A Pimp In Pumps (21 page)

              “Nah, but I thought I’d have that change eventually. I’ll send you the divorce papers. Just don’t marry that nigga. I ain’t lying on him. He ain’t shit. I didn’t leave ‘cause I owe him a hundred stacks. That would’ve been easy to give him back. You know that shit don’t make sense to you. Serg sent me away to have you. He knew that I’d never go against him and his goons.”

              A sigh escaped my lips as I listened to what Kamal was accusing Serg of. Damn, I was so confused. Who the hell were the men I’d fallen in love with? At that point I felt like I didn’t know either of them. My head was spinning and all I wanted to do was confront Serg about Kamal’s allegations. Suddenly killing Kamal and Jordan didn’t seem so important anymore. What if he was telling the truth and I didn’t even have a reason to. What if Serg was so adamant about killing Kamal so that I wouldn’t find out the truth. Kamal was right about one thing. One hundred thousand dollars was not enough to throw his life away for. I was sure that he could’ve paid that back. We had more than that in our bank accounts.

              “So, I guess that’s it then. There’s nothing else for us to talk about. Just send me the papers and we have no reason to talk again. Bye Kamal.” I hung up on him and called Serg.

              “Come over here…now…” I simply stated and pressed the END button before he could even respond.

Chapter 14

              “And you gon’ believe the nigga who left you for your best friend over the nigga who’s been here for you?” Serg’s forehead wrinkled as he scowled at me.

              “I don’t know what to believe. Why would he run for two hundred stacks? He had way more money than that. I don’t get it.”

              Serg stared at me. “Greed ma. That nigga was money hungry as fuck. Worse than me. That was just part of his debt. When you put it all together, he owed me way more. He took advantage of the fact that you’re my sister’s friend. I’d always spare him because of you, because Cherie would beg me to. She knew about what was goin’ on, but we both wanted to protect your feelings.”

              “More secrets. I don’t know what the fuck to think anymore!” I balled my fists up at my sides in frustration. “This is all just too much for me Serg.”

              He searched my face as he shook his head. “What are you sayin’?”

              “I’m sayin’ that I need to be alone for now. Maybe…maybe I was just lonely and you happened to be there. I mean, can I really trust you? Why would Kamal lie? Why would you lie? Which one of you is tellin’ me the truth? Is either of you tellin’ the truth? I’m just so confused right now.”

              Serg walked over to me and I backed away.

              “Just leave,” I put my hand out to show him that I wanted him to keep his distance.

              “You really want me to leave? How can you say that you were just lonely? I know it’s more than that between us.”

              “Uh, yeah. I do want you to leave and I don’t know what we have between us right now.” I stared up at him with a straight face. “Do I look like I’m joking nigga? I need some time to think.”

              “No, but you should believe me, because I ain’t never gave you a reason not to. He has. I’m gonna leave, but we will get to the bottom of this. I’m gon’ find that nigga. That’s my good word. It ain’t no way I’m lettin’ you think I’d ever hurt you. I would never hurt you baby. Never. You gotta know that. You don’t need to think about it.” His eyes glistened with tears, but I didn’t think he’d let them fall.

              He was a thug and thugs didn’t cry. However, he was a thug who had stolen my heart and I didn’t know if I wanted to let him keep it. At that point all I was certain of was the fact that I had enough money in the bank to not need anybody else. Cherie wasn’t talking to me and I didn’t know if I could trust her brother anymore. My pops was right when he told me not to put my faith in people.

              “All you need to put faith in is your money,” he’d told me all of my life. “It’ll never fail you like people.”

              “Just leave,” I said in a soft voice.

              He closed the distance between us and held out his arms like he wanted an embrace. I pushed him away.

              “I said leave Serg!” My voice was a lot louder that time

              “You think it’s that easy for me to walk away right now when I know that you’re mad at me? You gon’ let that nigga fill your head up with bullshit after bein’ gone for two years. How you gon’ let what he told you hold any weight when you know in your heart I’m a stand up nigga? Bae, I been here for you yo’. This is me. Serg. Your lover and your protector. Ain’t no stranger standin’ in front of you. Open your eyes. I was willin’ to sacrifice my own sister for you ma. Are you serious right now?”

              I wiped the hot tears from my cheeks. “I never asked you to sacrifice your sister…”

              “You don’t have to ask me to do the right thing ma! I’m a goon ass nigga, but when it comes to you, I got a fuckin’ heart. I don’t play them mind games wit’ you like the nigga you married played. I’m for real ‘bout mine! I don’t waste my time tellin’ a woman the truth and that I love her for nothin’. That ain’t me! Shit. I’m gonna give you your space yo’, but it ain’t over between us. I’m pissed as fuck at you, but I know you just confused and don’t know what to believe. I get it.” He backed up toward the door. “But I love you and you ain’t goin’ nowhere ma. That’s my good word. You’ll see the truth. It’ll come to light.”

              With that said, he left and closed the door. My legs felt weak as hell and suddenly gave out under me as I sobbed. When my ass touched the floor, I straightened my legs out and leaned against the wall. The tears that I’d been holding in for so long came crashing to the surface like an ocean’s tidal wave. Damn, I missed my mother. Shit, I even missed Jordan. When I looked around, I realized that nobody was there. I thought about going to see my pops, or my Aunt Mo, but I didn’t want them to see me like that.

              ‘Get yourself together.’ My mind told me to get up and shake that shit off, but even the strongest person could break at times.

*  *  *

A month later

             
“Wow,” I breathed as I looked over the books for Sweet Nectar Entertainment.

              Just like I thought Caramel was beasting and out of all of the girls, she was bringing in the most money. She was actually doubling what Serenity was making and at first she was my biggest money maker. It was crazy because a couple days ago Serenity actually complained about losing a few of her regulars. Maybe they’d decided to try out some Caramel.

              Either way, it didn’t matter to me, as long as the money was still coming in. Those hoes had to do what they had to do to compete and complaining to me wasn’t going to help. So business was booming, but my personal life was another story.

              Not knowing what to believe had caused a wedge between me and Serg. He was trying his best to get back in my good graces with flowers and expensive gifts, but I didn’t know what to do. For the moment, we were on a break. Until I could figure out if he was trustworthy, I needed to be by myself.

              He made me feel guilty as hell for letting what Kamal said hold any weight with me. See, it wasn’t that I believed Kamal. I was just confused as hell. What if Serg wasn’t who I thought he was, just like Kamal.

              Cherie still wasn’t talking to me, although she was aware that Serg and I were having problems. She’d told Serg that she was angrier at me about keeping our relationship from her, not just the fact that we were together. I guess I had lost my friend for nothing, because although me and Serg were on speaking terms, we hadn’t been intimate since Kamal’s revelation.

              In my heart I didn’t want to believe what Kamal had told me about Serg. Then again, I was tired of being hurt and lied to. Serg had never lied to me before that I knew of, but my trust levels were depleted. What if he really did make Kamal leave? He was part of one of the biggest drug rings in the city. What if he was even more ruthless than what I was aware of? Although I didn’t really see that side of him, like Kamal said, he was a dangerous man.

              “You still need my protection,” Serg had told me over and over again. “I won’t turn my back on you. No matter what ma.”

              “I’ll still use the security that you put in place for me. I don’t need your personal protection Serg. Only the girls really need to be protected anyway,” I’d protested.

              “Just ‘cause you don’t sell your ass, don’t mean that you’re safe. Word about Sweet Nectar is really starting to spread and mufuckas know who you are. You got respect in the streets ma, but if it gets out that we’re not…like that anymore…the wolves are gonna come out. I’m still worried ‘bout Cuba tryna get to you.”

              That conversation had taken place hours earlier, but I wasn’t really stressing that shit. I knew that my business dealings weren’t really the biggest secret anymore, but as long as the streets were only on to me and not the cops, I was good.

              I’d also received the divorce papers from Kamal. The return address was the lawyer’s office, so I still had no clue where he was. Serg was still on a quest to find him and prove the truth to me. I just felt that I’d never know the real story. That was because Kamal could clearly say what Serg wanted him to out of fear.

              The divorce had been finalized a week ago without a hitch and I wondered if Kamal would marry Jordan. Then I wondered if they had children. Then I wondered why I even cared? That part of my life was over.

              I thought about moving away, since I’d be able to run my business from anywhere. One good idea that Serg had was expanding the business to other states. Maybe that would be a good way for me to get over all of the heartache and paint that I’d been subjected to over the years. Maybe it was time for me to plant my roots somewhere else.

              The sound of my business cell ringing got my attention. I checked the screen and saw that it was Caramel.

              “Hello.” My girls normally didn’t contact me unless something was wrong.

              “Fiona. It’s Caramel.” Her voice was filled with panic. “Cuba’s after me. He found me. He said he’s comin’ to kill me! You have to send somebody now! I can’t call the police.”

              “Okay. Okay. I’m callin’ someone right now. Stay inside and please tell me you have a gun or something.”

              My other cell was already in my hand and I was speed dialing one of Serg’s henchmen who could get to her quickly.

              “I don’t have a damn gun. I’m scared of those things. That’s what I got you for.”

              I rolled my eyes because you’d think she’d have the common sense to carry a weapon. She was a prostitute with a crazy ass ex pimp. What the fuck was wrong with her?

              “Memphis, I need you to get to Caramel’s place asap. Cuba’s threatenin’ her.”

              “K. Text me the address,” he said quickly.

              I hung up and texted him her Midtown address. She’d relocated to a gated community and I was hoping that it was just an empty threat and he really didn’t know where she was.

              “He’s on the way Caramel. Don’t worry. Like I promised you, Cuba won’t touch you,” I attempted to reassure her.

              “I don’t know about that. He got my new number and now he knows where I am. Just stay on the phone with me until Memphis gets here.”

              With a sigh, I agreed. “Okay. What’s goin’ on now?”

              “Nothing. So far it’s quiet and I’m lookin’ out of the window. I don’t see his car or nothing. Maybe he’s just tryna scare me.” She seemed to sound more calm.

              Fifteen minutes later Memphis called to let me know that he was pulling up.

              “He’s there now. He’ll be up to check on you in a minute. Okay.”

              “Okay,” she said taking a deep breath. “Thank you so much. Maybe I should move again. Shit, I won’t be able to relax ‘till that nigga’s dead.”