Chapter 23
“I want triple the men and round-the-clock security on my home. How could one man come and do this much damage?”
Diana’s voice was loud and angry as she addressed everyone in the conference room. She had called an emergency meeting at the Sugar Trap after she found out what happened in Harlem while she was at Marco’s vigil. Not only had someone penetrated her security, but two of her cousins were dead. To make matters worse, Morgan had been home. Granted, she saved Boogie’s life, but Diana didn’t know what she would have done if something had happened to either one of them. She thought she had done a great job at tightening up security around her home, but apparently it was not good enough. It was blowing her mind that one man came in and took out all of hers. Even more so when she found out who the man, Simon, was. The brother of Shamar Hafford. The same one who had conspired to kill Caesar.
“It seems like we just can’t get away from these Hafford pests. And this one is working with Tao. I hope he’s the last of them, because when I’m done with him, I don’t want to see anybody connected to their bloodline.” She stopped her rant and turned to one of her younger cousins. “Alex?”
“Yes, Diana?”
“How is your mother holding up after she heard the news about Armond?”
“She’s not doing too well. She hasn’t come out of her room since she heard the news.”
“Send her my love, and let her know I will cover all funeral costs and anything else she needs.”
“I’ll let her know.”
Diana felt horrible about what happened to Alex’s older brother. Although Armond knew what he signed up for, he was still her blood. Who would have thought he’d be killed in a place that was supposed to be untouchable? But then again, they were at war, so nowhere was untouchable. She didn’t plan on letting his death be in vain, and regardless of whether Caesar was ready to make his move on Tao, Diana was about to make hers. First Gino was killed in the Sugar Trap parking lot, then Marco, and now this. It was time to let the Chinese know who they were dealing with.
“Do what I told you. I don’t want anybody with slanted eyes anywhere near Harlem or the Sugar Trap. I don’t care who they are. Kill them on sight.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As her cousins filed out of the room, she noticed one person had stayed behind. Morgan had been sitting off to the side during the meeting, but when it was over, she came and sat by Diana.
“You okay?” Morgan asked.
“I should be the one asking you that.”
“I’m good. Me and Boogie did what we had to do.”
“I really don’t want to say it, because I’m so glad that you know who you are now, but I hate that I brought you into this lifestyle. You’re not built for it.”
“Excuse me? I just saved Boogie’s life by knocking a motherfucka out. Not to mention I’m the one who got the Italians in line.”
“You mean the same Italians who were found dead?”
“Dead?” Morgan was genuinely shocked.
“Yes, dead. Courtesy of Simon Hafford. The man who, for some reason, you and Boogie let live.”
“Boogie wanted to question him.”
“And look how well that went,” Diana said dryly.
“That wasn’t Boogie’s fault. How are you supposed to know that—”
“In order to be a leader, you have to expect the unexpected! Ugh. Maybe we were wrong in thinking that you guys would be able to take over. You aren’t ready.”
“Well, maybe if you didn’t keep me holed up in your house, I could get ready. Boogie seems to be the only one who wants to show me the ropes.” Morgan’s voice came out angry.
Diana had to catch herself and remember that she wasn’t talking to Morgan her employee anymore. She was talking to her daughter. And looking at Morgan’s face, Diana could see that her words had hurt her. She exhaled and rubbed her eyes with two of her fingers.
“I’m sorry, Morgan. About everything. I’ve never had to be a mother before. And now that I do, I just worry about your safety. Because if anything happens to you, it will be my fault.”
“Well, if anything happens to me, I want to be able to defend myself. Like how you can. Remember when you dropped Tazz? You did that like it was nothing, and you’re, uh, well, you aren’t young anymore.”
“Watch yourself.”
“I’m just sayin’! I want to be able to do that. And I’m not gonna learn that sittin’ in your kitchen drinkin’ wine and watchin’ Lifetime all day.”
“You’re right. And you’ll learn how to fight soon, but—”
“But I’m not ready,” Morgan groaned.
“Actually, I was going to say that first you need to learn how to shoot. There isn’t enough time to teach you how to fight right now, but if you’re ever in trouble, you are going to need to know how to shoot your way out.”
“I already know how to shoot.”
“Oh, yes, I heard you shot an Italian. Tell me, where did you mean to shoot him?”
“Where I hit him. His leg,” Morgan answered but looked away.
“I’ll ask again. Where did you mean to shoot him?”
“His stomach,” Morgan finally answered truthfully under her breath.
“And that’s exactly why you need to know how to shoot. When you really know how to work a gun, you understand that it’s just an extension of yourself. Before you even pull the trigger, you’ll know exactly where you’re sending your bullets. Whether it’s a still or moving target, a lethal or a nonlethal shot, you’ll hit your mark every time. And I’m going to teach you.”
“When?”
“Now. Let’s go.”
She had thoughts of taking Morgan to the gun range for the rest of the day. Morgan jumped up quickly, and the excitement read on her face. Maybe she was built for that life. Anybody else would have run for the hills, but she welcomed the game. Not only that, but she wanted to learn it. She and Diana had just left the conference room when Alex came running down the hall back toward them.
“Diana!”
“What? What’s wrong?” she asked, recognizing the look of unease on his face.
“You have to come and see,” he said. “In your office.”
Something told her that, whatever it was, Morgan didn’t need to see. Diana turned to her and grabbed her hands. She stared into her daughter’s curious eyes and forced a smile to her face.
“Go wait in the car for me. I’ll try to make this quick.”
Morgan’s eyes went from her mother to Alex. It was obvious she knew something was going on. Diana was just happy that she didn’t press the fact. Morgan nodded her head, took Diana’s keys, and walked away. Once Diana couldn’t see her anymore, she turned back to Alex.
“Okay, now what is going on?”
“Come on,” he said.
The two of them walked through the Sugar Trap to her office. Her girls were doing their jobs and entertaining the paying customers, and she could see that all of the private rooms were filled. But she didn’t care about any of that. She wanted to know what was so important that he had to show her right then. A putrid smell hit her right before she stepped into her office.
“What the hell is that? It smells like something died!” she asked, plugging her nose.
“Not what, who. And it smells like that because someone did die,” Alex said and pointed to the far wall at an open rectangular crate. “She was delivered today. We weren’t going to open it. We thought it was something important for you, but then the smell started to set in.”
“She?” Diana asked and walked toward the crate.
When she looked inside, she almost threw up. There, in fact, was a body inside. But not just any body. It was one of her girls. Her stage name was Desire, but her real name was Dezeray. She had been young, only 21. Diana could see she had been killed by a stab wound to the heart. She stared at the body for what seemed like forever. She looked so bad. She had to have been dead for days.
“How did this happen?” Diana whispered.
Alex didn’t answer. That prompted her to turn around and face him. What she was met with was a guilty expression.
“We didn’t want to worry you while you were taking your leave,” he said and swallowed a lump in his throat.
“Worry me with what exactly?”
“One of the Chinese men—Shen, Tao’s brother—reached out to us and said he had some information about what really happened with Li’s murder. But what he was saying was real vague. It . . . it was agreed that Desire would go and get the information and—”
“Who made this call?” she asked, and he hesitated. “If I have to rip the information out of your throat, I will.”
“Boogie,” Alex told her. “Boogie called the shots.”
“Boogie let one of my girls go with the Chinese? Is he out of his fucking mind?”
“I believe he truly thought he was going to get some information. She was supposed to bring it back, but she never did.”
“And what did he think when she never returned?”
“The worst,” Alex admitted. “And that’s why we didn’t want to tell you yet. Not in your weakened state.”
“That idiot. He sent her into a setup.”
“He didn’t think so, Diana. He thought Shen was sincere. I think he was too.”
“How could he have been when Desire is dead?”
“Because he’s dead too. They killed him. They’re blaming the blacks. So Caesar’s camp or Boogie’s. It’s been real hush-hush for the moment. We just found out today. But it’s getting around.”
Diana’s forehead wrinkled at his words. If Tao’s brother had been killed, why had nobody heard about it? Unless . . . unless it was an inside job. But what would be so bad that Tao would have his own brother killed? It was too much to think about and was making her head hurt. She motioned a hand toward the crate.
“Get her out of here, and have someone clean my office. I want this smell gone. Matter of fact, have someone scrub down the whole building. Make sure you send Desire’s family a check, and cover funeral costs. I need to talk to Boogie.”