by K'wan
She shifted her thoughts to the life she was leading now and the people in it. Magic had left quite the impression. He was ambitious, as well as good looking. That ability to captivate a room would take him further than a pistol ever would. She had to admit, it had been flattering when he kept trying to press her into a date. Not that she’d ever seriously consider dating him. Dominic was square for the most part, and she still had trouble dealing with him, so she could only imagine what getting involved with someone like Magic would be like. Despite all his charms, Magic was as crooked as the letter S.
She didn’t doubt his sincerity—in what he had gone through, in what he was trying to accomplish—but she also knew there was more to him than he let on. Like her, Magic wore two faces. She had suspected it from the beginning, but what confirmed it was his interaction with Tay and Sable.
Tay made no secret about what he was—a criminal. He wore it like a badge of honor. Though Magic tried to downplay his relationship with Tay, the tension between them didn’t smell of an old grudge. Whatever was going on was fresh, and, she suspected, deeper than both of them having slept with the same woman. Ultimately, however, it was none of her business. She was there to get what she needed for the magazine. Nothing more. Her days of playing detective were over.
Kahllah had been so locked in, she didn’t even realize she had jogged all the way to her office until she looked up and saw the bodega she got her breakfast from in the morning. She was about to turn around and start heading back when something caught her eye. She thought she saw what looked like the beam of a flashlight coming through her office window. The only people who had keys were Audrey and herself. With it being the weekend, she doubted it was Audrey.
Kahllah knelt and removed a flat blade from the sole of her sneaker—she kept it there in case of emergencies. It was no thicker than a box cutter, but sturdy and with a ring on the end just big enough to slide your finger through. Now armed, she moved toward her office. She didn’t bother calling the police—that would come after she dealt with whoever had been desperate or dumb enough to break into her space.
The inside of Real Talk was dark, so it wasn’t hard to spot the sole source of light, which was coming from her personal office. The door was open and she could hear what sounded like the flipping of pages. The alarms hadn’t been tripped . . . Could it actually be Audrey?
She kept to the shadows, blade secured around her finger. Her heart raced faster as she approached. She rolled into the room, flicking on the light, ready to pounce. She expected to find a burglar, but instead found a cop.
“Wolf?”
The detective sat comfortably behind Kahllah’s desk, thumbing through one of her files. “You know, for somebody with so many secrets, you’d think you would’ve invested in a better security system.”
“What the fuck are you doing in my office?” It had been months since she’d last seen or heard from Wolf.
“Reaching out to an old friend.”
“You could’ve used the phone or sent an e-mail like a normal person.” She snatched the file from him.
“Better this way, so I can look you in the eyes while I speak my piece.” Wolf’s voice was devoid of the warmth it had had last time. “Can you account for your whereabouts from around six to six thirty yesterday evening?”
“Why do I feel like I’m being interrogated?” Kahllah folded her arms.
“How you answer will determine that. Where were you?”
“I was getting ready for work. My magazine is covering the grand opening of a place called Voodoo. I went there with Audrey to interview the owner, a guy named Magic. I stayed for a couple of hours, then went home at about ten or so.” She paused. “Wolf, what is this about?”
After a long pause he said, “A dead cop.” He slid his cell phone across the table so she could see a picture from the crime scene.
Kahllah couldn’t hide the surprise on her face. “Sweet thang,” she whispered, remembering the encounter she’d had with the cop. Though at that time half of his head wasn’t missing.
“Can I take the look on your face as confirmation that you knew the victim?”
“Not exactly. We bumped into each other at a restaurant yesterday. I’d never seen him before that. Why are you asking me about—” She stopped short. “Wait, you think I did this?”
“Would I be that far off? Pegging you for a killer, I mean?”
Kahllah remained silent.
“Okay, let’s try it this way.” Wolf dug into his pocket and produced the baggie he’d gotten from Lieutenant Tasha Grady and tossed it onto the desk. “This was found at the crime scene.”
“Impossible!” It was a black lotus, her calling card. Lotuses weren’t naturally black, but Kahllah had figured out a way to change the genetic makeup of the seeds through crossbreeding. It was a technique she’d learned from an elder of the Brotherhood who had since passed on. She examined the baggie to check the authenticity of the flower. It had to be a replica . . . But no, it was one of her crossbreeds. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell myself all night.”
“Then you should listen to yourself, because this isn’t the work of the Black Lotus. Think about it, Wolf. This man was shot. In all the Black Lotus crime scenes you’ve investigated, were any of the victims shot?”
“Assassins adapt as needed, at least the good ones do. Last time I checked, the Black Lotus was one of the best.”
“Which is why the Lotus wouldn’t have been involved with a mess like this. There’s no . . .”
“Honor in it,” Wolf finished her sentence, recalling what he had been trying to explain to Grady. “For as much as I’d like to take you at your word, you can’t deny how strong the evidence is against you. If you’re as innocent as you say, then you shouldn’t mind coming back to the station with me to clear your name.”
“I think we both know that I can’t do that.”
“Let’s not make this any harder.” He tossed his cuffs on the desk. “Now why don’t you do us both a favor and slip those on?”
“The hell I will! I’m being framed! Somebody is out there killing in the name of the Black Lotus, and I need to find out who it is.”
“Your vigilante days are over, little lady.” Wolf drew his gun and pointed it at her. “I’d rather not do this the hard way.”
“Are you serious?” Kahllah took a step forward and Wolf tightened his grip on the weapon.
“That’s far enough. We’ve danced in close quarters before and it didn’t turn out good for me, remember? I’m going to need some distance until those lethal hands of yours are nice and secured by those bracelets. Please, don’t make me ask you again.”
“You are making a mistake.” Kahllah picked up the cuffs and secured one to each wrist.
“I hope so, Kahllah. I really do.”
“This is bullshit!”
“Better it’s me bringing you in than one of my colleagues. They’re not taking this dead cop development very well. The last thing either of us needs is a bunch of cops full of piss and vinegar trying to take you down. At least with me you’ll get a fair shake.”
“Am I supposed to find comfort somewhere in that?”
“Listen, don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just doing my job. We’ve all got a part to play.”
“I know, and that’s why I’m hoping you'll understand.” And then she acted.
Wolf’s brain registered the warning a split second too late. As deftly as a magician, Kahllah had freed her hands of the cuffs and turned on Wolf. She grabbed his wrist with one hand, and used the other to slide a cuff inside the trigger guard, preventing him from being able to pull it. Wolf tried to grab Kahllah’s hair but got elbowed in the nose. They fought for control of the gun like a couple waltzing. He’d forgotten how strong she was but was reminded when she hugged his thighs, lifted him off his feet, and rammed him against the window. He felt the glass shatter, followed by a rush of wind and then pain.
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nbsp; The hood of a car broke his fall. He was seeing stars and couldn’t catch his breath. One of his ribs was probably cracked. He looked around for Kahllah, but she was gone, of course. He had no plans to report the incident and get the department involved. As Grady had said, this was personal. There was no doubt in his mind that she could’ve killed him if she wanted to, but she had spared his life . . . again. Hardly the actions of a guilty person. Still, he had a job to do. He just hoped that she could find the real killer before the detective found her. The hunt was on.
Chapter 11
Something about sitting in the oversize wingback chair made Tay feel royal. It was tall and upholstered in soft purple velvet, with gold buttons running down the seams. It was a welcome change from the cheap furniture he’d been used to. He could remember summer days of sitting in a project apartment with no air-conditioning, trying to keep his legs from sticking to the plastic covers that his grandmother refused to take off the couch. Those were some tough times, but they were now in his rearview. The only thing he was focused on was his future, which was looking pretty good from where he was sitting.
Sable was standing across the room in front of a full-length mirror, wearing nothing but sheer black lingerie. For the past half hour she had been trying on the new clothes that Tay had bought for her. Tay didn’t mind. Watching Sable was one of his favorite pastimes. Sometimes he’d just stare at her, wondering how he had been lucky enough to land a woman as fine as this. Then he would always remind himself that luck had nothing to do with it. This was a case of the better man winning, even if the race had been fixed.
Tay had known Sable longer than Magic had. Indeed, it was Tay who had introduced them, which was one of his biggest regrets. She was from his neighborhood, had moved to New York from Dallas right before the start of freshman year. Back then she wasn’t quite so poised. She was a dusty country girl with no real sense of fashion, and self-esteem that was in the toilet. That changed when Tay took her under his wing. His hustle was boosting from department stores and reselling the stuff on the block for half price, and Sable became his accomplice. To Tay’s surprise, the seemingly innocent girl was a natural thief. She could hit a store and trim it of a few grand’s worth of merchandise before anyone even realized she was inside. Tay and Sable were like the Bonnie and Clyde of shoplifters. Sable showed no less skill and enthusiasm when their hustle switched from boosting to strong-arm robbery.
This was about the time Magic came into the picture. Magic wasn’t much older than Tay, but he was already deep in the robbery game. He’d come up under two older dudes named Archie and Butch, notorious stickup kids. Whenever Tay caught a lick at a department store, he would bring the items to Magic and his crew first, knowing they were going to spend big. It was Magic who convinced Tay to stop throwing stones at the penitentiary for nickels and try something more rewarding. Of course, when Tay got down with Magic’s crew, Sable came along for the ride. That was the beginning of the end.
Tay should’ve known from the way Sable and Magic looked at each other the first time they met that he was setting himself up for disaster. Tay never hid his feelings for Sable. They had fooled around a little bit back when they were still boosting, but it wasn’t anything major. Sable always seemed hesitant to take the next step, as if waiting for something bigger. With Magic she didn’t have to wait very long. So Magic was in and Tay was out.
Tay always carried some resentment for the couple. He felt like it should’ve been him instead of Magic with that onyx goddess on his arm. Tay kept his game face when it came to getting money, but the thought of them together ate at him. He’d even gone as far as trying to get with Sable behind Magic’s back. Although she’d shut him down, the fact that she never mentioned it to Magic gave Tay hope. More hope came in the form of a dirty secret that Tay used to drive a wedge between them.
As a teenager, Sable had been quiet and shy, but when she finally came out of her shell she’d grown into a party girl of sorts. She became a regular on the club circuit, indulging in whatever vices were at her disposal, including cocaine. It started out as just chipping, doing a few lines here and there at parties, but gradually the monkey on Sable’s back began to grow. Magic was oblivious because he thought the sun rose and set in Sable’s sweet pussy, but Tay was well aware. He sat back and waited for an opportunity to use it to his advantage.
Sable had managed to get caught up in what seemed like a random raid. She was uptown scoring some coke when the police ran in. Unbeknownst to her, she had been the target all along. A month or so prior, she’d made the mistake of pulling a job with some guys who weren’t part of their immediate crew. Then one of them got caught and gave Sable up. The police had been on her for weeks. It was her first time arrested, and outside of the snitch’s word, they didn’t have much on Sable. With a decent lawyer she probably could’ve gotten off with just probation, but being naive to the law, she allowed the police to spook her into believing she’d go away for a long time—unless she gave them something they could use. She gave them Archie. The two of them had never gotten along, and Magic was the real brains of the crew, so she figured no one would miss the old con. She had no idea that when the police finally caught up with Archie, Magic would be in the car with him.
The secret would’ve probably gone to the grave with Sable, had it not been for dumb luck: one of Tay’s cousins was a clerk in the DA’s office. She knew that Sable was part of Tay’s crew, so when she saw the girl’s case file come through, she immediately told Tay. Most would’ve exposed Sable’s snake move and then left her to her fate, but Tay had a more sinister idea. He confronted Sable about what she’d done and threatened to expose her unless she broke things off with Magic and became his. Sable found herself in a pinch. She could come clean to Magic—explain the whole situation and hope that he loved her enough to understand. It was a long shot, yet he would maybe find it in his heart to forgive her. But there was no way Butch was going to let her off. He was raised in an era where if you snitched, you died. Tay had put Sable in a lose-lose situation. So she chose her life over her heart.
The story Sable fed Magic was one that Tay had insisted on: With Magic spending all his time chasing his dream of becoming legit, she had started to feel neglected. She had fallen out of love with him and developed feelings for Tay. The look of hurt in his eyes rocked her to the core. She hated herself for it, but Tay had left her no choice.
Everyone had expected Magic to go through the roof, but he took it surprisingly well. Naturally he was angry at what had happened right under his nose, but in typical Magic fashion he blamed himself for mixing business with pleasure and chalked it up to the game, rather than admitting that he had been bested. Butch, on the other hand, wasn’t so accepting. He wanted to kill both Sable and Tay, or at the very least boot them from the crew, but Magic wouldn’t allow it. Their crew was making a lot of money, and Tay and Sable played a big part in that. “I’ll never let my heart or a bitch affect our bottom line,” was all Magic would say. This never sat quite right with Butch, and Tay knew that one day he could be a problem. Which was why he’d had Butch killed while he was out in Pennsylvania last year.
No matter how cool Magic tried to play it, everybody knew that losing Archie and Sable back-to-back had hurt Magic deeply. Tay had pride in his work: Magic had taken Sable from him, and he’d taught Magic the pain of loss in turn. The unexpected blessing was that those back-to-back tragedies were enough to make Magic start to withdraw, allowing Tay to gradually step up. While Magic chased his corporate dreams, Tay was ushering their crew into a new era. The little dude whom Magic used to buy stolen clothes from had taken his bitch and his business. It had all come to him by default, but men like Tay never cared about the means, only the ends.
“I like that one on you,” Tay said to Sable as she slipped into a tight black number. She promptly took it off and picked up a different dress. “What? You don’t value my opinion?”
“You’re a wiz at cracking safes, but you don’t have mu
ch fashion sense.” She looked at his skinny jeans and oversize shoes. Tay was always a year or two late when it came to trends.
“Where you getting all dressed up to go, anyway? I thought we were gonna stay in and order food.”
“You can do what you like, Tay. I’m stepping out for drinks with some friends.” Sable wiggled into a red dress.
“You don’t have any friends.”
“Just goes to show that you don’t pay attention to what’s going on around you.”
“What if I said I wanted you to stay here instead?”
“I’d tell you not to wait up.” Sable picked up a small baggie of coke from the dresser, shook a bit out onto the back of her hand, and snorted it. After clearing her nostrils, she went to the mirror and began applying lipstick.
Tay got up from the chair and eased up behind her. He pressed himself against her ass so she could feel his erection, and nuzzled the nape of her neck. “Damn, you smell good.” He ran his hands up her dress until they reached the zipper. He tried to pull it down, but she stopped him.
“Chill, I told you I’m going out.” She stepped out of his reach.
“Yeah, drinks and shit, right? Where y’all going to get drinks, Voodoo?”
Sable stopped with her lipstick and cast him a dirty look. “Ain’t nothing in Voodoo for me. You saw to that, remember?”
“You still ain’t learned your lesson about running your mouth, huh?” Tay saw the hurt on her face. Good. He wanted to hurt her.
