by T. Styles
Kevin walked into the back while Cloud continued to stare me down. It seemed as if a building was hanging over my head. He wiped the tears off of my face with his rough hand.
“Get off of me,” I said snatching my head back.
“That nigga still in here breaking your heart, huh?”
“What do you want, Cloud?” I whispered through clenched teeth.
“You heard me. I’m working closely with the investigators in Bunny’s case.” He unzipped his pants. “And I need a reason not to give them the information I have about you.” He pulled out his dick. “It would be a shame for the twins to graduate from college without their mother.” He looked behind him where Kevin was I guess to be sure he wasn’t coming.
“You can’t be serious. You gonna make me do this shit right here? With my husband in the other room?”
“All I can say is that you better make it good and quick.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
RACE
Today was a weird day in the Kennedy Mansion. We were all sitting at the dinner table waiting for the big meeting. It was me, Ramirez, Carey, Bambi, Kevin, Denim, Bradley, Scarlett and Camp. Bambi’s twins, Melo and Noah, were out with friends and Master and Jasmine were both asleep upstairs. We could hear Master’s soft breaths on the baby monitor that sat on the table so we knew he was okay.
Bambi was just about to talk when there was a soft knock at the door. I hopped up. “Anybody expecting company?” I asked. Everyone shook their heads no.
I crept toward the door and grabbed the handle of my gun out of habit. I increased my height by standing on my tiptoes and I looked out the peephole and into a deliveryman’s face.
“Who ordered something?” I asked looking at the family.
Everybody stared at Scarlett. She was so gullible when it came to money and products because she believed everything worked. She bought everything from a mesh bag that you place over your head to prevent wrinkles to some cream that would darken your skin to give you a tanned look. None of the shit ever worked but it never stopped her from ordering things.
I signed for the package, closed the door and handed it to Scarlett. “Thank you.” She sat it on the floor and I took my seat.
“Let’s eat and then we can talk about the matter on the table,” Bambi said. After we ate dinner Bambi got right down to it. “The Russians are too quiet.”
“So let them be quiet,” Ramirez said sipping his Hennessey. “They not bothering us so why should we care?” he sat back in the seat and rubbed the back of my neck.
“They have been pressing us out for months, Ram,” Bambi continued. “They wanted the connect. And now all of a sudden they’re quiet? Don’t you think something is up with that?”
“Bambi, if they not around then we should leave it at that,” Bradley said. “Even if they were up to something we can’t make a move unless they do. Try not to look so hard into things. The businesses are doing well and profits are up. If you ask me you ladies are running the operation efficiently.”
“But why would they disappear all of a sudden?” Bambi continued. She stood up from the table and walked around it slowly. “Doesn’t it seem slightly weird to y’all? I mean did they try to get the connect information from any of you and y’all didn’t tell me?”
“I haven’t heard from them and you know Mitch moved from his old place in Mexico,” Kevin said. “Nobody knows where he rests his head but you.” He looked at Bambi. “Not even the girls. The most we have is his cell phone number.” He seemed to resent her for that.
Bradley, Ramirez and Camp never said much when we held family meetings. Since they weren’t at the helm of the operation they stepped all the way back. Kevin was different. He was the only one of the Kennedy Kings who couldn’t sit still. He wanted to know what was going on at all times and met regularly with me, Scarlett and Denim to find out the status of the operation. The others didn’t care. They protected us, respected our grind and left us to it.
“I think it’s weird but I also know we shouldn’t be worrying about things we can’t change,” Bradley said. “Let’s just make sure we got soldiers at our shops at all times and that the best man is always on the job. That’s all we can do.” He smiled at Bambi. “Be easy, Bambi. You on top.”
“He’s right, Bambi,” Carey said. “The money is coming in so shine. You a boss.”
The moment she opened her mouth I held my head down. Although Carey did runs for us when we needed her, she was supposed to be pretty and silent in these meetings. For some reason—maybe it was the liquor or the fact that she ate my pussy and sucked Ram’s dick every night—suddenly she felt she could speak on a topic like the Russians and this infuriated Bambi.
Bambi strutted toward Carey. “Are you talking to me, bitch?”
“What you talking about?” Carey responded. “It’s a meeting so I’m giving my opinion.”
“If I want to know how you suck Ramirez’s dick or how you trying to steal my sister’s husband then I’ll call on you. Other than that fall back, slut. You haven’t earned a spot at this table.”
“Bambi,” I yelled. “Why so hard?”
“Bambi what?” Bambi said. “This bitch walking around the house like her ass got ‘Kennedy’ stamped on it.”
Carey stood up and raised her dress. Right under the edge of her panties, on her ass cheek was a tattoo that read ‘Property of Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy’. I didn’t even know about that. It was shiny with Vaseline so she must’ve gotten it over the weekend.
Carey dropped her dress and took a seat.
“So you think that makes you legal? Bitch, I can introduce you to a torturing that your mind could never imagine.”
“Well who gonna put you in your place?” Denim asked Bambi.
Bambi focused on Denim.
“Because she not the only one out of line now is she?” Denim continued.
Everybody rotated their head to Denim’s direction.
What the fuck was going on with my family? First Bradley punched the dog shit out of Denim’s sister and got arrested. Then Denim left her baby in the parking lot. The next thing I knew Bambi was running around the house not talking to her husband based on a fight they had the other day. And for whatever reason Bambi wasn’t talking to Denim either. I was confused.
“Denim, if you wanna talk to me about some blood related business then we can do that in private,” Bambi said. “But please, don’t grandstand on me and get your feelings hurt.” Bambi looked over at Jasmine. “If you know what I mean. I’m not the only one who’s holding secrets.”
“What you gonna do? Kill me too?” Denim asked.
Kevin looked at Denim and then his wife. He must’ve thought they were fighting as usual at first. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Nobody responded. Instead Bambi and Denim stared each other down and Bambi looked hurt. It was if Denim betrayed her.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask your sister-in-law,” Bambi responded to Kevin. “Tell him, Denim. What are you talking about? You got the stage now.”
Silence.
Kevin looked at Denim. “What’s going on, sis?”
Denim remained quiet.
“Denim what you talking about?” Kevin said louder.
Instead of answering Denim wiped her mouth with her napkin and got up from the table. Bradley followed her.
“Okayyyyyyyyyy,” Carey said sarcastically. “This seems a little too serious for me. Let me leave too.” She looked down at me and kissed my lips. Then she kissed Ramirez. “I’ll be upstairs waiting to have some fun. This meeting’s a downer and has killed my vibe.” Carey took the elevator upstairs and out of sight.
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on in this family, but I’m going to find out,” Kevin said.
“There’s nothing to find out,” Bambi responded. “Denim got some stuff going on and she taking it out on me that’s all. It’s sister shit.”
“You really think I’m that dumb,” Kevin replied as he sto
od up and looked into Bambi’s eyes. “Soon I’m going to find out what’s what.” He walked away from the table.
“I’m going to check on Kev,” Ramirez said to us.
Camp looked over at us and said, “I guess that’s my cue too.” He left the table.
When the fellas left, me, Bambi and Scarlett were sitting at the table alone.
“What the fuck is going on around here?” I asked Scarlett and Bambi. Neither of them replied. “Somebody talk to me! What happened between you and Denim?”
Bambi looked at me and then at Scarlett. Scarlett nodded and Bambi lowered her head. I could tell whatever went down between Denim and Bambi, Scarlett knew about it already.
“You know I’m a holder of your secrets, Bambi,” I said honestly. “There’s no reason to think that will change based on what you tell me now. Be real with me. What happened?”
She looked up at me. “I killed Bunny.”
My jaw dropped and she went on to explain everything. She told me how Bunny was blackmailing her for money and how she was trying to steal the cocaine from the drop off the Russians. She talked about the fight she and Bunny got into and how she murdered her so that we would have a future. As fucked up as the murder was I believed Bambi really didn’t want to commit the crime. Bambi was all about family and Bunny was anything but. If Bambi said she had to murder her, then that’s what it is. I just wish I could’ve helped her dump the body.
“You know the secret is safe with me but does Denim know?” I asked Bambi.
“Yeah. She walked up on me while I was on the phone at the hospital getting blackmailed by Cloud. So I guess she’s blackmailing me too.”
“Now I see why you two were at each other’s throats. But what the fuck is Cloud doing blackmailing you?” I asked prepared to blast a hole in his face.
“He’s making me have sex with him and shit so that he won’t tell Kevin. I’m telling y’all, my skin crawls whenever he touches me. I can’t take it. But what can I do? If Kevin finds out it’s over and I can’t have that either.”
“So let’s kill this nigga,” I yelled. “Fuck are we waiting on?”
“Keep your voice down, Race,” Bambi whispered. “I wanna kill him but I can’t right now. You know me. If there was a way around this I would be all over it. But he has evidence that I killed Bunny that he’s hiding somewhere. He even took the necklace I took off Bunny’s neck. If something happens to him he made arrangements for it to get back to Kevin. At least that’s what he told me. I can’t risk that.”
“I hate that nigga,” I responded. “He been after you for the longest. I should’ve known something like this would happen.”
When Master started screaming on the baby monitor Scarlett sighed. “Fuck! This baby is getting on my fucking nerves already!” She pushed her chair back. “I can’t have five seconds alone without him tripping. I’ll be back. I’m sick of this shit!”
Scarlett hopped up from the table and caught the elevator upstairs.
When she went inside the doors I said, “I don’t know about her and that baby.”
I looked over at Bambi.
She didn’t respond.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SCARLETT
I walked up to my baby with anger all over me. All I wanted was to enjoy some time with the adults but Master wouldn’t let me. What is it about infants and kids that rubs me the wrong way? The hate. Oh my God the hate was so amazing that I had to make constant efforts not to do the wrong thing. Not to pick him up and fling him against the wall. The weird thing is I didn’t know which reaction would be worse. If I hurt my baby, part of me would feel justified because he wouldn’t leave me alone and or let me have a moment’s rest. That alone made me feel sick. But if I let him cry and not hurt him he’d drive me crazier.
I approached the crib. His arms and legs were outstretched and stiffened. He was a mad baby. Sweat poured down the sides of my face and my red hair clung to my neck and forehead.
I was about to go shake him up when someone said, “Scarlett.”
I turned around and looked at Bambi. She smiled at me before looking at Master who was still screaming at the top of his lungs.
“Are you okay?” she continued.
I nodded. “I’m fine. Why…why you ask?”
She walked deeper into my room toward me. She smiled at me again, and walked past me toward Master. She picked him up and he simmered down immediately. She rocked him in her arms. She was great with children.
“No reason,” she responded. “I was just asking how you were that’s all.”
“I didn’t hear you come upstairs.”
“I move lightly,” she winked. She looked down at Master again. “He’s so beautiful.” She gripped his little foot. “Perfect.”
I wiped the sweat off of my brow with the back of my hand. “I know. I was just thinking that.”
She placed him in the crib and he went to sleep. She walked up to me. “Remember when we talked in my closet and you shared some things with me? About your past?”
I walked toward my dresser and grabbed my gold brush. “Yes, Bambi. We had this convo already.”
“Tell me what we talked about, Scarlett.”
I brushed my red hair slowly. “I told you that I would get some help because of my past and what happened to me as a child. I’m not a kid so stop treating me like one.”
“I’m not saying that you are a kid. But I’m worried about you. You just had a baby and you could be going through that post-partum thing I heard about. So stop skipping the subject and tell me why did we talk about those things back then, Scarlett? I need to hear you say it.”
“Because you knew I was pregnant and you didn’t want me to abuse my baby like I did my daughter.”
She smiled at me again. She was so calm in that moment. So assertive. I always had respect for Bambi. In my eyes she was a warrior. But if there is one thing I hate it’s somebody jumping in my business and she was pushing the limits.
Bambi turned around and walked over to Master. She looked down at him again. He was still sleeping. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked back over to me.
“I don’t know what happened to you as a child but you don’t have to do the same thing to your baby. Look at him, Scarlett. He’s yours and he’s God sent. You can’t realize that now because whoever was supposed to take care of you as a child failed, and you were subjected to abuse. But it has to stop somewhere. Do you hear me, Scarlett? I can’t let you hurt that baby. He’s family. He’s a Kennedy.”
I looked at my face in the mirror and continued to brush my hair. Tears streamed down my cheeks because I knew she was right but I didn’t know how to stop it. I never laid a hand on my baby out of hate. Not yet anyway. But I wasn’t sure how much longer that would last.
“I hear you,” I responded.
She walked closer and hugged me. She rocked me in her arms and I sobbed long and hard. I didn’t realize I was in so much pain until that moment. I thought about everything good and bad in my life and I silently thanked God for my family.
When I was done she released me and I looked at myself again in the mirror. “Let’s talk about something else,” I suggested. I wiped the tears off my face. “Anything. I don’t care what it is.”
“Okay. What do you want to talk about?”
“The Russians.”
The look of concern was removed from her face and replaced with rage. “What about them?”
“Do you really think they’re plotting to do something to us right now?” I grabbed a tissue from the gold tissue box on the dresser to wipe my face and blow my nose.
“I don’t think they are; I know they are. I’m not sure if the plan is finished but I do know one thing. They will never stop pursuing me until they get the connect information. They’ve tried everything to get me to talk.” She looked at her reflection in the mirror. “So what do you think is left?”
I swallowed. “Your family.”
“Exactly,” she respon
ded. “That’s why I need you all to be careful. Watch everything and everybody around you at all times.”
She walked over to my bedroom window and looked out of it. She raised her shirt and rubbed the handle of the gun. Why was she strapped inside the house?
“We worth a lot of money,” she said continuing to look out the window. “And with money comes enemies. And with enemies come assassination attempts.” She closed the blinds. “You hear what I’m saying?”
I nodded. “I hear you.”
She walked over to me. “So what’s up with you and Ngozi?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything from him since I been home. I’m worried about that shit too. I reached out to him to offer him the money to meet with Camp. He never responded. I guess he can’t be bought out after all. I would’ve never known.”
“I swear the Kennedys got more trouble than we can hold on to,” she giggled.
“Tell me about it.”
“You want a drink?” she asked me.
“If you mixing.”
We were about to walk out of the room when Jasmine walked up to my doorway. “This for you,” she said holding some strange doll out to me.
Bambi and I both stood in the doorway with our jaws hung. She never, ever spoke.
I took it from her. Smiling the entire time. Until I saw what it was.
“What the fuck is that?” Bambi asked when she saw my expression.
I couldn’t talk. My voice seemed as if it was trapped in my throat.
“What the fuck is it, Scarlett?”
I turned around and faced her. “It’s a Voodoo doll.”
It fell out of my hand and bounced to the floor.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
KEVIN
Kevin drove down the road to his destination silently. Unlike most dope boys he didn’t need a booming speaker or the conversation of a stranger to keep him occupied when he traveled. The only thing he needed when he hit the road was silence. Complete silence. Besides, he was moving things around in his mind and trying to figure out how to make things work out in his life.