Power (10 page)

“Whatever, Alex.”

“Whatever is right. I get it now. You’re just an ungrateful trick. But that’s cool. You go ‘head and let that old man trick off on you, but the shit ain’t gone last.”

“Just because you didn’t want to wife me, you think that the next man won’t. Nigga, please. I got this. You need to worry about yourself. I’ve moved on to bigger and better things and I suggest you do the same, although I doubt it will ever happen for you. Ain’t no woman going to be sitting around waiting for you to get your shit together and put a ring on it, so good luck to you. Now get the fuck out, Alex.”

Alex stood in front of Tierney’s door for a few minutes after she slammed it in his face. It took all his self-control not to put his fist through the wall. The initial hurt when she ended their relationship had now turned to anger. Alex had been so busy hustling in the streets, building up his money, he hadn’t realized Tierney had been playing him, or at least that’s how he felt. Alex decided at that moment he was done stressing over his ex. Shit happens and it was time for him to move on.

*  *  *

“I need you to find me a crew of niggas that all they do is kill,” Deion informed Popcorn as they sat in Starbucks, having what he considered a business meeting. Starbucks was becoming Deion’s personal office, and for the location, he was getting prime real estate for a cheap-ass price.

“I think I might know the perfect team. They like twelve or thirteen deep and all they like to do is kill.”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout. Make sure they go hard, ‘cause I want them to take down Jose and his men.”

“Got you.”

“But if they can handle the job, they’ll be well-compensated. I just want that nigga dead. As long as we both walking the streets of Atlanta, I ain’t gon’ feel safe.”

“So when you tryna make this happen?”

“As soon as we get this team of killers together. I already got somebody keeping tabs on Jose now. I’m making sure they watching his every step so when it’s time to make our move we know what we’re dealing wit’.”

“The moment I leave here I’ll get on it.”

“Good. I’ll also have that other stuff for you tomorrow. I need to start stackin’ these millions.”

“I’m wit’ you, cowboy. After I speak to them boys I’ll hit you up, but I’ll definitely see you tomorrow,” Popcorn said before leaving.

Deion sat in Starbucks thinking how lovely shit will be if Popcorn came through with those killers. Deion not only planned on taking Jose’s life but he also planned on taking everything he left behind. Because of 2Glocks, Deion knew the locations of the warehouses Jose had that stored all of his coke. Once Jose was gotten rid of permanently, he was going to raid all those spots and keep it for himself. Deion knew if he got access to all of Jose’s drugs it would give him all the power.

While Deion was leaving Starbucks, he continued having dreams of all the money and power he would soon have if he could get rid of Jose. Deion was so engrossed in these dreams that at first he didn’t notice the two men standing near his pickup truck. It wasn’t until he got midway to his ride that the sun seemed to flicker light on the chrome that one of the men was clutching, Deion realized what was up. He recognized the goons from when they were outside Popcorn’s apartment waiting for him. The difference was, last time Deion was at least strapped, but today he had left his crib so quickly, he had nothing.

Fuck! How the hell am I gonna get away from these niggas? I ain’t got no heat or nothin’. Fuck it! It’s now or never
, Deion said to himself. With limited options he made the decision to take his chances and haul ass. He did a quick U-turn and bolted in the direction of a busy street. He figured the goons wouldn’t want to open fire in broad daylight in front of numerous eyewitnesses, but they didn’t give a fuck. Deion could hear gunshots flying in his direction, but he continued moving forward, accelerating his speed and never looking back. He hadn’t ran this fast since he was a young kid growing up in the TechWood homes, doing petty crimes with Alex.

Between gunshots, Deion heard a car start up. So now one goon was chasing him on foot, blasting off, and another was behind the wheel of the car, ready to run him down. Deion was running so fast he could hear his rapid chest compressions. As he darted across the busy street, all he heard were cars blowing their horns and sudden stops as many vehicles were pressing down on their brakes to avoid hitting him. Deion finally came upon a strip mall and ran inside one of the stores, sweating profusely. He found the bathroom, locked the door and turned on the faucet. Deion drenched his face in water before looking up to catch his reflection in the mirror.

“Damn, when it rains it pours,” Deion said, shaking his head.

Chapter 16

Life Is What You Make It

“Alex, I was surprised to hear from you so soon, although I’ve missed you,” Isabella said, kissing him when he entered her hotel room.

“I missed you too, but my call was more about business.”

“I thought business was going well. Joaquin said you were pleased with the new product.”

“He’s right, but I need more. You said your family has direct connections. I can keep getting work from Joaquin but you can also supply me.”

“All this is true, but where did this sudden change come from? A couple months ago you wanted no part of moving heroin. I have to convince you that this would be the right business decision for you. Now you want to move even more product?”

“I need to get my money up, that’s all.”

“I think it’s more than that. Alex, I like you. You can talk to me about anything.”

“I’m not sure if I can talk to you about this.”

“Why, does it have to do with another woman?” Isabella could tell by the look on Alex’s face and his unwillingness to answer her question that it did. “Alex, I’m not going to deny that I love having sex with you, but I am a married woman and I don’t expect for you to be committed to me.”

“Her name is Tierney. She’s my ex. I found out she’s now with some rich older man who’s an architect that she met while with me. It’s like she’s trying to shit in my face.” Alex felt a sense of relief being able to express his feelings to Isabella. This was exactly what he needed.

“Your ego is bruised.”

“Yeah, that’s fair to say.”

“I understand. A man’s pride and ego is normally the biggest motivating factor in all that he does.”

“It’s more than that. I want Tierney to know that I have just as much as the new man she’s with.”

“Then what…are you hoping she’ll take you back?”

“Hell no! I don’t want her scandalous ass back. I’ve always known Tierney wasn’t the woman for me, but I don’t appreciate how she ended things. I always treated her good and never disrespected her. All I asked is that she did the same. But no, she had me taking care of her while she was fuckin’ the next nigga behind my back. I feel like she played me and I don’t like that feeling.”

“No one does,” Isabella stated. Alex could tell that Isabella was talking about herself and the situation with Joaquin. After the Tierney situation, Alex completely understood where Isabella was coming from. “So what are you trying to accomplish now? Is your ultimate goal still to make enough money to leave the game behind?”

“Nope, I now want all the power. I not only want to dominate Atlanta but any other place I can get my hands on too.”

“Say no more. I told you I wanted to help you be the King and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I promise you.”

“You are so fuckin’ sexy, especially when you discussing business,” Alex said, slipping off Isabella’s satin lace halter slip. He kissed her neck and then went directly to her full breasts, putting his mouth on her erect nipples.

“Ahhhh,” Isabella purred softly. Alex lifted her up and laid her down on the bed. Looking at every voluptuous curve on Isabella’s body made Alex’s dick so hard. When he entered inside her warm, welcoming pussy it seemed that all his stress melted away. For the next hour he got lost in her wetness and stopped obsessing over his yearning for wealth and power.

*  *  *

“Damn, baby, where you been? I haven’t heard from you in weeks. I thought you forgot about me.”

“How could I forget about you? I just been dealing wit’ a lot of shit.”

“Is everything cool now?”

“Somewhat. I got things under control.”

“Does that mean you ready to take our trip to New York?”

“That’s why I’m calling you.” Deion could hear Passion sighing over the phone as if she already knew what he was about to say. “We can’t make the trip right now. I know you disappointed but I’ll make it up to you”

“That’s like your favorite line, but you never make it up to me.”

“How ‘bout you meet me over at Phipps Plaza in an hour.”

“I’m not trying to window shop.”

“Neither am I.”

“Then I guess I’ll see you in an hour.”

Deion smiled when he hung up with Passion. He was actually looking forward to seeing her. The last few weeks had Deion feeling like he was lucky just to wake up and see another day. After almost being killed twice within a matter of days, Deion had been keeping a very low profile. Meeting Passion at Phipps was his first real outing in weeks. He had decided not to make any major moves until he got rid of Jose, and he also added Travis to that list.

As Deion was grabbing his car keys to walk out the door, he saw that Popcorn was calling him. “What up, man?”

“I got some news for you. Can we link up to discuss?”

“Yeah, meet me over at Phipps in twenty.”

“Cool…see you in a minute.”

Popcorn was standing directly in front of the Gucci store when Deion arrived. Deion was tempted to get Passion a purse that he noticed in the front store window as a surprise, but decided against it. He thought she would have more fun picking out her own goodies.

“Man, I can’t believe you finally decided to show your face in the daytime,” Popcorn joked. He was well aware that after the two different threats on Deion’s life he had had basically gone MIA.

“Yeah, I’m meeting this chick up here. I thought it was time for me to get the fuck out my crib and live a little again. Constantly watching yo’ back gets old after while. Come on, let’s walk. So what you got for me?”

“Soon you won’t have to worry about watching yo’ back no more., unless you piss some mo’ niggas off. Knowing yo’ crazy ass, that might just happen.”

“What can I say…I was born with a few screws loose. But I got that chicken so all that shit is overlooked.

“Nigga, you crazy. But foreal, them killa boys ready to move. They know which warehouse and the best time to catch Jose and his team.”

“Yeah, make sure they put an extra bullet in that Muscle nigga for me too. Big goofy lookin’ ass.”

“I’ll make sure to let them know.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know you are. Anything else?”

“Yeah, I’ma have a couple of other dudes that work for me cleaning out them warehouses as soon as I get word that Jose and his crew done. So I need those frequent updates. As a matter of fact, I’ll have one of my workers tailing them niggas but I’ll make sure he know to stay in the background. I don’t want no fuckups.”

“Trust me, for the amount of money you paying, there won’t be any.”

“Good. I would hate to have to hire another team to come in and kill these niggas ‘cause they couldn’t get the job done.”

“We go way back. I wouldn’t have put you on to these dudes if I wasn’t positive they could deliver.”

“That’s what I need to hear,” Deion nodded. “Let me go. The chick I’m meetin’ just texted me letting me know she’s here.”

“You got her up in Phipps. Her head game must be ridiculous.”

“I ain’t even fucked this chick yet.”

“What!”

“Nope. I’m expecting the head and pussy game to be on point though. If not, she’ll just be another pretty bitch that got a few coins outta me. Like they say, it ain’t trickin’ if you got it.”

“Deion, you that nigga,” Popcorn said, giving him the pound.

“So when is the hit going down?”

“Tomorrow around six thirty.”

“Cool, I’ll have my workers on alert. Talk to you soon.

As Popcorn was walking off, Passion was walking up. “There’s my Daddy,” Passion said with a wide grin on her face.

Deion hadn’t seen Passion in awhile but she was still just as pretty as ever to him, even dressed down. She was wearing some low-cut jeans with a white razorback t-shirt and some wedge sneakers. She had on a full face of makeup with lashes and all, but because the colors were natural tones, her look was just right.

“You what I need today,” Deion said, giving Passion a hug.  She hugged him back even tighter as if she didn’t want to let go. “You ready to shut this mall down?”

Passion leaned her body away from Deion and stared up at him with dollar signs in her eyes. She was smiling so hard, Deion thought her face might crack. “I sure am.”

Deion spent the next couple of hours making Passion feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. She had bags from Valentino, Saks, Jimmy Choo, Intermix, Gucci, Versace and just about every other high-end store besides Tiffany & Co. Deion didn’t believe in buying women jewelry. He had bought clothes, shoes, cars, tits and even veneers but never a piece of jewelry. Deion always thought that was too personal and would give a woman the impression that she was special to him, so he stayed away from those type of gifts. It didn’t matter though, because most women, including Passion, were thrilled to get whatever Deion was buying.

No man had ever splurged on Passion the way Deion had and she planned on showing him just how grateful she was. When they got back to his crib, Deion didn’t have to say a word. Passion was naked and had his dick in her mouth before he could even offer her something to drink. But like Deion expected, her suck and fuck game were on point, which pleased him. Deion was now able to add Passion to his short list of keepers.

Chapter 17

This My World

In the last six months several things had changed for Alex. He was now moving more heroin than anybody else in Atlanta. He had also expanded his operation to several other cities, including a couple on the East Coast. The power he had craved was now his, and he had nobody but Isabella to thank for it. She kept her word and made sure that Alex stayed stocked with the purest and most potent heroin. There was only one other distributor that could somewhat compete with the product Alex had and that was the Get Money Crew.

Alex heard they were dealing with a connect out in Texas, but no matter how good their shit was, because of Alex’s direct dealings with Isabella he was getting the best prices across the board. He was winning on both ends. He was also continuing to make his real estate investments with Danny, so he was also generating more legitimate money.

“Life is good right now,” Alex said, as he sat across from Deion while dining at Bacchanalia.

“There used to be a time when we would’ve never felt comfortable in an upscale restaurant like this, but now it feels like we’ve always belonged,” Deion said, scanning the menu.

“Hi, I’m Dahlia. I’ll be your waitress for the evening. What can I get you all to drink?” Both Alex and Deion looked up at the same time to place a face with such a sweet, engaging voice.