Eve (31 page)

Felon sat in the driver's seat of his Lincoln Navigator, smoking a cigarette. He was both relieved and worried. The police had their killer, so Franko had opened the lane up for him, which was a good thing. But there was still no sign of Butter. He and Teddy had checked the safe house, but it didn't look like Butter had been there in a minute. His men had searched all of Butter's haunts, but they found no sign of him. This made him uneasy.

More and more Felon thought of the man called Johnny Black. Was it possible that he had gotten to Butter? Not likely; someone would have heard something by now. As he glanced out of the window, he saw Teddy walking in his direction holding a newspaper. The expression on the youngster's face was a grim one.

“Got some bad news,” Teddy said, hopping into the passenger's seat.

“What's going on?” asked Felon.

“Take a look at this.” He unfolded the newspaper and pointed to an article on page five. A young Brooklyn girl named Tahlia Deeds was reported missing two nights ago from the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn. The girl's baby father said that she was supposed to be going to the store, but witnesses reported her getting into a car with a light-skinned man. No one had seen Tahlia since.

“Ain't that the shorty that Butter used to fuck with?” Felon asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

“Sure is.” Teddy nodded. “They've been on and off for a minute. She disappeared around the same time Butter did.”

“I don't like this shit.” Felon pulled on his cigarette. “My gut tells me something is wrong.”

“Don't jump to conclusions just yet,” Teddy said, trying to calm him. “For all we know, Butter could've gotten paranoid and left town. Let's go out and look for him before we panic.”

Felon gave Teddy a half smile. Butter hated being away from Harlem, let alone New York. Even if he were do decide to go OT he would've contacted Felon or Teddy. He would've liked to believe that he was just overreacting, but in his heart he already knew that his friend was gone. He might not have been able to save Butter, but he would see to it that Johnny Black was hunted down.

 

Eve sat at her kitchen table picking at a plate of bacon and eggs. She appreciated her uncle going though the trouble of preparing breakfast, but she didn't have much of an appetite. There was too much going on. All through the meal Uncle Bobby tried to make small talk, but she only half listened. Seeing the disturbed look on his niece's face, he decided to cut to the chase.

“Eve, what's been wrong with you lately?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said, chopping her eggs with the fork.

“Don't feed me that. I know something is bothering you. Talk to me.”

“There's nothing to tell, Uncle Bobby. I'm just trying to live my life. Why does something have to be going on?”

“Anytime my niece is stealing old military equipment from me, something is definitely going on. Now, you gonna tell me what's up?”

“There's just a lot going on right now.” She sighed. “I'm trying to stay focused, but it isn't easy. A lot of people are depending on me right now.”

“Depending on you for what? Eve, what are you into?”

“Tell me something. Back in your army days, if someone messed with one of your squad, what would you do?”

“Well, I'd do what I could to protect him. In the trenches, all we had was each other.”

“So that same rule applies to the streets, then?”

“That's different. We were at war.”

“And we're not?” she asked. “Uncle Bobby, I know you don't spend a lot of time on the streets, so you really don't understand what's going on. There are people out there preying on young girls and nobody seems to give a fuck. Every time you look in the paper, somebody's daughter or sister is falling victim. When is somebody gonna stand up and say enough?”

“Eve, they got the police to handle that kind of stuff.”

“But what happens when the police can't or won't do anything about it?”

“Baby girl, sounds like you might be getting into something that's way over your head. I know you're hurting about what happened, but in time the pain will fade,” he tried to console her.

She chuckled. “Uncle Bobby, this ain't just about Cassidy. This is about a little girl's nightmares and finally being able to put them to rest.” Eve kissed him on the forehead and left the apartment.

 

Uncle Bobby sat there pondering the conversation with Eve and wondered what he should do next. No matter what the girl said, he knew something was up. She was hardly ever home, but when she was, she was walking around whispering on her cell phone. A definite sign that something was going on. Not only was her attitude different, she was different. Eve had dyed her hair and brought a whole bunch of clothes that did not fit who she was. Bobby might've been old, but he wasn't a fool.

He thought about their exchange over breakfast and his wheels began to spin. “A little girl's nightmares finally being put to rest” is what she had said. Ever since she was a little girl, Evelyn Panelli was never one to fear anything. There was only one thing he could think of that had ever caused his niece to lose sleep.

Bobby wheeled down the hall and removed the picture of Eve and her parents from the wall. He ran his fingers across the photo and smiled. “Looks like the game ain't over just yet,” he whispered.

 

“Where the fuck is this guy?” Carlo flipped his cell phone closed.

“Trouble, cousin?” Sal asked.

“Fucking Steve isn't picking up his phone. I've been trying to get him on the line since this morning.”

“Maybe he's still laid up with the Black broad?”

“Probably.” Carlo scratched his chin. “Speaking of broads, what do you think of that redhead number from last night?”

Sal smiled. “You know I don't do dark meat, but I'd like to do her.”

“Did you check that sweet ass?” Carlo clutched his heart. “I'm getting a hard-on just thinking about her.”

“So, when are you gonna try to pop her?” Sal asked.

“As soon as possible. Sally, I gotta have that broad!”

“I don't understand you, Carlo.” Sal shook his head. “All of the white women in this city and you chase Black tail. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“It's an acquired taste,” Carlo said, resembling an addict thinking of a fix. “I mean, I've screwed my fair share of white broads, but they don't match up to Black pussy. There's nothing like crawling between a pair of warm brown thighs.”

“If you say so.” Sal frowned. “I'll stick to my own.”

“Suit yourself.” Carlo shrugged. “But don't knock it till you try it.”

Carlo flipped his phone back open and dialed the redhead's number. After the third ring, Eve answered. “Guess who?” Carlo sang.

“What's going on, big time?” she said, as if she was overjoyed to hear from him. “I thought you had forgotten about me.”

“Never,” he told her. “I've just been busy. Got a lot on my plate.”

“So I hear.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” he asked curiously.

“I do my homework, Carlo De Nardi. I hear you're the man to see,” she said in a sultry tone.

“That's what I've been trying to tell you.” He grinned. “Enough about me, let's talk about us. I wanna see you.”

“I don't know, baby. I'm a pretty busy girl myself,” she teased.

“Well, make yourself unbusy.”

“Carlo, as bad as I wanna see you, I have a very hectic schedule. A girl's gotta eat, ya know?”

“If money's all that you're worried about, I got enough of that to keep you occupied for a while,” he boasted.

“Carlo, I don't know what kind of girls you're used to dealing with, but money don't make me moist. Only hard dick motivates me.”

“Well, I got that for you too,” Carlo said excitedly. “Come on, Evelyn. Don't make me beg.”

“Of course not, boo. The begging comes later. Tell you what, let me handle what I need to handle and I promise to see you sometime this week.”

“Sometime this week?” he asked, disappointed. “Baby, Carlo De Nardi doesn't wait for anything.”

“Not even for this sweet pussy?” she asked, her voice low and soft.

“Hmmm, that's a hard one.”

“Tell you what. For you being such a good boy and waiting, I promise to make it worth your while.”

“I'm gonna hold you to that, and it better be worth it,” he told her.

“Oh, it will be. I'll give you a call later.” Then Eve ended the call.

Carlo sat back on the sofa, touching himself. Evelyn was a prime piece of ass. Of all the Black girls he had laid, she was the most prized catch. Cassidy was good, but she had mileage and a reputation. Evelyn was a fresh face. Suddenly he forgot all about Steve's abrupt disappearance and focused on what he wanted to do to young Evelyn.

 

After hanging up with Carlo, Eve pulled out her regular cell phone and dialed Kiki to put the next phase of their plan into action. Eve knew that there was no way to make Steve disappear without raising suspicion, so she planned for it. Not only had she had Steve murdered, but she was going to destroy his credibility. Just as they had done to Cassidy.

“Sup, Twenty?” Kiki said when she answered the phone.

“Chilling, sis,” Eve replied. “How'd everything go?”

“As smooth as you said it would, ma. I passed by two barber shops and three hair salons with Rah. We made sure the story got out. The rest is on the rumor mill.”

“Good looking, sis,” Eve said.

“You know Twenties look out for their own. I wish I could be there to see the look on Carlo's face when he catches wind that his bodyguard was sharing information with the Feds.”

 

Al & Son's car lot in Jamaica, Queens, was usually pretty quiet. They did enough business to keep their doors open, but there was never an overabundance of activity. That morning was quite different. Police tape blocked the entrance to the lot while plainclothes officers swarmed the place, looking for clues.

A customer had come in that morning wanting to purchase a car that was on the lot. When the salesman looked at the tag, he realized that it wasn't one of theirs. After a brief search of the car, they realized it was a rental. Upon further inspection of the car, they found two bodies in the trunk. One belonged to the missing girl and the other was an unidentified man. They both had bullet holes in their heads.

Carlo sat and listened as Tony recounted what he had heard. Tony was one of his most trusted friends, so he knew that he wouldn't bring him that kind of information unless there was some truth to it. Even though he was hearing it, he found it very hard to believe. Steve had worked for the De Nardis for quite some time. Carlo trusted him with his life. The man had always been loyal and diligent in his work. Steve's usefulness had never come into question until then.

“I can't believe it!” Carlo slammed his fist into the wall. “How could Big Steve turn on us?”

“Hey, I'm just as shocked as you are,” Tony said, “but that's the word. They said the police picked him up in connection with that hooker who got clipped. This is bad.”

“You think I don't fucking know that!” Carlo snapped. “Jesus, he could hang us all. We gotta get to him.”

“Not likely. I called some of our people downtown and no one knows anything. My guess is that the Feds got him and they're keeping things real hushed.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Carlo screamed. “We gotta call a meeting. Tony, we gotta get this thing cleaned up before my father finds out.”

“Don't worry, Carlo.” Tony patted him on his back. “Franko will understand. We're gonna straighten this whole thing out.”

Carlo wished he shared his friend's confidence, but he didn't. Steve knew some of his darkest secrets. Carlo had said and done things in front of Steve that not even his father was aware of. Because of him, the whole De Nardi empire could take a hit. Son or not, if Steve implicated Franko because of something Carlo let slip, he was a dead man.

 

Eve watched Beast as he frolicked with a stray puppy he had found the night before. He had such a childlike innocence about him. Eve had involved him with Steve's murder when she knew she shouldn't have. She had already caused him so much grief that it was selfish of her to have him risking his life for her vendetta. A tear almost escaped her eye as she thought of never seeing him again.

“What's the matter, Eve?” he asked, noticing the sad look on her face.

“Nothing, just thinking.” She smiled. “I got a lot to do.”

“Are we going out again? Like the other night?”

“No. I've got to do this alone.”

“Eve, you're my friend. I wanna help,” he said, protesting.

“You've already helped me more than you know.” She patted his hand. “This will all be over soon, and I'm going to have to leave.”

“But why? If you make all the bad men go away, then you don't have to leave, right?”

“I wish it was that simple. Even after I take care of these bad men, more will come. They'll keep coming until I'm dead.”

“Then we'll fight them,” he said with conviction.

“No, Beast. I've already lost one friend. I don't want to loose another.”

“I won't let you go,” he cried, hugging her leg.

“You have to.” She fought back the tears. “I've come too far to turn back, but its not too late for you. I'm sorry, Beast, that's just the way it has to be.”

Unexpectedly he jerked away from her and stormed across the room. He hefted his twenty-seven-inch TV off the stand and hurled it against the wall. Glass and sparks flew all over the furniture and carpet. Next he moved to the wall and proceeded to punch holes in it. Eve felt for the big man. He just didn't seem to understand.

“Beast, you have to calm down!” She placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Eve, if you leave, who'll take care of me?” He looked up at her through tear-filled eyes.

“You're going to be okay, Beast. I promise. I just gotta work this thing out. After everything is taken care of, we'll hook back up,” Eve lied. She knew that the chances of her finishing the job and living to reflect on it were minimal. But telling Beast that wouldn't help to soothe him. “Everything is gonna be fine.” She cradled him.

Beast cried like a newborn while Eve stroked his head. Besides Cassidy, he was the only friend she ever had. She couldn't risk losing him because of her need for revenge. She held him for a while longer before he finally cried himself to sleep. Eve kissed her friend's forehead and slipped from the apartment.

 

When Felon received the news of the police finding Butter's body, he was beyond distraught. For as many years as he could remember, he and Butter had put in work together. They came from small-timers on the block to the niggaz running things. Everything they had accomplished was done together. They were a team.

Felon always knew that something awful would come from Butter's ill temper, but he thought he could fix it like he always did. Butter turned it up and Felon smoothed it out. That's how it had always worked. Apparently there was no fixing this one.

He downed another glass of liquor and thought on his problem. There was no doubt in his mind that Carlo had something to do with the hit. Even after he had bargained with Franko for his friend's life, he was still executed. Butter had tried to show him the writing on the wall, but he was too blinded by the promise of riches to see it.

The blinders were off now. When they took his friend, all bets were off. Felon's closest road dawg had been taken from him and that was unforgivable. Carlo would finally be put in his place and Felon would just accept whatever consequences that came with it.

 

For the last couple of days Eve had been playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with Carlo. He had asked her time and again, but she still hadn't officially gone out with him. They had gotten together a couple of times, but it was never more than for a few minutes at a location of her choosing. Whenever he came thorough to see her, she would make sure she was wearing something trashy. If it wasn't shorts riding up in her ass, it was outfits that showed off way too much of her body. She would allow him to kiss her and fondle her, but whenever he tried to go the extra mile, she would stop him. It made her physically ill to have Cassidy's murderer touching her, but Eve kept her game face. Soon it would all be over.

Eve looked up from her Amtrak schedule when she heard footsteps to her rear. She looked over her shoulder and saw Sheeka approaching. She now wore her hair in a short cut, showing off her cute face. She came around the bench and sat down beside Eve.

“Going somewhere?” Sheeka asked, pointing at the schedule.

Eve shrugged. “Thinking about taking a trip. Things are gonna get pretty uncomfortable around here soon.”

“Eve,” Sheeka said, hesitating, “I don't know if you've heard or not, but they've found Butter.”

“The police picked him up?”

“No. He was murdered.”

“God, no.” Eve covered her mouth. “When? How?”

“The police found him and another girl inside the trunk of a rental,” Sheeka told her. “They were executed.”

“Carlo,” Eve hissed.

“You don't know that. Butter had a lot of enemies,” Sheeka said.

“Yeah, he had a lot of enemies, but he was connected to the mob. How many street niggaz you think would've been stupid enough to challenge that? Just one more reason Carlo needs to die. I'm gonna take him out before he takes any more of mine!”

“Eve, you know you don't have to go through with this. Steve is dead, and Carlo is gonna end up getting himself killed sooner or later. If you decided to give up, no one could be mad at you.”

“God, if it were that simple.” Eve sighed. “Sheeka, this thing has gotten so much bigger than Cassidy. I have to do this. Not just for her, but for my parents.”

“What do your folks have to do with this?” asked Sheeka.

“It's a long story. The point is, the De Nardis die.”

“I wish you would rethink this,” Sheeka said, pleading with her.

“Either I'm gonna kill them, or they're gonna kill me. Either way, this all ends.”

Sheeka saw the conviction in Eve's face and decided that it was pointless to try and sway her. Once Evelyn Panelli set her mind to doing something, only an act of God could sway her. All Sheeka could do was to keep Eve in her prayers and never forget what she had done for her and her sister.

 

After leaving Sheeka, Eve bumped into Felon. He was the last person she wanted to see the way she was feeling. Things hadn't been the same between them since he declined to help her with her plan. She tried to stay mad at him, but she couldn't. Not everyone was in a rush to die. She thought about avoiding him by going the other way, but they had danced around what had happened for too long. It was time to bring closure to their situation.

“Hey,” he said as she walked up.

“Hey yourself.” She smiled. “How you doing?”

“I've been better,” he said, swigging from the pint that he was holding.

“Listen, I'm sorry to hear about Butter,” she said sincerely.

“Yeah. I'm gonna miss him. That was my nigga, and somebody touched him. He's gone from here, but at least he ain't gotta worry no more.”

“I hear you. Felon, I need to talk to you about something.”

“That's funny, cause I need to talk to you about something too. It takes a big man to say when he's wrong, but I was. I should've listened to you when you warned me about Carlo. I don't know why I was too fucking stupid to see it. Now my partner is gone,” he said.

“Felon, I don't blame you for not wanting to go out in a blaze of glory with me. I guess it was even a little selfish for me to ask you to. This is my fight.”

“But it should've been ours,” he said. “I shouldn't have let you run off like that. I could've tried harder to stop you.”

“Felon, you know damn well you couldn't have stopped me. I would've probably kicked your ass,” she said with a smile. “But that's neither here nor there. Let the past be the past.”

“So you forgive me?”

“How could I stay mad at such a beautiful face?” She touched his cheek.

“Evelyn,” he cupped her face, “I've loved you from the first time I saw you. I don't know why I've never found the courage to say it. Guess the only reason I'm saying it now is because you can never tell if you're gonna wake up in the morning.”

Eve was so caught off guard by Felon's statement that she didn't know how to respond. Here she was, possibly on the threshold of her own demise, and someone she cared a great deal about was confessing something that she had carried in her heart for years. For as much as Felon thought he loved her, she loved him even more.

“Felon, I…,” she began.

“Don't say anything.” He placed a finger over her lips. “Baby, I don't know what's gonna happen because of all this, but I don't wanna ruin the moment with words.” Felon leaned in and kissed her. He kissed her as deeply and as passionately as he could and she returned it. For those few moments, they were the only two people on earth.

“I love you, Evelyn.” He pulled away. “And when this is all over, I'm gonna show you how much. Right now I got some things that I need to take care of, but I'm gonna come see you in a few days. Until then, I want you to hold onto this for me.” Felon handed her a small orange key.

“What's this?” she asked.

“I've got some paperwork in a locker at Penn Station. I'll come get it from you in a few days so I can show you what I've been up to. Until then, keep it and yourself safe.”

Eve took the key and held it in her palm. She wanted to tell Felon about what she had planned and confess that she was scared to death, but she didn't want to ruin the moment. She tried to fight back the tears but they came anyway. Eve reached up and hugged Felon as tightly as she could. She didn't have the heart to tell him that it would probably be the last time they ever saw each other.

 

Carlo paced back and forth in his living room, smoking a cigarette. His nostrils were beet red from snorting cocaine all morning. He had tapped into all his resources and still couldn't get a line on Steve. It would've been far simpler for him to go to his father and enlist the aid of his people, but that would be a last resort. He was trying to show Franko that he could handle things on his own.

He stopped his pacing long enough to answer his cell. “Hello,” he barked in an irritated voice.

“Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?” Evelyn asked.

“Oh, hey, Evelyn.” Carlo softened his voice. “What's up?”

“Thinking about you.”

“Oh, yeah. What were you thinking?”

“How much better your hand would feel than mine, touching my pussy.” Evelyn always knew what to say to get Carlo going, but this time he didn't bite.

“You know what, I'm starting to think you're full of shit,” he told her. “We play this game…what, three or four times a week? You get me all hot and excited and then leave me hanging. I'm not used to taking this kinda shit from a broad.”

“I'm sorry, baby,” she said softly. “I know I've been hard to catch up with, and I wanna make it up to you.”

“Yeah, and how do you plan on doing that?”

“I'll show you when we see each other tonight. Why don't you come pick me up about seven?” she asked.

“Seven is no good.” He looked at his watch, “I gotta stop by my dad's restaurant. I won't be long, though.”

“I wouldn't mind riding along,” she said, seeing an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. “We could get a bite to eat, then we could move the party back to your place. I just bought a new garter set and I'm dying to model it for you.”

Carlo's first thought was to tell her no. Even though he wasn't going to the restaurant on official business, he still didn't think Franko would like the idea of him parading around in his joint with the young Black girl. Then again, if he told her no, she might call the whole thing off. Just like with most men, he allowed the little head to lead the big one.

“Okay, I'll come pick you up,” he said, “but you gotta be ready by seven. I don't want to be late.”