“I taught you well.”
Rayshawn pulled out of the airport seconds before an Atlanta cop could knock on his window and tell him to move his car out of the passenger pickup zone.
“So what’s good?” King asked as they hit the interstate and Rayshawn edged the needle towards eighty-five miles per hour, a more suitable speed for him.
“What’s good with what?” Rayshawn responded absently. He wrinkled his brow and glanced at King.
The question was a surprise. The first thing that King had ever taught anyone in his crew was not to talk business in the car.
“I meant, how’s life? I heard Jay-Jay’s party was off the hook.”
“Yeah,” Rayshawn nodded.
“Heard you popped the question too.”
Rayshawn nodded again. He knew that word would have gotten back to King that he proposed. There were too many Washington Heights peeps at the party for him not to find out. Of course Sandy was one of the first people that Jaicyn called. Rayshawn wondered what King thought about him and Jaicyn getting married.
But King was silent for an uncomfortable minute. Rayshawn fidgeted in the driver’s seat and pressed a little harder on the gas.
“You sure that’s what you want to do?” King finally asked. “You’re still young, kid. Why get married at twenty-four?”
Rayshawn simply answered, “It’s time.”
King leaned back against the soft leather headrest and stared at the cars that Rayshawn was leaving in the dust. Since he’d known the boy, Rayshawn took personal advice with a grain of salt. He hung on to every single word that King said when it came to business but anything about his relationships, especially anything that had to do with Jaicyn, went in one ear and out the other.
King was prepared to do his best to talk them out of marriage, but Rayshawn’s firm “It’s time” put that idea right out of his mind. Instead he watched the cars that whizzed past the Audi. The Atlanta bypass made King a little leery. Dangerous drivers texting and driving, assholes crossing lanes without the use of turn signals or any form of common sense, all while exceeding the fifty-five mile an hour speed limit put everyone at risk.
“Where are we going’?” King asked when Rayshawn skipped the exit that would have led to his house.
“Thought we’d meet Dayshawn at this little jazz spot he found a few weeks ago. It’s a decent spot to talk.”
“Cool.”
Rayshawn’s phone vibrated in the center console and King laughed. It was Jaicyn.
“Does your girl have a sixth sense or something? She always calls when you’re hangin’ with me.”
“Some things never change. She wanted to come but I told her to stay home for a change.” Rayshawn pushed the ignore button.
He wasn’t worried that something bad had happened to his fiancée or his house. Jaicyn knew better than to let her sisters destroy the house and the last time he talked to her, she was shopping at Lenox. The only bad thing that could happen was her running out of cash.
Thirty minutes later, Rayshawn pulled the Audi into a small parking lot, handed a bum a fifty with instructions to make sure no one came within two feet of the car, and led King into the building. Dayshawn was sitting in a corner booth watching the sexy saxophone playing seductress on stage. The girl was playing her sax so seductively it looked like she was making love to it.
“She’s fine as hell,” King commented as he slid into the booth.
She wasn’t just fine. She was F-I-N-E!! Her slinky silver jersey dress stopped mid-thigh showing off two perfectly shapely bronze legs and clung to her hips and breasts for dear life. Her light eyes caught the light and sparkled as she blew her horn.
“Who is she?” Rayshawn asked his brother.
“I don’t know, but damn!” Dayshawn said. “Is she single?”
“Autumn is going to kick your ass,” Rayshawn chuckled.
He waved to a waitress, ordered a bucket of ice and a bottle of Hennessy. He didn’t ask the price. Bars and clubs always marked up the price of bottles, especially in Atlanta.
The dark club and corner booth provided the men optimal privacy to discuss business matters. After being in Atlanta for so long and now making more money than ever before, Rayshawn didn’t mind letting his twin in on his business.
In a few months, Dayshawn would be graduating from law school and his experience interning at a very prominent law firm in Atlanta was the reason that Jaicyn and Rayshawn stayed out of jail during the Atlanta police raids last year. Dayshawn needed to know everything that Rayshawn was into and how deep so that he knew the right questions to ask his mentors. Rayshawn paid for his education and Dayshawn used that education to protect his brother.
King watched the twins quietly as they ogled the girl on stage and jonesed each other about their girlfriends. His mouth turned up into a slight smile. Proud was too light of a word to describe how he felt about the twins. He cared about them just as much as he cared about his own son. Who knew where both of them would be if he hadn’t stepped in and took Rayshawn under his wing? Definitely still in Washington Heights. Without him, they would have ended up just like their aunts and uncles.
Or their father.
“Stop checkin’ out that girl,” King ordered the twins and gulped down his drink. “She don’t want either of you.”
“You just want to get to business,” Dayshawn laughed. “You know Jaicyn is cooking for you.”
“Yeah,” Rayshawn added. “We all know the real reason you came here first is because you miss those bad ass girls of mine. When we get to the house, I’m not gonna see you for the rest of the trip. You brought them gifts again, didn’t you?”
“Not this trip,” King smiled. “You and Jay-Jay spoil those girls enough. But we do need to chat a little.”
“About what? Everything’s good down here,” Rayshawn replied with his eye still on the jazz player as she introduced her band.
“Cesar said your re-up was three hundred grand this month. What the hell is going on down here?”
A re-up that large was cause for concern. No one in King’s crew was selling dope like that. Not even Slim who was doing big things in Los Angeles.
“It’s Jaicyn, man,” Rayshawn groaned. “Her crew sells dope like Wal-mart sells diapers. She won’t slow down.”
Rayshawn didn’t like to admit that Jaicyn was outselling him but King had to know. Jaicyn was once again pissing off the Atlanta dealers. The last thing Rayshawn wanted was another Pete and Marcello incident. She wouldn’t listen to him though.
Shooting at his fiancée was serious and Rayshawn would risk everything to make sure that Jaicyn was safe when she drove her black on black Charger through the West End or the SWATS.
All Jaicyn wanted was money. That’s why she pushed her crew so hard. Rayshawn hated dealing with the financials. He hated paying taxes and keeping records. Jaicyn loved it, therefore he allowed her to do what she did best, manage the money. Jaicyn took classes on investing and channeled all of their hard earned money through their very successful businesses. She was addicted to watching the balance in their bank accounts grow.
As much as she spent, Jaicyn saved even more. Coming from a place where money was scarce had that effect on her. She never wanted to be without it again. Rayshawn knew there was some magic number, some high ass dollar amount that she was aiming for; he just didn’t know what it was. But he’d do whatever he had to for her to reach that number. He’d promised her.
“How many a week can they sell?” King asked.
“Ten to twenty keys, easy,” Rayshawn answered. “She’s trying to be good and not go over ten, but Atlanta is big, man. This shit ain’t like Washington Heights at all. Niggas down here be trippin’. They don’t like her as is.”
“They don’t like her like Pete and Marcello didn’t like her?”
“Worse,” Dayshawn answered. “One of the lawyers at my firm represents a lot of dealers down here and they always have something to say about Jaicyn and Rayshawn. These
cats are out here doing whatever they need to do to get money because y’all are making to hard for them. They’re getting reckless and getting locked up in the process.”
“Damn Rayshawn! I sent you down here to make money, not turn the city against you,” King sighed.
“Don’t worry about it,” Rayshawn answered with a glint in his eye. “I have a plan.”
King smirked. “What’s your plan?”
“We can flip the script on these folks. I’m talking about wholesale,” Rayshawn explained. “I’m talkin’ about letting the crews do their own thing. They cop from us like we cop from Cesar. We talked about expanding into North Carolina and west to Tennessee and Alabama before. I think I could even supply some people in Florida. They’re already coming up here to get shit from me.”
“You tryin’ to be top dog?” King raised his eyebrows. That was a ballsy move for Rayshawn to even suggest.
“I’m not tryin’ to be nothin’,” Rayshawn answered. “I’m trying to make things safer for me and my family. It just makes sense for us to switch up. This city is too big and there are too many dealers. They all can’t work for us, not when it’s just me and Jaicyn who got the good dope.”
Rayshawn stared at King, hoping he understood. He needed him on his side. King was his link to Cesar and Cesar had the best dope in the game.
“How much do you think you can sell?”
Rayshawn held up five fingers.
“Seriously?” King asked.
Rayshawn nodded. “Like I said, niggas are already coming from Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina to get their hands on Cesar’s good dope.
“How many did you say?” Dayshawn asked.
“Five hundred,” Rayshawn answered.
“What’s the plan? Are you going to sell it at regular wholesale prices?”
“Yeah.”
Dayshawn almost spit his drink all over the table when he calculated their profits in his head. His brother was talking about millions of dollars in dope. That wasn’t laying low or playing it safe.
“Whoa, Rayshawn,” King held up his hand. “Slow your roll. I can’t have you down here pushin’ that much weight! Cesar ain’t gon front you that much dope anyway. Are you crazy?”
“But I’m good for it!”
“No you’re not,” King said. “You and Jaicyn don’t have five million dollars just lying around. We’ll talk to the man and work this shit out. We’ll come up with a logical number that won’t have your ass in prison for the rest of your life. And don’t get your panties in a bunch,” King added when he saw the disappointed look on Rayshawn’s face.
“I like this idea for you and Jaicyn. But we have to take our time with this. There’s no rush.”
To Rayshawn, the sooner they could make the transition, the better. The longer Jaicyn stayed on the streets hustling with her crew, the higher chance she had of getting shot and him going to jail. He wanted to let everyone go as soon as possible and sit back and collect the cash, like King.
Let the street hustlers fight over territory and bullshit like that. He was tired of getting his hands dirty.
“When can we talk to Cesar?” Rayshawn asked anxiously.
“I’ll talk to him when I get back from New York. You just hang tight,” King told him. “In the meantime, talk this over with your girl. I know you haven’t said nothing about this to her because she’d be here tonight running her mouth if you had.”
“She’ll be cool with it,” Rayshawn answered confidently. “It means more money and she’s been hinting at opening another store. I don’t think she wants to do this shit much longer anyway. She’s really into this fashion thing now.”
King nodded his head but didn’t reply. Rayshawn still didn’t fully understand Jaicyn, even after all these years. When it came to her, Rayshawn still lived in fantasy world. What he wanted from his girlfriend, like stability and normalcy, he’d never get.
Jaicyn liked the money, but like King, she relished in the power. If she and Rayshawn became one of the biggest dope suppliers in the south, which is what King wanted for them, Jaicyn would easily become one of the most powerful women in Atlanta. She wouldn’t give that up in order to stay home and have Rayshawn’s babies.
“Speaking of Jaicyn,” King spoke up. “I think you should know that Ramel is out.”
“He’s out? Like for good?”
King poured another glass of Hennessy. “Yeah. Surprisingly, he’s out early for good behavior.”
“Fuck!” Rayshawn uttered.
His mind when straight back to the night he found out that Jaicyn had been raped and beaten by Ramel and his uncle, Mario. Heat raced through his body and his hand clenched the cool glass of liquor.
Jaicyn, lying in her hospital bed, covered in bandages, had been barely recognizable. It had taken months for her body to heal. She never talked about what happened. Not to anyone.
Back then, Rayshawn hadn’t wanted to hear the details and deliberately stayed away when Jaicyn gave her deposition to the cops and prosecutor. She was still in the hospital when Ramel’s court date came, thanks to King’s campaign contribution to the DA who pushed Ramel’s case to the top of the pile. She was able to give her testimony via videotape that was played in court.
After Ramel was sentenced to ten years Jaicyn went on with her life and acted like it never happened. Rayshawn promised her that if she ever wanted to talk about it, he’d listen. But she never did. Ramel being locked up probably helped her cope. He didn’t know how Jaicyn would take the news about Ramel walking the streets of Washington Heights. She’d probably freak out a little bit. Ramel knew that Rayshawn killed Mario. He knew when it happened. And Ramel Cruz had 2,920 days to plot his revenge. The Cruz family lived by the same code as Rayshawn.
Don’t fuck with family.
“Should I be worried?” Rayshawn asked King.
“No. Ramel’s just talking shit right now. He’s fresh from the pen. It’s going to take him a minute to build up his crew and get strong enough to come at us.”
“Besides,” Dayshawn said, “you don’t have a reason to be in Washington Heights anyway. Ramel isn’t coming down here, I guarantee it.”
They were both right. Rayshawn took a swig from his drink and cherished the feel of the smooth cold liquor burning its way down his throat. He liked having Dayshawn and King around. They were always the voice of reason.
“Look,” he finally said. “Let’s just leave this between us. I don’t think I want Jay-Jay to know yet.”
“Agreed,” King said. “Let’s get this shit with Cesar worked out before we have your girl coming to Washington Heights all guns ablazin’ and shit and getting us all killed.”
“Good idea,” Dayshawn laughed as he slid out of the booth.
“Where you goin’?” Rayshawn demanded. He looked in the direction his twin was headed.
“Gotta find out where I can get that girl’s…CD,” Dayshawn laughed.
“Hurry up. We’re about to go!” Rayshawn yelled at his brother’s back.
“Negro, I drove my own car. Leave whenever you feel like it.”
“Don’t cock block, Rayshawn,” King admonished. “Him and Autumn aren’t even that serious. Let him do his thing. That girl is bad and not every twenty-four year old is rushing down the aisle like you.”
Rayshawn rolled his eyes in his head and gave one last glance at the sax player. She was pretty but he already had the baddest chick in Atlanta in his bed. Jaicyn could out dress, out talk, and outshine every woman that Rayshawn had ever come in contact with. He had a diamond at home. A diamond wearing his diamond and all he wanted was her.
Chapter 4
Fifth, sixth, and seventh graders rushed out of Stone Mountain Middle School as soon as the final bell signaled they were free to go. The mass exodus of pre-teens rushing to waiting parents and school buses made Jaicyn fidget against her car door. Some of the kids were friends of her sisters but none of their parents were friends of hers. None of them congratulated her on h
er huge diamond engagement ring. They simply turned away from the flashy young lady who spoiled her sisters so much that their children were jealous, demanding iPhones and designer clothes because Rickie and Bobbie had them.
Fuck it, Jaicyn thought to herself. I don’t feel like dealing with these broke bitches anyway.
So what if she bought her sisters Gucci, Juicy Couture, and Betsy Johnson while the other kids got Old Navy jeans and GAP shirts. Why should Rickie and Bobbie settle for cheering for a middle school football team when they could be on the best competition squad in the state? Nothing but the best for them. Jaicyn made sure of it.
She wouldn’t have to deal with jealous ass parents who couldn’t afford the things she could if Rayshawn would just say yes to private school. The fashion conscious sisters wouldn’t stand out so much if everyone else had what they had.
Rayshawn was convinced that private school was unnecessary. The schools in Georgia were much better than the Washington Heights public schools that they’d gone to. Besides, how would they explain how they were able to afford the tuition? The school that Jaicyn had her eye on was twenty grand a year, per student. There was no way that they could explain how they were able to pay for the girls to go to that school without raising suspicions.
Jaicyn spotted her sisters walking towards her and moved around her car to the driver’s side. She smiled in approval of Rickie and Bobbie’s thin sweater dresses and tights. Like she did at thirteen, the girls were starting to develop bodies that attracted a lot of attention. Rickie was already filling up a B-cup. By summer, Jaicyn was sure she’d be in a C. Kids’ sizes didn’t even fit the girls anymore. It was definitely time to start teaching them about boys and sex, something her own mother never found the time to do.
Jaicyn didn’t want her sisters having sex. She wanted them to wait. When all her friends in Washington Heights were having sex and having babies in high school, Jaicyn stuck by her “no sex” policy. Holding out had gotten her more than babies. Boys with after school jobs and other sources of income were happy to shower her with clothes, shoes, and jewelry in hopes of being her first. She used them for what they would give her so she could use the money she made from stealing clothes to take care of her sisters.
A Hustler's Promise 2 Promises Kept Page 3