Dope Boys and the Women that Love 'Em (10 page)

Chloe sat
down on the edge of the bed and immediately picked up her phone to make a call. It was only one person at that point who she knew would console her. No sooner than the phone could get out a full ring a pleasantly sweet voice answered on the other end.

“Hey honey.”

“Hi mom,” Chloe responded then sighed in the phone like she was upset.

“What’s wrong honey? Is it Lance?” She immediately asked already knowing that they’d been having problems in their relationship from Chloe telling her everything.

“
I just don’t know what to do. I’m trying to stick by my man but it’s difficult at this point.”

“Honey the man hasn’t been selling drugs but a few weeks and it’s already stressing you out. How do you think it’s going to be another month from now, let alone six months from now?”

“Mom I know where you’re coming from because this is nothing that I’ve not already thought about.” She said lying back on her pillow with her lips poked out. “I don’t want to leave him if that’s what you’re suggesting. I just want him to notice me again. It’s like he’s been so busy running the streets that he pays me no attention. The other night I put on some really sexy lingerie, cooked dinner, and ran his bath water but he didn’t come home until almost three in the morning.”

“Did he know that you were doing all of that
for him?” Her mom asked.

“He knew that I had cooked him dinner
, but I was going to surprise him with everything else.”

“Well, what happened?”

“All I know is that we’d spoke about spending quality time together and he was thrilled about it but he hadn’t showed by the time I was done cooking. So I called him and he said that something had come up and to put his food in the microwave,” she sadly reported. “He was very apologetic about it but nevertheless he didn’t come in till almost three in the morning.”

“Did he say what he was doing?” Her mom nosily asked.

“He had to cook a lil some some himself, if you know what I mean, and since he can’t do that here anymore then he had no choice but to do it somewhere else. He said that it was for his brother; something that he needed at the last minute.”

Her mother didn’t like where this was going and was getting fed up with her daughter being so naïve and madly in love with a man that was no good for her.

“You know this pisses me off right? I don’t understand why his brother couldn’t do it himself?”

“Mom, I don’t know and I don’t want to get into all of that. I just want things back the way they used to be.”

“I don’t see what was so good about things being the way they used to be.” She interjected. “The man will not get himself a decent job for the life of him. He thinks that making quick money is the way to live, but all that has ever done, since I’ve known him, is kept his ass in jail. I mean, I don’t know how you do it.”

“And I don’t know why I even called you.
” She irritably stated. “I should’ve known that all you were going to do is bash what we have together.”

“Sweetie, I’m not bashing your relationship. I just want to see you do better. Get with a man who truly wants to be there with you. Not someone who can go right back to the chain gang at any given time,” she pleaded to her daughter.

“Mom, we’ll talk later.” Chloe said then immediately hung up the phone. She was done with trying to be nice even to her mom. It was time that she took her life in her own hands. Fuck feeling sorry for herself or letting her love for her man dictate her next move. She was now out for self and getting out of the house for the night was going to be her first way of proving it.

“If Lance can’t see that he’s destroying what we have by doing things his way then I’ll just start doing things my way. If I can’t beat him, I’ll join him.” She said walking into her closest and pulling out the sexiest mini dress
that she could find. “Guess I’ll be going out to party tonight.”

__________

Malcolm lay across his bed in total disbelief that he was going to have end things with Diamond. Amara had confirmed it the day before
on his routine trip to her house that it had to be done in order to keep business running smoothly. Now what that had to do with his relationship with Diamond was completely baffling. He didn’t know if it was because she was now getting jealous that he had completely moved on or if it was more. The only thing he did know was that it was in his best interest to break away or things could take a turn for the worst if he didn’t comply with the rules.

He sighed only having a
month to break things off and he didn’t have a clue as to what he would do to make that happen. He and Diamond had been friends first then lovers for three years. How could he be so cold hearted and turn her away? He was all she had and he’d taken the proper steps to insure that she and her daughter were taken care of. He’d even fallen in love with the feeling of having a daughter. It hurt him deeply to have to let go of what they shared but he didn’t see a way around it. From his understanding this decision was coming from higher up, at least that’s what Amara informed him.

“Hey baby,” Diamond spoke as she entered the bedroom.

“Hey love,” Malcolm spoke back. The sweet sound of her voice only made his decision even harder to leave her. “That trip was quick. I didn’t hear you come in.” He said.

“Yeah, I just dropped Amber off and came on back home.”

“How’s your mom?” He asked leaning up on the pillow to look at her.

“She’s good,” she said not really wanting to talk about her visit
with her mom. She went inside her draw and pulled out a Victoria Secret’s satin lace, cream colored baby doll slip to wear to bed. It was only ten o’clock which was an early night for her, but all she wanted to do was cuddle up beside her man.

Malcolm could sense her frustrations as he watche
d her undress then put her satin nightwear on. When she realized that he was just laying there watching her she smiled at him. Just the thought of having him in her life made everything wrong, feel right. She crawled up in the big king sized bed next to him.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Yeah,” she softly said, but he could tell that she wasn’t.

“Are you still mad with your mom?”

Diamond sighed. “I just don’t wanna talk to her right now. If she refuses to tell me anything about my father then I refuse to speak with her. She’s lucky that you were the one that encouraged me to take Amber over there to spend the night. Otherwise, she’d be home with us tonight.” Malcolm knew that talking about the estranged relationship between Diamond and her mom was a touchy subject but he always tried his best to be her voice of reason.

“Look, your mom just wants to make amends. She’s been trying for quite some time to build a relationship with you.
You have to quit being so stubborn and just let her in. See what she’s talking about,” he said.

“That’s easier said than done, babe.
I first met you while working at
Shake a Tail Feathers
as Bella the exotic dancer.” She said thinking back at the four years she worked as a stripper to help keep a roof over her head. “Who encourages their daughter to work at a strip club at the age of fifteen to help her pay bills? I didn’t care if she was working there or not; that still wasn’t a place for her teenage daughter to work at.

“I know babe,” he said trying to console her.

“As usual all my mama saw was money being made while she worked the bar and since I was young and pretty what better way than to really bring in the cake. She knew that men would be all over me and therefore would also shower me with their money.” She shook her head as the thought of it all sickened her. “She basically informed me that I was grown at fifteen and grown people had to pay where they lay. Like who says that to their underage daughter? You guessed it, my mama,” she said as if Malcolm had responded to her question.

“Baby, don’t do this to yourself. You have come a long way since then.”

“I know and I’ve done all I can to get over that, but I can’t for wanting to know who my father is. My mama won’t tell me anything. I don’t know if he found out that she was pregnant and left her hanging or if he even knew that I existed. She won’t tell me anything, but I just wanna know.”

“What would it matter
for you to find out who this man is? You’re grown now babe, maybe its better off that you don’t know him. For all you know he could even be dead by now.” He said hoping to ease her thoughts but that only intensified them.

“Or he’s probably some married man with a house full of children that were and still are
being well taken care of. That would be a typical move for my mama.” She sadly spoke. “I just want to meet him whether he knew about me or not. I need to fill in some of the missing pieces of my life. For some reason a part of me feel lost and abandoned. I can’t put my finger on it but I just gotta know.”

“I understand where you’re coming from with this babe. My father wasn’t around either but my mother and my aunt did their part and took care of me the best they could. Honestly, I never cared to meet the man who didn’t want to be a part of my life and I just think that you should leave well enough alone. Sometimes people don’t want to be found.”

“You’re right,” she sighed. “Thanks.”

“Why are you thanking me?”

“For being there for me and Amber,” she said. “Amber’s father never cared to know her. He made that clear from the moment I told him that I was pregnant. I always thought that she would grow up without a father just like me, but you came along and accepted her with open arms. If anything ever happened to us would you promise me that no matter what you’ll always be here for her?”

Malcolm cleared his throat trying to cover the crackle in his voice. Just having this talk with her made him sick to his stomach because he knew what he had to do.

“I promise,” he said and he would. Even if he had to sneak her money by mail then he would always make sure that they were taken care of. “I want you to promise me something too.”

She turned to face him as they stared in each other’s eyes. “What’s that?”

“No matter what happens with us I want you to promise me that you’ll always hold your head high and keep pushing forward. Never let people make you feel bad about yourself. You are not the same woman I met at the strip club. You’ve grown and you’re a great mother. I respect you for that.” He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.

“You act like you’re leaving me,” she teased with a grin.

“I’m not saying that,” he mustered up a smile. “I just want you to know that no matter what, you’ll always be alright and I’ll always be here.”

“Thanks baby,” she said
curling up next to him so he could wrap his arm around her waist. “I’m sleepy. I just want you to hold me.” Malcolm was more than happy to hold her because he didn’t know how many more nights they would have together like this. He softly kissed the back of her head and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to think about Amara and her demands or anything negative for once. All he wanted to do was make this night one that he would always remember.

Amara woke up feeling lonely and sad. The life she’d made for herself wasn’t at all one that she had truly dreamed of. She wanted a husband and her son to be around full time, but that wasn’t happening. She’d made a deal with the devil an
d there was no turning back on that. There was no way around it. Thinking about Malcolm and their previous conversation of him having to end things with Diamond hurt her to the core, but she had to put on a straight face and stick to what she’d said. It wasn’t a choice of hers because she’d already hurt him enough, but one that came from Dom, her father.

She got out of bed determined to see if she could change her father’s mind.
She couldn’t shake the thought of the way Malcolm looked at her before he left. He was very upset and promised that no matter how long they worked together he would never have a kind thought about her again. What they shared would be strictly business, nothing more or less and she hated being the one that made him feel that way.

After she’d thrown on her light green silk robe she slid on
the light green matching pair of Maribou feather kitten bedroom slippers. She headed out of her bedroom and down the long hallway then stopped at a door that had a security pad on the outside of it. She pressed in her code and the door unlocked then she walked down a short flight of stairs to another door where she knocked.

“Come in Amara,” a deep voice answered. Amara opened the door and stepped inside the brightly lit room. The vertical blinds were pushed back allowing the sun to beam in through the patio doors giving her even more clarity as to why she was there.

“Hey Dmitri,” she spoke walking over and giving the handsome Lance Gross look-a-like a peck on the cheek. He sat on the recliner chair looking at
Temptation
by
Tyler Perry
like he was a normal guy, but he was far from that.

“What’s up ladybug,” Dmitri spoke back with a smile on his face.
It was always something about Amara that he admired, but he never did pursue her because of their circumstances.

“Where’s my father?”

“He’s inside his suite. The house maid just served him breakfast
so he’s up.” He stated.

“Can you tell him that I’d like to speak to him?” Just because Dom was her father didn’t mean that she got any special treatments. She was in fact his only child, but he treated her like an employee and Dmitri more like a son. It was something she always despised but it wasn’t a day that went by that she wasn’t trying to live up to his standards and make him proud of her.

“Sure,” Dmitri said getting up from the recliner that he was so comfortably relaxed in. He walked over to a set of closed double doors that were inside the spacious room that they were in and knocked on it. “Amara wants to speak with you.” He called out then seconds later a heavy firm, but subtle voice responded.

“Let her in.”

Dmitri looked over at Amara as she stared at his mocha chocolate, muscular physic. He was a fine brother with a charming smile and always wore Versace this, Versace that. She was thinking to herself that if she wasn’t so caught up with Malcolm she wouldn’t mind giving Dmitri a chance. Even though Dom would never go for it, they could still possibly get around some of his rules. She was horny as hell and hadn’t had sex in years. Her toys just weren’t scratching the enormous itch she had for some real dick, but Dmitri could.

“Amara,” Dmitri called out snapping her back to reality.
“Your father said to come in.”

“Oh,” she said with a shy grin. “Thanks.” She walked past him as he gazed at her curvy hips under her robe. For once it stopped at her knees, but he’d spotted her in skimpier attire before. His thoughts wanted to bang her good and show her what she’d been missing but he was scared to make a move thinki
ng that her father would without a doubt find out and he didn’t want to get on Dom’s bad side, nobody did.

Amara walked through the double doors and found her father sitting at a
medium sized dining table still eating his breakfast. She closed the doors behind her then made her way over to him.

“Come, sit down my love.” He said pointing to the chair right across from him. Amara pulled the chair out and sat down. For it to be only one person
eating, the table was full of everything that breakfast had to offer like pancakes, eggs, bacon, grits, sausages, ham, and buttermilk biscuits. It was certainly fit for a king and he was indeed the king of that castle. “Eat up,” he insisted.

Amara wasn’t really hungry but if Dom asked her to eat then she was surely going to eat if not much, something. She grabbed a plate and put a few slices of bacon on it and some scrambled eggs then reached over and grabbed a buttermilk biscuit.

Dom smiled at her. “So what brings you into my chambers this morning?” Amara poured a little of the orange juice in her cup. She really wanted to stall a little because she didn’t know how to speak with her father about backing off of Malcolm and allowing him to stay with Diamond. She cleared her throat then drank a little bit of the juice. She looked over at Dom. He was still a very handsome man with a low waved haircut and a matching gray goatee mixed with just a little shade of black, which showed off his wise age of fifty-two. His medium cut slanted eyes always stared a person directly in the face which at times made her extremely tense.

“Father, I wanted to speak with you about Malcolm.” She nervously said then broke off a piece of her biscuit and ate it.
Dom stopped eating for a second to look across the table at his daughter.

“Okay speak,” he said, his deep voice sounding like Dennis Hay
sbert. Anytime she heard it she thought about the All State Insurance commercial which was something she used to tease him about. Now things had gotten so intense over the years that there wasn’t much joking or teasing between the two; mostly only business.

“Father,” she nervously cleared her throat again. “Uh, I think that it would be better business for me to be able to have a decent relationship with my employees.”

“You mean Malcolm?” Dom asked, sipping on the hot coffee from the mug in his hand.

“Yes, Malcolm,” she confirmed
with a sincere look in her eyes. “He is not only one of my employees but he’s also the loving father to my son. I just want him to be happy since we can’t be together.”

“Amara, this is business,” he said. “You already knew that if Malcolm broke the rules then he would have to pay the price. Did you think that just taking away five kilo’s from him
for a few three weeks was enough punishment?”

“Actually I did,” she said.

“Well, you’re more diluted with false reality than I thought.” He said disappointedly shaking his head.

“I just don’t see where making him break up with Diamond is benefiting anything.” Dom sat his coffee mug on the table and pushed his plate away from him.

“Malcolm betrayed us by seeing someone on the outside without consulting with you first. Had we not been the ones intercepting that transaction then he would’ve had another connect behind our backs. I’ve worked too hard to allow sneakiness to go unnoticed in my squad.”

“But father, this is really hurting him.”

“This was only temporary anyway Amara or have you forgotten? Malcolm was set up to
enter that strip club and find someone of his choosing to help her get up on her feet. In return, he knew that this was only being done to hopefully help him get over you for the most part. I figured with a new woman in his life that the transition would be easy. I honestly didn’t think that he’d fall in love with her and move her in.”

“Father you allowed him to stay with her for three years. What did you expect to happen?”

“It doesn’t matter what I expected, he wasn’t loyal and now he has to pay for it.”

“Do you not care about my re
lationship with him? He is—”

“Y
our son’s baby daddy,” Dom spoke with ill feelings. “And the father to my grandson, I already know this.”

“I just think that it’s important for us to stay cordial.” She pleaded. “And if I
keep giving him these ultimatums and orders then he’s going to eventually hate me if he doesn’t already,” she said with tears in her eyes.

“What I tell you about that?” He asked. “Dry your tears. You are never to fall weak at any point in this game.” The sound of his voice roared when he said that which caused her to quickly wipe her eyes dry. “I gave you a
choice back when you were eight years old, when your mom and I had gone our separate ways, to come with me. Even at eight years of age, you knew that if you stayed with her you wouldn’t live a life as lavish as this, so you came with me and here we are years later. We’ve built a nice empire for ourselves with loyal employees, well most of them,” he sarcastically stated.

“I know,” she whispered, but she felt bad that she’d sold her soul to the devil just to live in a huge mansion and wear the nicest of name brand clothes while driving the hottest whips around town.

“I chose the guys for you to recruit. You chose Malcolm on your own then when I asked you to break things off with him because he’d fucked up by selling to an undercover informant you then told me that you were pregnant by him. That is the only reason he’s not eight feet under like his traitor friend is.” He said confirming that he’d put out a hit on Malcolm’s ex-buddy to get rid of any harmful evidence that could come back to haunt him.

“I know that Malcolm isn’t perfect, but he’s a good guy. He takes care of Marco, spending more time with him than I do. Don’t you know that I wish I could be in his life full time but being who I am you won’t allow me too? I don’t have a life here except for work and keeping my ears and eyes close to the streets to keep my boys safe.
I take care of my dope boys better than I do my own son. I someday want to be in a happy relationship with someone and be able to take my son to a public park and play, but it’s not safe for me to do that just because of the work I do. No one knows that I even have a son except for you and mom. Dmitri doesn’t even know and he’s your right hand man. I’ve kept my personal life as private as possible because you asked me too. Now, just once, would you please just consider this one favor and let Malcolm stay with Diamond? Think about her daughter.”

“No,” Dom quickly stated without a care in the world.

“Give him ten trips of getting five bricks instead. He can pay for his mistake that way,” she said knowing Malcolm on a more personal level than Dom. She knew that he was sorry, but Dom wasn’t having it.

“No,” he firmly stated
again then looked away at his cell phone as it vibrated an incoming call. “This conversation is over.” That was his way of telling her that it was now time to leave. Amara got up from her seat and quietly exited the room. She was beyond hurt that her father could be so mean and cold, but there was nothing that she could do.

Once she was out of sight he answered the phone. “Hello,” he s
aid. “Didn’t I tell you to never call me for anything?” He angrily stated then listened for a moment. “For the second time, we have nothing to discuss and if you call this number again you’ll be sorry.” He then ended the call and sat quietly for a moment.

“Dmitri,” he called out. Seconds later Dmitri walked inside the suite.

“Yes sir.”

“I need you to stay close to your friend today
and see where his head is at.”

“That’s no problem sir. Is everything good with him?” Dmitri asked, even though he didn’t have a problem with it. Plus, h
e could never say no to a man that took him in after he’d lost his father to a senseless murder and his mother to an overdose of drugs. If nothing else he was loyal to Dom and would always be no matter what.

“
Yeah, everything is good. I just need you to see what he’s talking about. Find out if he’s been doing anything shady.”

“He’s a pretty stand up guy,” Dmitri said. “But if you need me to see what he’s been doing lately then I will.
”

“Good, and tell Ronnie that I’ll need him on standby later tonight. I need him to do a job for me.”
He said feeling like his past was trying to come to light and he wasn’t about to let that happen. He was a very powerful man who had done many things to be in that position. Most of the things weren’t nice or remotely sweet, but those things had to be done in order to secure his place on the throne; a seat that he planned on sitting for many more years to come.

“
You need him tonight?” Dmitri curiously asked.

“
I don’t think it’s in my best interest to wait any longer. I need this matter taken care of ASAP.”

“Okay,” Dmitri said
already knowing that it was surely going down if Ronnie was involved. Ronnie was his right hand man and best friend. He was a straight shooter, literally, and had a few dead bodies on his hands already. He didn’t play at all and joked very little. Only Dmitri could make him laugh and that only lasted for a few seconds at best. He was cold hearted and ruthless and always carried a gun. If there was a hit man out there that could get the job done, it would be him.

“Just make sure that you
find out any information you can on your boy today and I will call you later to confirm everything.”