by T. Styles
“So why you saying that, nigga?” Kevin said. “We said we have you so you gonna have to ride on our word.”
“It’s not that…it’s just that I’m scared for my family,” he said focusing on his knuckles. “Working with you has allowed me to live in luxury but not security. I don’t have an underground compound like the Kennedy’s to retreat to when times are rough like this.”
“Why it sound like you hating?” Ramirez asked.
“I’m thinking the same thing.” Race said. “If you feel you need more security then say it, Sarge. We prefer our executives to be real with us and not beat around the bush. Besides, it takes too much time.”
Sarge looked around. “I’m born for combat. Even if I wanted to hide the fight in my blood won’t allow such a cowardly act. But my wife and daughter, well, I need them safe. I can’t move like you want on the streets while I’m worrying about them.”
I looked around at my family. I knew how he felt. And since this was mostly my fault since I killed Mitch I felt obliged to help him. “So you want them to stay with us? At our home?”
“I wouldn’t ask you this, Bambi, if I wasn’t genuinely concerned. But, yes. I just want my daughter and her mother to stay with you. At least until this blows over. Knowing they’re there means I’ll work overtime.”
I looked around the room because I couldn’t do this by myself. If we were going to take insiders into our home, into the sanctity of our privacy, I needed the okay from everyone.
“I’m fine with it,” Race said.
“I’m good too.” Ramirez responded.
I’m not sure but I could’ve sworn I heard Race say, ‘I bet you are’, after Ramirez spoke. But maybe I’m tripping.
Bradley looked at Denim and she said, “We fucks with Sarge. So you know we good.”
I focused my attention on Scarlett. “I’m just happy to still be a part of this family. After Camp died I thought me and my baby would have to go at it alone so whatever you guys need from me I’m here.”
I thought I heard Race say something under her breath again but when I looked at her she had her game face on and was staring at Sarge. Something was definitely going on in the air but for now it was about business.
I looked over at Kevin. “What do you think?”
Kevin focused on Sarge. “We can provide them protection but if for whatever reason it doesn’t work they’ll have to find some place else to stash because the last thing we need is problems in our home right now. We have enough of that as you can imagine.”
“I’ll talk to them,” Sarge said happily. “Trust me, there won’t be an issue on my end.” He stabbed a stiff finger into the table.
“Then they’ll be safe. In the Kennedy way.”
“Thank you,” Sarge said excitedly. “Thank you so much.”
“With this privilege much is expected.” I reminded him. “The fact that we’re offering your family solitude means you have to keep your eyes on the blocks. Use your skills to find out all you can about Abd, Sarge. We counting on you.”
“Bambi, I’m already on it. Before coming here I made sure that our Bmore soldiers stayed clear of the streets until we can sort this mess out. The only problem I’m having is from Yvette and Carissa.”
I frowned. “What’s their issue?”
“Apparently they had a little upset in the property they run in D.C. over the winter. To offset the issues they gave a lower price on their product, basically under cutting themselves.”
“You mean Marjorie Gardens?” Race asked.
Sarge nodded. “Yes, so they been trying to order large shipments to get things rolling again and that last package moved quicker than expected. Now they dry.”
“Where is Mercedes?” Bambi asked.
“I think she’s out the game.”
I laughed.
“But they didn’t order from us over the winter,” Race interjected.
I scratched my head. “Exactly.”
Sarge shrugged. “I’m not sure what went down. All I know is that they tried to place a call for another order and Scarlett told them they’d have to wait.”
“I had to,” Scarlett advised. “Because things are moving crazy right now and Bambi told me to hold off after she was kidnapped.”
“I get that but I think they believe it’s personal,” Sarge said.
“Tell Yvette to get in contact with me,” I said. “If she has any questions I’ll be happy to address them personally.” I fucked with Yvette and her crew but I can’t lie, part of me thinks that Yvette’s jealous of me and my reign. Shit ain’t the way it used to be in the Emerald City days. Around D.C., I’m king.
“I’ll tell her,” Sarge nodded.
“And I’ll let her know stuff ain’t personal if she calls back too,” Scarlett said.
“Until then we need to all be very careful. We were able to win the war with the Russians and in turn got involved in something much darker,” I continued. “Keep your heads low and be ready. And, Sarge, let our soldiers know too. This is a state of emergency. We are officially under attack.”
CHAPTER NINE
RACE
Standing in front of the mirror I took a look at myself. Red lipstick was smeared over my pouty mouth. My hair was dressed in a loose curl bob that covered the sides of my cheek, brushing my shoulders. Black eye shadow kissed my eyelids making me look sinister.
I loved what I was seeing.
Darkness as I revealed hints of my evil intentions.
Today was the day I would activate my four-step plan of revenge and I thought about it all night and all morning. It didn’t take me long to figure out what each of them wanted and even shorter to come up with a plan. You see, they’re predictable like that, wearing their wants and their needs on their sleeves for the world to see.
I’m positive that when I was done with both Scarlett and Ramirez, their lives would be ruined forever.
Taking one last look at my physique, I rubbed my hands down my blue jeans and walked into Scarlett’s room where she was sitting on the sofa. This whore had fucked my husband and now she had the nerve to be sitting, doing regular shit.
Funky bitch.
She focused on me and I quickly wiped the look of disgust off my face so she couldn’t sense my motives. It was probably comforting to her because when she first gazed my way she looked as if she’d seen a ghost.
No, my dear, Scarlett. I won’t confront you about your betrayal just yet.
“Wow, you look, sexy,” she said. “Going somewhere?”
“Of course not,” I walked further inside. “After Bambi’s kidnapping we’re on official lockdown. You were in that meeting. We will never see the light of day,” I giggled. “But a girl can still play dress up can’t she?” I raised my arms and spun around.
She smiled. “Of course.”
“Listen, I’m here because Bambi wanted me to remind you to tell all of the soldiers that sales would be suspended until further notice. We can’t fulfill any orders until this thing with Abd blows over.”
Scarlett sighed. “Yes, of course. I’ve been letting everyone know but people aren’t as sympathetic with what we got going on as I hoped. Do you think this will work?” She asked.
What do I give a fuck? I really want to talk about you sleeping with my husband. I thought.
“What you mean, Scarlett? By if it will work?”
She shrugged. “What’s to stop them from finding product from an outside source? The demand doesn’t go away when we do. I learned that from you guys. Seems so risky to me. And I know I’m not a part of the business back office matters but still. I think we’re shooting ourselves in the foot.”
“Can you handle this or not?” I frowned.
“Of course!”
“Then we better not lose business.” I pointed at her. “That could be a problem for you.”
“You’re right. I’ll make it work by thinking of a good enough explanation.” When Master cooed in his crib she got up, pat his back and he w
ent to sleep.
“Wow, I notice you’re getting better with him. A few days ago you had your hands full but now…”
She exhaled. “I don’t know about good. I’m just trying to remain calm whenever I’m near him because he seems to feed off me in some ways. That’s crazy the way babies are.”
“And how does one do that?” I asked. “I’m talking about staying calm?”
“I just take deep breaths and do my best to relax.”
Wow. Ramirez even taught her his breathing techniques.
I nodded. “Now that I think about it I think I remember Ramirez telling Bambi the same thing when the twins were young, about the deep breaths and all. He said it’s always important to be calm and strong when you hold a baby. Because you can fuck up their energy if you don’t. Apparently his sitter use to do the same thing to them when they were kids and he never forgot it.”
Her eyes widened and she seemed cramped. Maybe because she unknowingly let on that Ramirez had taught her something he shared with others. Which brought more attention to the connection they weren’t supposed to be having.
Dirty bitch.
“Oh, maybe he did tell me that too and I don’t remember.” She scratched her scalp. “Things have been moving so fast since Master came home.” She looked around as if she was searching for a pot to throw up in. “Excuse me for a minute, Race but I’ll be back.” She hurried off.
When she was gone I walked over to the crib and apologized in advance for pulling Master in on my future plans. But revenge involved many players and I needed all hands on deck, including his tiny ones.
But first, let me activate step one.
I looked back toward the bathroom and when I saw Scarlett wasn’t coming I picked up the Dope Phone, put in a number and attempted to redirect all calls to the burner cell phone number I just purchased which sat in my room. I messed up the first few times and finally got it right just as Scarlett was walking back in.
“Did I miss a call?” she asked when she saw me holding the phone.
I placed the handset down. “No, I thought you did but I was hearing things.” I walked up to her. “Scarlett, I know we haven’t been as close as I would like but I want you to know that I always looked at you as a sister. The fact that you’re white and I’m black means nothing. We are closer than blood could ever bind us and I want you to remember that.”
I saw her swallow, her pale throat bubbling up before smoothing out again. “I…I think of you as a sister too.”
“Good.” I kissed her on the cheek leaving my red lips on her whorish face. “Well let me go downstairs and prepare dinner. It’s my night to cook and Ramirez gets so angry when I don’t get that time in the kitchen. He really loves my meals you know?”
She nodded. “I’m sure he does.”
“Well, I’ll see you in an hour. I’m making tacos and margaritas tonight. You’re gonna love them.”
“I always do, Race. Thank you.”
I smiled and walked away, secretly thinking of the day when she would die a cold death.
SCARLETT
I paced the floor, my nerves so bad I felt myself trembling. Ramirez walked into my room and closed the door behind him. His strides were smooth as if he didn’t have a care in the world. The moment he stepped up to me I said, “She knows about us. I’m positive.”
He laughed once. “What you talking about? Race and I haven’t been as good as we are now in years. She apologized for acting like a bitch over the past few weeks and everything. Trust me, I have her under my Kennedy thumb.”
“She’s too nice, Ramirez.” I warned. “And I don’t know how she could find out but trust me when I say she knows. I mean look at my face.” I pointed at the lipstick stain she left. “She kissed my cheek and shit. Since when does she kiss me? This ain’t adding up.”
“First off it’s not a crime to kiss you. You’re my friend and I kiss you all the time.”
“Ramirez!”
“Stop getting worked up. Besides, my wife would never think we would be capable of anything like this. Not me and you anyway. Instead of fighting we should be supporting each other and enjoying our time together. We’re in lockdown, Scarlett. Let’s have fun with it.” He rubbed my shoulders and I looked into his eyes. I felt in that moment that his seduction went deeper than our sexual attraction for one another.
Somewhere low inside of him, he wanted to get back at Race and he was using me to do it. Even if he didn’t know his own motives.
“Just go, Ramirez.” I took a deep breath. “I—”
Suddenly I felt his warm finger stroking my naked pussy, pressing against my clit making it tingle, causing me to juice up instantly. He had snuck his fingers up my dress and I hadn’t even seen him move that quickly.
How did he do that? How was he so brave? He was so spontaneous and fun that he messed me up. There was excitement in his sexual mood swings and I didn’t have that with Camp. Before I could beg him to stop he had picked me up, pushed me against the wall and entered my pussy.
My legs wrapped around his waist and his strokes were slow at first before moving quickly. Each thrust of his dick inside my body meant a brush against my throbbing hot clit. He knew how to fuck me and I felt my body heat up and my legs quiver as he took control.
So forceful.
So sexual.
He was dangerous.
“Damn, Scarlett, you wet already,” he whispered breathing onto my neck.
I bit my bottom lip and pressed my fingers into his back; careful not to scratch him and leave additional traces of our affair although it felt so good I wanted to draw blood. “Give me that black dick, Ramirez. Please.”
“So you want this black dick, huh?” he said in my ear. “You want this dick in this white pussy?”
“Fuck this pussy,” I said sucking on his earlobe. “Cum all in this pink pussy, Ramirez. Please…”
“Fuck, don’t stop talking, Scarlett,” he begged, his breaths heavy with passion. “And keep that pussy open too, just like that, baby.”
Somehow we made our way to the bed and it lasted all of five minutes but it felt like an eternity.
“Mmmmmmm, fuck,” he said as he came inside of me. “Damn, you felt so good.”
Slowly he raised his head and looked into my eyes. Wiping my red hair behind my ear he said, “You see…we can’t stop doing this. We move too good together, don’t you understand that?”
I did recognize the chemistry we had but guilt was fucking with me. I wish I could care as little as he apparently did about our nastiness.
I smiled and walked to the bathroom. He followed me. Grabbing my washcloth I turned on the sink faucet and allowed the hot water to run over it, burning my fingertips in the process, turning them cherry red.
He stood behind me.
Smiling & watching.
“You enjoying this more than you should,” I said.
“Is that a problem? That I like us together?”
“And what does that mean, you like us together?” I paused, looking at his reflection in the mirror. “This may be fun for you but I can’t see doing this forever, Ramirez. It’s not like you’re going to leave Race and I wouldn’t want you to.”
“I will never leave her.” He said, his face contorting into something evil, something violent. “As a matter of fact don’t even bring it up in discussion again because it will never happen.” He pointed at me.
I turned around, took a deep breath and gazed up at him. “I said I would never want you to do that, Ramirez. I just need you to realize it’s wrong of you to force me to have feelings for you by coming into my room whenever you want. Just because you’re a Kennedy. I have no privacy with you.”
He rubbed my shoulders. “Just go with the flow. You need this dick as much as I need that pussy right now. We’ll figure out everything else as we go along. Okay?” He kissed me on the cheek and I slapped him because he wouldn’t take me seriously.
He frowned and I slapped him again.
And again.
And again.
He took each blow and grinned. When I was done he said, “I know you and Camp use to fight and fuck but if you ever put your hands on me again I will kill you.” He stormed out.
CHAPTER TEN
RAMIREZ
When Ramirez walked down the staircase toward the kitchen he smiled at the smell of a hot meal tantalizing his senses. It had been a while since Race cooked and it always made him angry when she refused to take her place in the kitchen during her meal preparation week.
Luckily for him tonight was different.
When he first married her she was all, cooking, all fucking and all serving. But ever since she started moving a brick of coke or two with the family she would bribe someone else to cook when it was her time.
All he wanted was some semblance of the wife he used to have and he had a feeling based on the conversation they had the other night in the bed that he would finally get his way. Sure he had some pussy upstairs and some pussy downstairs but didn’t his lineage afford him as many women as he desired?
After all, as he told everybody who would listen, he was a Kennedy.
When he bent the corner that led to the kitchen he heard soft laughter. Stepping closer he saw Race and Bradley laughing it up by the stove. She was stirring taco sauce in a pan and Bradley was standing next to her, looking down in her face, chuckling like she was a one bitch comedy show. His body was too close for Ramirez’s liking and because he was cheating himself he didn’t trust anybody or any situation.
Something didn’t feel right.
For a second he took in the scene but remained where he was. His feet felt like cinder blocks holding him down as his breath quickened. Sure it was fucked up for him to be jealous since he had in house pussy from his brother’s wife, but this was different. He was not about to let Race fuck with another Kennedy in their home.
Not on his watch.
Not on his wife.
“Why you get me fucked up off that sherry?” Bradley asked Race. “I’m gonna have to watch you.” He pointed at her. “You dangerous.”