The Cartel 3: The Last Chapter (25 page)

Carter shook his head, not believing the disloyal acts of his only remaining brother. Images of Miamor smiling and in his arms popped into his thoughts, instantly making Carter chuckle while remembering the bond that they once had shared. He remembered how gangster she was, yet she was so soft, so ladylike. Miamor was built for a gangster like him, and Mecca had taken that away from him.

“I love you, Miamor,” Carter whispered as he looked to the head of the church and stared at the cross with a statue of Jesus Christ hanging on it. He hoped Miamor heard him from the depths of the heavens. Little did he know, with Miamor’s resume, she was probably in hell smoking a blunt. That’s a real bitch.

*   *   *

Mecca held his cell phone up to his ear, waiting for the person he was calling to answer.

“I’m on my way to the airport now,” Leena said as she smiled and made her way through the airport with her son by her side. She wore oversized sunglasses and a wrap over her head to try to disguise herself from any of Estes’ goons. Her son had on a baseball cap and heavy clothing, making him chunkier than usual. She was in a rush, trying to get to Mecca, the man she loved, the man who had once almost taken her life. She had snuck away from Estes and was on her way to Brazil to raise her son with Mecca.

Mecca smiled when he heard her voice, and the thought of sharing a life with Leena was inspirational. “Hurry up and get to me, baby,” Mecca said, filled with joy.

“I can’t wait to see you,” Leena said as she gave the flight attendant her boarding passes.

“I can’t wait to see you either, beautiful. I am going to make this right, and we are going to be a family. I am going to raise that boy like he is mine and teach him how to be a man … a good man. Just like his father was,” Mecca said, meaning every word of what he was saying.

“I know you are, Mecca. I know. We are on our way. Mecca Diamond, I love you,” Leena said as she boarded the plane.

“I love you more,” Mecca said just before he flipped down his cell phone and smiled. “Thank you, Lord,” Mecca whispered. He was beginning to believe that there was a God. He was determined to get a better relationship with his Savior and live his life right. He couldn’t wait until the rest of his family arrived in Brazil so that his new life could begin. Nevertheless, he would never get to see them.

Mecca heard the sound of a gun being cocked behind him, but he didn’t seem startled or even turn around, for that matter. He just took a deep breath and placed his hands together in a praying gesture.

“Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name …” Mecca said as tears slid down his face. He already knew who was behind him, and it came as no surprise to him.

Carter began to recite the prayer along with his brother as he pointed the gun to the back of Mecca’s head.

Mecca had always known that Carter would eventually seek revenge for Miamor’s death. He had loved her way too much not to come after him. Mecca’s only dilemma had been to figure out when and where Carter would take his life. Mecca was a seasoned street veteran, and the one thing that he knew for sure was that “the eyes don’t lie” and on that day, Carter could not hide the hatred he had inside.

Carter knew that if he let Mecca live, Mecca would possibly turn on him one day, just as he did to Monroe. He also felt obligated to avenge Miamor’s death, so killing Mecca was inevitable.

Mecca also knew the game. Mecca realized that if he were in Carter’s shoes, he would have done the same, so he wasn’t mad at Carter for what he was about to do. Once the prayer was over, Mecca stood unflinchingly, with his heart pounding through his chest. There was no malice in his heart, only regret, but he knew that his oldest brother was about to deliver his retribution.

“I love you, Carter,” Mecca said as he straightened up his tie and prepared for his death.

“I love you too,” Carter replied sincerely as he wrapped his finger around the trigger. “I always will, bro.”

Boom!

A single slug went through the back of Mecca’s head and clear through his forehead, rocking him to sleep forever at the hands of his own flesh and blood. Karma is real, and The Cartel was no more.

“Diamonds are forever.”

—Carter Diamond

Leena covered her ears and took deep breaths as the plane flew through the turbulent skies. She hated to fly, but she hated being apart from Mecca even more. She knew that Estes would be hurt when he read the letter she had written. A single note was all that she had left behind. She knew that he would never understand why she had chosen Mecca over him, but it was something that she had to do. It was a decision that only she would understand.

Her heart jumped out of her chest as the plane dipped violently, almost as if it would fall from the sky. She snuggled her son tightly to her chest and whispered, “Please, God, keep this thing in the air.”

The captain turned the seatbelt sign on, only scaring Leena even more. She instinctively reached out to grip the arm of the gentleman sitting next to her.

“Oh, I’m sorry. This flying thing has me kind of shook,” she explained in embarrassment.

“It’s okay. You’re good. The turbulence is really only potholes in the sky. They won’t do any real damage. They’re just good at causing uneasy passengers a nice scare,” he said.

Leena nodded and inhaled deeply to calm her nerves.

“Besides, if you ever want to know if something is wrong,
all you got to do is look at the flight attendants. When they panic, you panic, but until then you’re good,” he said.

Leena snuck a glance at the stewardess and noticed that she was calm as ever and joking with one of her colleagues. Leena smiled and shook her head in amazement. “Thanks. That actually just gave me peace of mind,” she said to the guy beside her.

“No problem. Let me know if you need my arm again, though. I’ll be happy to lend it to you,” he replied with a smirk and the wink of an eye.

“I’m Leena,” she introduced.

“Murder,” he replied.

“Wow, that’s quite a name,” she stated.

Murder smiled, but he didn’t reply as he glanced at her sleeping son. The young boy looked like a tiny replica of the very man he wanted to kill. He was definitely a member of the Diamond lineage, a bloodline that Murder planned on destroying.

The funeral service may have been convincing to everyone else, but in the back of Murder’s mind, he had known that it was all for show. It was no coincidence that he was on the same plane as Leena. He knew that if he followed her, sooner or later she would lead him to The Cartel, and as he sat next to her his trigger finger began to itch.

“What brings you all the way to Brazil?” Leena asked.

“I have a score to settle with an old friend. Unfinished business.”

Breeze boarded the private jet with Zyir behind her. He tapped her lightly on her backside, and she giggled like a schoolgirl as she swatted his hand away.

“I don’t know what you acting shy for. I’m about to induct you into this mile high club,” he said jokingly. He was completely
at ease for the first time in years. There was no business to tend to, no reason to watch his back every second, and no street code to uphold. It was just him and Breeze. Nothing had ever felt so right, and happiness surged through him as he sat next to his wife.

“You’re so silly,” Breeze said as she leaned into his shoulder and rested her forehead against his. “I can’t believe we did it. I can’t believe I’m married.”

“Do I make you happy?” he asked as he gripped her chin gently.

She nodded. “You know you do,” she replied as their tongues met. Finally they were together, and all of the horrible things that had kept them apart for so long no longer mattered. They were soul mates and had weathered the storms that life had thrown their way. Now it was time for their new lives to begin.

“I’m going to go get a few blankets from the flight attendant before we take off,” Breeze said. She stood, still dressed in her beautiful white dress, and walked past Zyir.

“Yo, B?” he called after her.

She turned around and was so radiant that his breath caught in his chest. “I love you.”

“I know you do, Zyir. You know everything there is to know about me and you still love me. That’s why I love you so much,” she said. She blew him a quick kiss before walking to the front of the plane.

Zyir closed his eyes in relaxation, but it was soon interrupted when he heard Breeze’s blood curdling scream. He jumped from his seat and ran to the front just as Breeze came staggering back down the aisle. A knife was imbedded deeply inside her chest, causing her white dress to slowly turn bloody red as the wound in her chest bled out. Her eyes were open wide in bewilderment, and her hand reached out to Zyir.

“Breeze!” he cried. “No, ma. Not now. Not like this.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but choked on her own blood as she fell into his arms.

“Help me! Somebody please!” Zyir gripped the knife and tried to pull it from Breeze’s body, but the more he tugged on it, the more blood seeped out.

“No, ma. No. You’ve got to live,” he whispered.

Breeze’s eyes spoke to him, telling him all the things that she could not physically say.

“I love you too, ma … forever, baby girl,” he said to her. “Don’t die on me, Breeze. I’ma get you some help.” He was too heartbroken to even worry about who had harmed her. He just wanted to get her help and keep the love of his life alive.

He picked her up, scooping her into his arms as she struggled to hold on, but it was no use. His wife died in his arms before he could even step off of the plane. He buried his head in her long hair as he let out a scream of agony.

It wasn’t until he heard footsteps in front of him that he looked up.

“Hello, Zyir,” Illiana stated with a devious leer as she pointed a gun directly at him.

He instantly regretted leaving his pistol behind. While reveling in his newfound love with Breeze, he had gotten too comfortable, and that mistake had cost him dearly.

As she pulled back the hammer of the pistol and wrapped her finger around the trigger, he didn’t even look at her. He focused his attention back on Breeze and hugged her dead body tightly. They had been so close to escaping it all. They had almost had their happy ending, but almost doesn’t count. Zyir closed his eyes as he waited for the inevitable shot that would end his life.

*   *   *

Carter Diamond, the man who had started it all, sat at the head of the rectangular dining table and smiled as he looked around at his children. His beautiful wife, Taryn, sat directly across from him at the other end. Finally, they were all together again. Heaven had opened its gates for the entire Diamond family, and they all sat amongst a feast fit for kings as they enjoyed this fateful reunion.

Monroe hugged Mecca tightly in forgiveness, as Taryn looked in amazement at Breeze in her beautiful wedding dress. All the while, Carter Diamond presided over them all. He was as distinguished in the afterlife as he had been on Earth, and his heart swelled at the sight of his family. They had been reunited at last. Death had come for them all, and only had one last member to claim.

Young Carter’s seat was the only one that sat empty, and although Carter Diamond was proud of his oldest son for surviving in a game where so many had fallen, a part of him still wished that he could be there at this moment. He belonged with his family.

Taryn walked over to her husband’s side and kissed his cheek. “He’ll be here soon enough,” Taryn whispered in his ear. “Let him live his life, and when it is his time, he will fill that seat and our family will be complete.”

Carter Diamond nodded and kissed his wife’s cheek as he raised his pure gold wine goblet. “To my beautiful wife, twin sons, my dearest Breeze, and to my son who isn’t among us just yet. I love you all,” he toasted.

They all raised their glasses and drank together as they watched over Young Carter. Through him, the legacy of The Cartel lived on, and it would not end until he had joined them in heaven, where Diamonds lived forever …