Torn by the Code

by Eureka

  “Yes, you may, and can you tell me where I can get some of that good ganja from?” In this part of the island, it was legal to smoke weed. I wanted to get in contact with a good connect. If I knew the trade like I know I do, Naheri’s brother would be wrapped up with it as the big man. I waited for my car to pull up. The attendant told me where to get some good stuff and a nice hotel just on the other side of town I could lay my head at in peace. But that was the furthest thing in my mind. Mona already told me the hotel Naheri was staying at with Junior. “Take me to the Knutsford hotel.” The driver pulled off.

  * * *

  We pulled up in front of the hotel. I looked around before I got out of the car. I couldn’t take a chance on Naheri spotting me. “Take me around the back. I want to enter through the service door.” The driver looked confused. When I slipped him a hundred-dollar bill, he shrugged his shoulders and drove around back. I asked him if he knew where Mona Red’s spot was, and he informed me that he knew exactly where it was, and he had a good connection in there if I needed a job. I lightly laughed. “No thanks, selling pussy ain’t my forte.” He shrugged his shoulders again and opened the door for me to the back entrance. I walked around to the front desk through the service doors. As I was approaching the desk to check in, I noticed a little boy sitting on the couch in the lobby by himself. My heart almost leaped from my chest when I noticed his wavy hair and bronze-colored skin. He also had a pair of almond-shaped eyes. I looked closer as I was about to run over to him. When I lowered my shades to get a better look, my heart felt like it had sunk to the bottom of my stomach. It was not my son. I put my shades back on and turned toward the desk to check in. “Room 520,” the clerk said with a huge smile on his face. I picked up my oversized bag, and the lobby attendant grabbed the rest.

  I walked back over to the elevator and got on looking down at the floor the whole time. I felt like I was so close yet still so far away from my son.

  I opened the door to the room. The view was breathtaking. When I turned around to the lobby attendant who’d carried my luggage up, he asked, “Will dat be all ma’am?” His hand was behind his back.

  “Yes, thank you. I will need a car later. Can you ask the front desk to have one ready for me in about an hour? Once I settle in, I’m going to hit the town.”

  He walked out the door after he agreed to let them know about the car service. He was all smiles after the hundred-dollar tip I put in his hand.

  I picked up the phone to call Mona to let her know I was here. I hadn’t heard from her since yesterday. But she told me she had Naheri on lock and would hold him there with an extended party he looked like he would love until I got to him. The phone rang about four times before her voicemail greeted me. I didn’t think too much of it. Maybe she was tied up with a client. I was about to take a walk into the bathroom when there was a light knock at the door. “Who is it?” I tried my best to disguise my voice.

  “I’m Sistren Mary, mi waan Priors yah.”

  I understood her words even with the heavy dialect. I needed every prayer I could use if I was gonna get my son back and have my revenge on Naheri. I slowly approached the door with my trusty friend behind my back. I wanted to make sure this wasn’t an ambush. I was most certainly going to be ready. “Pardon us; we want to offer you prayer.”

  When I opened the door all the way, I laid eyes on two short, dark-skinned women in nun attire. Nothing was odd about them. I remember from my days here, the island parish would send the nuns out to pray with tourists and islanders alike. They say no matter where you are, if you won’t come to Jesus, they will bring him to you. I graciously stepped aside and allowed them in to pray for me. I bowed my head to receive the prayer. I hid my machete on the side of me, not wanting to scare them.

  After a few moments, “In da name of da Fada, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen,” I heard the lighter skinned nun say. She held my hand and gently rubbed the top of it. She looked me in the eyes deeply as if she were trying to see into my soul. “E, mi waan tell you dis. Nothing is worth losing your soul over. Stop da blood fire. No one will survive, not even ya soul. By morning sun, the love you lost will be found.”

  I removed my hand from hers as I felt a tingling sensation travel through my body. I couldn’t say what it was, but it did shake me some. It was as if she was prophesying. I have lived a cat’s life span and know well enough some things can’t be explained.

  “Tank ya. I be sure to remember dat,” I said in my broken dialect.

  The nun smiled and stepped closer to me. “Chile, no mind me and all ya waan be lost. I say ya go back to ya home and live. No good gonna come from this. I speak not of mi self, but the Fada dat sent me to ya.”

  Her eyes threw me off a little bit. They were glossy and colorless, almost the color of two silver dollars. The other nun who had stood quietly as I was prayed for and received my prophecy took the arm of the sister. They both began walking toward the door. “Thank you. What are your names?”

  “Sister Mary,” the one who was guiding her to the door spoke first.

  “I am Sister Mary as well.” She stopped with a wide sweet smile across her lips.

  “Good Sisters Mary, I want to thank you for the words and prayer,” I said with my mind still focused on what she’d said to me. The fact that she knew about my life and the love I lost and will soon gain again was shocking, but I had to realize it came from a higher power.

  “Again, thanks.”

  They continued to walk out the door until the one whose eyes were colorless stopped. “Remember dis day. All who do shall reap wahn ey sow. Choose this day what end ya waan be on when the smoke clears. And the bloods seeps into the ground. No waan cr . . .” She stopped midsentence and rubbed my hand lightly. Her eyes once again had me mesmerized.

  They had no pupils as if she was blind, but her words chilled me right down to my bone. She released my hand and walked away. I stood there for a moment. In my heart, I knew her message was saying for me not to kill, just get my son and leave. But there was no way I could do that. If I don’t kill Naheri and his brother, there is no way either of them will allow me to live my life peacefully with my son. Besides, Naheri owes me over a year of my life that he stole. He took the two most precious things near and dear to me . . . my son and Flex.

  Chapter 34

  Kainmen

  The Ruling

  “Make sure she’s gone. With a woman witch like that, you can’t make any mistakes with her.” I could still hear my grandfather saying this to me some years back. “But, Gramp, she is no threat. How could a little female ruin anything for us and what you have built?” I can recall that whole conversation as if it were yesterday. Everything he said to me about that evil bitch was true. After that day, she was behind my uncle and grandfather getting killed. She came like a thief in the night and killed them both. I found my grandfather lying in a pool of his own blood. I remember flipping him over on his back as he gasped for air. The cut on his throat made it impossible for him to breathe. All I could make out of his words were, “Ki . . . ll. her. Dutchtress must die.” These were the last words he muttered to me. I knew then she was the one who caught one of the most notorious drug lords slipping. Every day since then, I have hated her and anything that is her, including my stupid, naïve, fool-in-love-ass brother Naheri.

  I sent him to the best school in the country to get his doctrine, and when I found everything I needed to know about Elana, I sent him to the same school to kill her. She was young but vicious and callous. But what does he do? The fool falls for her. He went against everything that’s family. My grandfather and uncle died at her hands, and all he could do was think with his dick and not his brains.

  The day I heard about him getting married, I told him he was dead to me. But when he later told me about his plan to kill and destroy her, I was all for it. I wanted her and anything that had to do with her . . . dead. That’s why I sent our cousin Rasta to her. I knew if Naheri didn’t go through with it, he sure would.

 
I need to drink. I grabbed my nearest pair of black-on-black John Lobb Italian loafers. I also had my white Dolce & Gabbana suit laid across the bed. The one thing my grandfather taught me was never to let the world see you sweat. Always look your best. I walked into the bathroom and started a nice long shower.

  My mind was no clearer than before. I wanted to find my coward-ass brother and kill his so-called damn son. “Damn, dumb muthafucka,” I said as I slammed my fist against the nightstand. Naheri was beginning to be more of a headache. Family or not, I’m going to have to deal with him. “Come in,” I yelled.

  “I just wanted to see if you need anything before I take off for the night, sir,” my personal assistant Gina said as she came to the door. She had one of the most innocent faces I have seen in years. Secretly, if I weren’t married to the life, she would be wifey. But I couldn’t chance anything getting in the way of me taking this game to the next level.

  “No, that’s all. Have a good night and be safe.”

  “Oh, I see you’re going out tonight? Where ya goin’? I may wanna go. Might wanna shake some ass.” Gina laughed and gave me a “but I’m serious” look. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Even if I couldn’t commit to her, she would always hold a place in my heart.

  “No, Gina, you might want to go home. Get some rest before tomorrow. Besides, ain’t your rude boi at home?” I said with sarcasm. I wasn’t happy about her having a man in her life. But it isn’t fair of me to have her put her life on hold for something that may never happen between us.

  “Kainmen, why don’t you stop with the games? You know just as well as I do that no one else is in my heart but you. But I guess I’m not good enough for you to make it official, just a good fuck.” She turned in a huff to walk away.

  I gently grabbed her by the arm. “Gina, stop it. You know I can’t do that. It’s too dangerous. If anyone who wants my head on a stick knew what you meant to me, they wouldn’t waste any time getting to me through you. And I-I . . .” I tried hard to bring the words out. They seemed to have gotten stuck in my throat. Her eyes pleaded with me to say what she already knew.

  “You what, Kainmen, you what? This is torture. Just say it and put me out of my misery.” She grew more frustrated with me.

  The outside of me was hard as a brick, on the inside, I was screaming “I love you, Gina, I want you. Have my babies. Let’s jump the broom and make a life.” Everything in me wanted to say all of this out loud to her, but I couldn’t. “Gina, the times we shared were good and fine, but there is no way we can be together. My life is too dangerous. I care for you too much to just let you be hurt because of me.” She looked sad and defeated. In one last attempt to get to me, she quickly reached for me, pulled me closer to her, and planted a wet kiss on my lips. I couldn’t resist my sexual attraction growing in my boxers for her. I gave in.

  We lay there in the aftermath of some mind-blowing lovemaking. I wished I could lay here with her forever. I wrapped my arms tightly around her as I imagined our forever fairy tale. I was caught up in it until I heard her soft voice as she caressed my chest. “Kainmen, I knew I loved you from the first day we met. Your dark chocolate skin tone . . . Even your long thick locs were so attractive to me. The very attribute you had that I found most intriguing was your eyes. They sang a sad song to me. Not weakness but sadness, as if you were missing something. . . or someone. The lighter shade of brown was as dark as coal to me.” I felt her hold on to me a little closer.

  “Listen, I know you’re a man with much power, and you can have as many women as you want, but when we’re together, you make me feel like I’m the only woman in the room. You smile even when you don’t think I see you. Kainmen, please tell me what makes you so distant. Why can’t you love me in the open? The way you make love to me, or the way your head tilts to the left when you are nervous, or the way you look when you talk about Jack and I being in a relationship . . . Kainmen, why are you like this? Can you just give us a try?”

  I looked right into her eyes. I could see she meant every word she said. “Look, it’s complicated. I’ll leave it at that,” I said as I moved my body from our embrace to sit at the edge of the bed. I took a deep breath, then looked back over my shoulder to her face. She had a small frown on her face, but love was still in her eyes. She searched my face for answers. “Look, Gina, I have been taught all of my life never trust anyone who is not family. The day my grandfather left this earth was because of a woman, and my brother with his dumb ass married the bitch. So, no, I won’t be jumping over the broom or walking down any aisle any time soon. Better yet, this was a mistake. See yourself out.” I stood up and walked into the bathroom and slammed the door. It hurt me to talk to her that way. But I couldn’t allow her to be my distraction. I turned the shower on once again to get cleaned up. I’m about to hit the club. By the time I stepped out of the shower, Gina was gone.

  I love her, and nothing will ever change that, but right now, I can’t entertain love. I want to kill this nigga and anyone who is close to him. He doesn’t think I know about his cousin Mona Red, but I’ma about to pay that bitch a visit. Maybe get her to suck my dick first before I shoot her in the head.

  Chapter 35

  Naheri

  The Day of the Geechie Is Coming

  “Hello, Mr. Dolvan, will you need anything tonight, sir?”

  The hotel desk clerk called out to me as I was almost breathless rushing past the front desk. I managed to get out, “No, I’ll be okay.” I rushed to the elevator. As soon as the door opened, I stepped in and frantically pressed the button labeled six. As I impatiently danced in one spot, it seemed like the elevator was going slower than usual. I counted the numbers on the elevator keypad as each button lit up. When it finally got to the fifth floor, it stopped. I watched as two nuns slowly stepped on. I politely nodded, waiting for the doors to close. One of the nuns pressed the number one button.

  “Oh God,” I said a little louder than I’d intended to because I knew this old elevator was going to take us down instead of up.

  One nun turned toward me. “I’m sorry, son. I meant to allow you to go to your floor first.”

  The other nun turned to face me. Her eyes were steel gray with no pupil. From my years of practicing medicine, I knew she was blind. I stepped back a little. “No . . . No, it’s okay, Sister. I can wait,” I said nervously. There was something about the way she looked at me. Not because of her blindness, but it was as if she were looking right in to my soul. She offered an innocent smile, then turned back around to face the elevator doors. As badly as I needed to get up to the room so Junior and I could leave first thing in the morning, I couldn’t get the way the nun looked at me out of my mind.

  “Ding.” The sound of the elevator doors opening brought me out of my trance. As the doors opened, one nun began leading the blind one off of the elevator. However, the blind one stopped in the middle of the doors. Never turning toward me, the same one with the steel-gray eyes began to speak. “What you seek is not ’er. You will not find it, because it is seeking you. Every man must face ah music and ’tone for their action. You have to seek da Fada for help. Leave da bloodshed,” she said, her voice filled with sadness and despair as they continued into the lobby.

  I just stood there in silence and shock. Who was this woman, and where did she come from?

  A man entered the elevator drunk and staggering around, barely able to stand. “Nice to see y’all too, Sisters Mary,” he yelled out as the doors started to close once again. He struggled to push the button for his floor. Finally, he pressed the button for the seventh floor. I once again looked at the keypad as the numbers lit up. When the doors opened, I rushed off the elevator, almost knocking the drunk man to the floor. “Aay, bumbaclot,” he said as the door closed. I was about to push the door to get it to open up again, but decided I would just let it go this time.

  When I got to the room, I slowly opened the door and tiptoed inside, making sure I didn’t wake Junior. I was grateful he was still asleep.
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br />   Quickly, I walked over to the bathroom and closed the door. I turned on the shower. I wanted the water as hot as my skin could stand it; then I undressed. When I got down to my wife beater, it was covered in blood. Mona’s blood. I looked under the sink for a plastic bag. I found a small one and put the shirt, along with my socks and anything else I had on inside of the bag and tied it tightly. Once I was fully undressed, I got under the water to wash all the blood away. Thoughts of Elana started ravaging my mind. Her smell, the way her thick hips use to sway. Then I could see the look on her face the last time I saw her.

  As the water ran down some more, I envisioned my lovely Netta. I wondered what they were doing to her. I knew the way Flex thought, so I had a strong feeling she was still alive. I have something he wants, and I know he will use her to bargain for it. “I’m so sorry, Netta. I love you,” I said just above a whisper as the water cascaded down my face. I wanted what I wanted. Things were out of control; first my wife, and now my father. I wondered when this would be over. The nun’s voice also ran through my thoughts.

  She told me death was near. “Please, Lord, don’t allow Netta to pay for my mistakes. And please forgive me for all of my sins,” I said aloud as I turned the water off. “Oh God, please hear my prayer. This is all my fault. I love too hard, too fast. I loved Elana, and she still has my heart. Maybe I should have tried to fix us before I took that drastic measure. I hope she is resting in paradise in your arms, but please, don’t let my Netta be my punishment,” I spoke to myself as I looked in the mirror. I needed to get some sleep before the morning flight. I have to get Netta back.

  Chapter 36

  No Boundaries only Blood Bond

  “Mona, hey, Mona, you here? It’s me, Fle—” I walked through the bar calling out for my cousin. I called and called and got no answer. Knight and Vell held Peanut and Netta by each arm, making sure neither of them got away. Peanut was going to pay dearly for his betrayal, and Netta was going to be just what she is . . . a bargaining tool. When I got closer to Mona’s office, I heard faint cries. The door was slightly cracked, so I pushed it opened to see who was crying. I laid eyes on Slynn, Mona’s right hand, her sister. She held a bloody body cradled in her arms, rocking back and forth, much like comforting a baby. Slynn looked up at me, her eyes full of tears and pain.