Daughter of a Queen Pin Page 4

  We went straight to the room. Terry was there on the bed with his hands tied. Pete’s brother had a shotgun close to his chest. Pete was at the door with his pistol cocked, pointing it at Terry. My once loyal soldier didn’t know what was going on until he saw my face and then saw my enforcers. I never let anyone see my enforcers until they were needed. They were part of the Bottom Barrel community, but deadly and loyal to me. I paid them well.

  “Krystal, I swear I didn’t do nothing. I don’t know what Pete has told you. He’s a dope fiend,” Terry yelled in anticipation of what he knew was going to happen.

  Pete’s brother hit him with the butt of the rifle.

  “Pete didn’t tell me nothing,” I said, shaking my head at his pitiful attempt to fend off what was coming for him. “Someone untie this nigga,” I ordered.

  All my guys had their guns out, ready for any command I’d give. I walked casually over to him, my gun out, and placed it to his head. “I’m only going to ask you this one time. Where is my fucking money?”

  “I didn’t have nothing—”

  Before he could finish the sentence, Lloyd had hit him with some brass knuckles. Blood poured out the open wound on his head.

  “It’s in my car,” Terry blurted out in fear of being hit once more.

  “Gimme me the keys!” I demanded.

  He reached in his pocket, happy to oblige my firm request.

  Lloyd hit him again on principle. “Just in case you thought about reaching for something else.”

  Terry gave me the keys, and I threw them to Hakim. “Go get my money.” I then turned to evil-eye Terry. “Every penny better be there from both houses.”

  “Walter got the other shit,” Terry quickly confessed, recklessly spitting blood on my clothes.

  “Walter from the number streets?” I questioned.

  All my enforcers looked at me to see the next move. Walter was a killer from back in the day rumored to have murdered two undercover officers. To me, this only meant we had to come correct to get my money back.

  Hakim returned with a bag full of money. He counted four thousand dollars.

  “Where’s my other two thousand, Terry?” I yelled.

  “I spent it. I’ll get it back, Krystal, by tomorrow.” Terry was in tears.

  My mind was racing. I had to set an example, or I would be tried again and again. “You two get him and bring him in the living room,” I commanded.

  Lloyd and Hakim grabbed Terry. Lloyd put duct tape around Terry’s mouth.

  “No, put the tape around his chest. I want his mouth free,” I said.

  We walked into the living room. All eyes were on us. Lloyd and Hakim pushed Terry to the middle of the floor.

  “Listen up!” I yelled to the dope fiends all around. “I will give fifty dollars cash to any man in here that is willing to let ole Terry here suck his dick.”

  The fear in Terry’s face became evident as he tried to search my eyes for pity. An old man with big arms stepped to the middle of the floor. His legs were big, too, swollen from the years of shooting drugs in his veins.

  “Excuse me, Ms. Krystal, but you said if I let him suck my dick, you gonna just give me fifty dollars? No lie?”

  “Yes. Hakim, give him fifty dollars.” I smirked with satisfaction. The old man unzipped his pants and found his little penis and stuck it in Terry’s face.

  “If you bite anybody, it ends right here,” Lloyd promised with authority, eager to pull the trigger.

  “Open your fucking mouth, turncoat-ass nigga,” Hakim hissed as he nudged Terry, who had tears and snot running down his face. He pissed on himself, and I thought I smelled some shit as his pride was taken. This went on for two or three minutes before the big dude finished.

  “Next! Who’s next to get this cash?”

  The rest of the male dope fiends in the house saw that this was some easy money and a free high, so they got in line.

  I walked to the door, and Lloyd followed me. He was always two steps behind me wherever I went. I really wanted to give him some, but then I’d have to kill him, because he would try to take advantage of me. I stopped near the men who were guarding the door.

  “Lloyd, tell Hakim to put him in his car. I don’t want no body found.” I put my pistol away as Lloyd went to whisper in Hakim’s ear.

  Lloyd told the others to stay with Hakim, and we left. On the way back to the greasy spoon, we spoke about what the consequences of our actions would be. Whatever they were, we would be prepared. We also talked about Walter and decided we would pay his disloyal ass a visit the next day. If he heard about Terry, he would be looking for us. So, we would strike first.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  When we pulled up on the block, I saw police cars everywhere, marked and unmarked. As we got closer to the greasy spoon, we noticed they were going in and out. Lloyd looked at me and I looked at him, concern in our eyes.

  “Keep going, Lloyd. Go around the block.” I thought about my mother and Sable.

  I hope nothing happened to them. Maybe somebody stuck us up. Sable would never call the police without calling me first.

  “Lloyd, stop the car.”

  He pulled over, and we took off our vests and put all the guns in the trunk. We left the car around the block and walked back to the greasy spoon.

  “I don’t like this,” Lloyd said. “I feel like we’re unprotected.”

  “Relax. It’s gonna be a’ight,” I assured him.

  When we arrived at the greasy spoon, the police asked me, “Who are you?”

  “I’m the owner,” I told him, then pointed to Lloyd. “And this is my husband.”

  He let us pass by, and we rushed inside. “Where’s Ms. Lady?” I yelled in a panic, noticing all the solemn faces. Lloyd held me as Sable came running from the office at the sound of my voice.

  “Krystal, Auntie got shot! She got shot in the leg, but she’s all right. They rushed her to the hospital.”

  I looked around and saw bullet holes everywhere. The police were taking fingerprints and looking around. “What happened? You all right?” I was shaking as I leaned on Sable.

  “Somebody tried to stick us up, and Auntie was forced to shoot him to save our lives.” Sable gave me that look, like “don’t ask no more questions.” She tightly hugged me and whispered in my ear, “I’ll tell you later.”

  I hadn’t really noticed, but all the police officers were coming from the office.

  Did they find our guns and drugs? No, if that was the case, we would be in handcuffs.

  Sable pulled me into the office, with Lloyd following right behind. A few police officers were bending over something. As we got closer, I saw it was a male’s body. The face was almost blown off. I couldn’t see his nose or ears. It looked like his pants were pulled down.

  Lloyd tapped me on the back to get my attention. “Yooo, that’s Walter’s good thieving ass.”

  I couldn’t wait to hear this story.

  The police tried to talk to us, but I told them, “My mother just got shot. I can’t think straight to talk to y’all right now.”

  The morgue finally came and got the body, and then most of the officers left. One stayed and tried to get Sable to go out with him. She begrudgingly agreed, and he finally left as well.

  Ms. Lady returned from the hospital with a bandage wrapped around her leg. She took one look at my face and saw how concerned I was. “Relax,” she told me. “It’s only a flesh wound. God was on my side today.”

  I hugged her tight, relieved that she wasn’t hurt worse. Then I turned to Sable.

  “So, yo, what really popped off?” I asked.

  “I was coming out the office when this guy comes in. He said he wanted to make a purchase. Auntie knew him, so I went to hook him up. When I came back, he had a gun on her. He asked where you were.”

  “He asked for me?”

  “Yeah, you. Then Auntie came up blasting from her hip after hearing your name. But she was so high, she kept missing his ass. He messed around and shot her in the leg. Then he asked where we kept the money and the drugs.

  “I had my gun on me, and he saw it and took it. He shoved me in the office, all the time looking at my ass. ‘You are a pretty young thing,’ he mumbled and then he started rubbing his nuts.

  “I went to get the house money we keep for this kind of occasion, and I gave it to him. He was so busy looking at me, he dropped the damn money,” Sable explained all in one breath.

  She paused for a minute and then continued her story.

  “He yells at me, ‘You pick it up, little bitch!’ I started thinking that all this fool wanted was some pussy. So, I bent down to pick up the money.”

  I could already tell where this story was going, and when she continued, she confirmed what I thought.

  “Of course, you know I don’t wear no panties, and I had on this mini skirt. So, he saw my bald private parts staring him in the face. I opened my legs more and pretended to be scared. Please don’t hurt me.” She said that last part in a little girl voice. She had played her part well.

  “And then I looked up in his eyes and gave him the money. I could see the lust written all over his face. He says, ‘Don’t play with me. I’m not the one,’ like he was in control, but I could tell his excitement was getting the best of him.

  “I started fake crying, but my mind was on Tick Tock you left in the desk drawer. When dude got on top of me and started to unfasten his pants, I told him, ‘Wait, let’s get on the desk. I promise I won’t resist as long as you don’t hurt me.’ So, he let me up. I got on the desk and laid back so I could reach my left hand in the drawer.

  “Girl, I opened my legs and lifted them over my head so I could pull the gun out without him seeing me. He was all like, ‘Damn, that shit looks good.’” She laughed
at how stupid this fool was.

  “He pulled down his pants. Just then, I saw Auntie out the corner of my eye. She was close. She shot him in the fucking ear. Stupid fool turned to try to retaliate, but he had left his gun on the damn floor. Auntie shot again, and I found Tick Tock. Then I shot him dead in the face.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” I said, proud of both of them.

  She continued, “I got up off the desk as he fell to the ground. I was pissed that he thought he could rape me like it was nothing, so I shot him two more times. To make sure he was good and dead, Auntie shot him once more in the heart. We made sure that he would never be able to come back on us.”

  “Well, y’all did good,” I said, “and I’m relieved that no one was seriously hurt. Now, what did y’all tell the cops?”

  “I told the police that he tried to stick us up and rape me, which was true. So, if we have to lawyer up later down the road behind this bullshit, then so be it.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  The word was out, and our reputation was growing. Family First Enterprise was growing. Our name-brand product of heroin was selling throughout the state. You would see white and black folks coming from all parts to visit the greasy spoon. We had to have at least five guys on the payroll to help Ms. Lady because of the steady traffic. We had detectives visit us once a month to pick up an envelope. I had been against this all the way, but Sable insisted, and I guess she was right. We never had a police raid.

  I was twenty-one, I had a six-figure bank account, and a new house in the suburbs. Here I was, making all this money, and I wasn’t happy. Sable said I needed to get out more and meet different people. I agreed to hang out with her and her police officer friend, the one that was at the greasy spoon the night Ms. Lady got shot. He was also the one who picked up the envelopes.

  We went to this fancy restaurant downtown. The food was decent, and I enjoyed spending time with Sable away from the greasy spoon. Seeing her happy made me a little jealous. Sable and her man were laughing and talking. I guess that was what I missed in my life. I was so focused on trying to set up my business that I missed out.

  While looking away, not trying to intrude on their time together, I thought I saw someone I knew. It looked like Cedric from high school. He appeared so mature and businesslike, sitting there with a suit and tie. I tried to catch his eye, but the waiter got in my way so he couldn’t see me.

  “Krystal, are you enjoying yourself this evening?” asked Sable.

  “Yes, girl, I—” Before I could finish my sentence, a bouquet of flowers was in my face.

  “Hello there, beautiful.” It was Cedric.

  “Cedric, what are you doing here?” I asked while blushing and taking the flowers.

  “I’m in here all the time. I’m a silent partner,” he said.

  I was impressed, and for a minute, I just stared at him. Sable cleared her throat to get my attention.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, snapping out of my trance. “This is my cousin Sable and her friend Tim. Can you join us?” I asked with my brightest smile.

  “No, I’m sorry. I’m waiting on a new client.”

  The disappointment must have been all over my face. My whole demeanor changed.

  He continued, “Not to be rude, but Krystal, would you join me for a few minutes at my table while I wait for my client? We can catch up.”

  I looked at Sable, and she gave me that look that we had only between us.

  “Sable, Tim, I’ll be back,” I said.

  Cedric pulled my chair out so I could get up, scoring points with Sable on his manners.

  “Nice meeting you guys.” Cedric smiled as he grabbed my hand and led me to his table.

  We talked for hours. He said he was an investor, and he bought properties and resold them.

  “I don’t sell drugs no more. Everything I do is legit,” he said, sounding proud of himself. “But I heard you slangin’ the Bottom Barrel.”

  I couldn’t tell if he was judging me, so I just nodded my head slightly, not sharing any details.

  “I also heard you got it all sewed up down there. Good for you,” he said. It felt good to know he was impressed.

  A while later, Sable came over to our table and said, “Yo, we’re gonna head out. You okay over here?”

  “Yeah, I’m cool,” I told her.

  Cedric spoke up. “If you’d like, I can bring you home later.”

  I thought about it for a minute and decided I didn’t want the night to end yet, so I said, “Yeah, you can take me home later.”

  Sable looked in my eyes to make sure I really meant it. I could tell she wasn’t sure about this dude yet. She looked out for me like that.

  “Okay,” she said, “but you got Tick Tock, right?”

  “Sure do.”

  Once she was satisfied that I was okay, she left.

  “Tick Tock, huh?” Cedric said, laughing as he watched her and Tim leave the restaurant.

  “Yeah,” I said. “A sister can’t be too careful out here.”

  “I hear that.”

  We stayed until everyone else had left and the crew was cleaning up the restaurant. I had Cedric take me over Sable’s house because I didn’t want him to know where I lived so soon.

  We sat in front of Sable’s house talking. It was raining outside, but the temperature was warm. The light rain on the windshield was so romantic. I was getting this funny feeling, like when you are happy to be somewhere, but you don’t know where you’re going. We let the seats back and talked until the sun came up. It seemed like we had so much in common. He was where I wanted to be in the next five years.

  “I gotta go. Look at what time it is,” I finally said.

  He looked into my eyes. “I enjoyed the time we spent together. I’m sorry we never had the opportunity to get together in high school.”

  As I got out of the car, he followed me, to my surprise.

  I hope he don’t think he’s getting some.

  As a true gentleman, he walked me to my door, gave me his card, and asked me to call him. Cedric kissed me on the cheek and walked back to his car and left. My past was about to be my future.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Three hours later, the smell of bacon and eggs awoke me from my sleep. In the kitchen, Sable was cooking breakfast.

  “Good morning, Krystal. How was your night? You must have gotten in pretty late,” she said.

  “Yeah, I got in late,” I responded briefly, knowing she wanted to hear details about Cedric and my night with him. I washed my hands and got a plate to eat.

  “Okay, Krystal,” she said when she figured out that I was not giving up the details easily. “Who was he, and what did you do last night?”

  I started gushing like a schoolgirl with a crush. “I had the most beautiful night. We just had a good time talking, laughing, and getting to know each other. We stayed in the restaurant until after it closed. And I had Cedric bring me over here so he wouldn’t know where I stay.”

  “Uh-huh. That’s how we do it. Smart move,” she said. We laughed, and she gave me a high five.

  “But it felt good being around someone that you can identify with, someone who looks at you and doesn’t just see money or a profit. You know what I mean?”

  “Yes, but guys always want something. You just haven’t figured out what.” She was skeptical.

  “Girl, I don’t think he’s like that. I’ve known him since high school, even though we never had the chance to hook up because he was with some crazy ho. Anyway, we laughed and talked until the sun came up.”

  Sable looked at me with her eyebrows raised like she was surprised. She’d never heard me talking like this about no dude.

  “Shit, I better stop thinking like that,” I said, coming back to reality. “We got work to put in. I ain’t got time to fall in love.”

  “Krystal, trust, there is no right time. When it hits you, it hits you. Ain’t jack shit you can do about it but deal with it. Now, go on and eat this breakfast while I go upstairs and get dressed,” Sable said.

  A half hour later, Sable came downstairs dressed to the nines. She had on a sexy hat tilted to the side and a black business pants suit with a fluffy blouse that she accented with a red tie, which matched the color of her lipstick.

  “Girl, where are you going?” I smiled, seeing how fresh she was.