by Roy Glenn
She organized a team of attorneys and divided them into teams to thoroughly investigate specific categories and identify areas of concern, such as antitrust and regulatory issues, information technology concerns, insurance coverage, litigation, summary of complaints, as well as current market share values and fixed assets.
With that completed, Wanda negotiated a definitive agreement and began to put together the financing. Seeing that they could have funded the entire deal in cash, funding for the acquisition wasn’t an issue. However, it was agreed that since buying an offshore bank for twenty-five million in cash would raise too many red flags, it was the reason for her trip.
“To make everything look all nice and correct for tax purposes, I had put together a series of traditional loans from private lenders with favorable rates for financing the acquisition. This afternoon, I met with Franklin Malone at Citizen Trust to finalize the loan.”
“That’s the final piece, right?” Black asked.
“Yes. Seeking approval from the Bahamian regulatory agency is our last hurdle. Now that everything is in place, the only thing standing in our way is Desmond Pennybrook. I had dinner with Dan Phelps, he’s a bank examiner for Los Angeles County. He offered me some ideas on how to deal with Pennybrook.” Wanda paused. “But to be honest with you, Mike, I really do need Jada’s help with him,” she raised her hand. “Before you say it, I will make it happen without her help.”
“How is Jada anyway?” Bobby asked.
“I don’t know,” Black said.
Chapter Six
When Jackie saw Rain coming out of the building from meeting with Black, Bobby and Wanda, she started the car. Rain got in the back seat.
“Let’s go.”
“Where to now?” She asked.
“Take me to J.R.’s. We done for the night.”
“What did Mike say?” Carter asked Rain as Jackie pulled off and headed uptown.
“He agrees with me.”
“Black thinks Rona was behind Barnes, Hawkins and Mobley?” Jackie asked.
“He agrees that it’s possible that Rona was behind Barnes, Hawkins and Mobley,” Rain was very careful to say.
“So, what are we gonna do now?” Jackie asked, knowing that if Black agreed it was possible that Rona was involved, that they were going after her.
“We’re going to check her out. Make sure that she’s involved before we go after her,” she replied and it surprised Jackie. Rain was never much on waiting. She was more of a shoot first, burn the bitch to the ground and ask questions only if somebody was alive.
Carter knew and understood Rain’s anger and her need to put a stop to it the only way she knew how.
Force.
So, he knew that the only reason that they weren’t on their way to kill Rona right then was because Black, Bobby and Wanda told her not to and he was glad about that.
“You gonna get Carla to look into her?” he asked.
“Yes. And you, Jackie,” Rain began.
“You just need to tell me what you need me to do,” Jackie said eagerly.
“I need you in the streets. I need to know what happened to what was left of Robert King’s operation after we killed him and Ronnie.”
“I’m on it.”
“Until we know for sure that Rona King was the one that was backing them niggas, or that she was involved in any way, we stay on finding Hawkins.”
Carter and Jackie looked at each other with a bit of disbelief. “You got it,” they both said.
When they got to J.R.’s, Jackie said good night and headed for her car. Rain walked toward the building with Carter.
“I thought you’d be out too,” Rain said.
“I’m gonna get a drink first,” Carter said. It’s been a long day, he thought as they went inside the club.
He also wanted to hear more of what Black had to say about what they were doing and the way forward. When he told Black that he would be Rain’s consigliere, he understood his role was to be a stabilizing influence for the young boss of The Family and to protect Black’s interest.
I owe him that, he was thinking as they rounded the corner and the first person that he saw was Mileena.
She was standing at the bar talking to Ryder.
Carter stopped and their eyes locked.
Then Mileena rolled hers and walked off.
Rain laughed. “You coming?”
“I’ll be up in a minute. I need to talk to Ryder first.”
“Right,” Rain said and walked away laughing as Carter headed toward the bar.
Ryder saw him coming toward her, and the I’m mad as hell look in his eyes concerned her. Since she’d been a part of this family, she’d been the outsider who had struggled to find a spot to fit in. At first, it was believed that the only reason that she was down with The Family was because she was Shy’s old road dog because she hadn’t earned anybody’s respect or trust. And for a while, that was the thing that alluded her. Despite putting in solid work for The Family, she got no respect, and nobody trusted her.
The chance to earn respect and trust came the night that Ryder planned to kill Kirk and Bautista for killing her husband. She had tracked them to a restaurant in City Island, but when the time came to make her move, she saw people that Rain was looking for. So instead of going after the detectives as planned, she called Rain.
He killed my husband, Ryder told Rain that night.
I know. That’s family. But you my family now, and I ain’t trying to lose no more family, was what Rain had to say.
Ryder earned Rain’s respect when she watched as the detectives drove off, got out of the car and went with Rain and Smoke to kill Lucky, Odell and Preston.
After that, Ryder was in, and she quickly emerged from Shy’s shadow. There was no doubt that Ryder was a money-maker, and everybody respected her analytical mind and her planning ability. She had earned the respect and trust of her peers, but somehow, Ryder kept finding herself in bad situations that almost got her killed, more than once.
I just got off Rain’s shit list for not telling her some shit that I didn’t even know I was supposed to tell her.
That one always bothered her, but as always, Ryder put in the work and once again, had Rain’s trust and respect. But then she got caught up in Jab Baldwin’s mess and since she was the brains behind him, that brought Carter down on her.
I don’t care if you are Mileena’s cousin. If I ever find out that you were a part of this nigga’s plan, I will kill you where you stand.
Once again, Ryder had to work her way back to earn Carter’s trust, and she did. But now, he and Mileena, her cousin, were having problems and she feared that she would have to pay the price for their breakup, and she would once again lose her position in The Family and have to start over.
Or maybe I’ll just take my ass back to Cali.
“What’s up, Carter?”
“I need to talk to you. Come on,” Carter said, turned around and started walking toward the office.
Fuck, she thought and fell in behind him through the doors that led upstairs to the offices. When Carter got to the top of the steps, Yarrisa sat up straight and smiled because she hadn’t heard from him in days.
“Hey, Carter,” she purred.
“Hey, Yarrisa,” he said and went straight to his office. She was about to get up and follow him, but that was when she saw Ryder coming up the stairs.
“Hey, Yarrisa,” she said and went to Carter’s office and that ended any thought that she had about getting some before she went home. Yarrisa stood up and knocked on Rain’s door to see if she wanted anything and then she left for the night.
Carter went in his office and went straight to the bar to make the drink he’d been looking forward to all night. As soon as she closed the door, Ryder asked, “What I do now?” just to get it out of the way.
“Who said that you did anything?” he asked as he poured.
“You look mad.”
“I’m not mad at you.” Carter laughed and pi
cked up a bottle. “Patrón, neat, right?”
“Yes,” Ryder said and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Carter’s desk. “You’re mad at Mileena?”
“No, that’s where you’d be wrong. I love Mileena, she’s mad at me.” He came from behind the bar and handed the drink to Ryder. “What Mileena being mad at me have to do with you?”
“Nothing. I was just checking,” Ryder said and relaxed as Carter sat down.
He laughed and pointed at Ryder. “I get it. I ain’t that type of mutha fucka, but I get it.” He took a swallow of his drink. “You didn’t get your spot in this crew because you’re her cousin, you earn it every day, so you ain’t gonna lose it because of her. We clear about that?”
“Clear as crystal. Now, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Rain thinks that it’s Rona King that was backing Barnes, Hawkins and Mobley,” Carter said, liking that after dealing with the bullshit, she got straight down to business.
“Robert King’s daughter?”
“Yeah. You know her?”
“I knew her daddy was an asshole.”
“True.” Carter laughed because he agreed that Robert could be an asshole when the situation called for it.
“But I never met her or her brother,” Ryder added.
“Rain’s got Carla and Jackie looking into Rona King for her. I need you to look into her for me. Find out everything you can about her.”
“If she’s got Carla and Jackie on her, what you need me for?”
“Carla uses hardware to get information, Jackie uses force to get answers. You’re finesse. That’s the tool you use to get what you need done.” Carter paused. “I need you to use your tools and tell me everything that Carla and Jackie don’t. Can you do that for me?”
“I can do that.” Ryder nodded excitedly over the opportunity to once again impress her captain. “I got you, Carter. You know that you can always count on me to get it done,” she said and felt a surge of pride rush over her as Carter stood up.
“Good.” He drained his glass. “Because I’m depending on you to get me what I need,” he said moving toward the door, and Ryder got up.
“I won’t let you down,” Ryder said as Carter held the door for her.
“I know that you won’t,” Carter said as Ryder went downstairs into the club feeling like a million dollars in uncut diamonds and determined as hell to step up for the captain of her crew.
Chapter Seven
Carter knocked on Rain’s door and walked in her office. She had taken off her guns, had fixed them both a drink and was seated behind her desk.
“What’s up with you and Ryder?” Rain questioned and then she laughed. “You ain’t begging her to talk to Mileena for you, were you?”
Carter laughed. “No, nothing like that. I just put her on Rona King.”
“That’s smart.”
“I try to do smart shit every once in a while,” Carter said and sipped his drink.
“She’ll find out shit that Carla and Jackie won’t.”
“That was my thinking. What else did Mike say?”
The question raised an eyebrow and forced Rain to wonder if Carter had a problem with the way she was running the war. She knew that Wanda did, and that was why Black, and Bobby had been much more visible and involved lately.
All it took was for Barbara to get kidnapped, for Shy to get shot at, and for Jada West to take a bullet for Mr. Black and Mr. Ray to be completely immersed in every detail.
She smiled at Carter. “Not much. You know how Black is sometimes, he likes to let Wanda do the talking for him.”
Carter laughed because Wanda had been in his ear with her feelings on the subject in no uncertain terms.
She’s out of control and it’s costing us.
“What’s she talking about?”
“Same thing. Taking our time and making sure that Rona is involved and having a plan in place to put her down when we’re sure,” Rain said as Carter finished his drink. “You want another one?”
“Naa,” Carter stood up. “I’m about to get outta here. It’s been a long day and I’m tired. I’m going home to get some rest.”
Rain stood up. “I’m out too.”
As they made their way through the now closed club, Rain was thinking about getting her some. She had sent Gavin a text about meeting her somewhere, but he hadn’t replied. Thinking that was just the way it went when the only man that could fuck her the way she wanted and needed was a married man, she went home alone to masturbate.
When Carter got home, he got undress and headed for the shower. While the water beat down on his tired body, his thoughts turned to Mileena and the look of pure disgust on her face when she saw him earlier. He wondered how he could have let things get to the point where somebody that used to love him so much could now look at him with such hate. He turned off the water knowing that he knew the answer.
All it took was you fuckin Fantasy, he thought. And Yarrisa and Glenda.
Once he had dried off, Carter got in the bed and had just gotten comfortable when the phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Hi,” Glenda said when he answered.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Carter, really.”
“Where are you?”
“I checked into the Residence Inn on Eastchester Road. I was thinking about getting some breakfast.”
“You need company?” he asked sitting up in bed.
She giggled. “That’s why I called.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“There’s a restaurant in the hotel that serves a complimentary All-American breakfast.”
“I can be there in half an hour.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll call you when I get to the lobby.”
“See you then. And Carter.”
“Yes,” he said as he got out of bed.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Just for being, that’s all. See you soon,” she said and ended the call.
It was less than thirty minutes later when Carter arrived at the Residence Inn and called Glenda. She came right down, and she met him in the restaurant. He stood up when he saw her coming.
“Hello, Glenda.”
“Hey, Carter,” she said and drifted into his embrace. “Thank you for coming,” she said, holding on to his body tightly and suddenly felt the urge to cry.
She had thought that she had gotten it all out of her system, but apparently she hadn’t, and his strong and loving arms brought it out of her.
Glenda eased out of his arms. “I’m sorry,” she said as she wiped away her tears.
“It’s all right,” Carter said and pulled out a chair for her to sit down. “Thank you, Carter,” she said and sat down as the server came with coffee. Once she had taken their order, she disappeared.
“What happened?” Carter asked.
“I just happened to go by our office because I had to pick up some papers. I didn’t see his car, so I didn’t think that Perry was there.”
“But he was,” Carter said, knowing the rest of the story without having to hear it.
Glenda nodded. “I got what I came for and was about to leave when I heard him.” She laughed. “And since I’ve heard that sound many times, I knew what he was doing.”
“I’m sorry, Glenda. You shouldn’t have had to go through that.”
“It’s all right, Carter. And you are wrong. I did need to go through that though. If I hadn’t, I probably would have just gone home and gone to bed and I’d be in the same place that I started the day out.”
“How’s that’s?”
“Married to a man that I don’t love that cheats on me with …” she paused and chuckled, “With every woman he comes in contact with.”
“I’m sorry, Glenda.”
“I’m no better than he is. Look what I’m doing with you. I could justify it by saying that what we’re doing is in response to him cheating o
n me for years.” She huffed. “Cheating on me relentlessly for years.”
“Still. You shouldn’t have had to go through that,” Carter said as the server returned with their food. “Can you bring me some Heinz 57 and some Tabasco, please?”
Carter dug into his steak, eggs, pancakes and toast right away. But not Glenda. She took a couple of mouthfuls of eggs and she ate the bacon, but then she picked over the rest.
“I had caught him in lies and compromising situations more times than I could count, and this was just one more. But this time, was different somehow because even though I hadn’t been to the office in over a year and a half, that is still my office too and although I am sure that this wasn’t the first time that he fucked some woman in one of the treatment rooms, but since I was there it was just so fucking disrespectful.”
Carter said nothing because he thought about how fucking disrespectful it was for him to be fucking Yarrisa in his office while Mileena was in the club.
“It’s my own fault. I have nobody to blame but myself. I should have left the first time it happened. But I didn’t. I called myself staying for the children.” Glenda shook her head. “The truth was that I was just afraid. I was afraid that I couldn’t make it on my own. So, I accepted the lie, she meant nothing to me, Glenda. And all of the times he promised; I promise that nothing like this will ever happen again,” she said, imitating the words the he said to her more times than she cared to count. “And now look at me, crying over a relationship that had caused me so much pain.”
Carter put down his fork. “I’m sorry,” he may have said to Glenda, but in his heart, he was talking to Mileena. “You shouldn’t have had to go through that,” he said knowing that he had put her through the same thing. He had rationalized it to himself by thinking that she had ended things between them, not him. Mileena wouldn’t even speak to him, and that was what forced him to fuck Fantasy.
But that is bullshit and you know it. You fucked her because you wanted to, and you used Mileena’s breaking up as an excuse to do what you wanted to do anyway. Same reason you fucked Yarrisa and the same reason your fucking Glenda.