by Roy Glenn
“I’m going to cover the door. Stop them from coming in. Stay with Fiona,” Travis said and moved out.
While two other gunmen continued firing with AR15s, Ryder and Baby Chris returned their fire as they ran. The two men kept firing and forced them to better cover to regroup.
While Travis made his way to the door to engage the men coming in the front door, Treach and Smoke were exchanging fire with two men armed with mini’s.
“Look out!” Treach yelled to Smoke as the two men blanketed the club with bullets. One fired and hit Smoke with three shots to the chest before he could get a shot off. When he was close enough, Treach fired at one of the gunmen and killed him.
Ryder ducked behind a table and stayed put until the shooting stopped; then she got up. While the shooters stopped to reload, Ryder fired and hit him with three shots before moving to better cover.
“Stay here,” Carter told Fantasy and then came up firing on the gunmen from behind the bar. One of his shots grazed the side of his head, and it disoriented him long enough for Carter to put two in his chest. He took the mini and two magazines from the one he just killed and headed toward Jackie.
“Ready?” Carter said when he made it to her.
Jackie looked at Fiona. “I’ll be all right,” she said, and Jackie handed her one of her guns and Fiona put one in the chamber.
“Let’s go,” Jackie said to Carter and they came up firing. The men took cover and shot back. Carter emptied the magazine on the clip and reached for his nine. The man stood up and Jackie fired twice, hitting him with one to the chest and one to the head.
When the man fired at Carter and missed, he raised his weapon, fired and Carter hit him with several shots to the chest and fell over a table.
When more men began running in the club, they were met by Travis, who killed them as they came through the door. Meanwhile, Baby Chris and Ryder were getting close to the shooters.
“Go!” he yelled to Ryder.
Baby Chris stood up and laid down cover fire, while Ryder moved closer. Once she made it and was set, she covered, while Baby Chris ran toward her position. When he made it to her, they both opened fire and killed the last of the shooters in the club.
Or so they thought.
Naturally the shots could be heard in the kitchen, and the scared staff turned to their leader for guidance.
“Go in the storage closet, lock the door and don’t open it for anybody but me,” Chef Aja said to them and went to get her knives. She could hear somebody coming down the hall and thought about what her objective was.
Where he is coming, how to disarm him, and then how to kill him?
In her mind’s eye, she could see him come through the door with gun in hand.
The gun will be in his right hand; I need to be to the left of the door when he comes in.
I will knock the gun from his hand with my left forearm, spin and cut his throat with the knife in my right hand.
But suppose he’s left handed?
Once he entered the kitchen, Chef Aja was in position and executed her plan. The second that he stepped inside with the gun in his right hand; she knocked it from his hand with her left forearm; slicing his arm in the process, making him cry out. She then spun around with the grace of a gazelle and cut his throat with the knife in her right hand.
After that, Carter and Jackie arrived in the kitchen to make sure that everybody was all right. They found Chef Aja standing over the body with blood on her uniform and bloody knives in her hands.
Sexy and deadly. My kind of woman, Carter thought.
Chapter Ten
After the wedding, Doc looked out the window as he was driven back to his spot. He had been a captain in The Family for a long time, and in all that time he’d managed to stay away from the shooting. When Rain went at Wanda, unlike Grant, he took no action against her, so unlike Grant, he was still alive. When Nock and Cribs threw in with Warwick and Lyric Skye, his people stayed out of it, and to Doc, there was a reason.
Fear.
Plain and simple fear.
Fear of Mike Black.
Doc was there the night that Black had Banks tortured and then executed. He was standing next to Banks while Nick and Freeze took turns beating him and then burning him with acid. And then came the words that put the fear of death in Doc. Black had just stepped up to Banks and asked if he was ready to man up, and he swore that he didn’t do shit.
Black said, “Doc.”
“Yes, Black.” Doc was terrified.
Everybody in the room knew that no matter what Banks said, he was going to die that night. At the time, Doc ran the gambling in the house, and he was sure that he would suffer the same fate.
“I want you to go behind the bar and reach your hand behind the bottle setup next to the cash box. Let me know what you find.”
Doc remembered that long slow walk to the bar, shaking because he knew that he was going to die.
Fear.
He put that fear in the men that worked for him. And Doc believed that was the main reason that he ran a nice quiet program.
As they got closer to his spot, his phone rang. “Hello.”
“It’s Carter. They hit the reception.”
“Was anybody hurt?”
“It’s bad.” Carter paused. “Really bad.”
“Is Judah all right?”
“I haven’t seen him,” Carter said. “So, I guess he got out with RJ and them.”
“You need me to come back there?”
“No, ambulances are already here, and the cops are on their way. Just be aware. Lexi just told me that there was a bomb in there during the wedding.”
“What?”
“You heard me and don’t say a word about that to anybody.”
“Understood,” he said as they arrived at his spot. “Let me know what’s up.”
“I will,” Carter said and ended the call.
“Everything all right?” Richard asked. He had been driving Doc for years and he was a trusted adviser as well as a good earner.
“The reception got hit.”
“Is Judah alright?”
“Carter didn’t know,” Doc said and started to get out. “I’m gonna call him now.”
When Doc got out of the car to go in the house along with his men, as they always did, the six of them had surrounded Doc when Richard saw a car coming down the street fast.
“Car coming up fast.”
At that, Doc’s men moved closer.
“Gun!” Richard shouted.
Doc immediately hit the ground and was protected by his men. When the car drove off, Richard looked around, and since everybody was all right and the threat had passed, Doc got up.
“Everybody all right?” Doc asked right before the bullet hit him in the temple and the impact blew half of his head away.
“I just got off the phone with Doc,” Carter said to Jackie as Travis walked up with Fiona. “I told him what happened here and told him to be alert.”
“Why are you three still here?” Lexi asked and pointed toward the rear of the club. She looked at the carnage left by the shooters. At that point, the dead and injured were too many to count, and that included Smoke who died in the shootout. The list of casualties also included Cristal, who was shot while performing. Thanks to the quick actions of her label mates, she was literally dragged off stage and was rushed to the hospital and was listed in guarded condition.
Lexi had another look around to be sure that no members of the family were still in the building and didn’t see any. As soon as the shooting stopped, Lexi saw Ryder leaving the club with Baby Chris. Knowing that his priority was Barbara, RJ kept heading for the back door once he had his sister. As for the rest of the Kings, they wasted no time getting out of there once the shooting stopped.
“You need to get out of here before the cops get here,” Lexi said and kept moving.
“We’re going,” Carter said. He looked around quickly for Fantasy.
“I’m here,” she s
aid.
“Come on.” Carter grabbed her hand. “Are you all right?” he asked as they followed Jackie, Travis and Fiona to the rear of the club.
“I’m all right,” Fantasy promised as they went out the back entrance.
Lexi stopped and watched them leave and when she turned around, she saw Detectives Bautista and Dickerson enter Cuisine. She took a deep breath and went to greet them. Bautista held out her arms as Lexi approached.
“What the fuck?” Bautista said looking at all the blood and body’s.
“Can you tell me what happened here?” Dickerson asked and prepared to receive the standard answer.
“I was in my office when the shooting started, so I didn’t see anything,” Lexi said. “When I came out,” Lexi held her arms out. “This is what I found.”
“Do you …” Dickerson began, but then he paused and looked at Lexi. “I was gonna ask if you had any idea who hit you guys, but what’s the point. You’re gonna say, no, you have no idea, and I’m gonna say, well, if you hear anything—blah, blah, blah. You fuckin’ people get on my nerves with this shit,” Dickerson said and walked away.
Bautista smiled at Lexi, and she shrugged her shoulders. “If I hear anything, I will be sure to let you know, Detective Bautista,” Lexi said.
“Right,” Bautista said and walked away as more first responders; emergency personnel, officers and crime scene technicians entered Cuisine. There were two other Detectives that had arrived at the Cuisine crime scene, but they chose not to come inside. Kirk and Dawkins were parked across the street, leaning on the hood of their car, watching the flurry of activity and wondering.
“What the fuck is going on?” Dawkins asked.
“I don’t know,” Kirk said, concerned for more than just professional reasons. The Detective had been dancing with Mike Black since they were both young men. It wasn’t what either of them would call a friendship, but it was something. And yeah, it meant something to them both. “I’ve been around these guys for a long time, I’ve seen them go to war a bunch of times, against a bunch of people over the years and come out on top. But in all that time I’ve never seen anybody go this hard at them before.”
Since both Detectives had something of a vested interest in the case because of who they were connected to, they both wanted to stick their hands in, especially Dawkins, but since Bautista was lead Detective, they agreed that it was best that they stay out of it.
That was about to change.
“We got a call. McGraw wants to talk to us,” Dawkins said, and the Detectives got in their car and drove away.
It was just about that time that Judah got a call from Richard. “What’s up, Richard?” Judah asked as he and Pills drove away from Cuisine.
“Glad you’re all right,” Richard said.
“I’m fine. You heard what happened?”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard.”
“It was wild, Richard,” Judah said and there was silence on the line.
“You need to come up here, Judah. Soon as you can.”
“Why; what’s up?” Judah asked.
“Just get here, Judah,” Richard said and then he ended the call.
“Everything all right?” Pills asked.
“I don’t know. Richard just said I need to come by there. He sounded funny … never heard him sound like that before,” Judah said. “Roll me by there, let me see what’s up?”
When they arrived at the gambling house and went inside, Judah could tell right away that something was wrong. It was too quiet and none of his father’s men would make direct eye contact with him and those who did looked away quickly. Judah and Pills were about to go in Doc’s office when Richard stopped them.
“There was a shooting,” Richard said and put his hands on Judah’s shoulders. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but your father is dead.”
“What?” Judah asked, and his legs got weak. “My father is dead?” he asked slowly as his legs gave way and Pills had to hold him up. “How, when?” he couldn’t, and didn’t want to believe what he was hearing.
“There was a drive-by,” Richard said, then explained what happened as tears ran down Judah’s cheeks.
“Where is he?” Judah asked.
“Come with me,” Richard said and led Judah to another room where they had laid out Doc’s body on a table with a sheet covering him.
Judah approached the body slowly and then pulled the sheet back enough to see his father. As more of Doc’s men came in the room, he stood there for a minute or two with Pills at his side, not saying anything and then he looked at Richard. “Has anybody called Billy?”
“Edwina is on her way.”
“Can you give me a minute?” Judah asked.
“Sure,” Richard said, and the men began to file out of the room to give Judah some privacy.
“Not you, Pills,” Judah said without looking away from his father and held onto his arm. “You stay.”
“I got you. I’m right here for you,” Pills said.
They stood there for a while before Judah covered the body and they left the room. With Pills at his side, Judah went in his father’s office and sat down behind the desk as Doc’s men, led by Richard came in the office. It took a minute or two, but Judah finally looked up and saw everybody standing there.
“I just wanna say how sorry we all are that this happened, Judah,” Richard said.
“Sorry for your loss,” a few other said.
“What you want us to do now?” Richard asked.
“I don’t know,” Judah said with his head hanging low.
“I understand. You take your time.” Richard stepped closer to the desk. “Whether Black, Rain and them make you a captain or not, don’t matter. You run this crew now. It’s what your daddy wanted.”
Chapter Eleven
Gavin turned to Rain. “Come here.”
He reached between Rain’s legs and ran his hand over her Brazilian wax and then he fingered her clit as she laid next to him, gliding her hand up and down his dick. Rain felt his lips sucking her nipple while he penetrated her with his finger, before he blazed a trail down her stomach.
Gavin buried his head deep between her thighs. His tongue glided slowly up her lips and then to her clit. Licking and sucking hard on her lips, all the while moving his fingers in and out of Rain’s juicy pussy and she loved it. Gavin’s tongue was doing its usual magic on her clit and he was hitting her spot with his two fingers easing in and out of her. Rain stroked his big, fat, juicy dick and wanted to feel it slamming deep inside her, but that was when the phone rang.
“I gotta take this.”
“I know.”
Rain let go of his dick and answered the phone. “This Rain,” she answered still looking at his hard dick.
“It’s Carter, the reception got hit.”
Her facial expression changed from ecstasy to anger in a split second. “What?” She looked at Gavin and stood up. The look on her face told him that Rain would be leaving a soon as she ended the call.
“When?”
“Right after you left.”
“How bad is it?”
“Real bad.”
“I’m on my way up there.”
“No, Bautista is there,” Carter warned.
“Meet me at J.R.'s,” she said and ended the call. “I gotta go,” she said without looking at Gavin and headed for the shower.
“You always do.”
Gavin laid there in bed for a few seconds with his hard dick in his hand and considered joining Rain in the shower, but knowing how Rain was, he decided against it. He got out of bed and began looking around the suite for the clothes that Rain literally tore off of him and slung everywhere. Once he had gathered up everything, he laid them on the bed as Rain came out of the shower.
He stopped to look and enjoyed the sight of Rain quickly snatching up her clothes, getting dressed, putting on her vest and holstering her weapons. Then she walked up to Gavin and looked up into his sexy eyes.
“I’ll g
et with you,” she said, and was out the door.
Once the door slammed shut, Gavin got up and he headed for the shower he needed to take before he went home to his wife, Capria. As the water rinsed Rain’s scent away, he thought about her and the things that she had done for him. If it wasn’t for Rain, he wouldn’t be sitting in the position he was now. With his father sick, and Butch in jail, Gavin found himself in charge of both their legal business and their drug business.
Which was exactly where he didn’t want to be.
Gavin learned that he wasn’t interested in being involved in the dope game when he was a teenager. At the time, his father, Vince was stepping back, and Butch was stepping into the role. Those days, Gavin looked up to his big brother and wanted to be just like him in every respect. Butch was proud to have his little brother around and he involved Gavin in everything; everything but the product. When Vince found out the Gavin was hanging out with Butch, he was furious. He never wanted Gavin to be involved in that business in any way shape or form.
“How many times do I have to say this to you. Gavin is gonna be the one to make sure our children and our children’s children don’t have to hustle like this.”
“I hear you, Pop.”
It made Butch a little angry each time he heard that. It made him feel like it was okay for him to get his hands dirty and take risks for their family, but Gavin was too good for that.
“But hear me out on this for once, Pop. The boy needs to know what’s up.” Vince frowned at the idea. “Like it or not, one day young blood may have to step up and run things.”
“That is not what I want for him!” Vince shouted.
“I know that. You been telling me that shit for years. But this is what’s real. Both of us could get popped or get locked down and then what?”
Vince reluctantly agreed. But even as Gavin got deeper into the game, Vince’s words always haunted him.
That life ain’t for you, son.
But young Gavin was hard headed, and he wanted to be down with Butch. Therefore, despite Butch’s prohibition against Gavin having any contact with the product, he convinced one of Butch’s people to front him some weight. So, there he was, a duality. An honor student, taking college prep courses and the schools drug kingpin. He had to laugh at the similarities to his current situation. Vice President of Capital Markets at the investment bank his family owned and acting boss of their criminal organization.