Grand Opening

by Carl Weber

  “And I don’t have time to lose you.” She placed her hands on my cheeks and looked deep into my eyes. “I believe in you. I trust you, but if you stay, I’m staying. If you want me out of here and able to live to see another day, then I want the same in return. We’ve got a baby to raise.”

  I tried to push her away from me toward the exit, but she refused to budge.

  “So, what’s it going to be?” she asked.

  I knew that no matter what I said, she was not going to leave Sam’s place unless I did. As badly as I wanted to hang his head above a mantel as a trophy, I would have to let one of my comrades have the honor of killing Sam. I took NeeNee by one hand, keeping my gun raised with the other, until I could get her out of there safely. This bird in the hand was worth two in the bush.

  LC

  62

  I was the last one in Big Sam’s, because I was driving and had to help the guy on the roof cut himself down, which, I was starting to think, had been my brothers’ plan all along. As I entered, gun in hand, I saw that the floor was riddled with bodies, and I was just glad that none of them were my brothers or our men.

  “LC!” Larry shouted as he and NeeNee headed toward the door behind me. “It’s pretty much over. All Sam’s guys are dead or on the run.”

  “NeeNee, girl, you are a sight for sore eyes.” I gave her a quick hug. “Y’all seen Lou?”

  “He and Juan were headed toward Sam’s office.”

  “What about Chippy?”

  “Last I saw her, she was still in the cellar.” NeeNee pointed in the direction they had come from.

  Larry tugged on her arm. “Come on. I’m getting you outta here,” he told her.

  “Y’all go ’head. I’m gonna find Lou and Chippy.” Before they left, I grabbed Larry and looked him dead in the face. “What about Sam? Is he taken care of?”

  He turned and looked into NeeNee’s eyes while he spoke to me. “I’m gonna let Lou or the boys take care of him. I can’t be getting all crazy like I used to. I got a family to look out for now.”

  A huge grin covered NeeNee’s face as they walked out of the building. I could tell right then and there that my brother was a changed man. Back in the day—hell, just yesterday—Larry wouldn’t have left until he split Sam’s wig.

  As I stood inside the front room of Sam’s place and surveyed the scene, it looked like Larry’s boys had truly handled their business. Unfortunately, all those dead men meant nothing if, as I was soon to find out, the main reason for our surprise visit was still breathing.

  I walked in the direction that NeeNee had pointed, and I ran right smack into Big Sam. Even worse, he had Chippy pulled tightly against him, with a fist full of her hair. His other hand gripped a twelve-inch hunting knife, which was pressed against her throat. From the way her face was scrunched up, I could see she was in pain.

  “Let her go, Sam,” I demanded, aiming my gun right between his eyes.

  “Motherfucker, how you gon’ tell me to let go of my own bitch?” Sam spat.

  I had to play this thing out right, so I tried to remain cool. As good a shot as I was when hitting cans and bottles, I wasn’t sure if I could hit him without taking a chance of hitting her. “Sam, you don’t want to do this,” I said. “Look around. Does it look like you are going to make it out alive? Your friends down here didn’t.”

  Sam eyeballed the room, noticing his dead security detail strewn about the place. No matter how much he had beefed it up, his guards had been no match for the Duncan brothers. Just then, two of Larry’s ex-army buddies appeared from upstairs, their eyes gleaming with the pride of victory.

  “And it doesn’t look like your friends upstairs fared any better.” I shook my head.

  As it sank into Sam’s consciousness that he was alone—no bodyguards, no twins—and his fate was pretty much sealed, anger rose in his eyes.

  “Ugh!” Chippy cried out as he twisted her hair tightly, probably pulling it from her scalp. He was taking out his anger on her.

  “Just let her go and you and I can handle this like men,” I said.

  “Why you keep trying to tell me what to do with my bitches?” Sam said, spittle flying from his mouth. He was trying his best not to show his fear. “Come on, tell me. What is it about this particular ho that got you in here actin’ like some hostage negotiator?” He tried to laugh, but it was weak and hollow.

  I looked at Chippy, who was trying to pry Sam’s hands off of her hair.

  “Because I love her,” were the words that escaped my mouth.

  For one hot second, it seemed as though my words had healed all of Chippy’s pain—not just the pain being inflicted on her by Sam, but a lifetime of pain.

  “Aw, you looooove her,” Sam taunted.

  I ignored his menacing laugh and continued staring at Chippy. I spoke directly to her. “Because I love you. I realize that now.”

  “Ain’t that sweet. Now drop the fucking gun or I’ll cut her fucking head off.” He pressed the knife against her neck just enough to draw a few drops of blood. “Do I look like I’m playing? Drop the fucking gun, or you going to be in love with a headless woman!”

  “Okay, okay.” I laid down my weapon.

  Sam grinned like a motherfucker. “Now, for the record, I own this pussy. I own all the pussy in this fucking state,” he shouted and drooled at the same time. He had this King Kong demeanor, as if he was the biggest and baddest around. It was time for me to break his ass down.

  “From what I hear, you are the biggest pussy in town too. Or was that sissy?” I laughed derisively.

  The look in Sam’s eyes was priceless. It was like he’d seen a ghost. It might not have been a ghost, but something was definitely coming back to haunt him.

  “That’s right, Sam. Your little perverted secret is out,” I said.

  “You motherfucker!” I guess Sam wanted to hurt me the same way I’d just hurt him. He raised the knife in the air to bring it down on Chippy’s chest. Before he could do so, I charged his ass. I could have gone for my gun, but I didn’t want to take any chances of not getting to him in time.

  Right before his hand came down, I grabbed his arm with both of my hands. Chippy managed to slip away from him as we struggled. Sam gripped the knife tightly, trying not to lose hold of it. I used my body weight to push him down to the floor, and the two of us tussled. Finally, the knife found flesh to puncture, and within seconds, blood was covering my shirt and Sam’s as it exited the deep wound.

  “Jesus!” Chippy cried out and turned her head away. I’d seen what her mama’s place looked like when she got finished with her stepfather and mother, so I didn’t think it was the blood that had her turning her head as much as it was the reminder of the scene she’d left back in the house she was raised in.

  I lay there on my side, face-to-face with Sam. He reached his hand out to wrap around my throat in one last attempt to take out a Duncan, but he didn’t have the strength to do me any harm. It wasn’t long before he succumbed to the wound in his chest. He spit up a mouthful of blood, and then his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

  When I knew it was over, I got up off the ground. I felt something inside of me shut down and go cold. I think I was in shock after what I had done. Looking down at the body that used to belong to that evil son of a bitch but was now just a corpse with puddles of blood oozing out of it, I felt strangely removed. There had been so many times over the last few years that I imagined killing him, but I never really thought it would come to this. I would find a way to make peace with my actions, though, because after what he did to Levi—and then to kidnap NeeNee, Shirley, and Chippy—I had more than enough reason to end his life. Hell, he deserved to be dead just for the way he had taken advantage of Chippy, the woman I loved, turning her into a prostitute with his lies.

  “LC.” I heard Lou calling me, but I couldn’t get past the fog to get to him. Then I felt him grab my hand, trying to shake me out of it. Until he took the knife from me, I had forgotten that I was still holdi
ng it. “Relax,” his calm voice advised me.

  I glanced up at Lou, and that’s when I saw her moving toward me like a bright light in the storm. Since we’d sent her back into this house, I hadn’t stopped worrying about her safety. I felt my entire body begin to relax as her eyes held mine.

  “Oh, baby, you’re all right!” Donna’s voice jarred me, and suddenly her hands were on me, trying to pull me into an embrace.

  “Don’t—” I called out to Chippy, but she had already switched gears and was moving into the other room. I glanced over at the bar and saw her take a seat and pick up a bottle of liquor. I wanted so much to join her.

  “‘Oh God, LC, I was so worried,” Donna said, burying her head into my chest. “But I knew you were going to rescue us. I told them.”

  “Yeah,” I mumbled, still not getting my head around the last ten minutes. Nor could I understand why this was the woman in my arms and not Chippy. But of course, she wouldn’t understand that.

  That’s when Larry and NeeNee walked in. “Give the man some room,” he chastised Donna. “You all right? Bet you feel like a real Duncan now, bro.”

  Donna shot Larry a dirty look. “I’m making sure he’s all right. After all, LC is the real hero.”

  “Go somewhere!” Larry snapped back at her. “We need to check on our brother.” He nodded to NeeNee.

  “C’mon, girl. Give the men a minute.” NeeNee took Donna’s arms and hustled her out of the room, even though I could tell NeeNee wanted to stay right there.

  “You okay?” Lou asked, and then he did the damndest thing: he threw his arms around me and hugged me in a way he hadn’t since Mom got carted off to prison. I swear I wanted to break down, but I knew that Larry would never let me live it down. Besides, that’s not the way a Duncan behaved, and I was a Duncan.

  I pulled away, glaring down at the corpse. “He fucking deserved it!”

  Larry laughed. “Damn if you didn’t just earn your stripes, little brother. Guess all those years of teaching you how to use a knife finally paid off.”

  “Leave him alone!” Lou barked at him.

  “Hey, I’m good. I am,” I insisted, finally starting to feel like myself—but different. That was the moment when I knew that I was going to be okay . . . eventually. At this moment, though, what I really wanted was to check on Chippy, but she was nowhere to be found.

  “You all right?” Donna had appeared at my side once again.

  I stared at her, feeling guilty that she wasn’t the one I wanted by my side after having had this life-changing experience. And now there was absolutely no chance.

  “Yeah,” I answered, allowing her to hug me. “I’m good.”

  LC

  63

  Standing there with my heart in my throat, I glanced over at Lou and Larry positioned next to me. They didn’t look too comfortable either. It was one of those moments when I would have done anything to have my mother here to give me guidance.

  I suppose to anyone who knew us, today seemed inevitable, but I found it hard to believe that it had finally arrived. I was even more on edge once the music started and the ceremony was about to begin. There in the front pew was Levi, looking a whole lot better, sitting right next to Shirley. Seated next to him on his other side was NeeNee, who I’m sure wished it was her and Larry walking down the aisle. And then there was my friend Juan, who, believe it or not, was seated next to his mother and sister, thanks to Lou’s connection in New York, who paid a handsome amount for the weed. The rest of my side and a good portion of the bride’s side were filled with my friends and family, including most of the whores from Big Shirley’s place.

  The back door of the church swung open, and there she stood. She held on to her uncle’s arm, looking absolutely stunning, and I was humbled. I couldn’t get over how beautiful she was and that she was doing me the honor of becoming my wife. I was certain that every man in the room envied me. She looked even more beautiful as she came closer.

  When she reached the front, her uncle placed her hand into mine, kissed her on the cheek, and then he took his seat in the front row, along with what was left of her family now that her mother and father were gone.

  The pastor started to recite the vows, but instead of relaxing, I felt even more out of sync. My nerves were definitely getting the better of me. I looked toward Lou and Larry, my two best men, and instead of butterflies, I felt like I had bats in my stomach.

  “We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman together in the bonds of holy matrimony. If anyone has just cause why these two shall not be joined, speak now or forever hold your peace.” Pastor Simmons paused as if he was expecting someone to object. I looked around, my eyes locking with NeeNee, who didn’t say a peep, as hard as it must have been for her.

  “Humph!” Lou snickered, no doubt surprised.

  The pastor turned to her, looking sort of relieved. “Donna Marie Washington, will you take this man, Lavernius Charles Duncan, to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love, honor, and obey him, in sickness and in health, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?”

  She smiled up at me with a sweetness I hadn’t seen much of lately. “I do.”

  The pastor’s face lit up with joy as he continued.

  “And do you, Lavernius Charles Duncan, take Donna Marie Washington to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you—”

  “No!” My voice erupted from deep within, surprising me. I took a step back. “I can’t. I can’t do it.”

  “LC, what are you doing?” Donna snapped, flabbergasted. I couldn’t have gotten a better reaction if I had slapped her in the face. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

  “Yeah, I do. Donna, I can’t marry you,” I said, repeating the words that had been ringing in my mind ever since I took that long walk up there that day. “I’m not in love with you.”

  “That’s ridiculous. It’s just cold feet,” Donna said dismissively, but I shook my head, growing more resolute.

  I took her hand and waited until I had her full attention. “It took me coming all this way to realize that I’m not in love with you,” I said finally, feeling relieved.

  Donna reached out and whacked me across the face, but it did nothing to lessen my relief. I turned and smiled at Lou; then I nodded, and my two brothers and I stepped off the stage, slowly and intentionally making our way down the aisle.

  The guests on one entire side of the church stood up and began to applaud, like they had just witnessed the very thing they had hoped would happen.

  “LC Duncan, you can’t do this to me!” Donna cried out, but I was too far gone to even pretend to care what she wanted anymore.

  “To you? I can’t do this to myself,” I said with finality.

  NeeNee met me as I got to the back of the church. She threw her arms around me in a celebratory motion. “Yay!” She jumped up and down, not giving a damn who knew how happy I had just made her.

  Chippy

  64

  “What you think?” Essie, the best black hairdresser in Las Vegas, careened her neck to gaze in the handheld mirror along with me. I wanted to make sure that I could get a good look at the way she had styled it in the back. Her girl had already done a fantastic job on my nails. They were the perfect shade of fire engine red.

  I lowered the mirror, pleased by her work. “Yep, I look good,” I bragged. These days I made sure to keep my hair done and my fashion updated on a fairly regular basis. This was the second time I’d been in there that week.

  Essie removed the apron covering my outfit and brushed off any remaining hairs from my collar before I stood up. She grinned appreciatively. “Sister, that pantsuit is happening.”

  “Ain’t it, though? I got it over at that new store out on Highway Twenty-three. The one with the big pink awning.”

  Essie nodded, letting me know she knew exactly what I was talking about. “That place is too rich for my blood. Besides, I would never look as good as you do in it no way. My hips done did too
much birthing, and I got the bad-ass children to prove it.” She laughed, throwing her head back.

  “That means there’s more for some lucky stud to get his hands on.” I winked at her, opening my purse to pay for her services. I couldn’t believe I’d managed to find the one hairdresser within miles who had skills enough to impress me. I pressed an extra ten in her palm before strutting out into the hot sun. I glanced back at my reflection in the window and had to acknowledge again just how fine I really looked.

  “Baby, you miss me?” I purred as I opened the door to my brand new burgundy convertible Fiat Spider. When I slid behind the wheel, I felt a wave of jealousy for my own damn self. I had certainly come a long way from the secondhand dresses and beat-up shoes my mother used to make me wear to school.

  The car rode like a dream as I zipped down the road, turning off and stopping in front of the only structure for miles around. Nobody showed up here without knowing exactly where they were headed or what they were looking to do once they got here. From the outside of the building, people had no idea how well maintained and impressive the place looked on the inside, or the number of beautiful women in there, anxious to fulfill your every need.

  “Hey! Looking good.” Cheryl, one of the new girls at the front desk, called out as I came through the heavy wooden door. I acknowledged her and then went straight into the bar area, where I sat in my regular seat and lit a cigarette. Luis, the bartender, brought over a whiskey sour. I’d seen the kind of artillery he kept behind the bar, so I always made sure to treat him right, in case I ever needed more than a drink.

  I took one sip. “You sure know how I like it. Thanks, Luis. I’ll take care of you later.” He gave me a wink and a nod and went back behind the bar.

  “Damn, your hair is fly,” Nicole, a big-titty waitress from California, exclaimed, placing a box and envelope in front of me. “This was left for you.”

  I opened up the box and saw that it contained a beautiful diamond ring. I took a deep breath, hesitant to put it on, because I knew what that would mean. I opened up the envelope and removed its contents: five one hundred–dollar bills, a key to one of the suites upstairs, and a first class ticket to Paris in my name, leaving the next night.