Hardhearted

by Sherrod Tunstall

  “Hmm,” King stopped brushing Josie’s hair. She put the brush down and rubbed her shoulders and neck. At first, the rubs were soft, but then they turned rough. “Was that all you and Solomon did? Talk and drink coffee? Nothing else happened, right? No hanky-panky or lip-locking, besides that one night?” King began choking Josie. “The last thing I want the heiress to the throne to be is attracted to some man. I want you to be feared, strong, and not afraid of anything.”

  Josie gagged. She didn’t know if King was going to snap her neck or choke her to death. King let her go and swung her around so they could be face-to-face.

  “Josephine, I want you to tell me the truth. Did you do anything, no matter how small it is? Did you fuck Solomon today?”

  Josie rubbed her throat and coughed a little. “No, Mom, we just talked. That’s all, nothing more.”

  King stared into Josie’s eyes. She had to take her word for it. “Okay. Just stay away from Solomon. He’s mine.” She softly touched her face. “I love you so much. Don’t disappoint me.” King kissed Josie on her forehead. “Good night, my child.”

  Josie smiled. “Good night, Mother.”

  King patted her head and left the room. Once she was gone, the iciness disappeared. Josie took deep breaths. She wiped her face all over again and thought about how fast she needed to get out of there.

  King walked down the hallway more pissed off than she was before and ready to kill someone. She was heated about the situation between Swag and Josie. She needed some sweet chocolate to cool her down, so she decided to head on down to Desiree’s room.

  Chapter 39

  Payback Is a Mutha

  Tyler and Santana went out on a date that night after all the shit Tyler went through with Swag. In Tyler’s mind, it was official that Swag’s and his brotherhood and friendship were dead forever. Tyler saw red and wanted complete revenge on Swag for fucking up his life. He wanted to see Swag’s blood spill, but he knew that was impossible with Swag being under the protection of King. Tyler knew the only person that could save him was none other than Santana.

  After the altercation, Tyler and Santana spent most of the day together. The first thing Santana did to make Tyler better was they had sex. Soon after, both men worked up an appetite, so Santana took Tyler to one of his favorite restaurants where they ate like kings. Also, they went to the beach for some fun in the sun and more sex. They knew people were around, but they didn’t care. Then they went to the mall for some new outfits.

  When night settled in, Santana took Tyler to The Dungeon, one of the hottest gay clubs in San José where anything and everything went down . . . from dancing, drugs, to everyone having sex in the bathroom or club basement. People got their freak on. The music was lit. It was Tyler’s first time in a gay club, but he was going to hang with the best of them. He was still trying to get used to what he and Santana were doing with each other. He wasn’t fully ready to accept the fact that he was a gay man. He still believed that he was bisexual and found women as desirable as a man. Santana, on the other hand, just took it one day at a time with Tyler. They spent half of the night dancing, tonguing each other down, snorting cocaine, and drinking.

  Tyler stopped dancing for a moment and went into the bathroom. Once there, he saw a man suck another man off. In the past, he would’ve gotten turned on, but he had to take a leak. Once he was done relieving himself, he went to the sink and checked out his reflection in the mirror. He looked at his bruised cheek. All his thoughts went back to the events that happened earlier between Swag and him. He hated thinking about him. In his mind, Swag had died and gone straight to hell. Only two things would give him complete sanity for all the shit he’d been through: One, get the hell out of Costa Rica, and two, see Swag’s head on a silver platter.

  After he washed his hands, he went to the booth Santana had reserved for them. Santana snapped his fingers to the music while snorting cocaine on the table. He and Tyler were full-blown cokeheads, but it was all about celebrating that night. Santana knew Tyler was hurting from his losses, but in Santana’s mind, it was like, damn. He figured if he were going to keep supplying this sweet cocaine to Tyler, he needed to start kicking in. The shit was expensive, but for the time being, Santana just loved having the guy of his dreams by his side.

  Now that Santana had his prince beside him, the other thing he wanted was his own empire. Santana was tired of living in the shadow of his big half-sister.

  Tyler stopped snorting and had a sad look on his face, which caught Santana’s eye. He tapped Tyler’s shoulder, which startled him. Being around King, her goons, and Blood for so long made Tyler jumpy.

  “San, you scared me.”

  “Sorry about that, bae. What’s up with you? You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m good,” Tyler said, lowering his head.

  Santana lifted his chin. “What’s up?”

  “Nothin’, man. Just thinking about my brother. I miss his ass so much.”

  Santana sometimes envied the relationship Tyler once had with his twin. Tyler told Santana stories at night about him and Travis growing up. Santana had always wanted that sibling bond with King, but she hated him, mainly because of his father. If it weren’t for the love of his mother and Madam Lourd, he would’ve killed his sister a long time ago. He had a feeling she had her hand in his dad’s death. In Santana’s mind, King was beginning to lose her way as a ruler. It was time for a new emperor of Costa Rica, and that was him. Santana was working on new ways to build his upcoming kingdom. He worked with an up-and-coming drug dealer that sold good-ass dope. He hated that King let all that good drug money slip on by. If she hadn’t, she’d have more money than God. In Santana’s eyes, it was the dawn of a new era, and all the competitors saw it. King was so wrapped up in Swag and Josie that she didn’t realize that she was breaking her own rule: Love was weak. Santana believed it was finally the right time to make his move.

  He continued to chill and wait for the big puzzle for tonight’s outing. He took a sip of his drink and looked over at Tyler, who went back to snorting.

  “You need to slow down on that shit,” Santana said.

  Tyler wiped the tip of his nose. “Man, I can handle this. I’ve been doing shit like this since I was in middle school. I got this.”

  Santana took his hand. “Just chill on that shit, man. I brought you here to take care of this business. You want revenge on that bastard Swag, right?”

  Coldness was trapped in Tyler’s eyes. Just thinking or hearing about that dude pissed him off all over again. He was even pissed at himself that he’d let his guard down and had gotten his ass kicked. Tyler had erased every good memory of Swag and him.

  “Fuck, yeah, I want revenge on that son of a bitch. When the time is right, his ass is mine.” Tyler punched the table.

  Now, that’s the man I fell in love with, Santana thought.

  “So, San, how are we goin’ to do that?”

  “You’ll see.”

  As the night went on, the music in the club got louder. The dance floor was packed. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a very special guest came to their booth.

  Santana shook his hand. “What’s good, Blake?”

  “What’s up, li’l brother?” he said.

  Tyler’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe Blood was in their booth.

  He looked at Tyler with disgust, mainly because he couldn’t stand Swag. Also, he didn’t like fruity-ass men, and he couldn’t believe how Tyler turned gay overnight. Blood didn’t know what kind of spell Santana put on these straight guys, but Blood was just glad his black magic didn’t work on him. He hated being in a gay club, especially when King wanted to go to get action or turn one of the boys out. For him, though, it was a good meeting place because King thought he was still stuck in the States. Blood looked at Santana.

  “San, what’s he doing here? This is supposed to be a business meeting.”

  “Don’t worry. He’s cool.”

  “I don’t know, San. I don’t trust your newest boy toy
like I don’t trust Swag’s bitch ass.”

  “Seems like we got more in common than you think,” Tyler said.

  Both Blood and Santana looked at him.

  “I want that fucker to pay for what he’s done to my family and me. I want his head on a silver platter so badly I can taste it.”

  Blood’s frown turned into a big smile. This even brought a smile to Santana’s face as well.

  “Please, Blake, sit down.”

  Blood was glad to sit. He got tired of all the dudes looking at his ass and calling him daddy or DILF.

  “So, what’s the deal, Blood? Is it still on?” Santana asked.

  “Yeah, it will go down in a few days.”

  “What’s going down in a few days?” Tyler asked, curious.

  Not wanting to leave his man in the dark, Santana replied, “The Destruction of King Kia Costello.”

  Tyler almost choked on his drink. “What? King? Are you insane? She’ll kill you. Why?”

  “Because she’s a bitch and slowly losing her mind. I think the Leopard Clit needs some newer and younger blood to be in charge of it. And that someone is me.” Santana pointed at himself.

  Tyler didn’t know that Santana had so much hatred for King—his own sister. He looked at Blood.

  “And you? I thought you were King’s number one guy. What’s your part in all this?”

  Blood cleared his throat. “Don’t worry ’bout that. I have my reasons, boy. Just keep suckin’ off Santana, and you’ll see what’ll go down.”

  Blood hoped with this plan that King would have no one to run to but him. And that Swag would be completely out of the picture.

  Tyler felt like he was in the crime version of The Twilight Zone. He just sat back and let Santana handle shit like a true future boss.

  Chapter 40

  Change Goin’ Come

  Things around the Palace seemed to be normal for the past few days. The girls and guys were continuing to make that money for King.

  Blood had finally gotten back in town, even though he had been there all this time without King knowing it. He continued to train Swag. King was still training Josie—sometimes, keeping her longer so she wouldn’t see Swag.

  The only time Josie and Swag saw each other was either at breakfast or dinner. They still weren’t able to talk about their plan to get away from King.

  King was content with her plan. She hoped with the loss of Tyler’s friendship, Swag’s sons gone, and him not being able to talk to Josie, he’d come to her more often. But there was a major event coming that would change King’s life forever.

  Chapter 41

  Queen Mother

  One night at dinner in the dining room, everyone was dressed to kill. The color theme for dinner was white and gold, making everyone feel like royalty. The feast on the table was like a Thanksgiving feast in Swag’s eyes. But his eyes were on Josie, and he tried to avoid eye contact with King. King enjoyed the feast. She didn’t seem to have a worry in the world because she ruled the world and was on the verge of having the man she wanted.

  Ivy was busy flirting with her new young boo thing. King shook her head at her mother’s nasty display, and then shifted her eyes to Madam Lourd, who had barely touched her meal. King also noticed that Madam Lourd appeared very sleepy, and she kept rubbing her chest. Madam Lourd was even coughing more than usual. King kept asking if she were okay, and Madam Lourd said she was fine.

  Madam Lourd didn’t want her baby to know about her illness, even though she felt herself getting weaker by the minute. She could tell she was losing her fight with cancer. Even though today was the worst day ever, she still looked beautiful at dinner. Her MAC makeup was on point, and she wore an all-white suit with a sleeveless leopard shirt. She accessorized it with gold and diamond jewelry, and to top off her look, she wore a black Afro wig. Not feeling hungry, Madam Lourd excused herself from the table.

  “I’m going to retire to my quarters for the evening.”

  King nodded.

  As Madam Lourd got up from the table with her cane, she started to stumble.

  Everyone was stunned and stood to help her.

  “Madam Lourd, sit down. Are you dizzy?” King asked fearfully. She sensed something was very wrong, but Madam Lourd blew her off.

  “I . . . I’m fine. Enjoy your din—” She paused and rubbed her head. Of course, she felt dizzy, and it wasn’t long before she hit the floor and passed out.

  “Oh shit!” someone shouted.

  “Hurry! Get her some help!” another person yelled.

  King rushed to Madam Lourd’s side. “Madam Lourd! Madam Lourd! Wake up! Wake up!” King yelled for someone to call an ambulance right away.

  Blood reached for his phone and called the doctor. King looked at Madam Lourd with Ivy by her side. “Come on, Madam Lourd, stay with us. Help is on the way.”

  Madam Lourd continued to cough up blood. She tried her best to hold on.

  * * *

  At Clinica Biblica Hospital, King made sure Madam Lourd had a private room and fixed it according to Madam Lourd’s style. King, Ivy, and Blood looked at Madam Lourd lying down in the bed. She was knocked out with tubes and IVs in her mouth, arms, and nose. It was the first time King looked at Madam Lourd and realized how old her adopted grandmother had become. By King being around her for so long, she never paid attention to her looks. The person she was looking at now . . . She didn’t know who this woman was without the makeup and wigs. She noticed the wrinkles on her face and saw she was utterly bald. King wanted to know who this old woman was and what had happened to Madam Lourd.

  After hours of waiting, the doctor finally came into the room. Everyone stood up and rushed to him. The doctor felt uncomfortable, so he slowly backed up.

  The doctor was a brown-skinned, middle-aged man. He smiled at everyone. “Good evening, everyone. I’m Dr. Garcia.” He shook their hands. “Who are you to Ms. Lourd?”

  “I’m her child, Ivy,” Ivy said softly. She was still shocked by what happened to Madam Lourd earlier.

  King looked at Ivy with a twisted face. “I’m her grandchild, King Kia Costello.”

  “I’m just a good friend of the family,” Blood added.

  “Enough of the intros, Dr. Garcia. What is going on with Madam Lourd? Is she going to be okay?” King wanted answers.

  Dr. Garcia took a deep breath. “Family, you may want to sit down.”

  King knew when the doctor said that, it meant matters were getting worse. So while Ivy and Blood sat down, she remained standing tall.

  The doctor looked over at King, “Ms. Costello—”

  “King will be fine. And I prefer to stand. Now, tell us what’s going on with my grandmother.” King’s real emotions were boiling inside of her.

  Dr. Garcia knew damn well who King was, so he quickly spoke up. “Well, after testing, we find that Ms. Lourd isn’t doing so well. It seems that her stage three breast cancer has worsened to stage four. I—”

  “What? Wait. Breast cancer? Are you serious? Breast cancer? No, no, no. Madam Lourd can’t have that.” King was lost and confused.

  Dr. Garcia nodded. “Yes, she’s had it for quite some time. She didn’t tell any of you at all?”

  King, Ivy, and Blood looked like total idiots in the room. None of them knew what was going on with Madam Lourd. There weren’t any signs in the beginning that she was an unhealthy woman. She always exercised and ate right to keep her tight body fit for a woman her age. Then King started to remember the coughs, Madam Lourd touching her chest, her feeling so tired that sometimes she would stay in her room for three days or more.

  “How could I have missed this?” King mumbled and felt like she was slipping.

  Ivy started to cry. “No, she didn’t say anything to me or any of us at all.” She cried even harder and covered her face.

  Blood consoled her. She started to shake. King rolled her eyes at her mother, whom she thought was so weak. She hated to see tears unless they were from someone she was killing or fucking
. She looked back at Dr. Garcia with her signature straight face and was ready to take care of business. Inside, though, she wanted to break down and cry like her mother.

  “Doctor, how has Madam Lourd been hiding her cancer for so long without showing any signs until tonight?”

  “Well, Ms. Lourd decided not to go through chemo or have a mastectomy. Her physician gave her morphine, and while conducting tests on her, we detected cocaine in her system. She must have been using these treatments to ease the pain. It worked for a while, but after we did more tests, we found that cancer had spread to her liver, stomach, and lungs.”

  King couldn’t believe that Madam Lourd’s cancer was so serious. She looked down at Madam Lourd. Why didn’t you tell us anything?

  King finally realized why. She knew Madam Lourd was a woman full of too much pride and too much into her looks. Madam Lourd never wanted anyone to worry about her.

  King looked back at Dr. Garcia. “Okay, Doctor, how much?”

  “What do you mean, King?”

  “I only want the best doctors for Madam Lourd, to keep her alive. Whatever it’ll cost, I got it. So, where do we go from here?”

  “King . . .” Dr. Garcia paused. He could tell everyone in the room loved Madam Lourd. He knew what he was going to say to them next would change their lives forever. He took another deep breath and put his hand on King’s shoulder. “King.”

  “Please take your hand off me and answer my question.”

  “Sorry.” He straightened his tie. “Ms. Lourd only has a few days left to live. The only thing we can do is make her as comfortable as possible.”

  Everyone just stopped upon hearing the doctor’s words, and a chill came over the room. They looked at Dr. Garcia like he had stabbed their hearts with a sword.