Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 (The Saga Continues) (8 page)

I knew one thing, this whole thing was becoming scarier and more sinister by the minute. Shit, it was starting to have a physical effect on me. My legs felt like they were about to become numb from dealing with this shit. And as I watched Diamond get her trifling ass out the passenger side of Duke’s Porsche, it felt as if I had an anxiety attack coming on. I took a couple of deep breaths and then I exhaled.

One of the things fucking with me was this muthafucka’s wife had just died in the fire and explosion that he probably was behind, and instead of playing the role of the grieving husband, he was hanging around with this worthless bitch. I didn’t know whether to admire the set of balls on Duke, or be appalled. Regardless, I still wanted his bitch ass dead and six feet under.

“That nigga gotta be selling drugs because you can’t cop a whip like that with a regular job.” T.J. commented as we both witnessed Diamond close the passenger side door of Duke’s car. “Every time that nigga pick her up or drop her off niggas around here be gritting on him. He don’t ever get out of the car when he come out here, so don’t nobody knows how he look. That nigga, Craig, from building four said if he ever catch homeboy outside his whip, he gon’ rob his ass and take his car for a joy ride.”

“How often does he come out here?” I wanted to know.

“He comes out here almost every day. If he ain’t picking her up, he’s dropping her off.”

“Did you see him pick her up today?” I continued to question T.J. If he tells me that Duke did in fact pick her up today, then she had to be in the car with him when he rode by the club tonight.

“Nah, I been out here all day and this is my first time seeing that car today,” he replied.

Instead of drilling T.J. with more questions, I turned off the ignition and stepped out of the truck. When I planted both of my feet on the ground I immediately became nervous. T.J. looked at me like I was crazy. “Whatcha getting ready to step to her?” he asked.

The fact that T.J. had reminded me about what I was about to do, made me want to stop and think of another way to approach this situation. Don’t get me wrong, Diamond wasn’t your typical Laila Ali. She wouldn’t step on a sour grape in a fruit fight. She was one of those bitches that would talk shit to you but when you step to her she’d back down every single time. So I wasn’t worried about her throwing her fists up. I was more worried that she’d call him and tell Duke where I was. I was sure with his connections he knew I was out of jail. His ass had everyone from bail bondsmen, prosecutors and city councilmen on his payroll. But what he didn’t know was where I was.

T.J. chuckled. “Don’t beat her ass too bad,” he said. I looked back at him with uncertainty, even though I knew she was no match for me. I tried to come up with a quick plan on how I would approach her. She had about two hundred feet from the parking lot to her apartment. If I wanted to get to her before she had time to get into her apartment and close the door, then I needed to sprint across the street right now. But when I tried to lift one foot up from the ground, it seemed impossible. I don’t know if I was in shock or what. But I knew that something wasn’t quite right with me.

“Why you just standing there? I thought you wanted to run up on her, so you can get your dough?”

I wanted to answer T.J. but my heart was beating louder than I thought.

“You better get over there before she get to her apartment,” he warned me. It was like TJ was coaching me into doing something I knew wouldn’t have a good outcome. With all the feelings I had harboring in my heart for Diamond, I knew if I came within two feet of her, I would seriously do some damage to her. Who knows, I’d probably catch a murder charge when it was all said and done. And then I will be right back in jail and I wouldn’t be getting out.

“Screw her. She ain’t worth it. I’ll catch up with her grimy ass later,” I finally said and then I realized I was able to move my feet again. I chuckled to myself. “God has a funny way of working things out,” I uttered quietly.

“Whatcha say?” T.J. blurted out.

“I'm talking to myself,” I told him and then I turned around and got back into the truck.

When I started the truck up and revved the engine, T.J. leaned towards the driver side window and said, “Want me to shout her ass out whenever I see her coming outside again and tell her that you were looking for?”

“No. Don't tell that bitch shit!”

“Good. ’Cause I really don't like the bitch anyway. She got smart with me a couple of months ago and she think I forgot all about it.”

“That’s just how she is. She doesn’t fuck with anyone who she can’t benefit from. But trust me, her fucking days are numbered. I just wish I would’ve known you didn’t fuck with her like that, because I wouldve gotten you and one of your homeboys to run up in her spot to get all my shit I left in there before I got bagged up by the police. That is, if the bitch hasn’t gotten rid of it herself.”

“Boy, I would’ve loved to break into her shit. Me and my boys haven’t done that shit in a long time. So it would have been funny as hell,” T.J. expressed as he smiled.

I let out a long sigh. “Glad to know. So I guess I’ll hit you up later. As a matter of fact, give me a number.”

“You got something to write with?” HE asked me.

“Wait, hold up,” I told him as I searched in the armrest of the truck for an ink pen. When I found one I also grabbed a business card Bishop must’ve taken from someone prior to him coming to Virginia. The business card was from a chick by the name of Karen Wheeler, who happened to be a mortgage broker from Newark, New Jersey. From the looks of her photograph, she was a very attractive woman. Too bad she wouldn’t be talking to him anymore.

Immediately after I scanned the front of the business card, I flipped it over and began to write down T.J.’s cell phone number. After I was done I assured him that I would be giving him a call.

“Take care of your business Ma.”

“I will.”

T.J. walked away from the truck and then I slowly exited the parking lot. Before I drove away, I noticed she turned on the light in the living room and then three seconds later the bedroom light came on. I shook my head because I realized that nothing about her had changed. Not even her movement throughout her apartment. Like clockwork, she’d always turn on the living room light as soon as she walked into the apartment, followed by her going straight to her bedroom and turning on the light as well. She was afraid of the dark. She would never sleep without some kind of light around her. Her TV ran all night long most of the time. I’ve heard people say that when a person is afraid of the dark, that’s because they are the devil. I never believed it until now.

It was only a matter of time before the fires of hell rain down on her stupid, scary ass.

Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 Unique

Where the Fuck Am I Going Now?- Chapter Ten

I wished like hell I could’ve gotten a chance to beat Diamond’s snitching ass up.

Luckily for her, I changed my mind and decided to come at her another way. I realized I do a lot of things on impulse. I never really thought things out, which was why things around me always seemed to fall apart.

As I drove away from the old neighborhood it dawned on me that I had nowhere to go. I couldn’t go back to the hotel for fear that my life could be in danger. So where in the hell was I going to lay my head tonight? One part of me wanted to stick my pride in my pocket and call my ex-boyfriend Devin. Sure he was a self-centered asshole who couldn't keep his dick in his pants. Besides the issues with his cheating he was a big liar. I couldn’t count the times that sorry ass nigga got caught in a whole bunch of lies. After a couple of years of his bullshit I finally threw in the towel. Don’t get me wrong, Devin was a handsome ass guy. He even had a body to die for, and did I mention how good his fuck game was? He had my dumb ass open. I couldn’t see the forest from the trees. Anything he said was always written in stone. Self-esteem issues were a huge factor in that relationship.

So today, I was so glad I could call him tonight and ask him to let me sleep over and not feel the pressures of fucking him to do so. After all, the bastard owed me. And I intended to collect. I mean, all I wanted was a warm bed to sleep in tonight and in the morning I would be gone.

I wasn’t sure if he had the same number but nothing beats a failure but a try. I pulled over to a service station off Military Highway, because I noticed they had a pay phone outside. Bishop had a lot of change in the armrest, so I dug in and grabbed two quarters. It felt foreign for me to be using a pay phone. I mean, who done that these days? Everyone I’ve run into had a cell phone, so I couldn’t believe that pay phones still existed. Not to mention, who'd think I would need to use one? I felt really weird.

After I dialed Devin’s cell phone number I crossed my fingers and hoped that he’d answer my call even though he didn’t recognize the number. He was big on not taking calls when he didn’t recognize the number. I just hoped that this time it would be different. The phone rang four times on my end and when it sounded as if it was about to go to his voicemail, I hurried up and disconnected the line. When the money fell down into the change tray, I retrieved it and pushed it back into the change slot and began to dial his number again.

“Devin, answer this time,” I said to myself. To no avail, he didn’t pick up the second time. I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason, which only meant that it wasn’t meant for me to get in touch with him. Instead of calling him again, I hung up the phone again and got my ass back into the truck.

I sat there for a moment and tried to figure out what I was going to do next. I thought about sleeping in the backseat of the truck. But either God or my gut told me to go back to Katrina’s house. I knew this sounded really insane on my part but I figured if I played on that bitch’s intelligence and acted like a distraught chicken with my head cut off, then she may have a little bit of sympathy for me. Trust me, I knew how to play the victim role. I even knew how to act like a dumb blonde. Then hoes like Katrina would think that you’re naïve and would feel secure around you. My motive right now was to get in good with this chick without making her feel suspicious. At the end of the day, I needed to get out of the streets and even though I had reservations, I had to help the cops out. And if it took getting close to this cutthroat bitch, then so be it.

Thinking about the horrible death of Bishop began to weigh heavily on my mind. I knew I had only known him for less than twenty-four hours, but he made an impact on me in those hours I spent with him. For the first time in my life, I shared time with a man who had someone else’s best interest in heart besides his own. I had ran into a lot of selfish men in my day, so I couldn’t express enough about how sorry I was that he got caught up in all of this mayhem going on in this town behind Duke Carrington.

The thought that Bishop could’ve asked me to walk in the club with him gave me the chills. I mean, if he had I would be dead right now. And the sad part about it was, no one would’ve cared. I raced back to Katrina’s house believing that Duke wouldn’t be there because he’d just dropped Diamond off at her apartment. And even if he hadn’t dropped Diamond off it would seem too risky for him to hang out at Katrina’s house anyway. Since the club exploded, and people died, an investigation had to be underway soon and all parties would be scoped out, if not investigated altogether.

Finally, when I pulled up to her house I noticed another car in the driveway and there were a few lights on in the house. I was somewhat hesitant to proceed to her house because of the other car being there. After I realized the 2010 Audi belonged to Neeko, I let out a sigh of relief.

I parked Bishop’s SUV alongside the curve in front of the house. Katrina must’ve heard the engine from the truck because right before I turned it off and pulled the key from the ignition, she peeked through the blinds in her bedroom window. I was sure I scared her by pulling up in this truck, so to put her at ease I got out so she could see that was I was alone. I couldn’t say how she was feeling, nor could I tell you what was going through her mind, but I do know she wasn't prepared for what I was about to throw her way. I put on an expression of pure exhaustion. I knew I had to be dramatic so I rushed up to the front door and rung the doorbell frantically. It took Katrina longer to get to the door than I expected. Generally, when someone is ringing your doorbell or banging on your door hysterically, then you'd be in a rush to find out what was causing this person to act like that. Not Katrina though. Whatever she was doing that prolonged her from answering the door was obviously more important. I just hoped that she wasn’t making a phone call to Duke. If she were, then I knew I wouldn’t leave here alive tonight.

Before she answered the door I said a quick prayer. I knew only God would be able to protect me from all of this mess that was going on.

“What's the matter, are you all right?” she asked immediately after she let me into her house.

I tried to produce some fake tears but I couldn't. So I became a little more dramatic and said, “Katrina, Bishop is dead.”

Katrina acted like she was surprised. Right then and there I knew that this bitch was a heartless ass snake. It appeared to me that she didn't think Bishop told me he was meeting her at the fucking club. So I played the dumb role just to see where she wanted to take it.

After she close the front door she led me into her kitchen and had me sit down in one of the kitchen chairs. “Katrina,” I uttered, “Bishop asked me to take a ride with him to the club so he can meet someone. And as soon as he went inside the whole place went up in flames.”

“What? I am not understanding you,” Katrina replied, sounding confused as she stood up next to me. She placed her hand over her heart and said, “You’re saying Magic City went up in flames?”