by Noire
Although the restaurant was very nice Jewelz wasn’t interested in a meal. She was exhilarated about the kill she’d made earlier in the evening, and what she wanted right now was to get closer to Goody so she could discover even more of his weaknesses.
“My…my…don’t you look handsome this evening Mr. Goode Brother,” Jewelz beamed, complimenting him on his smoke-grey Tom Ford designer suit.
“Thank you, Mizz Jewelz. You know I gotta keep myself on point when I’m in the presence of greatness,” Goody fired back while flashing his perfect white teeth that accentuated his smooth dark skin. He had just left the hospital after visiting his nephew Trill again, and although his mind was still churning with bitter thoughts of the streets, his outward demeanor was suave and charming.
“I was watching you as you walked in,” Goody admitted. “Those Derrick Lambs look perfect on your feet by the way.”
Jewelz gave him a slight smile with a smirk hidden underneath. It wasn’t every day that a notorious monster like him poured on the charm. She had to admit that he was rather sharp with his shit though.
“Thank you! I can tell you’re highly knowledgeable when it comes to fashion. You seem to know your designers very well,” Jewelz remarked with genuine surprise.
Goody nodded. “I try to keep up on what’s trendy. I’m a man who makes a living by paying attention to details and I can appreciate a good shoe when I see one,” he said as he picked up the menu.
For the millionth time Jewelz had to remind herself of what a monster Goody really was. He had a good sense of humor and an aura of power that would have the average chick ready to strip outta her panties and throw them babies dead at him. He was also a smooth operator who seemed to love playing the cat and mouse game that Jewelz challenged him with so readily. If she hadn’t actually been a victim to his cruelty she would’ve found it hard to believe that he possessed so much evil way down in his soul.
The waiter came over and offered them drinks as they looked over the menu.
“Good evening, my name is Felix and I will be your waiter for tonight. What would you like for a beverage, sir?” he asked Goody with a respectful smile and a positive attitude.
“Give me whatever the stunning woman sitting across from me is having Felix,” Goody said as he turned the attention to Jewelz.
Jewelz grinned, ready to play her role. “Good evening, Felix. We’ll start off with a bottle of your finest Chablis and two glasses of carbonated water with fresh lemon wedges please,” she said politely.
“No problem, madam. I’ll get that right out to you and we can discuss the main course whenever you are ready,” Felix said and then turned and left the table.
“Their finest wine?” Goody said with a look of mock shock on his face. “A’ight now. Don’t let me find out you tryna get me drunk and take me back to your crib and do nasty shit to me. I’m onto your little scheme Mizz Jewelz, and I’m not the type to give my shit up that easy.”
Jewelz couldn’t help but laugh at his clowning. He was sharp with the mouth and Jewelz liked that in a man because she was definitely the same way.
“Boy please!” she countered shooting him a seductive look. “You wish knockin your boots was on my agenda. If I wanted to do some nasty stuff to you I doubt if I’d have to get you drunk first to do it.”
They laughed together again and then Jewelz turned her head to gaze out the window that overlooked the city. They sat in silence for a moment listening to the light chatter that filled the air in the restaurant.
While Jewelz knew he would strip her naked and dig her out if she gave him permission, Goody couldn’t tell what kind of progress he was making with Jewelz. She had sucked his dick one good delicious time, and now he was like a crackhead, feening for another hit.
But Jewelz was very good at stringing him along and masking her emotions, and she was a very strong-willed woman too. He loved the class she personified, but after seeing her in the club and listening to her lyrics, he also believed she could cock a nigga cold just as quick as any man he knew.
“Yo, Mizz Jewelz,” Goody said as he leaned back in his seat and grinned at the mysterious and sexy creature in front of him. “I’m glad you decided to come rock with me tonight. You’re human so I know you gotta eat, but you’re a very hard lady to convince to have dinner. Are you scared to let me see how you get down with your grub or something?”
Jewelz busted out laughing and shook her head as she pulled her sweater over her shoulders to ward off the chill in the air-conditioned restaurant.
“Scared of you?” She laughed again, twisting his words. “You’re just full of jokes tonight, huh Mr. Goode Brother. But I can dig it. You have quite a fearsome reputation on the streets so I can see how you might scare off a lot of ordinary chicks. But I’m cut from a different cloth,” Jewelz said as the waiter finally came with a bottle of vintage wine. “I fear no man.”
“Yeah, I know…I know…” Goody joked her. “I forgot you’re big bad Jewelz the gangstress on the mic. I’m just messing with you, baby. I know you gotta keep your defenses up. It’s a cold world out there and you gotta be just as cold when you playing on them corners,” Goody said as he took a sip of his wine and tried to keep the mood light.
Jewelz and Goody both ordered broiled steak and shrimp and a grilled lobster tail, and the waiter filled and refilled their wine glasses as they waited for their meals to arrive.
“Check it out,” Goody leaned close to her and said. “It’s no secret that I’m very interested in you. You intrigue me. There ain’t many chicks like you where I roam. You can’t be bought or wined and dined. I know I need to step to you correct if I wanna get in deep with you, so that’s what I’m trying to do. A woman with your mix of intelligence, instincts, and discipline is truly a rare thing to find these days, and I like it,” Goody admitted as he spoke from the heart keeping it all the way one hundred with her.
Jewelz crossed her legs daintily and put her hands in her lap as she gave him a look of real interest for the first time since walking through the door.
“You’re right, Mr. Goody. I’m very disciplined and I’m far from the typical bitch out here who’s just trying to trap any baller who’s holding a couple of racks. You intrigue me too, and I do find you attractive. Maybe if we keep it real with each other we can get to know each other a little deeper,” Jewelz said as she looked into Goody’s murderous eyes and saw them light up.
“But as you can see, nothing comes easy with me. You’re gonna have to show and prove your genuineness to me because I’m worth it. I have zero tolerance for stupid shit. I’m too smart for that. And as you can probably tell, I ain’t chasing no niggas because I’m fine by myself. So how do you suggest we go about this?” Jewelz asked sweetly.
Just as Goody started to answer the waiter came back with steaming platters of shrimp and steak, and huge lobster tails that instantly had their taste buds on high alert. Goody thanked the waiter as they said a prayer over the food, and then both of them began to dig in.
After knocking down a few shrimp Goody continued their conversation.
“You asked me how I suggest we go about getting to know each other deeper, and I’m about to tell you. I’m a get-right nigga, baby. I work hard and I play hard too. I seldom hold back and do shit on a small scale the way other niggas do, because in my line of work tomorrow might not come. What I’m saying is, I’d like you to take an all-expenses paid trip to Jamaica with me,” he said, fully expecting her to buck and put up some resistance.
“On the real, I recently put a couple of my young G’s and two of my beloved brothers in the ground, and I need to take a step back so I can see the big picture from multiple angles. An all-expenses paid trip to the islands on my dime might give us a chance to talk and get to know each other in a more relaxed environment.”
Jewelz swallowed hard and went in on some breadsticks and a couple of strips of steak before she answered.
“An island vacation might be nice, Mister Goody. Ain�
��t nothing wrong with getting away from the city grind every once in a while. But we haven’t really spent any quality time together here at all. You ain’t never invited me to your crib, and I’ve never even been alone with you without one of your security guards looking up your ass. See how your boy standing right over there has his eyeballs all down my throat right now? I bet you he can tell you how many times I chewed my steak. How about we spend a little more time together right here in this country first before we go jetting off half-way around the world,” Jewelz said calmly.
Goody nodded. “A’ight then. But just like you got your lil defenses in place, I got mine too. I’m a gangsta, baby. I put niggas down for long naps in the dirt. I can’t afford to get caught slipping so I’m careful about who I let in my circle,” he grinned. “Shit, I wanna be alone and up in a lil something with you too, but females are far more dangerous and unpredictable than men are. I gotta stay on my toes with you more than I do with any nigga in this game. If you from the streets like you say you are, then I’m sure you can understand that.”
Jewelz signaled the waiter to pour her another glass of wine as she picked over her meal. Suddenly she was tired as fuck. Her head was spinning and her stomach was acting ill.
“I hear you,” she said with a small smile. “I might just need a little vacation too. I’ll think about what you said and get back to you, okay?”
Goody was nodding when his phone chirped in a weird pattern on his waist. He held one finger up and snatched it up and answered it.
“I’m out wit’a female, muh’fucka!” the charm was all gone and the brute was back in him as he growled in a low, dangerous voice. “Fuck is you calling me for son?”
Jewelz took a sip of carbonated water and watched his face change right before her eyes.
“What???” he exploded, his eyes narrowing in rage and disbelief. “Is you fuckin kidding me?”
All the blood seemed to rush to Jewelz’s head as she watched him listening intently to the person on the other end of the phone.
“How the fuck did that happen?” Goody demanded sharply. “And he’s gone just like that? Y’all sure he’s gone?”
Jewelz woulda been happy as hell if she wasn’t feeling so damn shitty. It was obvious that Handgun Goody was getting word about that hurting she’d put on his cousin Winky. The toxic powder she’d wiped on his arm when she “accidentally” bumped into him in the auditorium after the play must have done its job.
Suddenly her head started spinning and dark spots appeared in her vision. Jewelz braced her elbows on the table and fought to remain upright in her chair. Doctor Ford was right. She was sliding downhill real fast. She felt flush in the face and her stomach churned with sweet wine and acid, and she was just about to signal the waiter and ask for some water when Goody slammed his phone down hard on the table.
“Yo, my fuckin cousin Winky is dead!” he spit grimly. “Tell me how the fuck does a young strong-ass muthafucka drop dead of a heart attack just like that outta nowhere? I don’t believe this shit! Another Goode Brother gone in just a matter of weeks? I’m out here burying mad good soldiers and my brothers is getting smoked left and right! My lil nephew not too long ago fucked around and got run over by a truck! I just can’t believe—”
Jewelz jumped up from the table with her stomach lurching. She grabbed her cloth napkin and pressed it to her mouth and it was all she could do to whirl around and jet toward the bathroom as a forceful gush of liquid rose out of her stomach and filled her mouth.
She hit the bathroom door at a sprint. She heard Goody’s voice calling out behind her in panic and concern, but there was no way she could answer as she busted into a stall and expelled the heaving rush of hot liquid that sprayed from her mouth.
When the gushing finally ceased Jewelz nearly passed out at the sight of the mess she’d made. It looked like a crime scene up in that stall. The toilet, the floor, and the starched white napkin she still gripped in her hand were all covered in the same thing.
Blood.
CHAPTER 25
Saved by the Enemy
The sight of her splattered blood had sent Jewelz tumbling down to her knees in the toilet stall. Moaning in fear, she had blacked completely out on the bathroom floor, and when she regained consciousness Handgun Goody was cradling her in his arms and calling out her name.
“Jewelz!” he tapped her face and yelled loudly. “Jewelz! Wake up, baby! C’mon, girl. Please wake up!”
The first thing Jewelz saw when she was finally able to focus her gaze were the tears of concern in Goody’s eyes. For such a hardcore gangsta who liked shooting, stabbing, and torturing his enemies, he sure was displaying a whole lotta fuckin emotion!
“What the hell happened to you, baby?” he pleaded with her. “Was it something you ate? What’s wrong???” But then he shook his head. “Nah, fuck that. Don’t even try to talk. We gonna get you to the hospital right now,” he said, getting ready to lift her up in his strong arms. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ma take you to the emergency room and get you some help.”
“No!” Jewelz tried to push him away. “No hospitals!”
Goody turned around and barked at his dun-duns over his beefy shoulder, “Yo what the fuck y’all muthafuckas standing around staring for? Go get me some fuckin paper towels, stupid! Wet ’em up and make sure they’re nice and warm!”
Snug in his arms, Jewelz could only lay there in submission as his boys scrambled to get him some wet paper towels and Goody wiped away at the blood that was all over her face and clothes. All the while he was whispering soothing words to her and cleaning her up tenderly, like she was his baby.
Moments later a bunch of concerned waiters and the restaurant manager had crowded into the bathroom too.
“She’s sick,” Goody told them with his voice tight. “She just threw up a whole lotta fuckin blood. I gotta get her to the emergency room.”
Jewelz struggled in his arms again as he picked her up and she protested profusely.
“No!” she arched her back and tried to squirm out of his grasp. “I said no hospitals! I’m fine. Please, put me down! I’m a’ight. I’m fine!”
But Goody had her firmly in his grip and he refused to let her go. Jewelz fussed and fought so much that he carried her straight outta the bathroom and through the restaurant just like she was a cranky toddler having a fit. And when they got outside he climbed in the back of his waiting limo with her still bitching and protesting.
“Call me a cab!” Jewelz wailed struggling against him as he held her close. “I don’t wanna go to no hospital! Take me home!”
“A’ight, a’ight!” he said getting her settled down on the plush seat. “You don’t have to go to the hospital, sugar. But you ain’t going home, neither. And I mean that shit, Jewelz. You sick, baby. Did you see all that damn blood? Something is wrong with you! If I take you home I’ll just be up worrying about you all damn night long.”
“But I wanna go home,” Jewelz whimpered weakly. “I’m tired and I just wanna go home.”
Goody put his rough palm on her cheek, then leaned over and kissed her on her forehead.
“You going home all right, sweetie,” he said gently, and then he nodded at his driver giving him the okay to take off. “You going home with me.”
$$$$$
Jewelz must have passed out again because the next thing she remembered was coming awake in a cool room that must have been big as shit because the sound in it echoed. A deep male voice was talking in a low tone, and for some reason it scared the shit outta her.
“Yo, Ice Pick. I’m at the crib, slime. I heard about Winkey and that shit is wild as hell, son…. Nah, I can’t leave yet cause I got a lil situation with a female right now, but I’ll be over that way later...Hell no I ain’t smashing it, she’s knocked out sleep, nigga and I ain’t into the rape game.
But check it out…I need you to handle some light work, man. Tell Chainsaw I want him to drop them packs off in the Pink Houses first thing Monday morning, and then h
ave him slide over to meet Frankie in Seth Low and pick up that stash, a’ight?
And oh yeah, let him know I’m putting a green light on Bajan Andy and his whole fuckin set. The streets is whispering, my nigga. Word is that them cats is the ones behind all this hit-and-run shit goin down. That’s right. I’m kinda skeptical that they went after Raze or Hammer, or I woulda burnt that Bajan nigga to a crisp right in his own bed. But I do think they did Rollack and Cajiid, and Dolla and his manz Black too.
Proof? Fuck you mean proof? Nigga I know what my gut is tellin me and I want that Bajan cat’s head and I want it now!
So check it out, have Cannonball—nah fuck that make it Chainsaw. Yeah, tell Chain to round up a few hittas and swing through Andy’s gym Tuesday around midnight and wipe that bitch clean. From here on out Andy is food, and I’m gonna eat every Bajan in the entire fuckin borough until I make my message clear. You copy?
Jewelz shivered. She was locked in on every word Handgun Goody said, and as she lay there with her eyes closed in the darkness she forced herself to memorize his chilling conversation.
Because that nigga was about to make a power move on her old boss, Andy. Goody thought it was the Bajan gang who had been rocking his click to sleep and fucking up his business! Jewelz knew she had to get a hold of Slick and tell him what was about to go down, but right now she was too weak to swallow the spit in her mouth, let alone to find the strength to get up and figure out where her purse and her cell phone were at.
A huge wave of nausea washed over her and a low moan escaped her lips. Dazed, Jewelz remembered her predicament and reached for her wig. She felt around her hairline and made sure it was still glued firmly in place, and when she spread her arms out and explored around further with her fingers, she realized she was in a big fluffy bed and surrounded by a whole bunch of pillows.