“So I got a letter from Black today and he wanted me to ask you if you’d help me with getting him out of jail.”
“How the hell am I supposed to do that?” He seemed annoyed.
“Well, there’s this chick named Mica who’s pointing the finger at him. She’s the only witness they have. Without her, they’ll have to let him go. She’s in the witness-protection program so we haven’t been able to locate her. He said with your resources, you’d probably be able to.”
He turned to look at me with a serious look on his face, “With my resources? What the hell does he mean by that?”
“Hell if I know, but that’s what he said in the letter.”
“Well, I’ll see what I can do but I can’t promise anything.”
“Okay.”
I wasn’t sure where we were going but after that question the air in the car felt different. It had suddenly gone cold again like the first night that we were together. I felt like an ass for even bringing it up.
“So where are we headed?”
“You’ll see,” he quickly responded.
I sat back and kept quiet the rest of the ride. We arrived at a house in the Mount Airy section of the city. It was a pretty large house as all of the houses around it were. I felt special. I was finally going to see where he lived. I was glad that I had my gun with me, though. I remembered that he said he was in a relationship and I wasn’t about to have his girl bust up in there acting a fool and not be able to protect myself. All of the lights were off inside the house but there were two other cars parked in the driveway, a blue Toyota and a black Mazda.
“Whose cars are these?” I asked as soon as I shut the car door behind me.
“Mine.”
We walked up to the large wooden door quietly. I still wanted to know what the hell was going to happen that was so special that he couldn’t tell me but I figured I could wait a little while longer if I waited this long. The house was huge inside but was so dark I stood still for fear that I would walk into something.
“Why are you standing there like a statue?”
“Because it’s dark as . . .”
Just then the light came on. I laughed instead of finishing the sentence that I had started. He walked over to the radio and turned it on. The sounds of Raheem Devaughn, one of my favorite neo-soul singers, filled the room.
“This is a very nice place, you live here alone?”
“Why are you always giving me a survey? Just chill and have a seat. Your surprise will be here very soon.”
I stared at him and his smile. He was so damn sexy it should be a sin. His hair was always perfect and he always smelled like Jean Paul Gautier cologne. His body was nice too. It wasn’t as sculpted as Black’s but it was pretty much running neck and neck. It was almost mouth-watering. I wanted to jump on him and get busy right then and there but I had to play his game. I walked over to the sofa and sat down. Crossing my legs, I began to shake my legs as if I was waiting impatiently.
“You crack me up, I’ll be right back,” he said laughing and heading out of the living room.
I sat there quiet, waiting for him to get back. I’d occasionally pick with my fingernails or run my fingers through my hair. I was bored as hell so the time seemed to be moving in slow motion. I heard his footsteps coming back toward the living room behind me. Out of nowhere I felt a hard hit on the back of my head. I tried to get up but my head was spinning. I fell back down in the chair.
“Hurry up and tie her up.”
“I am hurrying, shit, stop rushing me, she’s here now right where we wanted her.”
I tried to open my eyes; my head was hurting like hell. When I was finally able to open my eyes I couldn’t move my arms, they were tied behind my head. What the hell was going on? I tried to focus. There were two people standing in front of me, Money and Mica. What the fuck?
“What the hell is going on?”
“This is your surprise.”
“What?”
“You really thought you could shoot me and get away with it? I knew you were cocky, but come on. You should have been more careful, now you’re going to die and your boyfriend is going to spend the rest of his life in jail while we run his business.”
“What do you mean we?”
“Oh, you still don’t get it? Money is my man, I’m sure he told you that he had a woman, right? But that never stopped you before.”
“It never stopped you either!” I yelled while trying to get my hands free.
“You’re in no position to talk, remember that? I thought it would be good to watch you squirm like you watched me that day in the warehouse.”
“I was the one that talked him into letting you go, so how can you compare that to this?”
“I’m not comparing it to that, I just thought that it would bring back memories. It’s definitely bringing them back for me.”
“What the hell do you want from me?” I yelled. I was getting angrier by the second. Mica wasn’t the rough type so I knew she wasn’t going to kill me.
“I want to watch you suffer and then I’m going to kill you. It’s a shame your little baby is going to be parentless.”
“Fuck you Mica, don’t even talk about her. You’re not going to kill me and you know it. You can try all that thug shit if you want. It won’t work, because you of all people don’t scare me.”
“I’m cracking up over here. You probably thought my man really wanted you, huh? How does it feel to get played?”
“He did want me.”
“Don’t fool yourself, okay, he just talked a good game to bring you here today.”
“That’s what he told you?”
“That’s what I know.”
“Yeah, well, don’t fool yourself because your man’s been fucking me for weeks.”
“Wow, you are a comedian.” She laughed. I knew that I was getting under her skin.
“I’m dead serious and you’re in denial. He’s lying to you, sweetie, he just fucked me yesterday, as a matter of fact.”
“Bitch, stop lying!” she yelled as she ran over to where I was seated and slapped me across the face. I laughed hysterically, which pissed her off even more. I was getting to her when her plan was to get to me. She’d never watch me squirm. I’d die before I’d give her that satisfaction.
“What are you doing, Mica? Calm down,” Money yelled and grabbed her by the arm.
“What am I doing, what is this I hear about you fucking her? Is that true, Money?”
He turned and looked at me and then back at her, “No, she’s lying,” he said.
“I’m lying? So now I’m lying? You didn’t say that shit when your face was buried in my pussy!” I yelled.
“You bitch,” she yelled and tried to get back over to me but Money stopped her in her tracks.
“Look now, calm down, I didn’t fuck her, okay. That bitch is lying. Now we have some shit to handle and Deidra is pulling up outside.”
“I’m done with you, bitch, you better believe that shit,” she yelled as she headed toward the door. Money was still standing there staring at me as if he wanted to tell me how sorry he was. “Let’s go, Money, now!”
He followed behind her and walked out of the door. Soon I heard footsteps walking toward me and then Deidra appeared.
“Oh, my god, Deidra, I’m so glad to see you. Could you get me out of here?”
“I can’t do that, baby girl.”
“Why not, I though we were cool? You always told me that I was your little sister. What happened to that?” I pleaded.
“What happened? You tried to kill my flesh and blood. All of that shit went out the window the moment you shot her.”
“It wasn’t like that, Deidra. I never meant to hurt her, honestly. I was trying to kill Kemp and she just got caught in the crossfire. I didn’t intentionally shoot her.” I lied, hoping that I could get her to let me go.
“I wish that was true, Diamond, I really do.”
“Well, what are you going to do? Be Mica�
�s little flunky? I thought you were the older one here?”
“I’m not anyone’s flunky and you know that. You can say what you want but pissing me off is not going to get me to let you go.”
I sat there quiet for a few seconds. She was right; it wasn’t going to work, so I had to figure something else out. I had to get her to let me go before Mica and Money returned.
“I’m sorry okay, I’m losing my mind here I need to get back to my baby.”
“Baby? What baby?”
“I have a little baby, her name is Dior. She was premature so she’s still in the hospital. Remember I saw you that day at the hospital? I was visiting her.”
“I didn’t know that, she never told me you had a baby.”
“I do and I need to be there for her, you have to help me, Deidra. Black’s already in prison for the murder and assault—why isn’t that enough? My daughter is going to suffer for this.”
Deidra sat there as if she was debating what her next move should be. I could see that I was getting to her heart and that was where I needed to be. Though it was the truth I was laying it on thick and it seemed to be working. Deidra had always been a good person and I didn’t see that changing. I could always talk to her and though Mica and me were close, my relationship with Deidra felt more real. I felt like we were family and she treated me as if I were really related to her. She would also do what she had to do to protect her blood so I could see how Mica would use that to her advantage.
“Are you going to help me?”
She looked at me for a minute or two but still remained silent. She got up from the chair and paced back and forth, looking at me every few seconds. I continued to beg her to let me go and as she continued to pace the room. I knew that I was most likely running out of time the longer this went on. I had no idea what time they were coming back but I knew it would probably be pretty soon.
“I’m going to help you,” she finally responded.
I smiled and began to work in my head what I was going to do to get out of here. She went to look out of the window before coming back to the chair where I was sitting. She untied me and gave me the keys to her car.
“You have to tie me up, this can’t look like I willingly let you go.” She grabbed hold of my arm.
I looked in her eyes and saw fear. Though I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could I had to do it. I couldn’t let her take the heat for having the heart to let me go. I agreed and as she sat in the chair I tied her up. I hugged her before grabbing my purse from the table and running toward the door. Just as I was turning the knob I heard a car pulling up—it was them. What the hell was I going to do now? I ran back into the room and looked around like I was trying to find somewhere to hide. There didn’t seem to be a back door that I could run out of either. I noticed a closet under the stairs. I ran over to it and hid inside. I heard them come into the living room where Deidra was sitting tied up in the chair. The door on the closet was wood and had slightly opened panels, sort of like a mini-blind. I could see out but you couldn’t see in. I sat there quietly.
“What the hell?” Mica yelled, running over to Deidra. Deidra had her head down and picked it up just as she got down on her knees and touched her own leg.
“She got away, I’m sorry Mica, she got away.”
“How the fuck did that happen? Did you untie her?” Money yelled. I could hear the anger in his voice as he paced back and forth. “Damn, Mica, I told you we shouldn’t have left her here alone.”
Mica was untying Deidra while Money was looking out the window, probably trying to see if I was outside.
“I’m sorry, Mica, she tricked me into letting her loose, then she overpowered me.”
“Deidra, this is all messed up. What the hell are we going to do now?”
Money continued to pace the floor. He now had retrieved his gun from the small of his back and was waving it around in the air. “I’m going to kill her, I’m going to fucking kill her.”
I thought that was the plan anyway. Maybe they weren’t going to kill me and were only threatening me to see what I’d give up. I still didn’t know how I was going to manage getting out of the house but I stood quietly in the closet, barely breathing. Even if that wasn’t the plan in the beginning it was definitely the plan now.
Deidra was sitting in the chair crying what seemed to be real tears. I prayed that she wouldn’t have a change of heart and rat me out. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble Mica, I really didn’t. She was just going to use the bathroom and . . .”
“Don’t worry about it, Deidra, I know you didn’t mean to. We’ll take care of it, okay.” Mica helped Deidra up to her feet.
“You’re damn right we’ll take care of it. Come on, let’s get out of here and go find her.” Money walked toward the door and motioned with his hand for them to follow. I waited until I heard the sound of the cars pulling out of the driveway before I came out of the closet. I slowly opened the door and walked out into the living room. I pulled my cell phone out of my bag and dialed JB.
“Hello?”
“JB, it’s Diamond. I need your help, where are you?”
“I’m at the office, what’s up?”
“Money tried to kill me, him and Mica.”
“What? Where are you?”
“I’m going to come to you, I can’t risk them coming back and finding me.”
“Okay, well, meet me at the office.”
“I don’t want to do that either, I’m afraid he’s going to come there looking for me. Meet me at the warehouse. I’ll get a cab to bring me there.”
“Cool, I’ll be there.”
I hung up and ran out of the front door. I walked for blocks until I saw a cab riding by unoccupied and flagged it down. I sat low in the seat just in case they happened to drive by. We made it to the warehouse about twenty minutes after the cab picked me up. I jumped out of the car and paid the fare. JB was standing outside of the door when I got there.
“What the hell happened?”
“Money drove me to this house where they hit me over the head and tied me up. I thought they were going to kill me.”
“Why were you with him in the first place? I told you I didn’t trust him.”
“I thought he was a good dude but it was all a setup—everything from the beginning. From the moment he met you and got close to Black it was all in their plan.”
“What plan?”
“They wanted Black to go to jail then they were going to kill me and take over everything that we have.”
“I should have known that muthafucker was up to something. I didn’t see how shiesty this nigga really was. Damn, this shit is all my fault.”
“It’s not your fault. You didn’t know.”
“Black’s not going to see it that way. I’m the one that brought him to his attention.”
“Damn,” he yelled. He was angry and rightfully so. I think that he was more angry at himself than he actually was at Money.
“We have to get rid of them, if not they won’t stop and Black will end up in jail for the rest of his life. We can’t let that happen, JB.”
JB sat there staring into his hands as if he was trying to come up with a plan in his head. I hoped that he’d come up with a plan because I couldn’t think of anything to do to take care of them. I needed his help and I prayed that he would come through for Black and me. I shouldn’t have been so fast to jump in bed with Money. I should have listened to my heart and not let the lust win. Maybe then I would have been able to see through the facade and been able to protect myself. They could have killed me and left my baby an orphan. It was time that I started being smarter about what moves I made. I had to be certain that I didn’t miss anything anymore that could potentially have such a devastating effect on my life. Especially now that my life wasn’t just my own.
JB assured me that he’d get Money by acting as if he didn’t know anything about what happened with me. He wanted me to hide out and he’d have everyone out in the streets looking for
me, including Money. We still had to figure out how to get to Mica. Now that I knew where she stayed it shouldn’t be as hard as it was before. I went out of state to a house Black and I owned by the shore. I planned to stay there for a few weeks until things blew over back in Philly. I arrived at the house and everything was covered in white sheets just the way we’d left them. I hadn’t been there in months and every sheet was covered with dust. I took a deep breath and I stepped inside. I felt like for once I could rest. I went in my bag and pulled out a photo of Dior. I told the hospital that I would be gone for a few weeks but I’d call everyday. I said that there was a family emergency so that they wouldn’t report me to child services.
After I cleaned up a bit I sat down on the sofa and lay my head back. I closed my eyes and thanked God that I was still here. He’d given me another chance and I wasn’t going to take it for granted any longer. I curled up with a blanket and the photo and tried to fall asleep.
Chapter 24
Diamond
One Last Breath
The ringing on the phone was extremely loud. I attributed that to the fact that it was so quiet in the house. I was losing my mind and I couldn’t wait to get back to my life, civilization, as I called it. I rolled out of bed and grabbed the phone off the nightstand.
“Hello?”
“It’s done, you can come back now.”
“What’s done, JB?”
“Money, I took care of him.”
“What about Mica?”
“I need your help for that, I need you to show me where she is.”
“I can tell you, JB, I’d really rather stay away until everything is taken care of.”
“I need your help, Diamond.”
I sat quiet for a minute. Hearing that Money was dead and gone was like music to my ears. I felt like there was a weight lifted off my shoulders but I knew it wasn’t over. It couldn’t be over until Mica was with him. There was no way we could get Black out of jail with her still alive.
“Okay, I’m coming home. I’ll be there later on today.”
“Call me when you’re back in town, we can get busy as soon as you’re here.”
Black Diamond [Book 2] Page 16
