Brooklyn Brothel (23 page)

His words cut me like a sharp knife.

I took a deep breath. “Protects and serves, huh?”

“Plain and simple, you violated. You called my house, remember?” He looked me dead in the face, makin’ sure he watched the pupils in my eyes closely.

“I did not!”

“Co-Co, it would probably be in your best interest not to lie.”

“Lie? What do you mean? Now you callin’ me a liar?”

His face turned more serious than before. Tony stood above me scarin’ me a bit. He wasn’t the violent type, but then again there was a lot about him that I didn’t know.

“I’ll ask you one more time. Did you call my house and tell my wife to have me call my second home?”

The room fell silent while I sat contemplatin’. I didn’t owe Tony shit from where I sat. He had little respect for me, and vice-versa. “No, I didn’t,” I finally said.

Tony leaned back down into my face and gritted his teeth. “You’re a fuckin’ liar! What if I told you the house is bugged? And I hear all your conversations!”

Suddenly, I began to wail like a sick baby. On and on I cried. I had no intentions of stoppin’, no matter how long Tony stayed. I cried because I was livin’ like a prisoner. I cried because Tony had tricked me, and lastly I cried because he’d caught me in a dead lie.

“Truth hurts, huh Co-Co,” Tony said with his back turned away from me.

I kept sobbin’, minute after minute. I rolled ova on the bed, then rocked back and forth like I’d lost a child. For the most part, Tony ignored me. He unzipped his back pack and headed ova by the safe. For a minute, I toned my cryin’ down, and sniffled to semi-focus on what he was doin’ by the safe. I hoped like hell our mini-spat wouldn’t make him wanna take my cut of the money.

Once I saw him kneel to work the combination, my mind started playin’ tricks on me. Instantly, I stopped gropin’, rose from the bed, and rushed in Tony’s direction. He saw me comin’, but neva flinched.

We’d talked many times about how he wanted me to keep the money separated inside the safe. His money in one
stack, along with the daily tally sheets showin’ how much was made, minus his cut, mine, and money needed to run the house. Then my money was officially mine once he approved it. After that, I could do what I pleased with my share.

When the safe opened, Tony reached in quickly and pulled out all the money and the paperwork. I watched him closely as he examined my figures. He was quiet for the most part, besides utterin’ a few “umm mmms, and ummms.”

Within minutes, he’d gotten up, handed me my stack and put his money into the backpack. “You did good this week,” he complimented. “Next week I’m hoping we’ll make more.”

“Did you bail Angel out of jail?” I quickly asked.

“Look, we’re dealing with this business for now.”

“I need to know Tony. You’re makin’ me look like a fool.”

“A fool you are not…” He started shakin’ his head up and down, but stopped talkin’ abruptly.

“What?” I asked. I wanted to know what was on the tip of his tongue.

“There’s a situation,” he said, zippin’ the side of the backpack with the money. “You may need this,” he continued while zippin’ another compartment.

My eyes opened wide tryna see what he was talkin’ about. It had to be somethin’ important by the way his eyes showed uncertainty. I kept leanin’ from side to side tryna see what he was pullin’ from the bag. Finally, when it came out, I jumped back.

“A gun! What the hell do I need a gun for?” For a second, I thought the gun mighta been meant to be used
on
me, not
for
me.

“It’s fucking complicated, but keep it…just in case you ever need it.”

“Why Tony?” I moved close up on him lettin’ him
know I needed answers.

“The boss of bosses informed me that one of the enforcers in the family might be coming around soon to collect their cut.”

“Their cut? I thought you owned this place?”

“I do, but like I said it’s complicated. It’s how organized families work. I’m gonna go in and meet with the boss to let them know my place is off limits, but until then I want you to be prepared if somebody comes by.”

“You gotta be kiddin’ me!” I shouted.

“Listen Co-Co, if they show up, just pay the percentage. Don’t give them any hassle. You should be fine. The gun is just in case something ever got outta hand.”

I swallowed hard when he placed the cold piece of metal into the palm of my hand. It was a silver chromed 9mm, I assumed. I just tried to remain calm so my demeanor would match Tony’s.

“I gotta run,” he said, kissin’ me on the cheek. “Get some cocoa butter for those bruises.”

“When you comin’…”

Just like that, Tony strutted toward the door while I talked to his back-side. I wanted to scream, but just sulked instead watchin’ him from the doorway. He jumped into the passenger seat of a black Cadillac that another guy was drivin’. I tried to get a glimpse before they pulled off to make sure it wasn’t that fucker Gino, but the car moved too quickly.

I had plans on tryna walk around a bit, workin’ on gettin’ my motivation back, but duty called. As soon as the phone rang, I offered up a quick sigh. I wasn’t in the mood for talkin’, but there was money to be made. When I answered, my eyes damn near popped outta my head. The voice on the otha end started talkin’ just about the same time that I jetted to the window.

“Outside?” I questioned.

“That’s what I said,” the voice responded.

“Oh, no. Stay there. I’m comin’ out!”

Click.

As fast as my body would allow, I rumbled through my bedroom closet to locate the flattest slip-ons I could find. Heels were outta the question. Even though I’d only gotten a beat down, it felt like I was recoverin’ from a hysterectomy.

I was outta my private quarters within minutes, and easin’ out the front door. Mike’s car was front and center which sent me into cardiac arrest.

Slowly, I checked my surroundin’s like a wide-eyed teenager on the sneak tip, and took one step at a time. I crept toward his car, opened the door, and plopped down into the seat. I didn’t give him a chance to say shit. “This is soooooo bad Mike,” I announced.

“What’s so bad? And who did that shit to your eye?”

My first thought,
at least he cared
. Secondly, I’d neva heard him curse before, so maybe that was a sign of his anger. “I’ll explain the eye later. But know that the house is bugged.”

I looked ova to my right checkin’ out the house that I once had high hopes for. It was close to noon, so things would be jumpin’ off soon-I hoped.

“Look, I had a long talk with my police buddy. He already said Tony is using you. He needs somebody outside his family to run the spot. That way if the place gets busted, you’ll go down, not Tony. Think about Betty,” he said with stress in his voice, “if she get’s convicted, she won’t see the streets for a long time.”

“Oh, hell no. I’m neva going back to jail! That chapter of my life is done.”

“So you think?” he added with sarcasm.

“Just give me another week, Mike. I made good money this week, so after next week I’ll have enough to let it all go. I
can go back to Pittsburgh, get Carlton, then come back to hook up with you.”

“Why not just leave with me now?” His eyes pleaded. “I’ll take you to get your son tonight.”

I sat for minutes contemplatin’ his suggestion. Every what if and possibility bounced around in my head. Then I glanced ova at Mike. His face was so serious. It hurt me to tell him, no. But I had to earn some more quick money. Once I took custody of Carlton, jobs would become harder to get; especially good payin’ jobs for somebody with a record. “I can’t, Mike. I gotta follow through. I gotta make this money first.”

I gazed ova at Mike momentarily. I knew I wasn’t in love with him. He was sweet, the kinda man who would take good care of me both mentally and financially. I pictured him as the type of mate who’d rub my feet when I said I was tired, and help with Carlton’s homework when he needed it.

But he wasn’t the solution to my problem at the moment. In my heart, it was clear. All of a sudden, I swung my left arm ova, around his neck and placed my lips gently ova his. “Look, I gotta get back inside. If you need to talk to me, call inside on the office phone. When I pick up, say nothin’. Hang up, and do the same thing again. I’ll know it’s you and go call you from a payphone.”

“That’s a lot Co-Co. Why not just come with me now? You don’t have to go back in there.”

“I do Mike. I’ll make you understand later. But for now, I do.”

“Suit yourself.” He turned away from me like I’d lost him for good.

“Mike, can I use your cell? I’ll make it quick,” I begged. “You know I can’t talk in there.”

He neva looked me in the eye, just handed me the phone. I didn’t have time to argue, I needed to talk to Dre.

I dialed, then waited. As usual, nobody picked up until the very last ring. Luckily, it was Dre.

“Dre!” I shouted as if there was some joy in hearin’ his voice.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah… That’s it. I been callin’ you about Carlton. Lolita said you needed to talk to me about somethin’…so talk.” He said nothin’, but my senses told me somethin’ was wrong. “Dre, where is Carlton?”

“He’s gone,” he finally said.

“Gone with who?”

“Your mother.”

“My mother! You idiot!” I screamed to the top of my lungs. It really didn’t matter that my jaw bones hurt like hell with each movement inside my mouth.

“My mother has neva even met him!”

“True dat. But the guy she was with had. Besides, I couldn’t keep him any…”

I hit end, because it was the perfect fit to the ending of my life.
What point was there in livin’ anymore?
My son was probably dead
.

Chapter 18

My left hand
held the phone firmly to my ear while my right tapped the desk with my broken fingernail. It was slightly painful, but took a backseat to all my otha problems. Frustrated. Nervous. Delusional. Terrified. All the words that came to mind when I thought about the way I was feelin’. I contemplated flippin’ my damn desk ova while I waited for some lame-ass officer to come back on the line with another bold-face lie. But then I looked down at my white lines, my lines of hope, the lines that would keep me sane; and decided not to go emotionally crazy. Flippin’ the desk, would only cause me to lose my coke in the process. Instead, I lowered my head closer toward the desk, scooped up some of the kick-ass drugs Cinnamon had gotten for me, and snorted like there was no tomorrow.

Yes, I’d reverted back to the old Chantel, the Chantel who leaned on drugs for support. It was wild how I just didn’t care about nothin’ anymore. I sat in my office, snortin’ right in front of the window with the drapes wide open. It didn’t matter to me who saw me. I leaned back and exhaled like my problems had been solved. My mind was already at the crazy house and surely my body would check itself in by night fall. My life had become a fuckin’ whirlwind of trouble ova the last three days. Each day seemed to move in slow motion. Between Gino ridin’ by the brothel, Dre not answerin’ my calls, me whisperin’ at times to keep Tony and his crew from hearin’ things I didn’t want them to hear, and the Pittsburgh
Police Department treatin’ me like shit; I considered grabbin’ the gun Tony had given me, and endin’ it all.

With a total of six hours of sleep combined from all three days, my puffy eyes showed the sleep deprivation, in addition to the fact that I’d barely even eaten. Well, I guess if you call the quarter ounce of coke that I’d been snortin’ up my nose some sorta nutrition, then I guess I had been eatin’ good.

Suddenly a voice came back on the line. I heard him sayin’, “Miss, Miss, Miss,” but my high was feelin’ so good, I didn’t really wanna answer.

I had been on the line with the Pittsburgh Police Department for almost thirty minutes checkin’ on the missin’ persons report that I’d filed about Carlton. They were treatin’ me like a piece of trash, like I wasn’t even his biological mother. One officer had a nerve to ask me if I was the mother, why didn’t I know the answers to all the questions she was askin’ me. Then another male officer asked why I wasn’t back in Pittsburgh by now
if
I was so concerned.

I stopped for a moment to ask myself the same question. What kinda mother was I? My son had been kidnapped by my own mother and here I was still at the brothel. I should’a jetted three days ago when Dre told me he’d been picked up by her triflin’-ass. Her track record spoke for itself. She was deceitful, heartless, and would probably sell Carlton if the money was right. Nonetheless, allow Bo to kill him if he got a hold of’em. The crazy thing was that I had to be back in Pittsburgh within the next four days anyway. The forty-five day mark was approachin’ where I would have to go back before the judge to gain full custody. Now, what sense was there in going back? I didn’t have a son to gain custody of.

I broke down into tears sobbin’ while the words of some young soundin’ officer yellin’ into the phone rang into my ears. “Do you hear me, Miss?”

I said nothin’.

“Hello. Hello,” he repeated.

“I want my son!” I shouted back. “Tell me somethin’! Where’ve you looked,” I cried in between words.