“Let’s not jump to any conclusions. Funerals bother some people, so they don’t show up.” Michelle knew it was not true. Over the years she had seen Bunny at the funerals of school mates and gang bangers they grew up with. “Are you going back to the church?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, You go back to your friends, I’ll check on Bunny and catch up with you in the fellowship hall.”
Everyone returned to the fellowship hall of the church. It sat to the side and back of the main sanctuary church building. The long line of cars made their way back into the church parking lots as the fellowship hall began to fill with over two thousand hungry souls. Funerals and graveside services were emotionally draining, and famishing affairs.
Michelle Nikky, her family, and Deja with her family filled the stretch limo. Their drivers brought them to the front door of the fellowship hall.
Michelle stepped out of the limo. A flash of light from the street caught her attention. It was the reflection off the window of a car making a U-turn. The car stopped in front of the church. When she looked up she noticed it came from the opposite direction of the procession from the grave site. Also it fit the description of the black Lincoln Town Car that had taken Little-T.
A man with a medium build stood by the passenger door. It was too far away to see his face clearly, but without any doubt what-so-ever, she knew he was Little-T’s killer. Michelle didn’t know how he picked her out, but it was clear he knew who he was looking for because he stared right at her. No movement, no gestures, just stood and watched.
Michelle stood as still as a statue, she looked at the killer who had challenged her. She wasn’t frozen into inaction. She couldn’t possibly reach him before he sped off, but she could learn more about him. She took in every tiny detail she could while he stood beside his car, his presence challenging her.
“Momma, you guys go ahead on ahead,” Nikky said. “I’ll be right in. I’m going to talk with Michelle a minute out here.” Nikky walked over to Michelle whose eyes were locked on the man standing beside the black Lincoln out on the street. After what seemed like a long time, but not more than half a minute, the man climbed back into the car and rode away. Michelle closed her eyes and continued to stand perfectly still. A short moment later she opened her eyes and looked at Nikky.
“Was that him?”
“Yes. First the viewing, and now here.” Michelle said
“What do you think he was doing here?”
“He’s challenging me. But he only signed his death sentence,” Michelle said with absolute calm. She would hunt him down and kill him. She knew it would take some time, but as sure as she was a Black woman, he was a dead man. “I think he has Bunny.”
Nikky’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God, no! What? When? How? Oh shit, oh shit!”
Michelle pulled Nikky into a hug and talked closely into her ear. “Hang on, we don’t know for sure, and if it’s true, we can’t let anyone know about it. Not yet anyway. We certainly can’t do anything out here. Let’s go inside. I’ll leave in a few minutes; soon as most everyone shows up. I need you and Deja to stay and be visible for a while.”
Nikky stepped back from the hug and leaned against the side of the limo. “What about Deja? Do you want me to tell her?”
“Good point. No, don’t tell her, everything shows on her face. As soon as most of the people are seated, make a walk through so they can see you. Talk and make contact but keep moving. Then, when you can reasonably leave, pull Deja outside and tell her.”
Nikky pushed off the side of the car and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I can do that. Anything else?”
“Yes, help me find Cherry, the new girl. She is Bunny’s cousin and I need to get her out of here before she tells anyone else.”
“What are you going to do?” Nikky asked.
“I don’t know yet; not exactly. I’m not even a hundred percent sure he has Bunny. She could have flaked out somewhere and this could all be for nothing.”
“You don’t believe that, do you?”
“No,” Michelle said. “My gut says he has her and I have to find her.”
Five: A Little Help
MICHELLE CLOSED TREVON’S front door behind her. “Don’t go far.”
Moving back into the living room, Trevon asked. “What’s up?”
“You just hold it right there mister.” Standing in the entry, Michelle kicked off her shoes and stripped off her pantyhose.
Trevon had already changed out of his black funeral suit to slacks and a casual shirt. Like Michelle, he was barefooted.
She walked out of the entry, stepping off the cold slate floor onto soft, deep pile carpet. She picked up the remote and turned up the volume on R. Kelly’s Every Position bumping on the stereo and pulled Trevon into a deep hard kiss.
Still in the deep kiss, he pulled off her suit coat and threw it on the floor. Soon the rest of their clothes lay forgotten in a circle around them on the carpet.
Their lovemaking was hard, fast, no holds barred, visceral animal lust answered. The second time was softer, gentler.
Still naked, Michelle sat on the deep carpet leaning against the couch. The leather a soft aroma, her still damp skin felt cool in the air conditioned room.
Equally naked, Trevon got up and went to a built-in bar across the room. “I’m sorry for the reason, but I sure as hell am grateful for the result. Are you always like this after a funeral?” He held up a bottle of red wine and a bottle of scotch, “Which one?”
“Scotch. I saw him today.”
“Saw who?” Trevon poured two fingers of 30 year old Glen Fiddich Scotch for each of them.
“Little-T’s murderer. He came to the church after the graveside service.” Michelle took a sip of scotch. “Mmmm, good.
“What’s your plan?”
“The short version is find him and kill him. Goddamn him anyway. I should kill him twice. First for what he did to Little-T, and the second time for keeping me in the killing business.”
“What do you mean, keeping you in the killing business?”
“You know I got into the business to avenge my brother’s murder. I did that and thought I was done with it. Then that business with you and D’andre came up. It wasn’t part of the plan but it happened.”
“You knew when you took out Jackson and Lewis it would leave a huge vacuum at the top of the drug business in town. It was only a matter of time until things got crazy. Neither one of us planned on what happened with D’andre that day. I knew things would come to a head, but not that way. And certainly not with you involved. But it did, and I’m glad you were there. If not, it would be D’andre alive and running things, not me.”
“I know. I’m not sorry he’s dead, but wish I hadn’t been the one to take him out. And, I’m real glad you’re still here. The thing is, after dealing with Michael’s killers I had hoped I would be able to put killing behind me.”
“Why?”
“Trevon, you came up knowing you wanted to be a player. From the time you were in high school you ran a crew. I grew up thinking about college and babies. I didn’t want any part of the thug life. Everything changed when Michael and Gabe Jr. were murdered. I spent years learning how to be the person who could kill the men who did it. I’m good at it, and I got them. But to answer your question, I hate it. And I hate that fucking asshole for making me kill him.”
“Okay, that’s your short plan. What’s your very short plan? Like in what’s your plan this afternoon?”
“That’s why I came over. I need some help.”
“You didn’t come to ravage me?”
“Fringe benefit. Thanks, by the way.”
Trevon tipped his glass in her direction and took a sip. “Mi casa es tu casa. What’s the help?”
“I’m pretty sure he has one of my girls.”
Trevon sat in a large overstuffed leather chair, the mate to the couch Michelle leaned against. He focused on his scotch as he swirled the glass. “How sure?”
“I can’t prove it, but I know as well as I know I’m sitting here, that miserable bastard has her.”
“What do you need from me?”he asked.
“I got a good look at him and his car and want to see if my contacts with the police can help. I already talked to a few of the street cops I know, but none of them have been any help. I know a sergeant who will sometimes help. He comes back on duty tonight after a few days off. Try to do a little back scratching that’ll help both of us. Give him the description of the car and see what’s going on with Little-T’s case.”
“I still don’t see what you want from me.” Trevon said.
“The thing is, all the cops who normally help, have been off Little-T’s case or pulled off the case, or off duty,” Michelle said. “It’s not anything direct, but it doesn’t feel right either. If my sergeant friend can’t help, I may need to ask you for some help on the inside.”
“No problem. I’ve got a couple lieutenants in several departments who work with me. Are you going to tell the cops about seeing this guy?”
“No. I don’t want them to know who he is exactly. That’ll make them look at me.”
“Why is that?” he moved over to sit behind her on the couch and started rubbing her shoulders, loosening some of the knots.
“He’s a pimp. I thought he might be, and after seeing him this afternoon I’m sure of it. Mmmm that sure feels good.”
“How does knowing he’s a pimp help?” Trevon asked.
“He’s here to push me out. He wants to scare the girls into not working for me. He killed Little-T to make everyone scared. But he probably won’t kill again because he won’t want to destroy more product he plans on using later.”
“You think he has your girl to scare everyone, but won’t hurt her?” Trevon asked.
“Oh he’ll hurt her, but he won’t kill her or damage so she can’t work. Not yet anyway.”
“I can see how that makes sense.”
“He has to be from out of town.” Michelle rolled her neck stretching some of the muscles Trevon massaged. “I made it a point to meet all the real players in Southern California and several from up in the Bay Area. I don’t know this guy. I’ve never seen him before.”
She took another small sip of Scotch. “This guy’s got to be crashing somewhere close. He’ll want to be close to the action to gauge the feeling of things.”
“Any idea where that might be?”
“No. I don’t expect to find him that way. But with him close, someone should see him on the streets. Most likely where my girls work.”
Michelle stood up, rolled and stretched her neck. “Thanks, that’s much better. I’m going to grab a quick shower and hit the streets. I’ll let you know if I need you to talk to your lieutenant friends.”
The good sex, scotch and short shoulder rub had done wonders to settle her nerves. After a quick shower Michelle hit the streets.
She knew several of the girls didn’t want to show up tonight. She needed them to show. They had to be back out on the streets or their fear would paralyze them. She didn’t want a problem of one or two staying home to snowball into twenty then thirty. That was bad for everyone except the asshole trying to move in on them. They needed to see her and know she was checking on them.
But there was more to it than her being seen. There was added business to take care of.
Michelle was talking to a couple of her girls when she saw T-Dog’s Explorer pull up and park on the street behind her Crossfire.
“Hey, T-Dog, good of you to come.”
“Sup, girl? That was one hell of a home-going y’all put on for Little-T today.”
“All we did was paid the bill,” Michelle said. “The hood sent her home. She was well loved by a lot of people around here.”
“On the phone you said you wanted me and my crew to do some high profile security. What’s on your mind?”
“I want your girls in street clothes, looking like they’re strapped but sort of hanging back watching things. I want them to be seen by anybody who knows what they’re looking at. The johns will see a couple women in the background. The players will see security for my girls.”
T-Dog glanced up the sidewalk and out into the traffic. “Are we looking for anything special?”
“This guy.” Michelle handed T-Dog a stack of copies of the drawing she had made of the man she saw. Earlier she showed it to Deloris at Taylor and Sons. Deloris said the drawing was about as close to a picture of the man she talked to as she could imagine.
“You’re sure he’s the one?”
“No doubt about it. He’ll probably be in a black Lincoln Town Car. It’s the big one.”
“The one they stopped making a couple years ago?” T-Dog asked.
“I don’t know about that. It’s one of the big ones. Black with tall custom wheels it sits up high. There might be a White woman driving. He’s an out of town pimp. That’s why I need your help. Before I didn’t know if it was someone off his nut, or a one-time thing. Now I know it’s this bastard and he’s making a move on me and the girls. He’ll make his next move soon. The trouble is, I don’t know who he is or where to find him so we need to do a little preventative action. That’s where you come in. Your crew should be able to make him when they see him. How many girls do you have?”
“Not enough to cover all of your territory. All my crew are women. We both know they can handle whatever happens, but will he respect that?”
“Yeah, he’s a pimp. From the looks of him he’s been a player for a long time. He won’t mess with someone he sees as a shooter.
“I’ll tell the crew to show their shit. But, like I said, I don’t have enough people to cover your area.”
“Can you get more?” Michelle asked.
“A few tonight. I’ll put out the word out for more help. By tomorrow night we’ll be good. I’ll do what I can, but some of them will be mostly for added lookout and a show of presence. They won’t be much in a real fight. They’ll still cost,” T-Dog said.
“Understood. Do what you can tonight. I’m meeting with the whole team at the Sheraton Inn here in Anglewatts tomorrow evening. I’d like you to talk to them about your crew.”
“Alright, no problem,” T-Dog said. “I’m taking off and see what I can do about bringing in more people. You gonna be out here on the streets tonight?”
“Yeah. I’ll be close by and visible. Text me if you need me for anything.”
* * *
Michelle had knots in her shoulders and was full of jumpy energy. It had only been a few hours since T-Dog drove off, but things had changed and not for the better. Nikky checked with Bunny’s roommate and every place she was known to hang out and nobody had seen her. Michelle texted T-Dog.
“Your text didn’t say much. What’s up?” T-Dog asked.
“Bunny, one of my girls, is missing. Nobody’s seen her since the viewing. I didn’t say anything earlier because there was still a chance of her turning up. She sometimes takes off.”
“Not this time?”
“Nope, we checked everywhere. I need to focus on finding her, so won’t be as visible on the streets. My being gone will make everybody even more scared, so I have to have more people on the street tonight. What can you do?”
T-Dog pulled her phone and made a call. A few minutes later she tapped the face of her phone and put it in her pocket. “That was Sonny from Compton. She’ll bring her crew to help cover your girls.”
Michelle nodded. “Thanks. How does that work with an outside crew?”
“It’s okay. We’ve done some work for each other before. We have a pretty good understanding about what works and what doesn’t.”
“Good. I want everyone to stand tall, be big and be seen. Also, make sure everyone has a copy of this creep’s picture.
“Got it. I’m off to meet with Sonny to show her where to post her crew.”
Michelle watched T-Dog’s Explorer pull out into the street and saw what looked like a black Lincoln Town car coming in
the opposite direction. Squinting, cocking her head slightly, she focused on the oncoming car. It was in a line of traffic so she couldn’t see it clearly. It looked like it rode high for a Town Car.
“Fuck, that’s him!” Her heart revved up preparing for battle.
Michelle pulled her 9mm and ran out into the parking lane where she was stopped by a string of cars coming at her. Four lanes of Saturday-night traffic separated them.
Gun at her side, Michelle darted out into the traffic. Several horns blared and someone shouted at her through an open window. She ignored them. She made it across the first lane and a line of cars in the inside lane whizzed past. The wind of the cars in front and behind buffeted her. Another horn blasted a single long wail as the car passed in front of her.
The Lincoln continued to come up the street toward her.
Michelle jumped into the inside lane, trying to reach to the middle of the street. An oncoming car bucked wildly as the brakes grabbed. Tires squealed. The horn shrieked. The car skewed then straightened. It sped past, barely missing Michelle as she made it to the middle of the street. Another car’s tires screeched, almost hitting the car in front; the driver laid on the horn.
While she danced with two tons of steel, the Lincoln slowed. Traffic dove around it. The inside lane coming toward Michelle crowded fuller with impatient drivers pressing into every small slot. Some of the drivers must have seen her standing on the double line because the bright lights on several cars flashed. Horns from a couple oncoming cars screamed warnings. Blinded by the string of bright headlights, Michelle had a hard time clearly seeing the Lincoln.
The Lincoln slowed to a crawl almost directly in front of Michelle. Frustrated by the string of traffic still blowing by, she tried to see in the darkened windows.
Just as the last on-coming car passed by its horn blazing a brassy bellow, the Lincoln sped up in a simultaneous roar from the engine and exhaust. Not hesitating, she opened fire.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Six rounds blasted into the car. The side windows and back window spidered from the bullets. The Lincoln swerved around and between cars. Tires squealing, it raced off.
Hard Betrayal (Michelle Angelique Avenging Angel Series 2) Page 24