Chapter 8

“Everything okay?” Kahllah asked once Magic returned to their section. She could tell from his face that something was weighing on him.

“Yeah, just saying hello to an old friend.”

“I didn’t know Chancellor King had any friends,” Kahllah half joked. She knew just who King was and what he was about.

“What he want?” Ben cut in.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Magic said.

“He’s got some nerve, peacocking his old ass in our joint like he owns it,” Ben said. “If he knows like I know, he’ll take that shit back down to Five Points.”

“I said we’ll discuss it later!

Ben finally caught on and let it go.

“Listen, I think we’ve taken up enough of your time tonight,” Kahllah said. “You guys probably have things to do, so maybe it’s time we call it a night?” She stood to leave, but Magic stopped her with a soft grasp of her wrist.

“Nonsense.” He eased her back into her seat. “You can’t just rush off before you’ve even gotten to the meat of my story.”

“Oh, there’s more?” Kahllah asked with a raised eyebrow.

“With me, there’s always more.” Magic signaled one of the waitresses to grab another bottle. “Now, where were we?”

As the night wore on, the drinks seemed to flow in an endless river. Kahllah didn’t usually drink much, but she allowed herself two glasses of champagne. Audrey, on the other hand, was well on her way to being hammered. Normally Kahllah would’ve been on her back about being intoxicated in public, but tonight she decided to let her have a good time. They were all having fun, including Kahllah. Magic kept her entertained with the stories he told. She felt increasingly comfortable around him, which was unusual since she was always so guarded. She found him not only charming but quite interesting. It was a good night, though all good things come to an end.

The waitress arrived with yet another bottle of champagne. She was just about to place it in the ice bucket when a hand intercepted it. All eyes in the VIP area turned to see who dared touch what didn’t belong to him. He was a handsome man, not quite as attractive as Magic, but still easy on the eyes: brown skin, low-cut hair, and a thin goatee. Diamonds adorned his neck, wrist, and both ears. He was wearing a black leather jacket with two white-winged horses running down the sleeves. Kahllah had seen the jacket in a catalog before; it wasn’t cheap.

Hard eyes stared at Magic defiantly as the man popped the cork on the bottle and let champagne spill freely onto the floor. He took a deep swig, wiping the excess from his chin with the back of his hand. “Now that’s some good shit,” he declared with a smile.

“Fuck are you doing here?” Magic rose to his feet. Kahllah didn’t miss the fact that Ben remained seated.

“Well hello to you too, Magic. You greet all your friends like this, or just me?”

“That’s a word used too loosely.” Magic folded his arms. “This is a private event, Tay. You can’t just pop up at my spot like this.”

“Magic, you wound me. I’ll have you know that I was invited.”

“By who?”

Tay’s eyes drifted to Ben, who picked that moment to refill his cup with ice.

“You serious?”

“C’mon, Magic,” Ben said. “I didn’t mean no harm by inviting the homey. We’re celebrating our accomplishments, ain’t we?”

“Exactly—our accomplishments.”

A scowl touched Tay’s lips. “Oh, I see what this is. I was good enough to do dirt for you, but not good enough to break bread?” He shook his head. “Some niggas never change.”

“That’s exactly my point,” Magic shot back.

Tay’s eyes went to the women in the VIP area, lingering on Kahllah. “This your new piece, Magic?”

“I’m not anyone’s anything,” Kahllah countered.

Tay threw his hands up. “I meant no disrespect. You’re just a new face in the circle, that’s all. I don’t know why I’m surprised. Magic has always had an eye for the finer things in life. That’s one of the only useful qualities I’ve picked up from him.” He looked over his shoulder and said, “Ain’t that right, baby?”

The woman had been so quiet that none of them had even noticed her standing there, like a curvaceous statue carved from polished onyx. She had high cheekbones and black hair that seemed to meld into the dark flesh of her neck. Her legs stretched for days and disappeared up a formfitting green dress. The slit on it was so high that you didn’t have to guess whether or not she was wearing underwear. Like Tay, she was decked in jewels—emeralds, to match the dress. Capping off her outfit was a fox stole that hung loosely over her shoulders. To call the woman gorgeous wouldn’t have done her justice.

Kahllah watched Magic’s eyes cycle through surprise, hurt, and then anger. There had been or was still something between them, clearly.

“How you been, suga?” the girl asked in a rich Southern accent. Her voice was sweet, like what flowers would sound like if they made sounds.

“I’m good, Sable,” Magic said dryly.

“Better than good.” Tay motioned around the club. “Our boy is on the come-up.”

“Magic always did dream bigger than most,” Sable said.

“Niggas who spend all their time with their heads in the clouds tend to miss what’s right in front of them.” Tay pulled Sable closer. “So, you gonna stand there gawking or offer us a seat at your table?”

“Sorry, Tay, but this section is full. If you like, I can have you set up at one of our tables way in the back and send a few bottles over.”

“I got my own bread.” Tay pulled a knot of bills from his pocket. “I don’t do handouts.”

“But you got no problem with hand-me-downs?” Magic cut his eyes at Sable.

“You know what?” Kahllah spoke up. “You can have our seats. We were about to leave anyway. Let’s go, Audrey.”

“Go? Girl, it’s not even eleven o’clock. Let’s stay until at least midnight.” Audrey snuggled closer to Ben.

“Do what you want, but I’m gone,” Kahllah said.

“Aw, baby, we didn’t mean to scare you off,” Tay teased.

“I don’t scare easily. I’ve got an early day tomorrow.”

“At least let me walk you out.” Magic placed his hand on the small of Kahllah’s back and steered her out of the VIP section. As he passed Tay, he whispered, “Don’t be here when I come back.”

The temperature had dropped a bit when Kahllah got outside. The chilled air felt good on her skin. Except for a few stragglers lined up by the entrance, the crowd from earlier was gone. She and Magic quietly walked the half block to where she’d parked her car. She could tell that the exchange in the club was still weighing on him. Though tempted to ask about the history between him and the woman, she decided against it. It wasn’t her business.

“Sorry about all that back there,” Magic finally broke the silence. They were waiting for the parking attendant to bring her car up.

“No need to apologize. Your buddy was a bit of a dick, but you’ve been a gentleman all night.”

“Tay ain’t no buddy of mine. He’s more like a bad rash that just won’t go away. But enough about Tay. When can I see you again?”

“Well, if I have any follow-up questions before we roll out the piece on the grand opening, I’ll shoot you an e-mail.”

“You know that’s not how I meant it.”

“I figured, and that’s where we’re gonna keep it. I had a good time tonight, but I don’t believe in mixing business and pleasure. Things like that never end well.”

“Then forget the write-up. Let’s keep it pleasure. Can I take you out for dinner one of these nights? Maybe a few drinks?”

“Thank you, but no,” she said politely.

“What? Am I ugly or something?”

“No, you’re actually quite handsome.”

“Then you must have a man. I don’t know why I thought you didn’t. A woman as fine as you must have somebody at home waiting on her.”

“Nope, single as a dollar bill.”

“Then what is it?”

Kahllah searched for the right words. “Let’s just say I’m not exactly the kind of girl you take home to your mother.”

The valet pulled up with her car. He got out and held the door for Kahllah. She slid fluidly behind the wheel.

“Kahllah, we’ve all got a past of some sort. Hell, I just laid all my skeletons out for you. I think you’ll find that I’m more understanding than you’re giving me credit for. Give me one shot, and if you’re not feeling me, then I’m out of your hair forever. What harm could it do?”

“More than you know. Goodnight, Magic.” She pulled into traffic.

* * *

Reentering Voodoo, Magic’s butterflies passed and it was back to the matter at hand. Tay knew what he was doing, showing up here. Throwing the fact that he was fucking Sable in his face was just to pour salt in the wound. Magic wasn’t dumb; he knew the two of them were an item now, but it had been out of sight, out of mind. He and Sable were ancient history, and whoever she chose to fuck was her business, but seeing them together made him want to punch both of them in the face. He’d told Tay to be gone, yet there was a part of him that hoped the dude had stuck around to spite him. Magic was spoiling for a fight. Much to his disappointment, and relief, when he got back to the VIP area Tay and Sable were nowhere to be found.

Ben greeted him: “Man, for as long as your ass was gone, I thought you decided to slide with shorty.” He was still sitting in the same spot, with Audrey up under him.

“Can I borrow him for a minute?” Magic asked Audrey.

“Sure, I need to use the little girls’ room anyhow.” She got up.

“Don’t keep that ass away too long.” Ben slapped it as she was walking off, then turned to Magic. “What’s good?”

“You tell me. What in God’s name would make you think it was a good idea to invite that muthafucka Tay to the grand opening?” Magic was livid.

“You still on that? C’mon, man. I know you guys got some unresolved issues over him fucking with Sable now, but—”

“But shit! This ain’t got nothing to do with Sable. This is about Tay being as hot as a firecracker right now after that clusterfuck of a job! Do you know what this looks like?”

“Yeah, it looks like we don’t abandon our own when shit gets a little hectic,” Ben responded. “Regardless of what’s going on, Tay is still one of us.”

“Tay is a walking lightning rod, and I don’t want us to get hit when it strikes.”

“Okay, Magic.” Ben put up his hands. “You don’t want Tay around the club. I get that. My bad. Still, I think it’s a bad idea to cut him off completely when he can still be of use to us.”

“Tay can’t do shit for me but keep his distance. At this point he’s a liability, and anyone associated with him is likely to be a casualty of what’s coming his way. We got too much riding to go down with the ship.”

“I can dig it. I was just thinking—”

“Like a nigga who could be tempted to do something reckless.” There was an icy chill to Magic’s voice. “Ben, you know the game can’t be played with one foot in and one foot out. If you got aspirations to do some moonlighting, there’s the door.” He pointed at the exit.

“Magic, I know how hard you’ve worked to clean up your image. You even brought me in and let me eat with you. Why would I do anything to fuck it up?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Magic said sharply. “I’ve bled for this shit here, Ben. Put it all on the line to see my dream come true, and I’d do anything to keep it intact, even if it means taking out one of my own.”

“That a threat?”

“Only to those who threaten what I’ve built. Feel me? Ben, you’re a loyal dude, and that’s one of the things I love about you, but don’t let that make you blind to the bigger picture.”

“And what is the bigger picture, Magic?”

Magic’s eyes drifted across the room. He spotted Chancellor King huddled in the shadows by the bar, staring at him. “Survival.”