by Qiana London
“I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to hear some heavy stuff like this on a first date.”
“I don’t mind. I’m listening. We’re getting to know each other, right?”
She smiled. “Yeah, but I don’t want you to hear this and run for the hills.” She giggled nervously.
“I ain’t never scared,” I replied and winked.
“Well, I’ll at least give you the short version.” She slowly exhaled before continuing. “At first, things were good. My father got a job working as a longshoreman at a shipyard, and my mother stayed at home. She used to tell me that my father was the provider that he had promised to be. Fast forward about five years, and I was born. Then two years after that, my sister came. It wasn’t until my mother got pregnant with my brother that things began going downhill.”
Our waitress returned to see if we were ready to order our entrees. We told her that we needed more time.
“Whenever you’re ready; there’s no rush,” she replied.
I left the menu closed. I wanted Fatima to know that she had my undivided attention. “So what happened?”
“Cocaine,” she said clearly irritated.“It’s a powerful drug.”
I shook my head. I’d seen firsthand how it could make someone’s life spin out of control. My uncle had gotten wrapped up in it and lost everything.
“That’s the truth.”
“My mother pretty much became a single motherand was forced to raise three kids on her own. I know that’s not what she had signed on for. And to add insult to injury, my father left her with nothing so that he couldstart a family with another woman. We were all affected by it, but my brother was impacted the most.”
“He missed his dad, right?”
“Yep. And my dad hadn’t thought twice about any of us. My brother was met with broken promise after broken promise, and he took it out on our mother because he blamed her for our dad leaving,” she explained.“And that’s where he and I bumped heads.”
“Right, because it wasn’t her fault.”
“Not at all, but you couldn’t reason with Anthony. He had his mind made up, and I think the whole ordeal hardened him as a person. He just didn’t give a damn about anyone, especially women.”
I was taken aback for a moment, but I reminded myself that Anthony and Diandre were the same person. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, me too,” she said.“And it’s unfortunate because his life could have turned out so differently. He is a musical genius, and for a while, he was making a living as a producer. But he went down a dark path. He created an alternate reality and began to prey on women, which ultimately landed him in prison. I guess he finally messed with the wrong woman.”
As I listened to Fatima, I tried to understand how she was related to Diandre. She was so intelligent and well-spoken. It was crazy to me that they’d been cut from the same cloth.
“Do you still talk to him?”
Now that she’d opened up about her brother, I wanted to stay there.
“The last time I spoke to him was—”
Her phone began to ring in her coat pocket. She retrieved it, stopped it from ringing, and stared at the screen with a perplexed look on her face.
“I’m sorry, Harper. I need to take this.”
“No problem. Go ahead.”
She stood up, placed the phone to her ear, and headed toward the bathroom. I took the opportunity to check my own phone. It had been about a week and a half, and I still hadn’t heard from Craig. Snow and Melanie were working diligently in the background to see what they could find out, but they didn’t have any solid leads yetand no fatalities matching Craig’s description had turned up so I knew he was alive. Still I’d gotten him involved in this ordeal and I felt like it was my responsibility to get him out. I had a voicemail notification for a missed call from an unknown number. I pressed the icon on the screen and brought the phone to my ear.
He didn’t say his name, but I knew it was Craig.
"Aye, I'm laying low while I take care of some business. But I've still got eyes and ears on the street and that's why I'm calling you," he explained. "I'm gonna be fine and I'll make sure that bitch-ass snitch gets what's coming to him. Believe that. But I wanted to let you know that old boy has got some things in the works. Diandre ain't letting shit ride. He's got a major grudge against anyone who he believes has gotten in his way. He's ruthless. Word is he's even got a hit out on his own family. I know you can hold your own, but you still need to be careful."
As I listened to the rest of his message, Fatima headed back to the table with a distraught look on her face. I hung up the phone as she sat back down.
"Is everything alright?" I inquired.
Her eyes were vacant before they filled with tears. Her voice was shaky as she spoke. "That was the nursing facility," she started. "My mother passed away." The tears began to flow, but she didn't make a sound.
"I am so sorry for your loss, Fatima."
She nodded and downed the rest of her water. Fatima was surprisingly calm for someone who had learned her mother had died. Either she was in shock or the reality of the news she had just received had not hit her yet. She replaced the glass on the table, and her face hardened. There was more to the story than what she was sharing with me.
"What's wrong?"
"The call I received was from one of the caregivers who I've formed a relationship with over time since my mom has been there. She could lose her job for what she shared with me, but I would never betray her like that."
"What did she say?"
"She thinks that there was foul play, and I believe her. My mother received a visit from my estranged sister-in-law, Kimberly, earlier today. Kimberly hasn't been around my mother in years. After my brother went to prison, she didn't make any contact at all. It's no coincidence that after her unannounced visit, my mother died. I wish that they had never let her cold-hearted ass out of jail.”
I could hear the anger in her voice as she spoke.
"And, I'm sure this is all behind money. When he went to prison, all of his assets were frozen, so he wasn't able to post bail. My mother had the ability to post it for him because she had done well for herself over the years, but I wouldn’t let her. I knew that he was up to no good and prison was exactly where he needed to be. If it were up to me, he wouldn't even be in her will, but now that can't be changed."
As she spoke, I saw two men enter the restaurant. I could place their faces immediately as MacGyver and Nino Brown. I knew their presence was no coincidence. They spoke briefly with the hostess and tried to appear as though they were casually waiting to be seated. Fortunately, we were toward the back of the restaurant where the lighting was dim.
I quickly reached for my wallet and pulled out enough cash to take care of the bill and leave a generous tip. "We should get going."
"Yeah, I’m sorry. But I need to get home."
"No need to apologize. I'm sorry you're going through this."
"Yeah, me too." She slid on her coat while she remained seated. " Maybe we can do this again sometime under different circumstances."
"I'm sure we can make something happen."
She attempted to stand up, but I pulled her by her arm, causing her to stay in her seat.
"Um, I had a good time too, Harper, but now it's time for me to go."
"Yes, you need to get out of here, but we need to take another way."
"What do you mean?" She was clearly confused and searching my face for answers. "Harper, you're scaring me."
"It's Khalil, and I need you to come with me if you want to stay alive."
"Wait. What?" I could hear the fear in her voice.
"I'll explain things to you later, but right now, all you need to know is that I'm on your side and that I'm one of the good guys. Those guys over there aren't."
I gestured toward the men waiting to be seated. She looked in their direction and then back at me, clearly confused.
"They work for your brother and they're here looking for y
ou. Shit, they’re probably looking for both of us."
"I don't understand. Theywork—"
"Fatima, now isn't the time. We need to leave now."
I stood and took her by the hand. She grabbed her purse that was hanging on the back of the chair, and we exited quickly through the kitchen.
*****
I didn’t want to risk Fatima going back to her place,so I brought her to mine. I’d asked Snow and Melanie to come over as well so that we could sort things out. What I hadn’t planned on was Dezzy being here too. She’d been putting in long hours at work, and she seldom came to the city during the week. I was completely shocked when I answered the door and saw her standing there instead of my team. I knew I was going to have some serious explaining to do.
“Hey,babe,” she said, and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.
“Hey,” I said as I stepped aside to let her in.
She stopped in front of the console, kicked off her shoes, and placed her purse on top before walking further into the apartment. Fatima rounded the corner from the living room, and they practically bumped into each other.
“Oh, um, hi,” Fatima stuttered.
“Hi.”
Dezzy turned around to look at me. I took a deep breath and was about to close the door, but Snow stopped the door with his hand.
“Well, damn,can we come in?”
“My fault,” I said.“Come on in.”
I stepped back, and Snow walked in, followed by Melanie. He saw Dezzy and Fatima standing there, and then he shot a look at Melanie. Next, he looked at me.
“My heart goes out to you, bro,” he said, and shook his head.
“Thanks.”
Chapter Eight
The sun was beginning to rise, and I was wide awake. I had never gone to sleep because I couldn’t. There was too much going through my head. What originally started as justice for Dezzy had turned into something much more,and I had no intentions of letting up now. Fatima needed protection too, and I couldn’t knowingly leave her in harm’s way. I just wasn’t that dude.
I turned my attention from the window and looked around the living room. Everyone was still here and had fallen asleep on the couch, in chairs or on the floor. It had been a long night. I spent the majority of the time clarifying who everyone was and explaining how we all had ended up in this situation.
“So let me get this straight,” Fatima started.“Yourname is really Khalil and you’re after my brother because he was involved with her and basically made her life a living hell.” She pointed at Dezzy, who I could tell was trying to make sense of everything herself.
Not only did she realize my line of work was far more dangerous than I had led on, but she also learned that she was the motivation behind this particular assignment.
Fatima turned her attention to Dezzy.“And my brother nearly killed you.So you’re the one who landed him in prison.”
Dezzy looked at her with pleading eyes. I knew she felt a certain amount of guilt behind sending Diandre to prison, especially since she was carrying his child at the time. But I reassured her that she had done the right thing. She had no reason to feel bad. He got what he deserved.
“That sounds about right,” Melanie interjected.“All of this because of her. Clearly, he’s in loveand there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.”
I knew she was being sarcastic, but I wasn’t sure if anyone else besides Snow picked up on it.Melanie looked at me, and her eyes told me everything I needed to know. But she didn’t say anything else.
“Girl, don’t feel bad,” Fatima continued.“If I could have put his ass in prison, believe me, I would have.” She turned her attention back to me. She brought the glass in her hand to her lips and downed the rest of the liquor in one last gulp.“Blood isn’t always thicker than water. I know he’s responsible for my mother’s death and that is where I draw the line. You let me know if there is anything that you need me to do so that you can get his ass once and for all.”
I returned to the present moment when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Snow stretching as he walked in my direction. He didn’t speak right away. He stood next to me in silence and stared out the window. I unfolded my arms, walked over to the coat closet, and grabbed two hoodies. I threw one at Snow and pulled the other one over my head before opening the balcony door and heading outside. He joined me.
“Man, it’s cold as shit out here!” he said.
“Yeah, I know, but there’s nothing like a good sunrise to clear your head and put things into perspective.”
“It’s been a long time since I did this,” he replied.“And I’m sure this is just what you need,considering everything that’s probably going through your head right now.”
“You have no idea.”
He chuckled, and shook his head. “I’m sure I do. You know I’ve been there before too,” hereplied.“But enough of that. It’s time to handle this shit once and for all. This cat and mouse game has been going on long enough, and frankly,I’m over it.”
Snow was right. I had never intended to drag things out. I simply wanted to make a point and make sure that Diandre never came near Dezzyagain. Since the original plan didn’t work out, I had to come for him before he could come for me or anyone else.
“Having Fatima on our side will definitely help with getting next to him. He’ll neversuspect that she’s working with us,” I said.
“Do you have any ideas about how we’re going to make that happen?”
“I do,” Melanie chimed in as she walked out onto the balcony. She closed the sliding door behind her.
“Did we wake you?” I asked.
“No. I wasn’t really able to sleep. There was too much onmy brain.” Melanie walked over and took a seat across from us. She took a deep breath and stared out at the view for a moment before she spoke.“Last night, Fatima mentioned that her mother has a will in place and that she is her mother’s executor. Diandre is one of the heirs. He can’t legally collect anything, but we can lead him to think that he can, and I figured that we couldmake sure we’re there when he does.”
“That could work,” Snow suggested.“But,it won’t be so cut and dry. He ain’t stupid. I’m pretty sure that he knows being a fugitive is going to make it hard to collect. Besides, there is so much red tape that Fatima will have to go through with the probate process that thingscould take forever.”
“Well remember that he isn’t really going to collect anything. This is just a ploy so that we can make our move.”
She picked up the throw offthe arm of the chair and wrapped it around her shoulders.“If not, we could always go in with guns blazing.”
They both chuckled. I knew she didn’t think we should respond that way, but I didn’t think that was a bad idea.
“Actually, I think you’re on to something.”
“Khalil, you know I wasn’t serious, right? We can’t just bust the door down because that would be careless and sloppy.”
“I agree, but it could work because it wouldn’t be expected,” I explained.“Don’t get me wrong. I still think that we need a solid plan of action, but we need to catch him off guard.”
Snow and Melanie looked at each other. She leaned forward in the chair and her expression became serious. I could tell that the wheels had begun to spin in her head. She nodded slowly,but didn’t speak.
“The best way to accomplish this is to really involve Fatima,” I said.
“How can we do that without him thinking that something is up? We can’t exactly have her reach out to him,” Snow replied.“They aren’t on speaking terms, remember?”
“Yeah, I know, but their mother just died. If that isn’t motivation to reach out to your brother,then I don’t know what is,” I said.“Besides, he doesn’t know that she knows that he’s looking for her. If she initiates a meeting with him,then she will actually make things easier for him.”
“Yeah, a little too easy, Khalil,” Melanie added.
“I’m with Mel on this one, bro.
I’m not too excited about the idea of using her as bait.”
“Y’all make it sound like we wouldn’t be there to protect her. I think it’s the best chance that we have at ending this whole ordeal.”
Snow didn’t seem convinced, but he remained silent. I knew that his concern was a bit more deep-rooted than he was trying to let on. He had been extremely invested in making sure that Fatima was alright last night. I knew him well enough to realize he was feeling her.
“Snow, this isn’t our first time dealing with something like this. I know you’ll personally see to it that she’s good.”
He turned to look at me, and we held eye contact. I nodded my head, letting him know that I knew what was really up.He didn’t bother to respond. Instead, he turned his attention back to Melanie.
“So when we do this, we’re going to make sure that it’s handled, right?” he asked.
“Yep. It’s the only way to put an end to this entire situation,” I responded.
“Alright, we don’t have much time to pull this off, but I have an idea,” Melanie added.“If done correctly, we can all walk away from this with very little collateral damage. We will just need to make sure that Fatima understandswhat we’re going to do and that she provides her full cooperation.”
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” I added.
“Good,” she replied and stood up. “I just need some time and a quiet space this morning toflush out the details.”
“No problem. Feel free to use oneof the rooms upstairs.”
“Thanks,” she said and started walking toward the door.
As she passed me, I caught her by the arm. “Mel, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth sooner.”
“It is what it is.”
Her response was flat. I knew that I wasn’t her favorite person right now, but I expected her to say more. ButI didn’t press the issue. I was thankful that she was still willing to help me.
“Thanks for always being someone I can count on.”
“Semper Fi, right?” She pulled her arm from my grasp, and hurried back into my apartment.
I was sure I heard her voice crack as the words hit me like a ton of bricks. Sure, it was a motto that we always used in the marines, but I knew it was more personal for her. She had always been faithful and loyal to me, and I had only succeeded in breaking her heart. I had never meant to hurt her, and if it wasn’t there before, I was sure that she had a hole in her heart now.