Beyond the Hurt (17 page)

“Maybe that’s the plan. Are you worried about the seed of the man that left you to take care of another woman? You keep making these bad choices, Baby Doll,” he slid his hand out the window in an attempt to caress her face that she immediately blocked.

“That may be so, but I am glad that I didn’t have to put up with you.”

“But yet you called me here to take care of you. Now where are these men that have requested my presence?”

“I requested your presence.” Calvin recognized the familiar voice.

“Edmond Tucker, I’ve been waiting for you to pop up and show your face.” Calvin smiled. Intimidation was far from an emotion Calvin experienced.

“Well, here I am. And I believe you have something that is extremely valuable to me. You see, I understand my son has been working for you…that ends tonight.”

“Well Edmond, you know how business works. We must be talking money.” Calvin opened the passenger door and stepped out to speak face-to-face. He motioned to the driver to keep his seat with the engine running.

“We can talk money. How much to leave my son alone and get back to your business as usual?” Edmond moved in closer. The space between the men grew cold. The hostility from years of enmity lingered in the air.

“I don’t want to run your little pockets for too much, so let’s say $100,000. This keeps you, your son and my mouth shut when the Feds comes looking for who murdered Tony Watkins.”

Pow! Pow! POW!
The shots rang out in the night air.
Silence.
Everything lay still. No movement. This time he didn’t tremble or shake. His nerves were surprisingly calm. Everyone stood in shock as the blood rolled down his face from the micro-sized hole in his forehead.

Finally, Raquel gasped in terror at what she had just witnessed. Edmond turned to his son that had his gaze affixed on Calvin’s lifeless body.

“Is he dead?” He refused to lower the gun until his death was confirmed.

“He is dead, Son?” Edmond steadily made his way toward his son. It was no need to check. Samson had direct aim.

“Good. Now what exactly was
your
plan?”

Raquel did not know what to make of the scene. He had been a thorn in the flesh for so many people, yet her love for him remained.

Samson decided after he didn’t find a soul lurking in the salon that he would come back out to the vehicle. When he saw his father and Raquel and no one else in sight besides the driver, he thought it best to just follow the directions given and shoot what he saw moving. Not to mention, Calvin had given him his gun. It would look like suicide or worse, a set-up. Either way his prints were not on it and no longer a concern for his family. Samson shifted the gun in the direction of the driver.

“We can make this a double homicide. Just say the word.” Samson was in full control of the situation. The beast in him emerged as he locked eyes with the dedicated chauffeur. The driver fiercely shook his head and placed his arms high up in the air surrendering. “I suggest you get out of here before, the police think you did this. Think about it. The driver will be the ultimate suspect.” He hurried out of the car and ran into the night to flee from the scene.

Chapter 17

“Mama, I’m coming thru.” Lance hung up, closed the phone and tossed it in the passenger seat. He was so elated that Jamie Lynn actually kept her word and called him up after she got off work. They worked out a few of the kinks of their relationship and she agreed to have a nice intimate dinner with Lance and his mom. It would be more of a shock than surprise for Lydia, because she had not been aware of their relationship woes. She was oblivious to it all.

He pulled up to her single-family home located right outside of North Oakland in Berkeley, bumping Usher “Confessions.” He hopped out, opened the door for Jamie and they both made their way up to the porch.

“Is that my handsome baby coming through to see his mama?” Lydia barely waited for him to make it through the door before she started laying kisses all over his face. “Oh and he brought my favorite girl with him too! Come here, girl and give Mama some sugar too.”

“Hi Miss Lydia. As you can see I did what you told me to do.” Jamie stated matter-of-factly and blushed.

“I am so happy for you two. So tell me all about it. When is the wedding?” She squeezed Jamie’s cheek like she was a six-year-old little girl.

“Wow. Mama, slow down. We just met. Give me some time to get to know the girl.” Lance reminded.

“Boy, you don’t have time! This woman is the total package. You better wife her up before the next man does.” She turned and winked at Jamie, then gave her a nudge to back her up and let him know she was a hot commodity. Jamie Lynn cleared her throat to remind the two of them that she was still present in the room, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Well, I made dinner so you two just come on in the kitchen and fix your plates, so we can catch up.” She made her way back to the kitchen to prepare the table to eat. She put together a grand spread as only Miss Lydia could pull off. Jamie grabbed plates, forks and knives to assist in setting the table as she often did with her grandmother when it was time for dinner. “I ran into Raquel the other day at the Marriott and it looked as though she is still creeping around. It’s no wonder why Charles is reckless!”

“Mama!” Lance shouted. “You have no right to judge.” Miss Lydia could not resist sharing her gossip with her lack of friends; she spilled most of the tea to Lance.

“I may not have a right to judge, but that woman has slept with all the officials in Oakland. I know how Charles got out of that jail time, but I’m going to mind my business because I know that is yo’ friend and we have company. By the way…how is he doing?”

“He’s hanging in there. I met up with him at The Shadow Bar. He is laying low for a while.”

“The Shadow Bar? I heard about that boy Elijah on the news that was murdered there. They said he had been involved in some kind of gang war. I don’t want you going around that place anymore.”

“That’s a lie!” Lance slammed his fist down on the counter in the kitchen where he stood, startling them both with his outrage. “Mama, you know that was my boy.”

“Then he must have been doing something illegal if somebody wanted him dead. I tried to tell you about hanging around them thugs.”

“Mama, we are not going to have this conversation, right now. I don’t want to be disrespectful to you or your home, so please drop it!” She sensed that it was too soon to pry and dig deep into the situation. She glanced over to Jamie for confirmation, but she remained silent with her head facing down. As a mother, it was her duty to be concerned, but not at the expense of someone else, she opted to digressed.

“Ok, baby, I’ll let it go. I just don’t want to see anything like that happen to you.” Lance allowed the moment to pass to keep from getting worked up all over again. He was grateful, in a better place mentally; especially since Jamie decided to give him another chance. He promised himself to make every attempt to keep it right.

Just as they were seated ready to bless the food; like clockwork, there was a loud banging against the door.

“Mama, are you expecting someone?” Lance blurted out in frustration tossing his utensils down on the table.

“Now you know that you are the only person who stops by here.” Lydia sat still in her seat. She was convinced that the knocking guest was not for her. “Unless you have a surprise date for me?”

“Lance, open up! We need to talk.”

“Boy, you need to get a handle on these little girls. I can’t keep having them stopping by my house causing trouble.” Lydia pulled her plate in closer to her and indulged. She refused to allow one of Lance’s girl-toys to disturb yet another meal. “I’m going to eat and you need to get the door.”

“I don’t even know who that is, Mama.” He refused to even look in Jamie’s direction. He knew that this was not the way to get back into her good graces.

Jamie quickly hopped up dodging his attempt to grab her and ran over to the door. She was so amped up about the stranger behind the door; she didn’t take the time to check to see who it was. Lance and his mother were so comfortable discussing personal matters in her presence, she felt right at home. Secretly, she was hoping it was Darnise to confront her face-to-face.

“What do you want?” Jamie demanded to the knocking guest.

“I want to speak with Lance. I don’t want any trouble with you; I’m here to set things straight with him.” The young lady looked Jamie up and down holding her belly and composure.

“Lance, your baby mama is at the door. I think you may want to handle this one on your own,” she rolled her eyes clear to the back of her skull and released the door to Lance.

He took in a deep breath and gathered himself up from the table to face her. It had been a never-ending cycle and things were well out of his control, why should they stop now he pondered to himself. He moved Jamie to the side and whispered for her to go back to the kitchen, so he could handle it. He gently kissed her cheek to show Tanisha that he had moved on and if she came to try to get him back in any way, she didn’t have a chance. It didn’t hurt to get some cool points with Jamie either.

“So what’s up?” Lance leaned up against the edge of the door, propping up his back and folded his arms.

“A lot has happened since I was here last. I found out that the baby is not yours. I actually don’t know who the father is.” A sign of relief crossed Lance’s face allowing him to breathe easy. The weight of despair lifted from his shoulders and he actually listened to the remainder of what she had to say. “I didn’t mean for my brother to get involved, but I had no other choice but to tell him you raped me. You put your hands on me and I was upset.” Her voice went up a few octaves and tears welled in her eyes. “Because of this mess, I lost my brother, my only brother. I know you had nothing to do with it, but I just wanted to come to you and let you know that I am sorry.” She shielded her face in shame, sobbing uncontrollably. Lance only watched, unsure of how to react. He wanted to console her, but that could easily send the wrong message. He didn’t want to just shut the door on her, because believe it or not, he cared about her feelings.  “Darnise came to me and convinced me that I should file charges against you, to teach you a lesson. I feel terrible about everything and I just want to right my wrongs before I give birth to my child. I hope you can forgive me.” She gradually turned and walked away without waiting for his response.

“Tanisha!” Lance called after her. She paused and turned to hear him, “It’s all good. Take care of yourself.  Let me know if you need anything. I know what you are going through and I wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone.”

He gently closed the door. Surprisingly, it was a hard pill for him to swallow. He considered the idea of being a father. It was not in his best interest to have a baby by a woman he didn’t love, but his mother was right. If it was, in fact, his child, he would have stepped up to do his part.

“Baby, let’s just thank God that it is not your child and that when the time is right, you will build your family.” Lydia pressed her hand against his back, turned and winked at Jamie Lynn. “I just heard a mouthful. You have a lot of explaining to do! Now I don’t want to have to go after Darnise and put hands on her, but I will, and I don’t mean holy hands. You know Mama will do that.”

“How about you call her up and have her to come over here. I think I want to share some words with her, loving, kind words.” Jamie suggested, standing with her hand on her hip, motivated by his mother’s intentions. “Call her up.” She pointed to the cell on his hip.

Lance was reluctant to dial that number because he only imagined how it could all end.  However, the idea of his new woman checking his ex was every man’s fantasy. He proceeded to call her up. She answered and agreed to come over and talk.

As soon as Darnise pulled up, she shouted out the window for Jamie to come outside and face her like a woman. Jamie tried her best to keep her composure, but she did bring it upon herself. In her mind, she would come over, they would sit down like ladies and explain how Lance has moved on, and her services would no longer be needed in their lives. Yet, the devil had full control over her and she couldn’t resist him.

Jamie Lynn darted out the house toward her vehicle. She flung open her door and yanked Darnise out by her freshly braided box braids, unbothered by her oversized cousin who sat next to her in the passenger seat. Darnise attempted to swing back in her direction and block her from getting a good grip, but she was ill prepared for the ambush. With all her might, Jamie maneuvered her body out of the car and dragged her into the grass of Miss Lydia’s front yard. Jamie didn’t really have a plan of attack and didn’t intend on fighting the girl, but her rage was unpredictable. She kicked and punched missing more than she landed, as Darnise blocked her every attempt. “Get this ho’ off of me,” she screamed.

Her cousin scrambled around from the passenger side to the opposite side of the car to grab Jamie off of her. She locked her thick arm around her neck from behind and pulled her body weight down to free Darnise from her grip.

Lance allowed a few more landed blows before deciding to intervene. He needed to see how well Jamie could hold her own. The neighbors heard the squeals and yelling from the three women tussling outside of their homes and positioned themselves on the porch for a front row seat to the action. The community was very familiar with Darnise and her drama. Many of them awaited the day that Lance would put on his big boy pants and let her go. For that reason, they delighted in the sudden showdown and thought it best to let them fight without the confusion and interference of law enforcement as long as it remained a bloodless battle.

“Okay, Okay, Okay. That’s enough.” Lance who kept his distance on the steps finally pulled Jamie from atop of her advising her to get into the house. Darnise’s cousin proved to be of little help. After her chokehold move, her air passage closed on her and she was left, wheezing off to the side of the yard, fighting for her next breath.

Lance glanced over Jamie’s body amazed how she kept herself together. Her clothes were a bit tattered from the tussle; however, she didn’t have a scratch on her. Lance smiled inside. He was thoroughly impressed with her fighting skills. Shockingly, the sweet soul before him had hands. The feisty demeanor he witnessed before was out. He was clear of the reason he had been so attracted to her.

“So this is what we do now? You set me up?” She slowly unwrapped herself from the fetal position. She placed her hands down as an anchor to regain her normal breathing pattern, wiping off sweat and a little blood from her lip resulting from her initial impact with the ground. She searched around for her partner in crime, who sat on the edge of the lawn gasping for air. She dusted the dirt from her jeans and blouse and continued her rant, “You get stank hoes to do your dirty work?”             

“You got it all wrong, Baby. You set yourself up when you tried to get me locked up. I was down for you and I thought you had my back.” Lance kept his distance, in case the rest of the “Zoo Crew” was standing by, waiting to attack. All she had to do was give the birdcall and they would come running.  He did not desire to put his hands on her or he might injure her for real.

“Lance, I had your back, even when you had every chick in the city in and out of your bedroom. So yes, you are damn right. I set you up. I couldn’t kill yo’ ass, so I tried the next best thing.”