Chapter Fifteen

Diamond

Seeing Duck the other night had me shook. Everywhere I went I couldn’t help but feel as if he were following and watching me. It had gotten so bad that I barely left the house. All I wanted to do was lie up under Ken. I realized that I needed to put a plan in motion ASAP. Duck was serious about his $2 million, which was why I was scared shitless. Back in the day, I’d known him to body many people. Therefore, killing me wouldn’t be a problem, which was why I put on my game face and did what I did best—grind by any means necessary.

“Lick my ass, Diamond,” Stewart McKinnon begged with his legs spread-eagle up in the air. Instantly, my heart dropped down to my stomach.

“Don’t you like this head, daddy?” I continued licking all around his wrinkled balls in disgust. His penis was so small that it wouldn’t stay in my mouth, which was why his sack got all of the attention.

“I haven’t had it licked in a while,” Stewart begged. He was an old television producer with paper. We used to trick a while back whenever his wife was out of town. Stewart normally had odd requests, but this was, by far, the most ridiculous of them all.

“I don’t lick ass.”

“But I’m in need, Diamond.”

“What’s it worth to you?” With my index finger, I traced small circles around his anus in an attempt to tease him. Watching him get excited had me about to throw up.

“How much more do you want?” He looked down at me.

“Give me another three grand, and I’ll lick your asshole dry.” I sounded more excited than I actually was. Ass licking wasn’t something I enjoyed at all, but it did bring in the money.

“Damn it. You want three grand on top of the five I just gave you?”

“You know how this works. Give me what I want, and you’ll get what you need.” I made a show of licking my elongated tongue around my lips.

“Shit,” he gushed. “Deal!” Stewart spread his legs so far back that I heard his thigh bones crack.

Closing my eyes, I extended my tongue and dug into the brown hole below his nut sack. Inside was moist, warm, and very loose, which meant Stewart had received more than a tongue up his duke chute. The mere thought of his old ass having bisexual activity repulsed me.

“Damn, I missed you, Diamond.” Stewart was in la-la land after only five minutes of ecstasy.

“I missed you too,” I said while pulling my tongue out of his ass and putting it back into my mouth. The taste of some kind of cream was left behind, so I casually grabbed a throw pillow from the bed and ran my tongue across it. Stewart slowly brought his legs down and went to retrieve his trousers lying across the footboard. Leisurely, he pulled out a few bills and placed them in my hand.

“I added another five hundred just because you were a good sport about it.” Stewart handed me the money before slipping on his pants. “I take it you remember the way out, right?”

“Yes, I remember. See you next time.” I nodded and grabbed my purse. On my way out of the bedroom, I caught a glimpse of a tube of Preparation H on the nightstand, which meant the creamy residue I tasted was the ass ointment. It took everything in me not to cuss his trifling ass out. Instead, I decided to get even.

Once downstairs, I took my time about letting myself out because I knew the place was empty. Going from room to room, I searched for anything of value that I could sell in the streets. Stewart was in his seventies, so most of his belongings were old. However, a quick rummage in the kitchen uncovered several fourteen-karat gold plates, saucers, and cups. Swiftly, I grabbed as many as I could, then made a beeline for the door. I was pretty sure I looked like a fool running down the street toward my whip with my arms full of dishes. Even so, if I took them to the hood, I knew I could flip them for a small profit. At this point, something was better than nothing. I needed all I could get before Duck came looking for his dough.

I hit the lock on the red BMW and watched the trunk rise. Hastily, I unloaded my stolen items, then prepared to hop in and take off. But as soon as I closed the trunk, I was scared shitless.

“Still up to your old tricks, I see.”

“Duck, you’ve got to stop popping up like that for real.” I grabbed my heart.

“Just checking up on you to see about my bread, that’s all.” He smirked.

“Nigga, you gave me two weeks, remember?” I smacked my lips and pushed past him.

“Oh, I remember, but you best not forget.” Duck lifted his navy Polo shirt to reveal a large-caliber gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans.

My stomach did a backflip. There was no doubt that if I didn’t come through with the money, my ass would end up in a ditch.

The sound of my phone caused him and me both to look down at my purse. With both eyes on Duck, I reached down and grabbed it. “Hello. Hey, baby.” Shit, it was Ken. “Uh, I’m just leaving the mall.”

“Get my fucking money, Diamond, or else.” Duck backed away after patting his stomach. I watched as he hustled over to the waiting Ford Mustang and drove off.

“Who was that?” Ken asked.

“Nobody, baby. I miss you.” I tried to play it cool while stepping into my ride and starting the engine. “I hate that your game is away tonight, but I’ll be watching, boo.”

“I know you’re my number one cheerleader,” Ken spoke over the chatter of his loud-ass teammates. “Look, baby, I have to go, but I wanted to tell you that Mom Dukes is having a big birthday party back home in Alabama next week. I want you to get with Lyric and go shopping. It’s going to be a big weekend.”

“Okay, I’ll call her tomorrow. Have a good game.” Hitting the end button on the screen, I rested my head on the headrest for a second. The thought of going to Alabama scared the shit out of me for two reasons. Foremost, I wasn’t thrilled at all about meeting “Mom Dukes.” Second, I needed all the time I could get to obtain Duck’s loot. Although it was only for a weekend, that was too long to be off my hustle.

Just as I opened my eyes, I saw Stewart emerge from his house. His head swiveled from side to side like he was searching for someone. I knew he couldn’t have missed the dishes yet, but that didn’t stop me from getting the fuck out of dodge.

About an hour later, I pulled up in East Hollywood, a sketchy part of Tinseltown. There were hood niggas and Latinos on just about every other corner. Prostitutes strutted like peacocks along with the occasional homeless person on a stroll with a buggy full of shit.

“Damn, Diamond, where you been?” Li’l Sonto nodded from the curb. He was the 11-year-old son of my friend Grace, although his ass acted like he was 22.

“Sonto, you better watch your mouth, boy.” I smiled before popping the trunk and grabbing the goods. Grace was the number one booster on her side of town. If you wanted to buy anything, you called Grace, and if you wanted to sell anything, you called Grace.

“I don’t believe my eyes.” Grace stepped from behind the wrought iron gate on her front door wearing coochie cutters, fishnet stockings, knee boots, and a black button-down shirt. People in California dressed weird to me. “Bitch gets with a ball player and forget about her people,” Grace shouted to no one in particular.

“Never that. I’ve just been busy.” I leaned in to kiss her cheek since my arms were too full for a hug.

“Miss me with that bullshit.” Grace reached into her pocket to retrieve a pack of cigarettes. “Nah, I’m just fucking with you. You know you’re my girl.” She lit the cigarette before taking some of the dishes from my hand and looking them over. “Nice.”

“I need top dollar. What you think you can get for them?” I watched her inspect the plates like she was a genuine appraiser.

“They’re good and heavy.” She turned them on the back. “Fourteen karats I see.”

“You know I wouldn’t bring you no average dishes.” I laughed.

“I’ll give you two grand for the whole set.”

“Deal.” Two grand sounded like music to my ears. I didn’t even try to wheel and deal.

“Come on in.” Grace headed back into her run-down home with me following suit.

Once inside, I set my load down on the coffee table and took a seat on the torn pleather sofa. The place needed to be cleaned severely. There were food containers, pop bottles, glasses, and several ashtrays cluttering up the joint among other things. “Don’t mind the mess.” Grace made a show of trying to get some laundry off the sofa.

“Girl, I know your house is the party house.” I laughed. Grace’s place was a revolving door for some of Los Angeles’s most treacherous residents. I loved my girl, but I would never be caught dead over here after dark.

“Let me grab your money, and then we can catch up.” With an armful of clothing, she retreated toward the back of the house.

While she was gone, I noticed several pictures on the mantel above the fireplace. My eyes scanned each one until they rested on a food scale with a Ziploc bag full of vials. Curiosity pulled me from my seat to get a closer look. My brother had been in the dope game for so long that I knew the vials were filled with heroin, the most deadly and addictive drug on the market. “Goddamn,” I mumbled. The bag had to be filled with over one hundred vials. Performing a quick tabulation in my head, I knew there was at least $20,000 sitting here, begging me to take it.

“This dumb-ass safe is acting up again, Diamond. Give me a minute,” Grace called from the back room.

“Take your time, girl,” I yelled back before grabbing the Ziploc and pouring a few vials into my purse.

“Grace, what you got to eat? I’m starving.” A large Hispanic man burst through the front door, completely catching me off guard. Instinctively, I forced the whole bag of heroin into my purse and took a seat. There was no way for me to put the shit back now.

“Your big ass is always looking for food. You need to be running from the dinner table.” Grace walked back into the living room with a smile. “Diamond, this is my boo, Neho. Neho, this is my girl Diamond, the one I was telling you about.”

“What’s up.” He nodded, then started toward the kitchen.

“Don’t mind him, girl. He’s much friendlier once he eats.” With a laugh, she handed over the money.

“Thanks, Grace.” I folded the bills, then stuck them in my back pocket. After all, there was no way I could open my purse in front of her.

“So tell me what it’s like.” Grace flopped down beside me.

“What’s what like?”

“Being a celebrity’s wife.”

“Well, I’m not a wife yet, but it’s cool for the most part.” I shrugged. Grace and I once swung from the same pole. It felt weird to be bragging about how my life turned out for the better when she was still in the same situation.

“Maybe one day I’ll meet my prince and he’ll whisk me away from the ghetto too.” She looked back at Neho, who wasn’t paying us any attention.

“It’ll happen, Grace. If I find another prince, I’ll send him your way.” I winked.

“Well, until then, I’ll be here selling dogs, dishes, and dope, or whatever I can just to feed my son.” Grace laughed, but I knew she was serious. “Nah, but for real, I’m happy for you, Diamond.” She reached over to hug me.

Instantly, I felt bad. The heroin I’d just stolen was ultimately taking food from Sonto’s mouth.

“Thanks, girl.” I stood and grabbed my purse. “Next time you come out to my neck of the woods we’ll hang for the day, okay?” To be honest, I had no plans of seeing Grace or anyone from my past life ever again.

“Why are you leaving? You just got here.”

“I promised to meet Ken for dinner.” Truth was the sun was going down, which meant it was time to get the fuck back to my side of town.