New York's Finest (11 page)

“
You,” he said at me. “You should know better Naomi. You don’t let anyone bait you like that, especially someone so below you like Vanessa. Come on, what in the fuck are you thinking?”

That was a question. I was now equally upset at myself because I could really see the pain Reggie was in, and I could only imagine the stress. I was really worried about his blood pressure, although the blood pressure monitor read 110 over 76. That number was 102 over 70 when we entered the room.

“
And fuck Damian, two more locations were hit while your ass was here at the hospital,” Reggie said in the direction of Damian.

“
I ask Damian to stay with me,” I immediately went to his defense.

“
Naomi, just shut the fuck up for once, will you!” I was shocked. Reggie usually didn’t speak this way to me. He was visibly upset. As weak as he was, his voice raised an octave.

“
Damn Naomi, I spoke to Marco, and he is right, this is a fucking business, a dangerous business. If Damian is my right hand man, my lieutenant-in-arms, he does need to be out there taking care of business when I’m not around. This is serious shit we are into. It’s so serious that you can be on top of the world one day, and six feet under the next.”

At that point, Reggie started coughing and Foxx got up and got him some water from the water pitcher that sat on the table next to the bed. Once Reggie drank some water, he wanted to say something else, but Foxx stopped him.

“
Both of you listen,” Stone spoke up behind us. “Reggie needs you both. He is right about this being a dangerous business. It’s a business you guys are in up to your necks. The operation has been hit three times and a fourth if you count someone taking a shot at Reggie.”

Stone stopped talking and I know it was to let that point hang in the air. It was all about effect. It was then that I realized that we were in a business that we could die at a moment’s notice. Hell, I should have realized that when Lucky was killed in front of me. For a minute, I was afraid when I was with Marco and his son, and just like that, I snapped out of it when I realized Marco was going to kill me. I converted back to my old self, and that in itself was dangerous. Fuck, I had to take this seriously. After all, this was a serious business.

“
Reggie will be in the hospital for a couple more days,” Stone resumed speaking. “The nurse said he will be moved to the Critical Care ward tomorrow. I will be providing twenty-four hour protection for him the next couple of days. I have several cats including myself who will make sure he is not disturbed or bothered.”

“
What about the detectives and hospital staff?” I asked. “Wouldn’t they have a problem with that?”

“
No, I know people,” Stone said. And that was all he had to say.

“
That also includes Vanessa,” Foxx stated. “I have already told her not to come to the hospital or even call. Plus, I told her that if she moves out, she better not take anything she didn’t have when she first moved in.”

“
What about mom?” I asked.

“
She knows, but she is spending time with her Aunt Trudy in Jersey City,” Foxx replied. “As long as Reggie is breathing, she is happy.”

I looked at Reggie and he was relaxed. His blood pressure had gone back down to a respectable 104 over 75. Inside I was elated. Reggie, Stone and Foxx had given me a lot to think about. I felt bad for Damian. He was more on the spot than me. He was the head of the business until Reggie got out of the hospital. My task was to keep my temper in check and don’t let petty bitches like those bitches I work with and Vanessa get under my skin.

I was a control freak . . . and one day it might get the best of me.

New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson

Chapter 13 – Dealing With Ultimatums

The tension was thick inside of Reggie’s hospital room. In a way, I was still processing everything. He had four visitors in his ICU room and not one member of the hospital staff had came by to complain or run us out of there. I knew it was because of Stone. The man carried a lot of clout, but I never knew how much until now. However, the tension was getting to me. I wanted to get out of there, but I knew there were some things that needed to be discussed concerning Marco and his son Miguel, so I endured the heat.

“
How long ago did you talk to Marco?” I asked Reggie.

“
A few minutes before the police got here. Why?” Reggie asked in return as he repositioned his body in the bed.

“
When you spoke with Marco, did he tell you about the ultimatum he gave me concerning our business venture with him?” I asked.

“Of course not. He wouldn’t tell me something like that over the telephone? You know that's not how we handle our business. But we have a code setup, and he passed me the code to let me know his son Miguel would pay me a visit. Out of curiosity, what did he say?”

“
He said he wanted to bring more of his supply here to the North, so Miguel can expand their operation. But they won't be able to do it unless our connections transport it through our channels.”

“
How much is he talking?”

“
He wouldn't give me numbers. All he said was that whenever the load came through he would give me a certain percentage of the street value.”

“
And what percentage was that?” Reggie asked as he looked like he was grimacing in pain.

“
Five percent.”

“
He’s bullshitting you,” Reggie said as a smile formed on his face. “Did you tell him we had people we had to pay to get the shit through Customs?” “Of course I did. He knows how our whole operation works. And if you want my opinion, he's not concerned about the people who make this shit happen for us. At the end of the day, all he wants is for me to call and tell him that I will make it happen for him. And if I don't, he threatens to stop your supply.”

Reggie smiled again and as I looked around the room, everyone else had a smile on their face as well . . . everyone except Damian.

“
What’s the fucking joke because I don’t get it,” I spoke up and let my opinion be heard.

“
He was fucking with you Naomi,” Foxx stated. “He wanted to see what you were made of.”

“
Yeah, Marco ain’t stupid, Naomi,” Reggie said. “He knows how much money we have made his ass. And he knows those motherfuckers in South America can’t make him the kind of money that we can. Needless to say, he needs us and we need him. But that shit he pulled with you was a test to see what you were made of, to check out your reaction.”

“
Why would he do some shit like that?” I asked. I was pissed off now and wanted to kick Marco’s ass if that was possible.

“
Because your brother is in the hospital,” Stone chimed in. “And Marco needed to know that if Reggie was to die, would you be able to take over the operation. It was just a simple test to see if you had the balls to step up and take over.”

It was something I had never thought about—Reggie dying. Even with him being shot twice, the only time I was worried was in the waiting room. But after the doctor told us he was fine and he would recover, the thought of Reggie dying left my mind. And I definitely didn’t want to lose my brother, or even think about stepping up to the throne to run our operation.

“
When I was at Marco’s place, I was afraid he was going to kill me.” It seemed as if the words had just come out on their own. I said them and it was my mouth that moved, but where the words came from, I didn’t know. “He knew about you being shot and in the hospital, he knew about Lucky being killed and me being with him in the elevator, and he knew about the other two robberies that happened last night while you were here.”

“
Maybe Marco is behind all of this,” Damian said.

Reggie looked at Damian after his statement. The room was so quiet. In fact, it was so quiet it became weird. It was apparent that everyone went into deep thought after Damian’s comment.

“
Both of you,” Reggie said, his words directed at me and Damian. “Need to get a fucking grip. You do realize that if you weren’t my sister then we would probably be planning your funeral now? You don’t lie to a man like Marco . . . and both of you should know that. We’re trying to get this money so we can retire. And we can’t do it if everything is falling apart around us. Lying to that nigga Marco was the worst shit you could do. And Damian, you supposed to be my right hand so where in the hell are you getting shit like that from? Marco is the last motherfucker we need to be worrying about. He’s a businessman. And he’s only motivated when he’s making dough, so why don’t you get motivated and find out who is fucking with our shit! Because whoever it is, they know entirely too much and they’re interrupting our flow.”

“
How can we be sure?” Damian asked.

“
Because you, Reggie and Naomi would already be dead,” Stone volunteered. “All of you started this business and you thought you could fly under the radar forever. You thought you could stay small time . . . but as soon as you started doing business with Marco the tables turned y’all are in the big leagues. The stakes are high now. And everything Reggie has done has been right. From starting up the computer store to setting up operations inside the Polo Grounds and having accounts all over the world. They were all the right moves in my eyes.

Marco would be stupid not to take advantage of a set up like that. So, no, Marco is not your problem, Damian. Your problem is someone who wants what you guys have. And the possibilities are endless. But if it was me, I would scope out the competition. And I would also look deep inside my camp. You might find out there’s some unhappy cats amongst you who want to shut your operation down. And the quicker you realize who it is, the quicker you can eliminate them. Keep in mind that if they don’t succeed in one way, then they could very well make that phone call to the FEDS and you don’t need that.”

I had a new found respect for Stone. The whole time he was talking, I kept my eyes on Foxx and Reggie. He had their undivided attention. Reggie was soaking it all in. My dad had that glow of pride in his eyes. Stone was his best friend and probably closer to Foxx than his own three brothers.

But I felt bad for Damian. In a way, he was the fall guy for all the shit happening and none of it was his fault. The shit that happened while Damian chilled with me in the waiting room while Reggie was in surgery was my fault. If there was blame for our guys getting jacked, that blame should be on me. And hell, if Damian had been there, he could have gotten shot or killed as well. In my mind, Damian didn’t do shit wrong.

After Reggie gave me a few more instructions, I kissed Stone and Foxx and left the room. Damian stayed behind because Reggie wanted to speak with him. I knew Stone, Foxx and Reggie were going to chastise Damian and school him on priorities. Reggie being shot had changed the game entirely. I’m sure I wouldn’t be privy to the whole new game plan. What I did know was Reggie would have a bodyguard with him at all times, including at his penthouse.

New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson

Chapter 14 – Welcome to the Lion’s Den

I woke up in a cold sweat. It was a nightmare, a recurring theme lately. In my bad dream, everywhere I went, I saw Lucky with his blown off face. He was stalking me, chasing me like he wanted to tell me something or worse, take me with him. Then I would have these different thoughts of Reggie being gunned down in various locations and every time he was gunned down, I was there witnessing the whole thing.

It had been two days since I had seen Reggie at the hospital. We had talked over the phone during both of those days. He assured me all was well and he asked me on several occasions, was I sure I wanted to keep doing this. Without hesitation, I told him yes.

I also let him know that I was unhappy how he, Foxx and Stone ganged up on Damian. He laughed at me and that pissed me off. But that also let me know that Reggie was getting back to being Reggie. He told me that everything was more his fault than Damian. He had gotten complacent and comfortable. He had momentarily forgotten that his head had to always be on a swivel.

And he was right. He wasn’t the only one who had gotten complacent and comfortable. I think all of us had.

Today was the last day of my three days off. I wanted to do some shopping before I jumped into my housework. I was in a cleaning mood today. I wanted to do some of my domestic duties like dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and washing clothes. The past two days when I went out, Damian had escorted me. He had come directly to my place after he left the hospital a couple of days ago and took my keys from me. It was orders from Reggie. Something told me it was probably more orders from Foxx and Stone.

I told Damian I wanted to go shopping today and he assured me he would be over early, around nine this morning.

He was a man of his word. I thought I would surprise him today. I made his favorite breakfast: steak and eggs, pancakes and toast with strawberry jam. Cooking was a forte of mine when I chose to cook. And the best thing of all was Damian loved to eat.

When I thought about that, for some crazy reason I thought about Damian eating me. One day I wanted to find out if he really did eat pussy as well as others said he did. That was crazy on my part to think of Damian that way, but hell, the man was infatuated with me, and I had grown to like him in a funny way. I knew in another life, we would probably be great together. When he knocked on the door, I made sure I had purged those thoughts from my mind. I greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. I could tell by his facial expression he was surprised. I grabbed his hand and led him to the dining room table. Then I commenced to serving him breakfast. I loved the look on his face. As he ate, I sat across from him with my ham and cheese omelet and glass of orange juice.