The Hustler's Daughter {DC Bookdiva Publications} (26 page)

Silent Death

Emilio
hopped into his Benz and rushed to the hospital that housed Roy Carter. He had
the chance to do what he had to do while Mercedes was out running errands. The
hospital told Mercedes that he was progressing well and could now speak. That
meant he would be able to tell her who tried to kill him and who succeeded in
killing Don Carter. Emilio couldn’t risk being exposed. He was falling deeply
in love with Mercedes and wasn’t ready to lose her. Emilio wanted to be with
her since Don first introduced them.

He
desperately wanted to reach the hospital before Mercedes did. He accelerated
well beyond the speed limit and finally reached the hospital. He exited the car
and put his hoodie over his head in an attempt to conceal his identity. He
approached the receptionist who sat casually filing her nails.

   “Hello,
how are you doing?” Emilio smiled while making eye contact with the lady.

   “I’m
fine and you, how may I help you?” The receptionist seductively said.

   “Well,
I’m looking for Roy Carter.”

   “What’s
your name?” She asked him. Emilio stumbled for a second, but remembered his
alias that he always used.

   “Francisco
Sanchez.” He used Francisco Sanchez as an alias and had that name on his fake
ID. She typed his name into the computer and shook her head, denying his
request for admittance.

   “I’m
sorry, but your name isn’t on the visitation list. Only his family members are
allowed to see him.” She sternly spoke, obeying the strict orders that were
given.

   “He’s
like my father, I just moved up here and he was taking care of me. I just found
out he was in the hospital, I was just trying to check up on him. Thanks
anyway.” Emilio sighed as he turned around and begin to walk away.

   “Sir?”
The lady called out. Emilio deviously smiled as he turned around.

   “He’s
in room 313.” She gave him the information and smiled at him. His plan actually
worked. He smiled back and thanked her as he made his way to the elevator. Upon
reaching the third floor, he searched for the room number. Once he spotted it,
he glanced around to check his surroundings and walked inside. He couldn’t
afford to have any witnesses.

Roy
was watching TV as Emilio entered the room. He watched him shut the door behind
him. He had no idea who was here to see him. Once Emilio came in and removed
his hood, Roy’s eyes widened in fear. He tried to reach the button for
assistance, but Emilio snatched the plug from of the wall.

   “I
see that you’re still alive.” Emilio coyly said.

   “Yeah,
I’m still alive motherfucker!” Roy spat. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“You
know why I’m here Roy, don’t play with me.” Emilio let out a sinister laugh.
“Don is dead, Frank is dead, and all the others are dead. You have no reason to
be alive.”

   “I
have a family to live for!” Roy defiantly stated. “What the hell do you want?”

   “You
know what I want Roy. Since Don is dead, I know he left you with all of the
goods. Where’s the safe?” Emilio demanded.

   “What
safe?” Roy knew exactly what he was talking about. All of the Carter money,
drugs and weapons were stashed there. No outsiders had ever been to the safe
house, but they knew it existed. 

   “Don’t
fucking play dumb with me!” Emilio snatched one of the tubes out of his nose
and Roy grunted in pain. “The safe with all of the money…the drugs where is it
Roy?” Emilio asked as he continued to torture him.

   “I
don’t know what you talking about.”

   “If
you won’t tell me where the safe is, I’ll find it through Maria.”

   “You
stay away from her and stay away from Mercedes. Don will kill you!” Roy
threatened Emilio, not remembering that Don was dead.

   “The
Carter family is already dead.” Emilio informed him. “Mercedes is all mine, and
she is so beautiful when she’s lying beside me.” Emilio hysterically laughed.

“If
Don ever found out you were fucking with his daughter, he would kill you.” Roy
gritted his teeth. “And when Mercedes finds out you were the one that helped
kill her father, she will kill you.”

“Yeah
right, she doesn’t have the heart to kill.” Emilio couldn’t imagine his
sweetheart killing someone. “We’re in love and I’m going to propose to her one
day. I won’t have you or Maria standing in the way of the love of my life.”
Emilio stated. “With Don being dead and Maria and you gone, no one will be able
to stop me.” He smirked, “Don’t you agree.”

“You’re
a sick motherfucker!” Roy yelled.

“Say
your prayers real quick before you meet your maker.” He walked towards Roy
fully prepared to end his life, this time he would be sure of it.

“Fuck
you Emilio!” Roy spat at him. “You won’t be able to live to see that Carter
money motherfucker.”  Emilio pulled all of Roy’s tubes from his body and
snatched the IV bag and unplugged it. Roy struggled to breathe, so he grabbed
the pillow from behind him and placed it over his face. He suffocated him. Roy
struggled because his legs were still not fully functioning; his mobility was
limited. Emilio watched as he stopped moving.

“Sleep
tight,” Emilio smirked. He replaced the pillow to make it appear that Roy was
sleeping. He threw his hoodie over his head again and exited the room. He
walked down the corridors of the hospital and thought to himself ‘mission
accomplished.’

Just
when he thought he was in the clear, he was frozen in his steps. Standing
before him was Roy’s niece and his girlfriend…Mercedes.

xxxxxxxxxx

 “What
are you doing here?” Mercedes asked him.

“Oh,
I just stopped by to see my ummm…Aunt.” Emilio lied. “I have to go now
Mercedes, I’ll see you later.” Emilio kissed her on the cheek and quickly
rushed down the hallway. Mercedes knew something was wrong with him. The way he
was sweating profusely and seemed to be in a rush-it just didn’t sit right with
her.

“Okay,”
she whispered. She turned around and continued walking to her uncle’s room.
When she walked into the room, she noticed her uncle’s face was facing her. He
was blue and looking at her with bulging eyes.

“Oh
my God!” She screamed as she realized he wasn’t awake-nor was he asleep. He was
dead. “Somebody help please! HELP!” Mercedes screamed out for the nurse’s
assistant. Immediately nurses came rushing into the room and one of them tried
to push Mercedes out of the room.

“Nooo,
Uncle Roy! Please don’t leave me.” Mercedes barged past the nurses and cried
over her uncle’s dead body. “Why? Why?” Mercedes shrieked as she hovered over
her uncle’s body. The nurses and doctor tried to pull her away, but they were
unsuccessful. After several minutes of trying to get Mercedes out of the room,
she fainted.

When
she came to, she noticed she was in a hospital bed. She quickly patted her body
down to make sure she was okay.

“Help!”
Mercedes screamed as she saw an IV in her arm. The nurse came rushing in to
Mercedes’ side and calmed her down.

“What
am I doing here?” Mercedes asked with a perplexed look on her face. A nurse
came in to tend to her. She was a hefty dark skinned woman with fiery red
dreadlocks and a mole on her lip. The mole was quite distracting, but Mercedes
tried not to focus on it.

“Mercedes,
sweetie, you’re fine.” The nurse checked her vitals and looked at the chart.

“You
were just taking it hard, your blood pressure rose and you fainted.” Mercedes
remembered going to see her uncle, and she could barely breathe.

“Where’s
my uncle? Is he okay?” Mercedes panicked. The woman looked at her sadly. She
didn’t want to tell her the bad news, but it was written all over her face.

“He
died at twelve forty-five this afternoon. They tried to save him, but he
removed all of the tubes that were helping him stay alive.” Mercedes broke down
again and the nurse tried to keep her calm as she embraced her.

“No,
No, No!” Mercedes knew deep down inside that the picture wasn’t right and her
uncle would never commit suicide.

“I’m
so sorry Mercedes.”

“Why?
Why?” Mercedes yelled out in anger. “You don’t understand, first they killed my
boyfriend Chino, then my father and his people. Now it’s my uncle. Who’s going
to be next, me?” Mercedes cries were mixed with laughter. “This shit is
unbelievable!”

“Oh
sweetheart, don’t ever say that.” The nurse hushed her. “Everyone has to go
someday, but I know for a fact it isn’t your time to go yet. You’re still a
little baby.” The nurse touched her face and wiped away her tears. “You’re a
beautiful young lady with a bright future in front of you.” The nurse smiled.

“Thank
you.” Mercedes forced a smile. “I just wish that I could have talked to my
uncle. He was like a second father to me. I was here for him to get better. He
wanted to tell me something, but he didn’t live to tell me.” Mercedes said. She
tried to hold in her tears, but they eventually exploded.

“Mercedes,
your Uncle Roy and I talked the other day. He seemed like he was worried about
something. He kept saying he wanted to talk to you. That’s when I called you so
you could come down here. He told me he had something to give you…one second.”
The nurse disappeared into the hall and came back with a box in her hand.

“Your
uncle to said cherish this box and make your father proud.”

“What?
I don’t understand…” The nurse handed Mercedes the box. Mercedes looked at it
and had no idea what to do.

“Honey
I don’t know, he just gave me the message. He said it holds the Carter future.”
The nurse smiled. “Now get some rest.” She insisted as she disappeared from the
room again.

Mercedes
waited until the nurse exited the room and she ran her French manicured nails
over the white box that had the initials MC written in black cursive letters.
She carefully opened the box and it revealed two sets of keys, a small key and
a shiny long key.

“Keys?”
Mercedes had a bewildered look on her face as she held the key in her hand and
examined it. Under the keys, she found a piece of paper with writing on it. She
picked up the paper and it was a New Jersey address. She pressed the key up
against her chest and thought of what the nurse said. “It holds The Carter
future.” Those words ran through her mind. It made her wonder what the key was
for and why her father gave it to her and not her uncle. She would soon find
out everything.

Mercedes
returned the keys and paper to the box and closed it. Just as she did, there
was a knock on the door. It was Emilio. She hid the box under the covers and
smiled.

“Hey
Baby.” Emilio walked over and gave her a hug and a kiss on the lips. “How are
you feeling?”

“I’m
alright, how did you know I was here?”

“Well,
I did see you earlier. But I kept calling your phone and one of the nurses must
have gotten aggravated and answered the phone.” They both laughed.

“They
told me you fainted.” Emilio sighed. “I also heard about your uncle; I’m sorry
to hear that. I wonder why he would commit suicide, I mean I don’t understand.”
Emilio placed his hands on his temples and shook his head.

   “No,
my Uncle Roy didn’t try to kill himself.” Mercedes nodded her head, “He would
never do such a thing. He was getting better. He was going to live, I know he
wouldn’t take his life. Someone murdered him.” Mercedes yelled.

“Honey,
you never know what people are thinking. Cedes, Babe, you have to wake up and
smell the coffee.” Emilio caressed her face. “Your uncle was in critical
condition and maybe he wouldn’t want to live like that and have the guilt of
your father’s death on him.”

“Excuse
me?” Mercedes eyebrows arched as he tried to explain.

“I
know he must’ve felt guilty that he couldn’t save his brother when he was
murdered. I mean it hurts to see someone you love get murdered and sometimes
people blame themselves.” Emilio assured her.

“I
know what you’re saying, but Babe I know Uncle Roy didn’t…” Emilio cut her off
placing his fingers over her lips.

“Babe
just relax, you’ve been through a lot you need a lot of closure. I’m here for
you Mercedes; you don’t have anything to worry about.” Emilio hugged her and
kissed her on her forehead.

Tears
streamed down her face and he wrapped his arms around her. Something in her
heart didn’t feel right. There was something going on, and she soon would find
out what it was.

Safe House

One
Saturday morning, Mercedes decided to get up and drive to the New Jersey
address that was in the white box. She threw her legs over the side of her bed
and quickly looked over at Emilio. He was sound asleep. She snuck out of the
bed, hoping he didn’t wake up. She showered, dressed, and tried to leave before
he woke up. As she was about to leave out the front door, Emilio woke up
yawning. He looked over and caught Mercedes exiting the room.

   “Where
you going Babe?” Emilio asked.

   “Oh,”
Mercedes stopped in her tracks and looked at Emilio. “I’m going to hang out
with Candy and the girls today for brunch.” She lied.

   “Have
fun Babe and call me later.” Mercedes waved to him and walked down the steps
and hopped in her Mercedes-Benz coupe. She didn’t know that Emilio was standing
on the balcony watching as she pulled off. It felt good driving the Benz, with
her seat reclined. The fresh smell of leather hit her nose as she drove. She
had just copped the new Nicki Minaj mixtape and it bumped from the speakers as
she drove to New Jersey. On her way there, she noticed her gas was getting low.
She pulled over at a local gas station near the Manhattan Bridge. She walked
into the gas station and handed the clerk fifty dollars to fill the tank. She
went back outside and pumped the gas. 

Mercedes
hopped back into her car and pulled off. While on the highway, she noticed a
black Cadillac behind her. Mercedes didn’t pay it any attention until she
realized it stopped at the same gas station as her and followed her back onto
the highway. It would switch lanes as she switched. It was obviously following
her, but Mercedes wanted to be sure. She pressed her foot down on the gas and
accelerated and so did the black Cadillac. Mercedes suddenly slammed on her
brakes in the middle of the street causing the black Cadillac to swerve from
behind her and it kept driving. She took the next exit and drove into New
Jersey. She kept staring into the rear view and side mirrors, but she didn’t
see anyone following her.

   As
she arrived in New Jersey, Mercedes followed the directions of the navigation
system and it guided her to her destination. Mercedes noticed that the
neighborhood was nice and only had a few houses on the block.  She pulled up to
a small white condominium. She decided to pull around the back of the condo.
She got outside and looked around. Mercedes quickly walked around the condo to
the front door and walked up the steps. She took out both keys and used each
one of them to try to open the door. The small key worked and the front door
easily opened.

   She
walked around the condo and saw furniture and doors. She saw a wooden door, but
when she tried to open it-it was locked. She decided to try one of the keys and
chose the long one. The door quickly turned to reveal an entrance to a
basement. The basement was made out of steel and it was freezing. Mercedes
looked around and her eyes lit up. There were several weapons hanging up on the
walls, including AK’s and various handguns. She walked around the basement, not
knowing what to expect. Her jaw dropped when she saw tons of kilos of cocaine.
She knew her father dealt in drugs, but had never seen it up close. She spotted
several duffle bags sitting on the ground in the corner of the basement.
Mercedes walked over and knelt down to unzip the duffle bags. Inside of them,
she saw stacks of money held together with rubber bands.

   She
got up and stood scanning the room. She noticed a safe embedded in the wall.
Mercedes walked over to the safe and wondered what was inside. She tried a
couple of numbers, none of them worked.  Then she tried her birthday, the
combination of 10-17-90. She smiled as the safe clicked and slowly opened.
Inside, she found more money and items which she dumped into her purse for safe
keeping. One of them was a diary with a piece of paper attached. Mercedes found
some empty duffle bags and placed a few guns, some more money, and 20 kilos
into the bags. She zipped up the bags and left, carefully locking the door
behind her. She carried a total of five duffle bags. Luckily, they just looked
like clothes so she was hoping no one was suspicious. Although she was
concerned, since she knew what the bags contained. She placed the bags into her
trunk and made her way back to the city. On the way back, she noticed that she
was being tailed by a New Jersey State Trooper. She didn’t think anything of
it, until the lights flashed behind her.

    “Shit!”
Mercedes banged on the steering wheel and hesitated to pull over. Once she did,
the cop hopped out and stood in front of her window pounding on it with his
hand. Mercedes nervously rolled down the window.

   “License
and registration please.” The officer rudely demanded.

 Mercedes
rolled her eyes as she reached over and grabbed the papers from the glove compartment
and handed it to the officer. He snatched it from her and headed back to his
vehicle. Mercedes sat there nervously peeking in her side mirrors to see when
the cop was coming back to the car. She noticed him walking back to her car and
she rolled down the windows.

   “Mercedes
Carter,” he handed her back the paper work and said, “You’re Don Carter’s
daughter right?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

   “Yes,
I am.” Mercedes proudly responded.

   “This
vehicle is to be seized and towed.”

   “Excuse
me?” Mercedes was astonished.

   “Well,
I know you know that your father was a big time drug dealer.  Everything that
he owned was paid for with dirty money. What he did was illegal and this car is
in his name.” The officer smirked. “I’m going to call in for a tow.”

   “I
live in New York and that’s over an hour from here. What am I going to do?” The
officer looked at her with an ‘I don’t give a fuck’ look on his face.

“Well,
sit tight. You might as well call yourself a ride because you’re going to need
one.” He shook his head and headed back to his cruiser. Mercedes tried not to
cry and decided she had to think of something and quick. She was carrying
weapons, drugs, and several duffle bags that held millions of dollars in it.
That’s several federal charges that would have her locked up for many years.
Mercedes wouldn’t be able to see the rest of her precious life.

   She
looked back in her rearview mirror and saw the officer getting out of his car
to approach hers. As soon as he got close enough to the car, she floored it.
The officer quickly ran back to his car and tried to give chase. He quickly
caught up to her and was tailgating her with his flashing lights on. He
demanded her to pull over on his loud speaker. He didn’t know Mercedes was
nasty behind the wheel. She maneuvered the car like a race car driver,
switching and dipping in and out of lanes.  She drove so fast and with such
skill, that the officer swerved and almost hit a few cars that were on the
road. Ten minutes into the high speed chase, Mercedes noticed two cruisers
inching up to her and one tried to sideswipe her. She hit the brakes causing it
to hit another car. 

   Seeing
that she had no one following her, she hit the gas once more and was able to be
on her way without anyone catching her.

Mercedes
sighed in relief as she drove home. She was still a little paranoid, but she
was back in the city. She took the back roads to her home in Long Island and
parked the car in her garage. She quickly grabbed the bags and headed up the
stairs through the back.

   She
struggled as she carried the bags up the stairs. She opened up her closet and
placed the bags with the weapons and drugs inside of a hidden compartment
leading to another room. She didn’t need any one finding her stash, not even
Emilio.  Mercedes plopped on the bed and took in a deep breath. She thanked God
that she didn’t get caught today. She knew she would have been locked up right
now.

She
opened up her bag and poured the items she took out her father’s safe onto her
bed. There was a letter attached to his diary that he had kept, she opened up
the letter and it read,

To
my Baby Girl, Mercedes Carter,

I
was waiting for the day for you to open and read this letter. There’s only two
ways out, either I’m locked up or dead. I know what I’ve done in the past will
always catch up to me no matter what. Not just me, everyone in life.

 Being
a drug dealer comes with a lot of consequences, but my father was a Carter. I
had no choice but to take after him. This is in my blood. It always will be,
now and forever. The Carter family is well-known. Everyone knows where we come
from and what we are about. My father Ricardo Carter believed in me and felt I
had the heart to run the Carter business. He knew in his heart that I would
take it and make something out of it.

When
he was murdered by the Colombians, I was devastated. My heart was shattered and
I didn’t know what to do. All he wanted me to do was to take over and he said
that would make him proud. When I turned thirteen-years-old, I inherited
everything from my father and put it to work. A few years later, niggas in the
street respected me and looked up to me because of all I’d accomplished in a
short amount of time. It’s all about money, power and respect; Mercedes
remember that.

Without
power, you have no respect and without money you’re broke.  The reason I gave
you this key to my safe house is because you’re the one who holds the Carter
future. Maria, your mother, is a very beautiful person, but I know I wouldn’t
be able to give her this key. She isn’t strong enough for this. She’s a strong
woman to have dealt with my bullshit after all these years, but she’s not as
strong as you. She already told me if it came down to taking over, she wouldn’t
do it. Your Uncle Roy is my right hand man. I love him with all my heart but,
he isn’t a leader. When you were born, there was something different in your
eyes that I saw. I saw the eye of the tiger and I shaped you well. You have the
heart of a strong person. You literally hold the key to the Carter future in
your hands. I want you to take over and make me proud. I want you to have
everything you ever wanted and want for nothing. I don’t want your kids to
starve; if you ever decide to have kids and a family. I want them to grow up
how you grew up, living a lavish life. When you were born Mercedes, it changed
my life in many ways. I was blessed with a beautiful daughter and I thank your
mother for that. There are a lot of secrets in my life that I think you should
know about. As you get older, you’ll find out many answers that you are
seeking. I just hope you make your father proud, I’ll see you in heaven
someday. I love you Mercedes Carter and remember The Carter family never dies.

Love Always,

Don
Carter

Emilio
opened the door, and Mercedes quickly hid the letter and wiped away her tears.

   “What’s
up Babe?” Emilio smiled as he walked in and took off his jacket.

   “Nothing,
just sitting here chilling you know.” Mercedes flashed a smile.

   “How
was your day with the ladies?” Emilio asked.

   “It
was alright, we had fun. We just talked and caught up on a few things.”

   “That’s
all you did today?” He inquisitively asked.

   “Yeah,
nothing interesting happened- except that I was being followed by a black
Cadillac. It’s the same car I saw the day I was with Chino. I’ve seen it a
couple of times.”

   “Your
fine Babe, there’s plenty of black Cadillac’s roaming around New York City.
Just chill out, you’ve been very paranoid since your father died.”

   “I
don’t know babe, it’s just weird.”

   “Chill
Baby, relax.” Emilio begin to massage her shoulders as he kissed on her neck.
He always knew how to make her feel better. She allowed him to take control of
her body, even though she knew he knew more than he let on. For now, she would
have to believe him, until the truth was revealed.