The Cost of Vengeance Read online

  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?”

  “You don’t need to know all that. What you need to do is pack up your shit so I can take you someplace where y’all will be safe.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you, Rain,” Lakeda said, and I looked at this bitch like she was stupid. I started to pull my gun and say oh yes you are, but I took a deep breath.

  “People might be on their way here right now to kill you and your kids. So for once in your life, you need to act like you got
some sense and realize that I am all you got.”

  Lakeda sat back in her chair and gave me a fuck-you-bitch look. Then she got up and started getting stuff together. Once I made sure that they were someplace safe, I went to shut this shit down before it went any further.

  Chapter Three

  Mike Black

  Nick was talking to me, but I wasn’t listening. I knew where he was taking me and the only thing on my mind, was what I was about to do. It had been a long time, but I was having the dream again. I was dreaming about the night that I found Cassandra dead.

  When it first happened, I used to have the dream all the time. It would always be different, but it would always end the same way. No matter what I did, Bart would always kill her and I would wake up in a cold sweat.

  “Black, are you listening to me?” Nick asked.

  I didn’t answer him. When he put the car in park, I got out, took out my gun, and walked toward the house.

  “What’s wrong?” Nick shouted and got out of the car. “You want me to come with you?”

  “No! Get out of here!” I shouted and unlocked the front door, turned off the alarm, and stepped inside.

  “Cassandra,” I called out; but as usual, there was no answer. I went into the living room and the television was tuned to the local news on CBS, just like it was that night. That night, I called out for her again and she didn’t answer. The remote was on the couch, so I picked it up and turned off the TV. I remember thinking that night, where the hell is she? I dropped the remote on the couch and headed upstairs, thinking that it was funny that she would have gone out just that fast. Maybe she’s hidin’. I took my time looking into each of the upstairs rooms, but she was nowhere to be found. I knew then that somethin’ wasn’t right. I came back downstairs and opened the kitchen door, and I immediately fell to my knees.

  There on the kitchen floor, I found her; lying there with her arms out in front of her and her face turned to the side. Both eyes were blackened, nearly purple; there were blotches of blood on her cheek. Her face was swollen so much that I couldn’t believe I was looking at my wife. There was so much blood, and there were bullet wounds in her back: one just below her left shoulder blade, another a little below it, and two near her lower back.

  This time would be different.

  I went upstairs and started down darkened the hallway. As I got closer, I could see that there was somebody standing by the bedroom door. “Ms. West? What are you doing here?”

  “I don’t know. This is your dream,” she said and dropped that giggle that always makes me wanna strip her down and fuck her brains out. But that wasn’t what I was there for. Or maybe it was. Just the fact that she was there made the whole thing different.

  “I don’t know either, but you better stay close to me.”

  Ms. West smiled. “I plan to.”

  I opened the door and stepped inside slowly. There he was, Kip Bartowski; the man who killed Cassandra. He was sitting on the bed with his gun on his lap. I looked around the room for Cassandra, but she wasn’t there. Bart stood up when he saw me. Then he smiled and looked at the gun in his hand. He put the gun on the bed and motioned for me to come toward him. I handed my gun to Ms. West. “You want me to shoot him for you, Mr. Black?”

  “No. Just hold it for me,” I said and moved toward Bart. Ms. West sat on the bed, and in her usual ladylike manner, crossed her legs.

  I hit Bart in the face with everything I had, left and right, left, and right again, but it didn’t faze him. Then he hit me so hard that I fell to the floor. “Sure you don’t want me to shoot him for you, Mr. Black?”

  “No!” I shouted and got up. “I can take him!”

  I rushed at Bart and he hit me again, and I went down again. This time he didn’t wait for me to get up. He dove on top of me and wrapped his hands around my throat. I tried to pry his hands away, but his grip was too strong. I jammed my thumbs in his eyes and pressed as hard as I could until he let go. I pushed him off of me and got to my feet.

  Bart was still on his knees, so I grabbed his head and rammed my knee into it over and over again. I looked around for a weapon to use against him. There was a fireplace in the room where there never was one before, and a poker sitting in the rack. I grabbed the poker and wrapped it around Bart’s neck. I put my knee in his back and pulled as hard as I could. Bart struggled to get away, but he couldn’t. His body went limp and fell to the floor. And just to make sure he was dead, I jammed the poker in the back of his head.

  “I knew you could take him, Mr. Black,” Ms. West said and got up from the bed. She walked toward me and handed me the gun, and we started out the room.

  When I opened the door and stepped into the hallway, Diego Estaban was there and he started shooting at me. He had Cassandra kidnapped once, and I killed him for it. I pushed Ms. West back in the room. “Wait here.”

  “Whatever you say, handsome,” she said and pushed those pouty lips of hers together. It made me want to forget about Diego and kiss her.

  Diego was a punk that I never had any respect for, so I walked boldly down the hall as he continued to fire at me. When I got to him, I snatched the gun from his hand and backhanded him to the floor. I stepped on his neck and put one in his head. I heard Ms. West giggle that giggle. I turned to see her sashaying down the hall. The way her hips moved made me want her. I reminded myself that fuckin’ her wasn’t why I was there.

  “That was too easy,” Ms. West said, gently touching my face.

  “Diego always was a punk,” I said and went into the next room. In there was CeCe, tied to a chair. She didn’t belong there either. DEA agent, DeFrancisco, was holding a gun to her head. He was involved with Diego and had Cassandra killed, and tried to fame me for the murder. I killed him too.

  “What are you doing with her?” CeCe shouted.

  “I’m going to take him from you. That’s what I’m doing here,” Ms. West taunted.

  I turned to Ms. West. “I thought you said you didn’t know what you were doing here.”

  “That was so ten minutes ago.” Ms. West kissed me on the cheek. “You go ahead and save your woman. I’ll be around when you want me,” she said and left.

  I turned back to DeFrancisco and CeCe. I raised my gun and shot DeFrancisco in the head, then went and untied CeCe. “Wait here,” I said and started out the room.

  “No, you ain’t goin’ after her!” CeCe shouted.

  “I’m goin’ to save Cassandra,” I said.

  “Not her again. I will never be able to compete with her. Well I won’t be here when you get back,” I heard CeCe say as I left the room.

  I went downstairs and headed for the kitchen, knowing that I should have gone there first and wondering what the significance of CeCe and Ms. West being there meant. CeCe I could understand; she has always felt like she couldn’t compete with Cassandra. But what about the lovely Jada West? Did I subconsciously want her to take me from CeCe?

  I went into the kitchen and the only one in there was DEA agent, Pete Vinnelli. He orchestrated Cassandra’s murder. Monika and I killed him in Mexico; but not before I ruined his life. I raised my gun and shot him twice in the head.

  I searched the house again and nobody was there. No dead bodies, no CeCe, no Ms. West, and definitely, no Cassandra. “Where is she!” I shouted.

  Chapter Four

  “Black,” Victor said.

  “Huh?”

  “You all right?” he asked and his eyes cut to the gun in my hand.

  “Yeah, I’m all right. Just nodded off for a minute,” I said and looked at the gun in my hand and then over at him.

  I liked Victor, I thought as I put away my gun. He’s a smart guy, pays attention to what I tell him and he learns quickly. There are even times when he reminds me of Freeze. But Victor and Freeze are two completely different people, so I try not to make comparisons, because there will never be another Freeze.

  I remember when Freeze really started to work for me. It was after he rounded up all four of the g
uys who highjacked our load. The Kid, that’s what we used to call him, did it quick, and by himself. He earned everyone’s respect that night, and we all started to take him seriously. Before that, he was little more than an errand boy.

  After that night, I started taking him with me when André sent me to collect for him. “What do you want me to do, Black?” Freeze asked that first time.

  “Nothing, understand; you keep your mouth shut and your eyes open, and you don’t do shit unless I tell you. Understand?”

  “Understood.”

  “Good. Now let’s go,” I said and started to walk off. Then I stopped. “You armed?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Let me see.”

  Freeze lifted up his shirt and showed me a .38 snub nose tucked in his waist.

  “Guess we need to get you a gun,” I said and took him to Cynt’s office. Once she opened the safe, I looked at Freeze. “Pick one.”

  Freeze stepped up and looked in the safe. Cynt kept a small arsenal in the safe in her office those days. Now, all of the spots we run have two: One in the office and the other, behind the bar. It has come in handy on more than one occasion.

  Cynt leaned close to me. “Bet he chooses the .44 Magnum,” she whispered. But the Kid surprised us both when he came out with a Sig Sauer SP2022 9mm pistol with a 15- shot magazine. “I’m impressed,” Cynt whispered.

  When we left Cynt’s, me and Freeze caught the train to 59th Street, and then caught the D train to Tremont Avenue. From there we walked up Tremont to a building on Martin Luther King Boulevard. We were going to see a dealer named Mark Mitchell, who liked to get high on his own supply. When we got to the door, I started to go over the rules again, but Freeze hadn’t said a word since we’d left Cynt’s, so I didn’t think he would start now.

  I banged on the door and waited. It wasn’t long before I heard, “Who is it?”

  “It’s Black. Open the fuckin’ door before I start shooting through it.” I actually heard him say, “Shit,” before he opened the door.