“Mmm-hmm,” his girl said. As she rolled her eyes, he pulled her to him and kissed her cheek lovingly. His public display of affection was sweet. Most gangstas didn’t show that side in front of the niggas they did dirt with.
“Dis is Sway and . . . Indica, right?” Gaza’s eyes met mine for confirmation.
“Yes,” I told him with a nod.
“Sway and Indica, dis is my girl, Camille.”
“Nice to meet you, Camille.” I reached out to shake her hand, but she didn’t oblige.
Instead, she asked, “So, is dis yuh mon?”
“Who? Sway?” I burst out laughing. “No, he’s my brother.”
“Indica’s mi little sister,” Miles said with his fake but spot-on accent.
“Yeah, Sway is from di island, but Indica was born in di States,” Gaza explained.
“Well, mi don’t see di family resemblance a’tall.” Camille shook her head and clung to Gaza even tighter than before.
“Well, dat’s ’cause we don’t ’ave di same mother, but we ’ave di same father. Indica’s mother is from the States, and my father met her after he left Jamaica years ago. Mi was just a yute at di time,” Miles explained.
“Di funny ting is nobody mi associate wit’ knows you from di island, Sway. Why’s dat?” Gaza asked as he lit a blunt full of fragrant ganja.
“Mi lay low and do most of mi business in New York. Mi jus’ moved back to di island about nine months ago. Not long dat, my connect Knox got fucked up and shit . . .”
“Oh, hell yeah. Dat’s right. Knox was a real shotta now!” Gaza smiled. “So, let’s go in di back and discuss business.”
Gaza gently removed Camille’s hand from his arm. “Babe, mi gotta handle some business now. Mi will be back.” He handed her a knot of money, then motioned to the bar. “Get yuhself sum’tin’ to drink on.”
Balling the money up in her palm, she glanced over at me, with insecurity written all over her face. Something told me that she didn’t trust me or Miles, and she was going to let Gaza know that soon enough. In the meantime, I would have to convince him that I was that bitch Indica who was willing and ready to smuggle drugs into the United States for profit. Hopefully, I would come across as a gritty, money-hungry bitch who would stop at nothing to secure the bag. Yeah, I knew all the street lingo, although I didn’t really speak that way, and I knew all about the drug game, even though I wasn’t really a hustler. One thing I’d learned in life was, sometimes you had to keep the mask on.
We followed Gaza to the back room, where some of his crew were already seated around a round table. The three of us sat down, and Gaza introduced us. As the meeting proceeded, I looked around at all the faces at the table. It was like some cooperate/hood shit. I had to admit that Gaza was organized as hell. He had two armed security guards standing at the door and one standing right behind him. At the table, he had three of his trusted men with him. One of them eyed me, and I knew that he wasn’t loyal to Gaza at all. Avoiding his stare, I kept my eyes on the man of the hour. Gaza seemed to focus only on me when he spoke, so I didn’t look away. Making steady eye contact with him, I hoped he’d think he could really trust me. It was ironic that right after I had that thought, he brought up trust.
“See, mi don’t really fuck wit’ mu’fuckas mi don’t know. It’s hard for me to trust. Mi ’ave always tried to stay out of bullshit, but oftentimes another person can invite bullshit into your life.” Gaza turned away from me and glanced at his men at the table. “I already did thirteen years in the Feds.” The patois he had spoken at first was gone. “I ain’t tryin’a go back. Now, Royal, are you ready to die if you have brought bullshit into my life?”
Our informant didn’t even blink as he said, “Hell yeah, mon. Mi know they ain’t on no bullshit. Part of business is expanding. We can’t be scared to make money moves, Gaza. I met Indica in New York, and mi saw how she gets down with mi own two eyes. Then, when I met Sway and saw how this nigga livin’ and the moves he makin’, shit, mi knew we had to get on wit’ them. Yuh know Knox was gettin’ to that paper. Dey no tryin’a fuck wit’ no small shit either, mon. Fifty keys or more at a time. Tink about it.”
Damn, he was persuasive, even to me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d believe him myself. His eyes didn’t give him away, didn’t betray any shame or guilt, and so at that point, I thought Gaza was sold.
“Mi not sure if mi is convinced yet. Dis is our first meeting, so . . . how ’bout yuh give mi some time to consult wit’ my men? We’ll be in touch.” Gaza’s eyes were hard as he glanced from me to Miles.
“What? Yuh don’t wan’ to do business, just say so. It’s plenty of mu’fuckas we can get the shit from. Don’t waste our time, Gaza.” Miles stood up from the table.
Playing the role, I stepped in to defuse the hostile situation. “Wait, Sway. He’s got a point. He don’t know us like that, so you can’t blame him for being careful. You know you’re the same way.” Lifting my eyes to look into Gaza’s, I continued, “We move weight, not no little shit. We spend real money and are willing to pay full price. Keeping our clientele in the States depends on this deal going through. We could go to somebody else and pay less, but we’ll get what we pay for. Now, Sway and I both agree that we want that raw, uncut shit that’s at least ninety percent pure. We don’t cut shit, because we don’t have to, but our reserve is almost empty. That’s how much weight we move. If you really want to move your shit with zero risk and make millions of US dollars, fuck with us. If not, just say so now. We don’t have time for you to think about it. Shit, as far as we know, you’re working wit’ the Feds to set us up.”
Gaza rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he stared me down. His eyes sparkled, and his lips curled up into a devious smile. “Me workin’ wit’ da Fed? Get di fuck outta here.” His boisterous laugh seemed to echo in the small room. “Millions of US dollars . . . hmmm . . . How about we compromise? Mi won’t make you wait too long. Gimme twenty-four hours to give dis shit some thought. One fucked-up move could cost me my freedom for life. You must understand that when it comes to business decisions, mi must be thorough. Jah didn’t get me outta dat cage just for me to go right back. Simi?”
I had to agree if we wanted to get him. With a nod, I said, “Okay. Twenty-four hours, it is.”
Miles shook his head and then headed toward the door. “Let’s go . . . Indica.”
The sound of chaos caught my attention as we headed out of the office. Club goers were screaming and running like it was a stampede. Without even having to think about it, I reacted when I saw what was going on. After pulling my baby 380 from between my ample breasts, I aimed and shot the man who was holding Camille at gunpoint. Their backs were turned to us, so he didn’t even know what had hit his ass before his body crumpled to the floor and blood pooled beneath him.
Gaza gave me a wide-eyed look. “How did you get that shit in here?”
“Apparently, not the same way he got his in here,” I told him, alarmed.
Camille ran into Gaza’s arms once she realized that she was safe. “He . . . he came in here lookin’ for yuh! He shot da men at di door. Tank yuh fi saving me, baby.” She hadn’t seen me take the shot.
“Mi didn’t. Uh . . . Indica did.”
She looked at me, but her eyes weren’t filled with gratitude. Instead, I saw some type of resentment. Was she mad at me for saving her life? Either way, I felt that I’d done what I had to do to gain Gaza’s trust at that point. Even his armed security hadn’t thought or moved fast enough.
“Tank yuh,” Camille told me in a soft voice and quickly looked away.
“You’re welcome,” I offered, knowing that Miss Camille was going to be a problem.
“How did he shoot them niggas without us hearing a gunshot?” Gaza he walked over to the dead body and leaned over. When he took a look at the weapon that the man had, he saw the silencer, which explained everything.
“Mi know who dat nigga is, boss. He run wit’ them niggas that killed Gio. Dis must be payback f
or dem bodies we laid out,” Royal explained.
Gaza glanced at me. “Mi don’t need time to tink. Yuh saved mi girl’s life. Come to di spot tomorrow. We’re havin’ a huge celebration. Mi’ll text yuh the address. It’s not far from here. We can discuss the details of our transaction then.”
“Okay. Good.” I smiled and led Miles out of the establishment. We stepped over the dead bodies at the door.
Once we were in the car, Miles shook his head and said, “Now, that was some crazy shit.”
“Right. Obviously, someone in their crew was killed, and they retaliated. It’s just weird how it was only one dude who came in shooting.”
“Maybe it was a family member of somebody they killed. I’m sure shit’s going to get way more real and way more dangerous. He won’t be the last mu’fucka to come for them.” Miles rubbed my shoulder with his free hand as he drove. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I moved away from his touch. “He wasn’t the first person I’ve had to kill.”
“I know, but . . . who would expect to kill somebody the first night on the job?”
Letting out a sigh, I had to agree. “Yeah, but it got us in there.”
All I could think about was a bunch of crazy-ass shot-tas with huge AKs outside of Gaza’s house while we were there tomorrow. What if we needed backup? Something told me that it was about to get way more dangerous than we’d ever imagined. Still, that didn’t deter me. The rush that I felt when I was in the moment of being Indica, the queenpin, was like nothing I’d ever felt in my life. For once, I felt powerful. The look of respect in Gaza’s gorgeous eyes had also made me feel a slight throb between my thighs. Okay, so I was sexually attracted to him. There was no way I’d ever act on it, though. Gaza was a cold-blooded criminal, and the reason I’d become a Fed was to take down thugs like him. A thug like him had taken my father’s life. Also, I’d have to kill that bitch Camille, despite the fact that I’d saved her life tonight. Besides, my mission was to get enough dirt on Gaza and his crew to lock them all up for life and throw away the key. My pussy was not going to get me in any more trouble. I had a job to do.
* * *
The next day, I avoided Miles the best I could. He was all excited about our impending drug buy, but once that was done, the task still would not be completed. Special Agent Morris had made it clear that one drug sell was not going to be enough. He wanted us to dig into the scam that Gaza was also involved in. Not only that, but we needed to be able to pin some murders on him too. Obviously, the Feds wanted enough to ensure that he never saw the light of day again.
After cooking grilled salmon, asparagus, and corn on the cob for lunch, I fixed my plate and carried it into my bedroom. As I ate, I thought about what was to come. Gaza had texted his address to Miles’s burner phone. Before I could finish eating, Miles burst into my room.
“I should’ve locked the door,” I snapped. “Damn. What do you want?”
Miles sat down at the foot of the bed. “That mu’fucka wants you so bad, I can smell it.” He shook his head, and his nostrils flared.
“What? Who?” I asked, playing dumb. He was clearly talking about Gaza, because I had noticed the way he looked at me too.
“You know who. He was staring at you like he was a pit bull and you was a fat-ass filet mignon.”
Taunting him, I let out a laugh. “Please! He was just grateful that I saved his woman. This is not about what he wants to do, Miles. As you can see, I have a lot of willpower. Also, I must admit that Gaza is sexy as hell, but this is not about that. He’s a monster, and it’s our job to put him right back in that cage. Focus. I’m a grown-ass woman, and the way that man looks at me does not move me at all.”
“Okay, if you say so, but I saw how you was looking at him too.”
“Are you jealous, Miles? Wow. Really? All I wanted to do was get him to trust us. I’m playing the part, just like you. You’re so busy being stuck on the fact that we fucked that you can’t get into character. My pussy’s not worth fucking up this assignment, no matter how good it is.”
He moved closer to me and ran his fingers through my hair. Inching away from him, I felt my breath catch when he clutched my waist.
“You’re a strong woman, to a certain extent, Cathy. You’re defying me now, because this assignment is getting you off. I know you. You’re starving for love, and if you get lost in this and let him get close enough, you may blow the whole case. That has nothing to do with me being jealous. True, I’ve been inside of you, and I know how good you feel. If you go there with that nigga, and he gets one taste of you, it’s over. He’s gonna fall in love. When he finds out who you really are, what then? What if you fall for him?”
“What the fuck are you talking about? You’re really letting your imagination run wild. There’s no way I’d ever blow the case for a nut. I’m not like you. I won’t ever risk it all for a temporary moment of pleasure. You’re reading too much into that meeting last night. The way he looked at me was not about lust. If anything, I think he felt like I was way more useful than you, his crew, and his security. If I hadn’t shot the man who had Camille at gunpoint, she’d be dead, and who knows who else.”
“Well, his girl didn’t seem to be grateful. She knows her man is looking at you in a different light now, whether you saved her life or not. It’s clear she feels threatened by you. Also, those niggas are still trying to figure out how you put that gun between your tits and got it in there when they felt all up in them shits.”
“We both know the secret.” There was a cushion stitched inside my bra to hide the hardness of the tiny gun when I was searched. There was no way we could go up in there completely unarmed.
“A woman like Indica is every gangsta’s dream. It’s obvious that Camille isn’t about that life, Cathy. He doesn’t know who you really are, and I’m afraid he’ll fall for the illusion. That’s understandable. Just don’t fall for the illusion of him.”
I shook my head. “I won’t. I learned my lesson after falling for the illusion of you. Now, please leave. I’m about to take a shower and get dressed. We have to be at Gaza’s in an hour.”
* * *
We pulled up the winding driveway that led to Gaza’s mini-mansion in the hills, and I tried to hide my awe. The house was twice the size of our villa and even more extravagant.
“Put your eyes back in your head,” Miles spat. He was so annoyed for nothing, and it was starting to get on my nerves.
“I’m thinking it may have been a bad idea for us to be on this case together. You’re taking everything way too personally, Miles. Get your head in the game, or I will call Special Agent Morris and—”
“And what?” he said, cutting me off. “You’re going to tell him the truth about us and risk your precious promotion? I don’t know who the fuck you think you’re fooling, but it’s not me. You ain’t that damn stupid.”
Not able to say anything in return, because he was right, I got out of the car and hurried toward the front door. By the time I rang the doorbell, Miles was right behind me. The tension between us could be cut with a knife, but we both tried to play that shit off. The door swung open, and there was Gaza in all his gorgeous-ass glory. That man was too damn sexy, and I started to wonder if I’d be strong enough to do what I had been hired to do. A bitch damn sure hated being human. Shit!
“Sway, Indica, mi glad yuh could make it. C’mon in.” He gestured with his hand, and we walked over the threshold. As he closed the door, he added, “And you don’t have to worry about some shit poppin’ off here. This place is top secret.”
“Who’s worried?” With a smile, I reached for a glass of champagne on the tray that a server was carrying.
“That’s Ace of Spades, beautiful. Enjoy.” Gaza kissed my hand, and Miles rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Mingle and enjoy yourselves. We’ll get down to business soon enough.” Gaza walked off, but before he did, his eyes bored into mine.
I took a sip of bubbly, trying to pretend that I didn’t feel Miles staring at me.<
br />
“See what I mean?” Miles scoffed.
“No,” I protested. “That shit is all in your head.”
“No it’s not.” As he looked around, he said, “I don’t see his girl. He must not have invited her, so he can be all up on you.”
“Oh, my God,” I muttered before I walked off. His ass really needed to get a grip. What the fuck was his problem? I’d been given the go-ahead to do what I had to do to gain Gaza’s trust. The thing was, it had been only twenty-four hours since we’d first laid eyes on each other. Miles had no reason to read so much into the way that man looked at me. At that point Gaza hadn’t crossed one line.
Miles was right behind me. “You have to admit that there’s a reason she’s not here,” he said. “I know how a man like him thinks. He’s going to try you, so he can get back to the United States. He thinks he can use you for a come up. That chick he’s with can’t give him what Indica can.”
“I thought you said you was going to get some pum pum while you’re here. I think you should, big bro. There’s plenty of beautiful women in here.” With a fake-ass smile plastered on my face, I wanted to slap the shit out of Miles.
“Right now, I’m more concerned about you giving yours up.” He narrowed his eyes at me.
“Not that I really give a shit about what you think about me, but don’t act like I’m some slut who’ll fuck anything moving. I’m not like you. Now, this time when I walk away, don’t follow me. If I need you, I’ll call your phone.” Rolling my eyes, I sauntered off and headed out the double doors onto the patio. Shit. I needed to clear my head.
“There yuh are,” I heard Gaza say behind me.
My time alone to think had been invaded, but I didn’t mind if it presented an opportunity for him to open up to me in some way. He had just met me, but I could be a little manipulative.
“Yeah. I don’t do well with crowds.”
Carl Weber's Kingpins: Jamaica Page 14