The Family Business 3 (18 page)

I'd tried praying and reading the Quran, but the more I attempted to find solace in prayer and meditation, the more agitated I found myself becoming. There was a time and a place for God, and then there was a time and place to seek vengeance for the harm others had done to you. There could only be so much turning the other cheek, and frankly, that was the one part of my religion that I refused to subscribe to. My personality lent itself more to the eye for an eye way of problem-solving.

“Come on. It's playtime.” I pulled Lenny and Squiggy out of my pockets and set them down on the table in front of me. I enjoyed watching the two of them play together without a care in the world.

Usually seeing them play could calm me down, but this time, it only added to my frustration when Squiggy jumped on top of Lenny. Even though I'd named them after my favorite male television characters, Lenny wasn't a male rat. That's why Squiggy jumped on top of her and started pumping away. I might have found the whole thing funny if I wasn't so caught up in my own rage because my wife was screwing another man. Seeing my pets go at it only made me think about Sonya and Junior Duncan doing the same damn thing.

Along with my anger, I had to admit to myself that I was lonely. With every passing day I missed my wife more. She was my better half, and I missed what being married to her stood for, despite the fact we'd been separated by bars. I missed talking to her every day on the phone, receiving her care packages, and of course, I missed the intimacy I hadn't experienced since she stopped showing up for our conjugal visits.

“Damn you, woman!” I pounded my fist on the table, scaring the rats enough to make them stop screwing.

Yeah, sex with Sonya was definitely the best part of our relationship. As much as I loved her, I think the fact that she satisfied me more than any other woman was the real reason I'd made her my wife. I thought I'd have the pleasure of that passion forever, but here I was now, all alone. I was finally out of prison, but life wasn't all that different than it had been when I was locked away with a bunch of sweaty men. Being a wanted man meant I spent most of my time locked up in the safe house, and when I did go out on a mission, I had to watch my back constantly. Shit, at least if I had a soft, feminine body to lie down with once in a while I could relieve some stress.

At the thought of feminine bodies, I decided it was time to pay a visit to our little prisoner.

Sasha Duncan watched my every move as I entered the room. Handcuffed to a chair, she wasn't in any position to resist my advances, and I had to admit that right now, that appealed to me. Maybe she knew why I was there. It wasn't like I was trying to hide my lust as my eyes wandered all over her body, which she'd put on display in the shortest skirt and tiniest halter top. There was nothing modest at all about the way she dressed. No self-respecting Muslim woman would be caught dead in such a brazen outfit.

“You like what you see?” she asked boldly, arching her back so that her prominent breasts were on display, further fueling my already burning desire. It was as if she knew that it had been too long and I was in need of a woman.

“And what if I do?” I asked, playing her game—no, fuck it, this was my game.

I moved beside her and untied the strings that held up her top, letting her know that I could do whatever I wanted to her. Beautiful, juicy round breasts popped out, her nipples at attention. I heard myself gasp at the sight of her nakedness.

“You want me, don't you?” she asked in a sultry voice, like a snake charmer attempting to seduce me. She didn't seem to acknowledge that I could make her do whatever I wanted. I was the one in control here, not her.

“Why would I allow a dirty whore to tempt me?” I spoke sharply, trying to hide my desire.

“Because this whore can give you the best blow job you have ever had,” she said, licking her tongue across her full lips. “Your dick would love to be in my mouth, letting me suck and suck,” she said.

My mind began racing with vivid images of her on her knees, taking in all of me. I shook my head, trying to erase the thoughts. The temptation was there, but this harlot could be trying to bait me into a trap. I had to keep my head on straight.

“I don't trust you. You might bite me,” I barked at her.

“I wouldn't. After the way Sonya has treated you, don't you deserve a woman that will put your needs first? A woman that will treat you like the leader you truly are?”

Giving in momentarily to my desire, I reached out and rubbed my hands all over her breasts. I felt my penis hardening.

“I will lick all of the juices out of you,” she promised. “Let me make you happy.”

“I'm a married man,” I told her, pulling my hand back and forcing myself to resist.

“You're a Muslim man. Doesn't the Quran say you can take more than one wife?”

I was a little surprised that she knew anything about my religion, but that didn't mean I trusted her. She was a still a Duncan, after all.

“Take me as your wife, X. Let me show you what my lips and tongue can do.” The sexual images were returning to my imagination, and it made me angry. I could not let her get the upper hand.

“No!” I lashed out. “I will do to you what I want. I am the man. If I take you, I take you my way.” I rushed over to her, pushing her skirt up to her waist so that she was completely exposed.

Opening my pants and releasing my rock hard dick, I then reached down to spread her legs apart. I couldn't wait to plunge into her.

I heard a thud and turned around to see Elijah entering the room. He had dropped the takeout food containers he'd been carrying. “What the—What are you doing?” He pushed me away from Sasha.

“I'm taking her as my wife,” I answered as I pulled myself together and zipped my pants. “The Duncans took Sonya from me. I will take her as a replacement.”

“You are a man of God. If you touch her, then you are no better than your wife. Is that what you want? To go against Allah?” Elijah said, taking off his jacket and covering Sasha's naked body with it.

“I am a man of God, but I am also a man,” I reminded him.

“No! You are supposed to be better. You are supposed to be a leader, one who lives as an example.”

“I am an example.”

“Are you all right?” Elijah questioned the whore.

“I'm fine,” she said, trying to sound like a wounded bird rather than the temptress she had been a few minutes ago.

“Don't be fooled, Elijah. This girl is not some saint. She is a whore!” I warned him.

“It's not her I'm starting to feel fooled by,” he snapped, glaring at me.

With Pops coming home from the hospital, Ma wanted all of us at the house for Sunday dinner. I guess she was trying to make things as normal as possible, despite the fact that he was still in a coma and damn near brain dead.

After I met with my Asian friend Tommy Young, I confiscated one of the new red Ferrari Spiders that came into the shop, to pick up Marie in the Bronx. With everything going on, I hadn't seen Marie since that night at the brothel with Conrad. The two of us had a lot of catching up to do.

We'd just hit the Rockaway Freeway when I noticed that Marie seemed to be in her own world. Neither of us had spoken much during the hour-long drive, but I just assumed that it had something to do with the fact that I had barely let the car go under ninety miles per hour since we hit the highway. Now I wasn't so sure.

“You okay?” I asked.

She didn't respond. She just held my hand as her eyes welled up with tears.

“Marie, you okay, baby?” I repeated my concern, but she still didn't reply, unless the stream of tears sliding down her face counted. “You know I love you, right?”

“Yes, but for how long?” The waterworks just got worse.

“Marie, what's going on?” I pulled the car over at the beach about five blocks from the house.

She got out quickly and started walking toward the sand. I followed, trailing her by about ten feet. I didn't like the idea of us being out in the open like this, but for now it was a chance I had to take. “Marie, what the hell's going on?”

She finally stopped halfway to the water, taking off her sandals as she waited for me to catch up. I took her hand, deciding not to push the issue as we continued to the water.

“I never told you this, but it was love at first sight for me. When Orlando brought me to that jail, he had paid me to sleep with you, but I walked into that visiting room and that was all she wrote.”

“And here I am thinking it was the dick.” I laughed, and to my relief, she laughed too.

“Don't get me wrong. The dick was good, but it wasn't the dick I fell in love with that day. It was you. Matter of fact, I gave your brother his money back.”

“I heard. It's probably the reason why we're together today.”

She turned around, looking up at me. “I don't wanna lose you, Vegas, but there is something I have to tell you.”

The way she said it gave me a little concern. “Tell me what? You know I'm not much for beating around the bush. Spit it out.”

She sighed. “You know we haven't been intimate since we left Saint Martin last month, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I'm sorry about that, baby. With everything going on with my Pops and this Muslim threat, I know I haven't been taking care of business, but I promise, starting tonight things are going to be different.”

She shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes again. “You only did what I allowed. I'm a madam, baby, and very good at what I do. If I wanted you, even in the middle of a war, I would have known what to do.”

“What are you trying to say?” I asked, not liking the direction this felt like it was heading.

Again she sighed. “I avoided having sex with you.”

“What?”

“One of my more wealthy clients insisted that he had to see me and no other girl. He was paying twenty-five grand. I couldn't say no to that.” She was talking fast, as if she was desperate to make me understand.

“Marie, I know what you do for a living. It's okay. You're safe.”

“Yes, I usually am, but . . .” There was a long pause, and a million things went through my mind. She ended my suspense by finishing with “The condom broke.”

My stomach tightened into a knot.

“Baby, I went to the doctor and got myself checked out right away. They gave me all kinds of tests, and he didn't give me anything. The main reason I stayed away from you was because it took a few weeks to get all the test results back.”

I stared at her, praying I wasn't about to get devastating news.

“I got them back today, and they were negative. I'm clean.”

I wanted to throw my fists in the air and shout “Hallelujah!” but I played it cool. “Okay, so everything was good. Why were you just crying?”

“Because . . .” Tears welled up in her eyes again, and she couldn't continue.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. “You're pregnant, aren't you? And you don't know if it's his baby or mine.”

She shook her head. “God, I wish it were that simple.”

“What do you mean?”

She turned her tear-stained face toward me. “I'm not pregnant, Vegas. The doctor told me I can't have any kids.”

There was silence between us for a few seconds. I hadn't processed my feelings yet, so I didn't want to say the wrong thing. But I realized that I had to do something, so I pulled her in close and held her tightly.

“Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby. Nothing like the real thing,” Aretha's voice sang out over the sound system, while Mom was busy in a million different places: in the kitchen putting together a meal, fixing the room for Daddy, and worrying over all of us. She was working overtime to make things as normal as possible, even though that was absolutely impossible. Normally, when I felt this upset I could calm myself with a little retail therapy, but no amount of Lanvin or Louis would fix this feeling. The only thing that would mean a thing to me now would be Daddy waking up. However, hitting someone to cause them extraordinary amounts of pain might help my mood just a little. The more I thought about it, the more I knew exactly who should be on the receiving end of my rage.

“Yes?” Junior looked up from LC's desk when I entered the room. Seeing him making himself at home in Daddy's office did nothing to alter my pissed-off disposition.

“Why are you here?” I fumed, unleashing my fury on him.

“Paris, I don't have time for one of your little tantrums. I'm trying to find out where Sasha is,” he snapped before turning back to his work—as if he could dismiss me like that.

“You fuckin' kidding me? You need to get your ass up out of Daddy's office and let one of the real men in this family sit in that chair. No one wants you here. And for the record, you're the reason Sasha got taken, so you
should
be looking for her.” I don't think I had ever hated anyone so much in my entire life.

“Look, I know you're upset, but you are going to have to do something unique, and that is to pull it together. Ma doesn't need you acting like a crazy person right now.” He spoke to me in the calm way people do when they want you to believe that you're insane and they're innocent.

I blew up at him. “Upset? Upset! It's because of you that our father might die and our cousin probably is going to die. Because you were so fuckin' selfish that you chose a woman, someone else's wife, over your own family.” I spit the words out furiously.

He looked up at me, and sure, I could see that my words stung him, but I didn't care how he felt. Not one bit.

“You don't understand. You can't. You have never loved anyone in your whole spoiled little rich-girl life. Go away, Paris, before you really piss me off.”

Instead of leaving, I reached across the desk, wanting to destroy him. He grabbed my hand before I could connect with his jaw. He was too damn strong for me.

“You're fuckin' lucky I'm not strapped,” I yelled, pulling myself away from him.

“Oh, boo fuckin hoo, you brat. Your problem is you've been sheltered from ever having to think about anyone other than yourself. Even motherhood is mostly done for you. This is the first time in your entire life that you've had to think about someone else.”

“Really? So I didn't have to end the life of the only man I have ever loved because it would have cost us our father?” As usual, no one in my family ever understood how hard it had been for me to kill Niles. It had damn near ripped my heart out, and they all acted like it was nothing. Yet here was Junior expecting me to accept that he couldn't sacrifice his relationship with Sonya in order to protect his own blood.

“Fuck you and all your selfish bullshit, Junior. You chose pussy over our family, and it will be your fault if Daddy and Sasha die.”

“Hey, don't you ever talk about Sonya that way. You hear me? And don't you dare upset her.” He had the nerve to threaten me, as if her crazy-ass husband wasn't trying to extinguish us all.

“Upset her? I don't give a fuck how she feels. She can drop dead for all I care. As a matter of fact, if she did, I would throw a motherfuckin' party,” I promised.

Junior jumped up and snatched me up in his grasp. I shook myself loose, ready to attack him with my fists.

“Don't you dare talk that way about the mother of my child.” His words silenced my rage.

“The what of your what?” I asked, praying that I had misunderstood him.

“Yes,” he confirmed, “Sonya is pregnant, and you best not upset her.”

“Yo, stop all this noise!” Orlando stomped into the room. He seemed to think that being named head of the family business meant he could act like our father. “What is going on?”

“Ask the newest baby daddy,” I huffed, catching sight of Orlando's shocked expression as I stormed away.

How the hell could Junior have gotten Brother X's wife pregnant? I could only imagine the massive explosion this news would cause when X found out. I wouldn't put it past him to try to kill all of us now.

“Mommy!” a little voice squealed with delight. I looked up to see my favorite person in the world racing into the house toward me.

“Is that my baby?” I cooed, relieved and confused to see Jordan flying into my arms. If ever I needed to see my baby, this was the time. I couldn't get over how much he had grown in that short span, but at two and a half, he didn't look anything like he had even a month earlier.

When those little arms wrapped around me, I felt a calm I hadn't since this whole thing happened. What I didn't understand was why Consuela would have brought him home now, while we were still in the middle of a war. Why hadn't she told me this was her plan?

“Mommy, I missed you,” Jordan whispered sweetly in my ear, just melting me.

“Did you have a good time in California with Grandma?” I looked up at Consuela, questioning her with my gaze.

“Yeah. We went to the beach every day,” he said, excited with all the wonder I'd forgotten how to feel about the little things in life. God, I loved this kid.

“Jordan!” London's daughter Mariah raced down the stairs to greet her little cousin. The two of them ran off to some other adventure, the nanny quick on their heels.

“He's gotten big, hasn't he?” Consuela remarked as she approached with her arms outstretched to me.

“Wait. Why are you here?” I asked, though I couldn't be mad. As worried as I felt to have him home, I really needed to see my son.

“Your mother sent the plane for us. Didn't she tell you?”

“No. She didn't,” I answered, ready to find my mother and ask her what the hell was going on and why I was the last to know. “Where is my mother anyway?”

“She's in the den talking to
my
son.”