The King Of The South (7 page)

Khristian laughed and followed her.

Yogi shook her head and sat down in the large pink chair with purple and green hearts on it.

Imani continued looking through the racks of little rompers, and dresses. Total Girl really lived up to its name. Everything was pastel colors, frilly, and had plenty of little animals to make any little girl squeal with joy. Imani felt her phone vibrate; she smiled as she looked the screen.

I can taste you right now. Can’t wait until this evening, I want you now. Where are you?

“I know that look. You are smiling too hard, you’re lighting the entire store up.” Yogi said and chuckled.

“Oh, it’s nothing, Ms. Yogi. Just a friend.” Imani said as she sat down on the small white stool.

“Child please, I may be old, but I know the look and the smile when someone is in love. So who is he, where is he from, and what does he do?” Yogi said, crossing her legs.

“Whoa, Ms. Yogi, you want his genetic code too?”

“Well, if you got that and his fingerprints that would be a good start.”

“Look, Nana!” Milani said interrupting the ladies’ conversation.

Yogi twirled her around. “Don’t you look pretty!”

“Yes, we do.” Khristian responded while joining Malani, who was now dancing and singing.

“Ok, ok, let’s get a few more things, and then we can go to the toy store!” Khristian said, out of breath.

“Toys! I know exactly which one I’m getting. Come on, Auntie, help me get this dress off so we can go!”

“Slow down, good grief!” Yogi said to Malani as she zoomed by her to the dressing room. “The store isn’t going anywhere, my Lord!”

Imani shook her head. She looked at her phone and sent a text back.

At the mall with fam now, but I can’t wait to see you later. I bought something I know you are going to like.

I like you naked laying back on the bed with my face between them thighs.

Imani giggled. She felt her nipples becoming hard, and she was warm all over.

“So, you not going to give me details about this new man?” Yogi said, studying Imani.

“What man? Oh you mean the one I still have not met?” Khristian said as she walked out of the dressing room, right into the conversation.

“Maybe she will tell you something about him, because she is tight lipped around me. I think he is either really old or ugly.”

“Shut up, Khristian!” Imani said and threw a sweater at her.

“What… I mean I haven’t met him, and you have been out of town with him a few times. You never bring him to the apartment, and you guys are always meeting out. I mean, what is the big secret? Seems like you are sneaking around to me.”

“Yeah, sneaking around.” Malani repeated.

“Hey, watch your mouth little girl!” Yogi said, tickling her. “Let’s go pay for your pretty outfits.” Yogi and Malani walked off, but Khristain continued the interrogation.

“So, you got another booty call from the mysterious man?” Khristian said as she checked her lip-gloss.

“It is not a booty call, and don’t be jealous. When was the last time you had your walls rubbed by something that wasn’t battery operated?” Imani said, not looking up from her phone.

“Whoo… going for the jugular? He must be laying it down.”

“Shut up Khristian, you so stupid,” Imani said and stood up. “Come on, your mother is ready to go.”

Khristian and Imani walked out of the store with Yogi and Malani ahead of them. Khristian and Imani walked arm in arm, stopping occasionally to look in the store windows.

“Oh, that would be so hot on me!” Khristian squealed as she looked at a red cocktail dress.

“Yeah, that would look good on you,” a voice said from behind them.

Khristian and Imani turned to see a tall young girl smiling at them. “Hi Khristian, how are you?”

“Umm, hi Cara, how are you?” Khristian said.

“I’m great. Doing some shopping?” Cara asked, forcing a smile and looking at Imani, whose arm was still linked with Khristian’s.

“Yeah, me and the fam came out to do some shopping. This is my best friend, Imani. Imani, this is Cara.”

“Nice to meet you, Cara, and where did you get those pants? They are fire!” Imani asked.

“I got them from Mohawks on level two, and thanks. I think I bought the first pair they had. They were bringing them from the back, and they had a lot of different colors.”

“Well, I want a pair! Did they have purple?”

“Umm, I’m not sure, but if they don’t have them in the store, I’m sure you can get them online.” Cara said, not taking her eyes off Khristian.

“Sweet!” Imani’s phone buzzed. “Excuse me, I need to take this,” Imani said and walked towards the railing.

“Well, you’re looking good, Khristian. I haven’t heard from you in a while.” Cara said.

“Yeah, well you know I got busy. I had papers to write, and work. Call me sometime, and we can hang out. I need to get going.” Khristian said as she turned to walk toward Imani. As she walked by Cara, she felt her hand on her elbow.

“I will call you, Khristian,” Cara whispered as she slid her finger up Khristian’s arm.

Khristian gently pulled away from her and quickly walked in the direction she had seen her stepmother and Malani walk in.

__________

King sat near the window of the food court. He could see Panama sitting in the black Sonoma truck. He had parked in the space near the doors, right next to the handicapped parking spaces. King knew that if Panama was visible, the rest of the crew was lurking somewhere less noticeable. Hiring Panama had been one of the best moves he could have made. Although expensive, Panama brought talent and loyalty to his team, something that many other kingpins didn’t have. Panama’s mother lived in Washington; she was the only thing or person that would make the man smile. Taking care of her was all he cared about. He would live on the streets under a bridge, as long as his mother lived well. Like King, Panama had lost his father, but he was not quite as lucky as King to have a stepfather who was a real dude. His mother had ended up with a broke ass African dude who liked to use her for boxing practice. He was Panama’s first kill.

King sipped his coffee and scanned the parking lot. He didn’t see any signs of the black Monte Carlo, but his instincts told him that some shit could still pop off.

He placed his ear buds in his ears and surfed his phone’s music library. Soon, Maxwell’s “Till the Cops Come Knocking” flowed into his ears. Music was the connection that he had to his father, and it always made him feel safe. It helped him clear his mind, and right now, he needed to be focused. The next few weeks would be critical. He had to move some weight from Miami to North Carolina. He also needed to obtain a new block for his business, not to mention the big concert that he had coming up. King was the owner of RK Entertainment Group. He was known for bringing the hottest Hip Hop and R&B acts to Charlotte, and his state of the art pre and postproduction music studio was a favorite among the local artists.

Listening to music with his father were some of King’s best memories. They had their deepest conversations while listening to The Isley Brothers, Earth Wind and Fire, and Reggie’s favorite, Frankie Beverly. King thought of how his father would ride around town with the windows down, some R&B playing, a bag of barbeque chips, and a cold bottle of grape soda. Just the two of them riding around on a hot summer day looking at pretty girls, and talking.

“Boy, ain’t nothing in this world that music can’t cure. You can make babies to it, drink to it, and at times take niggas out to it.”

Young King had nodded as he listened to his father.

King was twelve when his father had started letting him collect money from the trap houses. Learning the business from one of the biggest kingpins in the southeast had made him what he was today. He remembered thinking that nothing or no one could touch his father. Death is going to get everybody eventually, as he learned the hard way.

He had taken his love for music and turned it into a business. He had real talent for putting together hot shows. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the entertainment industry is one of the best places to clean money. King discovered that he had a real talent for putting together hot shows and throwing parties. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the entertainment industry is one of the best places to clean money. Cleaning drug money was not an easy task; one had to be patient, smart, and willing to take chances.

King had opened Reggie’s three years after his father’s death. An old school style supper club catering to the grown and sexy, he brought all of his R&B shows there. Every third Thursday of the month, he held the popular Reggie’s Revue, an open mic night. Between Reggie’s, his entertainment company, and his chain of barbershops, he had enough cash based legitimate businesses to clean his money with no problem.

“Daddy, Daddy, I got a cookie, and I bought you one too. Do you want it?” Malani said, holding the red bag up to King.

King pulled the ear buds out his ears and grabbed the bag, and then grabbed her. She squealed as King tickled her. “No Daddy,” she said between giggles. “You have to eat your cookie. It’s your favorite, oatmeal raisin.”

“Oatmeal raisin? That is my favorite, well have a seat and I will share it with ya.” King said and kissed her forehead.

“No, no ma’am, you have already had two of those cookies. No more until after dinner for you.” Yogi said, walking up with her arms full of bags. She sat down in the chair and exhaled. “Whew, I think we got more than enough for this little girl. I don’t think Santa is going to be able to make anything that you don’t already have.”

“Ma, did you get anything for yourself?” King asked, looking at the bags.

“Oh baby, I just grabbed some cleanser for my face. That is all I really needed.”

King shook his head as he took a bite of his cookie. “So where are the Doublemint twins?”

“We are right here.” Khristian yelled. “Ready?”

“Yeah, if you guys are ready. Did you leave anything in the stores?” King said as he stood. He picked Malani up and they walked towards the large glass doors. King held the doors for his mother, Khristian and Imani, who still had her head down texting. Tommy pulled up to the curb with King’s SUV.

“I didn’t know the mall had valet service.” Khristian said, taking Malani from King.

“They don’t, but when you are riding with the King, you can get things other people can’t.” King said and winked at his sister.

“Shut up and drive, chauffeur!” Khristian said as she buckled Malani’s seatbelt.

“We got everything covered, man. We had people on Red, and…” Tommy stopped talking, and sighed.

“And what, man?” King said, closing the driver door.

“And he here at the mall, man, with some chick.”

King laughed and clapped his hands. “You mean the mutha fucker in there now?”

“Yeah, we got Jinx following him. From what Jinx is saying, dude just shopping.”

King leaned against the SUV and ran his hand over his face. “I don’t believe in coincidences, Tommy.” He said as he opened the door. “Keep an eye on the nigga, I’m gonna take the fam home.”

“I told you, we got you, man.” Tommy said, closing the door.

King put on his Tom Ford shades and looked in the side rear view mirror. He pulled out, and a white F-150 with limousine tinted windows followed.

“Everything ok?” Yogi asked. She could tell that King was tense by the tightness in his jaw, and the vein that was showing in the right side of his neck.

Yogi smiled weakly. Every day, he looked and acted more like his father. At times, when she glanced at him, she could swear that her husband was standing in front of her. She turned to look out the window, found her shades and put them on. Carlton was a wonderful husband, father, provider, and lover. She loved him as best she could, but her heart would always belong to her first love, King’s father, Reggie. She touched the necklace and inhaled, thinking of how Reggie’s laughter could make everything else in the world disappear. How he could tell her that everything was going to be okay, and she would believe it without a doubt.

“Hey Ma, you okay?” King said as he turned down Haven road.

“Yeah baby, just a little sinus problem is all.” Yogi said, wiping her nose. “Thank you for today baby, I really enjoyed it.”

“Ahh anytime, Ma, and thanks for getting your grandbaby straight.”

“No problem, baby. Ohh, I love that song. That girl is singing about some pain.” Yogi said as she turned the radio up.

All three the women sang along.

Last night I cried, tossed and turned. Woke up with dry eyes….

“That is a depressing song, Ma.” King said as he pulled into the driveway of his parents’ house.

“Baby, that song is not depressing. It is a woman’s pain, and a story of how she will love again! If you find a woman who can sing about her pain, and sing it with soul, well that is a woman who knows life!”

“Or needs some meds.” King said, opening the door for his mother.

Yogi popped his arm.

King walked around to the back of his SUV and began unloading the bags. Today was a day that was few and far between for him. It was a day without gunfire or murder. He wasn’t worried about his dope or picking up his money from his trap houses. He had not gotten any calls from his crew about anybody being shot. It was so far, what King imagined most people do every weekend, spend time with their family. King wanted more days like this.

“Man, why the fuck do I need to bring Tiana with me tonight?” Kareem said as he wrapped the towel around his waist. “I don’t want to be nagged, shit I need to have some fun this weekend. Being with her is worse than being locked up at times. I mean, I got a damn job! It don’t pay shit, either. I just need to blow off some steam.”

Kareem had been stressed ever since Tiana got him the job at a paper warehouse. He worked in stocking for fucking ten dollars an hour. Most of the fools that worked there were clueless about having anything decent in their fucking lives, and they were breaking their backs for peanuts. Shit, when he went to work, he would have ten of his paychecks already in his pocket. Tiana bitched about him being in the game, but she didn’t bitch about riding around in his fucking luxury trucks with the kids and shit.