“Bitch, you’s a Murder Mama!… We don’t give a fuck where the coroner bag ‘em.”
– Robyn
“Bitch, are you paying attention to me?” Robyn threw a pillow in Miamor’s face, snapping her out of her trance.
“Yeah, I’m listening. I hear you, damn,” Miamor replied with a slight attitude as she tossed the pillow back.
“Whatever. You didn’t hear nothing me just said,” Aries teased. “Bring your head out de clouds, Miamor. We got a chance to get back at The Cartel and get at that mu’fucka that killed your sister. This is important.”
The three girls sat comfortably on Miamor’s bed while they plotted their revenge. Miamor was trying her hardest to concentrate, but she couldn’t. Every time she closed her eyes, Carter crept into her thoughts. Her time in Costa Rica was like a fantasy. He had showed her a side of life that she had never experienced before and had opened up the heart that she thought had been forever closed by lock and key.
Miamor shook her head, sat up against her headboard, and looked at both of her friends. They were her sisters, her partners in crimes, and she knew that her distraction could put them in jeopardy. I have to get focused, she thought.
“What did that nigga do to you over on that island?” Robyn asked with an insinuating tone. “I know you ain’t stressing him like that. Not Miamor, not the one who said niggas ain’t good for shit, but a broken heart.”
“He’s not like that,” Miamor stated in Carter’s defense.
“I know I did not just hear she say that.” Aries put her hand on Miamor’s forehead. “Are you sick or something? ‘Cuz this ain’t de same bitch I sent over to that island.”
Miamor had to laugh as she knocked Aries’ hand away. “I’m serious. Yo, he’s not like that. I don’t know, there’s something about him that has me stuck. He’s… he’s… ”
“You fucked him, didn’t you?” Robyn asked.
The smile that spread across Miamor’s face revealed the answer before she could even speak.
“Ohh. She fucked him! Was he good? ‘Cuz he could get it any day from me.” Aries stood up and bounced her voluptuous behind up and down doing a freaky dance. “I would put it on him.”
Miamor laughed as she pulled a.45 from the shoulder holster she was wearing. She removed the clip and popped the single bullet from the chamber then pointed the pistol at her friend. “Bitch, I’m-a put this on you if you keep talking like that.”
Aries ignored Miamor’s idle threats as she continued to pop her ass and hips. “Whatever. I would have that fine mu’fucka all up in me. Them bullets don’t stop no show.”
Miamor and Robyn were laughing so hard that tears were coming to their eyes.
“Okay, okay, can ya’ll bitches concentrate for a hot little minute while we discuss this business?” Robyn asked.
Aries stopped dancing and sat back down on the bed, while Robyn pulled the daily newspaper from her Hermes bag and spread it across the bed.
“You think Ma’tee still want the Cartel job done?” Robyn asked.
“I don’t know. There was a truce or something established between them, so now I’m not so sure.” Miamor shook her head.
“Well, you need to call and see, because we gon’ get at the boy Mecca, regardless. We might as well get paid in the process. You feel me?” Robyn asked.
Miamor nodded and flipped up her cell phone to dial Mat’ee.
Ma’tee greeted her as soon as he answered the phone, “Miamor? Me ain’t hear from yuh? How yuh doin'?”
He knew exactly who was calling him due to his hightech security. When he received a call, he knew your first and last name along with your current location, so she wasn’t surprised. He was always on point.
“I’m well. Thanks for asking,” she hesitated but was urged on when she noticed Aries waiting in anticipation. “Look, I’m calling regarding that unfinished business we had with each other. You still need that job done?” she asked, getting straight to the point.
“Unfortunately, me have to put that on hold. After what happened at me little angel’s party, me hand was forced to call a truce. Me a man of honor. Me word is all me have. Me will not break de truce. The only way me will put the contract back up is if de Cartel break de agreement first. Then and only then will me pay yuh for de bounty.”
“I hear you. Look, if you change your mind, we’re ready. Just say the word, and we’ll make it happen. Is the ticket still the same on that?” she asked.
Ma’tee let out a small chuckle. “If they do not hold up their end, then me will pay one point five for it.”
“Well, like I said, Ma’tee, I’m trying to see that, so let me know,” she said before hanging up.
“What did he say?” Robyn asked eagerly.
“Bounty’s not good unless The Cartel breaks the truce first. Otherwise, he is going to keep his word. He’s willing to pay a mill five, if they do show shade.”
“Then we have to make sure the Cartel breaks de truce, so we can see that cash and kill de kid Mecca,” Aries replied.
“I don’t know, y’all. Y’all talking about initiating a war between two sides that have agreed to lay low. With everything that happened with Nis, my head is all over the place. Emotions throw my judgment off. Everything I’ve been going through with her death has me all fucked up. I don’t know if I’m ready to get at them again.”
“It’s hard on all of us, Mia. We loved Anisa too, and it’s not just about the money anymore. They made it personal when the nigga Mecca killed her,” Robyn said.
“I haven’t forgotten, Robyn. He’s gon’ get it, believe that,” Miamor said, venom in her voice and tears in her eyes.
“Well, we think we found a way to get at him and bring down the Cartel too.” Robyn pointed her finger at the newspaper on the bed, causing Miamor to pay attention to it.
“Is this Mecca’s obituary?” Miamor picked up the paper and studied the face closely. Confusion swept over her face, and her forehead dropped in a deep frown. “Somebody got to him before we did?”
“Not Mecca, his twin brother Monroe,” Aries stated smugly.
Robyn added, “The funeral’s tomorrow, Mia. You know Mecca and the rest of The Cartel will be there. It’s our chance to catch ‘em while they’re weak,”
Miamor lifted her eyes from the newspaper to meet Robyn’s gaze. “At his brother’s funeral?” she said with doubt. “I don’t know.”
“Bitch, you’s a Murder Mama! Ain’t nothing to think about. We don’t give a fuck where the coroner bag ‘em. The nigga disrespected-” Robyn yelled.
“So he got to get it,” Aries chimed in, finishing her friend’s sentence. “Fuck them, Mia. Let’s get at these niggas.”
Miamor nodded her head in agreement, and in an instant the coldness in her heart settled back in. Fuck The Cartel. Fuck Mecca, his world, and everyone in it. Miamor was about to avenge her sister’s death and make Mecca’s mother feel what she had felt when she buried her sister.
“I’m in.”
Mecca sat in the family room of the Diamond house. His insides were hollow, and he cried to himself, tears falling uncontrollably from his eyes. What did I do? Money, my baby, my blood, what the fuck did I do? he thought silently. His conscience was eating him alive. He had murdered his twin brother. They had come out of the womb together, and now that Money was gone, Mecca didn’t feel whole. He couldn’t believe that his rage had blinded him to this point, and he knew that if he hadn’t been so intoxicated from the drugs and booze that his temper would’ve never taken him so far. I’m so sorry, bro. I love you, baby. I love you, man. His mind was spinning, and his heart ached. “This is all my fault,” he cried.
“Mecca, this is not on you. Those Haitians are to blame for this, not you. Nobody saw this coming,” Polo stated as he paced back and forth.
Mecca knew that the lie he’d told would hold up. It was a convenient story that pointed the blame toward their beef with Ma’tee, but seeing the anguish that he had caused his family was more than he could take.
“Why is this happening to us?” Breeze asked. “First Poppa, now Money. They are tearing our family apart.” Her eyes were red and swollen as if she hadn’t gotten sleep for days. She looked to her mother for answers.
But Taryn was stricken beyond belief and couldn’t open her mouth to answer. She knew that if she spoke then, her tears would leak from their confinement. She couldn’t allow that to happen. Just as she had been the foundation that held her family up during her husband’s funeral, she had to be strong now and perform what was once her husband’s role and be the glue that held her family together.
The sound of the doorbell interrupted them, and Mecca went to answer it. When he opened the door, Carter stood before him. They slapped hands, and when Carter pulled him close, they fell into a hug as Mecca cried. Young Carter was the only brother he had left. The only other male in the Diamond family he could call on. He was family, and all they had was each other. “I’m sorry, fam,” Mecca sobbed.
Holding his brother and hearing him break down caused tears to come to Carter’s eyes. “It’s all right, fam. Let it out, baby, let it out,” Carter whispered as he pulled Mecca’s head into his chest as if he was his lil’ nigga.
Mecca was always so boisterous, so hard; now his spirit was half gone. He was getting ready to bury a part of himself, and he knew that when Money’s casket hit the dirt, his heart would too. His twin brother was gone, and Carter had no idea that Monroe’s death had been at the hands of Mecca himself.
Polo stepped into the foyer, but when he witnessed the two men united as brothers he paused. He didn’t want to interrupt their moment.
“He was my brother, man. My baby,” Mecca sobbed.
Carter and Mecca released one another. They stood there face to face, and for the first time there wasn’t even the slightest bit of animosity between them.
When Polo cleared his throat, they turned around to face him. “We need to talk. In the kitchen,” he said.
They followed Polo to the kitchen and took a seat at the table.
Carter stared at Polo. “How the fuck did this happen?”
“It’s my fault, man. Money took Leena home because of me. We had a fight, and he was doing me a favor. Once I cooled down, I decided to go over there to check on her. When I got there, I saw two dread mu’fuckas running out of her crib. I rushed in to see about Leena, and they both were laid out in there, fam.” Mecca dropped his head, unable to hold his brother’s stare. He couldn’t tell them what he had done. It was something that he would take to his grave.
“We’ve got to get a handle on this,” Polo stated.
“What the fuck happened to the truce? We kept our end up. What triggered this?” Carter asked.
“We don’t know, but we’ve got to retaliate,” Polo replied.
“Right now we just need to make it through today. I don’t think it’s too smart for us to keep fanning the flames. It’s obvious that we’re touchable right now. They’ve killed two of our soldiers, our leaders, and we’ve only knocked out their henchmen. We need to think before we attack,” Carter said.
“I agree,” Polo stated.
Taryn walked into the room. “The limo is here,” she announced, her voice barely audible.
Carter arose from his seat and hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry,” he told her as they embraced.
“You have to fix this, Carter,” Taryn told him. “I need you to save my family… our family. Keep Breeze and Mecca safe. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
Carter nodded. “I will, I promise.”
Polo escorted Taryn to the car, and Breeze held onto Carter’s arm for dear life as they followed behind. She cried softly. It was almost time for the funeral to begin.
“Look, when we walk in this mu’fucka, we go straight to the front of the church. Mecca will be sitting on the front pew, so that’s the easiest way to hit him. Act like we’re going to view the body and then start blazing on ‘em. There will be members of their entourage all over the church, so make sure you spray anybody that’s standing in the way. There are three of us going in here, so I want there to be three of us leaving out,” Miamor stated.
The girls wore knee-length H & M raincoats with knee-high boots. Inside their coats they held “street sweepers.” They weren’t fools. They knew that they were outnumbered in bodies, but in bullets and ammunition, they were equal to anything that The Cartel could throw at them.
They exited their vehicle and walked into the church. There were hundreds of people inside the place as the girls made their way down the aisle, but they noticed that security was on point.
Miamor’s hand gripped the steel inside her coat, and she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. She could see the backs of the family’s heads as she walked. Mecca sat on the end. She knew it was him because of his long braids, and a slight smirk crossed her face. She could already taste his blood in her mouth as she bit down on the inside of her cheek, something she always did when she saw her unsuspecting prey. She was indeed a calculating killer.
Miamor stepped to the casket and looked down at Monroe. Robyn and Aries stood by her side. They all waited for her signal.
Miamor stood silently, and a single tear slid down her cheek. Monroe looked so peaceful, so gentle. He looked to be the exact opposite of his murderous twin brother Mecca. She exhaled and jumped slightly when she felt someone grip her arm. She turned around, ready to bust off on the first face she saw, but the man before her caused her to take a step back.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
Her girls looked at her in confusion.
“What are you doing here?” Carter asked her.
Miamor’s eyes gazed over at Mecca. His face was in his hands. She scanned the entire pew and took in the faces of the Diamond family. Her eyes stopped when she noticed Breeze. Breeze is Carter’s sister. Breeze is Mecca’s sister. Carter is Mecca’s brother. He’s a part of the Cartel, she thought. The room felt like it was spinning as she looked up at Carter. This was the emergency, she thought, putting two and two together slowly in her head.
“I didn’t know you knew my brother.”
“I-I-” Miamor was at a loss for words, and her mind was unable to formulate a lie.
Robyn stepped up and said, “She doesn’t, I do. We were friends, and I’m just coming to pay my respects. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” Carter peered at Miamor. “You okay?”
She nodded, still unable to speak.
“Look, I’ve got to get back to my family, but I’ll call you, ma.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before walking away.
Miamor turned to her friends. “I have to get out of here,” she whispered.
“Mia, what about the plan?” Robyn asked.
“Fall back. I can’t do this right now.”
“But, Miamor-” Aries interjected.
“I said fall the fuck back.” Miamor walked out of the church and almost ran to her car. When she got inside, her head fell to the steering wheel in defeat. “He’s his brother,” she said aloud. “He’s a part of The Cartel.”
Robyn and Aries exchanged glances. They knew that Miamor was feeling Carter. She had broken her number one rule and gotten emotionally involved.
“Miamor, fuck him. He’s one of them. Let’s go back in there and do what we came here to do,” Robyn stated.
Aries looked sympathetically at her friend, but kept quiet.
“I can’t, Robyn. It’s not that simple.”
“It is that simple. You gon’ choose him over Anisa? Somebody has to pay for what Mecca did to her.”
“Robyn, shut de fuck up, okay. That’s she sister you’re talking about,” Aries said in Miamor’s defense.
“I thought she forgot,” Robyn said smartly, her arms folded across her chest.
“Bitch, shut the fuck up talking! That’s your fucking problem-you talk too fucking much. I can’t even hear myself think. I know what the fuck I have to do. I was there, Robyn. I know, okay. I just can’t do this right now,” Miamor said as she started her car and drove away.
She dropped her girls off at the apartment that they shared. The car ride there was filled with silence and tension.
“We’re going to make that money, so don’t think this is over. It’s us versus them, Mia. He’s the enemy,” Robyn stated before she got out of the car, slamming the door behind her.
Aries looked back at her friend, who was staring straight ahead, looking at the road. “Do you love him, Mia?”
“No,” she quickly answered. Her heart fluttered when the word left her lips, letting her know that her body knew better. She closed her eyes, and Anisa’s face popped into her mind. She slowly opened them and breathed deep. “I’m gonna kill him and everybody he loves.”
Aries stepped out of the car and watched Miamor as she drove away. She looked up at Robyn, who was standing on the stairs to their building.
“Did you have to be so fucking rude? Give she a break, Robyn. Damn! You know she’s in a fucked-up situation,” Aries stated. “You lucky I not she, ‘cuz I woulda beat your ass first and made up with you later.”
Aries and Robyn walked into their building arguing, both knowing that there would never be any real beef between them.
Miamor drove around the city for two hours trying to make sense out of her dilemma. Instinctively she found herself driving toward the cemetery. She had to talk to her sister. When she made it there, she saw the same crowd of people that she had seen at Money’s funeral. She knew that they were there to bury his body next to his father’s, the infamous Carter Diamond, founder of The Cartel. She didn’t care though. She still parked her car and walked over to her sister’s grave. She knelt down and cried.
“Anisa, he’s Mecca’s brother,” she said as she touched her sister’s headstone. She closed her eyes. “He’s the brother of the man who killed you. I miss you so much. I promise you that I’m not going to forget what he did to you. I’m gonna kill him. I swear on everything I love.” Thoughts of Carter filled her head, but she quickly replaced them with her sister’s face. “Why is this so hard?”
“It just is,” a voice behind her said.
Startled, she stood to her feet and turned around.
Carter stood there in a black Sean John suit, his hands tucked away in his pockets, and his muscular physique hung his linens well. His eyes were red as they gazed down at her tear-stained face. “It’s always hard when you lose someone you love,” he said.
Miamor didn’t respond. She had so much hate for him and his family in her heart. Her sister was underneath her feet at this very moment because of what Carter stood for.
He reached for her, but she pulled away slightly. “Don’t,” she whispered.
He didn’t listen and stepped closer to her.
She wanted to run from him. He was the only person she had ever encountered who intimidated her, and she despised him because of it. He’s a part of The Cartel. I slept with this man. I kissed him and let him explore me. I opened up my mind and body to him. I was willing to give him my heart, and he’s Mecca’s brother, she thought painfully.
He put his arms around her waist and pulled her near, even though she still tried to resist. “I wish I could’ve met her,” he said as he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away her tears.
His touch was so gentle, so loving. He was so perfect.
“You love her so much. I can see it in your eyes that you’re hurting.”
“Don’t talk about her,” she replied in a whisper. She didn’t want him to speak Anisa’s name. He had no right to.
“I want to be here for you, Mia. I want you to be here for me. I didn’t know how I was going to make it through today, until I saw you at the church. Seeing your face did more for me than you know.”
Miamor looked up at him, and his words played funny tricks with her heart. Loving him would be wrong. Being with him would be wrong, but playing on his feelings toward her to inflict her revenge would be so right. Can I be around this man and not love him though? Can I do this? she asked herself. Yes, I’ll do it. It’s never been hard for me to murk a nigga before. I’m going to finish what I started.
“I’m sorry about your family,” she said sincerely as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m so sorry, Carter.”
Carter thought that she was apologizing out of respect for Monroe. What he didn’t know was that she was apologizing for the death and pain that she was about to cause his family. She was going to become his only weakness and then use it against him. He didn’t know it yet, but he was going to contribute to his family’s demise.