Nine Lives: For the Love of Money (4 page)

Chapter 4

After being operated on, with Dorah still in my belly, I was placed on the labor and delivery ward for about a week or so for observation. Upon release I was given a referral for physical therapy twice a week.

Shit, I didn’t even want to go. The copay alone was forty dollars a visit and now since not having a car, I’d have to cab it everywhere because I wasn’t about to get on a bus, it was going to drain my pockets.

As a result, I was beyond stressed. There wasn't any way, with
The Overseers
on our asses and a mistrust of Infinity, were we able to promote parties. This meant my savings would be gone in a matter of months. Boogie, who was sort of in agreement, really didn’t want to put his dreams on hold. We came to the conclusion to hold just a few more parties in an attempt to get our pockets right.

I was surprised at first that Boogie wanted to risk our well-being. He was the type who always thought outside the box with a touch of paranoia. I tried to drill into his head if they could send a woman to try and kill me in broad daylight, they were capable of doing anything so why wouldn’t they shoot up a club with a few people in it. Just when I thought I was getting through to him he said, “Listen, you may not want to hear this but we need a couple of parties. I have something lined up with a local rap group ‘Automatic Recoil,’ they are dope sis and looking for a female artist. I thought about you getting on with them once this all blow over. In the meantime, they want us to promote their listening party. It would be the after hour theme of course. They are their own record label but they have to hobnob with a few white boys. They don’t want to turn them off too much so they are toning down their main party but our event is a no holds’ barred, anything goes type of event. The name and date is to be announced. I gave ourselves a new name for our promotional group so it won’t be easily traceable to us. It will be the DBD Promotional Services Group. We are also going to switch up the clubs every party we promote, meaning different groups in need of our promoting services will be held at different venues. No more same place, same time type of shit. You feel me sis.”

My heart dropped. Boogie seemed like he was planning long term. With the way this was going, we’d never be completely safe. I didn’t know what to do. My brother was my world but I was pregnant. However, no matter how he treated me in the past, I was going to ride it out some for him.

“Boogie, listen bro. I’m going to always have your back. That’s one thing for sure and twenty things for certain. But your little sis is pregnant. I need to ensure the safety of all the family. That mean you, momma and now my little one. I’m also on strict orders from the doctor to remain on bedrest,” I stated when I heard him sigh deeply. I felt like I was betraying him.

I couldn’t have that so I came up with a quick compromise.

“Here’s what I’m going to do though. I’m going to help with three more parties then be done with it. I will only take half of the profit you usually give me, just because I need to move. I love you bro. I hope you get out before
The Overseers
try to get you too.”

“I’m a big boy, I need to make these moves. Everything I do is for us too, sis. Don’t worry. It’ll be okay. I’ll just make sure the bouncers hold them things when we are at our venues,” he told me meaning every word.

I hung up thinking to myself, "I need a gun for my protection. Being attacked in broad daylight got me fucked up. Shit and getting shot was just as expensive.”

Speaking of expensive, I needed to formulate a way to move myself to a more secure place but didn't see it in my budget. There wasn’t any way I could bring myself to live where my former assailant had to know the address since they were aware of everything else.

Although, I never really asked my child's father for anything before I was pregnant; I was going to have to ask him for at least three thousand now. That is providing I wanted to move to an area where no one was sure to recognize me. I thought of Park Slope, Sheepshead Bay but the obvious and smartest thing for me to do would be to move out of the only boro I’d ever loved. Memories of Persia came flooding to my mind so I knew Queens was out of the question. Should I need to make a fast getaway, Staten Island and a ferry boat could never measure up. I still had beef in Manhattan from when I smacked Creshawn ex girl. Her crew rolled deep so I doubted I should stroll through her stomping grounds during this heated time.

I made up my mind. I would move to Riverdale in the Bronx. It was the only logical answer to this problem.

All I needed was the funding; in addition to my savings I should fare fine.

Once again I felt totally uncomfortable asking Infinity. I felt by doing so gave him a certain power over me. We all know I yielded to no one. Yet my common sense won over my pride. This was not only for my well-being but the safety of my baby as well.

Although Infinity was pretty cheap and petty, I was hoping for the safety of our unborn baby, he'd find the decency to help me out of this jam I was in. Part of a jam I believed he brought on me and Boogie.

I swallowed my pride and set up a meeting with Infinity. Things didn't go exactly as I planned, well not at first. Needless to say I wound up staying in my present apartment.

It hurt me to my core, my own child’s father found the idea of helping us repulsive because I wouldn’t have sex with him. Then shit hit the fan once more while chilling with him. The black assassin as I nicknamed her caught up to me while I was having another meeting with Infinity trying to talk some sense into him. I needed his help and he just couldn’t see it until the bullets from the nozzle of the Silencerco Osprey whizzed past his ear. 

Spotting my assailant caused my stomach to lurch and my heart to drop then race. I was pregnant but the black assassin just wouldn’t give up. She dropped to one knee as if she was in military formation, set her aim on Infinity and squeezed the trigger again. He fell backwards in his chair hitting the ground with a thud. I heard a loud gasp then silence.

“Jackpot,” the black assassin said then stood up saying, “Lil bit it’s not your turn yet but it soon come.”

The accent took me by surprise, I didn’t figure her for a Jamaican. Maybe that’s why she wore the faux locks to begin with.

The bisexual chick in me was intrigued by her then remembered she was out to get me.

Stuck on stupid for a brief minute, I forgot all about Infinity until I heard him asking, “Is she gone yet?”

“Yes scared one. She’s gone,” I told him

Secretly I wanted to laugh at him but didn’t have the heart. I know how it felt to be scared, especially by this beauty. I had no idea how to make her stop chasing me. It seemed she was playing cat and mouse with me by going after those I had a deep connection with.

Infinity took a deep breath then began to speak as he stood up and wiped the dirt off of his tie dyed loose fitting jeans.

“There’s no easy way to tell you this Devine but as you know you done pissed some people off. Now you really can’t tell your brother but I need to prepare you for the worst since you are actually carrying my seed.
The Overseers
seemed to have a beef with Boogie and his best friend,” he began.

“Best friend? You mean Trevor?” I asked cutting in.

Infinity rolled his eyes then started sounding real jealous.

“Oh Trevor,” he said imitating me using a very high pitched female voice.

“Huh?” I asked him then proceeded to stand up.

“Listen while you may want to run down the history of what’s going on and I do appreciate it, I think we should get the hell out of dodge before the black assassin comes back. You can tell me on the way to safety and I don’t mean my current apartment. I also hope you have some cash on hand because I don’t think we should leave a paper trail behind for them to follow us by.”

“Damn, Lil Bit, you are right. Let’s get out of here,” he said.

“Aren’t I always right?” I asked with a slight chuckle. Infinity rolled his eyes at me and grabbed me by the arm holding on tightly to me as if he thought I would fall.

“Okay, maybe I’m not always right but majority of the time I am. Now back to the reason why
The Overseers
are after my brother,” I pried.

“Well Boogie and Trevor stole one of their shipments.”

“Wait, shipment of what? Party supplies, d.j. equipment, plastic cups?” I asked fearing I’d hear the worst.

“Real funny. Do you think they’re that petty to kill someone over a five-dollar shipment? Now a fifty-thousand-dollar shipment of marijuana and heroin is more like it. Speaking of which, this chick you call the black assassin is a new girl. I don’t know too much about her but judging by her aim, you may have a chance to outsmart her. The one thing though, I can’t figure out, is why is she out to get me as well,” he stated bewildered.

“I don’t know Infinity. It could have something to do with the fact you are or were rather, working for Boogie plus the fact I’m having your child. Don’t you think that may not sit well with them? Anyway, back to Boogie and Trevor and this theft they were supposed to have committed; are you sure? I mean Boogie swore he didn’t know what was up with
The Overseers
trying to harm us. I also know Boogie swore he’d stay away from selling drugs. He tried to make the best out of the party promoting business,” I said just as confused as Infinity looked at the moment.

“I know you’re Boogie’s sister but how well do you really know your brother?” he asked me.

Immediately I became offended and defensive by his line of questioning. I let it be known under no certain circumstances would I go against the grain by turning on my brother.

“Look, I don’t have to know everything about my brother. I trust in my brother enough he’d tell me the truth. Seeing as we’d been through enough with our parents and drugs, I trust him enough to NOT touch the stuff,” I damn near hollered, “Now this part of the conversation is over. Understand?” I said sounding more like a mother who chastises her young child than a woman who was having a baby from a man.

Infinity turned to me and grabbed me by the shoulders, “Woman, don’t you listen to anyone? Don’t you know everyone has secrets they don’t want exposed or are you that naïve? Listen to me, I’ll drop the subject but you need to realize that there’s something going on bigger than party promoting. Something you are entirely not aware of. Now do YOU understand?” he said with emphasis on every word stated.

“Well Infinity, we can argue all day, every day, about MY brother. You may be right but I don’t think so. While we stand here and argue the assassin could be watching and planning so while we BOTH don’t know everything, you and I do know neither one of us can go home,” I reminded him.

As he opened his mouth, I tried to get my point across without sounding too much of a pussy, after the few attempts on my life, I’m not that brave and I want to bring a healthy, happy baby into this world.

“Now, since this happened, do you see why I had to ask you for assistance to move?” I asked him bringing the conversation back to the most important part of our reality.

“Yea, I see now. Shit. Let me think. Where can you go? Do you want to go to the south, Midwest, hell the islands?” he fired each question simultaneously barely taking a or giving me a chance to answer between each statement.

Shocking him I timidly replied, “I want to go to the Bronx. Riverdale to be exact.”

“Hold on one minute, I may not be too involved in this pregnancy but this is my first child as well. I do want this baby to be born healthy with loving parents, the same as you want. After today, I see
The Overseers
aren’t going to stop until you are dead and gone. I mean why aren’t they going after Boogie? That is another question in my mind so until we have further answers you are to do as I say and Riverdale is not happening. Do you understand me?”

“Yea,” I mumbled quietly figuring out a way to get him on my side in the matter of where my new living arrangements should be located.

Infinity didn’t have a choice but to ensure I moved to a safer neighborhood. I just didn’t want him being too commanding by telling me where I can and cannot live.

Also, I didn’t want to leave New York City. I mean it was bad enough, I had to leave my boro but now to leave the only place I called home was enough to make me crazy.

Infinity droned on as we walked to what we considered a safe place, looked over our shoulders then hailed a yellow cab. He put his head on my shoulder and dozed off.

I secretly smiled inside knowing that maybe I had some kind of allure on him but what I thought was allure was really guilt. The guilt of knowing he did drop a dime to
The Overseers
by telling them it was Boogie and Trevor that took their shipment. This was totally unbeknownst to me or I would have slit his throat right then and there.

What I did know was a feeling of admiration was growing for him. I didn’t want to think I could fall for someone nearly twice my senior, let alone love them. Then again, I was carrying his baby so it might have just been the pregnancy hormones kicking in. Who knows.

While the cab drove on towards the Marriot hotel, I rubbed my belly and laid my head on top of his sleeping head which rested on my shoulder. If one didn’t know us they would swear we were about to be the most picture perfect family once the baby was born.