The Hustler's Daughter Volume 2

by Pinky Dior

  “He’s coming,” he informed her. “Give him five more minutes.”

  Alana sighed and waited for a couple of more minutes. Then she noticed a black car pulling up and it drove a little bit past them. Jesus hopped out of the car, wearing a fine suit. Alana bit down on the bottom of her lip as she eyed him from head to toe. She quickly shook out the nasty thoughts that ran through her mind. She knew she didn’t have a chance with him, ever. Even if she tried, her father Vicente would have him and her dead.

  “Hello, Jesus, it’s a pleasure.” Alana smiled as she extended her hand.

  Surprisingly, he took her hand and kissed it as he stared up into her eyes. A chill went down Alana’s spine as she tried to hide her face. She was blushing tremendously.

  “Shall we get down to business?” Alana smiled and walked to the trunk and he followed behind her. She proceeded to open the trunk and revealed about seven coffins in the back filled with cocaine. He smiled as he rubbed his hands together.

  “So where’s the money?” Alana questioned. She noticed he had a weird look on his face. He was looking around as if he was waiting for someone to come.

  That’s when Alana noticed there were police sirens and undercover cars pulling up behind them. Law enforcement officials quickly hopped out of the car with their guns drawn. Alana looked at Jesus and knew that he had set them up, but she also knew he would pay. Alana didn’t hesitate. She slowly put up her hands and dropped to her knees. One of the detectives snatched her up. He walked her to one of the patrol cars and read her rights as she was being put into the patrol car. She lowered her head as she rode silently in the cruiser. Alana knew this was the last time she would be free and on the outside. She knew she was about to be hit with more than twenty years.

  ***

  “Damn, so that nigga set y’all up?” Mercedes asked inquisitively.

  “Yup, he sure did,” Alana said. “My father was right. He had a funny feeling about it, but hey, he didn’t care because he wasn’t the one transporting the drugs. So I mean, he lost product, but at the end of the day, whoever screws over my father will pay.”

  “But he didn’t tell the feds about your father’s whereabouts?”

  “No. Before he had even got a chance to speak to the feds again, my father Vicente had a hit out on him. They found him two days later with his body parts cut off, in a coffin, and he had a surprise for the people attending his funeral.” Alana smirked. It was lunchtime, so the girls headed out to the cafeteria.

  Everyone was watching the news and everyone seemed to be interested in what was going on. The cafeteria was dead silent. Mercedes pulled up a chair and sat right in front of the TV. They were showing a woman who had worked in the evidence room where they sent the drugs, guns, and other items when people got locked up. She had been mishandling the evidence and tampering with it. Mercedes knew that this could possibly help her with her case.

  Chapter Four

  Life

  Mercedes had been locked up since November and it was now July fifteenth. Today was the day of her trial. She sat down in her chair next to her lawyer, Karen Alberto, and they exchanged a few words. Mercedes nodded her head and her lawyer told her that everything should go as they planned. Mercedes really hoped so, because she couldn’t spend the rest of her life behind bars. She had a long life ahead of her and a bright future. Mercedes sat back and let her lawyer work her magic. The judge appeared back in the courtroom as she took her seat.

  “All rise,” the officer said as everyone stood up.

  Mercedes stood up and held her head high as she made eye contact with the judge. The judge placed on her prescription glasses, staring back at Mercedes.

  “You may be seated,” the guard announced as everyone took their seats.

  The judge looked at Mercedes for a quick second but then turned her head towards the jury. “Has the jury reached a verdict yet?”

  “Yes, Your Honor,” one of the jurors spoke.

  The judge simply nodded her head and patiently waited for the jury to come to a verdict. Mercedes’s hands were folded together behind her back as her fingers started to shake. Whispers filled the room as the judge banged on the desk and asked for silence. Mercedes was dressed in an all-black Prada dress with black stockings and her three-inch heels. Her long hair was brushed up into a neat bun with her baby hairs swept to the side. Mercedes looked over her shoulder and noticed her mother staring at her. She blew her a kiss. Mercedes blew her mother a kiss in return and turned around.

  “Your Honor, we’ve reached a verdict,” a juror confirmed.

  “All right, what’s the verdict?” The judge looked up and her glasses sat almost at the edge of her nose.

  “We find Mercedes Carter guilty of first degree murder.”

  Mercedes still held her head high, but her heart rate dropped tremendously as the juror read her charges and she was found guilty on all counts.

  “Mercedes Carter, you are hereby sentenced to life in federal prison.” The judge banged her gavel on the table.

  A single teardrop slipped down Mercedes’s cheek and she didn’t bother to wipe it away. Her heart was crushed. She couldn’t believe she was getting sentenced to life in prison. She turned at her lawyer with a look of disgust on her face. She was highly disappointed with Karen. The guards walked over, put her hands behind her back, and placed the cuffs on her wrists. Mercedes looked over her shoulder and smiled at her mother and her homegirls. “Bye, Mama.” Mercedes wanted to cry so badly, but she held it in.

  “It’s not goodbye. I’ll see you later,” Maria informed her as a smile appeared across her face.

  As soon as Mercedes turned her head and was escorted to the back, gunfire erupted in the courtroom. Mercedes quickly turned around and saw Candy, Hazel, and Shateeya standing in the middle of the courtroom with AK-47’s in their hands. There was shooting everywhere.

  The guards tried to rush Mercedes to get her in the back, but Hazel put a bullet in each of their brains. Maria quickly rushed over to Mercedes, grabbed the security guard’s keys, and fumbled with them, trying to find the one to unlock the handcuffs. After her hands were released from the handcuffs, Mercedes touched her face and looked at her hands, which reeked of blood. Her mother quickly ran over to Mercedes and shielded her, as she kept shooting at the other guards who rushed into the room.

  As they exited the courtroom, Mercedes stepped over the guards’ bodies. There were people on the ground as they ducked for cover. As they emerged into the halls of the courtroom, people were screaming because they noticed the four girls with large artillery in their possession. Everybody was rushing and bombarding people, trying to dodge the bullets as they ran for cover, especially since bullets didn’t have names on them. Maria threw her daughter a .380 as they tried to escape the courthouse, but several security guards surrounded them, and they fired off their guns as well.

  Hazel looked over at them with the “what are we going to do?” face. She pursed her lips, not giving a fuck as she stood back and shot off her AK-47 from left to right, watching in euphoria as the bodies dropped lifelessly one by one to the ground. All of them were shooting at the cops as they managed to escape out of the courtroom.

  “Come on; let’s go!” Maria yelled as she guided the girls out of the courthouse. They ran down the stairs and over to the Dodge truck that patiently waited for them. As they got in the car, Mercedes sighed in relief when she saw Chamari sitting behind the wheel.

  “That shit was crazy!” Mercedes yelled as they peeled off. She looked back and sighed in relief that they had made it out alive.

  “Yeah, we couldn’t let you stay locked up in prison for life. Fuck that!” Hazel said as she cocked back her gun, smiling from ear to ear.

  “Oh shit!” Chamari said with a startled tone.

  “What the fuck you saying ‘oh shit’ for?” Mercedes asked.

  Chamari didn’t respond. Her body was frozen as she stared out the front window. Mercedes leaned forward and looked out through the fro
nt windshield. She saw a guy in the middle of the street, wearing a black mask covering his face and holding an AK-47. He motioned with his fingers for them to come forward.

  “Back the fuck up!” Mercedes chanted as she banged on the back of Chamari’s seat. “Back up! Back up!” She panicked as she watched her life flash quickly in front of her pretty green eyes.

  Chamari shook her head no. She put the car in reverse and tried to quickly back down the street. A single shot went through the front glass, hitting Chamari in the head, causing her to lose control of the wheel. Several seconds later as they tried to escape the car, several masked men came out of nowhere, approached the car, and surrounded it with heavy artillery guns. They immediately sprayed up the car, leaving it loaded with bullet holes, and they didn’t stop shooting until everyone was dead.

  Chapter Five

  Dreaming

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  Mercedes jumped up from her bed, sweating profusely as she felt all over her body, thinking she was covered in blood. She came to find out that it was only sweat. Mercedes wiped away the sweat that had formed on her forehead. It was a bad, bloody dream she had had. She breathed heavily, sounding as if she was running from the cops and couldn’t catch her breath. Her heart felt as if it wasn’t going to ever stop pumping at a steady, fast beat. In reality, she had dozed off waiting to be called for court and everything had just been a dream. The guards banged on her cell door for it to open. Mercedes inhaled deeply as she got up.

  “Good luck,” Alana said.

  “Thank you. Hopefully you will be out soon too.” Mercedes smirked as she exited her cell and headed down the corridors of the jail.

  Today was her trial. It had been eight months since she had been locked up. Today was the day that would determine if she’d be a free woman or spend the rest of her life behind bars. The C.O.’s watched Mercedes as they let her change into her court clothes. She thanked God her mother had dropped off her court clothes, because she didn’t want to go before the jury looking like an animal in an orange jail suit. She hated how the C.O.’s stared at her body.

  Mercedes stood in the courtroom with her head held high, her eyes fixed on the judge. She kept her composure with her arms folded in front of her and resting a little below her abdomen. She looked like a million bucks and she was dressed as if she was going to a business meeting with the president or something of that nature. Mercedes wore a D&G stretch pencil skirt that her curves looked flawless in and a white V-neck collared shirt that showed off her full, plump breasts to a certain extent. To top it off, she didn’t wear any stockings, showing off her smooth, flawless caramel skin, and she wore some sexy three-inch heels to complete her attire. Her long, jet-black hair fell down the sides of her cheeks, complimented by her Chinese bangs that sat a little past her eyebrows. It looked as if she had just gone to the salon and gotten a fresh wash, blow dry, and press.

  Mercedes stood there as the judge reviewed her case. The judge finally took off her glasses and looked over at the jury.

  “Has the jury reached a verdict?” The judge glanced over at the jury.

  One of the jurors stood up and said, “Yes, Your Honor, we have reached a verdict. On all counts, we find Mercedes Carter not guilty.”

  Whispers of disappointment filled the room. Some people were happy, but the others felt as if she should have gotten life for what she did. Mercedes was overwhelmed. She felt like jumping up and down and thanking the Lord, but she held her composure. She looked over at her lawyer and smiled. She whispered in her ear, “Thank you.” Karen Alberto simply nodded her head and shook her hand.

  As Mercedes turned to walk out of the courtroom, she looked over at the DA and smiled. He sat down with a disappointed look on his face, as he gathered up his paperwork. He stood up and walked towards Mercedes.

  “Trust me, we will get you next time,” Detective Morris threatened as he exited the courtroom angrily.

  “Better luck next time,” Mercedes smirked as she flipped her hair back. As the court officers escorted her into the back, she walked out of the courtroom, switching her ass from side to side. After the discharge papers from the prison were completed, Mercedes was a free woman. She looked at the discharge papers and sighed deeply.

  As Mercedes walked out of the courtroom, Maria greeted her as she stood outside with her girlfriends. A smile emerged on Mercedes’s face as they all ran over to her and gave her hugs and kisses.

  “I’m so glad they didn’t find you guilty!” Maria hugged her daughter as tears streamed down her face.

  “Don’t cry, Mama, I’m finally home,” Mercedes assured her. She turned to her friends. “Well, I want to thank y’all ladies for coming to support me. It really means the world to me.” Mercedes placed her hand over her, heart smiling from ear to ear.

  “You’re welcome,” they said in unison.

  “Honey, I was thinking that we could grab a bite to eat or something.”

  “Nah, Ma, maybe next time. I’m going to go home and get a little shut eye,” Mercedes informed her.

  “All right, well, I know I’m going to grab me something to eat.” Maria rubbed her stomach and they all giggled. “I’ll give you a lift,” her mother insisted.

  Before Mercedes hopped into the car, she hugged her girls. “I’m going to call y’all tonight and maybe we can head out to the club or something.”

  Mercedes hopped in the rental and told her mother to take her to the jail where they held her to pick up her belongings. When Mercedes entered the jail, the officer behind the table was staring at her with a look of disgust on her face.

  “Hi, I’m here to pick up my belongings.”

  “What’s your name?” the officer asked.

  “Mercedes Carter,” she stated with pride. She watched as he looked up her name.

  “Ma’am, I’m sorry, it doesn’t look like you can get your stuff back unless you have a slip…”

  Mercedes cut him off and handed him the slip. He snatched the slip out of her hand and disappeared into the back, and a few seconds later, he returned with her stuff. He slammed the bag on the table, opened the door, and placed her luggage on the floor. He also handed her an envelope, which contained a check for the money she had in her possession the day of her arrest. Mercedes smiled from ear to ear as she slipped the envelope in her bag, turned, and walked away.

  “Bitch!” The officer looked up at as he mumbled under his breath, watching Mercedes walk away. He didn’t think that Mercedes heard him, but she did. She stopped in her tracks and turned around,

  “That’s Miss Carter to you.” Mercedes winked at him and continued out the door.

  “Fat cupcake-eating motherfucker!” she blurted out, loud enough for him to hear it.

  When Mercedes got into the car, she gave her mother directions to the airport, where her Mercedes Benz was located. She’d had her mother secure it in the long-term parking during her imprisonment. Mercedes hugged her mother, informing her she would get up with her later. She walked over to her car, smiling. Just the way I left it, Mercedes said to herself as she slid the key into the door and hopped in. Mercedes reclined her head back, smiled, and breathed in the fresh aroma of the car, which still smelled brand new. Mercedes placed the key into the ignition and headed home.

  Unlocking the door to her home, Mercedes entered her condo and looked around. Everything still looked as if it was intact, just as she had left it. It was yet another thing she had to thank her mother for. When she closed the door, she noticed there was a batch of mail sitting on the kitchen table. Mercedes bent down, walked over to the table, and picked up the mail, flipping through it. Although her mother had an extra key to her place, Mercedes had informed her to keep all her mail on the kitchen table. She threw her keys on the kitchen table and poured herself a glass of wine before heading upstairs to her bedroom.

  Mercedes noticed as she was flipping through the mail that there was a letter from Emilio. She entered her bedroom and threw the mail on the bed. Mercedes placed
the glass of wine on her nightstand. She started to take off her clothes and slip out of her heels. His letter kept staring her in the face. She didn’t want to read it, but part of her wondered what was in it.

  Mercedes headed into the bathroom. She turned on the hot water and stepped into the shower. It felt good after several months of being in a prison and taking showers in front of other females. She hated the fact that they always seemed to enjoy watching her. She thanked God several times that she was finally home where she belonged. She sure felt like she didn’t belong in jail, which was for the birds. After twenty minutes of showering, Mercedes stepped out and wrapped a towel around her voluptuous body. Emerging from the bathroom, she pulled out a T-shirt, a pair of Victoria’s Secret sweatpants, and some undergarments.

  After slipping on her clothes, Mercedes sat down on her bed and picked up the mail from the bed, then reached over for her glass of wine. As she reclined her head against the headboard and opened up the envelope, Emilio’s Sean John cologne tickled her nose. It brought up memories that they both shared together, but she shook the thoughts out of her head and started to read.

  Dear Mercedes,

  I wrote this letter to you, because I felt as if you needed to know the truth, everything about me, and why things went down the way they did. If you got this letter this either means I’m dead or that I had to disappear for a while. I want to start off by saying I apologize, but there’s a part of me that isn’t remorseful. Here goes…

  My name is Emilio Pouche. I was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. My father was a drug dealer and he worked for a man named Vicente. One day, my father got robbed by the feds and was short with Vicente’s money. He didn’t believe my father and Vicente didn’t give him a choice. He said they would let my brother and me live, but my father would die. My father didn’t hesitate with the choice. He let my brother and me live. Vicente killed him and my mother.

  Vicente took my brother and me under his wings when I was thirteen years old. He wanted me to come up with the money that my father owed him by robbing, killing, and setting people up, and I’ve been working for him ever since. My father owed him fifty thousand dollars and I only had twenty five thousand to give him, so he told me if I did him a favor, he would let me off easy without killing me. He sent me to New York to work for your father and scope things out. He didn’t really tell me a whole lot about why he was sending me out there. He just wanted me to bring your father to him, so he could kill him himself. He just wanted his daughter back.