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

  eased. This shit was crazy and madness and I was right smack in the middle of it al .

  Right after I locked the door I sat down on the bed and used the remote to turn the television on. I

  went directly to Channel 10, which was my favorite local news station. When I realized the news had

  been on for at least seven minutes, I became agitated and fumbled with the remote control to turn up

  the volume. I couldn’t tel if I missed the part about the explosion at the strip club, so I waited patiently

  and crossed my fingers, hoping that I hadn’t.

  After viewing the entire first and second segment, I knew I had missed the footage from the club.

  Frustrated, I tossed the remote control on the other side of the bed and decided to take another ride.

  I wasn't going back to Portsmouth. I knew that wouldn't be a good idea. But driving over to Katrina’s

  house would be. Finding out whether or not she was in the club at the time of the explosion became

  critical at this point. Something in my gut told me that things were real y not what they seemed. One

  thing’s for sure, my gut didn’t lie to me.

  When I walked back to the lobby, I passed the desk clerk again. She smiled and said, “You

  leaving again?”

  I smiled back and told her that I needed to make another run. She advised me to be careful. I

  assured her that I would. After I got back in the truck and drove out of the parking lot, I noticed one of

  those standard types of police vehicles fol owing me. It was dark out and the windows were tinted so

  I wasn’t able to get a look inside of the car. For al I knew, it could be anybody behind the wheel. One

  part of me wanted to stop, get out of the truck, walk over to the car fol owing me and demand the

  driver rol ed down his window, so I could see who the fuck he was. The other part of me thought it

  was a bad idea. These people here in Virginia are crazy as a motherfucker. I would be insane to try

  that stunt.

  I hit the steering wheel with my fist and cursed the day that muthafucka driving the other car was

  born. I mean, what was it with me? Why the fuck everybody and their damn mama wanted to fuck

  with me? For as long as I can remember I’d never done anything malicious to anyone. I was known

  for giving people my last. If I had it and you wanted it, then it was yours. Point blank and end of story.

  Two miles into the drive, I decided to get some distance between me and that asshole fol owing

  me until I found an escape route. I pressed down on the accelerator harder and found myself with at

  least eight cars between us. My adrenaline pumped inside me like fuel. The further I gained distance

  on them the better off I felt. “Yeah, you bastard! You can’t fuck with me! I’m a beast!” I screamed out

  loud, even though I knew no one else could hear me. It felt good though.

  I noticed I was coming up towards Rosemont Road, which would be a perfect escape route to

  dodge the car fol owing me. Has started to cross through the service station on the corner but there

  was too much light and the parking lot was fil ed with patrons, so I elected to make a sharp right turn

  at the street light and then I shot through the traffic light on Bonney Road. I then jumped on the ramp

  to head back towards Independence Boulevard. When I looked in the rearview mirror I saw a few

  cars behind me, but none of the cars was the one fol owing me.

  I let out a sigh of relief but I dared to slow down. The nigga I was fucking crossed me. My best

  friend betrayed me. The one man I believed was on my side had just been lured into a death trap. So

  once again I was al alone. And not having any of the answers I was looking for made my journey a

  little bit harder to travel. Although I lost the car fol owing me, it stil bothered me that I didn’t know who

  in the fuck was tailing me. Not only that the thought that the car found its way back to the hotel and

  awaited my arrival made me feel uneasy. I figured the only way to avoid that from happening was that

  I couldn’t go back. But then I figured, if I chose not to return to the hotel, then where would I go? I had

  so many questions but not enough answers which made me sick to my stomach.

  Hel , it was a standard type of police vehicle but I didn’t know if it was the cops in a so-cal ed

  unmarked car or one of Duke’s goons. I kinda laugh when I thought about the cops and unmarked

  cars. Every damn body in the ’hood knew when one of their whips came around. Regardless of how

  old, or new, the cops never fooled anyone with their so-cal ed unmarked cars.

  After driving for approximately five minutes, I got off the Military Highway exit, made a U-turn, got

  back on Interstate-264 and headed back in the direction of Katrina’s house. Since there was no

  traffic, I arrived in her neighborhood in less than nine minutes flat. It seemed as if the closer I came to

  her house, the harder the flutter in the pit of my stomach jumped around.

  I held on to the steering wheel with my left hand and rubbed my stomach with my right. It seemed

  like every time I got myself mixed up with unnecessary drama, my body always found a way to shut

  down on me. As much as I wanted to turn around and leave this situation alone, I thought about those

  young women who had been victimized by Duke and his flunkies, and I knew it wasn't just about me,

  it was about them. So that alone gave me the courage to move forward and take Duke down by any

  means necessary.

  I noticed Katrina's house from a block away sitting in the cul-de-sac between two larger homes. I

  had to admit that the house was beautiful, but I didn't believe she deserved to live in it. I knew Neeko

  for years so I knew the blood, sweat and tears he put into buying this house. It was no secret he was

  a hard ass but everyone also knew he was no-nonsense when it came to his money. I remembered

  him tel ing me one day that he’d never get married, because he didn’t want to get a divorce and a

  wife walking away with everything he worked so hard for. And now that I thought about it, I didn’t

  blame him.

  I drove slowly towards the house and noticed al the lights were turned off, but Katrina’s car was

  parked in the driveway. Seeing this puzzled me. A couple of hours ago she cal ed Bishop and told him

  to meet her at the club. From the way Bishop explained it to me, Katrina was already inside the club,

  which was why he and I suggested that her car would be parked around back. Now if al of this was

  true, her car shouldn’t be parked in her driveway. It should be buried underneath the debris from the

  fire and explosion from the club.

  Now here I was posted up outside the house my former boss owned, wondering whether or not I

  should cal Detective Whitfield and tel him what I knew. I mean, it wouldn't hurt. And besides, what

  else was I going to do with this information? I had no one else to cal . Even if I did, the last time I put

  myself in that type of predicament, I was railroaded. Yes, bamboozled.

  If Diamond never taught me anything in life, she taught me that I should never trust anyone. Not

  even your best friend. I stil couldn’t get over Diamond’s betrayal. I had known this bitch almost al my

  life and the thing I took away from the relationship was there was no such thing as loyalty. I was sure

  when she went to Duke and schooled him about my blackmailing scheme, he promised her the world

  on a silver platter. Additional y, I knew he even threw a few dol ars at her so she could keep her

  fuc
king mouth closed. I swear, life had definitely taught me some valuable lessons. Too bad I had to

  learn the hard way.

  Shit, I hoped I didn’t have any more lessons to learn.

  When I saw al I needed to see, I turned Bishop’s SUV around and headed back in the direction I

  came. I hurried up and got out of the neighborhood before I was spotted by Katrina or one of her

  accomplices. It only took me about three minutes to jump on the nearest ramp to the expressway,

  which was good considering the distance from Katrina’s house. Once I felt I was in the clear,

  something on the inside of me convinced me to ride by the old apartment I used to share with

  Diamond. I had no plans to stop. I just wanted to see if I saw any type of movement from outside,

  since I couldn’t say for sure that she had gotten caught in the fire. I wanted to ask the other stripper

  who’d gotten a chance to escape the fire, if Diamond was in there. But she had gotten burned so

  badly that she wasn’t in any shape to talk at al .

  Now I knew this was horrible to say but if Diamond had died in that fire, I figured it was good for

  her. For the past couple of years, she had one foot in the club and the other one in the grave. It was

  only a matter of time before she would meet her maker anyway. I remembered saving her from

  getting her head blown off twice. One time she was caught trying to steal money from this nigga while

  she was sucking his dick back in the champagne room. When he realized what she was trying to do,

  he damn neared beat her to death with his pistol. I was furious when I found out what had happened.

  The only thing I could do for her was take her to the emergency room to get treated. The doctor and

  nurse who saw her wanted to know who beat her like that, and al she did was lie to them. I was

  stunned. But hey, what could I do?

  The other time I saved her dumbass was when her ex-boyfriend fucked her up after he found out

  she was fucking with another nigga behind his back. Their altercation lasted for at least thirty minutes.

  When the police final y got to our apartment, that nigga had gotten away. Diamond’s sil y ass laid

  there on the floor, crying her poor little heart out, saying how tired she was with her life and that she

  didn’t want to live anymore. Quiet as it was kept, that bitch played like she wanted to commit suicide.

  But I knew damn wel she wasn’t about to kil herself. She was a drama queen to the tenth power. And

  al she wanted was somebody to feel sorry for her because of al the fucked up decisions she made

  in her life.

  I listened to her bul shit from time to time. But when I was tired, I tuned her ass out and focused on

  more important things. Al and al , Diamond was a basket case. She was also a hoe with a lot of bark

  and no bite. So, if her body was found underneath al the rumble inside Magic City, then she final y got

  what she deserved.

  A part of me stil wish I was the one to put her monkey ass under.

  Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 Unique

  Sneaking Around Town-Chapter Nine

  Diamond and I shared an apartment in the ’hood.

  The apartment complex wasn’t low-income housing or Section Eight property, but it wasn’t far

  from it. As usual a couple of the streetlights were blown out, so certain parts of the complex were left

  in the dark. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t be out here by myself. This apartment complex

  had a reputation for a lot of burglaries, old ladies getting their purses snatched and guys sel ing dope

  from at least one apartment in each building. But tonight I had to do things differently. I figured if I

  stayed in the truck with the doors locked I’d be okay. So that’s exactly what I did.

  I parked the SUV in the parking lot directly across the street from Diamond’s apartment. I backed

  the truck into a parking space so I could see everything in front of me. For the first fifteen minutes I

  watched at least one hundred cars coming in and out of the complex. You didn’t have to be a rocket

  scientist to see that something il egal was going on. If I were a cop, I would be knee deep in

  paperwork after arresting al of these hustling ass niggas. And what was so crazy about it was that

  none of these guys tried to hide it. They literal y held the drugs in their hands in plain view and did

  hand-to-hand transactions. They were off the chain. As much as I wanted to cal them complacent, I

  couldn’t. They knew the only way a cop was coming this way was if some fool had been shot and

  kil ed.

  When I wasn’t counting the transactions those niggas were making, I periodical y glanced over at

  Diamond’s bedroom window to see if there was any movement. Like Katrina’s house, al of

  Diamond’s lights were turned off. So there was no question in my mind that she wasn’t home. After

  sitting there for over an hour I grew tired and decided to carry my ass back to the hotel. The key to

  the truck was already in the ignition. When I started the engine this guy came out of nowhere and

  startled the hel out of me. He approached the truck from the driver side door and tapped on the

  window lightly. I damn near jumped out of my skin. “Yo’ shorty, you need something?” he asked.

  When I turned my head completely around in his direction, I instantly recognized him. I let out a

  sigh of relief and then I pressed down on the control button to rol down the window. He smiled once

  he realized who I was. “What’s up sis? Whatcha’ doing out here? I thought you was locked up?” he

  said.

  “Who told you I was locked up?” I asked him. I wanted to know what he knew about me before I

  volunteered any information. You see, T.J. was this seventeen-year-old, smal time weed pusher from

  the neighborhood who hung out al times of the night, so he basical y knew something about

  everything that happened around here. He lived with his aunt and she had an apartment in the next

  building over from Diamond’s place.

  “I was out here the night the police took you to jail. But everybody around here was talking about

  how you got a couple of bodies and that you wasn’t gon’ ever see daylight again.”

  “Wel , whoever told you that don’t know what the hel they talking about. I caught another charge

  and when they couldn’t prove that I did it, they had to let me go.”

  T.J. looked at me in a suspicious manner. “You sure you ain't working for the police? A lot of

  bitches and niggas are doing it these days.”

  “For your information, I am not one of those bitches. I got locked up for some shit I didn’t even do.

  So the judge had no other alternative but to let me go.”

  “So what are you doing around here? Why are you parked across the street from where you

  used to live at? Whatcha doing squatting on that stripper bitch you used to live with?”

  I have to admit, TJ caught me off guard with that question. And even though I’m sure he wasn't the

  smartest kid in school, he had plenty of street sense. So I am sure he would smel my lie before I’d

  uttered one word. I knew I wouldn’t be able to tel him what I was real y doing, but at the same token, I

  had to tel him something that would seem plausible. Without blinking an eye I came up with a good

  explanation about why I was posted up in someone else’s truck, watching Diamond’s apartment from

  across the street.

  First, I told him Diamond owed me some money and that every time I cal ed her she wouldn’t

  answer her phone. I e
ven lied and told him that I had been by here a few times and she wouldn’t

  open the door, because she knew what type of car I was driving. So I finished off my lie and told him

  that the only way I wil be able to catch her was by staking her apartment out in someone else’s

  vehicle. After I laid out my fabricated story he gave me a nod of approval and cracked a smile.

  “If it’s like that, then I can’t fault you,” he said. “It’s gotten so bad out here that niggas would do just

  about anything to get out of paying you your dough. Shit, I wish a nigga would try to buck on me and

  not pay me my paper. It would look like fireworks out here after I spit out al these lead pel ets in this

  muthafucking burner.” T.J. lifted his shirt to show me his gun as he talked his shit.

  I burst into laughter. “You better put your shirt down boy before you fuck around and hurt yourself,”

  I told him.

  “Oh, trust me, I know how to handle this pistol. Ask any of these niggas 'round here. They'l tel you

  how I would blast a nigga in his ass real quick.”

  “Look, T.J., you need to calm your ass down.”

  “I’m calm.”

  “Wel , if you cal that calm, then I would hate to see you when you get pissed off.”

  While T.J. and I went back and forth about how mucho he was, his attention drifted away from me,

  so I fol owed his eyes. Before I could zoom in on the moving target, he said, “There goes your girl right

  there.”

  My heart dropped. Seeing Duke’s silver Porsche pul up outside of Diamond’s apartment felt

  somewhat surreal. I had just gotten the answer I had been waiting for al night. Diamond was not

  inside of Magic City when it went up in smoke. But why not? Her shift always started at seven o’clock

  in the evening.

  I knew one thing, this whole thing was becoming scarier and more sinister by the minute. Shit, it

  was starting to have a physical effect on me. My legs felt like they were about to become numb from

  dealing with this shit. And as I watched Diamond get her trifling ass out the passenger side of Duke’s

  Porsche, it felt as if I had an anxiety attack coming on. I took a couple of deep breaths and then I

  exhaled.

  One of the things fucking with me was this muthafucka’s wife had just died in the fire and explosion