Starting Lace’s engine, I dialed Valentino. “It’s done. Don’t ask me for shit else.”
“I saw you. You done good, my nigga. Busted a nut and checked that ass at the same time. Go home and rest up. After Lace goes to sleep, you’ll find the safe inside the shower walls. Stand on the built-in shower bench, then push in the center tile with the gold rose on it. The one on the ceiling. A door will slide open. You’ll see a keypad. Unscramble, then punch in the code I gave you and the floor beneath you will part. Be careful not to slip your ass in, nigga, or it’ll close and chop your fuckin’ feet off. Remove the silver bag and there’ll be two hundred fifty grand in it. It’s all yours. Don’t try to skip town on me ’cause I’ll find you and kill you myself. Straight.”
What was worse? Going to jail for forty years or following the explicit instructions Valentino had given me? I might take my chances, get the money, and leave the country as planned. But what about my girl, Lace?
“Wait up, Valentino. That trick Onyx knew me from a previous party. What if she goes to the police?”
Now I couldn’t leave before finding a way to stop Onyx.
As I was opening my mouth to tell Valentino about the twin, he spoke first.
“I can hear your ass thinking, B. You’ll be six feet under, nigga, faster than that electronic airline ticket is transmitted. Trust me, just like you, Onyx will keep her mouth shut, or you’ll both end up…” Valentino paused as if I was supposed to fill in the blank before he hung up.
CHAPTER 19
Valentino
Pacing the floor in my kitchen, I ended the call with Benito’s ig’nant ass and keyed in his bitch’s number. Since I started pimpin’ full-time, a G like me had to fix my own food. I couldn’t risk hiring a cook, especially not a woman, and damn sure nuff, no set of balls bigger than mine were gonna crush my nuts or poison my soup. Where in the hell was Lace? She wasn’t answering her home phone, so after dicing the red leaf lettuce and yellow bell peppers, tossing in dried cranberries and fresh pineapples, and sprinkling in walnuts, I speed-dialed her cell.
“Valentino, hey. What’s up?” That bitch had the audacity to answer all cheerful and shit on the first ring.
“Don’t what’s up me. Why aren’t you at home?” I demanded, massaging minced garlic into my Grade-A plump and juicy steak. Real men ate beef, not fish.
“Have a lot on my mind. Maybe you can help clear some things up for me.”
Did this bitch fall, bump her head, and get amnesia forgetting who in the hell I was?
“Don’t make me fuck up this nice center-cut steak,” I said, closing the lid on my George Foreman grill. Inhaling the aroma of sizzling garlic with fresh onions, I said, “All you’re going to do is go home and protect my money. Come in early tomorrow and bring all of my cash with you.”
“Early? Hmmm. You do know the center cut is the cow’s ass? Of course you do. Anyway, I might have to take a trip tomorrow. I’ll get back with you on my availability.”
Removing my Bluetooth, I wiggled my pointing finger inside my ear. Did I hear that bitch right? I swear my blood pressure could’ve deep-fried the Italian breaded chicken breast sprawled across my chopping board. I’ma have to expedite Reynolds’s assignment and have this bitch terminated sooner than I’d intended.
Maybe once Lace was dead, I’d fire all her tricks and start over with eleven new bitches and retire Summer’s number twelve. I’d give up this business if I thought it’d bring back Summer and she’d birth my babies. What good was it for me to have millions of dollars and no one to leave it to? But Summer was dead and trying to convince Lace I didn’t pull the trigger wasn’t going to fly and that nigga Benito couldn’t be trusted to run a damn thing except his mouth.
Clipping on my headset, I stuffed the piece of ass in the garbage disposal and began deveining twelve tiger prawns. “Don’t fuck with me. Have your ass here at six o’clock tomorrow night or find yourself another job.”
I needed Lace but I had to put her ass on a tight leash until I found a replacement. Problem was no one else in my life was trustworthy or capable of running my entire empire.
“Hmm, interesting. I may take you up on that offer. I was actually thinking about quitting. Changing the subject, where’s Sunny?”
“She’s doing what you should be doing, getting fucked. Obviously Benito isn’t servicing you well, because your ass is straight trippin’. What’s gotten into you?”
“You,” she answered.
I ignored that bitch. I already told her she couldn’t fuck with my dick. It was bad enough she’d already fucked up my head. I wanted to fuck Lace so bad the night I’d hired her away from the Pussyland Ranch. I loved those beautiful green feisty eyes and she was so fuckin’ assured of herself. Every bitch could be bought, but I loved Lace because she knew her price, was willing to fight for what she believed in, and her milky soft skin was wrapped around those big ol’ creamy titties with gumdrop nipples. Her waist swooped in and her ass curved out into a perfect P. And that sweet black licorice hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back.
After cleaning the last prawn, I circled the six-by-four-foot island trying to stay ahead of her smart ass. I could’ve snatched one of the dozen skillets or pots dangling around my double-oven stove and batted Lace in her mouth with the steroid strength of Barry motherfuckin’ wannabe the leading home run hitter dressed in drag like a fuckin’ fag Bozo.
Sighing, she said, “Let’s leave B out of this. Why did you ask me to deviate from the norm tonight? If you fucked up, I’m the one you’d better tell.”
“For a bitch who was late, you’ve got more questions than Alex on Jeopardy. I guess you have the thousand-dollar answer too, bitch.”
Unwavering in her tone, she said, “You know what, I think you’re right because tonight between you and Benito I hit the daily double. Either you tell me what’s going on, or you find yourself another madam. And if you do hire another madam, with the press of a button, I’ll send your entire client list to—”
I stabbed a butcher’s knife into the wooden chopping board—that bitch was either lying or had lied to a G like me! She told me none of my shit was traceable and I believed her. But she never told me her shit wasn’t documented. Tossing my prawn in behind the steak, I scraped the salad into the sink too. The china plate spun, screeching, until it rattled, then quietly settled in the stainless steel sink. This bitch had made me lose my appetite.
“Look, I can’t talk about this shit over the phone. Tomorrow at six I’ll tell you everything when I see you,” I lied. I’d have a surprise waiting for her ass when she showed up without my money.
“Tonight.”
“What the fuck?”
“It’s after midnight, so technically you mean you’ll tell me tonight at six. I’ll see you then.”
Trusting a bitch smarter than me, I should’ve known I’d eventually get fucked. Now I had to figure out if Lace was bluffing or if she really had a list and where she kept the information.
“Get some rest because you’re gonna have to beat all of your whores tonight…Hello? Hello?”
Looking at the display on my phone, I thought, did that bitch just hang up on Valentino James?
CHAPTER 20
Lace
Valentino had lost his mind.
Dropping my cell phone into my purse, I made a U-turn and headed to Immaculate Perception. Me? Beat somebody’s ass? Sure I’d done a few strip searches when I first started working for Valentino and put fear in all the girls, the kind of fear that with one lingering whisper in their ears sent a terrifying chill throughout their bodies. With the exception of girl six, I hadn’t beaten any of my girls in months. Didn’t have to.
A beat-down was brutal and I didn’t know how to half-ass do anything, so if I commenced to whipping asses, all I could do is pray they didn’t all end up in emergency like a few of my catfight victims at the Pussyland Ranch. If Valentino wanted a strip search done, his punk ass would have to do it himself.
&nbs
p; I could tell something wasn’t right by the controlling tone in Valentino’s voice. That and he’d never been overly concerned about me collecting his money before his clients received their services. Valentino loved having everyone indebted to him. Hearing the insecurity in his voice, I felt the chill in my bones, but I was no fool. I’d definitely intimidated him.
Right now I knew he was pacing his floor questioning a lot of things. How much information I had. Where I kept it. How could he get it? How was he going to fire me? Who’d replace me? Whether or not to kill me.
I valued my life, and the strongest advantage I had over Valentino and Benito was that I was smarter than both of those egotistical morons put together. Deprogramming the signal, I remotely scrambled the pictures on Valentino’s monitors beyond recognition. What I needed to do wouldn’t take long, and by the time Valentino got here, I’d be gone.
Smoothing out my lace skirt to cover the gun in my garter holster, I parked next to…my own car? Okay, they made more than one black Jag, so I retrieved my electronic car key, pointed, then pressed the lock button. Sure enough, the lights silently flashed twice as I scanned my license plate.
Aw, hell no! Valentino was the only one at the mansion. I’d picked up his money early, was told to go home, and my man was here. Doing what? If Benito was in there fucking one of my girls, I was going to shoot his dick off.
Quietly unlocking the entrance to IP, I toured from room to room, starting with the Presidential Suite, to find Sunny. No one was there and the room was untouched, so I checked the S and M gym. Empty. Making certain my heels didn’t click-clack on the marbled tiles, I peeped inside Fantasy Island, the House of Hot Wax, and the other rooms. Now, this shit was weird. No Benito and nobody else. Fuck! That meant only thing.
Running as fast as I could, I darted down the stairs to the second floor to the room I hated the most, the discipline room. Opening the door, I saw the girls blindfolded and butt naked. “What the hell is going on in here?” I demanded.
“Business,” Reynolds answered, hoisting up his pants.
I pulled my gun from under my skirt, placed it against his temple, and said, “Well, this here is personal.” Tightening my finger against the trigger, I was so fucking mad I slammed the handle into his skull.
Placing my gun in my holster, I said, “Let this be a lesson to you,” pointing to the other two security men. “You know the rules. If I hear that another one of you fucked one of my girls, your ass is mine, but I guarantee you I won’t be as nice next time. Get his punk ass outta here. You’re fired!” I said, stomping my stiletto into his dick and rewinding Valentino’s message to Reynolds. A woman had to know how to turn on her poker face. Knowing Reynolds had been instructed to kill me, I had no compassion for him.
“You can’t fire me, bitch! You’re gonna pay for this!” Reynolds yelled, cupping his crotch.
“Hold up. Did somebody say something?” I said, intensely eyeing the other two guards, watching them shake their heads.
Reynolds shouted, “You heard me, bitch! You’re gonna—”
Any man who talked that much needed to be shut the fuck up. Removing my gun from my garter, I pointed the barrel toward Reynolds’s forehead.
“You don’t have the balls,” he said, leaning forward and reaching for his piece.
As I lowered my hand like a choir director signaling to bring down the tone, my girls hung their head in unison.
I whispered, “You’re right. I don’t. But what I do have is pussy power, motherfucka.”
Pow!
One bullet between Reynolds’s eyebrows snapped his head to the floor.
“Burn his body, then bury him,” I said to the two security guards standing with their mouths gaped open.
I could tell both of them wanted to say something, but they were too afraid because they knew pussy power was bigger than any set of balls.
“Now, where was I?”
Making sure all of my girls got dressed, I went downstairs and retrieved the silver case from my trunk. My black Jag was gone. Gathering the girls around the bar, I handed each of them five thousand in cash.
“Don’t report to work tomorrow unless I call you.” Whatever was going down, I needed each of my girls on my side, not Valentino’s. “If I need you to report, I’ll call Onyx tonight with the location and Onyx will call each of you.”
Instead of sending them to Valentino’s to change clothes, I instructed security, “Drop them off at the bar on Paradise and let them go home. Then get rid of Reynolds. And don’t say a word to Valentino about any of this or I’ll kill you too.”
I knew they’d get rid of the body, but I also knew they’d tell Valentino everything because Valentino would torture them if they didn’t.
“Onyx and Starlet, let me speak to you for a moment,” I said, instructing the other girls to go outside and get in the limo. This was the first time any of them had stepped foot outside IP without blindfolds.
Onyx remained silent while Starlet answered, “Yes, Madam?”
For a moment I paused because Starlet sounded exactly like Sunny. “Call me Lace. I need to know what happened at the mansion tonight. Where’s Sunny?”
Starlet looked to Onyx with wide eyes. Onyx wrapped her arm around Starlet’s waist, then said, “It’s okay, Star. Lace, we don’t know anything.”
“C’mon, I’m only trying to help Sunny,” I pleaded. “Onyx, please tell me whatever it is you know.”
Onyx heaved several times before she said, “You don’t give a fuck about helping anyone but yourself. Besides, Benito Bannister told us where to meet tonight at six o’clock.” A teardrop clung to her lash extension. “We feel that you’re quitting and the only one you care enough to take with you is Sunny. What about the rest of us? Haven’t we been good to you?”
Hearing Onyx speak my own words, I fanned my hand backward toward the door as my lips disappeared inside my mouth. Was that what she thought? Was that what she’d heard? I couldn’t lie to Onyx or comfort her, because she was right. I had considered leaving and taking Sunny with me. Fighting back my own tears, I said, “Leave. Now.”
Grabbing Starlet’s hand, Onyx led her to the limo.
I stood in the doorway until the license plate BITCHES vanished beyond the gate. The more I worked with these girls, the more I knew I had to help not just Sunny but all of them find a way out of the business. But how? My relationship with my girls was like being in a sorority. I could handle them, but nobody else had better lay a hand on them.
I wanted to ask Onyx what part Benito played in all of this but didn’t want to alert them that he was my man. I’d find out Benito’s purpose for showing up here when I got home. Taking the remainder of the money, I’d tell Valentino that I deducted the fifty-five thousand dollars as part of my salary for the month.
I grabbed the case, locked the door, and walked to the parking area. I didn’t have a reason to show up at Valentino’s mansion, but if anything out of the ordinary went down I needed my voice recorder, which was hidden inside the First Lady book on Valentino’s shelf. It wasn’t like I ever had to worry about Valentino reading a book about a woman being a first anything. Behind that big blue hat and devious smile on the cover, underneath I’d collected enough evidence to send Valentino to prison for life.
No matter how secure a woman thought her position was, a woman had to be ten times smarter than every man around her. Listening to the recording tomorrow might be okay, but it also might be too late. Tonight was too risky. Driving off the premises, I checked my surroundings for Valentino’s car and anything suspicious. MLK Boulevard was quiet. I restored Valentino’s monitors to normal, then picked up my cell phone and dialed Benito.
“Hey, baby,” he answered. “You wondering what I’m wondering?”
What was he talking about?
I answered, “Like why in the hell was your car at IP? Why were you there? Yes, I am wondering.”
“Lace, don’t start trippin’ again. I’ve been home all night. Where are y
ou?”
“So if I check my odometer on my car the meter will read the same as when I left home. Right?”
Benito became silent trying to figure out an answer to a question he didn’t have the answer to. I learned a long time ago a woman could easily back a man into a corner, but she had to prepare herself if he came out fighting.
“I don’t have to prove anything to you. We’ll discuss this when you get home in a few.”
Bingo! That was the kind of defensive reaction I’d predicted.
“I’m not coming straight home,” I lied, “I’m working late.”
“Lace, don’t do this to me. Valentino said you were on your way. I’ve had more than I can handle tonight. Bring your ass home to me. Now.”
“Pussy or luck? Don’t answer that. Since when did Valentino start talking to you about my whereabouts?”
“Lace, bring your ass straight home,” Benito said, then hung up the phone.
Benito’s inability to be truthful with me definitely had him on the defense, so I had to plan my best offensive strategy.
Removing my stiletto, I glanced at the full moon, then plunged the accelerator. I know he did not hang up in my face, in my house.
Parking in my garage, I noticed my black Jag was parked with the trunk facing the garage door. “Damn, I told him to always back in just in case there was an emergency.” In my line of business, the time difference between backing out and pulling out was life or death.
Entering the house, I watched in disgust as Benito lounged on the sofa watching television.
“What took you so long?” he asked with his arms folded high across his chest.
I set the silver case beside my feet. This wasn’t the time to put his ass in check. I had business to handle first. “Hey, you,” I said, slipping into B’s embrace as he unlatched his arms. “I need a hug.”
Sweeter Than Honey Page 14
