Hardhearted

by Sherrod Tunstall

  The next year, the Santiagos didn’t come back. Only Blake did with a note:

  Sorry we have to leave you, my child.

  Your training is complete

  But now it’s time for you

  to take your throne.

  Rule like a king and fuck the queens.

  P.S.

  Blake is our going-away present to you.

  Use him well.

  King cried like a baby after reading that note. She hated and loved them for leaving her like that. They were her drug and heart. She needed them. In a rage, she ripped the letter into small pieces and let it blow in the wind. She breathed heavily while looking over at Blake.

  He looked at her with a stern gaze. “What do you command of me, Boss?”

  King still had the animal hunger in her. Her eyes stayed on Blake like he were her prey. And out of nowhere, she punched him in the nose. He never budged, not even when blood poured out of his nose. To King, the ruby-red blood looked beautiful on his skin.

  “Blood.” King used her fingertip to wipe the blood from off his lip and taste it. “From now on, your name will be Blood. You are my right-hand man of rage.”

  “As you wish, King.”

  King was still enraged about how the Santiagos just left her behind. With all that rage and hatred, she now thought it was time to reclaim what was hers. She was tired of living in a hotel. It was time to get her palace and her kingdom and live like the king she was born to be. She looked back at Blake, now Blood. “Get my goons together. I have a score to settle at the Palace.”

  King called Madam Lourd to the hotel and told her that Ivy needed her now. Once Madam Lourd was gone, only Ingram remained there. King, Blood, and her goons attacked Ingram and tied her up like the pig she was. If anyone got in their way, the Leopard Clit killed him. Once all tied up on a stick, looking like a pig ready to be roasted, King looked at Ingram’s fat, nasty-looking body that made her want to vomit.

  Ingram was frightened and scared, knowing that her reign of being the queen of the Palace was ending. Ingram knew her Karma was going to catch up to her one day, but she didn’t expect it so soon. She looked at King. “Who are you?”

  King looked at her and shook her head. “Fuck the queens! I’m King Kia Costello. I’m taking my place on the throne.”

  King punched Ingram hard in her mouth, knocking out some of her teeth. “That was for my mother.” King then took out the switchblade that Zeus gave her and cut out both of Ingram’s eyeballs. Ingram screamed in agony and shook like crazy.

  “That’s for me, bitch!”

  Ingram continued to scream, and that made King regret cutting out her eyes. She wished Ingram could see the sinister smile King displayed. King realized that she wasn’t deaf, so she laughed evilly. Ingram was in pain and angry, but she fought through the pain.

  “Fuck you! Fuck you! You high yella bitch and your family. Fuck you all!” She wished that she wasn’t tied up so she could hit King’s pretty face.

  King smiled. “Shut up!”

  Ingram continued cussing her out and calling her names other than her royal title.

  “Boys!” King yelled.

  Her goons came in and bowed down to her. “Yes, King!”

  King came up with a brilliant idea. “Cut out her tongue, and skin her alive. I don’t want any piece of skin left on that bitch!”

  The goons obeyed. “As you wish, King!”

  “What!” screamed a bloody, blind Ingram. “Noooo!”

  The goons started to cut Ingram, who screamed hysterically. King laughed as Ingram’s blood, tongue, and flesh hit the floor. Ingram’s screams faded by the second as she was dying.

  King inspected Ingram’s bloody, skinless body. It seemed like she was trying to hold on for dear life. “Oh, how the mighty has fallen.” King looked back at her goons. “Burn her! I want to make sure this bitch is dead.”

  The goons burned Ingram, and her death was confirmed. King smiled and left, very pleased that day. She knew, at that moment, it was the rise of a hardhearted King, and love didn’t live in her heart anymore.

  Chapter 32

  Back to the Future

  King was done with all the reminiscing about her rise to power and her long lost loves, Mr. and Mrs. Santiago. Her eyes were still glued on Swag and Josie sleeping peacefully. Then King’s cell phone went off. She picked it up and read the text message from Blood.

  They’re here.

  King smiled, knowing that text made her day. She texted back.

  Good. Meet me at the beach.

  Blood responded: Will do boss.

  King put down her phone and looked back at Swag and Josie. She’d had enough of this now, and she didn’t want her future man and her child to get any closer than this.

  Time to break the mood, she thought.

  She put the cigarette out, stood, and clapped her hands. “All right! All right! Time to wake up, you sleepyheads! Wake up!”

  Both Swag and Josie’s faces were twisted. They were still tired as hell from last night’s events.

  “Come on, let’s move!”

  Swag and Josie got out of the bed, covering themselves up.

  King laughed. “It’s too late to cover that up. I already seen it and felt it all.”

  Swag and Josie felt embarrassed.

  King looked over at Josie. “Josephine, get your clothes together. The car is waiting downstairs for you to take you back home.”

  Josie removed the sheets and quickly put her clothes back on. After she got herself halfway together, she left the room. King and Swag were now alone in the suite. She loved the idea of being alone with him, and she wanted some more sex. But right now, sex had to wait until later. King walked over to him and touched his tatted chest.

  “Damn, last night was good.” She kissed him.

  Swag was pleased too. He thanked God for letting him have the strength to handle King, but his head started to hurt a little bit.

  “You okay, baby?” King asked in a soft voice.

  “Yeah, my head is just a little out of it.”

  “Aww, poor baby.” She kissed his cheek. “Why don’t you take a shower? When you get out, I’ll have something waiting for you for that hangover.” She kissed him again.

  He smiled. “Okay.”

  As Swag headed to the bathroom, King smacked his ass. After he closed the bathroom door, she sat on the bed, picked up the phone, and called for room service.

  Swag had wrapped up his shower. He rubbed himself with lotion and brushed his teeth. He felt like a million bucks as he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked out. The suite was clean to perfection and smelled like vanilla. He looked over at King, who was smiling and sitting on the bed. She had a shopping bag sitting next to her. Swag looked at the bag with suspicion.

  “Hey, King.”

  King carried the bag over to him. “Here. I had the hotel pick up some things for you. Put these on and be down in the lobby in thirty-five minutes.” She kissed him again and exited the room.

  Swag sighed from relief and shook his head. He was tired of being fake to impress a woman that could kill him in the blink of an eye. And after last night, not him, but Josie too. He had to admit that King’s puss was the bomb. The shit was addictive. He thought about banging her a few more times before escaping. He even thought of Josie and having taken her virginity. He hadn’t had a virgin since Brazil. At other times, he would’ve loved to have a virgin, but this time it was different. Josie was still a child, and he felt like it was rape, knowing she was only 18. But even though he was forced to sleep with her, Swag still felt a connection with her. It was the feeling he had with Zaria, once upon a time long ago . . . until he messed up with his cheating. Swag’s mind was all over the place. He looked over at the clock to see he only had twenty minutes left. By then, Swag got his shit together and opened the bag. Inside were floral swim trunks with a matching shirt and flip-flops. He looked at the items and rushed to put them on. The last thing he wanted to do was piss
off King. He’d come too far now to mess up.

  Swag went down to the hotel lobby, where King waited for him. He smiled at her as he walked up to her and kissed her. King giggled. She loved this side of him.

  She checked him out. His attire was perfect. “Looking good,” she said.

  Swag nodded. “Thanks, ma.”

  “Now, come on. Let’s head on out. I still have the other half of your surprise.”

  Swag had utterly forgotten about the secret surprise King had planned for him after a wild night of sex. He didn’t know how much more he could take from this woman. King took his hand and led him out of the hotel.

  While driving down the streets of Costa Rica, which felt like forever, the driver finally reached Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. It was the most popular beach destination on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. It was a beautiful day to go to the beach. The sun shone brightly, the breeze was perfect, and it was peaceful. The beach looked vacant, but there was a picnic table waiting for someone and a carnival on the other side of the beach. Swag wondered what in the world was going on and if he were being set up.

  “Come,” King said as she got out of the car.

  Swag got out, and they walked on the beach to the picnic table where some food and goodies were set up. Swag loved looking at the carnival down the way, and he thought of how much his boys would’ve loved it. His mind then shifted to what had happened last night. He figured King wanted to have a romantic date on the beach. He smiled and didn’t think it was a bad idea.

  “Solomon, have a seat and enjoy this brunch.” King was excited about the surprise she had bottled inside of her.

  Swag thanked her and got a plate with French toast, some fruit, and a glass of juice. As he was eating, he could tell King had something else up her sleeve. She took her hair down and let it blow in the wind. As Swag watched her, King poured herself a glass of champagne and dropped two strawberries in it. She looked at the beautiful blue water. She had seen it so many times before, and it never got old. Then her cell phone rang. It was Blood.

  “Yes.”

  “We’re here, and I see you.”

  “Good. Come down.”

  She turned off her phone, put it in her pocket, and looked at Swag, who was chewing and cutting up his food.

  “Good food?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes. It’s great.”

  King turned around, so Swag looked to see what she was gazing at. Almost immediately, his eyes grew wide, and tears filled them. It was like God had answered his prayers. Blood had Swag’s oldest son’s hand, and Desiree was holding his baby boy. As they got closer to him, Swag couldn’t believe this was real.

  “My boys!” Swag looked over at King.

  King smiled. “Surprise!”

  Swag was in shock. He couldn’t believe King had pulled this shit off. He thought she was joking earlier about seeing his children again. He was still a fugitive and didn’t believe it would ever happen. Swag knew that King hated to be questioned, but he couldn’t hold his questions any longer.

  “King, what? How did you—”

  She clamped her hand over his mouth. “Shh . . .” She laughed. “Go over and enjoy your sons and celebrate your oldest boy’s birthday.”

  “King, you know I’m a fugitive, right? How’d you get my boys over here?”

  “Solomon, dear, I just had some of my goons go to St. Louis and do a little overnight delivery for me. But don’t worry about the law. As far as I’m concerned, I am the law. Get up and enjoy your family. Let’s just say this is an early X-mas gift from me. Enjoy.”

  Swag took a deep breath. For the moment, he was going to make the good out of a fucked-up situation. He wiped his tears and rushed up to his sons.

  “Daddy,” Li’l Swag said.

  Swag fell to his knees and kissed his son’s smooth face. This was surreal to him. He was overcome by his emotions. He stood and removed Namond from Desiree’s arms. In Swag’s eyes, his baby boy had gotten so much taller since the last time he’d seen him. Swag smiled at his baby.

  “Hi, Namond. I’m your daddy.”

  Namond looked at Swag and smirked at him.

  His smile melted Swag’s heart, and at that moment, nothing else mattered to him.

  “Solomon, why don’t you take your sons and enjoy the beach? And don’t forget the carnival around the way. This is your day to do whatever the hell you want.”

  Swag smiled at King, who was smiling too. “Thank you.” He looked at Namond and down at Li’l Swag. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  They rushed over to the water and left King, Blood, and Desiree to themselves.

  King thanked Blood and Desiree, and she gave Desiree a passionate kiss. The ladies stopped kissing and looked at each other. King told her to take her car back to the Palace and be in her suite when she returned. Knowing what was in store for her, Desiree hurried to the car and left.

  Alone with Blood, King went into boss mode again. But before she could say anything, Blood asked, “Are you out of your fuckin’ mind, King? Bringing that bitch’s little bastards across the world, for what? His ass! Woman, what kind of spell does this American have on you? This isn’t the King I know.”

  King sat down, took a sip of her drink, and didn’t trip. Blood’s words went in one ear and out the other. She looked at the ocean and checked out Swag and his sons, who were splashing water on each other.

  “King, are you listening to me? You know by doing this, it could put the organization at risk. What if—”

  King couldn’t take any more of Blood’s mouth. She jumped up and slapped the dog shit out of him. “Shut up!”

  Blood grunted and mean mugged her. His first thought was to choke the shit out of her ass for disrespecting him. He didn’t go there because he figured King’s spies were on the beach, and they would surely kill him. She pointed her finger in his face.

  “First off, you’d better put a smile on that face.”

  Blood straightened his face, but on the inside, he was boiling mad.

  “Second, I run this damn show and not the other way around. So, I suggest you wait in your car and cool down until I’m done.”

  Blood just stared at her without responding.

  “Now, dammit!”

  He tried to hold back tears of rejection and disrespect. He couldn’t believe how much he hated this woman but was still in love with her all at the same time. He shook his head while walking back to the car.

  It was starting to get a little warm, and King needed a cool drink. She got one and continued to look at Swag and his boys. She loved the view, and while thinking about them, she pulled out her cell phone to check the latest news. One of the headlines read: Two siblings abducted in a St. Louis Park.

  King pressed the link, and the video of the whole story appeared.

  “I’m Greta Armstrong of CNN, and I’m here with the latest news. This story has made national headlines. Recently, two brothers, Solomon and Namond Carter, were abducted from Heman Park in University City, Missouri. What was supposed to be a nice family outing turned into a mother’s worst nightmare.”

  The news showed pictures of both brothers. Then Greta showed the boy’s mother, Zaria Mitchell, who had recently graduated from college a few weeks back. There was more footage of Zaria crying hard with her mother and boyfriend consoling her.

  Zaria broke down and said, “All I want are my babies. Bring them back!” she screamed at the camera.

  King laughed at the whole situation. Who is her acting coach?

  Then the camera went back to Greta.

  “The children were taken by masked men who didn’t leave many clues. The FBI isn’t sure what the motive was for taking the boys. The boys are the sons and cousins of Solomon Carter, known as Swag on the streets, and Brad Carter. Both men are international fugitives wanted in Brazil.”

  Both Brad’s and Swag’s mugshots flashed across the screen.

  Then the focus was back on Greta.

  “If anyone knows the whereabouts of the
boys or the fugitives, Solomon and Brad Carter, please call your local police.”

  King turned off her cell phone and continued to enjoy the view.

  In the car, a raging Blood wanted to tear it apart. He wanted to beat the shit out of King. He was a man—a real man. His mind was in limbo over what he should do about this situation. He knew he loved the old King, but this monster she was daily becoming he didn’t like. And to put the frosting on the cake, Swag made it worse. Blood had to keep her tame. He still wanted her to be his. He scrolled through the names in his cell phone, looking for a bag of his own little tricks. He was determined to get some type of control. Finally, he found the name he was looking for and dialed it.

  Within moments, someone answered. “Yes.”

  Blood took a deep breath. “I need help, G.”

  The person laughed. “Lucky for you that I’m in town visiting one of my ladies.”

  “Good, let me call the other guest, and let’s meet up at the Apartotel La Sabana Hotel in an hour. I’ll tell King I’m meeting some fellas for drinks.”

  “Cool, see you then.”

  Blood hung up, ready to get some shit moving now.

  Chapter 33

  The Rat Pack

  Blood soon went to the Apartotel La Sabana Hotel and actually went to the same suite where King, Swag, and Josie had enjoyed their threesome. He looked around the room, and even though it was clean, he sickened at the thought of King with Swag. Blood shook his head, trying to eliminate the nasty thought from his mind.

  He sat at the table, putting his briefcase on it. Blood pulled out a Cuban cigar, lit it, and took a few pulls. Then he blew out thick smoke, filling the room.

  So many things ran through his mind. What happened to King? She is so blinded by that pretty American boy, wanting the same thing she saw in Zeus. She’s starting to lose focus on the business and me.