede string bikini, which was clearly made to prance around in and not for swimming purposes, I wondered how long it would take to catch Supreme's attention. I had lathered my body in baby oil so my skin was glistening. At first, I was even going to put on some open-toe stilettos, but felt that would make this entire setup too obvious. But trying to seduce him in this scorching heat was starting to get the best of me. But I had no other way to pull this shit off. I couldn't walk around the house butt-ass-naked. That would surely send the "desperate" bells ringing. Lounging by the pool on a hot summer afternoon was very conceivable, even if I didn't know how to swim.

  As the time kept ticking away, Supreme was nowhere to be seen. Luckily I had brought out plenty bottles of water to make this situation not so unbearable. But the more the heat beat down on me, the rawer my nerves became. Where the fuck is this nigga at? I know he took Aaliyah out for breakfast, but that was hours ago. He play too Much. Don't he know 1 ,got a seduction going on today?