The Apostles (13 page)

“Vee, this is O.”

“What's the deal, O?”

“Bing got killt last night, family.”

Vee snapped, “What the fuck you mean last night and I'm just hearing about it!”

“My fault, family. I tried hitting yo horn last night but yo shit kept going straight to voice mail, fam.”

“Nigga, hold on a minute.” Vee clicked back over to Sakawa. “Shorty, I got to call you back. Some business just came up,” he told her.

“All right, hit me later,” she said.

He clicked back over to O. “What the fuck happened?”

“We don't know.”

Vee's face screwed up in thought for a moment. “Get the State Department together. We gone meet at the garage. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Let them niggas know they better be there or every one of them is gone be wearing Governor glasses!”

Vee slammed his cell phone shut and tossed it on the passenger seat. “Fuck!” he shouted. He had been on his way to the Evergreen Plaza and Breyer's for a quick shopping spree, but it would have to wait. Hanging halfway out of the Excursion's window he busted a tire-screeching U-turn. Several drivers honked their horns furiously at him. He barreled down 95th to the expressway. He was at the garage in a little over twenty minutes. He parked his large SUV alongside a brown Chevy sitting on twenty-inch Daytons. He grabbed his celly off the seat and slammed the door.

In the garage the Governors' State Department lounged on old car seats, overturned buckets, and milk crates. Cigarette and blunt smoke thickened the air in the already musty garage. Vee eased through the door and took the seat reserved for him, an old leather lounger. Mentally he took attendance; everyone was present. Idle conversations stopped as the State Department looked to their leader. One of the blunts being passed ended up in Vee's clutches.

“So what the fuck happened?” Vee asked as he filled his lungs with smoke from the sticky green.

Governor Ornell “O” Jones blew Black & Mild smoke toward the center of the room. He said, “Last night I was bending a couple of corners in my whip, when I drove down upon a gang of pigs and shit on Bing's block. First I was gone keep on sliding, but when I weeped the yellow tape and shit and saw a crowd, I decided to check the shit out.

“I parked my whip and walked over to the crowd. As I got closer I could see that the yellow tape was around the whip that Bing took from Wayne's pussy ass. I could see Bing slumped on the steering wheel and they wadn't trying to get him no help, so I knew
that somebody had rolled his carpet back. The pigs kept pointing at something on the ground and when they moved I could see that it was a A's fitted hat.”

Vee jumped to his feet. He moved so fast that he startled the Governor sitting next to him, causing him to topple off the bucket he had been using for a seat.

“Bitch motherfuckin' Apostles!” Vee bellowed. “I know them ho-ass niggas ain't kill no Governor. I'mma off one of those bitches!”

Teddy, one of Vee's staunchest followers, sat watching the proceedings. He was a smart man and partly responsible for the Governors' survival. It could be said that he was the mastermind behind Vee, but the Head Governor would never admit it. Teddy resembled Snoop Dogg with the exception of his brown teeth and the razor bumps covering his chin and neck. That he was particularly vicious was a quality that slid him through the ranks of the Governors. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail covered by an Akademics cap. “So what's up with these niggas, Vee?” he asked.

“Fuck you mean?” Vee snapped.

“Do we get to merc a few of these assholes or what?”

Vee retook his seat. He tugged weed smoke into his lungs. A smile crossed his lips as he kicked back in the recliner and exhaled. The State Department sat quietly and waited for him to speak. He sat up suddenly and tossed the lit blunt to Teddy, who fielded it easily and righted the blunt before it could burn his palm.

“One of ours, two of theirs,” Vee said evenly as he looked into Teddy's eyes.

V
ANESSA HENRY ROLLED OVER ONTO HER STOMACH. THE
olive green jersey sheet poofed around her for a moment, then settled down, framing her curves. A slight snore escaped from between her pouting lips. Her micromini braids were pinned under a silken scarf wrapped securely around her head; only the mahogany tips peeked from under the scarf. The sheet toppled from her shoulders, baring her arms. Her caramel-colored skin looked soft to the touch where her camisole failed to cover her.

Solemn Shawn stood in the shadows and watched her sleep. He had done so on many occasions, but it never failed to amaze him just how angelic she appeared when she slept. He loved to watch her sleep. To him she seemed like she left this physical plane and returned to Heaven.

A smile invaded his heart and forced itself upon his lips. Outside of his sisters, his nephew, and his reading, Nessa was one of the few pleasures he allowed himself. The woman was pure energy and bustle, but she also knew how to chill and relax. Really she was his exact opposite and it showed. Where he was quiet and brooding, she was talkative and outgoing. He could keep a secret to himself, but Vanessa couldn't wait to shatter her friends' confidences by regaling him with tales of who was cheating on whom.

Noiselessly Shawn slipped out of his pants and shirt and placed them carefully on the leather settee in the corner of the bedroom. Wearing his multicolored boxer shorts he approached the gigantic
platform bed. He placed his eyeglasses on the ebony nightstand, then he slid under the jersey sheets. Vanessa stirred.

“Shawn?” she said, reaching back and touching his arm.

“Yeah, baby,” he answered.

“Come closer,” Vanessa demanded playfully. “You act like you scared.

“ Solemn Shawn rolled over onto his side and propped his leg across the backs of her thighs. “Thought you was sleep, Nessa.”

“You know I wake up when you get in the bed.”

“I be trying not to wake you. I know you got to get up for work in the morning.”

“I'm the boss,” Vanessa said. “If I'm a little late what are they gone do to me?”

Shawn had to agree with her, but he said, “Just like a Black person, you give them a little power, then you can't tell them shit. Don't be around here getting big headed just ‘cause you run the joint.”

Vanessa snuggled back against Shawn. For the first time he realized that she wasn't wearing any panties under her short nightie. His manhood stirred as he rubbed her naked thighs and round, smooth buttocks.

“Girl, why you ain't got no draws on?”

“I was expecting company,” Vanessa teased.

“Yeah, who?”

“You don't know him,” she answered slyly.

In a mock-angry voice, Shawn said, “You better stop playing with me, woman.”

Without warning Vanessa sprang from under Shawn's leg and rolled on top of him in one quick movement. In a husky voice she challenged, “What you gone do if I don't stop playing with you?”

Shawn threatened, “You better quit playing with me, woman, before I do something to you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” She leaned forward and kissed Solemn Shawn on his neck. She
nuzzled his ear, then licked behind it. With a gentle breath she blew on the wet path she kissed down to his throat and chest. Entirely at her mercy, Shawn shuddered. As Vanessa licked a path from one of his nipples to the other, his manhood threatened to rip his boxer shorts off.

“Damn, Nessa. What you trying to do?”

She didn't answer. Instead she balanced herself on one knee and reached behind her to free Shawn from the confines of his boxer shorts. She swung her leg back over him as he reached for her satin-covered breasts. He gently squeezed and massaged her breasts until the hardened nipples raised the fabric from her chest. Vanessa moaned as she kissed her way back up to his throat. She locked her soft lips on his and slid her tongue into his mouth. While she kissed him, she reached behind herself and grasped his joint with her fingertips. Using her French-manicured hand she inserted him into her moist slit.

In unison they groaned.

“Damn, baby, you wet,” Shawn muttered, as he moved his hands from her breasts to her hips to guide her up and down.

Vanessa rotated her hips. “You know you make me wet, daddy.”

She pushed herself up into sitting position using Shawn's abs. She stripped her camisole off and flung it across the room. She leaned back down and teasingly dangled her nipples inches from Shawn's face. He grabbed her ass tighter and craned his neck to capture the tip of her luscious fruit in his mouth. He bit, licked, and sucked the taut skin of her nipples until she had to bite back a scream.

“Just like that,” Vanessa groaned as she rolled her hips from side to side. “That's my spot, daddy. Uhhh, that's my spot. Right there, daddy.”

As Shawn plunged upward into his woman, simultaneously he licked and blew on her nipples. She sat upright and ground her hips down against his pelvis with an intimate urgency. Her hands came up to knead and massage her own breasts. Half-closed, her
eyes fluttered. A low, guttural moan escaped her—it came more from her throat than her mouth.

“Daddy, grab my ass, I'm coming!” Vanessa announced.

Shawn complied by palming the smooth, firm cheeks of her behind.

“That's it, daddy!” Vanessa moaned. “I'm coming. Uhhh, I'm coming! Do you feel my juice, daddy?”

Vanessa's erotic movements and animal-like grunts and groans inspired Solemn Shawn. He held her ass tighter as he pumped furiously, lifting up off the bed. Sensing that her man was about to come, Vanessa egged him on. “C'mon, daddy! Nut in this pussy! This is yo pussy! Empty yo nuts in this hairy pussy, daddy!” She rolled her hips clockwise then counterclockwise and pinched Shawn's nipples.

“Damn, Nessa,” Shawn grunted. “I'm coming, baby!” He pumped even faster as semen shot upward into her womb. She responded by grinding even harder on him.

Vanessa's voice fell to a whisper as she said, “That's it, daddy. Get it all out. Put it all in me, daddy.”

As Shawn spent himself, he stopped moving and fell silent. Vanessa collapsed on his sweaty chest and began gently kissing his neck. After a few moments she rolled off him. Without saying a word, Shawn got up and went to the bathroom. He turned the hot water on and stepped into the shower. With a hand towel he lathered himself. Seconds later the glass shower door opened and Vanessa stepped in behind him. She ducked past Shawn into the fine spray of the warm, reviving water.

“I said I better get up and get in there before you use up all the hot water,” Vanessa said.

Shawn chuckled. “I was finta call you to wash my back anyway.”

Vanessa pursed her lips, but took the soapy cloth from Shawn and washed his back. She handed him back his cloth and began to soap her own body. She moved to the rear of the shower so Shawn
could rinse himself. As he was letting the water run down on his body, Shawn looked Vanessa in the eyes.

“Nessa,” he said.

She continued to soap herself. “What, baby?”

“I got some stuff I'm working on. When I'm through, I'm out the streets. When I'm done I want you to be my wife. You want to get married?”

Vanessa's mouth fell open. “What did you ask me, Shawn?”

“I know I ain't get you no ring yet. I just wanted to know if you would before I went and got one. I didn't want you to take it and throw it back in my face. I just want to know, will you marry me?”

Vanessa rushed forward and hugged Shawn so suddenly that he had to put a hand on the wall behind him to prevent himself from falling. “Damn, girl. You ‘bout to knock me over.”

“Yes, baby,” Vanessa cooed. “I'll marry you, daddy.”

Shawn hit her on the behind lightly. “Well, shut up and kiss me then.”

With a mischievous twinkle in her eye, Vanessa detached herself from Solemn Shawn. “I'll do more than kiss you,” she said as she squatted down in front of him.

“You gone get yo braids wet,” Shawn cautioned.

“I got a blow-dryer,” she countered as she took him in her wet, pouting lips.

“Oh shit,” Solemn Shawn muttered as he leaned back against the shower wall.

“Baby,” Vanessa whispered in Shawn's ear. She was dressed in a navy blue pinstripe suit. Her braids were pulled back in a Chinese comb. On her shoulder was slung her attaché case. In her hand she clutched the keys to her Lexus IS 300.

“Shawn, I have to go. I'm already running late. Before you leave, pull some lamb chops out the freezer so they'll thaw in time.”

Shawn's voice was full of sleep as he said, “All right, Nessa.”

She leaned over and kissed him on his forehead, nose, and lips. “I'll call you, daddy.”

As his wife-to-be departed, Shawn maneuvered the pillows around and reached for the television remote. It was a habit of his to listen to the news in the morning when his woman left for the office as he got back to sleep. Ten minutes into the CLTV broadcast he was snoring again. His cell phone began humming on the nightstand. After a few seconds it began to ring. It rang for a few seconds, then stopped. Solemn Shawn stirred and reached for it. As he detached it from the charger, it vibrated again in his hand. He opened it and put it to his ear.

“Hello,” Solemn Shawn rasped.