Hardhearted

by Sherrod Tunstall

  Chapter 7

  The Kingdom

  Everyone finally arrived at King’s Palace, which was in the middle of downtown San José. From the outside, it looked like a twelve-story, five-star hotel where only the rich and famous stayed. Everyone got out of their limousines, looking around. Paco stretched his arms and legs. He was relieved to be out of such discomfort. But nothing pissed him off more than when he glanced over and saw Swag and King getting out of their limo. His eyes went straight to Swag’s. If his eyes were bullets, Swag would be lying down on the ground, drenched in blood.

  “Boss, you good?” Midnight asked, tapping Paco on his shoulder.

  Paco snapped out of his murderous thoughts. He looked at his main dude. “What you say, big homie?”

  “You good, Boss?” Midnight nodded. “I know that look in your eyes.”

  Midnight knew his boy to the tee, ever since they were kids. When Paco had that “look” in his eyes, it was time for someone to be taken off the scene. But Midnight had to keep in mind that they weren’t in Texas anymore. Now, he was in the King’s domain. And from what he saw on the cruise ship, this chick was no one to fuck with.

  “Nah, big homie, I’m good,” Paco said. His eyes shifted to King, and his thoughts returned. Now, I have to get up with this crazy bitch so I can reclaim the position that is rightly mine. Shit, I didn’t break out of that Brazilian shithole for nothing. The Hernandez Cartel will be mine.

  “Excuse me, homie.” Paco hurried to get next to King. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders like she was his woman, forgetting he had a wife back in Texas.

  King hissed and gave him a look of “Bitch, what?” To her, his touch was like a hairy ape to her jasmine-scented skin. She wanted to use her switchblade that she used to cut Swag’s hand with and slice Paco’s throat. But she was too close, and she needed Paco at that moment.

  “How was the ride?” she asked with a fake smile. “Were your expectations met?”

  Paco laughed as he kissed her petal-soft lips. “Ma, you did that shit. You really know how to welcome someone to Costa Rica.”

  King laughed, but deep down, to her, his kiss was like poison. It was worse than his dick. “I aim to please.”

  Paco then looked at Swag with a slick smile. He glanced at Swag’s hand that was covered by a handkerchief with blood seeping out. “Damn, playboy, what happened to you?” Paco pretended to be concerned, but inside, he was dancing with joy.

  Swag didn’t respond because he saw the twins coming their way.

  “What’s up, bruh?” Tyler asked, patting Swag on his shoulder.

  “Yeah, man, what’s up?” Travis said as he looked at Swag’s hand. “Damn, man, you okay? What happened to you?”

  Travis looked at King with cold eyes. He wanted to slice her throat open like a piece of fruit. His blood was boiling at the sight of this woman. To him, King was like Satan in a nightie. He balled his fist up and thought about what she’d done to his finger. Luckily, his wound had been tended to. He still wanted revenge, though, but he snapped back into reality when Blood showed his gun, and King played with her switchblade.

  “You better put a smile on that face when you around the King and on her property,” Blood said, waving his gun around.

  Travis knew not to challenge Blood. He just put his head down, knowing he was defeated. Whomever King hired as an undercover sniper, they were ready to blow anyone’s brains out at her command. The only thing Travis had on his mind was sweet revenge for King. An eye for an eye, he thought. But in my case, a finger for a finger.

  “Gentlemen, let’s not stand outside. Let’s go inside my home,” King suggested.

  She, along with Paco, walked side by side to the front door of her palace. Then King looked at Paco and cleared her throat.

  “Are you okay?” Paco asked, concerned with his future queen looking at him like he was one of her victims.

  “First off, Paco, this is my palace, and you’re a guest. The King will make the grand entrance into her palace alone. Your job is to be eight steps away from me until I send for you.” King rubbed the switchblade on Paco’s hand, covering it with Swag’s blood.

  No one knew what to expect from King at that moment. Was Paco her next victim or not? Swag remembered in the documentary that when King rubbed her switchblade on you, it meant she didn’t want whoever touching her. He also recalled from the documentary that the last man that touched her didn’t stop after the switchblade warning. When he stuck his tongue out to lick her cheek, she used scissors to clip the tip of his tongue off. The man was in unbearable pain with blood spurting everywhere. But she wasn’t done with him. She used her switchblade to cut the man’s whole tongue out and fed it to her Doberman pinscher.

  Paco looked at his hand and saw that King had covered it with Swag’s blood. “Eww, what the hell?” He removed his arm from King’s shoulder. Deep down, he was scared shitless. Not because of King’s psycho ass, but because some of Swag’s DNA was on his hand. Paco wanted to vomit right then and there but managed to keep it together. It was bad enough he was business partners with Swag. That was something he already regretted. But in the end, Paco believed he was going to be the captain of this ship—or die trying, as long as he kept his cool. He wiped the blood on his pants.

  Once King was by herself, her doorman, Cleo, an older, dark-skinned man, was at the door. Cleo had been the doorman for years at the building, way before it was King’s Palace. The stories he could tell about that building weren’t pretty. He smiled at King and her guests and opened the golden doors.

  King walked into her palace but not before saying, “Thank you, Cleo.”

  “You’re very welcome, Your Highness,” Cleo smiled and bowed down to her.

  Inside her home, King looked around. It was absolutely stunning with a seventeenth-century Victorian-style vibe to it that made it look like a touch of royalty. The colors were white and gold with touches of diamonds everywhere, including the grand hall. Floor-to-ceiling white columns separated several rooms, and a double-circular staircase led to the upper loft level. The fellas were in awe. Their eyes were as big as saucers. They thought they’d died and gone to heaven.

  Swag knew that King ran an elegant business as far as whorehouses, but, damn. It wasn’t just the décor of King’s Palace. More beautiful women stood around that made the men’s jaws drop. They knew the women were escorts, but they weren’t the typical hookers they would see back at home. It was evident that King had trainers coming to her palace to keep her ladies right because the girls’ bodies were snatched to the gods.

  Swag remembered in the documentary how King would turn her girls out. Some of them were working for low-life pimps in other countries, showgirls/strippers in local clubs around the world, and some were local college girls trying to pay off their tuition. King would pick a part of the world and scout for girls or guys. Some of the people she would meet were either gay, bisexual, or straight. It didn’t matter to her because money was money. She would talk realistic shit by telling them they could live a life of luxury, comfort, be wined and dined for doing almost absolutely nothing. Eventually, they got hooked. They enjoyed the lavish lifestyle, as well as catering to some of the wealthiest people in the world from A-list Hollywood celebrities to political leaders all over, and royalty, including men from Saudi Arabia.

  King was amazed at what some of the influential people liked. One of her clients was one of the famous religious leaders in the world, especially in the Roman Catholic faith. King had evidence that the leader dressed in full-blown drag and loved to be pimped out like a trashy hooker. She knew the tapes she had in her possession would create a massive scandal throughout the world. The money she could get for the recordings would be enough money to take care of a small foreign company for thirty-plus years. But King would save those tapes for another time.

  King looked at the guys and shook her head. “Uh, gentlemen, put your tongues back in your mouths. Flies will enter.”

  All eyes were on King
.

  “Now, you, you, and you come with me.” She pointed at Tyler, Midnight, and Swag. She looked over at Blood. “Blood, dear, show our other guests out, please.”

  Paco don’t know what the hell was going on while standing there looking dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe he wasn’t staying in her palace. He was heated and pissed off on another level. “What? What about the rest of us? Why are these three the only ones staying in your place? I thought we”—he pointed to himself and King—“were partners? Why is my boy and these puta niggers staying and not me? Bitch, we had a deal! Why you—”

  Before Paco could say another word, Swag punched the shit out of him.

  “Who the hell you callin’ a bitch, nigga? Bitch!” Swag yelled.

  Tyler kicked him in his stomach. “Yeah, you wetback!”

  Usually, Midnight would go to his man’s defense, but not knowing what King’s next move was, he didn’t move. In Midnight’s mind, it was every man for himself.

  King enjoyed watching Swag and Tyler whip Paco’s ass, but she needed them both to save their strength. She had other plans for them. King didn’t like Paco’s ass in the beginning, and after he called her a bitch, well, that was total disrespect to her. She’s killed someone for disrespecting her, especially in her home and place of business. The fire in her was flaming hot in her mind. She looked at her switchblade. She imagined herself stabbing Paco many times, starting with his eyeballs. She wanted to cut them out and eat them like Swedish meatballs. She badly wanted to taste his blood, but she needed his power. Her hunger would have to wait. She motioned over to Blood.

  Blood nodded. He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out his gun, and fired into the ceiling.

  Everyone paused, frightened. Immediately, Swag and Tyler stopped beating Paco’s ass and looked over at Blood.

  “Now that I have your attention!” Blood shouted as he put his gun back in his coat pocket. He looked at King for her next plan of action.

  King looked down at Paco, bleeding on the floor. He wiped his bloody lip and could barely talk because several teeth were missing.

  “Do you see what they did to me? Aren’t you going to do something? I didn’t mean to call you a bitch.”

  King bent over and held his face up with her hand. Paco didn’t know what to expect from her, but he knew it wouldn’t be good. King saw Paco’s blood on his lips, so she stuck her tongue out to lick it off.

  “Umm, delicious . . .” She sinisterly smiled at him before standing straight up. Afterward, she lifted her foot and kicked him right in the balls.

  “Aah . . .” Paco hollered in agony while holding his aching manhood and rocking side to side.

  Everyone laughed at him.

  “Blood, have security throw out this piece of shit and the rest of these fools before there’s a blood feast in here.” King looked at Swag, Tyler, and Midnight. “You three come with me.”

  She led the way as the three young men followed. Tyler looked back at Travis, and like always, Travis’s hands shook from being nervous. Deep down, he wanted Tyler to speak up for him, but he knew this was all about survival. He just hoped that he and Tyler wouldn’t be separated. They were all they had in this crazy life of crime.

  No one knew what was going on, but they could hear chaos erupting.

  “Release me, you idiots!” Paco yelled.

  “Silence yourself before we break your fucking neck!” a guard ordered.

  Two security guards picked up Paco, who was downright humiliated. No one had his back anymore, not even his main man, Midnight. Bitch-ass gorilla African!

  As security dragged him out of the Palace, he remembered one rule his grandpa had told him: “In this life of crime, as soon as you fall, they will all leave you. Trust no one.” Security placed him in the limousine, and Paco thought about Brazil and his asshole of a father. Maybe I should’ve taken the lawyer’s offer and left these sheisty muthafuckas in that shithole in Brazil. Hell, I could’ve been at home with my wife and child. I would’ve killed my father by now, and the Hernandez Cartel would’ve been mine. Fuck, I had the chance and didn’t take it. Now, I’m in Costa Rica being disrespected by one of the most dangerous women in the world. But I’m going to get my respect—one way or another.

  * * *

  Inside the Palace, once all the drama was gone, Blood barked at everyone. “What, people? The show is over! Ladies and gents, do what you know how to do.”

  Blood walked off and could tell a storm was brewing.

  Chapter 8

  Meet the Family

  King escorted both Tyler and Midnight to their rooms on the tenth floor. She told them to get settled in, but not to get too comfortable yet.

  She and Swag were about to head up in the elevator to the twelfth floor until an older woman shouted, “King! King, sweetie!”

  Both King and Swag turned around and saw two women coming their way. One of the women appeared to be King’s older sister. She looked about 37 and had green eyes, just like King. Swag wondered where King and the woman had gotten those beautiful green eyes from. Even though she was a little heavier, she still had a lovely figure that showed well in a black blouse, denim ripped jeans, and Gucci sandals. Her makeup was beat to the gods, but she didn’t need it because of her perfect olive complexion. She also rocked the famous Halle Berry short cut. The other woman beside her looked to be in her 60s but was still attractive for her age. Even though she was a little older, she had an hourglass frame that showed well in a long, blue, velvet gown. Her caramel complexion was wrinkle-free and smooth like honey. She set it off with diamonds on her earlobes, neck, fingers, and wrists.

  “Mama! Grandma!” King shouted with a big smile on her face.

  Swag admired King’s smile when seeing her mother and her grandmother. She looked genuine and angelic. King and the women embraced each other in a group hug.

  When King was around her mother and grandma, she felt so safe. She could put her boss mode guard down and just be a woman. There was nothing like the family in her mind. King didn’t know what she would do if anything were to happen to her mother and grandmother. The women stopped hugging and looked at one another.

  “God, Mommy and Grandmother, I missed you both so much.” King’s voice cracked. She sounded as if she hadn’t seen her mother and grandmother in years.

  Swag couldn’t believe what he was looking at right now. The King he’d first met or seen in the documentary, or on the ship, in the limousine, and the grand hallway was nothing like the girl he saw now. She was now this vulnerable, caring, and loving person. To Swag, it was like he was looking at two different people. It was like a Dr.-Jekyll-and-Mr.-Hyde-type moment.

  The older woman said something in her Creole language, and Swag was totally lost at this point.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Mommy missed you so much.” Her mother kissed King on her forehead.

  King melted like butter when her mother kissed her. She loved her mother so much despite their earlier years of conflict and neglect. But with lots of healing, talking, and, of course, Grandmother King, their relationships got better.

  King’s mother smiled at her, but her eyes traveled to Swag. She looked him up and down like he was something to eat. She walked around her daughter and sauntered up to him. There was a hunger for him in her eyes. She wanted to devour every last drop of him. He was that delicious to her. She wanted to sex him right then and there in the hallway and fanned herself with her hand.

  “God, it’s hot in here.”

  One thing she could say about her daughter was that she had good taste when it came to men. She just hoped that one day, King would find the right one and make better choices in them than she ever did. She looked Swag up and down again. His clothes were a little wrinkled, but she knew once King cleaned him up and put him in a nice suit, he’d be just fine. She figured Swag was going to make her daughter a lot of money and be number one for female clients.

  “Well, hello, there, big fella,” she said, then looked at King.
“Darling, who is this sexy man?”

  Swag had a lump in his throat. It was bad enough King was on his jock. The last thing he wanted to be was cougar candy, even though in the back of his mind, he was flattered.

  King just smiled at the fact her mother was flirting with Swag. One thing she knew about her mother ever since she’d been sober was that she had a thing for younger men from the ages of 18 to 25. She would have her time with them and then send them on their way. But King felt the only reason her mother liked messing with younger men was that she was trying to relive the last few years she’d missed out on. She went from going drug crazy, after major humiliation from being the hottest escort of all of Costa Rica, to a local crack whore. But King was happy that her mother was back on the right track, and that she stayed that way.

  King’s mother went over to Swag and rubbed his chest. “What’s your name, Boss?”

  Swag cleared his throat and grinned at King’s mother. “Ma’am, I’m—”

  “This is Solomon. My Solomon, Mother,” King said, cutting Swag off and standing next to him. “Solomon, this is my mother, Ivy Costello.” She pointed to her mother.

  Swag nodded.

  Ivy blew him a kiss, but she also knew when King said, “My Solomon” that he was in the house for a purpose. And that any man or woman like that was off-limits. As fine as Swag was, Ivy knew she and King were going to bump heads. For now, things were going to remain neutral.

  King shook her head as she looked over at the much-older lady. “And, Solomon, this is Sophia Lourd, my grandmother.”

  Sophia smiled and held her hand in Swag’s face. She wanted him to kiss it. “My hand. Kiss it.”

  Without hesitation, Swag obeyed.

  “Nice, soft lips,” Sophia said. She looked at his wrapped hand. “What happened to your hand, young man?”

  Before Swag could answer, King interjected. “Oh, baby, uh, go up to the next floor. There’s a bathroom up there on the far right with a medicine kit. You should find something in there to heal that wound.”