Pretty Kings II

by T. Styles

  Kevin looked at the address on the yellow Post-It pad stuck to his dashboard. He removed it to be sure it was correct. The location he was going didn’t seem right for the person he was meeting.

  When he pulled up in front of the store and the addresses matched he parked his Infiniti. The moment he stepped his foot onto the curb Mitch, the drug connect he’d known for years stuck his head out of the store’s door. He waved Kevin over toward him.

  “Hurry up, man,” Mitch said. “You have to see this.” Mitch disappeared back into the store and Kevin could no longer see him.

  On Kevin’s way inside he took a moment to take in the sign. Mr. Bernard’s Antique Furniture. Was this some kind of front that he owned that Kevin didn’t know about? Mitch owned a lot of businesses in the states.

  Kevin shook his head and walked toward the entrance. When he got inside he stood at the doorway and moved his head from left to right looking for Mitch. He couldn’t spot him anywhere.

  Instead of seeing his long-term business partner he saw mounds and mounds of odd furniture. There was a slight odor of aged fabric and wood in the air but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t move past.

  Out of nowhere from the floor Mitch raised his head up and looked over a table. All that could be seen were his eyes. He was on his hands and knees, which was why Kevin couldn’t spot him at first. “Come over here, man. You have to see this table.”

  For as long as Kevin knew Mitch, he always had an obsession with odd tables and antique furniture. He wasn’t interested in simple pieces that you would see in regular furniture stores. He adored handcrafted tables with intricate patterns and designs.

  Kevin shook his head and strolled over to Mitch. “What are you about to buy now? Don’t you have enough furniture in that house in Mexico?”

  “Come down here,” Mitch said. “I’ll show you.”

  “I’m not about to get on my hands and knees to look at no table, man. That ain’t why I’m here anyway.”

  He gave him a serious glare. “Just for one second.”

  Hoping Mitch would talk about what he wanted to discuss later, Kevin reluctantly got on his hands and knees. His three hundred dollar designer jeans were covered with dust at the knees.

  “Do you see this?” Mitch asked pointing at one of the legs.

  Kevin looked at it but he didn’t look hard enough. “What am I supposed to be seeing?”

  Mitch frowned. His white skin reddened, as he looked at Kevin as if he were crazy. “Are you not looking or is it that you couldn’t care less? Which one is it?”

  Afraid he would anger the wealthy drug connect before he even started, Kevin took a harder look at the leg. When he did he saw what he was so excited about. Carved in the leg was a man sitting on a chair. A woman sat on his crotch and behind her back was a knife.

  “I see it,” Kevin said. “It’s a bitch sitting on some dude holding a shank.”

  “But do you love it?” Mitch asked him.

  “If I was into tables like you I’m sure I would.” Kevin stood up and wiped his hands on the sides of his jeans. “Instead I’m into money which is the reason I wanted to meet with you.”

  Mitch stood up and dusted the dirt from his knees. He grabbed a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his hands. He looked out into the store until he spotted the owner, an elderly black man with a long blue-grey beard.

  “I’ll take it.” Mitch pointed at the table.

  The owner approached them and shook both of their hands. In a raspy voice he said, “This is a very expensive piece, which is why it hasn’t sold. I’m not sure if you can afford it. It’s in the thousands.”

  Kevin looked down at the table and thought the suggested price range was outrageous but Mitch was insulted.

  Mitch laughed and asked, “Do you see my face?”

  “I don’t understand,” the owner replied.

  “I’m asking you a clear and concise question that I expect an answer to. Do…you…see…my…face?”

  “I do.” he nodded.

  “Because I want you to look at it carefully,” Mitch said. “I want you to remember every mole, every freckle and every bump.”

  The man swallowed and looked at Mitch. “Okay, I did.”

  “Good. Because if you’re ever lucky enough for me to grace you with my presence you’d better never waste my time insulting me about money or prices. It’s bad for your health. Am I clear?”

  “You are.”

  “Good. Now leave me alone and have a few of your monkeys package my table.”

  When the owner left, Kevin focused on Mitch. “That went well.”

  “What do you want, Kevin?” Mitch said firmly. He wasn’t in the playing mood any longer. The owner blew his vibe. “I told you I didn’t want to meet about business while I was in town. But you insisted it was so important. Now what is it?”

  Kevin hadn’t expected him to get down to business so quickly. “Well, I wanted to talk to you about the product again.”

  “What’s wrong with it?” Mitch looked around to see who was watching them. “As far as I can tell profits are up for the Pretty Kings. You should be celebrating not worrying.”

  “It’s not all about the paper.”

  “Why isn’t it?” Mitch frowned. “If it isn’t about the money what is it about?”

  “I mean, it’s about the money but it’s…well…I don’t want my wife running the operation anymore. It’s for her safety more than anything. And I don’t understand why you can’t deal with me directly. Like old times.”

  “Because old times don’t make money. It’s all about the new.”

  “I understand that but—”

  “I’m not going to get involved in your marital problems, Kevin,” he interrupted. “Now, Bambi has proven her loyalty and her dedication to me. When the Russians had her where they wanted she didn’t cave. She stood tall and even took some slashes to her face, I respect that.”

  “So everything we’ve been through and all the money we made don’t matter anymore? If it weren’t for me you would not have met Bambi. Remember? She’s my wife but suddenly I feel like hers.”

  Mitch laughed. “You’re so foolish to worry about minute things. Did I ever tell you about the Pitbulls In A Skirt?”

  “No,” he chuckled. “What the fuck is that?”

  “They were a group of four women who ran Emerald City projects in Southeast Washington D.C. years ago. They didn’t want to but they did it anyway.”

  “If they didn’t want to run it why did they?” Kevin frowned.

  “Their men asked them to help them run it and they did a good job too. The situation is similar to your situation.”

  “If you say so,” Kevin said with a visible attitude.

  “It’s true. Things were going good until one of the men started dealing with another female. This angered the ladies and they decided to take over the operation, forcing their men out of it all together. In the end the men lost everything. They lost their money and eventually their lives. I’m warning you not to go down that path. Bambi is a very smart woman and she loves you but I’ve seen her eyes. She has the ability to attack, even those she loves. Isn’t that one of the reasons you fell in love with her?”

  Kevin appeared frustrated. “All I know is that I want back in.”

  “Well you better find a different way to convince your woman that it should be you instead of her. Because as far as I’m concerned as of now, there’s one Kennedy running things. And her name is Bambi.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  SCARLETT

  I was sitting in the supply closet of my friend’s hair salon. I received a call from Ngozi while I was sitting under the hairdryer preparing to get my rollers taken out and went in there for privacy. I had been worried that Ngozi was up to something ever since I forced him out of the hospital and he didn’t call me back.

  “I miss you, Scarlett. Can you honestly say that you don’t miss me too?”

  “I’m a married woman. You know I c
an’t talk to you like this anymore. You really need to move on with your life.”

  “I’m trying. But you act as if we didn’t have a past. You were married then too you know.”

  “Why won’t you take the money? Just take it and meet with Camp and let me go on with my life.”

  “I can’t. Just meet with me one more time, Scarlett.”

  “You sent a Voodoo doll to my house, Ngozi. My niece picked it up and everything. What makes you think I would want to see you after that? You used something I shared with you against me and it’s not right.”

  “That wasn’t me. It was my mother.” He paused. “Anyway there’s something else I want to talk to you about. Something much more important.”

  “What is it?”

  “Are you going to meet with me or not? I’m not doing this over the phone.”

  I looked out ahead of me at the boxes of shampoo that sat on the floor. I was trying to say the right thing. “I can’t meet with you unless Camp is there.”

  “That’s a big mistake,” he said.

  When I looked at the phone I saw that he’d hung up.

  ****

  I sat in the back of a library with Bambi, Denim and Race. Bambi wanted to meet here because she didn’t want to be home since our husbands were there and she couldn’t find another place she trusted. At least that’s what she said. We sat around a brown table and Bambi sat at the head.

  “We have a lot of things to discuss tonight,” Bambi started. “And I trust that what’s said here will stay here.”

  “I’m wondering something before we get started,” Denim said with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “What’s that?” Bambi asked with a slight attitude.

  “Before we have this meeting that’s obviously so pressing, are you going to come clean about everything? Or just the parts that make you look good? That make you look like the hero,” she looked around at all of us. “After all, the sisters have a right to know.”

  Bambi sighed. She looked down at her hands and then she slowly raised her head. For some reason her eyes met mine first.

  “Okay, Denim. You got it.”

  Denim leaned back in her seat, crossed her arms over her chest and smirked.

  “I killed Bunny,” Bambi admitted. “But it wasn’t because of what you may think. Bunny was trying to ruin us and I needed our family to be protected.”

  “She’s right,” I said trying to offer Bambi some support. “Bunny was off the chain. And I’m not saying that all evil people deserve to be killed. But if they did, Bunny would be first in line to get what was coming to her.”

  Denim’s head whipped in my direction. “So you trying to tell me that you knew all along?”

  “Yes.” I raised my head higher. “And I stand by Bambi.”

  “Me too,” Race said. “Even though I found out recently we all know that Bunny was a mess. You do too, Denim. Besides her always intruding in on our husband’s lives, she didn’t want anybody to have a life unless she said it was okay. After awhile it gets dead and old. Let’s not even start with the fact that she was trying to gank us for our money. What would you have Bambi do?”

  “She could’ve told the truth.”

  “But you couldn’t handle it,” Race continued. “You can’t even handle it now. Look at how you bringing the matter to the table? Suppose we didn’t know? This could’ve caused a rift between us. Have you ever stopped to think that it may be the reason she didn’t wanna tell you?”

  “So you saying I can’t be trusted?” Denim asked.

  “Can you?” I asked Denim. “That’s something you going to have to answer for yourself.”

  Everyone grew quiet. When I looked at Bambi and Race I could tell we were all waiting on the right answer to come from Denim’s lips. Could she or couldn’t she be trusted to keep our secret?

  A tear rolled out of Denim’s eye and she wiped it away. “I got a bad feeling about this,” she said. “A real bad feeling. If we don’t tell the fellas that you killed Bunny they gonna find out from somebody else and then we all are going to be un-benefit. I got enough shit going on in my marriage now. I don’t need this over my head too.”

  “You won’t be un-benefit if we all make a pact to take this shit to our graves,” Bambi responded. She got up and walked over to Denim. “I know it may look like I did this shit for money but I didn’t. I promise you. I got rid of her because she threatened to hurt our family. The money was just a plus.”

  “It was because of that money that you were able to get even better care for Jasmine,” Race reminded her.

  “She’s right,” Bambi added. “I mean look at her now, Denim.” We looked over at Jasmine who was reading a book on the floor. “She’s talking. She’s interacting with people more. Your baby girl is coming back and it’s all because we had the coins to afford her the proper care. Hate me or love me, but I’m the reason that’s possible. Now you tell me…was Bunny’s life worth your baby? I gotta know.”

  Denim remained silent.

  I didn’t like it that Bambi took responsibility for Bunny’s death alone. If the truth were to ever be told they would learn that I didn’t fuck with Bunny either. A few days before she was murdered she tried to blackmail me by saying she would tell the girls that I had a child outside of me and Camp’s marriage if I didn’t tell her the details about the million dollar Russian delivery. So I was glad Bambi killed her.

  “This is just so wrong,” Denim said under her breath. “If our husbands find out about this shit they won’t ever forgive us. I have a loyalty to you guys, but I made a vow to my husband.”

  “Denim, Bambi needs our support,” I said. “It’s as simple as that.”

  Denim remained silent. “I don’t wanna talk about it anymore. Why are we meeting here today?”

  I didn’t feel a hundred percent that she wouldn’t tell Bradley about Bunny but for Bambi’s sake I was hoping I was wrong.

  “We’re meeting to discuss how to deal with Ngozi,” Bambi said. She looked at me. “Him getting that doll to Jasmine was dangerous. We need to attack now.”

  “Do we even know how she got it yet?” I asked.

  “We think it was out front. She must’ve opened the front door and picked it up,” Bambi said. “But we have two plain clothes soldiers at the house and at her school just in case he put it in her book bag without us knowing. She’s protected. But what we need to discuss here is what we should do with him.” Bambi looked into my eyes. “Scarlett, I wanna hear your opinion before I rule. He violated and he has to answer for that shit.”

  I thought about Ngozi. I didn’t want him killed because I really wanted Camp to have the opportunity to address him first.

  “I would prefer if he isn’t killed yet,” I said. “I don’t want Camp thinking I have anything else to hide.”

  “What is it really?” Denim asked me.

  “What you talking about?”

  “Isn’t the real reason you’re afraid to have him killed is because his mother but a hex on you and you’re afraid that if you die you’ll be with him until eternity?”

  “That’s not why!” I yelled. “My husband wants to speak to him and I’m going to give him that honor. It’s funny how you think your love for Bradley is greater than the love I have for Camp.”

  “If you say so,” Denim said sarcastically. “But if you love your husband so much, is that why you fucked another nigga before you were even sure he was dead?”

  “You wrong as shit,” I yelled into the quiet library.

  “Am I?” Denim giggled. She looked at the rest of my sisters. “If I’m not mistaken all of you jumped onto the next dick before making sure that our husbands were actually dead. I was the only one who wanted to see his body before moving on with my life. And all I’m saying is that in this scenario it sounds like you’re scared that if we kill Ngozi you will die too. It has nothing to do with Camp or your marriage. Tell me my dear, Scarlett,” she said with a smile on her face. “Do you really believe in V
oodoo?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  DENIM

  I sat in a chair in a cosmetic dentist’s office. Grainger was having a consultation to get some new teeth courtesy of all the money I was dumping in her account. Since her jaw was repaired, suddenly she decided that she gave a fuck about her smile. As far as I knew she was still on drugs, which meant she was still going to get high and ruin the new teeth she was having put in her mouth.

  Ever since Bradley hit her, my life had been a living nightmare. However, it wasn’t just my sister who had my mind floating. It was Bambi and my sisters-in-law too. The secret I was keeping away from my husband about knowing who killed Bunny was heavy. I didn’t lie to my husband ever, yet here I was doing it for them. But through it all, there wasn’t a soul alive who angered me more than Grainger.

  Grainger called me all hours of the night to give her money and every time I didn’t submit, she threatened to show up in court. The deal was that if I continued to finance her habit, she would not appear as a witness for the state against Bradley. Although I hoped I could trust her because I knew she loved cash, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure. Something told me this was deeper. I believe she wanted me to beg for Bradley, which I didn’t do when I took him away from her.

  The last time she tried her hand with me, Bradley and I were in church with Jasmine. The preacher’s sermon was on the power of family. I sat in the pew so lifted and inspired that morning. I even thought about possibly making it work with my mother and sister and I prayed for a stronger family. I didn’t have a plan but with some work and God’s help, I was sure an answer would come my way.

  And then I received Grainger’s phone call while I was in service. She told me she needed me to pick something up for her that couldn’t wait. She said it was from a friend of hers and it was very important. She said she couldn’t go herself because she was on her way back in town with our mother.