Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 (The Saga Continues) (19 page)

No gun, no bullet, no knife, no noise.

Just as we had walked to the apartment, we walked the same way back to the car. Bishop whispered in my ear as we approached the car. I signaled my cat, Rodney, over and I told him to spread the word to the folks around the area that was out tonight that this was done by Duke Carrington, the cat who always dropped Diamond off in the Porsche. Then I handed him a wad of cash. Bishop would tell me later the amount of the wad—twenty thousand. Hush money. It was Rodney’s job to spread the money around and of course, keep half for himself.

Rodney knew the deal as did everyone else. They knew power when they saw it. And in the ’hood, money and power truly did talk. Even though they didn’t know Bishop, whoever opened their mouth knew this powerful dude would come back and take them out. And if he was in a bad mood, he would probably take out the whole family as well.

As we departed the apartment’s parking lot, I thought about the good and bad times Diamond and I had together. We were girls. I loved that bitch for most of my life. She was my girl, my bitch. She was my ride and die forever. And the bitch betrayed me—and for what, a no-good ass nigga who didn’t give a fuck about me, her or anyone else.

You chose wrong, bitch. You chose wrong.

Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 Unique

One Down, Two to Go-Chapter Twenty-Three

Loyalty has been known to die a hard and painful death.

Torch took his time departing that wretched ass neighborhood as if we were cruising the park after freshly waxing a car. I didn’t get these cats. You would think we were just chilling on a Friday or Saturday night. My adrenaline was pumping hard through my entire body and I was ready for what was to come next. But I still didn’t get these cats.

Bishop gave Monty the address to program the GPS to where Chris was hiding out. When he said Lake Edwards Drive, I knew we were headed to the Lake Edwards area. Lake Edwards was considered the ’hood. The townhouses out there were built in the early eighties and back then it was considered a middle class neighborhood. Now those same houses were worn down from all the bad tenants and wannabe drug pushers that plagued the streets of the neighborhood. I wanted to ask Bishop why Chris would be in Lake Edwards. I was sure Diamond told him. If she answered all of his questions, which I was sure she did, then he also knew where Duke was hiding out. But truthfully, I realized it didn’t even matter at this point. So I said fuck it as I sat back and took in the scenery.

Torch entered Lake Edwards from Newtown Road, near a 7-Eleven convenience store. My heart picked up speed the closer we came to the address Chris was reportedly at. I was shocked to see that the streets were deserted. This wasn’t how this place normally was. Something just wasn’t right. Either the police had just rolled through and did a sweep or we were walking into an ambush. Damn, I wished I could put my finger on it. But I couldn’t, so I warned Bishop and his two men to keep their heads up. And after they assured me that they would, I said a quiet prayer. I had a feeling that God wouldn’t want to hear a word I had to say, especially after what I did to Diamond. But I figured what could it hurt to talk to Him anyway? He was the ruler of all the earth. And nothing would happen unless He signed off on it. So who better to go to but the source?

I had to get in focus. I was losing perspective. Thoughts of that trick, Diamond, were shooting in and out of my head. Good times and bad were playing ping pong in my brain. One thought was of us as kids and pre-teens, playing hop-scotch and jacks. Other thoughts were of us growing up to be teenagers and doing all kinds of foul shit that pissed off our teachers, parents and any other authority figure we could piss off. Then there were the memories of me always trying to save her grimy ass from this situation or that situation—from some nigga wanting to kick her ass for her stealing from him to a mad wife tired of Diamond fucking her husband. In the long run, that didn’t make a bit of difference either, that bitch deserved to die. And most importantly, she deserved the ass whipping I gave her.

By the time we arrived at the residence Diamond said Chris would be, Bishop’s Blackberry started vibrating. It was easy to hear. The radio was on a jazz satellite station and turned down low. Bishop looked down at the caller ID, and I shot a look as well. The name on the phone display was Wifey.

Fuck me! For whatever reason, an instant and sharp pain shot through my heart. I literally wanted to take the phone out of his hand and tell that bitch to go and get a life. This was my time with Bishop, not hers, so why the fuck couldn’t she stay in her own lane. Shit, he would be back in New Jersey soon, so stop sweating him while he was here. It was at that time that I realized I wanted the fairy tale. I wanted this muthafucka to come swinging down on a vine and sweep me off my feet and take me away from this wasteland forever because I did not deserve to be here.

Yep, I realized snatching the phone from Bishop would not have gone over well. Not with Bishop, nor with the men who sat in the front seat as his bodyguards and protectors. So I sat back and waited to see how he would handle this awkward situation.

“Drive around the block one more time,” Bishop instructed Torch and then he pressed the send button. “What’s up, baby?” he said to her.

I had to be honest and say I was about to flip out, because I had become jealous. The way he said baby had a lot of meaning behind it. I’d never had a man talk to me like that. And what was even worse was he said it like he meant it. Thank God I couldn’t hear what she said on the other end, because I knew her voice alone would probably irritate me.

Quite honestly, this was messing me up. Bishop being on the phone supposed to be an awkward moment for him, but it wasn’t. It was awkward for me, considering my feelings. I was sure this was normal, everyday business for him. But for me the awkwardness spoke volumes. We were about to probably commit murder again and this muthafucka was talking to his bitch on the phone. I wonder if there was even a morsel of regret for what he did to Diamond.

Shit! I had to get a grip. In my heart I was acting as if Bishop belonged to me or I was his lady. The hug when we saw each other again and the clothes and food at the hotel had given me a false sense of reality. The truth was I wanted his ass. I wanted him to treat me like the bitch he was talking to. The inflection in his voice had changed. He was gentle with her, whoever she was, and more attentive. In any other man it would probably come off as a sign of weakness. With Bishop, it only added to his strength. He really was the epitome of powerful in so many ways.

“Nah, I won’t be able to do that right now. But I could probably do it early in the morning,” he told her and then he fell silent.

While Bishop spoke calmly with his worrisome ass woman, I turned my attention towards the houses and the trees we passed in the neighborhood. I tried to block his conversation out, but it was very difficult to do. Finally, after three long and agonizing minutes, he ended his call. And boy was I happy about that.

“Come on, let’s get down to business,” Bishop said and I knew the meaning in his words, Let’s hurry up and do what we have to do so we can get out of here.

Torch drove slowly back down Lake Edwards Drive and we noticed a white late model Honda Accord had pulled up in front of the address Diamond gave Bishop. Monty pointed it out.

“Maybe I should pretend I’m going to go knock on someone’s door,” I suggested. Bishop liked that idea. When I was about to step out of the truck, both the passenger and driver side doors opened on the Honda Accord. Bishop put his hand on my shoulder as if he was telling me to hold on.

We all watched as a young black woman stepped out of the driver side, while a tall cat hopped out of the passenger side, with an Applebee’s carryout bag in his hand. I couldn’t believe our stroke of luck. I knew that big muthafucka anywhere. It was Chris. Both luck and coincidence were on our side. “That’s him. That’s Chris right there,” I blurted out.

Bishop looked at me. “Are you sure?”

“Fuck yeah, I’m sure!” I spit out. “He’s wearing the exact same thing he was wearing last night and even if he wasn’t, I know that muthafucka anywhere.”

Bishop didn’t say another word. He touched Torch on the back of his shoulder and without saying a word, Torch knew to drive up directly behind the car.

These fucking guys and their non-verbal communication were amazing. They were poetry in motion and the only thing I needed to do was follow in their footsteps.

When Torch punched the gas and pulled up behind the Honda, all three men jumped out in unison, and bum rushed Chris and his lady. “I want both of them in the house,” I heard Bishop say.

“What do you want me to do?” I called out to him.

“You coming with us,” he said in a fading voice.

Within seconds they were in the face of Chris and his lady. This shit reminded me of some gang wars. It was surreal. I couldn’t believe that I was yet in another sting operation to take down another one of Duke’s flunkies. I couldn’t wait to see Chris’s face when he saw me. That shit would be priceless.

The sudden bum rush on Chris and his female companion caught them both off guard. I didn’t get it. This son-of-a-bitch really wasn’t on the lookout for anyone assaulting his criminal ass. He should have known either the cops or somebody would be after his sorry ass. After all, it was over the news that Duke Carrington and his bodyguard, Chris Washington, was wanted in the murder of Katrina.

When Chris’s female companion saw Bishop and his boys coming at them with their guns aimed and cocked, she screamed instantly. Torch pointed his gun directly into her face and demanded she shut the fuck up or else. Chris dropped the carryout bag and tried to make a run for it, but little Monty got to him before he could move an inch. My heart raced as I watched everything unfold. I swear it was like watching an episode of Fugitives.

“Get ‘em in the house,” Bishop instructed Torch who had the female in his grasp.

I watched how Monty and Bishop handled Chris, while Torch forced the chick towards the front door. “Is anybody in the house?” he asked her as she fumbled to get her keys out.

She whimpered a barely audible no.

“You better not be lying to me,” he threatened her.

I looked around at the other townhouses on the street. I had to make sure no one was watching us. At this point in the game, we didn’t need any interruptions. Not the police, or anyone else. But as I thought about it, if someone did see us, they would probably put a deaf ear and blind eye to what we were doing. If they knew Chris or anything about him, they probably thought he was getting what he deserved. Anyway, when I felt the coast was clear, I focused my attention back on Bishop and Monty as they forced Chris into the house behind Torch and the woman.

Before I entered the house behind them, I looked around at all the windows and front doors once more. This was the least I could do in a situation like this.

“Lynise, get your ass in here now!” I heard Bishop yell. I turned around and rushed into the house, making sure I didn’t touch the door handle with my hands. I used the bottom part of my jacket to open the door, because I knew I couldn’t leave a single fingerprint, especially after what Bishop came here to do.

Inside the house, I closed door and locked it behind me. Shit was already heating up very quickly. When Chris saw my face, he looked like he saw a motherfucking ghost. I smiled at his bitch ass while Bishop and Monty had him cornered at the end of the sofa with their guns aimed directly at his fucking face.

“Thought your bitch ass was going to get me last night, huh?” I said. “Well, the joke is on you playa!” I put emphasis on the last word for his bitch ass. But he didn’t respond. I started to spit on his ass but I couldn’t take the risk of leaving my DNA on this bastard. That didn’t stop me from punching him in his fucking face. SMACK! I tried to take his fucking nose off. “You ain’t nothing but a fucking flunky,” I continued. “Around here doing Duke’s dirty work. Now look at your dumb ass! Too bad your existence on this earth is about to expire.”

I laughed at his stupid ass and it felt good. So, so good. Fuck him. And fuck Diamond too. Both of these dumbasses deserved to die for being flunkies for big and powerful Duke Carrington.

Torch’s hand wrapped around her neck incredibly fast that I didn’t see where it came from. I had never seen someone move so fucking fast. “Shut the fuck up before you get it first!” he warned her.

She didn’t say another word but tears rolled down her face like a waterfall.

“Y’all bitch ass niggas do me in. She ain’t got shit to do with what I do,” Chris blurted out.

Bishop smacked the back of Chris’s head with the butt of his pistol. Blood skirted everywhere. “Casualty of war,” Bishop said in a smooth and mellow tone. “See Mr. Washington, when you kill another person’s family member, you have to expect the same.”

I watched Chris’s expression after Bishop hit him with his gun. From what I could surmise, that pain hit him hard. All he did was suppress his scream and hold the back of his head. No, that was the physical pain and he could take that. What was getting to him was the mental anguish Bishop was putting him through. He had all but told Chris that his lady was dying tonight. I didn’t react to that, but I really didn’t know what to feel about that. I didn’t know the bitch. But she was with Chris and knew who Chris worked for, so she had to have some idea how foul he was. If she wasn’t a casualty of war, she was indeed a casualty of stupidity.