by K'wan
“You’re going to be okay, Beast. I promise. I just gotta work this thing out. After everything is taken care of, we’ll hook back up,” Eve lied. She knew that the chances of her finishing the job and living to reflect on it were minimal. But telling Beast that wouldn’t help to soothe him. “Everything is gonna be fine.” She cradled him.
Beast cried like a newborn while Eve stroked his head. Besides Cassidy, he was the only friend she ever had. She couldn’t risk losing him because of her need for revenge. She held him for a while longer before he finally cried himself to sleep. Eve kissed her friend’s forehead and slipped from the apartment.
When Felon received the news of the police finding Butter’s body, he was beyond distraught. For as many years as he could remember, he and Butter had put in work together. They came from small-timers on the block to the niggaz running things. Everything they had accomplished was done together. They were a team.
Felon always knew that something awful would come from Butter’s ill temper, but he thought he could fix it like he always did. Butter turned it up and Felon smoothed it out. That’s how it had always worked. Apparently there was no fixing this one.
He downed another glass of liquor and thought on his problem. There was no doubt in his mind that Carlo had something to do with the hit. Even after he had bargained with Franko for his friend’s life, he was still executed. Butter had tried to show him the writing on the wall, but he was too blinded by the promise of riches to see it.
The blinders were off now. When they took his friend, all bets were off. Felon’s closest road dawg had been taken from him and that was unforgivable. Carlo would finally be put in his place and Felon would just accept whatever consequences that came with it.
For the last couple of days Eve had been playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with Carlo. He had asked her time and again, but she still hadn’t officially gone out with him. They had gotten together a couple of times, but it was never more than for a few minutes at a location of her choosing. Whenever he came thorough to see her, she would make sure she was wearing something trashy. If it wasn’t shorts riding up in her ass, it was outfits that showed off way too much of her body. She would allow him to kiss her and fondle her, but whenever he tried to go the extra mile, she would stop him. It made her physically ill to have Cassidy’s murderer touching her, but Eve kept her game face. Soon it would all be over.
Eve looked up from her Amtrak schedule when she heard footsteps to her rear. She looked over her shoulder and saw Sheeka approaching. She now wore her hair in a short cut, showing off her cute face. She came around the bench and sat down beside Eve.
“Going somewhere?” Sheeka asked, pointing at the schedule.
Eve shrugged. “Thinking about taking a trip. Things are gonna get pretty uncomfortable around here soon.”
“Eve,” Sheeka said, hesitating, “I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but they’ve found Butter.”
“The police picked him up?”
“No. He was murdered.”
“God, no.” Eve covered her mouth. “When? How?”
“The police found him and another girl inside the trunk of a rental,” Sheeka told her. “They were executed.”
“Carlo,” Eve hissed.
“You don’t know that. Butter had a lot of enemies,” Sheeka said.
“Yeah, he had a lot of enemies, but he was connected to the mob. How many street niggaz you think would’ve been stupid enough to challenge that? Just one more reason Carlo needs to die. I’m gonna take him out before he takes any more of mine!”
“Eve, you know you don’t have to go through with this. Steve is dead, and Carlo is gonna end up getting himself killed sooner or later. If you decided to give up, no one could be mad at you.”
“God, if it were that simple.” Eve sighed. “Sheeka, this thing has gotten so much bigger than Cassidy. I have to do this. Not just for her, but for my parents.”
“What do your folks have to do with this?” asked Sheeka.
“It’s a long story. The point is, the De Nardis die.”
“I wish you would rethink this,” Sheeka said, pleading with her.
“Either I’m gonna kill them, or they’re gonna kill me. Either way, this all ends.”
Sheeka saw the conviction in Eve’s face and decided that it was pointless to try and sway her. Once Evelyn Panelli set her mind to doing something, only an act of God could sway her. All Sheeka could do was to keep Eve in her prayers and never forget what she had done for her and her sister.
After leaving Sheeka, Eve bumped into Felon. He was the last person she wanted to see the way she was feeling. Things hadn’t been the same between them since he declined to help her with her plan. She tried to stay mad at him, but she couldn’t. Not everyone was in a rush to die. She thought about avoiding him by going the other way, but they had danced around what had happened for too long. It was time to bring closure to their situation.
“Hey,” he said as she walked up.
“Hey yourself.” She smiled. “How you doing?”
“I’ve been better,” he said, swigging from the pint that he was holding.
“Listen, I’m sorry to hear about Butter,” she said sincerely.
“Yeah. I’m gonna miss him. That was my nigga, and somebody touched him. He’s gone from here, but at least he ain’t gotta worry no more.”
“I hear you. Felon, I need to talk to you about something.”
“That’s funny, cause I need to talk to you about something too. It takes a big man to say when he’s wrong, but I was. I should’ve listened to you when you warned me about Carlo. I don’t know why I was too fucking stupid to see it. Now my partner is gone,” he said.
“Felon, I don’t blame you for not wanting to go out in a blaze of glory with me. I guess it was even a little selfish for me to ask you to. This is my fight.”
“But it should’ve been ours,” he said. “I shouldn’t have let you run off like that. I could’ve tried harder to stop you.”
“Felon, you know damn well you couldn’t have stopped me. I would’ve probably kicked your ass,” she said with a smile. “But that’s neither here nor there. Let the past be the past.”
“So you forgive me?”
“How could I stay mad at such a beautiful face?” She touched his cheek.
“Evelyn,” he cupped her face, “I’ve loved you from the first time I saw you. I don’t know why I’ve never found the courage to say it. Guess the only reason I’m saying it now is because you can never tell if you’re gonna wake up in the morning.”
Eve was so caught off guard by Felon’s statement that she didn’t know how to respond. Here she was, possibly on the threshold of her own demise, and someone she cared a great deal about was confessing something that she had carried in her heart for years. For as much as Felon thought he loved her, she loved him even more.
“Felon, I…,” she began.
“Don’t say anything.” He placed a finger over her lips. “Baby, I don’t know what’s gonna happen because of all this, but I don’t wanna ruin the moment with words.” Felon leaned in and kissed her. He kissed her as deeply and as passionately as he could and she returned it. For those few moments, they were the only two people on earth.
“I love you, Evelyn.” He pulled away. “And when this is all over, I’m gonna show you how much. Right now I got some things that I need to take care of, but I’m gonna come see you in a few days. Until then, I want you to hold onto this for me.” Felon handed her a small orange key.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“I’ve got some paperwork in a locker at Penn Station. I’ll come get it from you in a few days so I can show you what I’ve been up to. Until then, keep it and yourself safe.”
Eve took the key and held it in her palm. She wanted to tell Felon about what she had planned and confess that she was scared to death, but she didn’t want to ruin the moment. She tried to fight back the tears but they came anyway. Eve reached up and hu
gged Felon as tightly as she could. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that it would probably be the last time they ever saw each other.
Carlo paced back and forth in his living room, smoking a cigarette. His nostrils were beet red from snorting cocaine all morning. He had tapped into all his resources and still couldn’t get a line on Steve. It would’ve been far simpler for him to go to his father and enlist the aid of his people, but that would be a last resort. He was trying to show Franko that he could handle things on his own.
He stopped his pacing long enough to answer his cell. “Hello,” he barked in an irritated voice.
“Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?” Evelyn asked.
“Oh, hey, Evelyn.” Carlo softened his voice. “What’s up?”
“Thinking about you.”
“Oh, yeah. What were you thinking?”
“How much better your hand would feel than mine, touching my pussy.” Evelyn always knew what to say to get Carlo going, but this time he didn’t bite.
“You know what, I’m starting to think you’re full of shit,” he told her. “We play this game…what, three or four times a week? You get me all hot and excited and then leave me hanging. I’m not used to taking this kinda shit from a broad.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” she said softly. “I know I’ve been hard to catch up with, and I wanna make it up to you.”
“Yeah, and how do you plan on doing that?”
“I’ll show you when we see each other tonight. Why don’t you come pick me up about seven?” she asked.
“Seven is no good.” He looked at his watch, “I gotta stop by my dad’s restaurant. I won’t be long, though.”
“I wouldn’t mind riding along,” she said, seeing an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. “We could get a bite to eat, then we could move the party back to your place. I just bought a new garter set and I’m dying to model it for you.”
Carlo’s first thought was to tell her no. Even though he wasn’t going to the restaurant on official business, he still didn’t think Franko would like the idea of him parading around in his joint with the young Black girl. Then again, if he told her no, she might call the whole thing off. Just like with most men, he allowed the little head to lead the big one.
“Okay, I’ll come pick you up,” he said, “but you gotta be ready by seven. I don’t want to be late.”
“Okay, daddy,” she sang. “I’ll be waiting.” Evelyn ended the call.
Carlo wanted to pump his fist in the air. Evelyn’s high-yellow ass had been playing games with him since he met her. He had just about given up on her until he got the phone call. With the thought of fresh pussy in his mind, he had almost forgotten he was even considering it. He was finally going to get his chance to crack for some of what she had tucked between her legs. Carlo had decided that when they made the date, she was going to give it up whether she wanted to or not.
35.
When Carlo pulled up the corner of Ninety-sixth and Amsterdam, Evelyn was already waiting for him. She was tastefully dressed in a black, one-piece pantsuit and black three-quarter-inch mules. The Glock .40 she carried gave her purse an extra sway. Evelyn swept her crimson mane behind her left ear and gave him her warmest smile.
“Damn, you look good,” he said, stepping out to give her a hug. He cupped her ass with both hands. “Ready to go?”
Evelyn smiled. “Sure am.” She looked in the driver’s seat and saw Tony behind the wheel. “Where’s Steve?”
“He had to go outta town,” Carlo said, holding the back door for her.
She wasn’t too worried about killing an extra man. When she had originally put her plan together, she calculated having to take out two targets. Carlo was a coward and Tony was too fat to match her reflexes. When she climbed in and saw Sal sitting in the passenger’s seat, she started making adjustments.
As Evelyn sat beside her soon-to-be victim, she could feel the deodorant begin to liquify. She was teetering on the line between vengeance and certain death. Both fear and anticipation made her lightheaded. From that point on, she had to choose her steps wisely or it would all be in vain.
Not only was she faced with killing three men, she had to decide which De Nardi she wanted to kill. She could kill Carlo before they got to the restaurant and make her escape. This was clearly the smarter plan, but Evelyn wanted it to be done with. She would ride into the devil’s mouth and exterminate them both. She just hoped that the cards could be on her side for once.
When they got out into traffic, Carlo fired up a blunt of hydro. The pungent odor quickly filled the truck and stung her eyes. When it came around to Evelyn, she took several deep pulls. Her PO violating her was the least of her concerns. If she was gonna go out, she would go out blasted.
The traffic was light, so the ride to the restaurant was a short one. They exited the West Side Highway at Fifty-sixth Street and crossed over to Ninth Avenue. Evelyn expected some five-star restaurant, but Poppa Frank’s was anything but that. It was a quaint little eatery that housed several wooden dining tables and a bar. Carlo held the front door for her as she stepped into the place that would serve as the stage for the final battle.
Before the car could come to a complete stop, Teddy was hopping out. He instructed Spoon and Vinny to wait while he ran upstairs. He had been trying to reach Felon all day, but got no answer. Normally, it wouldn’t have been unusual for Felon to withdraw for a few days, but recent events had made the circumstances anything but normal.
Not bothering with the elevator, Teddy jogged up the four flights of stairs to Felon’s apartment. He rang the doorbell but all was silent. He banged on the door but still got no response. His instincts were wailing that something was wrong. Fearing the worst, Teddy used his emergency key.
Felon’s apartment was dark and quiet. Teddy searched every room of the house for signs of what might’ve happened to Felon. Except for some dirty laundry strewn on the bathroom floor, everything seemed to be in order. Teddy had decided to leave the apartment and search elsewhere for his boss. As he passed the kitchen he noticed a sheet of paper taped to the refrigerator. Teddy took the note and began to read.
My nigga, Ted,
I knew it would only be a matter of time before you came to investigate my disappearance. You never were a dumb nigga, and that’s why I took a liking to you from the beginning. If you’re reading this note, then the shit has probably hit the fan already. These last few weeks have been good and bad to us. We’ve made more money than we know what to do with, but at what price? I’ve had many sleepless nights knowing I’ve sold my soul for riches. We got into this game to try and better ourselves and our situations, but somewhere along the line, larceny changed the plan. I was a fool to trust Carlo. I know that now. Because of him, I’ve lost the best friend I’ve ever had and turned away the only woman I’ve ever loved. Just as Butter always said he would, Carlo has destroyed the foundation of our thing. There’s no turning back for me now. I’ve already spoken with our old connect and told him that you’ll be running things from now on. With my last words, I urge you to leave this life behind, and do something righteous with yours. You’re still young and the possibilities are endless. Right now, you probably wanna ride out and bring it to somebody for what has happened to me, but you can’t this time. I have no one to blame for the tragedy of my life but myself. Tell the crew that I went out so they wouldn’t have to.
Felon
His eyes watered up as he read the letter again and again. Shit had been crazy, but he never expected this. In the blink of an eye, he had lost both his mentors. He raged and rained punches on the refrigerator until his fists bled. When he had exhausted himself, Teddy slid down to the floor and cried.
Carlo led Evelyn into the restaurant where Franko was seated at a table in the back, flanked by his two bodyguards. She drew some stares from the other patrons, but she kept her eyes focused on her prey. Even years later, the girlish fears crept into her mind. She shook off the bloody images of her parents an
d reined in her composure as they approached the table.
Carlo smiled. “Hey, Pop.”
“I didn’t realize we were having guests,” Franko said, casting his icy glare on Evelyn.
“This is a friend of mine,” Carlo said, placing his hand around her waist. “Evelyn, this is my father, Franko De Nardi.”
“Pleased to meet you,” she said, extending her hand. Franko looked at it as if she had just removed it from the toilet.
“You have something for me?” Franko asked, turning his attention back to his son.
“Yeah.” Carlo motioned for Sal to come over. Sal placed a leather briefcase on the table in front of his uncle. “It’s all there.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Franko said, never bothering to touch the case. He and Carlo were making small talk, but his eyes kept going back to Evelyn. She was beautiful, even for a black girl, but that wasn’t it. Something about her seemed familiar. “Evelyn, don’t I know you from somewhere?”
“Nah, you don’t know her, Dad,” Carlo said.
“Actually we have met.” She smiled. “I was a little girl at the time, but you probably remember my father, Joe-Joe Panelli.”
Franko stopped chewing his food and searched his mind. The name did ring a bell in his head, but he couldn’t place it. Suddenly he recalled the man and his family he had been sent to kill all those years ago. By the time it dawned on him, she had already snatched one of the steak knives from the table.
Tony stood outside Poppa Frank’s, smoking a cigarette. He could think of a million other things he’d rather be doing than watching Carlo’s back. It was a beautiful night and he was anxious to hit the club and do some drinking. A figure stepped from the darkness to his left. Tony went for his gun, but eased up when he recognized who it was.