The Hustler's Daughter {DC Bookdiva Publications} (12 page)

Mercedes
glanced out of her window and noticed Candy and the girls. “Daddy pull over
please, I want to holla at the girls for a minute!” Mercedes said as she looked
at her father awaiting his approval.

“Aight,
well make it quick I’m going to run to the barber shop. When I come back, be
ready to go home.”

“Ok
Daddy,” she happily said as she exited the car and ran towards her friends.

“Hey
girls!” Mercedes yelled out.

“Hey.”
They all said in unison as they exchanged hugs and kisses on the cheek.

“Where
are ya’ll coming from, and without me I might add?”

“Oh
please Cedes, we called you and you didn’t answer your phone. We called your
crib and your mother said you went out with your dad for Daddy-Daughter Day.”
Candy smiled as she playfully teased her. Mercedes looked down at her cell
phone and noticed that she did have several missed calls from Candy.

“You’re
a Daddy’s Girl.” Shateeya laughed. “Aww, how cute is that.” The girls laughed
and Mercedes playfully hit Shateeya in the arm.

“Yeah,
well we’ve been out since this morning. He took me out to Bella’s…” Hazel cut
her off, “Bella’s, you talking about that Italian restaurant?”

“Yeah”

“Damn,
I would love to go there one day. I heard their food is delicious.” Hazel
licked her lips at the thought of their food.

 “Hell
yeah, the shit is bomb-but listen he took me out shopping on Fifth Avenue and
then guess what he brought me?” The girls looked at her wanting her to hurry up
and spill the beans. “He bought me a condo.” Mercedes chanted.

“No.”
Shateeya shook her head as the girls jaws dropped in amazement.

“Are
you serious?” Candy asked, she couldn’t believe her best friend.

“Yeah,
I don’t put on facades and Candy you should be the one to know that.” Mercedes
was highly upset that Candy didn’t believe her. “But I can’t move into the crib
until I’m eighteen.” She informed them.

“You’re
one lucky ass bitch.” Chamari nodded her head. “You know how many bitches would
kill to be in your shoes?” Mercedes had a devilish smirk on her face and simply
replied, “I know.”

Mercedes
just happened to turn around and saw her father emerging from the barber shop
holding a brown paper bag. He yelled out her name from across the street.

“Alright
girlies, I got to go. I’ll check ya’ll later.”

“Aight,”
they said in unison as they begin to walk off.

When
Mercedes reached the car, she heard tires loudly screeching.

“MERCEDES,
GET DOWN!”

Don
yelled. He had a gun pointed towards him and no time to draw his own. Mercedes’
body froze for a moment and she began shaking hysterically. A dude in a cake
delivery truck wearing a black ski mask had an AK-47 aimed out of the window.
He began wildly shooting.

People
scattered in different directions trying to dodge bullets. The bullets had no
names, but they were meant for Don Carter. Don immediately hugged Mercedes
tightly and dove to the ground. It was too late, Mercedes already had been hit.
The blood soaked her white tracksuit as Don held her in his arms. He never
imagined that he would one day hold his daughter in this situation. She was
covered in blood and shaking uncontrollably.

xxxxxxxxxx

The
lobby was filled with silence as Don sat with his family and a few of his
workers. They all were patiently waiting for the doctor to come out and provide
them with information on Mercedes. Candy and the girls rushed down the hall and
Maria got up as they hugged her.

“Is
she going to be okay?” Candy asked with tears in her eyes.

“I’m
praying to God.” Maria sniffled as she wiped away her tears, “We’re waiting on
the doctor now.”

They
all sat on the benches hugging each other as they hoped and prayed that their
girl Mercedes would be alright. They couldn’t believe that she had been shot
moments after she walked away from them. They were all in a state of shock.

The
events happened so fast, and thankfully no one else got hurt. In a matter of
seconds, they turned their backs and heard gun shots. They immediately knew
that their friend was hit when they saw Mercedes sprawled out on the concrete. 
Her white track suit was drenched in blood.

The
doctor emerged from the room with his pen and clipboard in his hand. His
stethoscope comfortably rest around his neck. His blue scrubs were stained from
the blood of Mercedes and others that he had cared for. Don, his wife, and the
girls immediately jumped up. They all met face to face with the doctor.

“How
are you doing Mr. and Mrs. Carter?” The doctor adjusted his glasses and wiped
sweat off of his brow.

“I
would be so much better if I find out that my daughter is fine?” Don anxiously
anticipated the news. His heart was filled with anger and revenge for anyone that
was associated with hurting his daughter.  Maria couldn’t even comfort him.

“Mercedes
is doing well. She only has a flesh wound. The bullet grazed her arm and didn’t
puncture any main arteries. She lost some blood, but it’s not a life
threatening situation.”

The
doctor saw the fear in their eyes and made sure to comfort them. He was afraid
if they heard the wrong thing they would take out their anger on him.  He knew
exactly who he was dealing with.

“So
when can we go in to see her?” Maria asked.

“Well
you can see her now, but only two or three at a time. That’s the hospital
regulations. Mr. and Mrs. Carter, come with me. I will show you where she is.”
The doctor advised.

The
girls patiently sat outside while Don, Roy, and Maria entered the room.

Mercedes
lie in her hospital bed and stared out of the window. She heard footsteps and
turned to the door. She was so happy when she saw her family approaching her
bedside.

“Hey
Mami, hey Daddy,” she smiled as her mother walked over to her and hugged her
gingerly. “Hey, Uncle Roy.” Mercedes greeted her uncle as he walked in behind
her father.

“Oh
Honey, thank God you’re alright.” Maria tried to hold back the tears, but they
streamed down her cheeks.

“Just
a little graze wound, I’ll live.” Mercedes assured them, “I’m a warrior just
like Daddy.” That comment brought a smile to Don’s face. He knew his daughter
was just as strong, if not stronger than he was.

“Baby,
I’m so sorry-” Mercedes cut her father off.

“Daddy
it’s not your fault, you don’t have to explain to me. Just tell me you love me
and you will never leave me.” Mercedes watched as her father swallowed hard. He
absolutely adored and loved his daughter, but he couldn’t promise her that he
would never leave her. The only way he would leave his wife and Mercedes is if
he got locked up or killed. Both of those were strong possibilities with the
lifestyle he lived. Everyone eventually dies one day, some sooner than others.

“I
love you.” He kissed her on the cheek.

“When
can I go home?” Mercedes asked.

“As
soon as we get the discharge papers, we can head home.” Don said.

“Your
friends are outside waiting for you.” Maria assured her.

“Bring
them in.” Mercedes happily said. She peered through the glass window and saw
them all sitting on the bench. They were waiting to see when they would be able
to visit with her.

“Alright
Cedes, your mother and I will be back in a few while your friends come and
visit. We need to talk to the doctor about your discharge papers.” Don informed
his daughter, as he kissed her on the forehead.

“Okay
Daddy.” Mercedes sat up in the bed and waited for her friends to come in. They
entered through the doors and rushed over to her asking her a million questions
about what happened.

“Damn,
I only got one mouth.” Mercedes chuckled. She told them what happened even
though they were there. They wanted a first-hand account of what everything
felt like. No one had ever been shot before and while it wasn’t anything to be
proud of; they felt honored to know someone whom it actually happened to.

“I’m
just glad you’re alright.” Candy bent down and hugged her as tears welled up in
her eyes.

“Why
you crying girl?” Mercedes asked, as she got teary eyed too.

“You’ve
been my best friend since kindergarten, we lost contact and we just got
reunited. I can’t see myself losing you already. I don’t know what I would do.”
Candy cried as Mercedes pulled her in closer and hugged her again. Mercedes’
arm was in a sling with bandages that would be off within a week. She would
milk this for all its worth when she got back to school.

“I
don’t know what I would do if I ever lost you.” Mercedes released a few tears
of her own.

“Aww
suck it up bitches.” Shateeya joked. “Ya’ll are about to make me cry up in this
bitch.” Shateeya said as she fanned her eyes, so she wouldn’t cry.

Candy
chuckled as she wiped her tears away.

“I
love ya’ll, my bad bitches.” Mercedes giggled.

“I
love you too Mercedes.” Hazel added in. Her face showed the feelings of all the
others. They couldn’t believe this had happened to someone close to them. 

“Well
we were just stopping by to see how you are doing and shit, but we got to go.
We don’t want to hold you up on your next visit.” Candy kissed Mercedes on the
cheek and she wondered who she was talking about. Mercedes face lit up and
replaced the confusion when she saw Chino standing in the door way.

“Bye
girls,” Mercedes smirked as they left the room.

Chino
walked in with his arms behind his back and he removed a bouquet of pink
tulips. He handed them to Mercedes.

“How
did you know I was here?” Mercedes and Chino kissed softly. She was so happy to
see him, but didn’t want to show too much emotion.

“Your
mother called me and told me you had been shot. I was heading into New Jersey,
but came right back as soon as I got the news.”

“Are
you serious?” Mercedes asked. She didn’t know Chino cared for her that much.

“Yes,
anything for you.” Chino smiled. “How are you doing?”

“Fine,
its’ just a flesh wound to the arm. I’m still around.”

“Damn,
shit’s crazy.” Chino shook his head. “Don’t let me find out who did it. They
will be buried six fucking feet under.” Mercedes never heard him speak so
protectively like that. She could tell he was into the streets; his swag told
everything.

“Don’t
worry about it Baby.” Mercedes tried to change the subject. “So why were you
going to New Jersey?”

“Damn
girl… nah I was heading over there to handle some business-me and my man Reem.
He lives out there, but he be out here in New York kicking it. I just had to
come and see how my Baby was doing.”

“Oh
I see, so when are you going back?”

“In
a few minutes, he’s outside waiting for me. I had to come and see you though to
make sure you were okay. I was tripping the whole ride out here. I’m good now
that I see you’re okay. When I come back we’ll chill.” He kissed her on the
lips and hugged her. He promised to call her later. At that moment, her mother
and father appeared in the doorway. Mercedes’ face froze knowing that her
father would meet her boyfriend for the first time.

“Hi
Chino, I see you made it.” Maria smiled as she walked in. She gave him a kiss
on the cheek and tightly held onto Don’s hand. He eyed the young man
suspiciously.

“Yes
I did, I was just leaving. I have to head back to Jersey.”  Chino responded
replacing his fitted on his head.

 “Oh
forgive me. Don, this is one of Mercedes’ friends from school Chino. I let him
know that she was here and he wanted to make sure she was well. Chino, this is
my husband and Mercedes’ father Don Carter.” Both men extended handshakes and
masculine hugs.

 “Alright,
have a safe drive and thank you Chino.” Maria thanked him.

“No
problem.” Chino walked past her and Mercedes knew her father wanted to say
something further, but he chose not to do so. The room was filled with silence
but you could see the steam rising from her father’s head.

Don
showed him respect, for now.  He was still not too happy that his daughter was
already interested in boys. He was an overprotective father and didn’t want
anyone taking advantage of her. He decided to keep quiet about it, even though
he wanted to be mad with Maria for keeping a secret.

Twenty
minutes later Mercedes was ready to be discharged. On the drive home, Don and
Roy wondered who would try to take him out-and why.

xxxxxxxxxx

Back
in Santiago de Cuba, Vicente sat at his desk with his hands folded and face
filled with frustration. He was vexed. Sixteen years had gone by and Vicente
had no idea where his daughter had run off too. He even put a gun up to Alana’s
head and asked her about Maria’s whereabouts.

 She
cried and pleaded with him.  She told him that she didn’t know. He eventually
let her go.  Recently, Vicente received some valuable information from his
former sister in law Maleese. He began to put the pieces together and he
started to come up with a plan.