by K'wan
“Excuse me?” Pearl was confused.
“I mean, what are you really doing with Diamonds?” Hank asked flatly.
“I don’t know what you’re hinting at, and frankly I’m starting to get a little bit offended.” Pearl stood to leave, and was surprised when Hank grabbed her by her wrist and yanked her back down into the seat. Pearl’s eyes rolled up the length of Hank’s arm, and when she looked at his eyes, they were hard and serious. “Nigga, you got exactly three seconds to get your slimy-ass hand off me, or I promise you that you’ll live just long enough to regret it.”
“What you gonna do, call your daddy and have him send some of his shooters at me?” Hank asked slyly. The look of shock in the girl’s eyes made him smile. “Oh, you surprised I know who you really are, Pearl Stone? Little girl, I’ve been guarding Diamonds’s back and his heart since long before you sniffed your first dick. The minute I saw how wide open his nose was over you, I started doing some digging into your backyard.”
Pearl snatched her hand away. “So what? My daddy’s a gangster. That doesn’t have anything to do with what me and Diamonds got going on.”
“Foolish child, that has everything to do with what you and Diamonds got going. You might play naïve, but I know good and well you ain’t, so you already know what time it is with us. How do you think your father would react if he found out a hooligan like Diamonds was deflowering his one and only daughter?”
Pearl sucked her teeth. “You’re taking this way too serious. Me and Diamonds just met, and though I admit I’m feeling him, it’s way too early to be talking about taking him home to meet my dad.”
Hank shook his head sadly. “You just don’t get it, do you? Diamonds doesn’t have to say it for me to know he’s fallen for you; I can see it in his eyes. When he gets it in his mind that he wants something, there ain’t gonna be nobody short of God who can change his mind about it, and that includes your daddy.”
“Well, maybe we’ll end up falling for each other,” Pearl challenged.
Hank sighed. “You can try to trade words with me until the sun goes up, but it don’t change what is and what will be if you keep entertaining this puppy love shit. I know the way I’m giving it to you is harsh, but I’m only trying to help. You and Diamonds hooking up is something that won’t be good for any of us.”
“Well, I appreciate your concern, but I think I’ll take my chances.” Pearl flipped her hair and gave him her back. If the sour old man thought he was going to scare Pearl off, he had another think coming. The fact that he was so against their relationship only made her want Diamonds more.
“Everything cool over here?” Diamonds walked up. He could sense the tension between Pearl and Hank.
“Yeah, everything is cool, but I think it’s about time for us to get going.” Pearl got up from her chair.
“What’s the matter, baby? I thought you were having a good time?” Diamonds was confused by her sudden change of mood. “Look, I know I promised you a night on the town, so if you want, we can get out of here and go somewhere a little more upscale.”
“No, it’s not that. I’ve had a wonderful time tonight, but Ruby has a curfew, so I gotta get her home,” Pearl half lied.
Diamonds didn’t totally buy her excuse, but he didn’t press her further. “Okay, love. Whatever you want.”
“I’ll wait for you out front,” Pearl said, and left without bothering to say good-bye to Hank.
Diamonds looked from Perl back to Hank. “What the fuck was that all about?”
“Nothing, man. Was getting to know your new friends. Do you have any idea who the fuck that little girl really is?” Hank asked.
“Yeah, Pearl Stone. Big Stone’s daughter,” Diamonds replied, much to Hank’s surprise.
“You mean to tell me that you already knew who that broad was and you still pursued her?”
“I didn’t know at first, but I eventually put the pieces together. I don’t see what the big deal is,” Diamonds said as if it were nothing.
“The big deal is one of these days during the course of our little hostile take-over, you may have to put a bullet in her father!” Hank reminded him.
“Nah, that’s where you’re wrong, Hank. I got no interest in killing Big Stone. He’s one of the few I respect out of all these so-called kings of the city. I plan to try to woo him to our side, and I’m going to use his little princess to do it. Now, before you open your mouth to shoot my plan down, let me stop you. I ain’t fool enough to think me and shorty can keep creeping around forever, so I’m going to use honesty as my shield, and approach Big Stone like a respectable young man, but it’ll be on my time and my terms. He might not like it, but when he sees all the work I’m going to put into the courtship of his daughter, it’s going to make me real hard to hate. At the very least, he’ll hear me out when I lay it on the table for him. By then we’ll be so strong out here that he’ll see why partnering with us is more profitable than going against us. Besides, how would it look to his little girl if he killed his future son-in-law?” Diamonds smiled.
“So you’re saying this whole thing between you two is just a business move?” Hank didn’t believe it.
“Hank, you know you’re one of the few people I’d never try to run game on. I don’t know what to make of these feelings of mine, but whatever they are, they’re genuine. Still, I’ve never been one to let my heart get in the way of a business opportunity.”
Hank wanted to argue all the things that could go wrong with Diamonds’s plan, but he knew there would be no changing Diamonds’s mind. “You’re going to get us killed.”
“Or make us rich,” Diamonds countered. “Either way, it’ll be a story for the history books.” He smiled and jogged off to catch up with Pearl.
As usual, Diamonds had successfully managed to frustrate Hank. He loved the young man and would follow him to the ends of the earth, but sometimes Diamonds danced too close to the edge for his tastes. This thing between him and Pearl was a disaster waiting to happen. He knew it, and the others would know it too. It wouldn’t go over with the crew, especially Vita.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Domo didn’t have too much to say on the ride to New Jersey. He was slumped deep in the passenger seat, pretending to still be angry and giving Vita the silent treatment, but in truth he wasn’t talking because he wasn’t sure what to say. It was the first time he and Vita had ever been alone in close quarters.
For the most part, Vita left him to stew and lick his wounds, only asking for the occasional direction to his house. Every so often he would catch her watching him from the corners of her eyes. If he didn’t know any better, he’d have said she was concerned. Of all his new friends, she was the hardest to read, going from sweet to sour as the moods struck her. There was chemistry between them; he felt it and was pretty sure she felt it too, but he wasn’t sure how to react to it. What if he pushed up on her only to find that he had misread the signs and ended up embarrassing himself? A better question was: How would Diamonds take him encroaching on his territory? Vita claimed there was nothing between her and Diamonds but history, but Domo knew better. He seemed to have some type of hold on her that Domo couldn’t quite figure out.
“You gonna keep staring at me or speak your mind?” Vita asked without taking her eyes off the road.
“I wasn’t staring,” Domo lied.
“Sure you weren’t. It must be someone else’s eyes I feel burning a hole in the side of my face,” she said sarcastically. “I know you ain’t still sitting there mad at them love taps you caught?”
“Nah, shit don’t even hurt no more,” Domo lied. He jaw actually felt like it was hanging off the hinges, and it pained him to talk. “So what’s good with you and Diamonds?” he said, changing the subject.
Vita cut her eyes at him. “You still on that? I told you, me and him got history, nothing more. Why are you so stuck on Diamonds? It ain’t like you’re checking for me.”
“Who says I’m not?” Domo wasn’t sure why he had
said it, other than it was the first thing that popped into his head. Her lack of an immediate reaction made him feel like he had played himself. He wished he could have the words back, but then a thin smile creased her lips.
“Domonique, your young ass ain’t ready for what I got cooking between these thighs. This”—she grabbed his hand placed it up her skirt—“is grown woman pussy, not little girl snatch. I’d fuck around and have you sprung.”
“Or it could play out the other way around.” Domo let his hand linger on her crotch, appreciating the heat coming through her panties. Once the ice was broken, the liquor and weed he’d consumed that night took over and he was feeling himself. He was contemplating testing his luck and trying to slip a finger inside her, but she must’ve been reading his mind because she moved his hand.
“Don’t start something you aren’t prepared to finish, little boy,” Vita warned.
“Stop shooting me mixed signals and I will, old head,” he capped back.
There was an awkward silence between them for the next few miles on the Turnpike. They had opened a door they’d both been looking at but neither of them had planned on unlocking, and it raised the question as to whether to step through it or not.
“How do you think your boys are gonna take you leaving them like that?” Vita broke the silence.
“Like I give a shit. LA didn’t ride with me in the first place, and Raheem is lucky all I did was leave him instead of fucking his ass up!” Domo fumed. He was angry with Raheem for getting them into the situation, but angrier with himself for not letting him handle it on his own.
“Can I say something without you getting all in your feelings about it?” Vita questioned.
“I got a feeling you’re going to say whatever it is regardless of how I might react to it.”
“I know that’s your boy, but that kid is deadweight,” Vita said flatly. “LA is a fucking head case who’s likely to get murdered before he gets rich, but he’ll stand up and do what needs to be done when the time comes. Your other friend…” She shook her head.
“How about you let me worry about Rah?”
“C’mon, kid. You know that ain’t how this works. I told you from the beginning what you were getting into and what was at stake. Each of us is responsible for the lives of the others. I wouldn’t trust Raheem with my car, let alone my life. Letting that kid in on what we’re bringing you into is likely going to get you killed, and I can’t have that. I’m sorry, kid, but if you want in, then he’s out.”
Domo didn’t want to admit it, but Vita was right. He wished he could say that what Raheem had done at the baby shower was a random occurrence, but it wasn’t. It had been the story of his life since he’d met Raheem. Rah would always start some shit and leave it to Domo to clean up. Even his brother, Understanding, had warned him against playing Raheem so close, but Rah was one of the only real friends Domo had. Still, maybe it was time to put a little space between them. Maybe once Domo got established, he would be able to pull Raheem in, but while he was on the come-up, it was best if his friend played the background.
Ten minutes later they turned down Domo’s block. Vita was surprised at how quiet the street he lived on appeared to be in contrast to the dangerous-looking neighborhoods they’d crossed through to get there. It was almost as if the tree-lined streets and the quaint two-family houses didn’t belong. She pulled up in front of the house he’d directed her to and put the car in park.
“This your place?” Vita looked over the two-story house, with its cut grass and recycling bins propped neatly at the curb.
“Me and my mom,” Domo told her. He looked to their second-floor window. The lights were on, which meant his mother had found the money and taken care of the bill. It made him feel good to know that he had been able to help, but she was sure to have questions about the money. When she saw his lip, it would open up an entirely different can of worms.
“Everything cool?” Vita noticed his reluctance to exit the car.
“My mom is still up,” Domo confessed. “I can’t go home with my face looking like this.”
“Then don’t.”
“What am I supposed to do, sleep in the car?” Domo laughed. His laugher died when Vita’s hand landed on his lap.
“Or we don’t have to sleep at all.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Eddie sat in his office, drumming his fingers on the desk and trying his best to hide his irritation. He hated last-minute meetings, especially when the person he was supposed to be meeting kept him waiting. Just when he was about to pick up the phone and tell them to forget it, there was a knock at the door.
Blanco looked to Eddie, who gave him the nod before getting up and opening the office door and letting Knowledge in. Eddie had heard that Big Stone’s second-in-command had been asking around about him all day, so he wasn’t surprised when he had gotten the call to request a sit-down. With the way Diamonds was laying siege to the city, it was only a matter of time before people started putting their heads together to try to identify the new threat. The fact that Knowledge was there meant that there was suspicion, but the absence of Big Stone meant there was no proof … at least not yet.
“When you called about a meeting, I had assumed it would be Big Stone who I was actually talking to,” Eddie said, reminding Knowledge that the two of them weren’t of the same social status.
“My big homie is attending to some other business, but I’m here on his authority. I won’t take up too much of your precious time,” Knowledge assured him.
“Fine then, what I can I do for you in the name of Big Stone?”
Knowledge got right to it. “I’m sure by now you’ve heard about the death of Pana Suarez and Pops’s joint burning down.”
“Yeah, a shame about the old man. I kinda liked him, but I can’t say I’ll lose any sleep over Pana,” Eddie said sarcastically.
“Yeah, what happened to Pops is fucked up.”
“Any idea who torched his joint?”
“See, that’s the thing. Right before he told us, Pops mysteriously passed away. The doctors said he choked on his own tongue,” Knowledge revealed.
Eddie was shocked but did his best to hide it. “Wow, now that’s a fucked-up way to die.”
“Sure is. I’m not really here to talk about Pops though. I’m more interested in what happened to Pana. A man that heavy getting greased without putting up so much as a fight has raised quite a few eyebrows,” Knowledge said.
“Knowledge, let me save you some time and trouble. Tell Big Stone me nor any of my people killed Pana,” Eddie said flatly.
“Oh, we already know that your hands are clean of this. Whoever took Pana out was definitely not local,” Knowledge informed him.
“Then why come see me?” Eddie questioned.
“For the same reason whoever blew into town and whacked Pana might’ve,” Knowledge replied. “If I were new to the city and planned on making a big play, you’d probably be the first person I’d come to see to get my feet wet. I’d be itching to see what I could do to get into your good graces, so I could tap into that primo coke you’re sitting on.”
“You flatter me, kid, but I’m not the only one moving weight in the city. What makes me so special that these people would come to me instead of going to one of my competitors?”
“Because of everyone holding enough weight to mean something, you’re the only one who ain’t got no hang-ups about who you’ll do business with. You don’t care whether they’re black, white, brown, or polka dot. So long as the money is green, you’ll take it.”
Eddie had to admit, Knowledge was a sharp one, but it’d take more than speculation to trip him up. “So Big Stone sent you here to insult me?”
Knowledge raised his hands in surrender. “I meant no disrespect, Eddie. I’m just saying what everyone, including yourself, knows to be true. Now, nobody is saying you’re out here moving foul, Eddie. We just know that your path crosses with a lot of people from different places and spaces. Maybe one o
f those people went by the name Diamonds?”
“Sorry, doesn’t ring a bell.” The lie rolled off Eddie’s tongue far too smoothly. “Is that who did the Suarez hit?”
“Maybe … maybe not,” Knowledge said coyly. “We’re still investigating the situation, but we’re getting close … real close.”
“Out of curiosity, why the hell do you guys even care?” Eddie asked. “Big Stone, nor any of his associates, had business with Pana. Why not charge this shit to the game and let it go?”
“Because maybe whoever went at Pana won’t be content to stop there. If they got away with knocking one boss off, maybe they’ll get the balls to go at another one. Could be Big Stone, maybe Pharaoh. Hell, they might even try to make a move on you.”
Eddie laughed. “They’d be crazy to move against me. I’m connected from on high.”
“I’ll bet that’s the same thing Pana thought before he got his heart cut out,” Knowledge said.
“Well, I thank you and Big Stone for your concern, but we’re good over here.” Eddie stood. “If I happen to hear anything, I’ll be sure to let you know. Blanco will see you out.”
Knowledge glanced over his shoulder at Blanco, who was hovering behind him. “I can see myself out.” He ambled pass the bodyguard and toward the door. But before he left, he had some parting words for Eddie. “Eventually we will find out who was behind Pana’s murder and deal with them and everyone else involved accordingly,” he assured him before he left.
“You believe the nerve of that shine coming in here talking like he’s somebody?” Blanco asked after Knowledge had gone.
“Yeah, that little shit is getting beside himself,” Eddie agreed. “I can remember when he was a dirty little fucker running around stealing packages, but now he’s walking and talking like he’s a fucking boss. If it weren’t for Big Stone, someone would’ve put a bullet in his head a long time ago.”