Out of Control (21 page)

“I’m so sorry to keep you waiting. International conference call and it couldn’t be helped.” Wanda leaned against the desk so she would be looking down at Jackie when she spoke. “I imagine your wondering why I asked you here?”

“I have a pretty good idea.”

“Good, then let’s get right to it.” Wanda folded her arms. “I understand that Rain Robinson paid you a visit last night and you escorted her out at gunpoint.”

“That’s right.”

“You mind telling me what she wanted?”

“She never got around to saying what she wanted. She disrespected me in my own house and I wasn’t having it,” Jackie said confidently. She knew from talking to Black about her that Wanda was a predator and would eat her alive if she showed any weakness.
    

“I see.”

Jackie leaned forward. “Why don’t you get to your point, Wanda.”

Jackie’s directness put Wanda off a little. She always thought that Black had made a mistake by letting Jackie run that house. Maybe she had underestimated her. “I know by now you’ve heard what’s going on and I need to know where you stand?”

“I don’t stand anywhere.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I really don’t know what this is about and honestly Wanda I don’t want to know. So I’ll tell you like I told Rain. I don’t want any problems with you, but I will do what I need to do to protect Black’s interest.”

“It that what you called yourself doing when you sent those men to Impressions; protecting Black interests?”

“I was just responding to a request. But while were on the subject, maybe you could answer a question for me.”

“What’s that?”

“Does Black know what you’re doing?”

“No he doesn’t and if you’re thinking about calling him in Nassau and telling him I can assure you that it would be the last call you ever made.”

“What is you sayin’? That you’ll have me killed if I talk to Black about this?”

Wanda smiled at Jackie and leaned close to her. “I think I made myself quite clear.”

Jackie stood up. “I think this conversation is over.”

“As long as we have an understanding it is.”

Jackie didn’t comment on Wanda’s remark as she walked out the door. Wanda watched from the door of her office as Jackie walked to the elevator followed by her men. The door opened, Jackie got on and turned around. She saw Wanda standing there and each looked in the other’s eyes as the elevator door closed.

When Jackie got in the car, she called Travis. As she waited for him to answer, Jackie thought that this was the second time in as many days that somebody had threatened to kill her. “How’d it go?”

“I’ll tell you when I see you. But it didn’t go well.”

“You got some people waiting for you when you get here,” Travis informed her.

“Who?”

“You’ll see when you get here.”

By the time Jackie arrived at her spot, Monika was there. “I need to talk to you,” she said and went straight to her office where Travis was waiting.

“So, what happened?”

“She threatened to kill me, that’s what happened.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No. She said she wanted to know where I stood and I told her that I didn’t want to get involved. Then I asked her if Black knows what going on and that’s when she threatened to have me killed.”

“She’s as bad as Rain.”

“I really don’t think Black knows what these bitches are doing. If he did they wouldn’t get so worked up and want to kill me when I say anything about talking to him.”

“I think you’re right. But Monika just came from down there. Why don’t you ask her.”

“I am,” Jackie said and went to the door. When she made eye contact with Monika, she signaled for her to come to the office. Monika came in and Jackie closed the door. She told Monika what she knew of what’s been going on. “Does he know what’s going on up here?”

“To be honest with you, Jackie, I don’t think he does.”

“I think I need to tell him. What do you think I should do?”

“You gotta do what you think is right, but when I mentioned that he needs to come up here he said Nick’s got to handle things for himself. Besides, he got too much going on down there with the expansion and CeCe being sick all the damn time. He thinks he needs to stay close to her.”

“His family or his family,” Travis said.

“That what it comes down to,” Monika said. “Hey, daddy, you need to come home ’cause the big kids are fighting.”

Jackie laughed. “But the big kids got guns and will kill me if I tell.”

“What you gonna do?” Travis asked.

“I don’t know. I need to think,” Jackie said and sat down.

“Well while you thinking there are some people out there that want to talk to you.”

“Who’s that?”

Travis left the office and escorted six men into the office. Irving Spencer and Gene Hazelton ran gambling spots. Tony Rizzo, Earl Jones and Jerry Demet ran number spots. And Chester Brightman, he was a loan shark. Each of them had worked for Black and ran their small, but profitable operation quietly. Having small operations, none of them had a lot of muscle and were fearful that they would get caught up in the war.

Jackie sat at her desk and Travis stood next to her and they listened as one by one, and sometimes all at once, the six operators expressed their concerns. Finally Jackie asked the only question on her mind. “Why come to me?”

“Word is that you threw Rain outta here yesterday and then you ran her men out of Impressions,” Spencer said.

“We don’t have access to the kind of muscle it’s gonna take to hold off Rain,” Rizzo said.

“Wanda already had Nick killed, what do you think she’ll do to us?” Brightman demanded to know.

“Rain told me that Nick is alive,” Jackie said.

“I think she’s just sayin’ that to keep Wanda from goin’ all out. I heard Nick took six in the chest and died in front of JR’s,” Jones said.

“All were askin’ is that you extend your protection to include us,” Demet said.

“What you gonna do, boss?” Travis whispered in her ear.

“Don’t call me that.”

Jackie promised to do what was necessary to protect Black’s interest. When the operators left Travis and Monika asked the question again. “What you gonna do?”

“As soon as the baby is born, I will make sure that he knows what’s going on up here.”

Since the death of Harry Walker, things had been quiet on the island. Deidra had met with everybody that worked for Harry and told them that he was dead. She then got them to understand that any attempt at avenging Harry’s death would result in them joining him. Everybody accepted it, everybody except for Harry's cousin, Wooden. He quietly thought that Deidra sold Harry out to Black and swore to get revenge. Unaware of his feelings, Deidra went to work. She got her girls back on the street working and had already found a spot and got her crap game re-opened for business and was on the lookout for more. It wouldn’t take her long to have the operation back up and running.

The repairs to Paraíso had been completed and had no effect on business. A steel fence was built around the beach area and a mobile patrol was added to close that costly breech in their security. While Jada and her staff mourned their loss, she did her best to keep their spirits up. As far as she and Black were concerned, each conducted themselves as if their afternoon of love making never happened.

Jada had cut herself off from her feelings years ago when she got into the business. Sasha told her that feelings get in the way of making money and for years, Jada agreed with her. She tried to put a name on what she was feeling, and refused to call it love, but she was sure that it was more than pure lust. When Black talked, Jada would study his face and his body movements looking for any sign that that he was feeling for her the way she was feeling for him and found none. Each time Black came to Paraíso, he always came with Bobby and Jada felt that he went back to treating her like a porcelain doll.

Black wrestled with the conflict within him, but he doggedly stuck to his conviction that CeCe was his future. But Bobby’s words stayed on his mind.
That may be true and I know that you really believe that or you wouldn’t have said it. CeCe may be the future, but that, my old friend is your woman.
And besides, Jada had made it clear that,
This can in no way affect our business relationship. I don’t care how good you are in bed, you are far more valuable to me as a business partner.
From where he sat Jada gave no indication that her opinion on the subject had changed. But he wondered what he would do if it did? He didn’t know and he didn’t want to know.

Everything had gone back to the way it was and after a while everybody was relaxed and at ease. Everyone except for Bobby. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he knew that something wasn’t quite right. That afternoon, he and Black sat at Paraíso and Bobby told him how he was feeling. “You know I hate it when you start havin’ them kind of feelings, because you’re always right.”

“I think I’m gonna to go to New York for a couple of days. Wanna come with me?”

“No. I need to stay close to Cee.”

“I think you need to come with me.”

“Why?”

“You need to get away from Ms. West for a while,” Bobby said and pointed at her. “’Cause the two of you are makin’ me sick. She’s all Mr. Black this, and Mr. Black that and you’re all Ms. West this and Ms. West that, but what she really sayin’ is you need to come fuck me Mr. Black and everything you say to her screams bend over and grab your ankles Ms. West.”

Black laughed. “If you go to New York you won’t have to hear it,” he said as Jada approached them.

“Excuse me, Mr. Black, but you need to leave if you’re going to be on time to have dinner with your family,” Jada said and smiled.

Black looked at his watch. “Thank you, Ms West.” Black stood up. “You’re absolutely right.”

“I usually am, Mr. Black.”

Bobby stood up. “Sickening,” he said as he walked toward the door. “I’ll be in the car.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing.” Black followed Bobby to the door and Jada looped her arm in his and walked with him. He glanced at Jada and thought again of how beautiful she was, and how Bobby was right about him wanting to bend her over, but knew that he was doing the right thing.

“Have a good evening with your family, Mr. Black.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ms West,” Black said and walked out. Jada watched him get in the car with Bobby and drive away and hoped that he would change his mind and come back that night and without their chaperone.

Later that night over dinner, Bobby mentioned the trip to New York to CeCe. “I was thinkin’ about goin’ to the city for a couple of days and I’m tryin’ to get Mike to come with me,” he said.

“And I told him that I needed to stay here with you,” Black said.

“Take him.” CeCe said flatly.

“What?” Black and Bobby both said.

“You heard me, Bobby, I said take him. Get him outta my sight. Maybe if you’re gone I might get to feel better for a few days.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Can I go Daddy?” Michelle asked.

But Bobby cut him off before Black could say yes. “No, Michelle, I got a feelin’ that Daddy is gonna be busy while he’s in New York since he hasn’t been there for so long. He’ll be back in a couple of days.”

After dinner, Bobby took Michelle out to the pool, while Black went to talk to CeCe. “You sure you want me to go?”

“I’m sure. It’s only gonna be a couple of days, right?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s gonna be at least another month before the baby is due, so you’ll be back in plenty of time.”

“You know I wouldn’t even consider goin’, but when Bobby gets these feelings it’s usually something to it.”

“I know. You told me. So you go ahead, do what you gotta do and I’ll see you in a couple of days. It will give me a chance to miss you.”

Late that next night, Black and Bobby arrived in New York. After Bobby got a rental car, Black went to a charter airline. He paid to have a plane on standby to take him back to Nassau, just in case CeCe called and he had to leave in a hurry. “Smart,” Bobby said as they drove away from the airport.

“Yeah, I try to do smart shit. Now, where do you want to go first?”

“Let’s start at the beginning.”

“The game?”

“No doubt. Unless you want to drop by and see Carmen.”

“The game it is. And wasn’t it you that said that I broke Carmen’s heart once already and with Cee getting ready to drop a baby, I’d just end up doing it again?”