Diamonds and Pearl (45 page)

“He's also my father.”

The car became deathly silent. Pearl watched in anticipation as Diamonds processed what she had just revealed to him. Her family name was both a gift and a curse, closing as many doors to her as it opened. When most guys found out who her father was, they either took off running or tried to get her to put them on. Either way, it always changed things. She had hoped Diamonds would be different.

“Aren't you going to say anything?” she asked after a full minute had gone by without him responding.

“What's there to say? Some kid's daddies' are garbagemen or doctors, and yours just happens to be a gangster,” he said as if it were that simple.

“Big Stone isn't just a gangster; he's
the
gangster,” Pearl corrected him.

Diamonds shrugged. “You know what I do for a living, so I'm hardly in any position to judge what the next man does to put food in his babies' mouths. The dirt under your daddy's fingernails ain't got nothing to do with what's going on between us.”

“So knowing who my father is and what he could do to you, you still want to see me?” She was surprised.

“Why wouldn't I?” He took her hands in his and looked Pearl directly in the eyes. “Let me make something clear to you, doll. I wasn't bullshitting you earlier when I said I had been waiting for you my entire life, and what you just told me lets me know I'm not crazy to feel that way. I know what you're risking by sharing that, and I'm honored that it was me you chose to share it with. I know all too well how heavy secrets can get when you carry them long enough, and that's why I don't ever want anything but honesty between us. As long as you down for me, I'll down for you, and that's all we need to keep this thing strong.”

“You mean that?” Pearl's eyes misted.

“On my life.” He leaned in and kissed her.

The moment Diamonds's lips touched hers, Pearl felt that familiar spark again. This time she was prepared for it and embraced it. She grabbed a fistful of his long hair with one hand; she ran the other down the length of his body and traced a line over the top of his pants, tickling the hairs on his stomach. She slipped her hand in a little farther and felt the beginnings of his penis. It was thick and hard. Her hand continued its descent, tracing the vein along the shaft of his dick, and she was pleasantly surprised by how long it was. Her pussy throbbed, imagining him penetrating her. Throwing caution to the wind, she began trying to free his dick from his pants, but Diamonds stopped her.

“What's wrong?” Pearl asked.

“Not like this,” Diamonds told her. “When I make love to you for the first time, it won't be in the backseat of no ride. I got too much respect for you for that.”

“Now there's something you don't hear every day.” Pearl sat back in her seat, a disappointed look on her face.

“I keep trying to tell you: I'm not your average dude. Don't fret over it, Pearl. I'm gonna hit you with this pipe soon enough, and when I do, I promise you it'll be worth the wait.”

*   *   *

A few minutes later they were pulling up at the corner of Pearl's block.

“You sure I can't drop you off at your door? I feel kinda like a creep for kicking you out on the curb like this,” Diamonds said.

“Its all good. I gotta stop at the store anyhow. Don't worry about it. I'll be okay,” she assured him.

“A'ight, but you better make sure you call me as soon as you're in the house. And remember what I said earlier: as long as you got me, I got you,” Diamonds promised before pulling away.

Pearl waited until Diamonds was out of sight before allowing a smile to creep across her face that was so big they could probably see it at the other end of the block. The talk she'd had with Diamonds had lifted a weight off her shoulders. Normally she didn't care what guys thought about her or her family's affiliation, but with Diamonds, it was different. She couldn't quite understand why, but his opinion mattered to her.

When she got to the bodega she placed her order through the small window: two Philly Blunts and a bottle of water. When she went to pay for her purchases she realized that she had left her car purse in Diamonds's truck. The money wasn't a big deal because she knew the guy at the store and it was nothing for him to give her the items on the arm until she was able to swing back the following day, but she had also left her keys in the bag. This meant she would have to ring the doorbell instead of creeping in, which would lead to Sandra asking her a million questions as to where she had been. As she thought on it that might not have been such a bad thing because she needed to talk to her anyhow.

She knew when she broke the news to her father about the new guy she was seeing, he would likely be against it. No man would ever be good enough for his little girl, especially one cut from the same end of the cloth as he was. Even getting him to be open-minded about the idea of her seeing Diamonds would be a struggle, because Big Stone didn't know what it felt like to love someone on the wrong side of the law. Fortunately for her, Sandra did. If she could get her to like Diamonds, it'd be easier to convince Big Stone to give him a chance. She felt good about the budding relationship between her and Diamonds. It was as if for once, the universe had finally decided to send her a good man, even if he was a criminal.

As Pearl was walking towards her home she was so caught up in thoughts of teenage love that she hadn't even realized someone was behind her until the street overhead street lamp cast an extra shadow on the ground. Her hand instinctively went for her purse, and the gun inside, then she remembered she didn't have either. She was just about to breakout into a dead sprint when a familiar voice called out.

“Pearl, its me!”

Pearl turned and squinted against the darkness and was able to make out a man walking towards her with his hands up to show they were empty. When her eyes landed on his face her mood went from sugar to shit. “No the fuck this nigga didn't.”

“Now hold on. Before you say anything, just let me explain.” Devonte pleaded.

“You ain't got to explain shit but why your ass creeping on my block like some nut-ass stalker!” Pearl barked.

“Well you wouldn't talk to me on the phone.” Devonte tried to reason.

“So you pop up in my hood?” Pearl looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

“I know I'm out of order, and I apologize for that but I needed to talk to you, baby.” Devonte said in an almost whining tone.

“Fuck outta here,” Pearl spat. “I said everything I had to say on the phone. What part of its over didn't you understand?”

Devonte took a step forward and reached for her hand, but she jerked it back. “Don't do me like that, Pearl. I know I fucked up, but I love you. Why can't you just give me the chance to show you that?”

“I can do you one better. I'll give you a chance to get your silly ass off this block before something bad happens to you.” Pearl capped and turned to walk away, but to much to her surprise Devonte grabbed her arm. When she looked into his eyes, she didn't see the smooth talking young dude she had been fucking and bleeding for the last few month. She saw someone she had never met before and it made her nervous.

“See, I came over here to try and talk to you like an adult, but I see you wanna be a child about it. You want to make a nigga beg and shit!” Devonte rambled.

“Devonte, you're hurting me.” Pearl said as calmly as she could. She didn't want to do anything that could potentially set him off.

“Kinda like you hurt me, huh?” he smiled sinisterly. “See, I thought you was different … tried to treat you different, but you're just like the rest of these scandalous ass bitches! You take what you want and give nothing in return!”

“Baby just calm down and we can talk about this.” Pearl tried to sooth him.

“Oh, so now you wanna talk?” Devonte chuckled. “Sure, lets go talk,” he began dragging her by the arm across the street. She hadn't noticed before, but his car was parked in front of a hydrant a few houses down.

“Devonte, where are you taking me?” Pearl struggled against him, but he had a death grip on her arm.

“You said you wanted to talk, so we're gonna go someplace quiet and have a nice chat.” He pressed a button on the remote and released the automatic locks.

By then Pearl had gone from just being nervous to about ready to shit herself. Of all the times not to have her gun, she picked the night Devonte decided to whip out his bag of crazy. She looked up and down the block frantically for signs of someone … anyone, who might be able to derail what was about to happen to her, but the street was naked. As Devonte began forcing her inside the car, she sent out one last-ditch prayer and thankfully it was answered.

“Fuck is you doing?” Stoney's high pitched voice cut through the night. Pearl had no idea where he had come from, but she had never been so happy to see her little brother.

“Stay outta grown folk's business, shorty.” Devonte growled.

“My sister is my business, muthafucka!” Stoney barked back. It was then that they noticed the small gun in his hand.

Devonte shoved Pearl away and turned his attention to Stoney. He could tell by the way that his hand shook and his eyes couldn't seem to rest that he was nervous. “Shorty, why don't you give me that gun before I fuck your little ass up?” He took a step towards him.

Without missing a beat Stoney fired a shot into the ground just between Devonte's feet. “Next one is in your dome.” He raised the gun. “Now try me like you don't know what my last name is.”

Devonte weighed his chances and reasoned that a good run was better than a bad stand. “A'ight,” he began backing away. “You got that.” He eased into his car under the watchful eyes of Pearl and Stoney. “This conversation ain't over, ma. Believe that,” he promised her and pulled off.

Devonte hadn't even cleared the block before Pearl rushed to Stoney and wrapped him in a loving hug. As she held him she couldn't tell which one of them were trembling more. Stoney talked tough, but he was no killer. Her little brother was a good boy, but he proved that he would stand tall when it came to protecting his family.

“You okay?” Stoney asked Pearl.

“I am now,” Pearl released him.

“Who was that dude?” Stoney asked.

“Just some thirsty nigga I was dumb enough to give my time to.” Pearl told him. “If you hadn't shown up when you did there's no telling what that nut would've done.”

“This is Stone hood and niggas can't come through here without a pass.” Stoney boasted.

“Shut up, Super Thug.” Pearl teased him. Now that the immediate threat had passed they were both calmer. “Where the hell did you get that?”

“This?” Stoney raised the small pistol. It was a two shot derringer. “Daddy got at least a half dozen guns stashed around the house. I doubt if he even noticed this one was missing.”

“Well guns are not toys and your young ass shouldn't have one,” Pearl snatched the gun from him and stuffed it into her bra. “Now let's get inside before somebody calls the police about that gunshot.”

By the time Pearl and Stoney reached their brownstone, Sandra was coming out the front gate. She was wearing a bathrobe and had her hair wrapped in a scarf. In her hand was a .357 with a barrel so long that it looked like something you'd see in a cartoon. No doubt she'd heard the shots and like any good queen she was ready to protect her kingdom. When she saw the kids, she tucked the gun behind her back.

“What the hell is going on out here in the middle of the night like two crack heads? I thought I heard shooting.” Sandra's eyes darted up and down the block, searching for signs of danger.

“We didn't hear anything.” Stoney lied.

“Pearl, I know you were out with your friends but you're cutting it kind of close on the time. And you,” she turned to Stoney, “I thought your daddy said to keep your ass in the house? Last I checked you were upstairs playing video games; so how did you manage to make it out here?”

Stoney had snuck out earlier that night to go and see a girl, with the intention of being back before anyone knew he was missing. He was already grounded for getting suspended from school, and the new offense was sure to have him bound to the house for the rest of the summer.

“I'm sorry, it was my fault Sandra.” Pearl spoke up. “I took a cab home and didn't realize that I was out of cash. I called Stoney to meet me outside with a twenty.”

The story smelled like bullshit, but Sandra was too tired to care. She would revisit it in the morning, but that night she was just glad they were both safe. “Well y'all come on in the house. This ain't a good night to be wandering about. There's evil in the air tonight.” She pulled her robe tighter. “I can feel it in my bones.”

 

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

What had started off being a shitty night for Buda had thankfully started to turn around. Everyone had assumed he had stormed off because of his scuffle with Domo, but it was only half true. He had planned to make an example of Domo in order to send a message to all the new guys Diamonds was recruiting that he was still top dog. It was supposed to be quick and very painful, but Domo had surprised him when he fought back. The kid was obviously no match for Buda, but he had to give him credit for being resourceful. After the pain of having his nuts damn near pulverized had worn off, he was able to find a newfound respect for Domo. He still didn't too much care for him, or any of his people, but Domo had proven he was no punk, which was more than he could say for most of the new faces that had been around lately.

Thinking about the direction their crew was going in made his blood boil. When they had learned of Dip's betrayal, when he'd stolen the drugs and the money, the remaining crew members had made a pact on the soul of his deceased little brother: no outsider would ever be able to move amongst them again. But lately that's all Buda ever saw around them … outsiders. Of course, he knew that the five of them would never be able to accomplish what they had set out to do alone, so he understood recruiting extra muscle from the cities they pillaged, but they were supposed to be little more than soldiers. Diamonds had changed the rules when he started giving them seats at their table, the same table John-Boy had given his life for.