by Roy Glenn
After his father’s death, Judah was allowed to take over Doc’s gambling spot and his legitimate businesses, but not control of the crew. Jackie moved quickly to takeover Jelly’s and Sweet Nectar because she saw the potential in them, but other than La Chat, she had little interest in anything else. After speaking with Black and Rain about it, one other change was made.
Black reached out to his longtime friend, Sherman Williams, and asked him to step back in. He had retired as captain after Warwick Barrington and Lyric Sky deeply infiltrated his crew, and Bobby almost died because of it.
“But if that’s what you need me to do, Mike, I’m more than happy to do it,” Sherman told Black, and he took over what was left of Doc’s crew, leaving Jackie free to rebuild her crew as she saw fit. Those plans included Marvin.
Long before his parents got married, he had stopped calling himself Money Marv and had changed his last name from Dancer to Simmons. His father, Nick, was a legend in The Family, so Marvin felt like he had a lot to live up to. But despite being family, Marvin always felt like an outsider. He didn’t grow up in The Family like RJ or Judah. By the time he became a part of The Family, Nick had stepped back and was running a legitimate business with his mother, April, so Marvin had to not only learn his new family’s business, he had to prove to everybody, including himself, that he was worthy of carrying the name. It was something that drove him.
Wanda had given The Four Kings to RJ; Black and Bobby gave him The Late Night; Judah inherited Doc’s when his father died. All Nick had to give him was advice. Marvin had earned everything else on his own.
Another soldier who had stepped up was Geno Crocker. He had known Carter since they were kids, and after resisting Carter’s invitations to join The Family for years, he was all-in now. As Ryder moved to setup her own crew, Geno stepped in to fill that void and had become Carter’s most valuable and dependable lieutenant. Now Geno did for Carter what Carter used to do for Howard. He just didn’t hit as hard.
The person who was making their presence known in The Family and surprising a lot of people was Barbara. Once Black and Bobby reluctantly gave her their blessing to learn how to handle a gun and defend herself, Barbara took it a step farther. She and her bodyguard, Tahanee, went to Jelly’s and asked Jackie to teach her about her family’s business. Barbara had been kidnapped, threatened with rape, and had to kill somebody to survive. Barbara was determined not to be an easy target ever again.
At Conversations, Barbara found an environment that she could thrive in. Not only did she have Jackie as a teacher, there was also Sonny Edwards, who sometimes served as Black’s consigliere in the old days; and although he was, as he called himself “a retired old man who just liked to gamble and look at pretty women”, he was a wealth of information for Barbara.
On top of that, Wanda was always in her ear. And although she spent the majority of her time in Nassau, anytime Wanda was in the city, she made sure that she made time to spend with Barbara. She and Mercedes hit it off the first time they met, and she took her shopping every week. Those trips always included lessons on how to get men to do what you want them to do, and think it was their idea.
Barbara was a student and a year later, she had found some opportunities to make money and become an earner for her family, had taken over the dance club, had established herself as a presence in the gambling room, and was looking to take that over too.
Into the midst of this room full of gangsters and killers, sauntered Valencia DeVerão. Her entrance most certainly didn’t go unnoticed; for one, she didn’t seem to belong there, and Valencia was gorgeous; therefore, dressed like she was in a Valentino asymmetric vented leather cape dress, Valentino Garavani Rockstud leather ankle boots and matching shoulder bag, she had the attention of every man in the house.
She wandered around Purple for a while, looking for Shy but hoping to see Black. Valencia made her way to the bar to order a drink. As the bartender arrived to take her order, was when she first saw Shy. She was seated in a booth with Mileena, Yarrisa, Chee-Chee, Mercedes, Carla, and Edwina. Ryder was standing up with a drink in one hand and a gun in the other, telling the story about the shootout she had gotten into with Chao Hassan at the warehouse, where DP ran his human trafficking operations.
“What can I get for you?” Judean, the bartender, asked in a voice so deep that it sent chills rushing over her body.
“Vieux-Carre.”
Judean smiled and leaned forward. “Vieux-Carre? I don’t get many requests for that,” he said of the drink which was made with Rye, Cognac, Sweet Vermouth and a bar spoon each of Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters, served over ice, with a lemon twist. “Unique … like you,” he said, and went to pour her drink.
As she sipped her cocktail, Valencia looked around Purple, still looking to see if she saw Black anywhere, when she made eye contact with Shy. They waved to one another and Shy started to get up. That was when Valencia saw another face that she recognized. It had been years since she’d seen him. In that time, he had gained a little weight, but who hasn’t, and he had grown a beard, and he is wearing it well, but it was definitely him.
“Geno Crocker,” she said softly; and memories of their brief, but intense time together washed over her.
In the closing days of her fashion line, Valencia was strapped for cash. She had drained the dating site dry and both companies were on the verge of bankruptcy. It was during that time that she met Gustavo DeVerão, a wealthy Brazilian businessman who had fallen in love with her at first sight and was doing everything that he could to sweep her off her feet.
It was working.
Gustavo was nice, and he was definitely romantic, he had been showering her with expensive gifts and trips to exotic places. And he was so goddamn sexy. So, Valencia was interested, if not in love. But none of that really mattered at the time because she was trying to save her company, and as free-hearted as Gustavo was with his money, he wasn’t talking about bailing her out.
She had scheduled a number of fashion events trying to get some much-needed capital and perhaps interest a backer. That was when she first saw Geno.
“Valencia,” Shy said when she got to the bar. “Glad you could make it.”
“Hey, Mrs. Black—I mean, Shy. How are you tonight?”
“Great!” Shy said, and Valencia could tell that she’d been drinking. “It’s my girl’s birthday and I am having a ball.” She turned to Judean. “Bring Ms. DeVerão another of whatever she’s drinking, and it is on the house.”
“Yes, Mrs. Black,” he said, and quickly rushed off to fix Valencia another drink.
“I’m not going to stay long. I just wanted to stop in and say hello,” Valencia said, but Shy knew better.
“I know. You came to see Michael.” Shy looked around. “I don’t see him anywhere. But relax and enjoy yourself. I’m sure he’ll come out of hiding sooner or later.” Shy laughed. “But I’m going to get back to my girl to celebrate.”
“You go ahead, enjoy your friend. I’ll be alright,” Valencia said, as Shy walked back to the table.
She took another sip of her drink and looked around for Geno, but he was no longer standing where she’d last seen him.
But he had seen her. When Valencia came through the door at Purple, she got the attention of just about every man in the house, and that included Geno. He didn’t recognize her at first, he simply noticed that a beautiful woman had come in. The longer he stared, admiring her beauty, the more familiar she seemed.
Valencia? he questioned. What would Valencia Porter be doing here? was the question that he asked himself. Couldn’t be her. For a number of reasons, he quickly dismissed that thought; but when she turned and looked in his direction for a brief second, there was no longer any doubt.
In an instant, he was taken back to the night they met. He made a deal to secure and deliver a floating two- carat diamond solitaire pendant necklace to one of the people who was attending Valencia’s fashion event. The connection between them was immediate,
strong, and intensely physical. Before the night was through, Valencia was riding him hard and fast, like she was a jockey in the last furlong at the Kentucky Derby.
Their eyes locked; Valencia waved.
Although he had been watching her every move since she walked in, Geno made out like it was the first time he had seen her, and each began making their way toward the other.
“Hello, Valencia.”
“Hello, Geno,” she said, and gave him a polite hug, but her body, remembering their time together, wanted more. “How have you been doing?”
“You mean after you left me dirt broke and fucked up?” Geno chuckled, and looked around the club. “I’ve been doing all right.”
“I see,” she said of Geno, who was dressed in a gray Herringbone Solaro two-piece suit.
“So what brings you here tonight?” Geno asked, looking around Purple. “This doesn’t seem like your kind of spot.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that small neighborhood bars weren’t your thing,” he said and laughed, thinking that a bunch of gangsters and killers hung out there. “But I guess things can change.”
“Actually, I was invited to the party by Mrs. Black,” Valencia said, pointing in Shy’s direction.
“You and Mrs. Black friends?”
“We have business. What about you, what are you doing here?” she asked her ex-lover, recognizing that he was in a place where gangsters and killers hung out.
“I work for her husband.”
That got her attention. “I see,” Valencia said, as Carter walked up to them. “Carter Garrison, Valencia DeVerão.”
Since Geno had told Carter all about her, he looked her up and down. “Nice to meet you.” He turned back to Geno. “We gotta go. Rain’s waiting,” he said and walked away.
“So that’s Carter Garrison,” Valencia said. She had heard about Carter, not only from Geno, but from Ezequiel Simmonds, a major associate in the Comodoro Cartel when he talked to her about The Family.
“Yeah, that’s him.” Geno stepped closer to Valencia. “I gotta go.”
Valencia glanced over at Carter, who was standing impatiently by the door waiting for Geno. “I see.”
“I’d like to see you again.”
Valencia quickly reached in her purse and gave him a card. “Give me a call when you’re free. We’ll have a drink and talk about old times.”
“You mean after you left me dirt broke and fucked up?” Geno said laughing, and then he walked away.
Valencia stayed at Purple for a while after that. She talked to Shy briefly, but still hadn’t seen Black. So, after one more drink, Valencia left and went home thinking about Geno Crocker.
Chapter Nine
As Carter waited for Geno to come out of Purple, he took one last look at Mileena. This was the first time that he had been to Purple; the first time he’d seen her since they broke up and she quit working at J.R.’s. If it hadn’t been for Ryder browbeating him, calling him a coward for being unwilling to man-up and face her, he wouldn’t have come.
The pain that he felt over losing Mileena remained an open wound that he’d allowed to fester and had become infected. Carter was angry, angry to the point of rage at times, but since he was Carter Garrison, and delivering pain was what he did, nobody noticed. And the few that did, didn’t seem to care because he got results.
It didn’t help when Rain told him that Mileena had met somebody, and they had practically moved in together. “Your dumbass might as well stop walking around here looking crazy and move the fuck on. She damn sure has.”
So he did.
Carter hadn’t seen nor heard from Fantasy since Jada ran her off, and she began working for Monika. When he asked Rain about her, she simply said, “She’s alright,” and moved on.
Shortly after she filed for divorce from Perry, Glenda told Carter that she was moving to Bakersfield, California to take a residence position at Mercy Hospital, so he was alone.
There’s a saying among some men, that the best way to get over a woman was to replace her with two new ones. That wasn’t going to be a problem for Carter. He was a handsome man who women tended to throw themselves at, and there were literally hundreds for him to choose from each night at J.R.’s.
“So that’s Valencia DeVerão,” Carter said as they walked out of Purple.
“Yeah,” Geno said, with visions of Valencia still dancing in his head.
“That’s her … the one you used to tell me about?”
“That’s her,” he said, walking with his chest stuck out.
Carter nodded his head. “I see why you were losing your mind over her.”
“Yeah. So, do I,” Geno said, as he and Carter got in the car with Rain.
“… took y’all so long?”
“I had to drag lover boy away from somebody,” Carter said, as Geno started up the car and drove off.
Rain laughed. “You’ll have plenty of time to get that pretty pussy later. Right now, we got this to do.”
“I don’t know, Rain. Pretty pussy like that don’t like to be kept waiting,” Carter said.
“He’ll be alright,” Rain said, and settled into her seat.
They were on their way to see a man named Rex Steward. He was a bookmaker and a loan shark who owed Carter fifty thousand dollars. Baby Chris had said that he’d seen Rex a couple of times around the way. Earlier in the evening, Rain had sent her bodyguards, Alwan and Ricky, to look for him. They caught up with him at Tony’s Pizza, waiting on a couple of slices. It took a bit of discussion and a bit of gentle persuasion, but it wasn’t long before they dragged Rex out of there and had him tied up and waiting at the warehouse where Rain made her knock-off purses.
With Black officially retired and Wanda managing the bank in Nassau, Rain Robinson was truly the boss of The Family now. With the Rona King wars behind her, it was a time of peace. The longest period of peace that she had known since Nick first brought her in. Since then, her story had been a tale of unrelenting war. Some might say that a lot of it was her fault, and for the most part, she accepted that criticism. Now that they were no longer on a wartime footing, everybody had gone back to making money.
But she was alone too.
Rain had made the decision not to see Gavin Caldwell anymore. There was a task force investigation in place, and they had questioned her about their association while she was in jail. She understood clearly, dick or no dick, Gavin was somebody who she needed to stay away from. No phone calls, no meetings, nothing. Nothing that would tie her to him for any reason other than the mutha fucka got a big dick and he eats the fuck out some pussy. And now that was over with.
So Rain was alone, and she was bored, so she decided to come along to watch her men work.
When they arrived at the warehouse, Alwan and Ricky had Rex gagged and tied to a chair. He looked up when the door opened and Geno walked in, followed by Carter, but his eyes opened wide when he saw Rain come through the door. Now he was no longer thinking about the beating that he was about to take; he could take a beating. But now that Rain was there, he was thinking about torture.
Rex had heard the stories; Rain had learned the craft from Nick, and she was good at it. He breathed a sigh of relief when she sat down, and Geno took off his jacket and began loosening his tie. He knew why he was there; he owed Carter a lot of money and he was about to take a beating for it.
Rex Steward had been a consistent earner in The Family for years. He worked for Howard Owens; and while Rex wasn’t blowing anybody away with the numbers he was bringing in, he made enough money to take care of his family and earn his captain’s respect.
The problem began when two of his customers hit the trifecta for big money on the same day and he needed to borrow money from Carter to cover it.
“No problem, Rex. I got you,” Carter said that night, getting up to get the money from his safe.
“Thanks, Carter. You know that I’m good for it,” Rex assured, because under normal circumstan
ces, he would be good for it. “I’ll have it back to you with points in a week, ten days at most.”
Rex was as good as his word. A week later, he had the money; but then something went wrong—terribly wrong. Having had worked for Howard for years, Rex was well aware of Mike Black’s rule: no drugs. Period. Drugs in The Family get you killed. It had been proven time and time again. Why people kept trying, was hard for some to understand. To others, it was easy.
“The lure of that money is powerful. And you say to yourself, that nigga ain’t gonna find out, but you’re wrong. Somehow, someway, sooner or later, he always finds out and then you die,” Rex had been quoted as saying once. Therefore, like most people in The Family, he stayed away from the drug business, until he met a woman named Jaylinda Harvey.
Like Rex, she had been around for a while, and like Rex, she wasn’t blowing anybody’s mind with the money that she was making, but she was able to live well on what she was pulling in selling cocaine.
Cocaine?
No problem.
“Mike Black married a drug dealer. He can’t hold that against me. I heard the nigga say that he don’t care how a man makes his money as long as it doesn’t interfere with mine,” Rex said.
That separation ended when Jaylinda’s supplier became the target of a narcotics sting and a couple of her people got arrested. Fortunately for Jaylinda, they didn’t snitch on her, but she needed a new supplier. Rex knew somebody who could help her out, Hareem Epps. He was one of Jackie’s soldiers who Rex had known for years. Epps had no involvement with drugs either, but he did grow up with Twan, one of Gavin Caldwell’s people.
Based on the strength of their friendship, Twan gave Epps such a good price that he was able to put a ten percent tax on it, and Jaylinda was still getting it cheaper than she was from her old supplier.
Everything was all good until Jaylinda got robbed, and Twan brought her to Rex’s house and threatened to kill her in front of him if he didn’t get his money. So instead of giving the money he owed to Carter, he gave it to Twan to save his woman’s life.