Queen Bitch: Part 4 (Bitch Series)

by Deja King

  After staying up day and night, I was finally down to the last five pages of the book. There were four addresses listed for Queens. If none of these worked, then I would have to come up with another plan because nothing was going to stop me from bringing Maya all the way down.

  Knock! Knock! Knock!

  "Come in, Nico."

  "Have you found what you're looking for yet? I'm getting concerned."

  "So am I. I only have four addresses to go. If this don't work, I don't know what I'm going to do."

  "We'll stick to the plan, go to LA and tell Supreme what the hell that crazy ass Maya did to you."

  "Of course I'm going to do that, but I want Maya in jail forever. I really want her dead, but I'm a mother and Aaliyah needs me in her life not locked up behind bars."

  "That's smart thinking, Precious."

  "Yeah, but I have to get the evidence I need to seal her fate."

  "But you can tell the police she was the mastermind behind all that bullshit and that she kidnapped you."

  "True, but you know she's going to place all the blame on Mike, and with him dead, it's a gamble and she might get off. I'm sure she'll get some slimy attorney who will insinuate that I'm making the whole story up out of jealousy because of her relationship with Supreme. Trust me, with this shit being more bizarre than a daytime soap opera, combined with my shady past, I need the smoking gun to make sure Maya is officially done, case fuckin' closed."

  "I understand all that and you know I love having you around. But you need to get home to your daughter and your husband. The longer you have Maya around your family, the worse it's going to be."

  "True. Well then, we need to check out these last four addresses, and even if we come up short, tomorrow I'll be going home."

  "Now you're talking, so let's go."

  It felt as if Nico and I had been driving around in circles all day, or better yet, at a standstill in afternoon traffic, and it had all been in vain. We had three strikes in a row, and I was drained but undeterred. I wasn't expecting to hit gold in my search, but I did want to be able to say that I tried every option given to me. I laid my head back on the reclined seat gazing out the window, finding one positive thing in this entire situation. This time tomorrow, I would be holding my baby girl. Knowing that put a smile on my face.

  As Nico turned the corner onto the block of a quaint street in the Astoria, Queens neighborhood, the longing feeling of holding my child again was put on pause. "This is it," I said, as a calmness came over me.

  "Huh?" Nico turned to me like he didn't understand or hear what I said.

  "This is it. This is where the apartment is." I sat straight up in the seat looking for the address that was written on the second to last page in the book. It simply had `Mildred' as the name with the address underneath, but I knew this was the spot. No matter how hard I had tried to make myself get that feeling of hope when I had pulled up to a minimum of twenty-five apartments in the last few days, none of them gave me that, until now.

  "What makes you sure?"

  "I'll put it like this: Remember when we were together and my gut told me you were fuckin' around on me? My gut instinct is doing the same shit right now about this apartment."

  "I can't knock that shit."

  "No you can't, now pull over. There's the building," I said, pointing straight ahead."

  When we got out of the car I practically ran to the entrance of the brownstone building. The door was locked and I reached in the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out the set of keys. I knew this was do or die time. I put the first key in the lock but it wouldn't open the door. I could hear Nico letting out a disappointing sigh. He knew how desperately I wanted this shit to work out in my favor and he didn't want me to hit another dead end-and he wouldn't have to. When I put the second key in, that shit turned and the lock popped as if I had been opening this very same door all my life.

  "Motherfuckin' right!" Nico pumped his fist in the air sharing in my enthusiasm.

  "It's apartment Number 2. There seems to be one apartment on each floor so it must be one flight up." We skipped up the stairs, and when I got to the apartment that had #2. I put my ear to the door to make sure no one was there. Nico did the same thing and neither of us heard anything suspicious. I put the first key in, and again that shit opened right the fuck up.

  Surprisingly, the joint was in great condition. It was apparent that whoever Mike had checking up on the spot was on top of their job. The two bedroom apartment was sparsely furnished but very clean. The place wasn't huge but it was spacious enough that the gun could've been stashed in numerous places.

  "Where do you want to start?" Nico asked, reading my thoughts.

  "I'll take the first bedroom, you take the one in the back and we'll work our way out front."

  "Sounds like a plan. Let's get to it."

  When I went into the bedroom, the first thing that caught my eye was a picture on the nightstand. It was Nina standing next to a young man that I assumed was her brother, Terrell. The resemblance was undeniablethe thick black eyebrows, rich brown complexion, full lips and high cheekbones, gave both model-type features. Now I understood what Mike meant about all the women this cute, young nigga had. Maya didn't stand a chance. He had `heartbreaker' stamped on his forehead.

  I put the photo down and got down to business. I looked under the bed, mattress, drawers, closets, behind the television, anyplace that could remotely conceal a gun. I thought finding the correct apartment would be the hardest part, but finding the gun was already proving to be an exhausting chore.

  "Any luck?" I heard Nico ask after I had been up down, and around, back on my hands and knees for over an hour, not missing a crack.

  "No, you neither."

  "I searched the bedroom and the bathroom, now I'ma search the living room and kitchen."

  "I'll help because it's definitely not in here."

  Nico started in on a hardwood floor check, making sure there weren't any secret compartments underneath us. I began with the couches, and again coming up empty. After what seemed like an eternity we took it to the kitchen with no such luck. After over three hours of nothing, I was running on empty.

  "Maybe Mike was lying and he didn't hide the gun here."

  "I didn't get that vibe from him, plus I can feel that gun. It's here, I'm telling you. It's crazy, but I think after you have kids, if you listen carefully, your female intuition triples."

  "I'm really scared of you now. Women don't need no more extra power over us."

  "Nico, I'm being serious."

  "Shit, me too."

  We both fell back on the couch, tired as hell. "Never did I expect this to turn into a real life treasure hunt game. I figured it wouldn't take us no more than fifteen minutes to find this damn gun-thirty at the most. The way it's looking it's turning to an all day and night affair," I said, looking at the bookshelf against the wall.

  "You got that shit right. Baby girl, you know I would stay and search this place for as long as you like, but I'm becoming skeptical about the information Mike gave you."

  I got up while Nico was talking, halfway listening and halfway remembering things Mike had said to me: "...It's proper resting place... My gift to Nina... Me stashing it at the spot Terrell would hold down for her was like meputting the shit to rest... "

  I looked intently at the cream-colored photo album with the gold script words engraved on the front that read "Nina and Terrell Douglas". I smiled and picked it up. It was so heavy I almost dropped it.

  "Precious, what are you doing? We don't have time for you to be looking at some photos, we have to find the gun, and looking at that clock on the wall, we're running out of time."

  "Our work here is done. We can go now."

  "You're giving up? We haven't found the gun, unless you believe I'm right and Mike didn't stash it here."

  "It's here. Look inside," I said, opening the bootleg photo album. The first two pages had photos, then the third page was blank, and when you turned i
t, there was a deep opening, and sitting pretty was that smoking gun.

  "How did you know? I would've turned everything in this place upside down and still not touched that fuckin' album."

  "One, getting into Mike's twisted mind, and two, that female intuition I keep stressing."

  "Your odds are on point. Now let's break the fuck outta here. We have a flight to catch in the morning."

  When our flight landed at LAX on Saturday afternoon, I was thrilled to be coming home. I replayed the million questions Supreme would have for me when I walked through the door and what my response would be. Then I wondered if Maya would be there and visualized the stunned look on her face when she saw the person she left for dead was not only alive, but had the weapon that would send her away doing football numbers. Then, most importantly, my baby.

  "How are you feeling?" Nico asked, squeezing my hand as we sat in the back seat of the chauffeur driven car.

  "I'm fine."

  "No you're not. There's nothing wrong with being nervous, Precious."

  "I didn't say there was."

  "You didn't have to."

  "You know me too well, Nico."

  "You're right, I do. I want you to know that being with you these last few weeks have been wonderful. It was like old times you know, besides the fact we weren't sharing a bed," he joked.

  "Yeah, that does a make a difference. But seriously, I enjoyed spending time with you too. I'll never forget that not only did you save my life, but you nursed me back to health. Our bond is thick, baby."

  "It is and it always will be. But I have to let go. You don't belong to me anymore. You're another man's wife and you have to go home and claim your family.

  "The way you know me so well, I know you too.

  This is difficult for you but you're being such a man about it, and it makes me love you that much more."

  Nico lifted my chin and placed the most endearing kiss on my lips. "My beautiful, Precious. No longer are you just radiant on the outside, but you're finally just as radiant on the inside. I always knew you had it in you."

  I kept my composure refusing to shed a tear. This was no time to soften up and be weak. I was about to enter a territorial war zone with Maya and my shit had to be solid as steel. There would be time for me to rejoice in my newfound inner peace after I brought Maya the fuck down. When the car started driving up to the estate, I couldn't wait.

  "I wonder why the gates are open and there is no security out front. That's strange," I commented.

  "It could be the middle of a shift change or something like that."

  "True." When we drove up to the driveway the only car I noticed was a silver big body Benz parked in front. "I wonder whose car that is."

  "You'll find out shortly."

  "Are you sure you don't mind waiting in the car? I feel bad."

  "Don't. You didn't want me coming at all."

  "It's not that, it's Supreme's paranoia about us."

  "Precious, you don't have to explain. We've been through this. All I want to do is make sure that you get home safely to your family. I'll wait here for a little while until I know you have things under control. Then I'll leave."

  "Thank you, Nico."

  "Stop with all that. Make me proud. Go in that house and let everybody know the queen is back!"

  I got to the entrance and rang the doorbell. I could hear heels clicking on the marble floors and my heart was racing. This was my moment and I planned on embracing every second of it.

  "Hello there, you must be my three o'clock appointment." The extra bubbly blonde greeted me after opening the door. "Are you alone, or is your husband coming in?" she said, looking over my shoulders at the car Nico was in the backseat of.

  "Who are you and what appointment are you talking about?"

  "I'm Kitty, the realtor. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, extending her hand. I brushed her hand away because I was afraid I would break each bony finger if I got a hold of them.

  "Well what do we have here? Is there a problem, Mrs. Hughs?"

  "My name ain't Mrs. Hughs. It's Precious Mills and I own this house with my husband, so get the fuck out!"

  "There is no need to take that tone with me. I was hired by Mr. Mills' attorney to sell this house. This is its first day on the market..."

  "And its last," I cut in.

  "I don't even know you. The only woman I know Mr. Mills to be involved with is his girlfriend, Maya Owens. She was the sweet young lady that introduced me to Mr. Mills."

  "And where might they be? Are they inside right now?" I asked, mowing my way past the silly broad.

  "Excuse you!" she snarled, patting her tweed suit.

  "Where is Supreme?"

  "Who?" she asked, revealing a heavy southern accent that she had been covering up thus far.

  "Mr. Mills, where is he?"

  "I have no idea. All I know is that they wanted to start fresh in a new place and moved."

  "Where, to a new house in Beverly Hills?"

  "No, out of state."

  "Out of state? Are you sure?"

  "Yeeeessss," she said, singing the word. "I'm very sure."

  "But you don't know which state?"

  "No I don't, because the only place I sell houses is here in Beverly Hills. I have no idea where they went, but I'm sure they're going to be just fine."

  "Lady, get the fuck out my house!"

  "This isn't your house."

  "Take a good long look at that portrait on the wall right there," I pointed my finger firmly in case the dizzy chick had vision problems.

  "Well, I'll be damned! That is you! What a beautiful picture. Are you some sort of model?"

  "Listen, I'm in a very bad mood right now. So get your skinny, plastic ass out of my face before I break it."

  "Precious, what's going on?"

  "Are you Mr. Hughes? I think you need to calm your wife down."

  "Did you just not see the picture on the wall? I'm not Mrs. Hughes. My name is Precious Mills and my husband is Supreme AKA Xavier Mills. Now remember that as you're walking out the door and don't ever come back!"

  "But I have a three o'clock appointment. My clients are my first priority."

  "Even before saving your own life?" I balled up my fists so she completely comprehended my question.

  "I'll be going now. But I will be calling Mr. Mills' attorney and informing him of what took place today."

  "Do that. . .after you get the fuck out."

  "Goodbye. Oh, and here is my card in case you change your mind," she said, handing it to Nico. "Again, my name is Kitty and I sell the most luxurious houses in Beverly Hills," were her parting words as she closed the door.

  "What the hell was that about?"

  "Supreme has vanished with my daughter and Maya is with them."

  "What?"

  "Yes. That was some realtor that Maya introduced Supreme to, and he hired her to sell our house before they left town, to start fresh, as Kitty put it. But that's cool. I will turn this motherfucker upside down and find my husband and child. Maya can play if she wants to, but I will be the last bitch standing!"

  Philly, 1993

  "Please, Daquan, don't hit me again!" the young mother screamed, covering her face in defense mode. She hurriedly pushed herself away from her predator, sliding her body on the cold hardwood floor.

  "Bitch, get yo' ass back over here!" he barked, grabbing her matted black hair and dragging her into the kitchen. He reached for the hot skillet from the top of the oven, and you could hear the oil popping underneath the fried chicken his wife had been cooking right before he came home. "Didn't I tell you to have my food ready on the table when I came home?"

  "I... I... I was almost finished, but you came home early," Teresa stuttered, "Ouch!" she yelled as her neck damn near snapped when Daquan gripped her hair even tighter.

  "I don't want to hear your fuckin' excuses. That's what yo' problem is. You so damn hard headed and neva want to listen. But like they say, a hard head make fo' a so
ft ass. You gon' learn to listen to me."

  "Please, please, Daquan, don't do this! Let me finish frying your chicken and I'll never do this again. Your food will be ready and on the table everyday on time. I promise!"

  "I'm tired of hearing your damn excuses."

  "Bang!" was all you heard as the hot skillet came crashing down on Teresa's head. The hot oil splashed up in the air, and if Daquan hadn't moved forward and turned his head, his face would've been saturated with the grease.

  But Teresa wasn't so lucky, as the burning oil grazed her hands, as they were protecting her face and part of her thigh.

  After belting out in pain from the grease, she then noticed blood trickling down from the open gash on the side of her forehead. But it didn't stop there. Daquan then put the skillet down and began kicking Teresa in her ribs and back like she was a diseased infected dog that had just bitten him.

  "Yo', Pops, leave moms alone! Why you always got to do this? It ain't never no peace when you come in this house." Genesis stood in the kitchen entrance with his fists clenched and panting like a bull. He had grown sick and tired of watching his father beat his mother down almost every single day. At the age of eleven he had seen his mother receive more ass whippings than hugs or any indication of love.

  "Boy, who the fuck you talkin' to? You betta get yo' ass back in your room and stay the hell outta of grown people's business."

  "Genesis, listen to your father. I'll be alright. Now go back to your room," his mother pleaded.

  Genesis just stood there unable to move, watching his mother and feeling helpless. The blood was now covering her white nightgown and she was covering her midsection, obviously in pain trying to protect the baby that was growing inside of her. He was in a trance, not knowing what to do to make the madness stop. But he was quickly brought back to reality when he felt his jaw almost crack from the punch his father landed on the side of his face.