Hardhearted

by Sherrod Tunstall

  “You punk little pussy,” Paco said. “How can you let a female punk you like that?”

  Travis was embarrassed, and he wanted to get her back. But he ventured in the wrong direction. “You bitch!”

  He got up, but almost immediately, he noticed that something didn’t feel right with his right hand. He looked and saw that his right pinky finger was missing, and he was bleeding profusely from that spot. He glared at King, but now she had his pinky finger in one hand and a pair of pliers in the other.

  “Looking for this?” she said, taking his pinky finger and stirring it in her glass of wine. She removed the finger, then licked the tip.

  “Damn, Paco,” Midnight said. “This woman is a straight-up beast and a G for real.”

  Paco laughed. “I know. That’s why I wanted to do business with her. You always want someone this coldhearted and ruthless on your team.”

  “Fuck that, Paco! That bitch got my pinky finger!” Travis tried to charge at her—only to be stopped by guns pointed at him by her security team. Many of the topless women aimed everything at him from 9 mm Magnums to machine guns.

  Oh shit, I’m fucked, thought Travis, who might be meeting his maker much sooner than later.

  Swag and Tyler rushed over to pull him back to the chair.

  “Be cool, man,” Swag said.

  Guns were still pointed at Travis, and he figured they would blast him in a second. Swag went over to King, got on his knees, and held her hand. “King, please don’t kill my friend. He’s drunk and stupid. He don’t know any better. If you spare his life, I’ll do anything you ask me to.”

  King smiled at Swag. She admired his courage. She would usually cut out an eyeball of someone who invaded her space and eat it like a Swedish meatball. But something about him just mesmerized her. “All right.” She raised her hand, and everyone lowered their guns.

  Swag took a deep breath. “Thank you, King. I promise he will be no more trouble.”

  Swag got up and headed to his seat. He watched as Tyler wrapped his brother’s hand with a napkin. King, however, stood with her wineglass, but she threw the pinky finger aside.

  “Let that be a lesson to you all. I am a king, not a queen. And if any of you fuck me over, you will be sleeping with the fishes—or worse.”

  They all nodded at their new leader as she lifted her glass. “To a new future of making money, being rich, and bringing down the Bello Family and Hernandez Cartel so that we can be on top of the food chain. To a new future!”

  “To a new future!” all the guys said, even Travis, who didn’t want to lose any more fingers.

  Swag looked around for a moment. He still couldn’t believe how elegant the ship was, but deep down, he felt as if it were leading him straight to hell. He had finally gotten his wake-up call, and he wished he could turn back the hands of time. He wished he had never gotten involved with Armand and was back in St. Louis, smoking a blunt or two with his boys, but he could only wish. He looked at the food on his plate in a daze. And for the first time in a long time, he prayed. Lord, protect my boys and me, including my cousin Brad. I hope he’s okay. And, Lord, I ask for one more request. If you can, one day, I would love to see my sons again. I love them, and I need you to protect me on this unfortunate journey so that I can get back to them. Amen.

  Swag looked up and saw King undressing him with her lustful eyes. She was known for getting whatever she wanted, even if it were him. Swag put on a fake smile, trying to stay in her good favor. And, Lord, please give me strength.

  Chapter 3

  Mz. Chocolate

  After King took a sip of her drink and gave Swag the “I wanna fuck you” eyes, she put her glass down. Then she clapped her hands with a smile on her face. “Come on, everyone. Enough of the drama and sad love song shit.” She waved for her topless girls to go over to the guys. The fellas were in paradise with tits and ass in their faces—something they had missed for the last several weeks.

  One thing about King, she had some of the baddest chicks from black, Asian, exotic—all shapes and sizes. She did an excellent job of selecting girls because the guys’ jocks were getting hard like bricks. She knew these men didn’t judge, especially since it was the first group of women they’d seen in a while. Sexual frustration was heating up the room.

  King looked over at Swag, who was having a good time with a five-foot-two chocolate chick with a booty that Swag was having the best time smacking the shit out of while his face was between her big breasts. King couldn’t lie. She was getting a little bit jealous. She had no idea why Swag was making her feel things that she hadn’t felt in years. In her eyes, the trick that was dancing all on Swag was doing her thing like back when she was a stripper in a Las Vegas strip club scene where King had found her. She was popping that punany and grinding her ass while going to work on Swag.

  Damn, she on him like he was one of them old big spenders she fucked with back in Vegas. Get it, ma, thought King.

  The expression on Swag’s face showed he was aroused and ready to bang the shit out of the chick.

  God, I wish that were me, thought King, whose hormones were raging.

  She seductively played with the strap of her teddy while avoiding her breasts. But watching this chick dance and grind on his wood was making her nipples hard. And when the chick ripped up Swag’s shirt, King was in shock. His body was like a sexy Adonis—muscular and tatted. One glimpse got her pussy dripping wet.

  In her mind, if the next man or woman asked her if she wanted to fuck, she’d do them right there on the table. King was just so damn horny that she started to sweat.

  Paco sat back while looking down at her long legs. He could see her sweet juices running down them. He grinned, knowing that this was his time to put it on her. Hell, his goal was to be the real right-hand man in all things. He side-eyed Swag. There is no way in hell I’m going to let this pretty boy nigger fuck up my plans with King.

  He got up and wrapped his arms around King’s waist while rubbing his hard manhood up against her big ass.

  “Aah,” King moaned while guiding Paco’s arms toward her titties. She leaned against him with her head on his shoulder and started groaning while grinding on his wood.

  Her aggressiveness turned Paco on as he pushed her titties together and massaged them. He whispered in her ear, “How about we take this upstairs?” Before she could answer, he lowered his hand into her panties to feel her wetness. His index and middle fingers pushed into her folds and made her even wetter. Closing her eyes, King quivered and coated his fingers with her come. “Aah . . . Ooh . . .”

  I got her where I want her, thought Paco as he licked her earlobe. “How about it, King? Let a real man beat that shit up real good.”

  She opened her eyes and smiled. “You think you can handle this sweet punany, papi?”

  “Hell yeah, mami. This dick is like Nyquil. It’ll put you to sleep.”

  “Okay, here’s your chance.” She reached for his hand and led him upstairs. But before they reached their destination, King looked back to glance at Swag. While Paco is screwing me, I’ll see your face and pretend Paco’s shaft is yours. Just thinking about Swag pounding her over and over again made her even moister. She couldn’t believe, nor could she understand her immediate attraction to Swag. There was something about him that made her clit throb. She needed a stiff tongue or dick inside of her before she killed every last person on the ship. She looked at Paco.

  “What are you waiting for, papi? You said you could handle my honeypot. Come on, show me what you’re workin’ with.”

  To Paco, she’d said nothing but a word. He picked her up and carried her up the stairs. He damn sure didn’t want her to look back at Swag’s ass again, and after he handled his business with King, he truly thought she’d forget all about Swag.

  * * *

  Swag, the fellas, and Paco’s men were having the best time of their lives with the girls. King knew how to treat a man like a prince. The chick dancing on Swag was working what she h
ad. And she had plenty of ass and titties but in a good way. Swag looked up at her. She was the sexiest chocolate woman he’d ever seen. He didn’t know her name, so in his mind, he was going to call her Mz. Chocolate. She had slanted hazel eyes, a bunny nose, heart-shaped lips, and high cheekbones like an Indian. Her hair was in long, black microbraids. Plus, baby was wearing a pink bikini showing off her well put together Jessica Rabbit shape. She had thick, toned-up thighs and a big ass for days that he loved smacking. Like LL Cool J used the say, “You juggling, baby.” Swag could tell this chick worked at a strip club wherever she was from, ’cause the way she was throwing them hips and ass back and forth, she must have been the club’s headliner. But her best feature that Swag loved was her 34DDs that he couldn’t keep his face out of. Mz. Chocolate was doing a damn good job, and she’d made his dick hard as a rock. Swag was ready to put it on her once he felt the precome rising to his head. Mz. Chocolate was ready too. She reached for his hand so they could go elsewhere.

  “Cum pon, love, let mi tek yuh to yuh room,” Mz. Chocolate said in her thick Jamaican accent. She led him upstairs and into a bedroom that looked like a high-class studio apartment. The room had an urban vibe to it with black and gray furniture.

  Swag closed the door behind them, and they proceeded to the bed, where Mz. Chocolate pushed him down and leaped on top of him like a leopard attacking her prey. They kissed lustfully, and their tongues wrestled vigorously. For Swag, it felt good to feel a woman’s body next to his. He rubbed his hands on her back until he gripped her thick peach ass and caressed it tenderly.

  Mz. Chocolate could feel his hard penis pressing against her, and she wanted to give him something he could feel. She lowered herself and held his manhood in her hands. “Damn, baby, yuh shit looks gud. Plus, yuh get one of dem mushroom heads mi like. Damn, mi hope yuh hood taste as gud as it looks,” she giggled.

  “Ha ha ha,” said Swag sarcastically. “I hope you can suck a dude off as good as you kiss.”

  Mz. Chocolate smiled . . . and delivered. She wasn’t King’s best girl for nothing, but even she knew the boss had a thing for Swag that would cause all hell to break loose sooner rather than later. That night, however, Swag was all hers.

  Chapter 4

  Relief

  If only Swag and Mz. Chocolate knew that King herself was watching their first fuck fest and now their second. She sat in her private security office, looking at the surveillance footage. Hell, she was a king, and for now, this ship was her temporary palace until she reached Costa Rica. She deserved to know every waking move on her ship. The security room and her room were in the same area. It was painted in a sparkly gold and white color. It had a touch of eighteenth-century vibe to it with a white and gold Victorian bed. Sheets were scattered all over the bed, where Paco slept in dreamland. King put the punany on him, and it put his ass to sleep.

  She took her eyes off the screen for a moment to look at Paco. He was surely calling some hogs. King shook her head. Did he really think he did something to my gold-plated vagina and pierced clit? She was pissed at him, and he had the nerve to have a smirk on his face while sleeping! Plus, he’d kicked her expensive Egyptian cotton sheets on the floor and scratched his hairy balls. King was disgusted. She couldn’t believe how a man this fine had a weak dick game. He only knew one position and came after eight short strokes. All that mad game he’d talked at the table while King was getting turned on to Swag meant nothing. If it weren’t for the image of Swag and Mz. Chocolate in her mind while Paco was somewhat dicking her down, she would’ve never come.

  King rolled her eyes and looked back at her screens. She was turned on by how Mz. Chocolate was turning out Swag. She could feel more wetness between her legs. She sat back on the chair, completely naked. King loved her body. Shit, she worked hard with some of the best fitness trainers in the world to get her body cut to perfection. In her opinion, she couldn’t run her kingdom with her body looking whack. She had to be polished from head to toe, and she put forth every effort to look her best. Her best never went unnoticed, and she was sure Swag had taken notice too. She had never been this infatuated with a man in a long time. Not since she was 16. Her first lover broke her heart. Swag reminded her so much of him. From his boldness from standing up to her earlier to Swag’s pretty-boy face to his tone of voice, it told her that Swag used to run shit where he was from. Something about Swag triggered her and made her hot all over. In fact, she thought she was catching a fever, but deep down, she knew it was lust eating her whole body like a virus. After taking a deep breath, she touched the screen and pretended she was touching his face.

  “Don’t worry, baby,” she whispered. “We’ll have our time real soon.” She blew a kiss to the screen and went to her master bathroom to give her a sexual fix.

  Chapter 5

  Reminiscing

  Swag was in bliss after going four rounds with Mz. Chocolate. Being with her was so addictive. He knew he was addicted to her chocolate and needed more. But after four rounds of pure sexing, it was time for a little rest. He gazed up at the ceiling while taking a few puffs of the Cuban cigar. He then looked at Mz. Chocolate, whose arm was wrapped around his sweaty, tatted chest. Even though her hair was all over the place, she was even sexier when she was sleeping. Swag smiled at the Jamaican beauty. At that moment, he felt like “Tony” Montana in Scarface. He took another puff of the cigar and blew out the smoke. Then he snapped back to reality when he looked at the view out of his window and saw nothing but ocean. He shook his head and said, “Damn.” Everything about this felt right, but he knew it wasn’t going to be all good.

  He eased out of bed and put on his boxers that were on the floor. After entering the bathroom, he closed the door and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes looked tired, and his chest had scratches, compliments of Mz. Chocolate, who had obviously had a good time. Swag examined the luxurious bathroom that had a gold toilet, sink, and shower. The one thing he could say about King was the woman had some excellent taste to be so crazy. He turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face. As he looked at his wet face in the mirror, many questions flooded his mind, and he repeated, How the fuck did I get here? Where did the fellas and I go wrong with this operation? I went from a thief, a stickup kid, a dope boy, a drug trafficker, and now, an international fugitive. Shit, I have one hell of a résumé. He laughed, even though he knew the shit he was in wasn’t funny. He didn’t know what his future was going to look like now, and he never thought in a million years that his life would be like this.

  Swag had bigger dreams besides this. He knew that his nana was turning in her grave right now, wondering where she went wrong with her grandson, who had so much potential. Thinking about his nana made him smile. He missed her so much, along with his sons. He looked at his reflection even harder in the mirror and didn’t even recognize the person who was staring back at him anymore. He knew he’d lost someone. It was Solomon Carter. Whatever happened to Solomon Carter?

  Swag couldn’t help but think about how he’d been on his own since he was a teenager. His mother, Juanita Carter, only cared about partying, looking good, drinking, men, and sex. Two years after having Swag, she had triplets—two girls, Tamika, Tamara, and a boy named Mickey Carter. Swag’s father was serving life in prison for a crime he claimed he didn’t commit. Swag and his siblings were mainly raised by his grandma, Nina, whom he called Nana. Nina was more of a mother to him than his mother was.

  When Swag was young, Juanita lost custody of her children, and Nana had full custody of all of them. Swag loved how hardworking his nana was. She worked as a teacher’s aide and told her grandchildren they were all special.

  Remembering his nana brought a big smile to his face, thinking of all the wonderful memories he had of her. He turned on the sink again, using his hand to cup some water to drink and looked up at his reflection once more, and more memories came back.

  Swag remembered he used to love playing basketball, and everyone supported him when he was 13
. Things were good for Swag and his siblings until he was 15, and Nana died suddenly of a massive heart attack. Then Juanita came back in the picture, now claiming she was a changed woman. Juanita was dressed to the nines in designer clothes, hair done, nails done, and she drove a new Mercedes-Benz. She was living high in a fly-ass crib in East St. Louis and had a job as a paralegal. And she also splurged on her children with expensive gifts. After a judge and social worker looked over everything, the courts placed the children back with Juanita.

  But life in East St. Louis was hell for Swag and his siblings. The picture that Juanita and her attorney painted for the judge was fake. She didn’t live in a luxurious home. She lived in a run-down apartment building in the ghetto. And Juanita’s so-called job as a paralegal was really as a drug dealer and runner. Along with her drug money, she received a government check for the kids and went shopping almost every day.

  There was also a new man in her life. His name was Mitch. He was a low-life drug dealer and stickup guy that would rob a 2-year-old if he could. They treated the kids like slaves, and for entertainment, they would beat them. These actions caused the kids to do poorly at their new schools.

  Swag gave up his dreams of being a pro basketball player in the NBA. It wasn’t long before he dropped out of high school and furthered his education in the streets. Robbing, stealing, selling drugs . . . He did it all. By the time he was 17, he’d saved up about $10,000, which he never brought home.

  The thought of his mother pissed him off. He remembered his mother and Mitch telling him and his siblings they would never amount to anything, how his life was never supposed to be that way. He was so pissed he had to take a shit and pissed. He lifted the toilet seat and sat. As he was taking care of business, he remembered a moment that would change his life forever.

  He remembered the night Juanita and Mitch were fighting in their apartment. They fought because Juanita caught him having sex with her 15-year-old daughter, Tamara. As Juanita and Mitch fought, Swag intervened to help his mother. Then Mitch and he started to fight, and a frightened Juanita went into her bedroom and returned with a 9 mm. Unfortunately, she shot Swag by accident. He was bleeding profusely on the floor and in unbearable pain. While Swag was in a coma for a week and a half at the hospital, Juanita threatened to kill anyone who revealed the truth. While lying in the hospital bed, Swag told himself, fuck her! Fuck everything! Fuck his family, and he was thankful that he didn’t leave his stash at the crib.