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  “Me and Diamond just had a big-ass fight. I’ma need to stay here for a few nights.” Kendu plopped down on the couch.

  “I hope y’all wasn’t fighting over me again,” Carmen said, feeling bad about interfering in their marriage. She knew it was wrong to be seeing a married man, but the feelings she had were too strong for her to stop.

  “Nah. I think she cheating on me.” Kendu was hoping he was wrong, but his gut told him different.

  “Why would you say something like that?” Carmen asked with a concerned look on her face. Her face was healing very nicely after the brutal beating she took.

  “Every time I come home now she’s never there anymore. Then when I ask her where she was, she lies to me,” he said in a defeated voice. He may have cheated on Diamond every once in a while, but Diamond was his life, and without her he felt totally incomplete and out of place.

  “Just because she’s not home when you get there doesn’t mean that she’s cheating on you,” Carmen told him.

  “Well, it means something. People just don’t up and change out the blue.”

  “You may just need to talk to her, and try making a little more time for her,” Carmen suggested.

  “Fuck that!” Kendu said, waving her off. “She know what’s going on out here in the streets. She know that I was on borrowed time. It’s not like I want to be in the streets. I have to be in them, and now that this clown got me working for him, ain’t no telling how much I’ma have to be out in the streets.”

  “I understand, because you talk to me about these things. Maybe you should talk to her about this situation.”

  “I’ll think about it.” Kendu massaged the bridge of his nose. He had so much on his mind and so much going on—pushing Diamond to the side and not even realizing it. Now it was too late because she was already sleeping with another man.

  Chapter 8

  Kendu pulled up to the block that Dirty Black and his crew hung out at and parked his car. It had been a month since he had last spoken to Diamond, and inside it was killing him. Ever since that day she didn’t answer any of calls. And every time he went home, she was never there. Kendu walked up and gave Dirty Black a pound.

  “What’s good, B? How you feeling today?” Dirty Black asked, foam cup in his hand.

  “I’m good,” Kendu replied. “What’s the plan for today?” he asked, needing something to take his mind off of Diamond.

  “It’s a light day today,” Dirty Black told him. “I just need you and Amazon to go uptown and pick up some money from this clown named White Mike.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Then after that we gon’ go get our party on downtown at this new club,” Dirty Black said.

  “Come on, nigga. Let’s go get this shit over with, ’cause I got other shit I gotta do,” Amazon said, and him and Kendu hopped in the all-black Yukon.

  Amazon pulled up in front of White Mike’s house and let the engine die. “You ready?” He turned and looked at Kendu.

  “Let’s do it,” Kendu replied as he hopped out the truck.

  Kendu reached the front door, and just as he got ready to knock, Amazon quickly kicked the front door open.

  White Mike jumped up off the couch when he heard his front door get kicked in. He quickly grabbed the shotgun that rested under his couch, thinking it was the cops coming to arrest him. Once he saw Amazon pointing a .357 in his direction, he lowered his shotgun. “What’s up, Amazon? My bad. I thought you was the cops.”

  “Dirty Black needs his money,” Amazon said, never taking his eyes or gun off White Mike.

  “I’m going to need at least another month,” White Mike told him. “I just had to pay my lawyers a grip to get me up outta jail. Tell Dirty Black I got him, though. He knows I’m good for it.”

  Amazon didn’t reply. Instead, he shot White Mike in his hand, causing him to drop his shotgun.

  “Awwww fuck!” White Mike screamed as he dropped down to his knees, clutching his hand.

  White Mike’s wife came running from upstairs when she heard the loud gunshot go off.“Oh my God!” she screamed, running and kneeling by her husband’s side.

  “I know you got some money up in here somewhere,” Amazon growled as he walked over and stepped on White Mike’s bloody hand with his Timberland boots.

  “I swear I don’t got shit up in here,” White Mike pleaded.

  “Oh, I know you got something up in here.” Amazon looked over at White Mike’s wife. “Yo’, hold this nigga down,” he said over his shoulder.

  Immediately Kendu walked over toward White Mike, his .45 aimed directly at the man’s face.

  “Bitch, get ya ass up!” Amazon barked. He snatched White Mike’s wife up off the floor by her hair. “Where the fuckin’ money at?”

  “I swear to God, I don’t know nothing about no money.”

  Amazon sighed loudly as he pulled a Rambo knife from the small of his back and started stabbing the woman like she was an animal.

  Kendu watched in horror as Amazon plunged the knife in and out of the woman repeatedly. White Mike tried to jump up and rescue his wife, but Kendu quickly erased that thought with a blow to the head with his gun.

  Amazon stabbed White Mike’s wife to death and kept on stabbing away.

  Kendu grabbed his arm. “I think that’s enough!” he said in a stern voice.

  Amazon looked at Kendu like he was crazy. “Get your muthafuckin’ hands off me before you be next!”

  Kendu released his grip on Amazon’s arm.

  Amazon cleaned his Rambo knife off on Kendu’s shirt. “Take care of this clown, so we can go.”

  Kendu turned and looked down at White Mike, who was holding his bloody hand. He felt sorry for the man, but he knew he had to do what he had to do. It was either kill or be killed. He raised his arm and shot White Mike in the face, and him and Amazon walked out like nothing never happened.

  Amazon and Kendu got back to the hood, and Kendu listened to Amazon laugh, bragging about how he had viciously stabbed White Mike’s wife to death. Kendu had done dirt in his day, but it was always a business move. Amazon was just a straight animal. He killed just for fun and for a street reputation, and from listening to him tell the story, he enjoyed doing it.

  “This nigga Kendu was acting like he was scared to shoot that white nigga. The nigga hand was shaking more than Muhammad Ali,” Amazon said, and him and the rest of the crew busted out laughing.

  “All that matters is, I got the job done,” Kendu countered.

  “Everything all right?” Dirty Black asked. “You been kind of quiet these last couple of days.”

  “Yeah, I’m cool,” Kendu replied.

  “Let me talk to you outside for a second.”

  Dirty Black and Kendu stepped outside so they could talk in private.

  “Talk to me. What’s bothering you?” Dirty Black asked.

  “I’m straight,” Kendu lied.

  “Listen, fam. Let me tell you something,” Dirty Black began. “You on my team now, so if you have a problem, come to me and I’ll take care of it.”

  “Just been having a little trouble with my wife.” Kendu sighed loudly. “I think she fuckin’ another nigga.”

  “You need him killed?” Dirty Black asked seriously.

  “Not really certain yet if she’s creeping or not.”

  “What does your gut tell you?”

  “She fuckin’,” Kendu answered seriously. And his gut was always right.

  “It’s a million women out here, fam.” Dirty Black reached down in his pocket and peeled off five thousand dollars and handed it to Kendu. “Here. That’s for your pockets.”

  “Good looking,” Kendu said as he gratefully accepted the money.

  “We headin’ to the club in about thirty minutes, so get your head together. Have a few drinks and enjoy the night,” Dirty Black said as he went back inside.

  When Kendu had first started working with Dirty Black, he thought he was just another fool with money. But after working w
ith the man, he learned that Dirty Black was one of the realest people he had ever met in his whole life. Even though he was told that he would have to work for free, Dirty Black was still paying him for every job he did, and always made sure he was good and felt like family.

  Chapter 9

  Dirty Black and his crew stepped up in the club thirty-deep, looking like stars. One of the bouncers quickly escorted him and his crew towards the VIP section. “Loosen up, fam,” Dirty Black whispered in Kendu’s ear as he patted him on the back.

  “I’m good,” Kendu yelled over the loud music. “I’ll be right back. I gotta pee.” He snaked his way through the crowd, headed to the restroom.

  Diamond stood behind the bar serving drinks when she spotted someone who looked just like Kendu headed towards the restroom. “Nah, that ain’t him,” she told herself as she continued to serve drinks.

  Five minutes later she saw the same man reappear from the restroom, and she couldn’t believe her eyes. It was Kendu. “Oh my God! What the fuck is he doing here?” Diamond said out loud as she watched him disappear in the crowd.

  Kendu made it back to the VIP section and noticed that they were half-naked women everywhere.

  “Yo’, Kendu, let me introduce you to somebody,” Dirty Black said, draping his arm around him. “This here is Chocolate,” he said, introducing Kendu to the fine, sexy, dark-skinned woman.

  “Oh, you ain’t tell me your friend was this fine.” Chocolate backed Kendu into his seat then slid down on his lap.

  “Take it easy on my man.” Dirty Black winked at Chocolate and walked off.

  Kendu let his hand slide down on Chocolate’s ass as he went in. “So what’s goody?”

  “You tell me, baby,” Chocolate countered, massaging Kendu’s package through his jeans, working him into stiffness. “I’m down for whatever.” She seductively licked her lips.

  “We gon’ make moves when we get up outta here,” Kendu said, checking her out from head to toe.

  Wocka Flocka’s song, “O Let’s Do It,” came blaring through the speakers, and the club went crazy. Kendu saw every gang sign in America thrown in the air when that song came on.

  “I’m about to go get me another drink. You want one?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I’ll take the same thing you having,” Chocolate replied. She watched Kendu walk over towards where Dirty Black and the rest of the crew stood.

  “How Chocolate over there treating you?” Dirty Black smiled, sitting between two women like a sandwich.

  “She good, money,” Kendu replied with a smile. For once in a long time he was having a good time. “I need some more drinks.”

  “Hold on. My man bringing back more ice right now.” Dirty Black told him.

  Seconds later a scrawny kid with a neck full of “Blood beads” entered the VIP section carrying a bucket of ice, his eyes low.

  “Took you long enough, muthafucka!” Amazon yelled over the loud music.

  “My bad, my bad,” the scrawny kid said. “It’s this fine-ass bitch behind the counter I was tryin’a bag,” the kid said, motioning his head towards the bar. “And she got a fat ass.”

  “Damn! She is fine as a muthafucka,” Amazon said, grabbing his crotch. “I’d tear that pussy up.” He laughed loudly as he gave the scrawny kid some dap, and the two men laughed extra loudly.

  Kendu looked over toward the bar and immediately spotted Diamond behind the counter serving drinks. What the fuck is she doing up in here? he thought to himself. “Y’all hold that down. That’s my wife,” he said, leaving the VIP section and heading straight for the bar.

  Diamond handed a woman her drink, and when she looked up, she saw Kendu coming straight towards her. She had thought about hiding, but it was too late. He had already spotted her.

  Kendu walked right up to the counter. “Fuck you doing up in here?” he yelled over the music.

  “What does it look like I’m doing?” she shot back. “I work here.”

  “What you mean, you work here? Fuck you doing working up in here?” he said, looking around.

  “We need money, right?” Diamond sucked her teeth with an attitude. “I’m just trying to help.”

  “What?” Kendu, his face crumpled, walked behind the counter so he could be face to face with his wife. “Didn’t I tell you I had everything under control?”

  “You always say that,” Diamond said in a bored tone.

  Kendu quickly smacked the shit outta Diamond, causing her to stumble back into the cash register. “Fuck you think you talking to like that?” he barked as he moved in closer.

  Before he could even say another word, he felt somebody tapping him on his shoulder. He turned around and found himself face to face with a dark-skinned brother.

  “I’m the owner of this club,” Perry said in a professional manner. “Is there a problem over here?”

  “I’m talking to my wife right now! Mind your business!” Kendu said, turning his back to Perry.

  “Anything in this club is my business!” Perry said in a firm tone.

  Kendu turned around and looked at Perry like he was insane as he cocked back and punched him in the face. Before Perry could react, Kendu was all over him, trying to take his head off.

  Perry hit the floor, and as Kendu was about to stomp him out, a big bouncer threw him in a choke hold, as several big bouncers moved in for the kill. Kendu struggled to get free as he saw one of the bouncers about to punch him with brass knuckles on.

  As soon as the bouncer got close, Dirty Black smacked him in the head with a Hennessy bottle. Amazon dropped the bouncer who held Kendu in a choke hold with a punch to the back of his head. From there the brawl popped off. Amazon was dropping anybody in his path, women included, while the rest of the crew and the bouncers got busy.

  Seconds later, the dirty guy that Kendu had a fight with on his first day pulled out a 9 mm and pumped four shots into the ceiling—Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!—causing everybody to get low and scramble for their life.

  Kendu looked around for Diamond, but he didn’t see her. So he stayed low and ran up out the club.

  “You all right?” Monica asked, helping Diamond up from off the floor.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Diamond quickly rushed over to Perry’s side. He was bleeding from his nose, and he also had a cut on the corner of his eye. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m straight,” Perry said, touching his eye. He just shook his head when his hand came away bloody. “You know that guy?”

  “Yeah, that was my husband,” Diamond said, embarrassed. “I’m so sorry about this.”

  Perry stood up and saw that the whole party had been shut down, and the only people still in the club were his staff and the DJ.

  “Here. Let me help you clean that.” Diamond tried to clean Perry’s wounds with a wet napkin.

  Perry quickly caught her hand in mid-air before the napkin touched his skin. “You had anything planned for when you got off work?”

  “No,” Diamond answered quickly. “Why? What’s up?”

  “Can you come with me to my crib real quick? I’ma need you to help count some money, unless you have to get home.” Perry winced in pain, hoping to win Diamond’s sympathy.

  “Yeah, I can do that. Ain’t like I can go home tonight anyway.”

  Perry stepped out in the parking lot just happy to be able to spend some quality time with Diamond. He didn’t mind shedding a little of blood to be with his soon-to-be girl. “Follow me.”

  “Okay,” Diamond replied. “And don’t be driving all crazy.”

  “What the fuck was that back there?” Dirty Black asked when the whole crew got back to their chill spot.

  “My bad,” Kendu apologized. “When that clown hopped in my face, my first reaction was to snuff the nigga.”

  “Ain’t nothing wrong with that,” Amazon said from the sideline. “I do it all the time.”

  “That was your wife back there?” Dirty Black asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Fuck ya
wife doing working at a club?” Dirty Black asked.

  “She was trying to help me get up the money to pay you off.” Kendu felt bad for overreacting. All Diamond was trying to do was help him out. “We had a fight before I could tell her that me and you had worked everything out.”

  “Listen, I know this is none of my business,” Amazon said, jumping back into the conversation, “but that nigga who jumped in ya business was acting like he was more than your wife’s boss ... I’m just saying.”

  “Word? You think so?” Kendu asked seriously.

  “Yeah, I saw the same shit,” Dirty Black told him. “You might wanna look into that.”

  “Yeah, I think I’m gonna do that,” Kendu said. Amazon and Dirty Black had just made his relationship with Diamond a lot more complicated just by stating their opinion. “Yo’, I’m about to run to the crib and get this shit straight. I’ma holla at y’all tomorrow.” He gave the whole crew dap before he headed home so he could get things straight with his wife.

  “Well, this is it,” Perry said as him and Diamond stepped foot inside his baby mansion.

  By the look on Diamond’s face, he could tell that she was feeling his crib.

  “You like it?”

  “Of course, I do. Perry, this house is beautiful,” Diamond said, sounding like a little girl.

  “Yeah, right. I know your crib is probably real nice.”

  “It is, but it ain’t like this,” Diamond said honestly.

  “Let me give you a tour of the place,” Perry said, leading the way.

  Diamond followed Perry around his house with an amazed look on her face. Perry’s crib was the bomb. He never had to leave his house if he didn’t want to, because he had everything he could ever want inside.

  “Where does this door lead to?” she asked, noticing that Perry forgot to show her what was behind one door in the house.

  “Oh, umm, that’s the basement,” Perry said, fumbling for words.