Keeping Secrets (16 page)

“What the fuck? You for real?” Lucky roared into his cell phone. He was sitting in the passenger side of Secret's car. She was driving them out to a restaurant. For the first time since they'd been together, Secret had actually talked Lucky into letting her take him out and treat him to dinner. It was a special night Secret had been looking forward to all week. It was extra special because she hadn't laid eyes on Lucky all week. She'd talked to him on the phone, but that wasn't the same. She hadn't seen Lucky in four days straight. It was special for Lucky, too, as no broad had ever offered to buy him a meal—even cook him one for that matter.

After a few minutes of them being in the car, Lucky's phone had rung. He ignored the call and put it on vibrate. By the assigned ring tone, Lucky knew it wasn't anybody but Major Pain calling him. He'd call him back as soon as he had a chance to talk outside the presence of Secret. Lucky was good for sending his calls directly to voice mail when he was with Secret. That's exactly what he'd done at first. But Major Pain had been calling him back to back and then finally sent him a text that read:

“Hell yeah, I'm for real,” Major Pain replied from the other end of the line. “And he had just delivered the shit and was about to make the drops. I'm headed to the hospital now. So you know what that means. You gotta go get that shit. It's too much going on right now. You know we can't trust none of them other cats right now. We down a soldier and mutherfuckers' minds is preoccupied. That's the perfect scenario for a ma'fucker to get caught slipping. The twins and Devon at the spot now, but I don't trust them niggas to the degree I want them to handle that. You feel me?”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm on it,” Lucky replied.

“All right, nigga. One.” Major Pain ended the call.

Lucky tucked the phone in his pocket and just sat there looking panicked and concerned.

“What is it? Who was that?” Usually Secret never questioned Lucky about anything. What she didn't know could never hurt her; at least that's what Shawndiece, her best friend she hadn't talked to in a month, had taught her. But this time things just sounded too serious for Secret to ignore. “Lucky, what's going on?” Secret asked after he failed to reply to her first inquiry. She rested her hand on his knee.

Lucky looked up at the highway exit signs. The next exit would be only about ten minutes from the spot where he needed to pick up the dope that Dope Boy would have distributed to the houses. His first dilemma he had was that he'd made it a rule to never ride dirty. He paid cats to do that. The second dilemma was that Secret was not only with him, but she was the one driving. Sure the latter could be resolved just by him having her go back to her house so he could get his truck that he'd left parked there. But that was all the way across town, at least a half-hour drive, then another half hour back to the spot. Too much stuff could go down in an hour. Too much was at stake. He and Major Pain ran an empire and trusted each other 100 percent to make sure things were run right. He couldn't let down his boy, but more importantly to Lucky, he couldn't let down himself. He had a reputation to uphold and more money to make.

“Fuck,” he yelled, pounding his fist on the dashboard.

“What is it, baby?” Now Secret had fear in her voice.

“I need you to get off at the next exit.” He pointed to the exit that was coming up in just a few feet.

“Why, baby? That isn't the way to—”

“Please, Secret,” he yelled. “Just take the fuckin' exit,” he shot off, nervous she would miss it if she didn't hurry up and do as he said.

Secret quickly whipped the car across two lanes, ignoring the horns beeping at her. She managed to make the exit. With eyes full of fear she asked, “Where am I going? What's going on?”

“Just follow my directions. Please don't ask me any questions. Just be quiet and drive,” Lucky pleaded.

“Okay,” was all Secret said as she stared ahead, following Lucky's instructions as if he were a GPS, navigating her to their destination. Just as Lucky had asked, she remained silent. The true test of just how silent she could remain, and for how long, was about to confront her face to face.

“I'm sorry about all this,” Lucky said as he got back in the vehicle after stopping off at a house in a neighborhood Secret wasn't familiar with.

“It's okay,” Secret said, the first words she'd spoken in the past fifteen minutes. As bad as she wanted to question Lucky about the huge duffle bag he'd just thrown in her trunk, she didn't. She just prepared herself to follow his next set of instructions.

Not five minutes after pulling off, Secret looked through her rearview mirror to see a set of flashing lights atop a police car. “Look, Lucky, the police.”

Lucky snapped around so quick to look behind him, it was a surprise his head hadn't spun right off his shoulders. “Oh shit. You have got to be fucking kidding me,” he said, then turned back around to face ahead. “They must have been watching. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” With each expletive, Lucky's fist pounded the dashboard.

“Baby, please calm down,” Secret begged. “Don't worry. I'll pay for the ticket if I get one. He might not even give me a ticket. He just may warn me or something for whatever I did. But I didn't do anything.” Secret's nervousness was reflected on each word she spoke and the speed at which she spoke them. Secret began to look for a place to pull over.

Lucky looked over to the driver side and grabbed the wheel on instinct as if he was trying to keep her from pulling over.

“What are you doing?” Secret asked.

What was he doing was the million dollar question Lucky wanted to ask himself. Secret was a down-ass chick, but she was no Bonnie to his Clyde. His instinct was to snatch that wheel and tell her to keep driving, to outrun the police, but he knew she wasn't that type of chick. Had that been Kat in the driver seat, the chase would have been on. But it wasn't Kat. It was a seven-month pregnant chick who didn't have the street smarts to get out of a jaywalking ticket.

“Nothing, nothing. Just pull over,” Lucky told her.

As Secret pulled over to the side of the road Lucky thought about the fact that as long as Secret kept cool, everything would be just fine. She was young, innocent, and none the wiser of what was actually in her trunk besides a spare tire. She wouldn't draw any suspicion and they'd be on their way.

After a couple of minutes the officer approached the driver side of Secret's car. She rolled the window down and greeted him.

“Hi, Officer. Was I speeding?” Secret asked.

“No, ma'am, not at all,” the officer replied. “License and registration please.”

“Oh, yes, certainly.” Secret dug down in her purse for her license and retrieved the registration out of her glove box. All the while the officer eyeballed Lucky.

“Don't I know you from somewhere?” the officer asked Lucky, who hadn't looked up at the officer at all.

“Oh, Officer, please, you're actually going to try to hit on me in front of my girl?” Lucky joked. Believe it or not, he did manage to pull a laugh out of the officer.

“Here you go, Officer.” Secret interrupted the little joke fest by handing the officer the requested documents.

The officer looked over the documents. “See here lies the problem.” He waved the registration. “The name on the registration, which is you of course, doesn't match up to the name when I run these plates.”

“Oh shit!” Lucky said under his breath and started shaking his head. This drew both Secret's and the officer's attention.

“What is it?” Secret asked Lucky.

“Babe, when we got the car put in your name, I forgot to put your new tags on,” Lucky said, still shaking his head, wishing he could kick himself for making such a stupid mistake. Giving the police any reason to pull over a vehicle he was in was a stupid mistake.

“Where are they?” Secret asked.

Lucky nodded backward. “In the trunk. I can switch them out as soon as we get home.”

Secret turned and looked at the officer. “I'm sorry, Officer. The name the plates are running back to is my boyfriend.” She nodded over to Lucky. “When he first bought me the car it was in his name. I didn't have my license yet, only a permit. Once I got my license we put it in my name. Just forgot to change out the tags.”

“You say it's in your boyfriend's name?” the officer said, eyeing Lucky again, as if he was really trying to figure out where he knew him from.

“Yes.” Secret nodded.

The officer leaned down. “Sir, can I see your ID please?”

Lucky just sat there as if he hadn't heard the officer's request.

“Lucky.” Secret nudged him. “The officer wants to see your ID.”

After a five-second delay, Lucky dug into his pocket and pulled his wallet out. He removed his ID, then handed it to Secret.

“Here you go, Officer,” Secret said, handing Lucky's ID to the officer.

After taking the ID, the officer examined it. He looked at Lucky, then back at the ID again. Now armed with both Secret's and Lucky's ID as well as the registration, the officer excused himself, instructing Secret to wait a moment while he headed back to his car.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Lucky spat off again once the officer was back at his car. “I can't believe I fucked up and forgot to change out those tags.” Lucky kept shaking his head, tightening his lips, and balling his fist.

“It's okay, baby. He seemed like he was understanding. At the very least, we'll just get a ticket. I don't think they will tow the car or anything. I already told you I'll pay for anything that—”

“It's not that, Secret!” Lucky snapped, cutting her off. Realizing he'd frightened her when she jumped, he toned it down a little bit. “I'm sorry, it's just that . . .” Lucky knew it was in his best interest not to say anything.

“What? What is it?” Secret felt as if Lucky knew something that she didn't, but that she should.

Lucky looked over at Secret and just stared at her. His eyes said, “Are you really that naïve? Are you really?”

“Ma'am, I'm going to ask you to step out of the car,” the officer said upon his return, “and open the trunk and we can get those plates out and I can help you switch out the plates.” He held up a couple tools and wore a friendly smile. “You did say the correct tags were in the trunk, right?”

“Yes.” Secret looked to Lucky for confirmation. He didn't say anything. She turned back to the officer. “Yes. That would be nice.” Secret went to open the door.

“Thank you, but no, thank you,” Lucky chimed in. “I can do it when we get home, Officer.”

“But if you have them in there now, we might as well go ahead and change them out,” the officer reasoned. “The next officer to pull you over might not be as nice as me.” He winked.

“He's got a point, Lucky,” Secret said. Lucky didn't respond. Secret went to open the door and this time Lucky let her go. What excuse could he come up with to stop her now? The girl just didn't get it.

Secret got out of the car and escorted the officer to the trunk. “Lucky, pop the trunk,” Secret called out to him. A couple seconds later, the trunk popped open.

Upon opening the trunk, Secret realized the plates were not in plain sight. She shifted the few things that were in the trunk around and couldn't find them. “Oh, no, maybe they're not in here after all,” Secret fretted. She paused and thought.

“Maybe they're in there.” The officer pointed to the duffle bag.

Just then Secret and the officer turned and looked behind them upon hearing the sounds of gravel popping under tires. It was another cop car pulling up behind the one who had pulled them over. Both the officer and Secret stood and waited as they saw the officer driving the car get out. After getting out of the car, the arriving officer opened the back passenger door. He then headed toward Secret and the first officer.

Secret's eyes bucked once she saw the second police officer wasn't alone. He had a dog with him. She did not care for dogs at all.

“How's it going?” the officer with the dog greeted them. “I was just driving by and thought I'd stop and offer my assistance. Besides”—he looked down at his dog—“Booser here needs to get out to do his business.” He looked up at his fellow officer and smiled.

“I'm just helping the lady here switch out her plates,” the first officer on the scene replied. He then turned and faced Secret. “If we can find them.”

Secret smiled, but it wasn't a real smile. She was starting to get a funny feeling about this other cop just happening upon the scene.

“Well, maybe I can help you guys find them,” the second officer said. He then looked at Secret. “Ma'am, do I have permission to look in your trunk?”

Secret hesitated, but couldn't think of any reason why she should tell the officer no. Either they'd find the plates or they wouldn't. “Sure,” Secret agreed.

The second officer split between Secret and the first officer. He began to shift some things around just as Secret had done. “Do you mind if I take this out?” the officer said to Secret, pointing at the duffle bag.

“No, not at all.” Secret's stomach began to do flips. She wasn't sure if it was the baby or her nerves, but something just didn't feel right.

The officer took the duffle bag and threw it on the ground.

“There they are!” Secret excitedly pointed. The plates had been under the duffle bag. Good. Now they could just get those plates switched out and keep it moving.