Diamonds and Pearl (41 page)

“Dad, is everything okay?” Pearl asked, picking up on his mood.

Seeing the look of concern in his daughter's eyes, Big Stone's face softened. “Yeah, everything is cool. I'm sorry, baby girl. Yo daddy is just venting. You got money to move around with?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Yeah, I got a few dollars, but I'll take whatever you were planning to give me too.” Pearl batted her lashes at her father.

Big Stone shook his head in amusement before digging into his pocket for bankroll. “I swear, when you do that, you remind me of your mama. She was the only female I'd ever met in my life who could get me to break bread with just a look. But if you ever tell Sandra I said it, I'll deny it.” He held out some bills.

“Don't worry—your secret is safe with me.” Pearl took the money and shoved it into her purse. “Let's get going, Ruby.” She pulled her friend by the hand toward the door. She wanted to get out of there before she was subjected to another round of Twenty Questions.

“Pearl,” Knowledge called after her. “You be sure to stay out of Harlem tonight, okay?”

“Oh, don't worry. I have no plans to hang out in Harlem this evening,” Pearl assured him before she and Ruby disappeared out the front door.

*   *   *

By the time Pearl and Ruby got to the corner, a cab was waiting for them. Pearl had called a Harlem car service and requested a driver she was familiar with to come to pick them up. She didn't have him pull up in front of the house because she'd told her father they were taking the bus downtown. Once inside, they were whisked toward their destination. Part of her felt guilty for lying about going to the movies, but at least she would keep her word about staying out of Harlem. She was meeting Diamonds in the Bronx.

“That Knowledge gives me the creeps,” Ruby admitted once they'd left the block. “The way he's always watching us and asking questions, you'd think he was psychic or something.”

“That nigga ain't psychic; he's just nosey as hell.” Pearl waved her off. “Knowledge gets on my damn nerves the way he's always spying for Daddy, but he ain't all bad. He could've blown my spot when he saw me at the bar, but as far as I know, he still hasn't dropped a dime on me.”

“Really? What do you think his angle is for keeping his mouth shut?” Ruby asked.

Pearl shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me. Trying to read Knowledge is like trying to guess which way the wind is gonna blow. But to hell with him. We're about to have a good time, and I brought something to get us in the mood!” She pulled a joint out of her purse.

“Pearl, you can't light that in a taxi!”

“Why the hell not? This ain't no regular taxi. Me and Nine-Five got an understanding, don't we, Nine-Five?” Pearl addressed the cab driver by his car number instead of the name she never bothered to find out.

The African cab driver spared a glance over his shoulder. “Get as high as y'all want, ma. As long as you pass that shit this way.”

“See, I told you're we're good. Now, stop whining and let's get loose.” Pearl lit the joint.

It was a smooth ride from Manhattan to the Bronx, and the bomb-ass weed Pearl had scored from one of the white hippies who lived on her street made it smoother. Nine-Five had his system tuned to Hot 97, and the girls jammed and sang along. Pearl's cell phone rang in her purse. She looked at the caller ID and shook her head before tossing it back down. Less than a minute later it rang again, and knowing it would only continue, she just shut it off.

“Who's blowing up your phone like that? Your dad?” Ruby asked.

“No, pain in the ass Devonte.” Pearl huffed.

“What happened? I thought you guys were good?”

“We were until he started getting all clingy. I told him it was over, but he's acting like he's got wax in his ears. He keeps calling my phone, and I could've sworn I saw him when I was leaving the salon earlier. Good pussy will turn a man into a love-sick puppy.”

“Or a stalker,” Ruby countered. “Don't take this lightly. My mom had a friend who broke it off with a guy she was seeing, but somebody must've forgotten to tell him that. It started with him blowing up her phone and stalking her house. It was only a matter of time before he really jumped out the window and did something horrible.”

Pearl sucked her teeth. “Devonte's ass ain't that crazy.”

“That's the same thing my mother's friend said, right before the guy showed up at her job one morning and threw acid in her face.”

“Damn!” Pearl said in disgust.

“This is something you might want to tell your dad about, or maybe even Knowledge,” Ruby suggested.

“Maybe you're right,” Pearl said, suddenly not so confident in knowing what to expect from her scorned lover. Until her conversation with Ruby, she had never considered that Devonte could possibly try to harm her. Granted, his constant calling and pleading was starting to creep her out, but violence had never crossed her mind. Devonte couldn't possibly be that crazy … could he?

Twenty minutes later Nine Five had crossed into the neighborhood of the address Pearl had given him. As they neared the house, Pearl spotted Diamonds standing on the curb. There were several men standing behind him while he exchanged words with a tall dread outside a black SUV. She watched curiously as Diamonds and the dread shook hands. The dread waved the men with him back to the car, and they began to pile in. When Pearl spotted the familiar face standing beside the dread, she had to do a double take.

“Stop the car!” Pearl ordered, causing Nine-Five to slam on the brakes.

“Everything good, shorty?” Nine-Five asked, pulling a gun from the hidden compartment under the glove box. He wasn't a gangster by any stretch, but he liked Pearl and was well aware of who her father was and what he could benefit from if he held his little girl down in a time of trouble.

Pearl's eyes zeroed in on the men climbing into the SUV. “I think I know those guys.”

 

CHAPTER FORTY

“Nigga, I can't believe you just orchestrated a fight in the middle of a baby shower,” Goldie said, still in disbelief.

“That wasn't no fight, lil bro. Nothing more than a scuffle,” Diamonds said, downplaying it.

“Still, at a baby shower?” Goldie questioned, as if his older brother should've known better. “TJ is pissed, and ain't no words for what Teisha is right now.”

“I'll go in and make my apologies soon,” Diamonds said. “It was fucked up on my part to let that go on here, but you gotta admit that it was funny as hell. You see Buda's face when the young boy grabbed his nuts?”

Goldie didn't want to laugh, but he couldn't help it. “‘Get this little nigga off me!'” he imitated Buda. “Yo, I dead thought his eyes were gonna pop out of his head. Where did you find that crazy-ass young dude?”

“Vita recruited him. He came over with your boy LA to handle that piece of business with Pana's other spot,” Diamonds told him.

“He looks a little on the young side, but his boy LA seems to be solid enough, and he speaks highly of the kid. Heard he dropped some bodies uptown, so I guess he can hold his weight around here.”

“Vita sure as hell seems to think so,” Diamonds said in a less-than-thrilled tone.

“If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous,” Goldie teased him.

“Of that lil nigga? Fuck outta here! That meat way too tender. Vita likes a tougher cut,” Diamonds said. “Anybody see where Buda got off to?” he said, changing the subject.

“I seen him jump in a cab a while ago. He's probably headed over to see that broad he's been keeping time with,” Goldie said.

“One of his jump-offs?” Diamonds asked.

“Nah, for as much time as he spends with this chick, I think it's a little more than that. He's been spending a lot of time with her. If you ask me, I think that boy is sprung.”

“How long this been going on?”

“I ain't for sure, but I'd say a little while. When he ain't getting on our nerves, he's out chasing her.”

“What we know about this chick?” Diamonds asked.

Goldie shrugged. “Not too much. Buda been real secretive about her, like he's worried about one of us trying to steal her. I haven't officially met her yet, but I've seen her before. Nice-looking Spanish broad.”

Something about it didn't sit right with Diamonds. For as long as he had known him, Buda had always been a notorious womanizer, so hearing some mysterious chippie had his attention raised a red flag in his head. “I think at some point we gonna need to meet this mystery woman just to make sure everything is on the up-and-up.”

“You know Buda ain't gonna be feeling you digging into his personal business like that,” Goldie warned.

“I don't care what Buda is or isn't feeling. As captain of this crew, it's my job to make sure everybody we come into contact with is who they're supposed to be. That reminds me: I need you to do something for me tonight.”

“What?” Goldie asked suspiciously.

“Don't look at me like that. You act like I'm walking you into some bullshit,” Diamonds assured him.

“Like the time when we were little and you sent me into the candy store with that note without telling me you and Buda were going to rob the joint?”

“Man, that was different.” Diamonds waved him off. “This will require minimal work, and you might end up getting a treat at the end of the night.”

“Then tell me what it is,” Goldie demanded.

Before Diamonds could answer, Hank walked up. He looked tired and aggravated, which was nothing new. “Fuck y'all out here doing, yanking each other's dicks?”

“Don't be the next one to get dropped out here.” Goldie launched fake punches at Hank's midsection.

“I'll whip your little young ass later. Right now we've got business to handle.” Hank nodded toward the black SUV that had just pulled up at the curb. From the way Rolling and Born were climbing over each other to be the first ones to greet the vehicle, Diamonds knew it had to be the connect. The moment of truth had arrived.

“Goldie, do me a solid. In the house, amongst the rest of the gifts, you'll find a bag with a gold-wrapped box in it. Why don't you go fetch it for me?”

“C'mon, bro. You acting like I don't wanna meet the connect too,” Goldie complained. He hated when Diamonds put him in the
little brother
zone.

“You'll get your introduction
after
you bring me the bag,” Diamonds told him.

“A'ight,” Goldie pouted like a child, and sulked off.

“Showtime.” Diamonds started toward the SUV.

When Rolling spotted him coming, he said something to someone on the passenger side, which prompted all four of the vehicle's doors to open at once. Two hard-looking characters wearing black sunglasses jumped out and gave a quick look around before taking up positions at either end of the truck. Next out was a young dude who looked to be not long out of high school. His scowl was hard, but his face was still tender and innocent. The last man to climb out of the SUV was surprisingly familiar to Diamonds. He was the dread with all the jewelry who he had seen with Pearl and her friends at the bar. That night, he was laughing and having a good time, but tonight his face was hard and serious. His keen eyes locked onto Diamonds, who was coming out the front gate to meet him.

“Bon Mesye aswe,”
Diamonds greeted them.

“A good evening indeed,” the dread replied, letting Diamonds know that he, too, spoke Creole.

Rolling made the nervous introduction. “Doodles, this is the guy Diamonds who I was telling you about.” He was standing between two of the most dangerous men he had ever met, outside out of his brother.

“It's good to finally meet.” Diamonds shook Doodles's hand, and it seemed to ease some of the tension between their two caps. “I appreciate you coming all this way, especially with all you have going on. My condolences on your loss, by the way.”

“It was actually a friend of my son's.” Doodles pointed to the young kid with him.

Diamonds didn't see it at first, but now that he mentioned it, there was a resemblance between him and the scowling kid. They had the same eyes and thick lips. “Sorry for your loss.”

The kid just nodded.

“One of Franz's friends caught a bad break last night in that bar fire on a Hundred and Forty-Fifth. You hear anything about that?” Doodles asked.

It seemed like an innocent enough question, but there was something behind it. Diamonds thought about playing dumb, but the direct approach had always been more his style. “Actually I was there,” he admitted. “Thankfully me and my friends left long before the fire started.”

Doodles nodded as if Diamonds had passed whatever test he'd just been given. “Some of Ricky's family are in town, and I need to attend to them. So you'll excuse me if I insist we make this brief.”

“I wouldn't have it any other way,” Diamonds agreed. “As far as I knew, we were good, but now I'm hearing you got some concerns about the deal.”

“I wouldn't call them concerns, more like reservations,” Doodles corrected him. “I did my homework on you, Diamonds. Your work in Miami and Texas tells me that you're a man who knows how to flip a coin, but you also tend to leave big messes behind in every city you visit.”

Diamonds shrugged. “In this life people, die every day. It's simply part of who we are.”

“I'm a man who understands that, but I'm also a man who understands that we have to pick our battles, not go out and invite them.”

“Trust me: I can handle anything I invite to my house,” Diamonds capped.

“Like you did Pana Suarez?” Doodles asked. When he saw the tick in Diamonds's eye, he knew the information he'd received had been accurate. “Don't look so surprised. I told you: I did my homework. Now, I didn't know that man and don't care why you did what you did to him, but I'm pretty sure there are people who do care and who are going to be looking for someone to lynch behind this. I just wanna make sure that the bullshit you're up here kicking don't splash on my side of the grass.”