“Why not?”
“There’s somebody else in my life now.”
“Mo’Nique? The little stripper girl? You can’t be for real, Jayson.”
“There’s more to her than that. I care about you, Vanessa, but I’m not in love with you.”
“And you’re in love with her? This is ridiculous, Jayson. We have a past together that’s much deeper than what she has with Tommy,” Vanessa says sarcastically.
“It’s in the past, and what I got with her is real.”
Vanessa pulls away from me. “The other night when we made love, was that the past too?” she asks.
“No, that was our night, but it’s not what—it was just one night. I’m sorry if I led you on, Vanessa, but I really do care about Janelle.”
“Oh, it’s Janelle now? If she’s what you want, Jayson, then I’m not going to get in your way.” Vanessa turns around and walks out of the door.
Great, another woman that hates my guts. I didn’t want to hurt her. She’s the last person I wanted to hurt, but I can’t let her think that we have a future together. This is just another reason why I’m going to quit this job.
14
A Woman Scorned
DAMIEN
King has been blowing up my phone all day, so I guess it’s time I see him face to face. My contact told me that Tommy’s at his house in Buckhead, so all the major players are in place. I know what King is thinking. I know him better than anyone else does. I know him better than he thinks, as a matter of fact. He thinks that I’m bugging out because of Nikki and Dre, when in fact that was just me having fun. He’s probably telling Tommy how unstable I am and that he wants him to take my place. “Everybody has to play their part.” He loves to say that shit.
He always used to say that to me, even when we were kids. King has always underestimated me, treating me like a frontline solider on the corner instead of the partner who helped him muscle out the competition. I admit that King was always street smart, and that he did start shit up. He was a hustler, for sure—“Was” being the key word—before he got all soft and shit. It’s time to change the game.
Like I said before, I’m a loyal nigga, but if you fuck me, I’m gonna fuck you right back. King has always been shady when it comes to money and other things he’s kept from me. I never used to say anything about it because he was the brains behind the hustle and you don’t bite the hand that feeds you, but you would think that after all this time my nigga would do me right. I guess I just gotta take what’s mine.
I pull up to the house and see Tommy’s Cadillac out front. I walk up and a maid lets me in. I see King outside on the terrace on the phone. He turns around and sees me.
“Dame, what the hell is going on with you?” he says as he hangs up.
“Nothing, just tying up some loose ends,” I say.
“Some loose ends? You go and shoot up a project in Bankhead and kill five niggas and that’s tying up some loose ends? What the fuck are you thinking?” King yells.
“You know, my nigga, you don’t sound like a hustler anymore. You starting to sound a little soft to me.”
“Soft? Nigga, have you lost your mutherfuckin’ mind? I’ve run this shit from the start!”
“And I erased everybody that got in our way. From day one, I’ve been your man, and yet you still treat me like some cornball nigga standing on the block. You still think I’m some stupid-ass nigga you can feed breadcrumbs to and have me do all the dirty work,” I tell him.
“So, this is what this is all about? You feel underappreciated?” King says.
“As a matter of fact, I do. I feel about ten million dollars underappreciated, my nigga.”
“You want more money? Nigga, we about to make millions!”
“No, you about to make millions, while you continue to pay me like a corner boy. Ever since I was a kid you’ve always treated me like I was under you. Never like your partner. Well, I think it’s time things changed.” I pull out my .45 and point it at him.
“What’s this? You taking over? You gonna kill me? You think you can do what I do?”
“I’ve been in this game a long time. I know more than you think, including your bank account numbers and about Bishop.”
King looks at me surprised, but then realizes where I got my info. “I should have known. So this is how you gonna do it? We’ve been down for over fifteen years, Dame, and this is how you do me? I thought we were dawgs, my nigga.”
“We are. This is just business.”
I put a slug in King’s chest and he drops dead.
Tommy comes rushing outside with his gun in his hand. “What the fuck is going on?” Tommy says, stunned.
“I told you, Tommy, either you’re with me or against me. So are you with me?” I ask him with my gun still in my hand.
“Yeah, I just wish you would’ve told me what you had in mind.”
“Sometimes you gotta make moves in silence, my nigga.”
“What about the deal with the L.A. connection?” Tommy asks.
“That’s still gonna go down. Just think of this as a little corporate restructuring,” I tell him.
“Shit, Wall Street ain’t never seen no shit like this, but I don’t think the L.A. connection is gonna like the sudden change.”
“That’s already been taken care of.”
“What do you mean? King’s been dealing with them for months now,” Tommy says.
“Who do you think helped King get in contact with those West Coast suppliers?” I say.
“Who?”
“Me,” Vanessa says as she points a gun at Tommy’s head.
“Vanessa, what are you doing?” Tommy asks, surprised.
“You always were too trusting, Jayson. Drop the gun,” Vanessa says.
“Yo, chill with all that. Tommy’s down with me,” I tell her.
“Tommy’s a cop,” Vanessa reveals.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“His real name is Officer Jayson Harper. He’s been undercover in Atlanta for six months now, getting close to you,” Vanessa says as Tommy looks at her, stunned.
“What the fuck? A cop? Why didn’t you tell me that shit before?” I yell at her, pointing my gun at him.
“Because I have a history with him,” Vanessa says.
“You’ve been working with Damien this whole time. You’ve been playing me since the beginning,” Tommy growls at Vanessa.
“That’s right. Damien and I have been planning this deal for months now, waiting for King to give us access to his offshore accounts. I didn’t expect to see you with Damien. I was going to cut you in, Jayson, but you chose that bitch Mo’Nique over me.”
“Vanessa, this is crazy. You don’t think you’re going to get away with this?”
“Of course we will, Jayson. You’re not even wired, and it appears that King figured out who you were, and you were forced to defend yourself and shoot him. Unfortunately, King was able to get a shot off and he killed you, too,” Vanessa explains.
“You’re a fucking cop? Damn, you had me fooled, my nigga.”
“I can’t believe I thought you loved me, Vanessa,” Tommy says.
“I do, Jayson, but you know what they say about a woman scorned.”
Thunder explodes from the end of Vanessa’s gun. Tommy falls to the ground.
Ain’t that a bitch. And I thought I was cold blooded.
JANELLE
Seeing Nikki like this really puts things in perspective for me. The life that we’re living, the things we’re doing just to get a dollar from a nigga ain’t worth this. The doctors let me stay the night in her room. I call Penny and tell her what happened, and she tells me that she will be there first thing in the morning. I hope Jayson is able to end this shit soon. I fall asleep in the chair next to her bed.
“Hey. Wake up,” Nikki whispers to me.
“Nikki! Oh, girl, you had me so damn scared.”
“I’m . . . sorry, M,” Nikki says softly as tears roll down her face.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” I tell her as I wipe her tears away.
“I do. You were right . . . about the life I was living. You did the . . . the right thing by getting out.”
“It’s okay now, Nikki. I’m gonna take care of you.”
“I was wrong to be angry with you,” Nikki says.
“It’s okay, Nikki.”
Nikki goes back to sleep a few minutes later. At least she woke up. The doctors told me that her body would heal, but I’m more concerned about her mind. They told me she was pregnant. I know Nikki wasn’t going to keep it, but I also know that she didn’t want to lose it like this. Shit couldn’t get any worse—or at least that’s what I thought.
Quan comes into Nikki’s room at about three o’clock in the morning and wakes me up.
“Mo’Nique, wake up,” Quan says softly.
“What is it?”
“I just called Tommy’s cell and a police officer answered it.”
“What did they say?” I ask, already knowing it can’t be good.
“At first they wouldn’t tell me what was going on, but then I said I was Tommy’s brother, and they told me he’s been taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital.”
“Oh, shit!” My heart’s racing. I know something awful has happened to Jayson.
I leave Southern Regional Hospital with Quan and rush to the north side of Atlanta to another damn hospital. When we get there, I rush into the emergency room entrance and speak to the unit secretary.
“Excuse me. Do you have a Tommy Holloway here?”
The desk secretary looks at me funny. “Ma’am, I’m not allowed to give out any information on any patient brought into the ER,” she says.
“We were told Tommy was brought here an hour ago!” I yell at her.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but if you have a seat, I can find somebody you can talk to.”
“Listen, his real name is Jayson Harper. He’s an undercover cop,” I tell her.
“What? Tommy’s a cop?” Quan says in shock. Then a white man walks over to me.
“Are you Janelle Taylor?” he asks.
“Yeah, who are you?”
“I’m John McNiven, Jayson’s commanding officer,” he says.
“What happened to Jayson? Is he okay?”
McNiven looks at me then says it. “The police department got a call that they heard shots fired at a house in Buckhead. When the police and paramedics arrived, they found Jayson shot in the abdomen.”
“No . . .” I say, not wanting to accept it.
“Listen, Jayson was rushed here and has been in surgery. The doctors said that his chances are pretty good. The paramedics got him here in time,” McNiven tells me.
“Who did it?” I ask.
“It appears that Jayson shot and killed Dwayne Smith, but he was able to get a shot off.”
“What about Damien?”
“We’re still looking for him at this time. Janelle, I know Jayson told you who he was and that you care a lot for him. We’re going to do everything we can to find out what happened to him,” he says. He puts his hand on my shoulder and then walks away.
I already know in my heart that Damien is behind this. King didn’t have any reason to shoot Jayson. Damien was the one running around out of control. And where the hell is Vanessa? She just disappears with Damien all of a sudden? I knew this would happen. I knew things wouldn’t go down so easy, not with that asshole Damien on the loose like this. Now all I can do is pray that Jayson pulls through this. First Nikki, now him—I can’t deal with all this.
Quan and I sit in the waiting room together, and I can tell he’s still surprised. Hell, it freaked me out when Jayson told me. I know Quan might be thinking that he’s gonna be arrested now, but I got a feeling Jayson likes him and won’t let him go down.
“You know, out of everybody, you were the one person he didn’t want to see get caught up in all this,” I tell him.
“Yeah, he always used to tell me I was smarter than this. Now I know why. How long have you known?”
“He told me a couple of weeks ago.”
“Wow, he must be really in love with you to do that.”
“Yeah, I guess so. So, what do you think really happened, Quan?”
“I don’t think King shot Jayson. If we didn’t know Tommy, I mean Jayson, was a cop, he wouldn’t either, and Damien for sure didn’t know,” he says.
“But I know somebody else that did know. Vanessa.”
“Really . . . and now she’s gone and so is Damien. Sounds like a conspiracy to me.”
“Me too.” I never did like that bitch, and I bet she had something to do with this or else she would be here now. She probably played on Jayson’s old feelings for her and told him some sob story.
Another hour goes by before the doctors tell us that Jayson pulled through the surgery and is in stable condition. I guess one way or another things are over, but karma is a bitch, and sooner or later it’s going to catch up with Damien and Vanessa.
15
Industry Gangsta
Harlem, New York
DAMIEN
New York, New York. It feels good to be home, baby, and it feels even better to be rich. Anybody that says money can’t buy happiness is a broke-ass ma’fucker! Ain’t nothing better than getting $35 million in my bank account.
Been back up in Harlem for a week, keeping a low profile. Sure, this plan I had with Vanessa was some scheming-ass shit, but it was worth it. I can’t believe we hustled the biggest hustler in New York. But I can’t laugh too hard, because the nigga I thought I could call my main man turned out to be a fuckin’ cop! Tommy had my ass fooled good. That nigga should get an Academy Award for his performance.
Between the way Vanessa played King and the way Tommy, or should I say Officer Harper, fooled me, that shit just shows me that you can’t trust anybody. Fuck that, I ain’t messing with nobody brand new. Period. Horse is a good nigga to have in the street, but I need to rebuild my inner circle. I know just who I have in mind, too: my cousin Rob out in Brooklyn.
I ride to Flatbush and see my nigga working a dead block. Last I heard, Rob got outta the joint three months ago. I know how it is to get out and have no money and nobody ain’t trying to give you a job. The only thing you can do is get a half-ounce rock and start slinging that shit.
“Yo, Rob!” I yell at him.
He looks and sees me standing next to the black S500 I picked up two days ago. “My nigga, Dame,” Rob says as he walks over to me.
“What’s up, cuz?” I say as I give him some dap.
“I’m just out here grindin’, yo, doing my thing.”
“So I see.”
“Yo, when did you get back in New York?” he asks.
“Just a week ago. I’ve been down south making moves.”
“Yeah, I heard your man King got hit, son,” Rob says.
“You heard about that shit up here?”
“You know how shit flows in New York. Walls have ears,” he says.
“I guess they do. Yo, my nigga, the block doesn’t look too hot.”
“Yeah, man, niggas ain’t getting high like they used to. I’m kinda fucked up in the game right now. So you running the Flip Set?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m the man. So let me ask you, son, you making money now?”
Rob’s got pride, and no nigga wanna admit they ain’t making money, but he ain’t stupid enough to let an opportunity pass him by. “I’ve been doing better, yo.”
“So do you really wanna make this money?”
“What you flippin’, nigga?” Rob asks.
“I ain’t talking about being a corner boy. Yo, you family, son, and I don’t like to see my peoples out here fucked up. Listen, I need a good nigga by my side to help me run this empire,” I tell him.
“Listen, Dame, I’m hungry and I’m trying to eat, so whatever you need, man, I got you,” Rob says.
I look in his eye and I see that he’s for real. “All right man, take
this.” I hit him off with three grand in his hand.
“Whoa.”
“Get yourself cleaned up and get some new gear. Call me tomorrow and I’m gonna put you on to some major game.”
“All right, yo, good looking,” Rob says and counts the money I gave him.
“Yo, one.” I get in my ride and bounce.
Rob’s a good dude. He knows how to handle himself. I got Horse directing traffic on the corners in Harlem. I’m gonna put Rob under my wing and make him my lieutenant. I ain’t gonna lose touch with the street like King did. King wanted to kick back too much and be a Don running shit, but that was his downfall. You gotta stay focused and watch these niggas that be close to you, making sure they be doing what they supposed to do, ’cause they might be thinking about smokin’ you.
Like I told King, it’s never personal. Nowadays it’s the way. You know how niggas get knocked when they try and go beyond they comfort zone, like how King was trying to lock down the whole East Coast. The feds don’t like that shit. That’s when you get these Miami Vice niggas, like Tommy, trying to bring you down. I’m happy being a big fish in small lake.
It’s time I go see my seed, Taye, and my BM, Trina. I’ve been missing my son. I gotta make sure he knows who his daddy is. Plus, I gotta let Trina know daddy’s home and tap that ass. I’m over that Nikki bitch. It’s time to fuck with my number one. Ain’t no chick like the one I got.
I drive back to Harlem’s West 138th Street in Hamilton Heights to Trina’s home and park in the back like usual. Trina looks out the window and sees me and opens the door.
“I heard you were back. It’s about time you came through,” Trina says.
“You miss me, baby?”
“Yeah, I missed you.” Trina is wearing a tight little black spaghetti-strap dress. I walk up to her and kiss her lips and my dick gets hard. Damn, I didn’t realize that I missed her so much.
“Where’s Taye?”
“He’s at my mommy’s house,” she says as she turns and walks inside the house. I follow her. She knows what she’s doing by wearing that shit around me. She bends over to turn on the stereo and she isn’t wearing any panties. Damn, that pussy is so fat.
The Pink Palace Page 15