R.I.C.O.

by C. J. Hudson

  Larry was so anxious to fill it out that he damn near snatched it out of the man’s hands. As he filled it out, he couldn’t help but think how satisfying it would be to get even with Darnell and his cheating-ass wife finally.

  Chapter 20

  After leaving the gun range with Joy, Sunny returned home and sat through an hour and a half of her father teaching her about cocaine.

  “There’s much more to learn than this, but I don’t want to overwhelm you,” he said to her. She was shocked when she walked into the home, and he handed her a notepad and pen. He told her to take notes and, after she committed the lessons to memory, burn them. He made it clear that she would have to retain the information in her head and not have it just lying around on a piece of paper. Darnell knew that his daughter was sharp, so he knew that it wouldn’t take her long to memorize what he taught her. Although Sunny would be a boss and would deal mostly in weight, Darnell felt that it was important for her to know about cooking and cutting cocaine. He charged that task to OG Hann. In a couple of days, he would take her to one of the “kitchens,” and one of their trusted soldiers would show her the art of turning cocaine into crack. After that, Darnell was going to have Duck show her how to lightly step on cocaine but still have it strong enough so that the snorters would still be getting grade A product. But these lessons would take place in the next few days. Right now, however, Sunny needed to unwind, so she called her girl.

  “Hello?” Jazmine answered, sounding like she was in pain.

  “Damn, girl, what the hell is wrong with you?” Sunny asked.

  “Shit, girl, I don’t know. I’ve been in the damn bathroom since noon.”

  “Damn, bitch, you got a hangover or something?” Sunny asked.

  “Nah, my stomach is fucked up. I’ve been on the toilet for an hour.”

  “Damn, what did you eat this morning?”

  “Just some sausage and scrambled eggs. I mean, I thought it was a hangover too, at first, but I didn’t have a headache, and I wasn’t throwing up.”

  “That’s surprising, considering you hoes tried to drink every bottle in the club last night,” Sunny said, laughing.

  “I know, right?” Jazmine said, laughing as well. Jazmine opened her mouth to tell Sunny what else she had been doing earlier in the morning but decided not to. She didn’t want Sunny judging her.

  “Spit that shit out,” Sunny told her.

  “How do you know I was about to say something?”

  “Because I heard your ass take a quick breath and hold it in. Now, spill the tea, bitch.”

  “Yeah, a’ight. I also had a drink this morning.”

  “What? Already?”

  “Yeah. My dad bought some kind of new chocolate liquor, and I wanted to try it. It’s called Mudslide or some shit like that. I don’t know what the fuck was in the shit, but after an hour of drinking it, my guts started bubbling the fuck up.”

  What Jazmine didn’t know was that Turiq had caught on to her little rouse. For a couple of weeks now, he’d known all about his daughter’s dipping into his vodka, so he decided to teach her a lesson. Knowing that his daughter loved chocolate, Turiq purchased a bottle of Mudslide. Then he bought a box of chocolate-flavored Ex-Lax. With a devious grin, he’d melted it down and poured it into the Mudslide, knowing his daughter couldn’t resist stealing some of it. While she was in the bathroom sitting on the toilet, Turiq was in his bedroom laughing his ass off.

  “Damn, I was gonna see if you wanted to hang out today,” Sunny said.

  “Oh, I definitely need to get the fuck outta here. It’s been almost twenty minutes since I had a bowel movement, so I should be good.”

  “Ewww,” Sunny said, hanging up. After taking a shower and getting dressed, she got ready to leave.

  “Where are you about to go?” Darnell asked.

  “Me and Jazmine about to hang out.”

  “Yeah, a’ight. Stay your asses out of trouble. And stop pulling your fucking gun out on people unless you plan to use it.”

  Sunny’s mouth fell open.

  “What? You didn’t think I was going to hear about what happened at Club Château last night?” he asked. “Just know something, daughter of mine. I always have eyes on you, even when you think I don’t. I am always going to protect you and be there for you. I love you. Always remember that, baby,” Darnell said as he walked over to Sunny and kissed her on the forehead.

  Sunny was still shocked as she walked out the door. She thought back to the previous night and tried to remember if she’d seen someone paying her a little too much attention, but she couldn’t think of anyone. Her father’s comments also made her wonder when else he’d been keeping an eye on her. She was going to have to be careful and mindful of her surroundings from now on. The more she thought about it, the more pissed off she became. Although she was still living in his house, she was a 20-year-old woman and felt that she deserved some level of privacy. She knew that her father was only doing it because he loved her and was trying to protect her, but still . . . This shit was over the top.

  “Now, I really need a fuckin’ drink,” Sunny said to no one in particular. She glanced back at the house and frowned before jumping into her car and starting the engine. It took her nearly the entire ride to Jazmine’s house to calm down. As she pulled up, Turiq was coming out of the front door.

  “Good afternoon, young lady,” Turiq said, walking up to Sunny and hugging her.

  “Hey, Uncle Turiq. How’s my girl doing?”

  “What do you mean?” Turiq asked, feigning ignorance. It was hard enough for him to keep his laughter in check without Sunny bringing it up.

  “Well, when I talked to her earlier, she wasn’t feeling too good.”

  Turiq just smiled. He could see the concern in Sunny’s face, so he decided to let her in on the secret . . . sort of.

  “Oh, she’ll be okay. Maybe you should tell your friend that it’s not nice to steal her father’s alcohol,” he said while walking to his garage. Sunny’s face twisted as she thought of what he had just said. It didn’t take her long to figure out what he’d done, and once she did, she couldn’t stop herself from laughing. She walked into the house and called out to Jazmine.

  “Hey! Boo-boo girl! Where you at?”

  When Jazmine came down the stairs holding her stomach, Sunny lost it. She dropped down to the couch and fell on her side, laughing. Frowning, Jazmine placed her hands on her hips and twisted her lips.

  “The fuck is so funny? You laughing at a bitch, and I could be fuckin’ dying?”

  “Bitch, you ain’t dying. But the next time you think about stealing ya’ pops’ liquor, maybe you should reconsider that shit.”

  “The fuck are you talking about, bitch?”

  Sunny went on to tell her friend about the conversation between her and Turiq.

  “Obviously, he slipped some Ex-Lax into that shit.”

  A stunned expression appeared on Jazmine’s face. “Ex-Lax? Dirty muthafucka,” she yelled. “I can’t believe he did this bullshit to me.” Hearing her friend go off caused Sunny to laugh even harder.

  “I don’t see what the fuck is so funny about this shit. My asshole of a father tries to poison me, and yo’ ass sitting up here laughing.”

  “Bitch, ain’t nobody trying to poison yo’ thieving ass. You’re the one who was trying to be all slick and shit. If you wanna be mad at somebody, then get mad at yo’self,” Sunny said, as she continued to laugh.

  “Whateva,” Jazmine said, although she too was beginning to snicker. “I still don’t think that shit is funny.”

  “You’re right, girl. That shit is fuckin’ hilarious.”

  “Fuck you, bitch,” Jazmine said, slinging a couch pillow at her friend.

  “As a matter of fact, why are you stealing it anyway? Why don’t you just go to that Arab store? You know them thirsty muthafuckas will sell to anybody.”

  “What Arab store are you talking about?” Jazmine asked.

  “Shit, pick one, bitch
! Those muthafuckas are everywhere.”

  “I know, right? And they say Black people are ruining the damn country,” Jazmine said, giving Sunny a high five.

  “Well, to answer your question, it costs money to buy liquor, and why should I spend mine when I can drink my dad’s for free?”

  “Because that way, your ass won’t have to worry about somebody slipping you a shit pill,” Sunny said, laughing.

  “Damn, you’re not gonna let this shit go, are you?”

  With a grin on her face, Sunny shook her head. Jazmine dropped down on the couch a few feet away from Sunny. She didn’t know what her friend had up for the day, but she knew whatever it was, it was going to be fun. Jazmine and Sunny had become close over the last few weeks. So close, in fact, that they were starting to view each other as sisters. Jazmine could tell that Sunny had something on her mind. She didn’t want to pry, but she didn’t want to sit up here wondering either, so she reasoned that the two of them were close enough that she could come right out and ask her about it.

  “Why are you looking like that?” Jazmine asked.

  “Looking like what?” Sunny responded.

  “Like you got some shit on your mind.”

  “Well, actually, I do. And it may or may not involve you.”

  “Me? What the fuck do I have to do with it?”

  “It depends on what your answer is.”

  “Answer to what? Bitch, stop speaking in riddles and tell me what the fuck is on your mind.”

  Sunny had been thinking about this ever since her father brought up the subject of her taking over one day, which is why she asked him about Turiq. It stood to reason that if her father was going to step down, it was only logical that Turiq, his second in command, took his place. Since her father wasn’t concerned about it, she wouldn’t be either, but there was definitely something going on with those two that she didn’t know about. Sunny excitedly explained to her friend her father’s vision for her in the future. She watched Jazmine closely, trying to get a read on what she thought about it. When she was done, Sunny remained quiet and waited for Jazmine to reply.

  “Sooo, let me get this straight. Your dad told you that he wanted you to take over for him when he gets ready to retire from the game, right?”

  “Yep, that’s what he said. I was surprised too, but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. Shit, I’m already a boss bitch in my book,” she said, laughing.

  Jazmine opened her mouth to speak but closed it quickly. She was trying to find the right words without offending Sunny. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Sunny had the intelligence and street smarts to run the show. That wasn’t what was eating at her. Unable to find the right words to express what she had to say, Jazmine decided to just come right out with it.

  “Sunny, I have no doubt that you would make a hell of a boss bitch, but what about my dad? I mean, he is second in command,” Jazmine said with a little more attitude than she meant to.

  “Okay, first of all, you can lose the tone with me. And second, I asked my dad about that. All he would tell me about it was that he and your dad had it all worked out,” Sunny lied. She didn’t want to tell Jazmine what her dad really said because it would have sounded too negative.

  Jazmine rolled her eyes. “Congratulations,” she said, folding her arms.

  “Jazmine, come on, now. If they say they got it worked out, then they got the shit worked out. Our fathers have been friends for a long-ass time, so whatever is going on, I’m sure that they are both on board with it.”

  Jazmine thought about what Sunny was saying. She thought about how close their fathers were and what they had been through together. She tossed her head back and forth as if contemplating what she was going to say.

  “Okay, girl, you right,” she said, cracking a half smile. “Congratulations, for real,” she said, hugging Sunny. After the embrace, Jazmine stepped back and shook her head.

  “Look at my bestie, about to become the boss bitch of the city.” Now it was Sunny’s time to cock her head. With a chuckle and a smirk, she shook her head.

  “You still don’t get it, do you, bitch?”

  “Get what? What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about you being my right-hand girl. My number two. My second in command.”

  “For real?” Jazmine asked, surprised.

  “Okay, bitch, now I’m offended.”

  “Offended for what?”

  “Okay, you talking kinda stupid right now. Who the fuck else did you think I was gonna make my second in command? Kim?”

  “Well, she was your friend long before I was,” Jazmine said, shrugging.

  “That’s true, and she will always be my girl, so she will always be a part of our crew. But she’s not second-in-command material. Now, if you don’t want the position, I can always give it to Butter.”

  “Hell nah! That broad ain’t takin’ my spot. I’m the number two bitch in this town,” she said, snapping her fingers.

  “Well, all right, then, bitch. Go get dressed so that we can go out and celebrate.”

  Jazmine looked down at her clothes and frowned.

  “Get dressed? I am dressed.”

  “Nah, bitch. You better go put on some other clothes. You just got promoted. You gotta look the part.”

  “Damn, you act like we about to take over tomorrow or something.”

  “No, but we have to get our mentality right.”

  Jazmine looked at Sunny, and for the first time, she noticed how nicely Sunny was dressed.

  “Be right back,” she said as she went upstairs to change. When she came back down, Sunny had lit the blunt that was in the ashtray and was puffing on it.

  “Damn, bitch, help yo’self.”

  “Whateva, bitch. You should be thanking me for getting rid of this dirt-ass weed.”

  “Dirt weed? You crazy as fuck. You know that shit is the bomb.”

  “It’s a’ight. It ain’t like that good shit Dani had last night, though. Speaking of which, who in the fuck told you to give that ho my cell phone number?”

  “Come on, Sunny. Stop being so hard on her. She only wanted to call you ’cause she wanted to thank you for letting her hang out with us last night.”

  “Still, the next time you feel like giving my number to someone . . . don’t,” Sunny said sternly.

  “Damn, Sunny, my bad,” Jazmine apologized. She didn’t think that Sunny would get so pissed off at her for giving a member of their crew her phone number, but she was wrong. Seeing the look on her friend’s face caused Sunny to soften a little.

  “Look, I’m not trying to get in your shit about it. I’m just saying that a little heads-up would’ve been nice.”

  “It’s all good. Let’s roll,” Jazmine said, throwing her arm around Sunny’s shoulders. “Where are we going?”

  “To the mall. We can hit up the food court. Then we can get our shop on.”

  Chapter 21

  Debra sat in her living room, tired as hell. She’d just worked a twelve-hour shift, and all she wanted to do was pour herself a glass of wine and relax. She was nearly in full-blown chill mode when her buzzing cell phone interrupted her. After looking at the caller ID, she waved her hand at it and took another sip of her wine.

  “Not tonight,” she mumbled, seeing the name of her on-again, off-again fuck buddy Yancy. For the past month, Yancy had been trying to get closer to Debra, but she’d resisted his advances. She wasn’t in the market for a man. All she wanted to do was dress, rest, and occasionally to relieve her stress. From the gate, Debra had warned Yancy that she had comeback pussy, but because he was younger than she, he assumed that she wouldn’t be able to keep up with him. Before their first sexual encounter, Debra had regularly shot Yancy down, rebuffing his advances at every turn. But Yancy was relentless in his pursuit. Even though she was quite a few years older than he was, Yancy felt that Debra was one of the sexiest women he’d ever seen. For weeks, he begged and pleaded for her to give him a
chance.

  To say it was hard for Debra to resist, though, would be a gross understatement. She’d been celibate for a little over a year now and hadn’t had sex regularly for five years, ever since her live-in lover Sammy suffered a massive heart attack and died in front of the television watching an episode of Martin. Suffering the loss of her loved one devastated Debra, but the secret she never revealed to him covered her in a shameful blanket of guilt. From the moment Darnell walked out of her bedroom all those years ago, she’d let Sammy think that the baby growing in her stomach at the time was his. She’d even gone so far as to name the child after Sammy. But as time went on, the guilt started to weigh on Debra, so one day, she decided that she would tell him the truth and let the chips fall.

  She’d fixed his favorite food, rolled him a thick blunt, and planned to make sweet love to him just before she told him. Unfortunately, she never got the chance.

  Figuring that he should be done eating, Debra walked into the living room in a silk, red sheer robe. Sliding up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

  “Let’s go in the bedroom, baby,” she’d told him. When Sammy didn’t answer, she figured that he’d fallen asleep, so she got on her hands and knees and crawled around until she was directly in front of him. With a smile on her face, she reached for his zipper. However, her smile soon faded when she glanced up and saw a grotesque expression on his face. It was then that she noticed that he was clutching his chest. As fast as she could, Debra jumped up and raced to her cell phone. Although the ambulance quickly got there, Sammy was dead before they even took him out of the house. Not a day had gone by that Debra didn’t think about Sammy and the lie that she’d let him believe all those years.

  For the second time in less than thirty minutes, Debra’s serenity was broken by her cell phone. This time when she looked at the name on the screen, she smiled. It was a name she never got tired of seeing.