What Da Lick Read? The Triple Cross (31 page)

Beautiful stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself with the black hair. Her and Gorgeous really were identical when it came to looks, but that is where it began and ended. Gorgeous always thought she ran everything ever since they were little kids. When Black
Sillk
adopted Gorgeous, it only made the situation worse, she now had money to go with her superiority complex. She was the main reason why Handsome hardly ever came home. He always hated to be put in the middle of everything with them. He didn’t want to take sides. She often thought that he secretly requested the trade from the Falcons to Baltimore just so that he could get away from all the drama between his sisters.

The picture of Jamal on her coffee table seemed to be watching her. She often wondered did he go to heaven. He had a good heart; he just did bad things to make money. He was her knight in shining armor, her back bone, her everything and she knew that she would never get over his death. Many guys had tried to step in and fill his shoes, but in her mind no feet could fill his shoes. Not even the record executive who had been showing up at her job and trying to get her attention. He had all the money in the world and he wasn’t shit compared to Jamal also known on the streets as Shooter because of his deadly aim. Beautiful poured herself another glass of
Moscato
and sat down looking at his picture as the tears rolled down her face. Coach K was going to pay for having him killed but she had to make him suffer first. The shit that she had done so far was only the tip of the iceberg. She was killing two small birds with one big stone. They were going to feel her wrath and the worst has yet to come.

__________

Honesty sat beside her brother’s bed with her head down in her hands. Being Gigi’s girl wasn’t a bad thing, but she had taken a back seat where she was used to being the driver. She has never been a follower but now it seems as if she was just along for the ride. This was bothering Honesty, she needed to get her life back. She was going to find somewhere they could go on vacation for at least a week and when they get back things are going to be a lot different, starting with her going home to her own place every night. She made things so convenient for Gigi; she had never even been to her loft much less spent the night with her there.

Killian stirred and his eyes popped open, they had taken the tube out so now he was talking better, but it still hurt for him to talk.

“Where’s Leigh?”

Honesty tried her best to hold back her tears, she had not heard an update on whether they had finally pulled the plug on Leigh yet.

“Let me go and get Pop-Pop, he knows everything.”

When she walked out of the door, her sister Loyalty was standing there with tears in her eyes holding her cell phone. She looked so pathetic, she had dark circles around her eyes, her ponytail was messy and she had on sweats. Loyalty was the diva of the sisters; you could never catch her with a hair out of place. She was going through a lot with her dude and then the accident was taking its toll on her because her and Killian were the closest. They were like twins from different mothers; they shared the same face and the same age.

“Is everything alright with Killian? It is killing me looking at him like that.” Loyalty wiped the tears from her face.

“He woke up and he is talking. He just asked for Leigh. I think Pop-Pop needs to go ahead and break the truth to him, because every time he wakes up, she is the first and last thing that he asks for. Call Real and tell her to get over here right now,
Killa
is awake and talking. We need to be here for him as a unit when he gets the news.” Honesty left Loyalty standing there in the hall as she rushed to go and find her father.

Khalil was getting so impatient, he wanted to leave the hospital and see
Jazmeir
. Just to check on her and see if she needed anything. He couldn’t get her off of his mind. It was something about her that made him feel as if he needed to protect her. But his first priority was his children and he vowed that he was not leaving until Killian woke up and he spoke to him. He knew that the doctors knew what they were doing but he needed to hear his son say that he was alright.

Honesty rushed into the waiting room, he was the only one there and had pulled a chair in front of him to put his feet up. He was looking at CNN on the television that was mounted on the wall. He looked up at his oldest daughter and tried to crack a smile.

“Hey baby girl, what’s up?”

“Killian just woke up and he is talking. He wants Leigh and I don’t know what to say. Have you talked to her mother? Have they taken her off of life support yet? We should have been checking on her and her mother, but we have been so wrapped up in everything. What are we gonna tell him?” Honesty was panicking.

“Breathe, calm down, and do not get yourself worked up. I swear you need to go on you a vacation before you give yourself a heart attack girl. We are going to help him get through this. Where is Gorgeous? I need to talk to her. Get your sister over here pronto.”

Khalil was happy that his son was awake and talking but he was sure that after he got the news about Leigh that he was going to shut down. That is just what Killian does. He was prepared to tell him that she was gone, but there was no way to prepare for what he was going to do once he found out.

“I will get in contact with Toe-Toe too; he is like a big brother to him. I think we need to show him that we will be here every step of the way and that he can recover from this.”

“Gigi is still downstairs if I’m not mistaken and Loyalty just called Reality and she is on her way. I’m so tired of all this mess Pop-Pop. I don’t even feel like myself. I’m going on me a vacation really soon. Don’t be surprised if you call my phone and I pick up and tell you that I’m gone. I just need to get a way for a while.”

Honesty leaned on the wall and exhaled. She was truly tired and she needed a break before she had a break down.

Ponchees grabbed Sam’s hand to prevent her from following Gorgeous out of the glass doors. “No, leave her alone and let her be. She will be alright eventually. She just needs to get used to you.”

“See that is how a man thinks. But I’m a woman and I know how we think. I’m not going to be rude or harsh. I just need to straighten a few things out. Because believe it or not I’m with you for the long haul, so she may never like me, but she is gonna damn well respect me.” Sam pulled away and rushed to follow Gigi out of the door. Gigi had rushed across the small emergency room parking lot and headed into the adjacent building that held all the restaurants. Sam’s 6 inch Louboutins were preventing her from running after Gigi, so she walked at a fast pace. Hoping not to break her neck in the raggedy parking lot, she walked with her head down making sure that she missed all the cracks.

Gigi stood in the line as her stomach growled. She couldn’t even remember the last time that she ate. Her godfather had fallen victim to a pretty face and a fat ass. That girl had to be at least thirty years younger than Ponchees. As if she didn’t have enough already going on she now had to watch this new snake that had slithered on her land without her knowing. Gigi ordered enough food for her and Honesty, she was going to sit here in the food court and gather her thoughts for a minute before she went back into the hospital. She moved to the side and waited for her chicken sandwiches and waffle fries to be prepared.

The girl who was with Ponchees in the waiting room walked up and placed an order. Gigi stood there to the side patting her feet impatiently waiting for her food. They put her order on a tray on the counter; she grabbed it and headed over toward the corner of the food court to sit down.

Sam paid for her food and waited for her order, she didn’t know what she was going to say to Gorgeous, but she was going to speak from the heart, because just like she had told Ponchees, she had no plans on going anywhere, anytime soon. Her food was placed on the counter and she picked up her tray and walked toward where Gorgeous was sitting at.

“Do you mind if I sit right here?”

Gorgeous looked up at her and then she glanced around the empty food court and shook her head.

“Yeah go ahead and sit down. Just be quiet until I’m finished eating cause I’m sure whatever you are going to tell me might just spoil my appetite.”

Sam sat down at the table opposite Gorgeous and she started to eat her chicken nuggets. She dipped her fries into her ice cream cup and sipped her lemonade. Sam kept her head down. She wanted to come all the way right with Gorgeous, so she decided that she would just shoot straight from the hip. They both ate in silence; the tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a butter knife. Gorgeous finished first and got up to go dispose of the trash. Sam reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Let me get that for you.” Sam got up and went and emptied the remnants; she stopped and headed back over. She always ate when she was nervous. Sam approached the table filled with apprehension.

“Go ahead and say what you got to say I got to take some food back to someone in the hospital.” Gigi said as she rolled her eyes at Sam as she pulled her chair out to sit back down.

“Yeah, you got to make sure that your girlfriend Honesty eats. Don’t worry, I won’t be long. You guys make a cute couple. The fact that the both of you are feminine is what makes it even better. Then she works for you. That is a real good look.” Sam smirked at the shocked look on Gorgeous’ face.

“Y’all have been fucking, making love, being intimate, or whatever you want to call it. I could have been told Ponchees, but he knows that you like pussy, you always have. What about the girl Sunshine at the club that you been fucking? I bet your baby Honesty doesn’t know about that, or the girl from Spelman who came in and auditioned and didn’t get the job as a dancer but she is your part time girlfriend. You pay her car note on her little Mercedes truck and she goes shopping once a week. Shit you can’t do that with a school refund check. Do Ponchees know that you are flooding the city with the Lean? He might have a slight problem with it because he isn’t making a profit off of your endeavor. See, not only do I keep your secrets, I also keep the goons off of your ass. You think the only reason why you haven’t got touched is because everybody is scared of your godfather. No, it’s because I get to them before they get to you. I’m his eyes and ears in this city. I have had to drop a few bodies because they were lying on your warehouse where you keep your entire stock of product. So don’t think that you are untouchable
lil
’ momma. I just make sure you don’t get touched.”

Gigi was in shock. Damn Sam knew everything. That explained why Ponchees would call right after something that happened.

“So what do you want me to do? Throw some cash your way for keeping my secrets, or do you need a pat on the back. You want to be my friend? Tell me what’s the price cause you are not about to hold this shit over my head. I’m not going to be extorted. Shit! God father knows I am nothing but a nigga with a pussy so this shit is to be expected. He don’t let the dress and high heels fool him and neither should you. That is the reason why I am the boss.”

Sam looked at Gigi with the smug look on her face. She was shockingly beautiful, and she was cut throat, definitely a deadly combination.

“I got enough money, trust me. Ponchees pats me on the back and the ass so you can keep that shit too. Be your friend, hell
nawl
. Your twin sister is trying to kill you and everybody you are affiliated with, so I know if you can’t be a sister, you can’t be a friend. I’m good
lil
’ buddy.”

Sam got up from the table and walked away, her
Loubs
making an echoing tap sound throughout the empty food court as she exited and headed back toward the hospital.

Gigi heard her mention her sister and she got up and ran after her. Her long legs helped her to catch up with Sam in the parking lot that separated the two buildings.

“My sister? What do you know about Beautiful?”

“See if you would get your head out of the clouds where you think that your shit don’t stink, then you would see that it has been your sister all along. She is the reason Concrete is laying up in a hospital bed unconscious, she is the reason Poke is dead and more than likely she is the reason that Killian only has one leg. So you either ready to fight the one that is really hurting you and your loved ones or you are going to sit right here and pick a fight with someone who can be your best asset.”

Sam stood her ground and let Gigi know that she wasn’t backing down and that she would help her.

They stood outside settling their differences. Ponchees kept getting up to peek trying to make sure that they hadn’t come to blows. The two ladies walked back into the waiting room area with their heads held high, high heels clicking and deep in conversation. You would have sworn that they had known each other for years. Gigi laughed at something that Sam said and Sam threw her arm over Gigi’s shoulder. Ponchees shook his head and laughed to himself. Sam should be a damn politician because that girl damn sure knew how to bring people around to seeing things her way.