The Cost of Vengeance (2 page)

“Come in and close the door,” I said. I should have shot him on sight and been done with it. But I didn’t.

“What’s this about, Nina?” Victor asked.

“Don’t play stupid. You know what this is about.”

“’Cause I wouldn’t go out with you again,” Victor said and laughed a little.

“Very funny. Chose your next little joke carefully, ’cause it will be your last.”

“Can I sit down?”

“Go ahead,” I said, and Victor sat down on the couch. When he sat down, I stood up.

“So, you wanna tell me what this is about?”

“You set me up.”

“What?”

“You were the one that sent those women to rob me that night.”

“And I suppose that I set it up to get beat to death?”

“There was no way you could know that Cedric would be
there,
or that I would have to call you to untie me.”

“This is crazy, Nina. What makes you so sure that I did it?”

“
I been
following you.”

“Now
you stalking
me, Nina? This is ridiculous.”

“I followed you and you led me right to the two bitches that robbed me that night.”

The look on his face changed completely then. Up to that point, I guess he thought that he would be able to talk me out of killing him. Now, for the first time since he walked in the door, Victor looked scared. “So, let’s start again. Why you set me up?”

Victor looked around the room, and then he took a deep breath. “It wasn’t anything personal, Nina. That’s just our hustle. One of us gets the mark out of the house and the other two rob them. LeSean and Shantia scouted you out.”

“How’d they know I’d be at Jimmy’s that night?” I asked just to put my fears about Teena to rest once and for all.

“I called them right after you left and told them where you’d be, and where you lived. They were there waiting for you.”

“Why me?”

“Like I said, it was nothing personal, Nina. It’s just what we do,” Victor said. “Give me a couple of days and I swear we’ll get your money back.”

“There ain’t no more we,”
I said and took a step closer to him.

“What do you mean?”

“Your girlfriends are dead now.”

“You’re not gonna kill me, are you?” he asked with a nervous laugh.

“Yes.”

“You don’t have to do that. Look Nina, I got a couple of thousand in the bedroom. You can have that right now, and I swear I’ll get the rest of it to you. I just need a few days to get it together, but you ain’t gotta do this.”

Just then he jumped up from the couch and came at me. I shot him three times in the chest and he fell back on the couch. I stood over him, and when I turned to I leave, I was startled to see Teena coming out of the bedroom with her gun in her hand.

“You didn’t really think I was about to let you come in here alone, did you?” Teena asked.

“No I guess not,”
I said and started for the door.

“By the way, the nigga didn’t have any money in the bedroom ’cause I checked.

Nick dropped me off at my apartment, and I was about to do what I was told and get some rest when the phone rang. “You have a collect call from a correctional facility,” the recorded voice said. I knew that it had to be from my brother Miles, so I accepted the charges.

After Miles found out that my father’s right-hand man, Jeff Ritchie, arranged the murder of the mother of his child, he killed him. That bitch Wanda recommended that Miles plead not guilty of the murder due to temporary insanity, and wave his right to a jury trial. Mike Black arranged to have his case heard in front of a judge that was on his card. All of the witnesses testified that they saw Miles and Jeff Ritchie fighting, and then Miles shot him. But none of the witnesses could remember seeing Miles leave and come back with the gun. That was Nick’s doin’. The judge said that Miles’s mental condition at the time of the killing, rendered him unable to determine right from wrong, or that what he was doing was wrong. The judge ordered clinical treatment until Miles could be certified safe to be released back into the community. But the DA fixed it so Miles had to stay at Rikers Island for treatment.

“What’s up, Miles,” I asked.

“I need to see you, Rain,” Miles said.

“How you doin’, Miles?”

“I don’t have time for this, Rain. I need to see you.”

“Look, Miles, today ain’t really a good day for me. I’ll try to make it out there tomorrow.”

“No!” Miles shouted. “It can’t wait until tomorrow, Lorraine! I need you to come out here today.”

Anytime Miles calls me by my name, I know it’s something serious, ’cause he knows I hate being called Lorraine. “Okay, Miles. I’ll be out there today, but I got shot and I just got outta the hospital.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“What? What
was
you in the hospital for?”

“We’ll talk about that when I see you,” Miles said and hung up the phone.

The last thing I wanted to do was ride out to Rikers. I was tired and my chest hurt. I probably did too much last night. Rollin’ wit’ Nick and gettin’ some dick this morning didn’t help. I wanted to do what my man told me to, and get some rest, but Miles needed me and that means I’m goin’.

When Miles came out, the first thing I noticed was the bandage on his face. “What happened to you?”

“Two guys jumped me in the shower. One of them held me, while the other cut my face.”

My first thought was this was some jail-house pretty-boy shit. My brother was a pretty nigga, so I laughed a little. “What they do that for?”

When he pulled the bandage off and I saw that they’d cut an E in his face, I knew I was wrong. “They said the Easely family sends their regards,
then
he sliced me.” I knew this was my shit. This was because I killed Jay Easy. I sat there and looked at Miles. “What did you do?” Miles asked me.

“I can’t say right now, but I’m sorry this had to touch you.”

“I knew this was your doing, Rain.”

“I’ll take care of it; you can be sure of that,” I said and started to leave.

“Wait!”

“What?”

“If they came after me, they might go after Lakeda and the kids. When was the last time you checked on them?”

“It’s been a minute.”

“Why?”

“You know I can’t stand that bitch. Shit, she’s the reason you’re in here.” Lakeda found out that Miles had been cheatin’ on her, and that’s why Jeff Ritchie arranged to have the woman killed.

“No she isn’t. I’m in here because I killed Jeff Ritchie for having Zakiya Phillips killed.” I looked at Miles and wondered if I should I tell him how it really went down. I guess he knew I had something to say. “What, Rain?”

“There’s something you need to know.”

“What’s that?”

“It wasn’t Jeff Ritchie.”

“What you talkin’ about, Rain?”

“I knew something wasn’t right about her story. Lakeda wouldn’t talk to Jeff Ritchie about you having an affair.
Her
and Jeff wasn’t cool like that. But she would talk to daddy.”

“What are you sayin’?”

“Lakeda went to see daddy that night after she’d caught you. You know as well as I do that Jeff Ritchie would never do anything like that. He wouldn’t send men to kill her; not unless daddy told him to.”

Miles dropped his head.

“I asked daddy about it that night at the hospital. He didn’t answer me then, but before he died, he told me that I was right, and to tell you that he was sorry.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It wouldn’t change anything. Daddy was dead. You
was
in here. I just didn’t see the point in makin’ you relive all that and be mad at daddy,” I said and wished I had told him before now.

“You still could have told me, but I understand why you didn’t. But that don’t change what I’m talking about. You need to go and make sure the Lakeda and the kids are safe. You gotta do that for me, Rain. I know how you feel about Lakeda, but that is your niece and nephew, do it for them.”

“Okay, Miles, I got you,” I said. “I’ll be back to check on you in a couple of days. I got a lot going on right now. But I’ma take care of this for you.”

I left Rikers and went by the club to pick up another gun. When he left, Nick took mine. I really didn’t think that Jay Easy’s people would go after Lakeda and the kids, but I couldn’t afford to be wrong. Shit, I didn’t think they’d go after Miles over some shit I did, but they did.

I had a good idea who set that shit up. It had to be Jay Easy’s younger brother, Kevin. But what I didn’t understand was, why go after Miles? Why not bring that shit to me? I ain’t hard to find. Then I thought about that shit and smiled. I may not be hard to find, but the people I’m with carry a lot of weight. Last thing a mutha fucka wants do is run the risk of havin’ Mike Black’s whole crew gunnin’ for them. I had to laugh ’cause I knew that some of them would think me dyin’ was a good thing, and be glad that they didn’t have to do it. But Kevin wouldn’t know that, so goin’ after Miles probably seemed like a good move to Kevin. I would make sure that before he died he would regret that shit.

When I got to the club and went to my office, Rose was in there with Danielle doing paperwork. Rose had recently hired her to be the food and beverage manager. You ever meet somebody and you just don’t like them? That was Danielle. It was nothing she’d done or said to me, I just don’t like her. But Rose says that since Danielle started workin’ there that profits on food and liquor are up, so I guess I ain’t mad at her.

“Hey, Rain,” they both said.

“What’s up?” I said and went straight for the safe.

“Are you all right?” Rose asked.

“I’ll be all right. I just got something I need to handle,” I said and got two guns and some clips out of the safe. I closed the safe and started to leave. I stopped when I got to the door. “If Nick comes by here, you ain’t seen me.”

“I understand,” Rose said and Danielle smiled.

On my way to the car I wondered what that bitch was smilin’ about, and drove away thinkin’ that there was something about her that just ain’t right; I feel it. But I really didn’t have time to worry about that now.

On the way, I thought about what Jay Easy said to me before I shot him.

“Go ahead and do it. But even if you kill me the shit won’t stop. It will only get worse. You got more enemies than just me. Only one that can save you is me. Drop this nigga and make it all right, and we can get back to where we was,” Jay Easy pleaded with me for his life.

I looked at Jay Easy and shook my head. “You always was a stupid mutha fucka. I don’t want you. That nigga’s so far above your level that you couldn’t even understand it.” Then I laughed in his face. “That, and he’s fuckin’ the shit outta me.”

Jay Easy spit in my face. I picked up my gun and shot him in the face. Then I pulled the car over and pushed him out in the street, closed the door, and drove off.

You got more enemies than just me. Only one that can save you is me.
At the time I thought he was just talkin’ until I found out that it was Blue who was robbin’ me. Now I wonder how long that enemy list was.

I got to Lakeda’s house and rang the bell. My nephew, Miles Jr., answered the door. “Aunt Rain,” he yelled and jumped in my arms like he always does. I kissed him on the cheek.

“How’s my little man doin’?”

“I’m fine. But I miss you,” Miles Jr. said and my heart melted.

“Who’s at the door, Miles?”

“It’s Aunt Rain, mommy,” he said and grabbed my hand and dragged me to his mother.

“Hello, Rain,” Lakeda said.

I could tell she wasn’t glad to see me. The bitch never is. You would think that since I support her ain’t-never-had-a-job ass, that she would show me some respect. At least she could show some appreciation for the fact that I pay all of her bills, and send somebody to give her worthless ass money every fuckin’ week, but I guess it don’t work that way for her.

I knelt down and looked at my cute little nephew. “Why don’t you go play. I need to talk to your mommy,” I said and hugged him. After he ran off, I sat down ’cause I knew the rude bitch wasn’t about to offer me a seat. “You heard what happened to Miles?” I asked, even though I knew she hadn’t. Lakeda hadn’t forgiven Miles for the affair and hadn’t spoken to him or been to see him, since the day he shot Jeff Ritchie. Millie takes the kids to see him in jail.

“No.”

“He got stabbed.”

Her expression didn’t change.

“He asked me to come by here and make sure that you and his children were safe.”

Lakeda stood up. “We’re fine, so you can go.”

“It ain’t that simple, Lakeda. The people that stabbed Miles might come after you and the kids. So what I need for you to do is pack up some stuff for you and the kids and come with me.”

Lakeda looked at me and sat down. “Miles got stabbed over something you did. That’s it, isn’t it? What did you do?”