Renee 3 Read online

  Zeke dropped his head, alarmed. “You want me to take out the king of the streets? His ass owns some territory over here that no one’s been able to touch since he declared it his, and the motherfucker isn’t even stationed here.” Zeke shook his head. He was having second thoughts concerning working with Carmen, who was handing him a suicide mission.

  “Would it make you feel better if I told you your king is a queen?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re afraid of a female, a broad who has you second-guessing taking over new territory. I may be a rookie, but I’m no coward.” Carmen smiled, the power in the room shifting to her side.

  “You’re lying,” Zeke hissed.

  With her hands clasped in front of her and her elbows planted on her knees, Carmen broke it all down. “Her name is Renee, and she’s my sister. Well, half-sister. I found out about her through our uncle. We share the same father. All of us.” Carmen stopped, giving him the chance to think of Madison, the cousin she’d heard he actually communicated with. “My father was married to Renee’s mother when he met Raquel. Their family is the reason mine never worked. I know the business, who she runs with, and where she’s located. She was planning on retiring and handing everything over to me until she found out I had ulterior motives.” Carmen paused and thought about the life Renee was living, the life she wanted. “Now she’s after me, and I have to get her before she gets me.”

  “Fifty percent.”

  “What?”

  “Fifty percent. You give me fifty once you take over New York. And the fee for me to take out Jordan just doubled.”

  Carmen fought not to protest. She realized her initial offer was an insult, considering the work that had to be put in.

  “Fine.” Carmen looked around, preparing to leave this depressing place when she noticed the outline of the lounge’s past name before Zeke bought and renamed it. “What’s the name of this place?” The lounge didn’t scream crack house, but at the same time, it did. Zeke was right. She had a lot to learn.

  “This place is Misery,” he responded. “Misery Lounge, my high-class crack house.”

  The name said it all and spit the same kind of pain into his soul that it had hers.

  Carmen nodded. “Contact me in two days for arrangements to be made. There will be no more waiting.” She dropped the sunglasses planted on her head and covered her eyes. For some reason, she felt the dark lenses would shield her from this mind-numbing place named after Madison.

  Chapter 8

  In all the years they’d known each other, Julian and Dane had never spent this much time together on a consistent basis until now. The closest they came to spending this amount of time around each other was back in the day when Dane and Metro were teaching him and Renee the ins and outs of the business, grooming them to be their protégés. Now it was training day all over again. Except this time, Julian was learning things he hadn’t learned before, and Renee wasn’t by his side. Now that Renee was out of the picture, Julian was given all of her responsibilities, and the more Dane loaded on him, the more he felt they’d never let Renee back in.

  “Now you know it all. Meeting with our connect was the last thing you needed to do.” Dane focused on the road. It had been a long time since she had to introduce someone new to their connect. She always thought Renee would be the last.

  “Dude’s a fuckin’ prick.” Covering his eyes with his shades, Julian laid the passenger’s seat back, preparing to rest his eyes.

  Dane made a right turn down a residential block. Snow was barely visible on the sidewalks and streets. “I know, but he’s loyal and has good shit, so Metro puts up with his ass.”

  Stopping at a light, Dane adjusted her rearview mirror when she saw a police car flashing its blue and red lights as its siren rang out while pulling up behind her.

  “Pull over,” the officer instructed over his PA system.

  “Great,” Dane mumbled. She pulled over to the right side of the road, took the keys out of the ignition, and put both of her hands on the steering wheel. Julian never moved. His lack of movement caused Dane to believe he had fallen asleep. “Julian, get up.” Her eyes never left the rearview mirror. She watched as the white cop with dirty blond hair and sunburned skin, which she was sure he had obtained from traveling out of the country, approached her vehicle.

  Julian looked behind him at the approaching cop. Not bothering to sit up, he lay back against his seat. “Those motherfuckers work for us. We’ll be out of here ASAP.” Julian closed his eyes.

  Feeling uneasy, Dane spit out, “Something’s not right.” Every cop on their payroll knew her car, so what was this in reference to, and who was trying to capture a big fish?

  Ignoring Dane’s paranoia, Julian stayed quiet and relaxed. It wasn’t long until the cop waltzed over to the driver’s side and asked for Dane’s license and registration without even bothering to bend down and look inside the car. Reaching into her glove compartment, Dane retrieved her information and handed it over to the stranger of a cop.

  “May I ask what this is in reference to?” Dane inquired.

  “No, you may not,” the sunburned man answered. “Pop the trunk,” he demanded, the palm of his hand slamming down on the roof of her ivory-colored Nissan Altima while he walked to the back of the car.

  Dane looked over at Julian, who was now sitting up, surprised about what had just transpired between Dane and the cop. “What the fuck?” Julian voiced.

  “Motherfucker didn’t even look at me. This shit is a setup.”

  “Pop the trunk!” the cop screamed, the car vibrating from him banging on the back of the vehicle.

  Dane’s hand moved toward the car’s hidden compartment for her gun when Julian redirected her. “Pop the trunk,” he advised. “I want to see something.”

  Going against her instincts, Dane popped the trunk. Both she and Julian looked in the rearview mirror at the cop fumbling around in the trunk and then tossing its contents on the ground. Minutes later, he marched back over to the driver’s window.

  “Step out of the vehicle slowly, and keep your hands where I can see them.”

  “Why? Who the fuck sent you?” Dane yelled. After all of her years of illegal activities, she refused to be put away by a hot dog cop taking money under the table. Her mind flipped through the endless amounts of pages of people who’d have loved to see her behind bars.

  The cop bent down. Now face-to-face with Dane, he flashed a bag of heroin in front of her, an accomplished smile across his face.

  “Bullshit,” Dane said, seething. “You planted that shit.”

  “Says the criminal,” the cop chuckled.

  Julian looked harder at the toy cop, his face jogging his memory. “Officer Linksys, how are you on this fine day?” Julian removed his shades, his confident and intimidating smile lingering.

  Officer Linksys’s smile dropped. He stuffed the drugs in his pocket and forced out a weak, “Julian, didn’t see you there.”

  “What is this all about, Linksys? What’s with the bullshit?”

  Linksys opened his mouth to speak, on the verge of saying sentences riddled with fear and stuttering. Julian continued speaking. “But before you answer that question, tell me, how’s the kids?”

  In thirty-degree weather, beads of sweat blossomed on Linksys’s forehead. He swallowed and nodded, his eyes frequently opening and closing. “They’re good.”

  “Let’s see a picture of them. You talk a lot about your kids, but you never showed me a picture of them.” Julian was still smiling, his teeth never disappearing.

  Breathing heavily, Linksys dug into his pocket and took out his wallet. Leaning over Dane, he handed it to Julian with a shaky hand.

  Julian never looked at the picture. Instead, he gave the wallet to Dane. Looking at it, she took the photo out of its slot and tossed it into her glove compartment. She handed Linksys back his wallet.

  “Linksys, this woman is a trained killer. She will kill your kids and you if
you don’t tell me what the fuck is going on.”

  Linksys thought about reaching for his gun, but when he looked into the eyes of Dane, something told him he wouldn’t make it out alive. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Linksys wiped his forehead. “No bullshit, just doing what Jordan said to.”

  The car fell silent, and the anger both Julian and Dane wanted to release remained controlled.

  “How come I don’t know him?” Dane growled.

  Julian thought over the situation before answering. “Because he’s one of ours.”

  Grabbing hold of the steering wheel and squeezing it until her hands turned red, Dane constantly repeated her husband’s words in her mind. Take what you brought to the table and leave. Take what you brought to the table and leave.

  Unable to admit that she deserved the retaliation Renee was bringing her without the help of any of Dane’s connections, Dane punched the steering wheel repeatedly and didn’t stop until she was out of breath. “Dammit!” she let out. She’s not bowing down, not giving in! Dane had underestimated Renee. She really thought she needed her in this cold, dark world. Catching her breath, Dane composed herself. “I’m okay,” she said to anyone who was listening. She laid her head back against the headrest and took one more deep breath. “Oh, who am I kidding?” Dane retrieved her gun faster than she ever had before and unloaded her clip into Linksys, who was still idling by her window. When he dropped, she pulled the gun back inside the car with her.

  “Feel better now?” Julian asked.

  “A little.”

  Chapter 9

  Julian had to admit, he couldn’t blame Renee for the stunt she had pulled. At first, he found her to be disgusting. Trying to get your mentor locked up was unforgettable. Then he thought hard about it. While Dane was ranting and raving on their way home, he started to not only justify to himself why Renee did what she did, but he started to understand it. He was the cause of it all, and no matter what Renee did, Julian felt incapable of passing judgment and forming anger. How could he? He had let her down and was the reason she had dropped her crown.

  It was 11:58 a.m., and Julian was watching the time. Fully dressed, depressed, and stressed, he practiced trying to magically make the time jump to noon so that he wouldn’t feel like an alcoholic drinking before twelve. Two agonizing minutes later, Julian unscrewed the cap of a bottle of vodka and poured himself a short glass full of the clear liquid. The liquor hadn’t sat in the glass for ten seconds before he devoured it. The burning sensation brought him back to life and organized his thoughts. All he needed was a jump start, some vodka instead of OJ to kick-start his morning.

  Violently shaking his head, Julian struggled between either welcoming or pushing away the burning sensation ripping through his chest. Eyes closed, Julian sat back on his sofa and decided to just let it be. Now at ease, because the voices in his head had finally come to a halt, Julian took the peaceful opportunity to plan his day out in his head. Keeping busy became a necessity because once you stopped moving, the whole world came crashing into you, forcing you to think of your issues. Mentally running down his to-do list, Julian was disappointed to discover that everything he needed to do had already been done, all except one thing.

  Julian leaned over and momentarily placed his hands on his face. Ready to handle what he had been pushing off, Julian poured himself one more drink.

  One for the road.

  Less than twenty minutes later, he was on his way to Renee’s. Taking the long way to Renee’s, Julian questioned what he’d say to her when he finally saw her. Countless scenarios played in his mind, yet not one of them appealed to him enough for him to reenact. Feeling his brain on the verge of overloading with too many thoughts, he put down his window and allowed the winter’s cold to ease his mind. Fifteen minutes into the drive, a barricade of roadblocks accompanied by police and crowds of people blocked him from making his next turn. Curious as to what could have transpired in the quiet suburban area, Julian pulled over and parked when he noticed all the attention was being placed on Iron Meds Pharmacy.

  Reaching in his back seat, Julian grabbed his baseball hat and stuffed it on his head. Walking toward the mob of people with his head down, Julian pushed his way through until reaching the front of the crowd. There he witnessed police officers arresting staff and customers who could be seen at the business almost every day. Beside Julian was a young white man with missing teeth and scabs peppering his skin, no older than 25. He wore a winter coat with a hoodie underneath it, and franticly he tried scratching his arms through the heavy material.

  “What’s going on?” Julian asked, his head remaining down and his voice slightly disguised, his actions mimicking the addict’s.

  “It’s a raid. Cops got an anonymous tip that Iron Meds been supplying more than just prescription drugs.” The white boy sucked his teeth. “Shit! J and J only got two pharmacies they sell their shit out of. Now I gotta go to Brooklyn for my shit.” Blowing out air, the guy walked away, pushing and shoving his way through the crowd.

  From where Julian stood, he could see the cops tearing Iron Meds apart and leaving with his supply. The owner, Paul, was the last to be brought out of his pharmacy in handcuffs. His eyes landed on Julian before Julian walked away.

  Five Hours Later

  Pulling into her driveway, Renee saw a figure standing on her porch wearing black leather gloves, which gripped the ice-covered railing. Renee flashed her high beams and drove the darkness away from Julian’s face. No one moved. They were stuck between the past and present, indecisive as to what time period they should fall into. Renee’s heart told her to fall into the past and make it last, but her mind told her to live in the present where everything was evident.

  With a simple punch of a button, Renee’s garage door opened. She pulled into the dark and quiet space of her home and sat there, motionless. Her legs felt as heavy as cement. She sank her thick mane into the headrest and closed her eyes. Footsteps pierced her eardrums and caused her eyes to fly open. Her hand slowly dipped inside the armrest compartment. Her palm hugged the pistol while her pointer finger sat on the trigger.

  The light tapping against the window pulled Renee from reckless thoughts and her firearm. With her weapon left inside its home, she turned to the window she didn’t bother lowering. She just stared at the love of her life and observed all the changes in his appearance. Facial hair covered the lower half of his face, and his eyes reflected anger.

  “Get out of the car,” Julian demanded. His voice was as cold as the porch railing.

  Renee didn’t budge. She sat lost in the visual of him, a game of Ping-Pong transpiring within her heart where her emotions were the ball.

  “Get out of the car!” he screamed. Julian wanted to make things right. He knew Renee well enough to know that she was resisting the inevitable. He didn’t want a battle, only a resolution.

  Yet the bass in his voice, along with a gush of wind seeping inside the car, chilled Renee to the bone. Renee’s attention turned to the back of the car, where she noticed the garage door was still open. Julian pulled out his gun, the twin to the weapon that sat in Renee’s armrest. He blew out the back window. Jamming his arm inside, he unlocked the door and jumped inside the vehicle. He leaned forward to unlock Renee’s door before hopping back out. He flung her door open, grabbed her by the elbow, and led her into her home. After pushing her inside, he slammed his palm against the garage door button, granting them their much-needed privacy. Julian slammed the door behind him. She would speak with him whether she wanted to or not.

  “We need to talk,” he hissed. Julian was breathing hard, his heart racing and banging against his chest. Things had gone too far. He never intended for all of this to happen, but Renee had a way of pushing the calmest individual over the edge.

  With a contorted face and a hurricane of thoughts, Renee remained silent. There were nights when she had books filled with things to tell Julian, and then there were times when her heart hurt so much, anguish seemed to wrap
itself around her until she no longer had any air left to breathe. Even her words remained lodged in her throat. She wanted to vocalize her pain but couldn’t.

  Renee’s eyes never strayed from Julian’s. A light snicker leaked from the corners of her mouth. She was having fun watching him unravel, happy to see that he too was in pain. That one expression defeated all the hopes and dreams Julian had for them. Julian shook his head, disappointed in her insensitivity and unwillingness to communicate in order to make this right. Life was nothing but one big selfish game Renee didn’t plan on bowing out of.

  He looked around her home. His eyes settled on her dining room table, an imitation of the one he had purchased for her penthouse. Julian smirked. Renee insisted she could let go of anything and everything at the drop of a dime when really she held on until her hands became numb and fingers red. His smirk turned into a full-fledged loud, obnoxious laugh. He had finally seen the light, and suddenly all the anger he had for her resurfaced.

  “You’re a fucked-up, miserable woman.” His laughter intensified. Losing his balance, he leaned against a wall for stability.

  “Get the fuck out of my house,” she snarled.

  “No, really think about it,” he begged, his laughter at an all-time high. “You have nothing, and still you insist on being alone. Still you insist on fighting. You can’t fight the world alone, Renee. You just can’t, no matter how many dirty cops you have, so grow the fuck up!”

  Renee crossed her arms. “Grow up and do what, forgive you? You want me to run into your arms and tell you that I need you all because Metro decided to act like a kid and take his favorite toy known as New York away from me? If so, then you’ve lost your damn mind.”

  “I didn’t know who she was, Renee!”

  “It doesn’t matter. None of it matters anymore.”