by T. Styles
I had my ideas why she had this expression and for now I’ll keep them to myself. I didn’t know if Scarlett and Ramirez had anything going on. I walked in on the tail end of the conversation. But what I will say is this, something didn’t feel or look right.
Finally she came into the foyer and I wondered why she changed her clothes. She was now wearing a white tank and white jeans that set off her red hair. Just like my other sister-friends, her beauty blew me away every time I saw her. “Sorry, guys, I got held up on a call.”
“Well come on,” I said grabbing my keys off the small glass table by the door. “Security is out front waiting and we have to still meet the developers for our apartment building in—”
“I’m not going,” Scarlett said looking away from me. “I was just coming down here to let you both know.”
Race focused on me and then her. “We not leaving that little boy over them people’s house, Scarlett. You heard what Kevin said. We talked about this already so stop fucking around and let’s bounce. The longer we wait the more we’re going to lose daylight.”
“No…I mean…I’m going to get my son…just alone.”
I finally got it.
Something had happened between she and Ramirez and she didn’t want to sit in the car with Race. She was probably blame worthy. If I find out that he seduced her I will kill him with my own hands.
That’s on everything I fuck with!
Not only for sleeping with my sister but hurting my other one too.
I took a deep breath. “Scarlett, you shouldn’t be doing anything by yourself. Now I know you’re afraid of being a mother and you want some more time to think about this alone, but we need you to be safe and that means not cruising the streets unprotected.”
She moved closer to us. “Just let me do this by myself, Bambi. Please.”
Race shook her head. “Whatever, but that baby better be in this house tonight.” Race pointed at her. “Because I don’t know what your problem is but we don’t leave our own in the world fending for themselves.”
She’s telling the truth.
Melo had already returned to school and although I wanted him home he wouldn’t hear of it. Because of it we talked to the university and was allowed to have security around him at all times, even as he slept in his dorm room. Melo didn’t want it that way but I was not losing another son.
Eventually he relented.
He had no choice if he wanted to go back to college.
“I’m going to get Master, Race. I just want to do it by myself. I hope you understand but I started this mess by giving them my baby and I want to clean it up.”
Race shrugged. “Do what you gotta do. But if something happens to you I’m going to kill you.” She giggled before walking up to Scarlett, kissing her on the cheek and looking into her eyes. “I love you, sis. Just want you to stay alive and safe out here. Okay?”
Scarlett smiled. “Got it, Race.”
We walked out.
With the heightened threat on our lives, when we opened the door, there were two black vans in our oval shaped driveway filled with armed soldiers. One would tale behind us while the other would trail in front of us. Two of the men stepped out of the front van and helped Race and I inside of my black Cadillac Escalade.
Moments later with me behind the steering wheel I drove away, our entourage along for the ride. We weren’t even halfway to our meeting before Race started texting someone and smiling.
I looked over at her and back at the road. “Ramirez got you grinning that hard? Must be good to have a marriage rekindled. I’m happy for you.”
She cleared her throat and stuffed her phone into her pocket. “Nah, it’s just a friend.” She shrugged. “Nothing to be up in arms about.”
I frowned. “Come on, Race. You don’t have a friend on this planet I don’t know about. So who was the person on the phone? Talk to me, I need an escape.”
“First off I’m grown, second of all don’t you think its unhealthy not to have an associate outside of this family?”
I frowned. “What’s unhealthy about having us as your only comrades? The people who you can trust the most in the world because we know all of your secrets like you know ours?” I shook my head. “Besides, the last friend you had stabbed you in the back. You saw what going on the outside got you, nowhere. We all we got.”
“Wow…a low blow. From a Kennedy friend at that.” She shook her head in disgust.
I sighed. “I was wrong for my comment, Race. I just want you to be careful that’s all. Everybody rolling around like this Abd mothafucka is not a sincere threat. The Russians may be gone but there are other killers out to get us in the world and they will do a good job if they find a weakness. I mean, how do you know this person you keeping time with is not part of the plan to take us out? You chose wrong with Carey and you may be choosing wrong with this person too.”
“You don’t think I know that, Bambi?” She yelled. “You don’t think I regret the day I took Carey into our bedroom? Into our marriage? The last thing I need right now is you telling me something I think about daily.”
Silence.
Something was going on mentally with Race and with the family being in heat I wasn’t trying to argue with her. I wanted her to know if anything that I was on her side. “I’m sorry, Race. I’m an ex-military soldier and sometimes I push too hard for what I believe in.”
She wiped her hand down her face and took a deep breath. “I apologize, too. It seems like everything happening with our family is bringing me down and—”
“Then lean on your husband. Not an outsider.”
“Bambi…” She waved the air. “Drop it already!”
“I’m serious. You took him back, Race. Don’t let him get away again because you not talking to him.”
“Oh, so your marriage is perfect?”
“How you sound?” I looked at her and focused back on the road. “Kevin and I go up and down with our relationship like breaths. All he cares about now is me not getting drunk. But he’s my husband and I’m in his corner. I’d kill a bitch if she got in the way of that.”
She looked at me, longer than I could stand so I focused on the road again. Besides, I wasn’t trying to give her my suspicions on Ramirez and Scarlett.
Not yet anyway.
“Somebody fuckin’ with my husband, Bambi? Because if you know something you better not hold back. I wouldn’t do it to you.”
I sighed.
The problem was I didn’t know anything concrete. I didn’t see Scarlett fucking Ramirez. All I saw is the energy between them as he stood in front of her in that attic.
Maybe that was enough.
“Don’t play with me. You know if somebody was coming at Ram I’d kill them first and tell you later.”
She shook her head. “I’m tripping. I know you would.”
I stopped at the light.
“All I’m saying is that if you love him maybe you should show him. Don’t get me wrong, ain’t none of them Kennedy’s perfect but they belong to us until we say so anyway. So if you not calling it quits now you better protect what’s yours.”
“And like I said when it comes to Ramirez I have—”
Suddenly the mailbox on the corner exploded with a bomb blowing the van and our men in front of us in pieces. A large orange cloud with grey smoke veins spread out before our eyes. The impact alone made a ringing noise in my head that reminded me of the war in Iraq and suddenly I was filled with a mixture of emotions.
Quickly afterwards, the van behind us was fired into, killing all of our men.
“GET THE FUCK DOWN!” I yelled at Race as I saw the devastation.
I thought America was under attack, until from a car that sat far enough from the damage not to be impacted, Abd Al-Quadir came into view.
I’m standing in front of Abd Al-Quadir and the first thought that came to mind is crazy. He’s more handsome than I envisioned and for some reason that makes him scarier.
“I’m so
rry about the explosives,” he said running his hand down his silky black beard, which looked wet like ink. “It’s just that I needed to get your attention and you wouldn’t take my calls.”
I stepped closer. “You killed fifteen of my soldiers, Abd! How can you consider yourself a businessman and make moves like that? I could’ve been hurt! If you kill me you get no Mitch. You do know that right?”
“Come now, Mrs. Kennedy…you have more men.” He said slyly. “That I’m sure of.”
I froze and looked around the all white room where armed men dressed in black, red veils covering their faces as they held assault weapons trained on me. “What do you want? There has to be a reason for all of this.”
“It’s simple actually.” He rubbed his hands together. “I need you to produce Mitch.”
I frowned. This man was pissing me off. It wasn’t like his dope was not moving as fluidly as it did before Mitch died, courtesy of us. If anything the circulation was better because we needed to put on fronts or people would’ve gotten suspicious. But he was being controlling, needing this done his way. “I told you Abd, that he doesn’t want to be seen. So he’s entrusted me to see to it that—”
I could see the veins of his temple pulsate. “You’re use to talking down to men. Forcing them to lower their nature and do what you say, aren’t you?”
“I never talk down to a man who deserved my respect.”
He moved closer and walked around me before stopping in front of me again. I felt like I was on display and with the weapons trained on me he could do what he wanted with my body and that horrified me even more.
His stare was intense and he seemed to be looking through me. He grabbed a strand of my hair, sniffed it and released. “You know, in my country all women must have a male guardian. And within this law a woman is not able to marry, divorce, get educated or leave the country without our approval. Our laws help keep women like you in place.” He pointed at me, his finger rested on the tip of my nose. “That’s what America’s missing. The authority of a real man.”
I tried to walk away when he yanked my hand. “Get off of me!” I told him.
He smacked me so hard I tasted my own blood. “How you speak to men could have your hands cut off and stumped in my country. We may not be in Saudi but you will respect me as I stand before you.” His teeth bore.
“You’re going to pay for hitting me.” My breaths were heavy. “I promise you.”
He laughed. “And how do you plan on doing that? By getting your husband involved? I could kill everything you love with a wave of my finger.” He laughed long and hard.
“So why don’t you? Instead of doing all of this shit.” I threatened although I wished I could take it back. He was more powerful in the moment than I was and we were in no position to go to war.
“Because I want Mitch.” He paused. “And you have ten days to produce him. Not eleven. Not twelve. But ten.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Bambi, for your sake let’s hope that question is never answered.”
CHAPTER FOUR
DENIM KENNEDY
I was pacing in the grocery store by the fresh fruit when my mother finally walked inside, taking what seemed to be her sweet time. Like she wasn’t supposed to be here an hour ago.
Fuck!
I agreed to meet her here, in private; because Bradley would divorce me if he knew after everything she put us through that I was still helping her out financially from time to time. But she was my mother and I couldn’t turn my back on her if I wanted so I put it all on the line.
When he asked where I was going today instead of with the girls to get Master, I told him shopping. Unlike Kevin and Bambi he didn’t feel like the threat Abd was throwing was as dangerous so as long as I promise to bring a van full of men to guard me he was cool with me leaving the compound.
But it was all a lie.
With my daughter and sister dead my mother was all I had and I needed to be there for her. Maybe it was the mothering sense in me that had arisen making me want to nurture again.
Who knows?
I even tried to have another baby but Bradley had taken to barely touching me. It’s like I repulsed him no matter how hard I tried. How could I have a kid when my husband wouldn’t fuck me?
When I saw my mother walk in I stomped up to her and two of the armed men followed. “Ma, what took you so long to get here?” I noticed she gained more pounds, despite having the weight loss surgery and getting closer to her original size when she was a model. Her flesh pushed at the dirty grey sweatpants she was wearing and perspiration dampened the dingy white t-shirt she was draped in.
She looked nasty.
“I don’t have a car, Denim so I got here as quickly as I could.” She grabbed an apple off the rack and bit it.
She’s messy as fuck out here.
“Ma, I gave you a brand new E Class last week and enough money for gas for six months. What happened to the vehicle? I know you didn’t crash it.”
She waived her hand and leaned against the watermelons, causing one of them to roll onto the floor. Talking with a mouthful of fruit she said, “If you must know I sold it, Denim. It was mine anyway. I was allowed to right?”
I stumbled backwards. “That car was beautiful! Fuck you sell it for? It was brand new!”
“For a place to stay!”
I moved closer. “Ma, I bought you that car and paid off your apartment lease for two years.” I held up my fingers. “You not making sense out here.” I dropped my hand. “What is going on with you?”
“The management company threw me out, Denim.” She stood up straight and tossed the half eaten apple back on the pile. “If you must know the truth, there it is sitting in front of you. I was evicted of all things. They acting like they hurting somebody and shit.”
“But why?”
“They claimed I was having too much company and bothering the neighbors. The truth is everybody in that high sadity building don’t want nobody having fun with they old dry asses. So what I had a party or two. I was lucky to be done with them once and for all.” She shrugged. “So I’m on the street now.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Ma, what are you doing to me? I can’t keep giving you money only for you to throw it away. You have to be more responsible. Bradley gonna start noticing the cash I peel off our emergency stack at the rate you going.”
“You know what, if you don’t want to help me no more than that’s okay. Although you might as well just say it.” She turned around. “I’ll just kill myself because I don’t have anything to live for anyway.”
My eyes widened upon hearing those words and I rushed up to my mother, walked in front of her and wrapped my arms around her as best I could. The musty odor of her body made my stomach churn and I figured she hadn’t washed in days.
“Mother, please, listen to me.” I released her. “You know I want to help, it’s just that with everything I’m going through I can’t deal right now with all of this extra-ness you got going on. Money is not a problem but I need you to take better care, ma. I can’t be out here in the streets because someone is trying to kill my family and me. If Bambi even knew I was out here she would lose it.”
“Your family huh?” She tried to cross her large arms across her chest but it wouldn’t work so they hung at her sides. “Listen at you. You carrying on as if Bambi pushed you out of her army pussy.”
“You know what I mean.”
She held her hand out and wiggled her fingers. “Do you have my money or not? I don’t have time for the lecture and shit.”
I shook my head and dug into my Louis Vuitton purse. I looked around before removing a stack worth seven thousand dollars and slapping it into her hand. She smiled and dropped it into the designer bag I bought her. “Thank you, baby girl. This gonna keep me right for a few weeks.”
“What are you gonna do now, ma? Where you gonna go?”
She walked closer. “That’s just it, Denim, I don’t know.” She shrugged.
“Since Grainger died I’m out here for myself. I guess what I’m saying is I need you. Have you ever stopped to think that I act out because we don’t have our bond anymore? And I’m doing all I can to be closer?”
“You have me, ma. And I don’t think you’re acting out.”
“Yes you do think I’m acting out.” She rolled her eyes. “And it’s okay. I just want us the way we use to be.”
I sighed. “What does that mean? What do you need from me?”
Her eyes widened. “To live with you.”
I backed up. “Ma, I…I can’t do that.”
“Why?” Her nostrils flared. “Because of your precious husband? Who would rather I die than be with you?”
“The last time you saw Bradley you fought. I don’t even understand why you would want to live with us again. The drama would be worse than anything you can imagine.”
“Living with you was the only time I felt at home. And I’m sure if you’d just try, you could convince Bradley and Bambi to let me back into the compound.”
I shook my head slowly from left to right. “I don’t know about this, ma. Not this time. Things got really bad the last time you were there.”
“With you is the only place I belong.” She took a deep breath. “Make it happen, Denim. Or don’t be surprised if you hear about my body on the side of the road because I’ve taken my own life.” She jiggled away.
Just then my phone rang. It was Race and she sounded frantic.
RACE
We were standing in the dining room trying to sort out everything that I witnessed before the Abd attack.
I was a nervous wreck but Kevin, Bradley and Ramirez were no better than I was. Everyone was nervous. I can’t believe Abd went through so much to get his hands on Bambi. Blowing up mailboxes and having a firing squad assassinate our other soldiers was not only a crime but also a federal offense and he didn’t give a fuck.