Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 (The Saga Continues) Read online

  Bishop smiled at me. But it wasn’t the kind of smile you’d see on a picture. It was a sneaky

  looking kind of smile. “Think you could do some hard time?” he asked me.

  Once again this nigga came out of left field with another crazy ass question. I knew this was

  another test to see if I could be trusted and was I the type of woman who’d hold my own in the heat

  of the moment. Now I wanted to clown his ass and turn the question back on him so he could answer

  it. But again, I held my tongue and told him some shit he wanted to hear.

  “The only way I’d do some hard time is if somebody did something to me or somebody I love and

  I had to kil their motherfucking ass! So, to answer your question, yes, I’d gladly sit my ass down in a

  cel behind protecting and defending something or someone I love.”

  Bishop sat there and listened to my response but he didn’t flinch. He acted as if he wasn’t

  impressed by one word I said. So my mind was running around in circles trying to read his facial

  expression. Final y, he said, “Let’s say you and your man were in a car together and a cop pul ed you

  over, would you take the charge if he told you that there was a gun inside the glove compartment?”

  I knew the clock was ticking after Bishop asked me that dumb ass question. I wanted so badly to

  tel him hel nah! I wouldn’t take a charge for my own mother! So he needed to back the fuck up. But

  for the third and final time, I fed him a dumb ass answer and prayed that our Q and A session was

  over. “He wouldn’t have to ask me to take the charge for him, especial y if he’s already been to jail or

  was out on parole or something. Better yet, I would stil take the gun charge because I know how

  judges are more lenient with women than men.” I sat straight up on the sofa as if I was the shit

  because I knew I had said some good shit. I knew I fucked Bishop up with that answer. He wasn’t

  ready for me. But little did he know, I was lying my ass off. Shit! If he jaywalked across the fucking

  boulevard and the cops asked me who he was, I would give his name up in a heartbeat. He didn’t

  mean shit to me in no way, form, shape or fashion. And that’s the way I intended to keep it.

  I assumed Bishop bought my answer because he seemed a little more relaxed now than he did

  when we started the conversation. If he were one of those people who could read a person’s body

  language and could detect if they were lying or not, he would have failed miserably. I cal ed him a

  dummy underneath my breath and then I turned my attention back towards the TV. Apparently he

  wasn’t done speaking to me because he chimed right back, “You know I’m going to need you to bring

  Duke to me right?”

  For a moment there it seemed like Bishop spoke a different language. I mean, I heard him quite

  clearly but I couldn’t quite wrap my thoughts around his question. Is he on drugs or something? Does

  he think I was stupid enough to let him use me as bait? Duke was a very dangerous man and he had

  a lot of insane men that worked for him. Does he think that I would risk my life to serve Duke on a

  platter to him? Okay, granted Duke railroaded me and had me arrested for some shit I had nothing to

  do with, which is enough to kil him over. And Duke also made the cal to have Neeko kil ed so I kind of

  felt sorry for Bishop, but I realized in jail that I was there al by my lonesome. No one came to my

  rescue so I figured that my best bet was to stay in my own lane because at this point he couldn’t

  provide me a safe house like the police could. So I wasn’t about to make any deals with him. No way.

  “I take it you’re not feeling what I’m saying right now,” he commented.

  “It’s not that,” I began to lie. “I’m just trying to gather my thoughts. I mean, I just got out of jail for

  something I didn’t have a thing to do with. So, you know I’m angry as hel . But I figure if I’m going to

  make Duke pay for al the shit he’s taken me through, then I’m going to have to play my cards right. I

  can’t afford to fuck up like I did the last time.”

  “Why don’t you let me do al the thinking, then we’l both come out on top.”

  “The last time I let someone else do the thinking for me, I got crossed up. I can’t let that happen

  again.” I stood my ground. But Bishop possessed this air of influence. He even looked convincing to

  the point where I wanted to believe that he’d handle my situation. But then I figured that the last time I

  judged a book by its cover I got railroaded. So I had to be strong-minded with the notion that it was

  best to keep myself guarded. This world we lived in was cold and infested with heartless people. No

  one gave a fuck about Lynise. Not even my family or Diamond, whom I thought was my best friend.

  With the way things were looking right now, I figured I could pretend as if I was down with al that rah-

  rah bul shit Bishop was talking, but I was going to do things my own way. It’s about Lynise now. Fuck

  the world and everything on it.

  I al owed to Bishop to layout his plan for Duke. I could tel he wanted Duke dead but he was very

  careful about saying the actual words. Al he kept saying was that he wanted Duke to pay for Neeko’s

  murder. And then he sketched out a scenario about how he’d love to catch Duke coming out of his

  house late at night and kidnap his ass. He didn’t say exactly what he’d do to him but when I looked in

  Bishop’s eyes, I could see death as clear as day. I knew then that once he got his hands on Duke,

  that Duke would die very slowly. The thought of it was like music to my ears.

  After Bishop said what he had to say, he got up from the bed and stepped out of the hotel room.

  When the door closed behind him I sat there and became very suspicious. I mean, he didn’t utter a

  word about what he was about to do. He had just gotten up and literal y walked out of the room. I had

  gotten paranoid for a second, but when I heard his voice, I knew he stepped out of the room to make

  a cal . Without hesitation, I eased up from where I was sitting and tiptoed to the door so I could hear

  his conversation. When I reached the door I placed my right ear against it. I held my breath because

  in my mind I felt as if I was making a lot of noise and I didn’t want to bring any unwarranted attention

  to myself.

  “Did you make the cal like I asked you to do earlier?” I heard him say to whoever was on the

  other end of the phone.

  “What did he say?” his questions continued. “Nah, tel him he’s gonna have to do better than that. I

  got a lot riding on this and I ain’t gonna let nobody fuck that up for me. So cal him back and tel him I

  said that if he ain’t going to come correct then there’s nothing else to say.” He stopped talking and

  everything went silent. I could hear the frustration in his tone. He was not at al happy about whatever

  he was discussing. I figured if he found me standing next to the door eavesdropping on his phone cal ,

  then who knows what he would have done to me. I wasn’t about to find out how powerful his wrath

  was. So I eased my way back from the door and sat my nosy ass back down on the chair. Thank

  God for a woman’s intuition because as soon as I sat back down he grabbed a hold of the doorknob

  and opened the door.

  He looked directly at me as he held his Blackberry pressed against his ear. The way he stared at

  me made me feel uneasy. I guess he sensed that I might have been eavesdropping on his

>   conversation, but when he noticed I was sitting in the same spot he backed himself back out the door

  and closed it.

  Right after he closed the door, I let out a long sigh. And I thanked my lucky stars that I went with my

  first gut to sit my ass back down. If I hadn’t, I couldn’t tel you what he would’ve said or done.

  Before he reentered the room I heard him tel the cal er that he wanted to hear from them by the

  end of the day. Then he said, “And if you ain’t got my money right by the time I get back there then

  you’re going to have some problems too.”

  Immediately after, the door opened while he simultaneously stuffed his phone into his front pocket.

  I didn’t say one word to him. I pretended as if he wasn’t there and continued to look at TV. He took a

  seat back on the bed. I could stil see him staring at me though my peripheral vision. I started to ask

  him if there was a problem, but I decided against it for fear he might say something I didn’t want to

  hear. So I damn near bit my tongue to keep me from opening my mouth. But final y he said something,

  so I was able to let go of the urge.

  “How wel do you know Katrina?” he asked.

  I was thrown for a loop when he asked me that question. I mean, why would he ask me something

  like that? I real y didn’t know Katrina at al . She hardly ever showed up at the club. She was more

  behind the scenes. Now we knew she was in the picture, she just wouldn’t make herself seen. So, I

  turned towards him and told him the truth. And after I told him how she’d only come to the club maybe

  once or twice a month, he gave me a weird look.

  “What would she be doing when she did come around?” he questioned.

  “Nothing unusual. She would take inventory of the liquor and beer, check the sales tape from my

  register and then she’d go back to the back office where Neeko was.”

  “Have you ever seen her steal money from him?” he blurted out. I swear I had no idea he was

  about to throw that power bal at me. And I real y didn’t expect for him to give me that sinister look

  either. I was starting to feel uncomfortable al over again. But I held on to my cool and pretended I

  could handle whatever he threw my way.

  “No, I’ve never seen her take anything from him. I mean, if she did, she must’ve done it while she

  was in his office. But out in the opening where everybody could see her, nope, I didn’t see her lift a

  finger.”

  Bishop looked away from me and focused his attention on the TV. I knew he wasn’t interested in

  the show that was airing because his body language spoke volumes. Two minutes later, he turned his

  attention back to me. I thought at one point he was about to say something but his mouth didn’t open.

  I felt uncomfortable with him sitting there looking at me and had nothing to say. So I got up the

  gumption to say something on my own. I had to clear the air if nothing else. “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Don’t I look okay?” he reserved the question.

  I thought for a second because I heard the sarcasm reeking from his tone. I had no idea where

  this conversation was going but I knew it was going somewhere. If I wanted to stay on his good side

  then I felt it would be best to handle him with kid gloves.

  “You appear to be fine. But I could be wrong,” I replied and then I hunched my shoulders. I didn’t

  want to come across to Bishop that I was some smartass chick with a chip on her shoulders. I knew I

  was in his world. And I knew I couldn’t cal any shots. So I did what any woman would do in a situation

  like mine: I kissed his ass and got what I could get while the getting was good.

  “Look Lynise, I’m gonna be straight up with you. I came here to help bury my brother, Neeko. Now I

  know who put the hit out on my brother, but I need to know who fired the shot that kil ed him and I

  need to find out what’s going on with Katrina.”

  Surprised by his comment, I said, “I’m confused. What’s wrong with Katrina?”

  Bishop took a deep breath and said, “I’ve had a chance to look at the books from the club and

  the numbers are off like a muthafucka!”

  “Did you approach her with it?”

  “Yeah, I did. But she’s not giving me the answers that I need.”

  I shook my head in disbelief and said, “Now I can’t tel you who actual y kil ed Neeko because I

  was behind bars. And I can’t tel you if I saw Katrina stealing money from the club. But I wil say that I

  heard Neeko fussing a few times about money was coming up short.”

  “Who was he talking to when he said that?”

  “He was talking to Katrina. But she brushed him off and told him he needed to stop drinking so

  much because it’s messing with his head. And that’s about it.”

  Bishop fel silent once again. I wished I had more information for him but I didn’t. I honestly never

  saw Katrina take anything from the club. And if she did, she damn sure did a hel of a job hiding it. “So,

  how do you plan to find out if she was stealing money from him?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry because I’ve got it al figured out.”

  The coldness in his tone gave me the chil s al over.

  Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 Unique

  My Pussy Is Al I Got-Chapter Three

  One hour passed while Bishop and I sat in the hotel room and watched TV.

  I grew tired of sitting around and wanted to take a shower. I wanted so badly to get out of my

  clothes but not having a change of clothing posed a problem. So I looked at Bishop and asked him if

  he’d lend me a few dol ars so I could run across the street to Pembroke Mal to get a few things.

  “How much do you think you’l need?” he asked me.

  I thought for a second but I couldn’t come to an appropriate amount to ask him for. I’d only known

  him for about two hours so for me to ask him for a specific dol ar amount would be insane. I told him I

  didn’t know. Then I said, “Why don’t you walk with me over to the mal . That way I could pick out what

  I need and then you could pay for it.”

  Bishop smiled at me and his response was, “And what am I going to get in return?”

  “What do you mean by that?” I blurted. Was he insinuating that I fuck him for the things I needed

  from the mal ? I mean, if that’s what he wanted, then he’d have to do more than just buy me a pair of

  panties with a fucking shirt and pair of pants. He’d have to put me in a fucking house like Duke’s slimy

  ass did. And he’d have to put me in something better than that BMW X6 I was driving too. I know I

  haven’t always lived in an upscale apartment building with a doorman and wore al the latest labels,

  but I did have a chance to experience it. So I couldn’t accept anything else.

  Final y, Bishop smiled at me and said, “I’m just pul ing your leg, sweetheart. Come on, let’s go. I

  need to go over there to pick up a pair of black dress socks.”

  Instead of saying something sassy to him, I smiled and then I stood to my feet. He stood up right

  after I did and retrieved the hotel key card from the TV stand. I opened the door of the room and then

  we both made our exit.

  Pembroke Mal was directly across the street from the hotel so it took us approximately five

  minutes to get there. We made smal talk along the way. “Have you ever shopped at this mal ?” he

  started off.

  “Not real y. The only time I’d come over here was to get take-out from the food court or to pay my


  cel phone bil at the kiosk. This mal is geared towards young white kids who like to wear that

  skateboard clothing. They got plenty of white people clothing stores in here. That’s why black people

  either go to Lynnhaven Mal or Military Circle Mal .”

  “Wel , if they only have white people stores at this mal then why are we coming here?”

  “They got a department store inside the mal cal ed Kohl’s, so I should be able to find me

  something presentable. I mean, al I need is something to change into after I take me a long hot

  shower. It could be a ten-dol ar sundress for al I care. My main concern is to get out of these clothes I

  got on my back now. The label on the inside of the clothes don’t matter to me at this point.”

  Bishop smiled at me once again and then he reached for the door to enter the mal and opened it.

  Right after we entered into the mal we stopped inside of the store cal ed Legends. Legends

  catered to both black and white people, so I knew I’d fine something either way I looked at it. I sifted

  through the clothes on the rack while Bishop’s phone began to ring. He took it from the holster and

  then he looked at the cal er ID screen. “It’s Katrina,” he said to me and answered, “Hel o.”

  He stepped away from me and headed to the entrance of the store. I realized he wanted some

  privacy so I turned my back to him and pretended to mind my business. I couldn’t hear every word he

  uttered but I heard enough to know he was getting irritated with her.

  “But I thought that they were only charging you ten grand,” he said. I wish I could hear what Katrina

  was saying in return. “So, why are they asking you for another five grand?” he asked and then he

  waited for Katrina to respond. “Look Katrina, I understand al of that, but at the end of the day they’re

  pouring salt in the fucking game. And I don’t like being played.” His conversation continued. “I’m going

  to need to see something in black and white before I shel out another dime. Neeko had a life

  insurance policy with Lincoln Life, so that’s who you need to be cal ing.” And right after he uttered

  those last few words, he ended his cal .

  I acted as if I hadn't heard bits and pieces of his conversation by pretending to search through the

  clothes on the racks. He approached me from behind. “I can’t wait to get through this week so I can