The Mall at Short Hills in Milburn, New Jersey was crowded as usual. People hustled about, window-shopping and darting in and out of the high-end stores it was famous for. It was one of the premiere shopping areas in the tri-state, and one of Honey’s favorite places to unwind. Because she was pregnant she couldn’t smoke weed, so she turned to retail therapy to relieve some of her stress.
The last forty-eight hours had been rough on her. Though she was looking forward to her baby shower for months, she was relieved when it was over. She knew there would be a lot of people in attendance, but wasn’t prepared for the small parade running through her backyard. Sitting out in that hot ass sun playing hostess was taxing. It would have probably gone smoother had Shai not run off and left her to handle it on her own. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately; leaving her to handle things by herself. It was one of the downsides of Shai’s new position.
Most of Honey’s friends envied her for having landed Shai. He was young, handsome and caked up. She would listen to them go on and on about how great it would be to have what they had, but that’s because they were on the outside looking in. They didn’t know about the lonely nights sitting by the phone, hoping that she didn’t get the call that her man was locked up or dead. For the most part, Shai kept himself insulated from the street aspect of the business, delegating responsibilities through Swann, but he still had one foot in the life he promised to put behind him. There was a time when all he could talk about was legitimizing the family, and though it was still the goal, the sense of urgency wasn’t there anymore. When she’d asked him about it, all he would say was, “As soon as we get to where we need to be.” It sounded and smelled like bullshit to her. Shai kept Honey on a need-to-know basis as far as his business went, but she knew what they brought in from their legitimate holdings allowed them to live beyond comfortably, so she couldn’t understand his reluctance to let go of the streets. Was it the money that kept him bound to the old ways, or the God-like power that came with being the boss?
“Girl, are you even listening to me?” Paula snapped Honey out of her daze.
“Huh?” She turned to her friend as if she was just noticing her.
“I said I wanna run up in Bebe. They’re having a sale,” Paula repeated.
“Sure,” Honey said in a disinterested tone. “Where is your head at today?” Paula asked, noticing the troubled look on her face.
“I’m sorry girl, I just got a lot on my mind.”
“Apparently so. We’ve been in this bitch for two hours and you’ve only hit one store,” Paula said, nodding at the single plastic shopping bag in her hand. “The Honey I know could burn a mall down twice in that amount of time.”
“Must be this pregnancy weight slowing me down,” Honey half joked.
Paula looked into her friend’s eyes. “You’re definitely carrying around some extra weight, but it don’t have nothing to do with being pregnant. You stressing that bullshit Shai pulled yesterday? Girl, I don’t blame you. Had my man run out on me in the middle of our baby shower, I’d be pissed too.”
“He didn’t run out on me. He was called away on business,” Honey corrected her.
“The way he dashed out of there, it must’ve been pretty damn important. What was that all about anyhow?” Paula asked.
“Nothing,” Honey brushed her off. Paula was her bestie, and she confided a great deal in her, but never family business. She and Honey had history, but Paula was still technically an outsider in their world. “Damn, I’m hungry,” she said as her stomach grumbled.
“Didn’t you just eat when we first got here?” Paula reminded her.
“You keep forgetting that I’m eating for two. Let’s run over to Legal Seafood. I could go for some shrimps,” Honey suggested.
Paula sucked her teeth. “You know there’s gonna be a wait. By the time you get done stuffing your face, all the good sale shit will have been picked over. Why don’t we send Brutus to grab you some cookies or something to hold you over?” she suggested.
Honey looked over her shoulder at the bodyguard who was shadowing them through the mall. “No, I don’t wanna bother him sending him on no errands.”
“Shai pays him to make sure you’re good at all times, and getting some food into your greedy ass will do just that. Brutus, can you come here for a second?” Paula called to him before Honey could stop her.
“You ladies okay?” Brutus approached. He had shed his normal black suit and was wearing a button-up shirt and cotton slacks over leather shoes.
“Honey is hungry. Be a dear and make a Starbucks run for us, please?” Paula batted her eyes.
Brutus looked hesitant.
“Brutus, we’re in a crowded ass mall. I don’t think you have to worry about anybody trying to kill us in the ten minutes it’ll take you to get us some snacks,” Paula said.
Brutus looked at Honey, who nodded that it was okay. “Aight, but wait right here for me until I get back. Don’t move!” he insisted before walking off.
“Damn, that nigga be sounding more like your man than your bodyguard. What’s really good with that?” Paula asked suspiciously.
“Ain’t nothing up with it. Why are you always trying to make something out of nothing?” Honey downplayed it.
“Bitch, how long have we known each other? I know when you’re trying to hide something, which is what you’re doing now.”
“You tripping, Paula.”
“No, I’m reading the signs,” Paula shot back. “All I know is that ever since that night, things have been different between the two of you.”
“What night?” Honey faked ignorance.
“Bitch, don’t play with me. You know just what night I’m talking about.”
Indeed, Honey did. It was about a year ago. She and Shai had gotten into a big argument over her finding out about some skank broad he had been creeping with. She knew Shai dabbled in hoe-soup from time to time, but for the most part, his bitches always knew their places. This one was different, though. She was going around town telling anyone who would listen about her plans to unseat Honey from the throne, and it had gotten back to her through the grapevine. When she confronted Shai about it, of course he tried lying, but the Honey knew too much to be making it up. They had said some hurtful things to each other, which lead to Honey storming out. She had let Paula convince her to go out to the club to blow off some steam that night, and they both ended up getting so drunk that neither of them were in any condition to drive home. There was no way she was going to ask Shai to come get them, so they ended up calling Brutus.
He must have been out partying himself because instead of his usual black suit, he was wearing a cream turtleneck and matching Gucci shoes. Paula could remember how Honey kept drunkenly commenting on whatever cologne he had on. Paula got dropped off first at her apartment in the Bronx, then Brutus left to take Honey home. It was roughly an hour drive from Paula’s place back to the estate, but two hours later, Shai was on Paula’s phone asking her if Honey was there. Of course, Paula pressed Honey about the lapse in time, but to that day she had never given her a straight answer.
“Brutus and I are just friends. Nothing more,” Honey said, but Paula still didn’t believe her. Not wanting to talk about it anymore, Honey busied herself looking at a pair of shoes in the window of Prada. “Now those are hot.”
“Those would look good on you,” Paula said, joining Honey in admiring the high-end stilettos.
“Yeah they would, but ain’t no way I can get these swollen feet into them, and by the time I drop my load and this weight, they’ll be out of season. I’ll bet you’d crush the building with them, though.”
“You know my pockets ain’t set up to do much more than look,” Paula said honestly.
“What good is having money if you can’t blow it on your bestie? Now come on!” Honey grabbed Paula by the hand and pulled her inside the store.
Honey and Paula spent the next twenty minutes trying on different shoes. She grabbed the stilettos for Paula and found some cute flats for herself. She was at the register, fishing around in her purse for the wallet holding her credit cards when she felt someone standing behind them. She turned, expecting to see Brutus, but found herself looking at the stranger she saw at the baby shower.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” he said easily. “You’re Shai’s lady. Honey, right?”
“Depends on who’s asking?” Honey reached deeper into her purse and fingered the baby 9mm at the bottom of it.
“My fault. Where are my manners? We didn’t get a chance to meet formally, but I’m Shai and Tommy’s cousin, Hammer,” he introduced himself.
That explained why his face was familiar to her. The Clark men had very strong genes. “Nice to meet you, Hammer. Now how can I help you?”
“I was actually wondering if you were here with Shai? I need to holla at him about something. I called the house, but he wasn’t in,” Hammer told her.
“So you stalked his lady to the mall?” Honey asked suspiciously.
“Nah, this was purely coincidence,” Hammer chuckled. “I was in here grabbing something for a friend of mine when I spotted you,” he explained, raising the Prada bag in his hand. “Look, I didn’t mean no disrespect, I just need to get with my little cousin. It’s kind of important. Do you have a cell phone number or something?”
“I don’t know you well enough to give out that kind of information.” Honey gave him a distrustful look. Something about Hammer creeped her out. She didn’t know him, but she was sure she didn’t like him. “I’ll let Shai know you’re looking for him,” she said, and collected her bags and attempted to leave. Hammer blocked her path.
“A real ride or die, huh? Listen sweetie, I’m not the enemy. Just an estranged relative looking to reconnect with his blood.”
“There’s gonna be some blood if you don’t get the fuck out of our way,” Paula said as she stepped between them. She was small, but feisty.
Hammer glared down at Paula. “You must ain’t got no man, because if you did, you’d know how to speak when you’re in the presence of a real nigga.”
“Is there a problem here?” Brutus appeared behind Hammer as if by magic. He was holding the Starbucks in one hand, and a retractable baton in the other.
Hammer looked him up and down comically. “Nah, ain’t no problem, pretty boy. I was just leaving.”
“Then you need to do so,” Brutus said in a threatening tone.
“Right.” Hammer began backing out of the store. “Shorty, don’t forget to give my little cousin my message. He should get with me sooner than later.”
“Make no mistake, I’m gonna remember this,” Honey promised.
Brutus continued to stand there, glaring at Hammer until he was out of the store. “You okay?” he asked Honey, who looked shaken.
“Yeah, I’m cool. Just get me out of here.”