Working Girls (14 page)

The rough touch of Kareem's fingers between her legs brought Jewels out of her trip down memory lane.

“That hurts!” Her eyes shot open. She reached down in the bathwater and pulled Kareem's fingers out of her.

“I'm sorry, baby,” Kareem said, apologizing.

She hated when he called her baby. Normally, she would say something, but she was there for a reason—to do whatever it took to get this money so she could pay Rome for what she needed to have done.

He rose up, leaned over, and grabbed a towel for Jewels off the bathroom sink. Jewels stood and stepped into the open towel he had waiting for her. He wrapped it around her and tucked it in, then kissed her on her collarbone. Jewels wanted to flinch, but she kept her composure. Whenever he started pampering her and treating her like that, it put her in an awkward place. She had expressed this to Kareem on several occasions. She always made it clear to him that there wouldn't be any relationship between them other than the business one they had and that she didn't like for him to treat her like there was anything more.

Tonight she would allow him to fulfill his fantasy, as they had discussed prior to her coming over. His request was not outlandish or anything. It was actually something simple: feeling loved by her. Jewels began to caress the back of his head. She faked moans as he kissed her neck and breasts. His hands glided over her body like he was part octopus. Jewels made circular motions with her hands on his chiseled back. She was caught by surprise when Kareem scooped her up by her ass cheeks and swept her off her feet. She threw her arms around his neck as he carried her to the bed. Jewels met his stare as he gazed into her eyes. He guided her body over the bed and laid Jewels down gently. His next move tested Jewels's patience and composure. Without warning, he forcefully kissed Jewels, slipping his tongue into her mouth.

This nigga
, she thought. She had never let any client kiss her with an open mouth, and she'd hardly let anyone kiss her, period.
It's for Sassy
, she had to keep telling herself over and over in her head to keep from spazzing out on Kareem.

Fortunately, the kiss didn't last long. Kareem slithered down from her top lips to her bottom lips. Jewels closed her eyes. Although the feeling was good, she didn't like it coming from him. Still she embraced it. Kareem's tongue felt magical. Her legs shuddered and her body quivered as he hit the right spots and caused her to reach an orgasm. For thirty minutes straight, Kareem made love to Jewels's body, and she to his.

The agreement was for her to spend the night in Kareem's arms and to wake up the next day ten grand richer.

“Morning, honey.”

Jewels woke to breakfast in bed. She covered her eyes from the brightness of the sun that hovered over downtown St. Louis. She did not return Kareem's greeting. She offered a groan instead as she yawned and stretched. She was not in the mood for pet names and lovey-dovey shit this morning. As far as she was concerned, she had had enough mushy shit with Kareem last night to last her a lifetime. The thought made her let out a light chuckle and smile; then she became sad all at the same time. She found herself sounding like Sassy.

“What's wrong, my love?” Kareem asked.

“Shut the fuck up with all that romance shit,” Jewels wanted to scream. “Nothing. I always get like this when that time of the month is coming,” Jewels lied instead.

“Aww,” Kareem cooed. He sat beside her. Before he could get comfortable, Kareem's phone rang. He paused and retrieved it from his belt clip. “Excuse me, baby. I have to take this.” He held up one finger at Jewels and stood from the bed, then made his way into the living room of his suite. That was the break Jewels needed.

Nigga, I'm outta here, anyway
, she thought as she climbed out of bed.

“Shit,” she cursed under her breath. She realized she hadn't gotten the money he had promised her.

She rushed to get dressed and walked into the living room, where Kareem sat at the dining table, with his head on the palm of his hand. Jewels could hear him switching back and forth from his native tongue to his broken English. He didn't notice she had entered the room. Jewels wasn't trying to listen and could barely understand what he was talking about because of his accent, but she couldn't help but hear the words
millions
,
Chicago
, and
shipment
in the same sentence. She knew she had heard more than she should have.
Motherfucka
, she cursed to herself.

All this time, she had thought Kareem was different. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was talking about something illegal. Jewels was glad Kareem hadn't seen or heard her enter the living room. She tiptoed back into the bedroom without a sound. This time she called out to Kareem, who in return called back to give him a minute. Seconds later, he appeared with a stack of hundreds all bundled up. He handed it to Jewels with his right hand while holding his cell phone up with his left shoulder. Jewels smiled at the ten-thousand-dollar wrapper around the money. Kareem kissed her on the cheek and whispered that he'd talk to her later. Jewels happily exited the suite, but as she rode the elevator down, she couldn't help but think about Kareem's conversation on the phone.

The next few days flew by, and then it was showtime. Rome had everything mapped out and hoped things would go as planned. Finding out the information they needed, including Los's hangout spots, where he liked to eat, sleep, shit, and who he was fucking, had been a piece of cake. They had decided to stage a robbery, versus risking everything they had going on. After carefully planning, they had finally figured out the best way to execute the hit.

Rome met up with Red outside the housing projects, ready to meet his mark. Rome sat patiently behind the tinted windows of a burgundy '99 Impala. His eyes were glued on Los's shadow as Los walked from room to room inside his stash house. This was where the majority of his product and profit were kept, according to Rome and Red's source. After doing his homework, Rome had Los's daily schedule down pat, like it was his own. There were no bodyguards, lookouts, cameras, or anything to keep him away from this hit.

Pulling down their masks, Rome and Red retrieved their heat and headed for their target. Rome stood guard on the left side of the front door, while Red took the right. Both men stood silently, anticipating their next move. Seconds later, on cue, the upstairs light was shut off. After another two minutes, the downstairs light went out. Then the front door lock clicked and the doorknob turned, all in one motion. As soon as the door had the tiniest crack in it, they wrestled their way inside, with their guns raised to their chests.

“Get the fuck on the floor! Get the fuck down now!”

Los was stunned. He had got caught slipping. He had been smart enough not to let anyone know where his stash was, but he'd been dumb in thinking his ass couldn't be followed. Caught up in all the pretty girls and living the life of a high roller, he had lost sight of the greed in niggas. Anybody getting money on the streets in the Lou was either hustling or getting hustled. And at that moment, Los just happened to be on the wrong side. He knew he was sucking in what would be his last breaths. Los immediately wondered where Buster was.

Using what little light was shining in from the streetlight outside, Red shoved Los down on the floor and kneeled on top of him. “Pass that shit over, or I'll take ya fuckin' dome off,” he snarled. He deepened his voice as a disguise. “And where the fuck is the money?”

Los said nothing. He passed over the bag in his hand, which contained over fifty thousand dollars' worth of cocaine and high-grade marijuana. He knew either way he was dead, so why give up the money, too?

With hard eyes, Rome repeated the question. “You heard 'im. Where the fuck is the money, nigga?”

Los was quiet.

“Yo, how the hell you be getting these bitches to love you? What the fuck you be doing to them? 'Cause you ugly as shit, dawg.” Rome chuckled. “Get ya ass up.” Rome pulled Los up from the floor as if he were racing the speed of light.

“Fuck y'all, niggas. Kill me now, 'cause I ain't telling you shit!” Los hawked and spit in the face of the man closest to him, which was Red. The butt of Red's gun slammed against Los's two front teeth and knocked him back to the floor. Blood oozed from Los's lip. Even in pain, he wouldn't back down. “Fuck you! Either take that shit and roll out or kill me now, muthafuckas!”

Red, wiping the saliva from his eyes through the mask with his shirt, said, “It'll be ma pleasure—”

But Rome held up one hand, gesturing for Red to stop. As bad as Red wanted to send Los to meet his Maker, he had to follow Rome's lead. Still calm and cool Rome spoke. “This is your last chance to tell me where the fucking money is.” His gun shifted from side to side as he spoke each word.

Los wanted to keep playing the tough guy but he was in no position to do so. He continued to spit blood on the floor every time it accumulated in his cheek. “Y'all niggas gonna kill my ass either way. You expect me to—”

Rome cut him short. “Do yourself a favor and have a fucking seat.” He grabbed Los up from the floor and tossed him aside. Los landed crooked on the sectional, one leg across the arm of the sofa, the other foot on the floor, and his head between the oversize pillows. Rome pulled Los's cell phone out of his pocket and started calling out the names of his most recent flings. “Desiree . . . Shaniya . . . Kesha . . . I'ma kill every last one of these bitches if you don't stop fucking around wit' me.”

Los laughed. “I don't give a fuck about them hoes.”

Rome jammed the barrel of his gun down Los's throat. “But you give a fuck about this one!” Rome turned the phone around so Los could see his soon to be baby mama's name on the small screen. “First, I'ma slump her dumb ass and your unborn bastard child. Then I'ma get her to tell me where ya mama live, so I can kill her too. But not before I put hella dick up in her. Matter of fact, I'ma keep you alive to watch me fuck her before I blow her fucking brains out! Keep testing me, muthafucka!”

Los's eyes watered instantly.
Somebody has to be talking, and they have to be close to me
, he thought. He knew on his end that only he and Buster knew about the chick he had got pregnant. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, if he gave up what they were asking for, no harm would come to his loved ones. “A'ight . . . a'ight . . . I'll tell you where the money is. Just please don't hurt my family.”

“So you do know how to be a good boy,” Rome growled, but on the inside he was cracking up.
This shit is easier than I thought,
Rome mused. “Give that fucking money up, pussy!” Rome gripped Los by the back of his head, palming it like a basketball, and forced him back to the floor.

Los led them to a medium-size safe he had planted in the floor. He pulled back the artistic rug and punched in the seven digits to the combination. The door to the safe slowly opened.

Jackpot
! Rome thought. He and Red glanced at each other.

The safe contained over two hundred thousand dollars, more to add to what they already had. Under the safe was a hidden compartment in the floor that had more coke and weed in it. Both Rome's and Red's eyes lit up. They had known Los was loaded, but not to that extent.

“Now I see why they be giving the pussy up,” teased Rome.

Red began to scoop everything in the safe into a duffel bag. Rome let him handle that so he could jump to a more personal level. He stood in front of Los, who was slumped over on his knees.

“Before I let you go, I just need you to know one thing.” Rome dropped a wallet-sized photo, which landed at his feet, and then slid it over with his foot for Los to pick up. Los gazed at the face in the photo and suddenly looked like he'd seen ghost. It was Sassy.

Rome went on. “You killed somebody that has a friend that feels some type of way. And for that, it's time to die, my nigga.”

An insane laugh escaped from Los's mouth. “That's what this is all about? A whore?” Los muttered. He had always thought his dick would be the death of him, but nothing like this.

“Who is it? That pretty bitch she hung out with?” He wanted to know.

“Since you a dead man, anyway, yup,” Rome replied.

“Over some pussy!” Los shook his head in disgust.

His words rubbed Rome the wrong way. He couldn't hold back any longer. He refused to let a talking dead man pop shit without knowing the real reason he was dying.

“Nah, partna!” he exclaimed. “Since we the niggas that pushed your fuck boy brother, we figured we'd get your li'l dumb ass outta the way, just in case you ever smartened up.”

Los couldn't believe his ears. At that moment, hearing that Rome and Red were the killers of his brother, Los decided his life meant nothing to him anymore. All he saw was red. Without warning, he made an attempt to rise up, only to be stopped in his tracks.

In the blink of an eye, Rome came out of nowhere with a hunter's knife and slit Los's throat from ear to ear. The sight of the blood gushing out sickened both Red and Rome. Red completed the job he had started, while Rome made sure there was no more money or drugs lying around.

Red wondered why his friend had held back that sensitive information. If the hit was all about a chick, then there was a strong possibility that Rome was getting too caught up. If Rome was mixing business with pleasure, then one day that could be the downfall for them both. “Why you ain't tell me he was fucking your girl?”

Rome stood there, expressionless. “You were on a ‘need to know' basis. Everything you needed to know, I told you. That info, you didn't need to know. And he wasn't fucking anybody that meant something to me.”

Red looked disgusted. “I don't like that trick. I don't like nothing about her gold-digging ass. You need to leave her alone, before she ends up being the death of you.”

Rome shook his head. Anyone else coming at him like that would have been feeling a round from his gun in their skull.

When Rome first told Red about Jewels, Red had tried to convince him to stay away from her. He was glad that Rome had gotten up out of her place. He knew from Rome's conversations about her that Rome was feeling her, which was strange to Red, because his boy was not the type to fall for any chick, let alone a prostitute. He knew a lot more about Jewels and how she was living. She was supposed to have been a “lay low” spot until things cooled off. He had had no idea Rome had kept in contact with her.

Red continued, “I'm just telling you to be careful. You don't need to get caught up in no dumb shit over no pussy. It can't be that good. Shit, if it is, you need to let your boy over here get a little taste of that, 'cause I ain't never had no snapper like that before!”

Rome chuckled. “Get the fuck out of here, nigga. It ain't even like that. Wasn't about that,” he asserted.

“Oh, I was about to say. Didn't think my boy was turning into a sucka for love, nigga.”

The tension in the room eased up as both guys shared a laugh. The two men dapped each other up and got back to business. They swept the house one last time before leaving. Red exited first. He powered up the Impala and waited for Rome to join him. And, just like that, their mission was complete. They left nothing behind except for Los's headless body.