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  Kendu laid in the bed with Diamond laying on his chest as they watched episodes of Martin on DVD.

  “This nigga is hilarious.” Diamond laughed.

  Diamond was so excited to finally be able to spend some quality time with Kendu. If he wasn’t out taking care of business, he was running the streets. But not tonight. Tonight she had him all to herself, and she was loving every second of it.

  She rested her head on Kendu’s chest as the two laughed their asses off.

  “Oh hell no,” she fussed when she heard Kendu’s phone ring.

  “Hello?” Kendu answered.

  “Baby?” Carmen said weakly.

  “Carmen, is that you?” Kendu asked.

  “Baby, they took the money,” Carmen said, barely able to get the words out. “I tried to stop them. I swear I did.”

  “I’m on my way,” Kendu said, hanging up the phone. Diamond hopped up. “I know you don’t think you going over there to see that bitch,” she huffed, folding her arms across her chest. “Tonight is supposed to be Our time,” she said, dragging out the word.

  “I have to go, baby. Some serious shit just happened,” Kendu said as he got dressed in a hurry.

  “Why the fuck you always have to go? Why can’t Deuce go take care of that?”

  Kendu ignored her as he grabbed his .45 and headed downstairs for the front door. Diamond quickly ran past him and stood in front of the door, to prevent him from leaving. “No! Fuck that!”

  “Come on, baby. Don’t start this shit tonight.”

  “Nope,” Diamond said. “This is our night tonight, and you ain’t leaving me to go be with the next bitch.”

  Kendu took a deep breath. Then he scooped Diamond up by her legs, removed her from in front of the door as she beat on his back and the top of his head like a drum, then exited the house.

  “Fuck you!” Diamond yelled from the doorway. “Go be with that bitch! I don’t give a fuck!” She slammed the door.

  Diamond flopped down on the couch as tears escaped from her eyes. She hated that another woman could call and make her husband run out the door. “Fuck him!” she said as she wiped her eyes and headed back upstairs.

  Kendu just shook his head as he pulled out of his driveway and headed straight for Carmen’s house. During the ride over there, he thought the worst. From the sound of Carmen’s voice, he knew somebody had hurt her real bad.

  He pulled up in front of Carmen’s house and saw her front door wide open. “Fuck!” He snatched his .45 from his waistband and hopped out his car. He slowly crept up to the front door, not sure if any intruders were still inside. He stepped inside the house with a two-handed grip on his gun and slowly eased his way through the house.

  Kendu finally made his way upstairs and saw Carmen laid out on the floor, wearing nothing but a thong, in a puddle of her own blood. “Fuck!” He kneeled down by her side. Before he said another word, he looked over to his right and saw that the door to his safe was wide open. Immediately he knew what went down.

  “I’m sorry, daddy,” Carmen said through a pair of busted lips.

  Kendu pulled out his iPhone and dialed 9-1-1.

  “I tried to stop them,” she said in a light whisper.

  “How many of them was it?”

  “Two.”

  “Did you see any of their faces?”

  Carmen shook her head no.

  “Everything going to be fine,” Kendu told her as he looked at the caller ID on his phone and saw Diamond’s name flashing across the screen. He immediately sent her straight to voice mail. Right now he didn’t have time to be arguing with her, especially over some bullshit. “Try not to talk,” Kendu said. “The ambulance will be here any second.”

  Diamond cursed loudly when she got Kendu’s voice mail. She just knew he was over there fucking Carmen. Why else would he send her straight to voice mail? “Oh, he think it’s a game,” she thought out loud as she went upstairs and hopped in the shower. She was tired of sitting at home always crying. Tonight she was going to put her foot down.

  An hour later Diamond stood in the mirror looking at her appearance. She wore a tight-fitting all-white tube dress, with some red three-inch heels that wrapped around her calves, to match her red headband. “This nigga must be stupid, if he think I’ma just be sitting around while he out with another bitch,” Diamond said out loud to herself. She applied her M·A·C lip gloss on her full lips, grabbed her red Coach bag and keys from off the table, and headed out the door.

  Kendu watched as the paramedics placed Carmen in the back of the ambulance. “If you hear anything, feel free to give me a call,” a Chinese detective said as he handed Kendu his card.

  “I got you,” Kendu replied politely.

  As soon as the detective walked off, Kendu tossed the card to the ground and spat on it. “What a muthafuckin’ day!” he said out loud. He pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking of who could have been behind this.

  He walked over to his car and pulled an old weed clip from out of his ashtray and placed it between his lips. Then he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Deuce’s number.

  “I told you that shit was going to be like taking candy from a baby,” Deuce said as him Mousey sat at the table counting out how much money they just took from Carmen’s crib.

  “That nigga Kendu is a clown. I knew that shit was going to be easy,” Mousey boasted.

  “Fuck all that! You didn’t have to do Carmen the way you did.”

  “What?” Mousey looked at Deuce like he was insane. “The bitch started popping off at the mouth. What was I supposed to do?”

  “Scare her a little bit.”

  “Fuck a scare!” Mousey said. “Let’s just figure out how we going to take Kendu out the game.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “I say we just kill him. Fuck it!” Mousey said, rubbing his beard.

  “I can’t just kill him just like that,” Deuce said. “We grew up together.”

  “Fuck all that! This shit is all about business,” Mousey huffed. “And in this business it ain’t no time for games. The only way we going to get to the top is to shoot our way up there,” he said, trying to get Deuce to see things his way.

  “I feel you.” Deuce heard his cell phone ringing. He looked at his phone and saw Kendu’s name flashing across the screen. “It’s Kendu.”

  “Answer it,” Mousey told him. “Act regular like everything is all good.”

  Deuce nodded his head. “Hello?”

  “Yo’, somebody just hit my stash at Carmen’s crib!” Kendu said, fire in his tone.

  “Get the fuck outta here! You bullshitting,” Deuce said, playing the role.

  “Word!” Kendu said. “I think that nigga Dirty Black had something to do with this.”

  “Where you at right now?”

  “I’m still at Carmen’s crib.”

  “A’ight. I’m on my way right now,” Deuce said, ending the call. Deuce gave Mousey a pound. “I’ma holla at you later.”

  Chapter 3

  Diamond walked to the club’s entrance with a frown on her face. The line to get inside was around the corner. She quickly took a glance at each of the bouncers’ faces to see if she knew one of them so she wouldn’t have to wait on the long-ass line. “Fuck!” She headed to the back of the line, her heels clicking loudly on the pavement with each step.

  Just as she reached the back of the line, she heard a familiar voice say, “I know you not about to wait on this long-ass line.”

  Diamond turned around, and in front of her stood the handsome man from the other night, and once again he was looking fine as ever. “Well, how else am I supposed to get in?” she said with a slight attitude.

  “Follow me,” Perry said as he headed toward the club’s entrance.

  Diamond followed close behind. When they reached the entrance, Perry leaned in and whispered something in one of the bouncers’ ear. Then he turned to face Diamond. “Go inside, and I’m going to catch up with you later on.”
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  “Thank you,” Diamond said seductively as she walked inside the club.

  Diamond stepped inside the club and saw that it was already packed inside. “Damn,” she said, squeezing and bumping her way through the live crowd until she reached the bar, where she ordered her drink. She then turned towards the crowd and watched other partygoers get their freak on. She took her drink from the bartender then disappeared back into the crowd. She found a seat on the couch over in the corner.

  Before she could even sit down, a fight broke out. The crowd in the middle of the dance floor formed a circle as the two men went blow for blow until three big bouncers came and broke up the fight.

  “Damn!” Diamond huffed. She hated that whenever too many black people got together the outcome was always violence.

  Once the fight was broken up, everyone continued to get their party on like nothing ever happened.

  She noticed Perry heading in her direction.

  “Damn! I been looking all over for you,” he said with a smile. “Why you over here hiding in the cut?”

  “I don’t like being all up in the spotlight. That’s not even my flow.” She took a sip of her drink.

  “Well, I’m glad to know we have at least one thing in common.” Perry smiled. “What’s that you drinking?”

  “Wine,” Diamond answered quickly.

  “What kind?”

  “Moscato.”

  Perry grabbed a bouncer that stood close to him and whispered something in his ear.

  “So do you like own this place or something?” Diamond noticed Perry seemed to be calling shots.

  “Actually, I do,” Perry told her.

  Seconds later the bouncer returned with a bottle of Moscato. “Good looking.” Perry took the bottle from him and handed it to Diamond.

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s nothing,” Perry said, fanning her off.

  Little did Diamond know, but Perry was paid, and didn’t mind spending money. He’d been rich for so long that he spent money like it was nothing.

  Seconds later the club went crazy when Lloyd Banks’ song, “Beamer, Benz, or Bentley,” came blaring through the speakers. Perry grabbed Diamond’s hand and pulled her up out of her seat. Immediately Diamond’s started gyrating her hips to the beat, the whole time looking Perry in his eyes.

  “Damn!” Perry mumbled when he saw how effortlessly Diamond’s ass began to jiggle as she swayed her hips.

  Diamond got low and grinded her ass up against Perry’s penis as she put it on him. And Perry held his own on the dance floor, until another fight broke out, causing the DJ to stop the music.

  “Come on, let’s get up out of here and get us something to eat,” Perry said as he grabbed Diamond’s hand and led her outside.

  “Hold up.” Diamond went back and grabbed her bottle of Moscato then returned back by Perry’s side.

  “Let’s get up out of here,” he said as he led her towards the exit. Once outside Perry led Diamond to his all-black 745 BMW.

  “What about my car?” Diamond asked.

  “After we eat, I’ll swing back around here and drop you off to your car.” Perry opened up the passenger door for her then slid behind the wheel.

  Deuce pulled up in front of Carmen’s house and saw Kendu sitting on the steps with his head buried in his hands. “Damn,” he mumbled, feeling bad for his friend and partner in crime. Inside he felt like a fucked up person, but on the outside he knew he had to get paid by any means necessary, especially since Kendu always turned down all of his ideas. Deuce loved Kendu like a brother, but he loved money more, and decided that he would no longer be looked over, or have his ideas put on the back burner. It was now his time to shine.

  He slipped out the driver’s seat and walked over to the front of the house where Kendu sat. “My nigga, you a’ight?” Deuce asked, his voice full of concern.

  “They damn near killed her,” Kendu said, raising his head from his hands. “When I find out who was behind this shit, I’m going to leave his brains on the curb.”

  “Whatever you wanna do, you know I’m down to ride,” Deuce told him. “You think that nigga Dirty Black had something to do with this?”

  “I don’t know, but you better believe I’m going to find out.” Kendu had robbed plenty of people in his day, but now he was on the other side of the coin and didn’t like it at all.

  “You wanna run down on something tonight?” Deuce asked.

  “Nah. I’m just gonna go home and think about what just happened.” He gave Deuce a pound, slid in his Acura, and peeled off.

  Kendu pulled up in front of his house, and immediately noticed that Diamond’s car wasn’t in the driveway. “Where the fuck she at?” He hopped out his car and entered his house. Kendu stepped in the crib and smelled Diamond’s perfume throughout the house. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number.

  Diamond sat in the small restaurant checking Perry out on the low while she cut up her steak. Damn! This nigga even look good while he’s eating.

  Perry chuckled. “Why are you looking at me like that? I got a booger in my nose or something?”

  “No. I’m just sitting here wondering why a handsome man like yourself don’t have a girlfriend or a wife.”

  “Because I’m very picky. A lot of women want me, I’m not going to lie, but I can tell if it’s for all the wrong reasons or not.”

  “Oh really?” Diamond said sarcastically.

  Perry smiled. “Really.”

  As Diamond spoke, Perry sized her up, and instantly he could tell that Diamond wasn’t like the average woman. She seemed like a real and down-to-earth woman, and all that did was turn him on even more. “So what do you like to do for fun?”

  “Anything that’s fun.” Diamond heard her cell phone ringing. She pulled it out of her purse, and when she saw Kendu’s name flashing across the screen, she quickly sent him to her voice mail.

  “Was that him?”

  “Yes,” Diamond said, keeping it real. She had no reason to lie, especially since she had already told him that she was married from the beginning.

  “Well, I’m guessing you have to leave.”

  “Nah, I’m straight,” Diamond said. “He’ll be all right until I get there.”

  Perry laughed. He loved how Diamond carried herself. “So, after tonight, will I be able to see you again?”

  Diamond smirked. “How you know if I even want to see you again?”

  “Because I know you do.” Perry sipped his orange juice.

  “We’ll see,” Diamond replied as she finished up her food. “No promises, though.”

  “I can live with that.” Perry dropped some bills on the table then stood up. “Let me get you back to your car before I get you killed.”

  Diamond sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes, but she knew that if she didn’t get home soon she would definitely be in big trouble. More trouble than she was already in.

  Perry pulled back up to the club, right next to Diamond’s car. “So this is it for now, I guess”

  “Yeah,” Diamond said. “I definitely had a wonderful time with you tonight.”

  “The first of many.”

  Diamond smirked as she slid out the car. “Good night.”

  “Good night.”

  Perry watched her get in her car and pull off.

  Diamond pulled into her driveway, and immediately she noticed that the living room light was on, which meant Kendu was still up. “I hope this nigga don’t be on no bullshit when I get in there.”

  She stepped foot in the house and saw Kendu sitting at the kitchen table with a bottle of Grey Goose in front of him. “Hey, baby,” she said as she hung up her jacket on the coat rack that stood by the door.

  “Hey, baby, my ass!” Kendu snarled. “Where the fuck you been? And why the fuck you ain’t answer the phone when I called you?”

  “I went out to the club, and when you called me I didn’t hear my phone ring.” Diamond noticed blood on Kendu’s shirt. “What happe
ned to you?”

  “All of our fuckin’ money is gone,” Kendu said in a low voice, his head hung low. Right now he was at his lowest point and didn’t know what to do.

  “Hold on, hold on,” Diamond said as she sat down across from Kendu. “What you mean, all of our money is gone? And why is there blood on your shirt?”

  “Carmen called me earlier. Somebody broke into her house, beat her half to death, and took all of our money.” Kendu took a swig from the bottle. “They emptied out the whole safe.”

  Instantly Diamond felt stupid for being mad at him, but she just couldn’t help herself. She’d automatically imagined Carmen and Kendu having sex. “How much did they take?”

  “Sixty-nine thousand,” Kendu replied, shaking his head.

  “Damn! And you don’t know who could’ve done this?”

  “Nah, but I got a few cats in mind.” Kendu took another swig. “I’ma get to the bottom of this, trust me.”

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  “Yeah—Answer your muthafuckin’ phone when I call you.”

  “You got it, daddy.” Diamond grabbed his hand. “You know I’m here until the end, right?”

  “Yeah, I know, baby.” Kendu he kissed her hand. “But I am going to need you to slow down with the outrageous spending for a while until I get this shit back in order.”

  “Consider it done, baby,” Diamond said. “Now let’s get you upstairs and up out of these bloody clothes.”

  Upstairs she watched Kendu as he lay across the bed with an angry look on his face. She knew if he ever found out who was responsible for the robbery, he was definitely going to kill them. For the rest of the night Diamond lay in the bed with Kendu in complete silence. Not knowing what to say, she didn’t want to upset him anymore than he already was.

  Chapter 4

  Kendu pulled up a block away from his trap house. He looked through his rearview mirror and saw Deuce pull up directly behind him. He slid out of his car looking over both shoulders as him, and Deuce walked around to the back door of the trap house. Kendu did the special knock, and seconds later a big strong-looking guy with a baby face answered the door.