Hardhearted

by Sherrod Tunstall

  “Now, we’re even.” Paco looked over at Ike, who was in disbelief at what Paco had done. Ike was a lot of things, but a killer wasn’t one of them.

  “Ike, go in the bathroom and get Nash a towel!”

  Ike looked down at the floor.

  “Earth to Ike!”

  Ike looked up at Paco. “Yeah, G?”

  “Get a towel for Nash!” Paco snapped his fingers.

  Ike cut his eyes at Paco and went to the bathroom. He came out and handed Nash the towel. He pressed the cloth against his face to soak up the blood.

  “Thank you all for proving your loyalty to me. Now, go wash up. You gotta get rid of this piece of shit too, and if anyone needs me, I’ll be in my room.” He walked out while leaving his crew to clean up both messes.

  Once in his bedroom, Paco locked the door behind. He lay on the bed, not caring that the blood of two men covered him. He laughed evilly and felt good and proud of his accomplishments.

  Chapter 18

  Eyes and Ears

  Blood and King had finally wrapped up their sex session and kissed each other for a brief moment. He smiled while looking into her beautiful green eyes. The color reminded him of the country plains, where he grew up as a child. Never before had he felt love like this. King meant everything to him. However, in King’s mind, she wasn’t with that love shit. That side of her died a long time ago. She cleared her throat and tapped Blood on his shoulder.

  “Blood, baby, get off me. You’re getting heavy and sweaty.”

  Blood laughed, but before he could turn over, King saw her tablet and started watching the massacres at her mansion. First was Paco’s man, Rock, and then Travis.

  Blood leaned over and looked at her tablet. They watched and heard everything from the misfits of the Hernandez Cartel killing one of their own, to Tyler’s brother and Swag’s homeboy. It amused King and Blood. They loved how friends turning against friends resulted in this.

  “I don’t believe it,” King said, laughing. “Paco, this bastard, actually thinks he has a master plan. He has no idea what’s coming to him.”

  Blood laughed and watched as King switched the monitors back to her palace. She checked in on her girls in their rooms. Some were sleeping alone, some finishing up with clients. Then King checked on Ivy. She should’ve known her mother was with one of her boy toys. She shook her head, but King was just happy she wasn’t with Swag. She tuned in on Tyler, who was tossing and turning in his sleep. Poor guy, she thought. She didn’t know how she was going to explain the gruesome death of his brother. Then King wondered why in the hell she was feeling sorry for someone she barely knew.

  She switched the monitor to Josie, who was getting out of the shower and getting ready for her morning workout. King had big plans for Josie later on that day. King was going to check in on Madam Lourd but decided against it. She was eager to check on Swag, and when she did, he was sleeping shirtless wearing only boxers. She zoomed in on his face but was careful not to upset Blood. He looked at the screen with disgust, and trying to distract King from looking at Swag, he started to tease her nipple. It worked because she dropped the tablet on the floor. Afterward, he stopped. King looked at him with confusion in her eyes.

  “Why did you stop?”

  “Because we need to talk about what we’re going to do with our guests at the mansion. Shit, they half-assed did us a favor by killing Rock and Travis.”

  “Yeah, and they messed up my kitchen and one of my favorite rooms in the house with blood and gore.” She stretched her arms out with a big smile on her face. “But don’t worry, Blood, I have that all under control.”

  “How?”

  “Don’t rush me,” she giggled and went over to her nightstand to get her cell phone. She dialed out. After a few rings, someone picked up. “Yes, Cleo, bring them up, please.” King ended the call.

  Blood looked confused. He and King always discussed plans on how to get money. He didn’t know what was up with that.

  “King, what in the hell is going on?”

  “Shh. It’s all in good fun.” King rubbed his brawn chest.

  Within moments, a knock came at her bedroom door.

  “Come in.”

  Cleo came in dressed in a new black suit with matching black dress shoes. “Good evening, or should I say, good morning, King and Mr. Blood.”

  Blood nodded. “What’s up?”

  “Good morning, Cleo,” King said.

  Cleo stepped to the side and waved his hand. Six beautiful women entered the room in sexy outfits that showcased their bodies.

  “Good morning, King,” the ladies said in unison.

  King smiled while looking them up and down. Blood smiled too.

  “Damn.” He looked over at King. “I know these ladies are gorgeous, but how do they solve our little problem?”

  King got out of bed and flaunted her naked body. Blood’s complete attention was on her.

  “Ladies,” King said and clapped her hands. Without warning, all six ladies were all over Blood like a cheap suit with guns and swords surrounding him. He was outnumbered by six femmes fatales, ready to kill when King gave them the word.

  “Any more questions?”

  “Nope. They’ll do.”

  King laughed at the fact that Blood was off his game. She snapped her fingers, and the ladies put their weapons in places Blood never imagined.

  “What the fuck?” Blood said.

  “Go on, ladies. Play nicely.”

  They left the room with Cleo following behind them.

  Blood took a deep breath. Thank God. He lay his head on the pillow, thinking about King and her kick-ass assassins. She had never tried that shit on him before.

  King laughed, lifted her leg, and kicked Blood on his side.

  “Time’s up,” she said. “Get out!”

  Blood cocked his head back and looked at her as if she were crazy. “What?”

  “Get out! I need to catch up on my beauty sleep. Thank you for a lovely evening, but we’re done.” She kicked him again.

  Blood’s feelings were hurt, but he got up as he was told. “Okay, cool. I’ll see you at breakfast.”

  She winked, but deep inside, Blood was pissed. She’d treated him like he were a common ho in the street without any pay. He left and didn’t dare question her actions.

  Once Blood was gone, King lay back on her messy bed. Her body was tired yet satisfied at the same time. As she was about to close her eyes, her cell phone rang.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Is everything ready?” asked a man with a deep voice.

  King laughed. “Yes.”

  Chapter 19

  Bed and Breakfast

  Later during the morning, everyone was in the dining room enjoying a delicious buffet breakfast of beef tamales, chorreadas (corn pancakes), scrambled eggs, gallo pinto (black beans and rice), bizcochos (pastries), chicharrónes (fried pork belly), and all kinds of fruit, orange juice, and water.

  Madam Lourd looked flawless, and she tried to forget all about her slipup last night. She had on one of her wigs and a white silk robe. Josie was still in her jogging suit, with her hair looking pretty. Swag was enjoying his breakfast while wearing a tank top, shorts, and sneakers.

  Within moments, King joined everyone. She had just gotten out of the shower and had oiled her body with a jasmine scent. Her hair was wrapped in a towel for it to dry, and a white towel covered her body. She wasn’t wearing a drop of makeup and was still tired from last night.

  “Good morning, everyone.”

  They all replied, “Good morning,” as she looked over at the buffet. She wasn’t hungry, so all she got was a glass of orange juice before sitting at the table with everyone.

  Ivy, who looked fresh as a daisy after being dicked down by one of her boy toys, was all dolled up in a blue jean pants suit with her hair slicked back.

  “Damn, daughter, what’s wrong? You look like someone broke your heart. No makeup?”

  King looked at her mother
and rolled her eyes. She knew her mother was trying to push her buttons. But it was too early for King to check her. Instead, she sipped her juice. She didn’t have time to entertain this petty shit right now. Today, she had bigger fish to fry. She took another sip of her drink when she saw Tyler coming into the dining room.

  He nodded to everyone. “Good morning, folks.”

  “Morning,” everyone said.

  With cornrows, a T-shirt, denim jean shorts, and white sneakers on, Tyler walked into the room, nervous as shit . . . mainly because he wanted to know if his other half was dead or alive. He kept a confident look on his face as he went over to the buffet to get some food.

  King cleared her throat and waved to Tyler. “Oh, Tyler, come here. Come sit next to me.”

  Tyler looked at her with a blank expression but joined her at the table.

  “Good morning, King.”

  “Good morning, Tyler. How are you?”

  “Okay, I guess. I miss my brother. Can I see him today? I just have this feeling . . . Can I see him, King? Please.”

  King looked at him, knowing the truth. She saw the hurt in his eyes, but she knew he was trying to remain strong and cocky. Deep down, King wanted to hug him and tell him that his brother was murdered at the hands of Paco. But that would spoil the surprise she had planned for later. She just wasn’t into that emotional shit . . . hugging and caring. She killed that side of her a long time ago. She needed to remain a hardhearted bitch at all times to keep her respect. She pretended to ignore Tyler’s situation, which, to her, was a bore. She wanted to change the subject. She just looked at his cornrows and smiled at him.

  “Who did your braids? One of my girls or Santana?”

  “Nah,” Tyler said. “Hell . . . naw.” Tyler realized Santana was King’s little brother and changed his tone. “I mean, no. I did it myself.”

  “Really? You did a great job.”

  “Thanks. I used to be a barber, plus a stylist back home.”

  “Really?” King said with amazement in her eyes.

  “Yeah,” Tyler replied. He tried to get back to the topic of his brother. “What about my—”

  “Oh, Tyler, can you braid my hair?” King purposely cut him off, and instead of slapping the shit out of him, which was her way of toughing him up, she was giving him the chance to make her look beautiful and doing something that once made him happy.

  Tyler was tired of the subject about his brother being changed, but he had to remember he was now in King’s home. He didn’t want any harm coming his way, so he just kept up with the program. “Sure.” He put on a fake smile. “Sure, I’d love to do your hair.”

  “Good. You can do mine and my daughter’s hair too. Right now. Come on.” She waved at him as she got up and looked over at Josie. She waved at her too. “Come on, my child. We have to get ready. It’s a special day for you too.”

  Josie didn’t say anything. She just got up and walked over to King’s side.

  King kissed her on her cheek and looked over at Blood. “Blood, please make sure Swag, Midnight, and you are in your black suits. Be ready in an hour and a half.” King looked over at Tyler. “Come, Tyler. We’re on a schedule. Plus, there is a score to settle.”

  Chapter 20

  Business Is Business

  Upstairs in the eastern quarters of King’s Palace was a huge, luxurious, personal beauty salon and spa. It had everything that a real beauty shop had and more. The interior was beautiful, with colors from pearl white, gold, and a touch of diamonds. The only pop of color in the whole space was four statues of leopards to rep King’s operation.

  Today was a very special day, and King had to go all-out for her beauty makeover. So she had flown in celebrity manicurist to the stars, Oneisha Lamar, to do both Josie’s and her nails and toes. It cost King a pretty penny to have her, but it was worth every dime for what Oneisha could do to your hands and feet.

  Both ladies got painted nails, except King’s were painted her favorite color, gold. Josie stayed girlie and had hers painted pink. As King was getting her feet and makeup on point, she looked over at her child. She was giving her daughter a little insight on what she and her operation did. King knew it was a bit early to show her this since Josie’s birthday was coming up in a few weeks, where the real orientation was going to begin. King was determined to get Josie out of that fairy-tale, happily-ever-after, pretend world she invented in her mind.

  The only reason King was letting Josie practice ballet and design was to have an outlet to relieve stress. King had no plans for Josie to go anywhere with her talents but to serve the Leopard Clit. King wanted Josie to be a future boss and rule over Costa Rica. But until then, she was going to give Josie some training regarding her world slowly.

  Once their feet and nails were done, along with their makeup beaten to the gods, King and Josie went to the salon side. They both sat in their chairs to get their hair braided by Tyler.

  As Tyler was doing both ladies’ hair, his mind wandered over to his twin. He couldn’t get Travis off his mind, especially after that horrific dream he had last night. But until he could put all the clues together, he focused on doing hair.

  It had been months since he’d cut or styled someone’s hair. He was amazed at how everything came back to him, and he didn’t know if it were nerves or excitement of being back in his own element.

  King had all the styling tools in her salon that Tyler could ever need to perfect both ladies’ hair. When he finished, King looked at herself in the mirror. She was amazed at what he had accomplished. He had styled both of their hair into two French braids with curls on the end.

  “Oh my God! I love it!” King smiled.

  Josie nodded and agreed with her mother.

  Next, they got hooked up by an up-and-coming designer who was making waves in the industry. She styled both ladies in her signature sleeveless jumpsuits.

  King wore a sexy, lacy, black one that left nothing to the imagination. She even put on some gold heels to complete her look. She immediately fell in love with the look. Perfect for the occasion, King thought.

  Josie wore a lacy pink one with white heels.

  King looked in the mirror and thought of herself as a glam goddess, dressed to kill. Josie, on the other hand, felt so out of place. This wasn’t her. She didn’t recognize the girl in the mirror, and she felt uncomfortable wearing a jumpsuit that exposed so much skin, including her breasts. She was much more comfortable in her tomboy chic look.

  King looked over at Josie, knowing that she wasn’t feeling the look. But in King’s eyes, this was part of today’s lesson: The Art of Seduction and Land Your Prey.

  She stood behind Josie and wrapped her arms around her waist.

  “What’s wrong, my child?” King kissed her cheek.

  “Mother, this look. It’s . . . It’s . . .”

  “It’s perfect. Sexy and a lesson I’m going to teach you today.”

  Josie had a blank expression on her face, but she wanted to let King have it. “What lesson?”

  “Shh,” King massaged Josie’s shoulders as they looked in the mirror. “Don’t worry, doll face. You’ll see soon enough. Now, leave and wait for me at the top of the stairs.”

  Josie displayed a fake smile. She’d rather be practicing dancing than having to do whatever King had planned.

  Tyler washed his hands and dried them with a towel. He looked at King’s reflection in the mirror and smiled. “Well, King, if you need anything else, I’ll be in my room.”

  Before he could walk out of the room, King shouted, “Tyler!”

  He looked her way. “What’s up, ma?”

  “You’re coming with me today.”

  Tyler was superhyped. “To see my brother!”

  King laughed and looked back at her reflection in the mirror. She posed and admired how good she looked.

  “I need you to come with me. I have a surprise for you.”

  “What kind of surprise?” Tyler asked with a raised brow.

  King
released a wicked laugh, then snapped at him. “Don’t ask so many questions. Just come on.”

  She walked away.

  “Should I get dressed in a suit too?”

  She looked back at him. “No.” She shook her head. “What you have on is perfect for this occasion. Now, let’s hurry.”

  * * *

  King and Josie pranced down the stairs, looking like they were ready for the runway. The guys, Swag, Blood, and Midnight, looked clean in their all-black suits and resembled Men in Black 4, but in a good way.

  King smiled, especially at Swag. The guys were trying to keep their tongues in their mouths, but most men or women could not resist King and her child.

  King approved of the men’s attire. “You all look good.”

  “Damn, you ladies look beautiful,” Swag complimented.

  He looked at Josie, but she turned her head, trying not to smirk. King went over to Swag and checked his wrapped hand.

  “When we get back, we’ll check on that.”

  King wasn’t going to check on shit. She wanted his undivided attention that was locked on Josie.

  “Sure,” he said.

  King licked his cheek like a sexy kitten. Blood looked at this display with disgust. He was frustrated with King, especially after the way he’d sexed her last night. She could see the fury in his eyes, but King viewed him as a fool.

  “Let’s not stand here,” she said to Swag. “Let’s go.”

  Before anyone left, Tyler rushed down the stairs, feeling out of place. He looked like a common street dude while everyone, including his boy Swag, was dressed to the nines.

  “Now that we’re all here, let’s move out.”

  * * *

  A long, black limousine and two silver Rolls-Royces were parked in front of the Palace.

  “All right, everyone,” King said. “Boys, you all in the limo, and Josephine, you will be in the Rolls-Royce in the middle. Blood, take me to the Rolls-Royce at the end.”

  Josie was kind of shocked by being in a car all by herself. She wanted to speak up but didn’t. She was hoping Swag would be in the car with her. She’d had a weird connection to him ever since they’d met. In her mind, she felt that, next to Madam Lourd, she could talk to him about anything.