Diamonds and Pearl Read online

Buda scanned the faces inside Hades, looking for the one he felt was the most beautiful in the room. He found her on the second sweep. The moment Buda spotted Mercedes, he felt the familiar tightness around his heart that crept in every time he’d seen her since the first time he’d laid eyes on her. She was a thick Latina with long legs and a head full of thick black hair that hung down to her pumpkin-sized ass. Mercedes was sitting at a table in the back with some corny-looking dude invading her space and whispering in her ear. Buda knew he and Mercedes weren’t exclusive, but it didn’t stop his heart from filling with jealous rage at seeing another man sniff around what he had tasted.

  He moved through the room at a tipsy lumber, with little care or concern for those he bumped passed or flat-out knocked over. Mercedes spotted him first, nostrils flaring and eyes flashing anger. She never even had a chance to warn her companion before one of Buda’s meaty fingers jabbed him in the shoulder. The companion turned, lips pursed to bark at whoever was intruding on what he had going on, but seeing the bearded Mack truck hovering over him, he cowered against his chair

  “Take a powder,” Buda ordered.

  The companion looked back and forth between Buda and Mercedes, not entirely sure what was going on.

  “Fuck you, looking at her for when it’s me who’s talking to you,” Buda snapped.

  “Check this out. I don’t know what’s going on, but—” the companion began, but his words were cut off when Buda grabbed the back of his chair and pulled it out from the table. The companion’s heart leaped into his throat when the brute grabbed a fistful of his shirt and yanked him to his feet.

  “Let me see if I can say this in a language you understand.” Buda rained spittle down onto the man’s face. “I said get the fuck out of here!” He shoved the companion away with so much force that he tripped over his feet and landed on his ass. He looked up at Buda as if he were thinking about mounting some sort of defense, but he thought better of it and scampered away. “Pussy.” Buda laughed and took the seat the man had just vacated.

  “You know you just cost me some money, don’t you?” Mercedes coolly tapped a cigarette from her pack and placed it between her crimson-painted lips.

  “Fuck that nigga.” Buda pulled out a lighter, reached over, and lit her cigarette for her. “Whatever that clown was spending tonight, I’ll double it. I don’t see why you’re still hustling in this dive anyway when I told you I’d take care of you.”

  “Is that right? And what do you think my girlfriend is going to say about you trying to snatch me from her?” Mercedes asked playfully.

  “If her pussy is as good as yours, then I might have to see if we can swing a two for one. Y’all can be sister wives and shit,” Buda half joked. He’d never met her, but he had seen pictures of the girl Mercedes was seeing. She had a thick, yellow bone structure and perfect dick-sucking lips. He’d been pressing Mercedes for a threesome, but she had yet to cave to his request.

  When Mercedes laughed, it sounded like sweet music to him. “Honey, I’m flattered, but I’m incredibly high-maintenance, and don’t even get me started on Zonnie’s saditty ass.”

  “You trying to say that my pockets ain’t deep enough to keep y’all laced in whatever you need?” Buda was offended.

  “Calm down, lover. I ain’t trying to insult you—just keeping it honest. You’re a loads of fun, but I been around long enough to know that street-corner hustlers have short expiration dates. The day I stop hustling to get my own, it’ll be for a man who owns some shit, and I don’t mean cars or whips. I mean someone who really has it together.”

  “What if I told you that I was about to be one of the richest niggas in this city?” Buda challenged.

  “Then I’d say you’ve got my attention.”

  Buda looked around to make sure no one was listening before leaning in to whisper. “Listen, baby, I’m about to run some shit down to you, but it’s gotta stay between us.”

  “Honey, most people I deal with are more interested in what’s going in my mouth than what’s coming out of it,” she told him.

  “I got some big shit lined up, and when it goes down, I’m going to run this city,” Buda told her.

  “You think you’re the first man to whisper those same words in my ear, daddy? No disrespect, but what makes you any different than the rest of these jokers who come in here kicking that ‘I’m taking over’ shit?”

  “Because the rest of these jokers didn’t kill Pana Suarez,” Buda boasted.

  Mercedes couldn’t hide her shock at Buda’s admission. Everybody with an ear to the streets had heard about the assassination of one of Harlem’s biggest dealers. There was much speculation as to what had had happened to Pana and why, but no one could say for sure what the real story was, though there were quite a few people anxious to find out. Mercedes had even overheard a guy her girl was dealing with say there was a price on the heads of anyone involved. The wheels in Mercedes’s head immediately started spinning. “You’re shitting me.”

  “Do I look like a man who would bullshit such a pretty lady?” he asked seriously. “Pana was the first of the dominos to fall, but they’ll be others. When it’s all said and done, these niggas are all going to line up to kiss the ring of New York’s new king.”

  “Wow, that’s some heavy shit.”

  “Because I’m a heavy nigga,” he capped. “I’m telling you, baby, all you gotta do is have a little faith in a nigga, and within six months I’m gonna be sitting on enough cake to take care of you, your girl, and three more bitches. Picture it, all of us set up in a big-ass house, some Hugh Hefner shit.”

  Mercedes was about to respond when her eyes darted to something just over Buda’s shoulder. “Damn.”

  Buda turned and saw the companion headed his way, but he wasn’t alone. There were two large men with him in black T-shirts that read SECURITY in white letters across the chests. Leading the march was Christian Knight. Christian was a pimp and a pill pusher, but more important, he was the owner of Hades as well as the building above it. As usual he was in all his splendor, wearing large fishbowl sunglasses, a pair of tight leather pants, no shirt, and a coat that looked like it was made from canary feathers. His normally smiling face was now twisted into a mask of irritation.

  “Is there a problem?” Buda rose to his feet. Christian stood several inches taller than Buda, but he was at least fifty pounds lighter.

  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Christian replied in his silky voice. “I understand that there was some kind of discrepancy between you and this man over one of our girls?” He motioned toward the companion.

  “Nah, wasn’t no discrepancy. The lady is with me tonight,” Buda said as if that should’ve been the end of it.

  “That’s not how it works here, friend. The lady is property of the club, so she belongs to whoever’s money is in my pocket, and I can’t seem to remember you greasing my palm when you came in here,” Christian told him.

  “Baby, it’s cool. We can hook up later,” Mercedes said, trying to defuse the situation. She got up and attempted to go around the table, but Buda jerked her back by the arm.

  “Nah, fuck that. If this is about money…” Buda dug into his pocket and flashed his bankroll.

  Christian shook his head. “This isn’t about money; it’s about etiquette. If I let you abscond with Mercedes, after she and this man already came to an arrangement, it would reflect poorly on me. But look: just to prove I’m not an unreasonable dude, how about you grab any other girl in the joint and take her for a test drive? On me, of course.”

  “I already got the girl I want.” Buda pulled Mercedes closer.

  Christian sighed. “I’m trying really hard to be a gentleman about this, but I’m afraid you’re pulling the gangster out of me.”

  “Gangster?” Buda looked over his outfit and laughed. “Go ahead with that bullshit, man. Why don’t you and your boys take a walk before your pretty ass makes me do something one of us will regret?”

  “Well, like t
he commercial says, At Burger King, you can have it your way. The same rule applies in Hades.” Christian motioned security forward.

  Buda could tell from the mean scowls on their faces that security had no intention of letting him leave quietly. This was going to get messy, and that was just how he liked it. The first member of security who stepped within his arm’s reach caught it the worse. Buda’s fist slammed into his chin with so much force that it took him clean out of one of his shoes. He was asleep long before he hit the floor. The second bouncer would be no such fool. He whipped out a metal baton across Buda’s forearm. He attempted to swing a second time, but Buda caught his wrist midair and delivered a crushing blow to his midsection. The second bouncer went down, clutching his broken ribs and gasping for air.

  The two downed bouncers brought out more, and before Buda knew it, he was in the middle of an all-out brawl. For every one punch he threw, he was hit with three more, but he kept swinging. The fight carried across the floor and spilled out into the bakery area. Buda was giving as good as he got, but the tide turned when a pair of massive hands wrapped around the back of his neck. Buda clawed futilely at the hands as he was lifted off his feet. He was as strong as an ox, but whoever had him had superhuman strength.

  “I knew your ass was going to be trouble when you walked in here.” Frankenstein shook him like a rag doll.

  “I’m gonna show you trouble if you don’t turn me loose,” Buda threatened.

  Christian came strolling out of the back, a triumphant grin plastered across his face. “I tried to warn you, didn’t I?” he said, taunting the restrained Buda.

  “Shut your mouth, sissy, before I come over there and fuck you in the ass!” Buda spat.

  “Quiet.” Frankenstein gave Buda another shake. “Christian, you want me to break this clown’s neck?”

  Christian thought on it for a long moment. “No, murders are too expensive to clean up these days. Make sure he leaves my establishment, but don’t bother using the door.”

  “You got it.” Frankenstein began dragging Buda away.

  “Fuck you doing?” Buda struggled against Frankenstein.

  “Giving you your walking papers,” he told Buda before hurling him through the bakery window.

  Buda skidded across the hard concrete like a stone skipping over a calm lake. The world spun as he rolled across the ground. Stars danced before his eyes when his back slammed into a car idling at the curb. When his vision cleared, he saw NYPD stenciled along the side of the car, and the scowling face of a policeman glaring down at him from the passenger window.

  PART

  IV

  DAMAGE CONTROL

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  One of the hardest things Knowledge ever had to do was pull himself away from the crook of Asia’s arm that morning. After he’d gorged on her pussy, she’d fucked him damn near into a coma. After their round of lovemaking, Asia heated his food up, fed it to him, and then fucked him again. This went on until the first rays of sun finally peeked through the windows and both of them were too spent to do much other than lie there and listen to each other’s breathing.

  Knowledge propped himself up onto his elbow and watched Asia as she slept. His eyes were fixed on the slow rise and fall of her chest, and his ears honed in on her soft snoring. They were little things to most, but to him they were anchors to his sanity. Having a good woman like Asia by his side was a constant reminder to him that there was more to life than the way he was living it.

  On the nightstand, his digital watch chirped, letting him know it was time to start his day. Gently, he slid out of the bed. Asia stirred, but didn’t wake. On the balls of his feet he crept to the bathroom and stealthily closed the door. After taking a quick shower, he came out into the bedroom and started getting dressed.

  “Where are you going?” Asia asked, startling him as he slipped one leg into a pair of crisp blue jeans.

  “I gotta go out and handle some business right quick. Go back to sleep,” Knowledge told her.

  Asia pushed herself up into a sitting position. “Damn, it seems like you just got here, and now you’re rushing off already?” she pouted. “I was hoping we could at least do breakfast before you get to running the streets.”

  Knowledge popped a fresh white T-shirt from a new pack and slipped it over his head. “I’ll only be gone a couple of hours, and I promise when I get back, I’ll take you out on a proper date.”

  “A proper date.” Asia snorted. “I can’t think of the last time we went on one of those. Lately it seems like all you have time to do is fuck me silly and then fall asleep while we’re watching TV, or run right back out onto the streets. I’m starting to feel more like your jump-off than your girl.”

  Knowledge paused his dressing and turned his attention to Asia, who was glaring at him with a sour look on her face. He crawled across the bed and planted a reassuring kiss on her lips. “Ma, I know shit been crazy lately, and I’m sorry if you feel like I’m neglecting you. I promise, once we get this shit sorted out, I’m gonna put in some quality time with you.”

  “I hear you talking.…” Asia rolled her eyes.

  “Real shit, baby.” He eased off the bed and walked back to the dresser to retrieve his jewelry and car keys. “You gonna be here when I get back?”

  “I might be, or maybe I’ll decide I’m tired of you always running and find me a square nigga,” Asia teased him.

  “Don’t get fucked up,” he warned her.

  “Shut up and go do what you gotta do so you can come back and knock me off again.” She tossed a pillow at him.

  “Yeah, Imma beat that shit up proper later on.” Knowledge tucked his gun into his waistband and headed for the door.

  “Knowledge,” Asia called after him. “Be careful out there.”

  “I got you, baby. No unnecessary chances,” he promised, and headed out.

  * * *

  It was still a while before Knowledge was to meet up with Big Stone, but he wanted to get an early start so he could handle some other business, namely getting a lead on Pana’s killers. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the streets started talking and his network of spies started relaying information. There were different accounts, ranging from the plausible to the outrageous. One old wine head who claimed to have seen the whole thing said that a demon with teeth that sparkled like glass had come up through a hole in the ground from the explosion and dragged Pana back to hell with him.

  Knowledge disregarded the tall tales and focused on the facts. Though there were conflicting versions of what had happened, the common factor was that there had been several men, all wearing masks, all striking with military precision. He reached out to several brokers he knew in and around the city, but none of them claimed to have brokered the contract. Of course, they could’ve been lying, but he doubted it. For the most part, they were all familiar enough with Knowledge to know that getting caught lying to him could prove to be a fatal mistake.

  This brought his thoughts back to Eddie. No one had seen much of him in the last twenty-four hours, which was strange. Men like Eddie were creatures of habit who generally didn’t venture too far from their comfort zone, but there was no sign of him anywhere in Washington Heights. His sudden disappearance told Knowledge that it was either one of two reasons: hearing what happened to Pana spooked him and he’d gotten out of Dodge for fear of his life, or he was lying low until he saw what kind of fallout there would be behind the assassination. Big Stone didn’t seem totally convinced that Eddie had a hand in it, but Knowledge wasn’t ready to write him off as a suspect just yet.

  Trying to unravel the mystery, with minimal results, was stressing out Knowledge to the point where he felt like his head was going to explode. He needed something to sooth his nerves before going to deal with Big Stone, and he knew just the place to get it.

  Knowledge pushed the Acura up Central Park West, heading north to Harlem. Along the way he caught a red light on Ninety-Sixth Street. As he sat there, waiting for
it to turn green, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and looked around casually at the people who were out and about. A man chatting on his cell phone crossed the street directly in front of his car, and he caught Knowledge’s attention. He was tall and well built, with long dreadlocks that hung down his back. Through the partially open window Knowledge could hear him barking something in what sounded like French. Knowledge wasn’t sure why, but something about the stranger put him on edge. From the big chain around his neck to his sagging jeans, he looked totally out of place in the predominantly white neighborhood. The stranger must’ve felt Knowledge staring at him, because he turned to meet his gaze. There was a brief exchange of eye contact before the stranger drew back his lips into a threatening sneer, and when he did, the morning sun cast a glare off his diamond-plated teeth, making them sparkle like glass.

  Behind him a car horn blared, drawing Knowledge’s attention to the traffic light, which was now green. Sparing one last glance at the dread, Knowledge pulled through the intersection and continued on his way.

  * * *

  Knowledge couldn’t say he was surprised to see Power already up and outside. He had been an early riser for as long as they had known each other. The barbershop wouldn’t be open for a few hours yet, so Power was putting in work at his second job as the weed man.

  Idling at the cub, a few car lengths from where Knowledge had pulled up, a shiny black BMW X5 idled. From the dealer plate in the back window he knew the car had to be new. He sat and watched for a few seconds as Power exchanged pleasant words with a pregnant girl who looked slightly familiar. He waited until she had conducted her business and gotten back into the X5 before getting out of the Acura and approaching Power.

  “Peace, God.” Power stood to greet his friend.

  “Peace.” Knowledge gave him dap. “Ain’t that what’s-her-face from the St. Nick projects?” He looked at the BMW as it pulled away from the curb.

  “Yeah, that was Teisha, but she don’t live in the projects no more. I hear she’s in the Bronx or some shit now. Man, I used to wanna fuck her bad as hell in high school, but she wouldn’t give me the time of day,” Power said, reflecting on his days as a pussy-hungry teen.