“M-M-Mexico . . . Cozumel, Mexico.”
Acknowledgments
First and always I’d like to acknowledge God and His mercy. Father, thank you for your favor, for to whom much is given much is required.
My mother, Star, you are my heart, always. Valen is a BIG BROTHER!!!!!!!!
My brother Michael Haggen, more than twenty years of friendship.
My godmother, Elder Vera Jackson, thank you for your prayers of protection and guidance. I’m coming to church this Sunday—promise.
To Malaika Adero, my editor, and the Simon & Schuster staff. Words can never express what a dream come true you are to me.
I’ve found solace in a close circle of authors whom I call friends. Tracy Brown, Danielle Santiago, Tu-Shonda Whitaker, Nancy Flowers, Victoria Christopher-Murray. Your ears and shoulders on this journey to the top of my game have meant more to me than you will ever know. One love.
To my firstborn, K’wan, they say a mother never has her favorites, but that’s not always true.
To LL Cool J and his wife, Simone: you two are awesome and my brother and sister in Christ.
Brian Daugherty, aka B. You so true blue!
To the media: ABC News, Adlib Magazine, BMR Magazine, Black Enterprise magazine, Black Issues Book Review, Blast Magazine, The Boston Globe, Call and Post, Can Cam magazine, The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus Monthly, Complex Magazine, Don Diva Magazine, Entrepreneur magazine, Essence magazine, King Magazine, Inc. magazine, Luire Magazine, MTV, Murder Dog magazine, NBC4, Newsweek magazine, Parle Magazine, Nylon magazine, The New York Times, Popeye Magazine, Power 107.5, Publishers Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, Scwaii Magazine, Source magazine, Tokyo Headline, Vibe Magazine, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, The Washington Post, Woofin magazine, Woofin Girl magazine, WOSU TV, UPN, Upscale magazine.
An extra extra extra extra special thanks to all of my readers, fans and supporters. Without you, Triple Crown Publications would not exist.
To my sweetheart, Steven, thank you for my precious gift.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2006 by Vickie M. Stringer
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First Atria Books paperback edition January 2010
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Cover design by Patrick Kang. Cover photograph by Christopher Wadsworth/Getty Images.
ISBN 978-1-4391-7569-9
ISBN 978-1-4391-0716-4 (eBook)
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Acknowledgments
This book, my fourth novel, is dedicated with my entire heartfelt thanks to three people who got me through the year 2007.
Mr. Sterling A. Williams, my Caleb & My celebrity couple, Mr. Rick Sales and Mrs. Priscilla Sales & My biggest fan and sister, Frankie E. Stringer This one’s for you!
Yesterday is gone forever, today is all that matters because tomorrow is not promised.
—S.B.
PROLOGUE
Last time on Dirty Red . . .
When we last left Red, she and her boyfriend, Q, were running for their lives. Red had betrayed her former boyfriend, Bacon, by taking all his money and selling his house out from under him while he was in prison—and now Bacon wants his revenge.
In prison, Bacon wrote a tell-all book called Bitch Nigga, Snitch Nigga that gave the inside scoop on a scandalous setup and murder at a club that took down Q’s uncles. Unbeknownst to Bacon, Red took the credit (and the money) for the book, which is causing quite a buzz on the streets: people are trying to figure out just who was actually behind the setup that took down the head of a major drug organization.
Red’s friend Sasha had been ordered to kill Red by her imprisoned boyfriend, Catfish, but instead she hightailed it out of Detroit with Red’s former love, Blue.
Terry, Red’s girl since grade school, was obsessed with her man, Mekel. She went too far trying to get him back when she foolishly attempted to kidnap his baby. Unfortunately for her, her actions only caused Mekel and Kera, his baby mama, to become closer and Terry wound up in jail all alone.
We turn the pages to find Q and Red aboard a luxury charter jet headed to . . . Mexico . . .
CHAPTER 1
Bacon arrived at the boarding gate just in time to see Q and Red’s jet preparing for takeoff. Bacon’s glaring eyes were transfixed on the walkway where his girlfriend and her latest lover had disappeared. Sweat droplets sprayed from his twisted face. He was furious that he’d missed his chance for revenge.
In a blur of motion, he spun around and dashed back to the counter, now focusing his deranged stare on the ticket agent. Speechless with rage, his wide nostrils flared and his breathing blasted out in ragged spurts.
For a moment, the woman was frozen in fright; her eyes gawked at the involuntary contraction of Bacon’s jaw muscles. She gasped, hand clutched over her heart. She certainly didn’t want her face to compare to the young lady’s who just boarded the jet.
She looked as if she might break and run away, so he grabbed her by the neck and put his Glock to her dome. He held her face so close, her freckles almost jumped off her skin and onto his.
While he held the woman in his vise-like grip, thinking of Red’s betrayal, Bacon’s eyes glazed over with fury. It wasn’t over. Red and her nigga could run, but they couldn’t hide. Not from him. Bacon was gon’ get his revenge—come hell or high water. He immediately flashed back to the letter that Red had written to him out of anger while he was in prison.
It would be virtually impossible for you to kick my ass, seeing as how you will be an old and gray bastard when you come home . . . I never loved you . . . I didn’t even like you . . . I couldn’t even stand the sight of your face . . . the sound of your voice. The words echoed repeatedly in Bacon’s head. Although Red claimed she penned it out of anger, he knew she meant every single word. You did all the work, but now my new man and I reap all the benefits. Wake up! You played yourself. Charge it to da game.
Bacon’s grip on the ticket agent tightened as a vein began to protrude and pulsate from his right temple to the center of his forehead. Charge it to da game, huh? he thought. You’ll see me again . . . face-to-face or six feet under.
Bacon’s thoughts returned to the present and he glared at the girl. “Bitch, where that plane going?”
“M-M-Mexico . . . Cozumel, Mexico.”
• • •
Silence filled the air as the priv
ate charter jet finally leveled off in the clear skies. Out the plane window Red could see the blue horizon on one side of the plane and white clouds on the other.
Suddenly a claustrophobic wave overcame Red, causing her to heave deep breaths. She tried to calm her racing heart, which seemed to match the roar of the plane’s engine. After observing her surroundings, she remembered that she and Q were the only passengers on the small plane. He must have rented this plane, she thought. Damn, Q is living large.
She held out her right hand, noticed its trembling, then hid it in her lap. She didn’t want Q to see how frightened she was; after almost getting murdered twice in one day, Red was spooked.
What the fuck just happened? she thought. None of this was supposed to happen. When did Bacon get out? Why in the hell am I the one runnin’? I control shit, not him.
Absently, she cut her eyes at Q. He sat on the other side of the plane, two rows ahead of her. He continuously shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe this shit!” he yelled out loud, clenching his fists on both sides of his forehead. He then took a deep breath and buried his head in his hands.
Look at him. I really fucked up now. I finally got a nigga that says he loves me and means it, but what about now? He could have gotten killed tonight because of me. Shit!
She turned her head to the right to look out of the window and felt a harsh pain radiate across the bridge of her nose. She began to raise her left arm to touch her nose, but a sharp pain stopped her. Bacon had damn near ripped her arm off when he grabbed her back at her house. Instead, she used her right hand and touched her nose. It felt twice as large under her fingers as she felt the damage. My nose, my nose . . . she thought, gingerly dabbing at the bridge.
• • •
Bacon immediately pushed the ticket agent away from him with unbound masculine force and sprinted back to the viewing station, only to see the plane on its ascent into the sky. He was so focused on revenge that he forgot that he had his gun still in his hand, fully exposed. He was startled when he heard someone yell, “He got a gun!”
With that announcement, people began to scatter like mice and pandemonium reigned.
“Run!”
“Duck!”
“It’s a sniper!”
Bacon quickly tucked his Glock in the small of his back, and, trying not to draw any more attention to himself, beelined back toward the entrance. He didn’t run, however, just walked at a more pronounced pace.
Bacon blended in as well as he could with the throngs of people stampeding out of the airport.
“That’s him, that’s him!” a female voice yelled.
Almost immediately, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he instinctively put his hand on his piece. If I’m goin down, I’m takin’ one of these muthafuckas with me, he thought. But when he looked over his shoulder, he saw that it was only one of the panic-stricken people in the airport, bum-rushing the front door trying to get out of harm’s way. He let out a sigh of relief.
The next thing Bacon knew, two armed policemen bumped into him, but their eyes were looking straight ahead as they pushed him out of the way. He glanced back and saw that they were making their way inside, presumably to the ticket agent’s counter. Somehow, she must have alerted them.
Bacon continued his trek toward the exit. Once he got outside, the light breeze swept over the beads of nervous sweat along his forehead.
He looked to the left, toward the executive valet parking, and noticed the BMW. His hurry to track down and kill Red and Q had been so intense, he hadn’t cared that he’d parked the car illegally. Now there was a ticket on the windshield, an officer leaning against the car and a boot on the tire.
Fuck it, he said to himself. It ain’t my car. It was Red’s. Not wanting to stare too long, he stepped toward the curb, flagged down a cab and waited for it to pull up to him. Just as he reached for the door, he heard a voice cry out again, “That’s him. That’s him! I swear that’s him!”
Bacon climbed into the cab in one smooth move and slammed the door shut.
“Where to, buddy?” the cabbie asked Bacon, looking over his shoulder as he merged into the exiting traffic.
Just as he pulled off, Bacon stared out of the window and saw the freckle-faced girl, with two officers looking around for her assailant. He ducked down until they got out of the International section of the airport.
“Where to, buddy?” This time the cabdriver spoke a little louder.
“Thirty-one-twenty-four Colonnade Drive in West Bloomfield.” Bacon held his breath and prayed they didn’t get stopped in a traffic jam leaving the airport.
As the taxi finally merged onto the I-94 highway, Bacon reflected on what that had just taken place.
Thinking about everything he had done for Red made his temperature rise again instantly. I gave her everything. Bitch ain’t never had to want for nothin’, and now she wanna play a nigga . . . Have a nigga come to my crib looking for her?!
“You did all the work, but now my new man and I reap all the benefits.”
Those words were permanently etched in his psyche. Bacon looked out of the window and noticed the scenery on the outside was moving just as fast as the images in his mind. I’ma find that nigga and he’ll be dealt with, but first things first. Bacon grinned an evil grimace as he envisioned the perfect resting place for Red—floating under the Belle Isle Bridge.
CHAPTER 2
The “No Seat Belt” sign came on and Red stood up to go to the bathroom. Her head pounded with every step she took toward the small, closet-like lavatory. She walked in, flicked the light on and closed the door behind her. The sight that she saw in the mirror made her dry heave. Her days of being a dime were over, she couldn’t even get change. Red was fucked up. Not only did her hair give Don King a run for his money, her face told a different story. The swollen lump in the middle of Red’s face confirmed that her nose was definitely broken, but to top it off, black marks were forming under her eyes, her top lip was swollen and her face was covered with scratches. Bitch-ass nigga, she said to herself as she stared at her reflection. Where’s a Vicodin when you need one? she thought.
Looking down, Red also noticed bruises on her forearms. “What the fuck is this?” she questioned when she realized her shirt was wet. There was a faint stench in the air, but she hadn’t thought anything of it. Now it was becoming more pungent. Red sniffed.
“Aw no the fuck he didn’t!” She threw her hands up and hung her head. “This bastard pissed on my brand-new muthafuckin’ shirt!”
Despite the pain, Red did her best, taking her shirt off and attempting to rinse it out in the sink, but the water pressure was low. She wrung it out as best as she could and put it back on.
Afterward she splashed water on her face and finger-combed her hair while she looked at herself in the mirror. “Get it together,” she demanded. “You run this shit, not that muthafucka Bacon. I’ll be back, you black-ass nigga . . . and the next time you see me, it’s on . . . even if I die trying. Your ass is mine.”
Red limped out of the bathroom and glanced at Q, who was looking out the window staring at the clouds. She wanted his attention but he didn’t acknowledge her.
Look at Q. He won’t even look at me.
Red trudged back to her seat and flopped down. She wanted to sit next to Q. She wanted him to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay, but she knew that wouldn’t be happening. She looked at him again and her heart ached. Red realized she’d truly fucked up this time and there was no easy way out.
What if Bacon had actually shot him? she thought. Tears welled in her eyes at the mere thought of Q being dead.
I can’t keep on doing this shit. Q is a good man; all he wants from me is love and I can’t even do that. Red thought back to her short-lived pregnancy and how attentive Q had been to her. If I could only turn back the hands of time. Damn, Red, why you gotta fuck everything up?
Red decided that since she couldn’t change the past, she could at least make a vow
to do better in the future. Baby, she said silently, as she looked at Q. I promise I’m going to change. I can’t keep doing this to you . . . to us. I love you and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna lose you.
• • •
As Q sat on the other side of the plane, he thought back on everything that had just happened. None of this shit was supposed to happen. I shouldn’t have stopped by that damn church when I saw Red’s car parked outside. If I’d left well enough alone and just followed my plans, I would be on my way out of the damn country by myself to get away from shit like this. But, naw, my ass had to stop. Curiosity kills the cat.
Look at her over there. He wiped his hands across his face. That nigga almost killed me because of her. Time to cut my losses. Ain’t no bitch worth all this drama.
Q knew Red wasn’t above a scheme or two—he chalked it up to games women play. But the realization he was going to become a father had taken Q to a different level. One that made him want to get legit and also allowed him to trust Red. Because of this, he’d wanted to marry her and raise their child together. Unfortunately, though, once Foxy revealed that the baby Red was carrying wasn’t his, all of the love he had for her left his heart. Once again, he had been played by a schemin’ ho.
Once we land, I’ma tell her it’s over. I’m sure she knows, but just in case she doesn’t, she needs to hear it.
Q thought back to the women he’d played to the left while he pursued Red. Although they still called and tried to get up on him, Q turned them down because he fell in love. He decided to mend those broken fences once he returned home.
Nothing like keeping my options open, he thought. There’s too many women out there that want to be with me and appreciate what I have to offer. His mind wandered back to Red. I’ll speak to her on the streets, but that’s ’bout it. It’s over. I know she’ll be okay. I’m sure she got another nigga waiting for her. Shit, she can even go back to that nigga Bacon. Ain’t nothin’ like two scandalous muthafuckas together. Yeah . . . he can have her dirty ass, but me and him, we have some unfinished business.
The Dirty Red Series Page 23