The Tale of the Blood Diamond (18 page)

“Awww man, I know you don’t believe in that shit, in doomsday? Shit.” Lorenzo snickered. “This mothafuckin’ life we live is a damned doomsday on repeat! Apocalypse groundhog day, man…”

“I believe in tha end of times, young blood. It’s the end of times, man…the end of times.” Centipede’s smile faded, and a look of seriousness took over. He didn’t look so high, so out of it, so in need anymore. Suddenly, there was a glimmer of the man that Lorenzo once revered — and it felt like 1985 all over again. Unexpectedly, the words pouring out of Centipede’s mouth sounded clear and crisp like fall leaves or biting into a freshly fallen apple from an orchard tree. It was like heaven and hell had come up in that tiny ass apartment and pulled Lorenzo’s coat.

“So, me and the fellas wanna do somethin’ for Preacher, give him a birthday party, man.”

“How much?” Lorenzo stood straighter and cleared his throat. He removed the brief emotional moment he had from his heart and turned cold, wanting to get right down to business. Centipede looked at him in utter confusion and threw his hands up woefully.

“Nuh uh, man…dis ain’t about no money, man. I could use some money,” he grinned, “but it ain’t about that. We gotta do this. I been havin’ bad nightmares ’nd shit. I, I am just glad you wuddn’t here to see the shit when it first happened. Nobody deserve to die like that, Lorenzo…
nobody
.”

The seed of anger was watered and growing. Centipede may or may not have known what he was doing, Lorenzo wasn’t sure, but the words made him sneer. He gently took the man by the elbow and ushered him away from Adrianna. She kept her place — knowing she wasn’t invited to the private meeting. Someone brushed past and pushed a beer in his and Centipede’s palm. Lorenzo took it, but had no desire to consume the shit. He waited while Centipede tipped his back in a two-lipped salute.

“So,” Centipede continued after taking a hearty, long breath. “There is a little proposition out and about. Gonna cost a pretty penny…but the source is reliable.” The man glanced leisurely across the room then looked over the rim of his glasses at Lorenzo, his lips cocked to the right in a sly grin. “You ain’t gotta front for me, man,” Centipede chided. “Everybody know how you felt about your brothers, man. If there is something I can do to help, just let me know,” Centipede said slyly. His street cred reared its head as his eyes glistened.

“What you expect me to do about it, man?” Lorenzo said coolly and twisted the cap off his beer. He decided to take that drink after all.

Centipede shrugged. “I just thought you might wanna know.”

“Well, alright, now I know.” Lorenzo took a small swig from the bottle and cast it into a nearby trashcan. He buttoned his black leather bomber jacket and twisted his large diamond ring around his right index finger, positioning the bling front and center. He slowly walked away from Centipede, expecting the older man to stop him and ask him for that pay-out, but he never did. The man didn’t even ask about any money being slid his way. Lorenzo could feel his eyes still on him, but he didn’t dare turn around. As far as he was concerned, there wasn’t anything left to say. He had no doubt Centipede knew what was going on with him, despite being doped up. Lorenzo hated being so vulnerable, so transparent — the emotions made him tingle all over, like bugs marching across his pores in single file.

“Hey man, you leavin’?!” Rewind called out from across the room, one prostitute on his lap while the other did a slow grind dance for Grant who sat there like he’d never seen a jiggling ass before. Hell, maybe he hadn’t.

“Yeah, got some business to take care of… One in tha mornin’, Rewind!” he reminded as he circled the cool doorknob with his hand.

“Baby, what movie we gonna see?” Adrianna bounced over to him eagerly, her perfume sweet, and her smile sweeter.

“Change of plans, baby. Ain’t gonna be a movie.”

“Awwww, Lorenzo. But you said —”

“Fuck what I said!” His brows dipped and so did his lips. The woman looked at him in utter astonishment, her shoulders slumped, and she looked away, cowering a bit. It wasn’t like him to speak to her that way. “Look.” He took her gently around her waist and led her out into the hallway as they made their stride towards the steps to exit. “I need to handle some important business. It’s out of my hands. I will make it up to you. In the meantime, I need you to make me some
serious
money, as fast as you can.”

“I can handle it, Daddy. Anything you need, you know I got it.” She kissed his cheek, giving him the comfort he so desired.

“Good, ’cause Daddy need some cash, a plan and a space to do it in. I need some peace ’nd quiet, too. So, here’s the deal. I’m dropping you off back home, and I’m going to get a few of my things together and I need to leave for a short while. I’ll check in with you twice a day.”

He couldn’t be bothered with the forlorn look on her face.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I won’t be terribly far. Tell Rachel I want my money every Friday and Wednesday. I will send someone to come collect it.”

“You gonna be gone that long, Lorenzo?”

“I don’t know, baby. It could be only a couple weeks, or much longer, I just don’t know, but I need you to hold shit down, to keep everyone in check. Make sure you get my money and make sure the girls bust their asses this week. I need every damned cent. No new weaves, no new clothes, no nails done, nothing. You know that’s not like me — so if I’m tellin’ you that your own cut has to go to me too, you know this is serious.”

She nodded in understanding as they got to the bottom of the steps.

“We’ll just do each other’s hair ’nd stuff, baby. We had to do that before we were with you. All of us have had to in the past, it’s no big thing.”

“Well, it won’t be permanent but any little bit helps.” He opened the door to the outside, and a blustery wind came and busted him in the face, making his eyes immediately water.

Nobody deserve to die like that…nobody…

Centipede’s words repeated in his head.

A tear rolled down his cheek. He turned away and swiped at it, blaming it on the wind.

They made their way towards his black viper, freshly washed by hand and the leather scent still palpable to the nose. On cue, the woman didn’t look at him. He gripped the steering wheel, trying to get his racing thoughts together.

I’ve killed before, and I’ll kill again. I’m not tryna be the baddest, just tryna be the best. Preacher, I’m not gonna let you down. The ‘XXX’ killa is about to be taken down by a pimp. It’ll give a whole new meaning to those exes.

He smiled at his inside joke, but he wasn’t amused — he was mad as hell. He started the car and pulled away from the curb.

I’m what he probably least expects, and that is what makes this so damned beautiful…

****

Jayme stood in their living room, her white, sheer gown rousing Xzion’s need.

“I really wish you wouldn’t dress like that right now.” He marched past her and slumped down in his seat. The soft cushion sighed as he adjusted his weight. “I have a meeting scheduled in a few moments. That won’t give me enough time.” He grabbed his cock over his jeans, stroking it as he searched her body, becoming increasingly turned-on.

“I just grabbed what I saw first,” she said dryly, putting her hand on her hip. Xzion felt his eyes glow bright as he continued to stroke his length. Jayme’s gaze immediately landed on it, but this time, he wasn’t unnerved by her regard.

“Let me go check on Zachary.” She disappeared, leaving him by himself in the plush, white room. The carpet grabbed at his bare feet and massaged them with a gentle caress. It did nothing to ease his mood. He groaned, then felt the device in his wrist vibrating.

“Yes,” he answered, his lack of enthusiasm more than evident.

“Bad news. It is worse than we thought. The Morphitians and Lyalts are working with the Yuledrakes.”

Xzion couldn’t believe his ears. He quickly rose to his feet.

“What?! The Lyalts? Are you certain? The Lyalts don’t get involved in matters like this. Did Bosi approve this?”

“I have no idea, but we have our emissaries in Yuledrake territory and we have broken through their mainframe. They are speaking in their native tongue, but we’ve decoded it.”

“Fuck!” Xzion gripped his forehead and squeezed his eyes closed so tightly, his face drew up in a fleshy bunch.

He looked out in the hallway then back down at the floor. “Due to these new developments, I am conceding. Go ahead and proceed as we discussed earlier. I need half the soldiers with me, right this fucking second. Send them down immediately.”

“Xzion, that’s the right choice. I know you hate to do this, but you need the assistance. I will call them immediately. I can have them in your presence in twenty-four hours. Everyone is on board.”

“Just in case things escalated to this level, I planned in advance. I have set up residence for the soldiers here.”

“That fast?” Aton laughed. “I really shouldn’t be surprised.”

“It is only a block away from me. It used to be a party supplies building, some warehouse that went under and came up for rent. I purchased it, and have cots arriving to it soon. They will need to stay close to me for the duration of this venture.”

“Yes, they were made aware of that should you send for them.”

Xzion breathed harshly into the phone.

“Aton.” He swallowed. “You understand that I must stop them.”

“
We
must stop them. And, as you may have guessed, Jatorn refused to acknowledge my meeting request. We are in this full force, Xzion. We are all behind you. The Earth will be protected by Zarkstormian force.”

“Everything my mate loves is here on Earth. These people saved our lives; we must do the same for them in return. We cannot lose. Many of us will die, but we must triumph. Failing is not an option,” Xzion said between clenched teeth. His head was still reeling with the thought that the Lyalts would do something like this.

“Myself, your family, your people are in full agreement, Xzion. We need the Earth. We
need
you. We need your son. He is still our donor after all.” Aton gave a weak chuckle. Aton would never admit it to him, but he was extremely concerned and though love was a foreign concept, his mentor cared deeply for him and his family. Part of his reasoning for attempting to plant the idea for Zachary to go to Zarkstorm had nothing to do with his training needs or lineage, Xzion knew this. Aton
really
wanted the boy protected and had no intentions of waiting until the youngster was seven. His suggestion had been made simply to test where Xzion’s mind was regarding the whole notion.

Aton could not protect the poor child the same way on Earth. This planet had a difficult terrain, a vastly different playing field. All future Zarkstormians would need Zachary’s blood. One drop, and one drop only, but it was imperative for the vaccine to be administered as soon as they were born. Not only that, the Zarkstormians now felt loyalty to Earth, for without the damned place, they’d all have been dead and loyalty was a Zarkstormian’s middle name…

He looked towards the hall and saw Jayme standing there, her gown open, exposing hardened dark brown nipples against her supple, satiny brown skin. He swallowed.

“Uh, Aton, I’ll see everyone tomorrow.”

“Indeed. Have a good evening.” Aton disconnected the call before Xzion had a chance to.

Without wasting another second, he tore off his shirt and marched in Jayme’s direction, salivating, hungry for the creaminess between her legs. Hitching his hand around the back of her neck, he brought her lips to his and devoured her mouth in one swoop. With a moan and a grunt, he pushed her up the wall, fidgeting with the thin panties that slowed his hungry progress.

“Wait, hold up.” She broke their lip lock and stared up at him, her eyes syrupy and sweet, her body tight against his. He ignored her, leaning into her face while her hand pushed against his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

“What?” he snapped angrily. “Don’t come out here with your tits all out if you don’t want me to have you.” He knew he sounded like a brute, and he mostly didn’t care. He understood this might be his last time inside of her for at least a few days. Shit was about to get real.

“Listen to me, and listen to me good,” she said coolly, her eyebrow arched as she pushed her long finger in his face. “You are going to tell me what the fuck is going on, and then you are going to train me to fight these motherfuckers… and
then
, you are going to give me permission to come up with a plan, to get my men and women trained, too, so they can help.”

“The fuck I am…”

He rolled his eyes. She grasped his chin firmly between her fingers and forced him to face her. Grabbing the back of her hair, he made her sigh as her long neck exposed itself, inviting him to suckle. Sliding his tongue roughly up and down it, he knocked her legs apart; the only sound to follow was her moans and his zipper coming down. He snatched her from the wall and pushed her to the soft carpet, keeping his position between her warm thighs. Her lips parted; she looked at him dreamily as he reached between them and guided himself inside, causing her to whimper and moan at his intrusion.

“Uh!” He thrust with a grunt, then stopped short, pulled out of her and drifted below. She roughly pulled his hair as he slicked his tongue all over her pussy in hard sweeps and delicate circles of delight.