Last Bitch Standing

by Deja King

  As I became more and more frustrated, I got jarred out my thoughts by the sound of my cell phone ringing.

  "Hello," I answered without even checking to see who was calling. I knew that only a handful of people had my new number after getting rid of the old one, which of course was done mainly to dodge Devon's ass.

  "I have good news and great news. Which one would you like first?"

  "Good news."

  "The good news is that I found out some interesting information about Arnez Douglass. Not to get into your personal business, but if he's someone you're interested in dating, stay the hell away from him."

  "Why?"

  "He's a drug lord and a dangerous one at that; although I've never heard of a harmless drug lord."

  My P.I. was borderline corny. So I gave him a pass. He didn't understand that words like `drug lord' and `dangerous' equaled intriguing to a bitch like me. "Continue."

  "His operations used to be based in Atlanta, but for the past year he's been operating out of Philadelphia, which leads me to the great news."

  "I'm waiting."

  "That is where Devon is now living. .in Philadelphia."

  "Really?"

  "Yes and," he stressed. "I have an address on him."

  "Steve, I'm very pleased with you today," I admitted in almost a singing tone.

  "I knew you would be. It might take me some time, but I'm very thorough and I always come through."

  "Yes, you do."

  "So what's my next move?"

  "You stay there and keep an eye on Devon until I'm able to come."

  "So, you're coming to Philadelphia?"

  "Exactly. I'm on the first flight out tomorrow. I'll let you know where to meet me so I can get the address from you and pay you your money."

  "Sounds like a worthwhile trip to me."

  "I figured you'd say that. I'll be in touch." Right when I was about to rejoice on the good news from Steve, Supreme finally decided to bring his ass home.

  "I see you're doing some sunbathing."

  "Yep, you know they say the sun energizes you."

  "Oh, I thought it just made you sweat." I sensed some sarcasm in his voice, but chose to ignore it.

  "So, where's Aaliyah? I missed her today," I lied, but it sounded good.

  "Sleep. After we went to eat, I took her to the park and she's exhausted."

  "I'm sure she loved spending time with her daddy.

  She always does."

  "Yeah, being with her makes everything feel right."

  For a brief moment, I almost felt guilty for being so jealous of Supreme's relationship with his daughter. It was obvious the nigga truly adored her, but instead of feeling happy for him, it made me disgusted. I mean damn, why couldn't I have grown up with a daddy that gave a fuck about me? Shit, growing up, my daddy wasn't even around. I had to count on Mike to fill them shoes, and he did a poor motherfucking job at it. He was too busy hustling in the streets to give a damn about me. All he would toss my way is some cash. Life is so fuckin' unfair, I thought.

  "I'm sure children do that for you. Hopefully, one day I'll have some of my own and I can experience it for myself."

  "It'll happen for you."

  Yeah, mothe fucker, if you would just get with the program and give me some dick! You re the hold up with the process, not me!

  "I think so too, but not right now. I have so much more I need to accomplish." I threw that at the nigga to put him at ease. If I told him I was looking to become "sperminated" immediately, he probably wouldn't even breathe in my direction again.

  "That's a good idea. You're young, and you should experience a lot more before settling down with a child."

  "My sentiments exactly." I smiled and turned over on my stomach so my plump ass was smacking dude in his face.

  "So, what's up with you tonight?"

  I could see Supreme trying his damnedest to look in every direction but the flesh of my oil downed glistening butt. "Packing."

  "You're going on a trip." He raised one of his eyebrows. I wasn't sure if it was out of surprise, or from disappointment.

  "I wouldn't call it a trip. My mom called me. She didn't sound too good. I think maybe she's lonely, so I told her I would come visit."

  "How long are you gonna be gone?"

  "A few days, unless you want me to stay longer?"

  "No, I was just curious. I think it's good you're going to spend some time with your mother. I know your relationship with her has never been good. It's never too late to change that."

  "True. I guess this trip will let me see if that's possible."

  "So, when are you leaving?"

  "Tomorrow morning."

  "That soon?"

  "If I didn't know better, I would think you were going to miss me." I was a tad flirty with my delivery to give Supreme and easy opening to reciprocate if he so desired.

  "It's nice having you around. .1 mean, you really help me out a lot with Aaliyah."

  Oh, so norm! this motherfuckermad because his live in babysitter is going out of town. Listen to this bullshit right here! Niggas!

  "I'ma miss her. Aaliyah is a wonderful little girl. I'll have to keep my trip brief if only because I'll miss her so much." Right when Supreme was parting his lips to respond, I glided my body in an awkward way so one of my nipples slipped out my bikini top. "Is something wrong?" I asked innocently, pretending I hadn't even noticed I was giving Supreme a mouthful view of by right tit.

  "No, I'm good. I have business to attend, so I'ma leave you to your sunbathing."

  "Okay, I'll talk to you later on." That's right, baby, hurry away so you don't give into temptation and tap this ass. But run allyou rant. Eventually I'll catch you out there sloping, and when that happens, you'll at least have to put up with me for a minimum of eighteen-Years. The very idea of that put the biggest smile on my face.

  When I arrived in Philadelphia, I had two missions: kill Devon, and meet Arnez Douglass. I wanted to know why Supreme was filtering all that cash to a drug dealer. Were they in business together? If so, was it drug related? And why would Supreme feel the need to do that, because he's making a shit load of money in the music industry... or at least I assumed but then again with some people they can never make enough paper, I thought to myself as I tried to figure all the shit out.

  I was becoming impatient waiting for Steve at some raggedy ass diner. I was ready to find Devon, kill him, and then spend the rest of my trip finding out what the connection was between Supreme and Arnez.

  "Can I get you anything else?" the waitress asked, smacking way too hard on her gum.

  I really wanted to say, `Just you staying the fuck out my face,' but instead I said, "Another Coke." I didn't need to bring any unnecessary attention to myself, and cussing out the waitress would do exactly that. A few seconds later, Steve walked in, and I was damn happy to see him because I was ready to go.

  "Sorry I'm late, but I got lost looking for this place," he explained as soon as he sat down.

  "That's why I picked it because it's hard to find."

  "I get it."

  "I figured you would, since trying to locate people is supposed to be your specialty."

  And it is," he said, sliding a piece a paper across the table.

  "I take it this is the address I need."

  "Indeed."

  "Did you also dig a little deeper on that other information I asked you for?"

  "I don't know why you're interested in this man. I told you he is a ruthless criminal. If anything, you should be trying to stay away, not get closer. I don't understand the logic behind that."

  "That's not your concern. I have my reasons. Now, what did you find out?"

  "From my understanding, when he's in town he dines every day at a restaurant called Lacroix at the Rittenhouse Hotel. So much so, that he even has a certain table he always sits at."

  "Interesting. What else?"

  "He has a condo at the Murano in Center City."

  "Is he in town now?"
>
  "As of yesterday he was, because he had lunch at the Lacroix."

  "And you know this because?"

  "I paid one of the waiters that works there a nice piece of change that you're going to reimburse me for, to inform me when he came."

  "He could've been lying."

  "No, because once he called, I went to the location to confirm."

  "What sort of confirmation?"

  "See for yourself." Steve handed me a 9x12 envelope.

  "So, this is what Arnez Douglass looks like. Not bad...not bad at all," I said, staring at the photos of him leaving the restaurant. "Who is that man with him?"

  "His bodyguard. The waiter said he never leaves his side. From what I understand, a few months ago his other bodyguard was killed."

  "Do you know what happened?"

  "The car blew up, actually near this restaurant. The food must be awfully good for him to still go back," Steve remarked sarcastically.

  "This is getting more interesting by the minute. So, I'm assuming this is the best place to run into Mr. Douglass?"

  "After what I just told you, you still want to make contact with this man?"

  "I'm sorry, maybe I need to check my birth certificate, but I don't remember you being my father. So, moving on, answer my question."

  "The waiter said he's supposed to be there tomorrow for lunch at noon. I told him to call me the moment he arrives."

  "Perfect! So then you call and give me the heads up. Now, what about Precious?"

  "No luck," he confessed, shrugging his shoulders. Why is it so important for you to find Devon and Precious?"

  "Do you always askyour clients this many questions?"

  "Only the ones that pique my interest."

  "And why do I interest you so much?"

  "For one, you have to be the youngest client I've ever had, and I don't even understand how you can afford me."

  I'm so happy I gam this nosey mothe fucker a bunch of fake information, because he would probably investigate me too, if he hasn't already. He can try to pull up some shit on that fake name I gam him if he wants to, but he'll come up empty.

  "So, are you going to answer my question or not?"

  "You mean about why I'm looking for those two people?" Steve nodded his head. "They were very close friends of my brother, but somehow they lost touch. Before he died, he asked me to find them because he left them both something that was very meaningful to him."

  "I see."

  "The least I can do is fulfill his dying request. Especially since it's his money that's paying for it."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Our parents died years ago, and he had no other family, so I was the sole beneficiary of his insurance policy."

  "I think it's admirable that you're carrying out your brother's wishes, but with whatever money you have left, I hope you're being careful and not letting it go to waste."

  "I promise you, I'm putting his money to very good use. He would be proud."

  "I don't give a damn what that motherfucker says, Genesis has some information on Maya!"

  "Precious, ever since we left that restaurant the other night, you've been saying this same shit. And my questions to you are the same; how would Genesis know Maya? And if he did, why would he try to hide it?"

  "If I knew the answers to those questions, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now!" I barked, sick of Nico not siding with me on this.

  "Why is it so hard for you to believe that I'm right, and this nigga, Genesis is full of shit?"

  "Because I don't get that impression of dude. He seems legit, like he's cool people."

  "Cool people my ass! Don't let all that swagger fool you, he's hiding some shit."

  "So, you think he got swagger?" Nico glanced over at me and asked as he turned the corner headed towards Devon's crib. He got word from CoCo that Devon was due back in town any day now, so we decided to do some drive-bys until his ass popped up.

  "I'm not even going there with you," I said, slitting my eyes.

  "Going where? You made the comment."

  "It ain't even worth expanding on. All I know is the nigga is lying, and I want to know why."

  "Well, baby girl, if he is lying, which I personally don't believe, we have no way of finding out the truth. We have to keep our money on Devon knowing where Maya is."

  "That's another thing."

  "What?"

  "Don't you think it's strange that Devon is in Philly working for this nigga, Delondo?"

  "Maybe he and Maya thought they should keep some distance between them until shit cooled down. I mean, they killed Mike, and I know by now they know you didn't die in that fire. They're probably nervous. I know if it was me, that's what I would do."

  "True."

  As we sat across the street from Devon's apartment, I thought about all the players in this game. And I didn't give a fuck what Nico said, in my book, Genesis was now officially one of them. But what drove me crazy about him was that I couldn't figure out how he fit in. I wondered if he had been cool with Mike, but I never heard him mentioned, and Genesis wasn't a name you would forget. The not knowing was making my brain itch.

  "I hope you ain't still thinking about that Genesis shit," Nico commented, knowing me all too well.

  "No, I'm not."

  "Stop lying. Precious. This is Nico you're talking to."

  "I know who the fuck you are."

  "Then admit I'm right... come on now"

  "I'm not admitting shit, and stop harassing me and answer your phone," I said, punching his arm.

  "I ain't done wit' you," he huffed before taking the call.

  While Nico was on the phone, I continued playfully punching his arm and making faces, until I realized the shift in his tone. It suddenly turned serious. "What's wrong?" I immediately asked when he got off.

  "That was Ricky."

  "Is he okay?"

  "He's fine. It's Ms. Duncan... she died a few days ago.

  "What! What happened?"

  "She had cancer."

  "I didn't even know she was sick."

  "Neither did her brother. He said supposedly she got diagnosed about a month ago, and by the time she found out, it had already spread."

  "I can't believe Ms. Duncan is dead."

  "Ricky tried to call you, but of course the number he had ain't good no more. That's why he called me, so I could let you know. They're going to put her to rest this Friday."

  "I wanna go to her funeral. That woman did so much for me. I have to pay my respects and tell her goodbye."

  "Say no more. We'll go. By the time we get back, Devon will fo' sure be in Philly, and we'll handle him then."

  As I stood at the same cemetery where my mother was buried, watching Ms. Duncan's coffin being lowered into the ground, I couldn't help but think of how unfair life could be. Ms. Duncan was one of the kindest people I had ever met, yet she was dead, and a lowdown trick like Maya was running around, free as a bird, wrecking peoples' lives. There was no rationale in that.

  "Precious, I'm so glad you came," Ricky said, giving me a hug.

  "Of course I came. You know how much your sister meant to me."

  "And you meant a great deal to her too. She loved you, and she was so proud of you."

  "I don't know why. I haven't lived my life in the most Godly way."

  "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. And that's nobody. My sister knew and understood that, and lived her life accordingly. I'll tell you again. She was so proud of you, Precious."

  "Thank you, Ricky."

  "You have nothing to thank me for. But I would like for you to do something for me."

  "What is it?"

  "Before you leave New York, stop by her house. She left something for you."

  "Okay, I will."

  "Good."

  "Did you see where Nico went?"

  "Yes, he's right over there," Ricky said, pointing towards a tree behind me a few feet away.

  "Thanks, but I'll definitely see y
ou before we leave," I said, giving Ricky a hug goodbye.

  Being at the cemetery where both my mother and Ms. Duncan were buried flooded me with sadness. I wanted to leave and escape the pain, because all I kept thinking about was Aaliyah and her losing me like I had lost the two most important women in my life.

  "Nico, I'm ready to go." I could see he was in the middle of a conversation with someone, but I didn't care.

  "Can you give me a few minutes?"

  "No, I want to leave now"

  "Babe, I know this is hard for you. Just give me a couple minutes." Nico lifted up my chin gently, and it was hard to deny his request. In his eyes, I could see he felt my pain.

  "You must've been very close to her," I heard the man say who had been talking to Nico. His back was facing me when I walked up, so I hadn't paid him any attention... until now.

  "Excuse me?" The attitude and annoyance was obvious in my voice because I didn't try to hide it. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why this nobody was inviting himself into my personal space. Just because he had been speaking with Nico didn't give him the right to talk to me.

  "There's no need to get upset," Nico said, placing his hands on my shoulders as if to massage my frustrations away and diffuse the hostility.

  "It's understandable you would be upset. She was a wonderful woman," the man continued, trying to force me into some dialogue. I turned to face the man for the first time, that's when he extended his hand and said, "I apologize. I should introduce myself. I'm Quentin Jacobs."

  I shook his hand, and I instantly remembered meeting him at the house where Mike had held me hostage, and I couldn't help but wonder if he remembered me too.

  "Growing up, we all looked up to Quentin, and we still do," Nico grinned. "That was rude of me. I should've introduced you. Quentin, this is Precious Mills."

  I quickly freed my hand from the man's grasp, but he wasn't deterred. "Precious, how did you know Ms. Duncan?"

  "She used to take care of me when I was a little girl."

  "Really, I knew all the little girls Ms. Duncan used to take care of, and I don't remember a Precious Mills."

  "What about Precious Cummings? That was her name before she got married," Nico informed Quentin, clearly in awe of him.